Why should we bother?

[clay dube]

Do the CA standards require us to teach about Asian family systems? Are there questions on the standardized tests about Asian families? Why should we go to the trouble of teaching about families as we introduce Asia to our students? After all, don't we have enough to do introducing philosophy, religion, political systems, and Asia-America interchange?

[Anonymous]

The California State History Standards for 11th grade history expect teachers to cover the internment of the Japanese during WWII. It is standard 11.7.5. Working with my history counterpart in Humanitas, I do cover Asian family systems with my students when we read "Farewell to Manzanar." To understand the process of Americanization that Jeanne is experiencing, it is essential that I discuss with my students how the traditional Japanese family broke down during the years of internment. One example of this would be the fact that the family no longer ate dinner together.

I know that on the AP exam there is an open ended question where students have to select a book they have read and discuss it. Students who choose to write about "Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston or any books by Amy Tan would be addressing the dynamics of the Asian families. Therefore, it would seem that standardized tests do include questions on Asian families.

I think it is extremely essential to introduce our students to Asia. Considering the fact, the California is part of the Pacific Rim, our economic future is linked to Asia. Also our state was developed with the help of Chinese railroad workers and Japanese farmers. Asians are a part of the rich cultural history of California. We owe it to our students to include Asia in our curriculum.

Finally, I think that we need to expose our students to various cultures so that they are able to embrace individuals who are culturally different from them. Whenever I teach "Woman Warrior," "Joy Luck Club," "Farewell to Manzanar," I always take time for a mini lecture about the history, role of women in China and Japan, and the importance of family.

[Anonymous]

The CA Standards for second grade do require that we teach the history of many cultures around the world. (I.Time, Continuity, and Change: History) 2.2 Describe folklore and other cultural contributions from various regions of the United States and the world and how they help form a nation’s heritage. 2.4 Identify cultural diversity in the United States. Although there are no questions in second grade on the standardized test about Asian families, I still feel it is our responsibility to teach it. Of course this is my own opinion BUT we shouldn't only teach what is on the standardized tests We do have a lot to teach and it is especially difficult with the time constraints but it is our responsiblity to teach the standards. I didn't become a teacher to teach them how to become good test takers. There is so much more to teaching. I want my students to get the most out of their time with me. It is so important for children and adults to know the differences and similarities we all have...so we can be sensitive to people that are different than them. I want to at least expose them to different Asian families...otherwise they will assume "they are all the same". When in fact, we are similar but not the same! 😀

[Anonymous]

In my case, I am teaching second graders. When you look at the CA standards it doesn't mention anything about Asia. Then again, it doesn't really mention any specific cultures. My grade level teachers and I have gone to great lengths to expose our students to as many different cultures as we can. We find that our families greatly emphasize their own cultures in their child's life but do not seem to expose them to any other. That is why I find it absolutely necessary for me to expose them. Our standards focus around families, traditions and cultures but leave it up to the individual teacher when it comes to the specifics. Our social studies text does have a section titled Coming from Cambodia which talks about a Cambodian family that has arrived and settled in Boston. They compare and contrast the daily life of the family when they lived in both places. I also have a story in our reading series titled Grandfather's Dream about a boy and his grandfather living in Vietnam. Again, it describes rather well the daily life in that country. The students are always surprised at how differently other people live. Although it is not much about Asia, at least it is a start. I'm hoping to expand on this aspect of our curriculum after these next two weeks are over.

[Anonymous]

With social studies standards it is easy to see th econnection, but the orginal post was about the literary canon and English classes.

In my middle school ENglish classes I do my best to connect everything we do to as much as I can- math history art, everything I know and can look up to show them how broad the world is and give them something they can connect to, but I remained unconvinced about forcing English teachers to change their curricullim to be multicultural if #1 they do not have enough knowledge or bacjground to accurtaly teach those materials #2 Those sources may be well written and based in another culture, but inferior to other established works #3 We can't teach about every culture; it's past, current incarnations and permutations- so how do we choose what gets included?

I say let the teachers teach what they know and can teach best, but I'm afraid forcing them to be multi culral ends up just teaching political correctness ( a snaitized nonhistory) and not much that is genuine from that culture.

NOTE: I wanted to change teachers to ENGLISH teachers, but the editing on here just types over what I wrote again, history and social studies are completly different animals.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that bringing multicultural materials to the English class is a form of being politically correct. In my experience I think it is essential to bring writers of different cultures to my students for a couple of reasons.

1. Students need to be exposed to all sorts of writers. They will not take the time to discover them on their own.

2. Living in California, our children need to be able to connect with individuals of different cultures. The best way to gain tolerance and understanding is to break down barriers. Reading does that for our students. Suddenly, they can relate to a character and realize that we are all human. We are not that different.

3. If a teacher is just teaching what they know the best, don't they limit their students' education? I have spent a lot of my career teaching things that I didn't consider myself an expert in . I got so much from the experience because I was experiencing it with my students for the first time. We discovered it together.

4. If we limit our curriculum to what we consider good, we might miss the opportunity for our students to find an author who speaks to them.

5. Teaching multicultural authors and incorporating them into a theme works pretty well.

[Anonymous]

Being at the elementary level, standards are not as specific as they are in the upper grades. However, learning about different families and communities is a part of the curriculum. I think that learning about different Asian families is important to my students. It is a bit difficult because many of my students are Caucasian, and younger students remember better when they see and experience things multiple times.

Many of my students would automatically assume that something that looked "Asian" or something foreign to them was Chinese. I would explain to my students that there are many types of Asians and that not everything you see is Chinese. Some of my students would understand that there is a difference and would ask my questions if they were unsure. Others would still say that something Asian or foreign was automatically Chinese. Even though these students were still like that, anytime a similar situation came up afterwards, I would still talk about it with my students.

I know that a lot of my students were never taught about race and were just not aware that using language like that can be offensive to some. I feel that in my class, the only way to learn about Asian families is through literature, classroom discussions, and learning about cultures through holidays. Through this kind of classroom talk, my students can come to learn to treat others with respect.

[Anonymous]

The Child Development Division under The California Department of Education has developed Prekindergarten Guidelines that requires teachers to expose children to multiculture and diversity. The following are the standards that deal with culture and diversity.
Child Desired Result 1: Children are personally and socially competent
Indicator #1: Children show self-awareness and a positive self-concept.
Measure 1: Identifies self by categories of gender, age, or social group.

Indicator #4: Children show awareness, acceptance, understanding, and appreciation of others’ special needs, gender, family structure, ethnicity, cultures, and languages
Measure 11: Shows concern about fairness within peer group regardless of group differences.
It is left to the discretion of the teacher as to how they will incorporate these guidelines in the curriculum. I think that it is important to introduce young children to an array of cultures. I think teachers should go to the trouble to introduce Asia to young children because they are constantly and continually learning about the world around them. When it comes to teaching, culture has profound effects. It affects language and literacy, math, and all other academic areas. Through exposure to other people, languages, books, dolls, toys and games, art, music, and dance, children learn to identify with people of similar backgrounds, ethnicity, gender, and capabilities. They also learn how to appreciate differences and see how all people have common needs and rights, strengths and challenges. Developing both a personal and group identity are deeply important because they give children a sense of belonging and security. They also make children more optimistic about life and learning.

[Anonymous]

As far as I know, I do not know of any k-12 CA standards that require covering Asian culture. I'll be honest and realistic in saying that I could not possibly use this material from this seminar in the 3rd grade curriculum. I could definately use it for a comtroversial ethics issues course

[Anonymous]

As a music teacher, I see music and culture as interdependant. There is no culture or society known to humankind that does not have some sort of formalized musical tradition. I think that this, in and of itself inspires me most to learn about different cultures so that I may pass on that knowledge through my musical instruction.
Also, it is not possible to learn about a society's music without learning something about that society. Our music is such a huge part of who we are as people and cultures.
I want my students to be aware of the relationship between music and society. I want to use music as a method of teaching culture as well as other aspects of the k12 curriculum. For instance, Javanese Gamelan music is cyclic and can be graphically represented that way. By introducing a first grader to a gamelan chart and giving them the opportunity to "play around" with the form, the teacher now has the opportunity to introduce clock reading skills to his/her students using the graphic representation of gamelan.

[Anonymous]

We make unconcious decisions to include culture in our classrooms on a daily basis. The problem is that this unconcious behavior generally leaves out the much or most of the rich cultural heritage that is to be found in Los Angeles County.

Classrooms are NOT culturally neutral!

To start, the pictures on the wall speak to our cultural orientation: every period has a multi-cultural thread. The fact that we may think that it doesn't, may only be a reflection of our personal limitations.

In just the first two days of this class, I have learned so much about what can be added to the realia of my classroom, and about people that I interact with on a regular basis. My friends Donna and John Chang have a health food store, called "Foods of Nature" on Robertson Boulevard, between Venice and Pico Boulevards. They have two sons. Their married son has a son. Coincidence? I don't know.

The more we know, the more we can impart to our students in those "teachable moments"!

[Anonymous]

As an elementary Resource Teacher, I like to present material that my students can relate to. If they can associate something in their lives to what is being taught, I find that it is easier for them to remember the material.
I think it is easier for them to relate to stories of other familiy life, whether it is an Asian family, an African family, or a family from any culture. Family life is still an integral part of their lives; they are always relating stories of their families to me.
In other words, for the elementary school population that I teach, the family life is far more interesting for them than philosophy, religion, or politics.
However, through telling them stories of family life, they can also learn about other aspects of the Asian family (such as religion and philiosophy). So, the family life is a good place to start and gain their attention.
Miriam

[Anonymous]

I know that Asain Studies are covered in the Social Science Standards for Teaching in the middle school. I can help the other teachers by overlapping on their themes in history class. As a sicence teacher, incorporating Asian culture is something that will enhance student involvement, by increasing their interest. It would add another dimension to their work. If I presented a unit on mammals and also included information on the culture of the country and their view of the animal (ex. Tiger in India), this makes the facts about tigers come alive and more relevant.

Asain culture may be a personal touch that I can use in the classroom as well. Just by being exposed to me (a Chinese American), some students get exposed to Asain culture, whether we know it or not. I might as well bring ideas from the seminar to make the experience more meaningful.

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