Culturally Competent Teaching

A teacher from the International Community School raises the issue of what role the educator should play in an area containing many different value systems. Since the area where this school is located contains over 26,000 refugees, cultural acuity is one essential skill she has developed, which is needed to understand and be sensitive to the behavior of her pupils. Reference to culture as an iceberg is made, as the hidden aspects of culture resemble some of the hardest obstacles to communication and learning. Understanding others must begin with understanding yourself, the author explains. Comparing the differences between the self and the other is the starting point to learning how cooperation can be successful between diverse groups of individuals. When teaching her class, the diversity of the student body is recognized, as she adjusts her way of instruction in order to make her students aware and comfortable with each other. How important is the development of cultural competence in education? Read more on this very interesting article here.