Rebecca Leedham

Culture Questions
April 27, 2017

1. Since this young boy has just changed cultures completely, he could potentially
be experiencing culture shock. In the Arab nation, it is okay for individuals of
the same sex to touch each other. However, it is not okay for them to touch
individuals of another sex. Although it does not say what kind of “touching”
this boy is doing to other boys, it may not be intentional to the purpose of
starting fights. It is important to first speak with the young boy an d ask him
why he is touching the other boys. If it is to play or make friends, the solution
could be as simple as explaining why that isn’t the best route to take and maybe
introducing him to some other students in the correct way. He already holds a
language barrier not knowing very much English, but that doesn’t mean that he
cannot hold friendships with the other students in his class.
2. It is first important to speak with the students who have personally objected and ask them
why privately. It cannot be assumed that there is any one specific reason why her hygiene
isn’t the best, but students should be respectful regardless. In order to attempt to find out
what is going on it may be better to speak with her parents rather than the student herself so
that she doesn’t feel embarrassed. There are many reasons as to why she could smell funny
including little shower access, a strong-smelling house hold, poor hygiene practice, or
many other reasons. However, the first step to help this girl would be to find out what the
problem is and that could best be done respectfully through a conversation with her
parents.
3. Although it definitely cannot be assumed that this is the case, the parents may not be
in complete understanding with what is being communicated in this conference. Asian
students often have families who value education very highly. For example, Chinese
masses and even the emperor honored teachers in history (196). In the Japanese
classroom, students are taught in groups, similar to the American education system.
However, students are more treated more as a group in Japan. Not only do they learn
in a group of 30-40 students, but they eat together and even clean the school together
when they are done learning (222). There is so much respect represented towards
 educators that parents and students go without question with anything they say. This
could help to provide a possible explanation to why the Asian parents simply say
“yes” to everything that the educator says. They might have questions, but if this were
the situation, than they would think it may be disrespectful to ask the teacher. Since
the actual situation is unknown, it is important to talk with the student and parents
more, maybe separately, to find out what is going on. If the case if that the student
doesn’t understand the homework and needs help then the teacher can provide extra
help in the classroom or maybe alter the assignments. If the main problem is with the
communication between the teacher and the parents than it is important to
communicate with them and explain the differences in American education systems.
4. In the United States, we base our teaching greatly off of the students and we often
have them work together. This is even more common in elementary schools. This
student has likely not experienced this type of learning and this different environment
makes him feel like he can be disruptive. Since he is not receiving the same
punishment as he would have in his previous classroom, he is probably continuing to
think that it is okay. In order to work better with this child, the other students may try
to work with him better and incorporate more of these rules into daily lessons. The
student may also be rewarded for learning and following the rules.
5. Changing countries often means changing the language spoken as well. This student
could potentially be struggling with the English language in general. Writing, Chinese is
completely opposite from English. The symbols look nothing like the letters. She may
even be speaking English well from practice, but reading and writing is not easy to learn
and takes time. It is important to speak with this student individually and make sure she is
congratulated for her excellent work in math first. Then the teacher should ask her how
she feels about her reading and writing skills in English. If she explains that they could
use work then the next step could be to find her a separate tutor that could help her
outside of class. This could help her catch up on those skills while not skipping time on
her math and other classroom skills.

6. Many places in Egypt do not have a very effective school system. Depending on the
area, students may not have access to resources such as textbooks or room to
physically be in the classroom leading to low literacy rates and high drop out rates.
 Their textbooks tend to be faced around their own culture which creates a gap between
an Egyptian student and the American culture. Technology is also not very prevalent in
Egyptian classrooms creating another gap in western education. Classrooms tend to be
more teacher centered and there is even physical punishment given to inadequately
preforming children. It is very important to first understand what kind of background
this student is coming from. It is possible that even just the language barrier could be
making a large impact on their educational performance. Further, it is a big adjustment
from the Egyptian education style to the American Education style. It is possible that
the student was put into the correct grade level but is having problems adjusting to it.
In order to find out what is best for his child, the teacher should begin by speaking
with the child and seeing how they feel in the classroom setting. Following this, the
teacher should speak with the parents and ask them what they think is best for their
child if changing their placement isn’t a serious option for them. Ultimately, it takes
time for student to adjust to new classroom setting, especially when they are coming
from one that is so different. It is important to follow through and do what is best for
the student whether that is adjusting the current classroom to fulfill the needs of the
student or moving the student to a classroom that can better fit their needs.
7. Every student will always be on a different learning level then the next. Even if this
student were from the United States, there are often different ages within a classroom of a
single age. Some students can get held back a grade or they can skip a grade because of
different levels of learning. Coming from a different country, this student may have even
started their education later than she may have in the United States. It is nothing to worry
about if she is a year older than most of the students in her class if the office believes that
she is in the correct class for her level of education. If there are any worries, each student
could take the same pre-knowledge quiz and the scores can be compared to make sure
that this student really is on the same level.
8. Argentina has a very different education system than the system in America.
However, it is still very highly valued. They have an extremely high number of
people with high school diplomas. Students here hold high respect for their
educators. It is very possible that Guadalupe is respecting his teacher by avoiding
eye contact when she speaks. It is important that the teacher not only helps the
 student adjust to the American culture and education system, but that they also
make an attempt to learn where this student is coming from.

9. This student has been learning English recently and she has probably been trying pretty
hard. As she has been learning the language, she has been associating the color red on her
paper with all of her mistakes. It is possible that seeing so much red on the paper written
by her teacher makes her think that she is doing something wrong. If this is the case, the
teacher should ask the student why she is upset. If the student relates the color red with
her mistakes, the teacher should simply explain that this is not the case for this specific
situation and it is simply a color.

10. In Japan, education is taken very seriously. It is up to the teacher to provide the education
and the parents typically respect the teachers for this. It is possible that the mother that is
dropping off their student is respecting the teacher by not making any interactions and
instead, leaving the teacher to do their job. If the teacher is really worried about this
situation, they could always speak with the student and ask about their culture. As long as
the student does not have any problems, there should not be much for the teacher to worry
about.
11. Although it doesn’t say how old these two students are, they could very likely still be very
responsible students. The first step, as their teacher, would be to speak with the students
and to ask why they are having attendance issues. If they aren’t helpful, it is important to
speak with their parents for a better understanding. Although it cannot be assumed this is
the reason, it is possible that they have responsibilities at home such as a little sibling. If
one of them is sometimes absent, they may have to watch a little sister or brother. It is clear
that they still care about their education because at least one of them is always there.

12. The switch from a Middle Eastern school system to an American school system is huge.
In the middle east, all education curriculum is centered around. First, it is possible that
the student is simply confused on the new learning system that they are a part of and
they do not understand why they are not doing everything through a book. It is
important that the teacher understands the education type that this student is coming
from. If the student will not communicate, the teacher should speak with the parents to
ask what can be incorporated into the classroom to boost the students education. If the
 student is used to a book directing his education, he may simply need more paper
exercises and certain accommodations should be made.
13. Cheating is not as big of a deal in Russia as it is in the United States. The first step would be
to talk to parents and help to explain what the problem is. The importance of tests is to see
what each student understands without help and if the student and his parents understood
this, he may not attempt to cheat as much. The transition to this new education is typically
difficult so it is a possibility that the student is finding his easiest route to success. The first
solution would be to speak with the student and make sure they understand that cheating is
not okay. Only then if he continues to cheat should some kind of extra help or punishment
be enforced as a student that already understood the consequences would have.
14. Speaking English and writing English are two very different concepts. It cannot be assumed
that this is the reason for her poor school work, but it is a possibility that this student from
Puerto Rico only learned to speak English but is still in the process of learning to read and
write English. Communication between the teacher and the student in this situation should
not be a problem since she speaks English so well, so the first step that the teacher should
take would be to talk to her. If the student is simply struggling with her reading and writing
in English, then the teacher can work with her separately or find her an outside tutor. She is
clearly not a bad student since she is willing to translate and socialize; she may just need a
little bit of extra help.
15. Since this student has just moved from Malaysia, they could still be adjusting to the style of
American education. It should definitely not be assumed that this student is not intelligent
in the area of reading and comprehension just because he seems to be struggling with it.
Reading and comprehension is typically not the easiest part of learning a language.
Spelling and state capitals are all about memorization. The fact that this student can
memorize all of the state capitals and spelling of different words actually means that they
are very intelligent. The first step as their teacher would be to speak with them and to ask
how they are doing with their comprehension skills. If they admit that it is not their
strongest area, it may be smart to speak with their parents about finding an outside tutor to
help them catch up. This could allow the student to practice their comprehension to catch
up to where the other students in the class may be without taking time away from the areas
he excels in like spelling and capitals.
16. Geometry is all about measurements. The united states bases their measurements off of a
different system than the majority of the united states. If these students are ESL students, it is a
possibility that they have been receiving education from a system other than the American
education system. I would first speak with the students to see how they feel about geometry in
the classroom and to see if it is the measurements that are causing them confusion. If the
problem is the measurements, they could simple use some extra tutoring and explanations on
how the American measurement system. It cannot be assumed that they are simply not good at
geometry and the teacher should speak with each of those who are struggling before making
any decisions.

17. Thi Lien, coming from Vietnam, is used to a completely different education system
from what is provided to her in the United States. In the education system in Vietnam,
the federal government is in strict control and students are simply done as they are told.
They do not speak out much because it is looked down upon. It is very possible that Thi
Lien is finding this transition to a new kind of learning very difficult and that she is
uncomfortable in her new setting. It is possible that this whole transition is so new to
her that she doesn’t know what to do with all of her books and homework. Also,
although it cannot be assumed, Thi Lien may be afraid to ask for help or instruction
since that was extremely uncommon in her previous learning environment. The book
states that many schools do not provide the English education that the government
requires them too. This also could be a possible reason why Thi Lien seems
“disorganized”. If the case happened to be that she didn’t know much English and
didn’t understand what was going on in the classroom, then she would definitely be
struggling with instructions and her assignments. Although nothing can be assumes,
there are many possible explanations as to why Thi Lien seems to be forgetful and
disorganized. In order to work with her, the teacher should speak with her kindly and
maybe her family to learn more about her culture and her previous learning experience
in order to provide her with a smooth transition into the education system provided in
America.
18. In many classrooms there are young students who address the teacher as
“teacher.” However, this is typically because that is the first thing that comes to
their head when they are addressing the teacher. However, Pablo is from
 Columbia where things may be different in the education system. On page 124,
the author writes about Peru and their educational practices. A neighbor to
Columbia, it is likely that Peru has similarities to Columbia. The author says that
there is a huge respect for educators and those within the education system or
leadership roles. She continues to say that a student from this area that may move
to receive an education in the United States would be extremely respectable. With
that said, it is very likely that Pablo highly respects his teacher. The word
“teacher” may even be a respectable word. It cannot be assumed that this is the
exact reason for Pablo’s addressing of “teacher,”, but since he is a well-mannered
boy, it is not likely that he is saying this for any sort of negative reason. It is
important to talk to Pablo and to find out about his past educational system. If this
slight misunderstanding is an actual problem in the classroom then Pablo may be
informed of the correct way to address a teacher in the United States.
19. In the Asia section, the reading explains that, the Confucianism social hierarchy is very
important. This hierarchy puts the teacher above the student’s classmates. It also states that
some students may been seen as teachers pets because of this. This can easily be a possible
explanation as to why Hung is such a attentive and respectful student in class. Often, these
students don’t speak up in class and they would rather speak to the teacher afterwards if they
have any questions. The first step would be to speak with the student to as why they are so
rude in this specific situation. One possible explanation could be that Hung doesn’t
understand why the other students are speaking during class. With respect for the teacher,
Hung could be acting rude to them to show his respect towards his teacher. However, this
cannot be assumed and the first step would be to speak with Hung to see what is going on.

20. The Arabic language is extremely different from the English language. Although it
cannot be assumed, it is possible that this young student has simply been learning to
speak his own language rather than learning to read and write it. The first step as his
teacher would be to speak with him and his parents to see what is going on. If it is
simply because he hasn’t had experience with writing, the solution could be as simple
as staring from the beginning, teaching him how to hold a pencil, and continuing to
accommodate lessons for him.
21. The statement “her aunt was sick and her family went to help her” is very broad. It can
either be assumed that Maria went with her family to help her aunt or she was left at
home without a way to get to school. In EE book on page 65, it explains how parents
see teachers as educational experts and in a way, some parents want the teachers to
make all of the educational decisions in their students lives. With this said, the parents
do not have too much to do with their child’s education in the Mexican culture so when
they have family problems, something they care a lot about and are highly involved in,
they jump to those before thinking too much on their child’s current education. The
parents might not also understand how much of an impact missing just a few days of
school has on an individual student’s education. However, it is never to be assumed that
a student has a home life that is common of a Mexican immigrant. Their culture may
vary and the reason Maria is absent so often could be for many different reasons. One
solution to this problem, brought up on page 71, is to have Maria and other students
share about their personal life while they are in class. This will allow some insight and
background on Maria’s life and the lives of other students. With better understanding of
the problem, there will be better solutions.
22. In china, as stated in the China section of the book, schools begin their day at 7:00am
with quiet study time. Mei is very likely used to this system since she has done half of
her 4th grade year in China. Although we do not know if the times have been explained
to her and her family yet, Mei could have showed up at 7:00am thinking that was when
she was supposed to just like in China. I would speak to Mei to tell her a little bit more
about the school, the times, and the American education system in general. I would then
speak with her parents to make sure they were on the same page. It shows that Mei and
her parents are serious about her education since she showed up on her first day earlier
than she needed to be.
23. The Korea section of the book states that the classroom is based off of a hierarchy and
educators are considered very powerful. It is possible that the parents are trying to thank the
teacher or impress her with this gift. Although people vary in reactions, the parents may have
been expecting a different reacting—maybe more enthusiastic. It is also possible that they are
worried it isn’t enough. Either way, the teacher should speak with the parents if she thinks
there is a communication problem to get the real story as a first step.
24. It is a possibility that students are more independent in the Muslim education system than the
American one. The first step in this situation would be to learn the background on how the
student feels about sharing. The next step would be to speak with the student to see how they
feel about the situation. If the problem is they do not understand that it is okay to share, it could
be as simple as an explanation that it is okay in the American culture and education system.
25. Gifts can be a sensitive subject for many people in the Chinese culture. Also, as said in the
China section of the book, the color white is related to funerals. It is possible that the color
of the wrapping set the recipients off rather than the gifts themselves. If there seems to be
confusion, asking the recipients would be the first action to take.
26. Students in Thailand take their education very seriously. Although we do not know how
long this student has been a part of the American education, it is likely that she is still
adjusting to the new culture that she is a part of. The first step in this situation would be
to talk to both her and her parents to ask about why it is so important to her that she is
put together for better understanding. With the result of this, the teacher can then talk to
the other students and explain why it is not okay to mess with other students in this way
and why it affected this girl so much.
27. For any culture, it is difficult to change the home language. Language is a very large part of
a culture. Although we cannot assume this is why they are all upset, it may be taking away
a part of the culture to ask them to speak English in their own home. The proper step, if this
were the situation, could be to come up with other ideas including options that the parents
came up with. An outside tutor could always be an additional option to take time outside of
the classroom to work on his English without taking away a part of the family’s culture.
28. Without speaking with this boy directly, it is difficult to see how much English he actually
knows. Since we cannot assume he is fluent or that he knows nothing, it may be smart to
speak with his parents. If they say that he can speak plenty of English then the teacher
should go to him and explain the importance of showing that in class. If he doesn’t know
much English then the other students and even an outside tutor could be utilized in order to
help him learn more and catch up.
29. The first step in this situation would be to ask Ayumi what she already knows about fractions or if
she has even ever heard of them before. It is a possibility that where she had originally learned
math they could have learned only decimals. If this were to be the case then some extra time spent
 explaining the connection between fractions and decimals could be helpful.

30. It is possible that these students first do not understand that they are is allowed to take
all four pencils. It cannot be assumed, but it is possible, that they were taught to take
only what they may need. The solution for this would be to speak to the students and ask
why they only took two pencils. It is not a bad thing that they only took two, but it
would be good for them to know that they could have all four if they wanted.
31. Groups from this area sometimes have a higher illiteracy rate than other. Although this
may not be the problem for Jean Pierre, it is a possibility. I would ask Jean Pierre how he
felt about the problem and for a slight explanation on how to do it. Understanding
numbers ad the way they go is a large part of literacy. If this is the problem, giving Jean
Pierre a little bit of extra help with words and numbers could solve the problem.

32. The math education in Egypt is very likely very different from the math education
provided in the United States. The teacher should research this before trying to teach
this student who isn’t adjusting to the classroom perfectly well. Whatever the reason
is that this student is not willing to learn math manipulatives, it can be seen through a
conversation with her. There may be a better way to learn and if this is the case, the
lesson may be slightly altered.

33. The education system in Europe in some areas is very similar to that in the United
States. However, it is still a big switch from receiving an education in Bosnia to that
in America. Society in general has many differences in various places in Europe
compared to the United States. In the Poland chapter, the author states that culture
shock from one education to another is a real problem and informing the student of
the type of education and culture that they will receive before they start can greatly
help this. In Russia, students typically begin and end their education with the same
students and in the same building. If this student came from an education system in
Bosnia that is has anything in common with the Russian system, they would
definitely be experiencing culture shock. It cannot be assumed that this is the reason
that the student is hiding under the table during recess, but it is a possibility. If this
were the case, the student would simply be uncomfortable with their new
environment. As the teacher, it is important to speak with the student first, potentially
 during class while they are not under the table, and ask how their transition is. Group
work could potentially allow the student to make connections with other students and
to feel more comfortable. Every student transitions differently and it is often difficult
when coming from a different country. The first step in a situation like this would be
to speak with the student and make it a priority that they feel comfortable in their
classroom with their teacher and their classmates.

34. I am not sure what kind of education background this student came from. Since Asia
is so large, there are many different types of education types that this student may be
adjusting from. It is possible that the school he went to does not care about the
students as much, or that this is his way of adjusting. In some situations, motioning to
come towards oneself is seen as extremely disrespectful. The best option would be to
apologize for upsetting him and then asking why he was acting out and why he was
so upset. The teacher must understand the culture of the student before expecting
them to fully understand the new culture that they are now living in.

35. Touching can be seen as inappropriate in many different regions. These students
may or may not see it this way, but it is a possibility as to why they are pulling
away. As the teacher, I would ask them if that upset them and apologize once I had
noticed that it was a problem. I would then think of different ways to get their
attention when counting them besides touching them on the head for their own
respect.
36. In the American education culture, photographs in the classroom are more of a casual
occurrence. However, it cannot be assumed that this is the same for the Chinese classroom.
If it seems to be a problem that I took a picture of the student without their permission, I
would speak to the grandma and apologize. I would then ask either for permission to take
pcitures or if she would like her excluded from the pictures. It is best to put the student’s
family’s respects before anything else.
37. Hand signals can mean different things in different places. Although that sign means
okay to almost anyone in America, it cannot be assumed that this student from Brazil
understands it as well. If the reaction was shocked, the teacher should go to the student
and ask what they thought it meant. They should then learn about hand signals if there
 are any, in their culture while teaching about common ones that may be seen in the
American culture.

Egbert, J., and G. Ernst-Slavit. Views from inside: Language, cultures, and schooling for K-12
educators. N.p.: Np., Nd. Print.