Teaching Other Cultures

China, Taiwan, Germany, Thailand, Canada, the United States, Singapore, Japan, Australia, South Korea, India, the Philippines, and Indonesia are all countries that I have had kids in my class from. I may be missing a few, but the point is these kids come from all over the place. Ten years ago I could not even fathom getting to teach kids from multiple cultures. I definitely did not have the background, having grown up in rural Oregon. Regardless of my background, this is where God has brought me and I have learned much from it. I hope this glimpse of the things I have learned is helpful.

There are two areas that I have developed a better an understanding about: First, what culture I have learned about culture. Second, how to teach kids coming from different cultures in a culture I am not even from.

Culture is often defined by food, language, dance, traditional clothes, art, history, and customs. However, as I have had the opportunity to observe these things, I can see that those items are like the outside of the pyramids. Everybody can easily look and see the walls that hold up the pyramid, but it takes a little bit of digging to find the treasures and bones hidden inside. Some of the cultural things may seem to an outsider like nasty bones, while other parts are more like treasures. No matter if they are bones or treasure, each bit found creates that person's cultural background.

The bones and treasures of culture that I have found digging through my time here in Inodesia are many. This is just list of what I have come to see that have differed in different cultures: thoughts of modesty, learning styles, what beauty is, spatial awareness, family living, etiquette, religious beliefs, time, age. I am sure there are more, but they are slipping my mind currently.

Having considered this continuously growing list, has caused me to stop and think how am I doing as a teacher? Am I holding my own cultural bones and treasures above their needs? In order to love my kids best and put their needs above my own, I need to learn about their culture. I need to find out how God has designed their background.

Just a small representation of culture

Not everybody has the opportunity to interact with as many cultures. However, everybody does have the opportunity to learn things about new people and find out more about them to put others first.