Mary Kempen

EDUP 520: Reflection Paper

10/10/14
The issue I struggle with most as a teacher regarding racial and ethnic issues is what to do when
the values of my students cultures are not just different but contrary to my own. As Darcys reaction to
the idea of permitting the use of African-American dialects for schoolwork reminds me, it is very difficult
to refrain from asserting that we as teachers know what is best for our students. (Darcy was concerned
that her students would not learn correct English if it were not imposed in the classroom. She thus
revealed that she perceived African-American dialects as lesser than a standard dialect that students
could use for work purposes.) Where do we draw the line between respecting the students culture and
being negligent of the students welfare?
As our course progressed, I found cases of this dilemma involving different ethnic groups.
Empowering Mong Students: Home and School Factors by Yer J. Thao (2003) alarmed me with a
statement by a Mong parent who was distressed that in the United States, the law believes in our
children and gives too much power to them. They help our children to challenge us. We cannot
discipline our children to the point where they can fear us. (p. 33). American culture interprets this
example of Mong cultural practice to be child abuse, and Child Protective Services removes the children
from these families homes. I do not believe that parents should use fear of physical punishment as a
means to discipline their children, so I wonder how I could connect with parents who do value fear as a
tool. How can this Mong parent feel welcome in an American school when the school personnel are
legally obliged to report signs of abusive treatment that is accepted in Mong culture? May I as a teacher
resist accepting some of my students families cultural beliefs or practices?
On the other hand, I do not wish to behave as do the teachers in Rebecca and Encarnacion
Garzas study Successful White Female Teachers of Mexican American Students of Low Socioeconomic
Status (2010). The authors of this article are noticeably annoyed at the teachers they study because
the teachers view their role to be that of extirpator of elements of Mexican culture in their students
thinking. The teachers believe that success in the United States is not possible unless students adopt a
set of values that stresses individualism and ignores differences. These teachers do not understand how
their students could perform as well as their white peers in elementary school and lag behind white
peers on standardized tests and achievement measures in middle school and high school, nor do they
express a desire to learn about their students cultural influences which might contribute to the
performance gap. The teachers see themselves as missionaries intending to save their students from
their backgrounds. I believe that teachers should be more respectful of students cultures than the
examples from this article suggest they are. Although I hope that all my students will succeed in school,
I would like to find a way for my students to retain their cultural values and also achieve academic
success. If these two goals are not compatible, as the white teachers in this study believe, then I prefer
that my students make the choice as to which goal to pursue.
To that end, in the classroom I believe the teacher should provide students with information
about choices available to them and the consequences of these choices. A Mexican-American student
cannot choose to complete high school and go to college if he or she is not aware of the path to get to
college, the career options that a college education offers, and the costs and benefits college education
entails. Mong students will not go on to choose an alternate mode of disciplining their children unless
they become aware of how other families discipline their children and consider the advantages and
disadvantages of cultural change. Ultimately, I must allow students to judge for themselves their values,
and this means that in the classroom, I afford them the maximum opportunity to express their cultures
in an accepting environment while also providing them knowledge about possibilities their cultures may
not know.
References:
Garza, R.E. and Garza, E. (2010). Successful white female teachers of Mexican American students of low
socioeconomic status. Journal of Latinos and Education 9(3), 189-206.
Thao, Y.J. (2003). Empowering Mong students: Home and school factors. The Urban Review 35(1), 25-42.