TIGERP.R.I.D.

E
IDIREFLECTIONS(PRETEST)

ThorenBradley

Overview
Growingupinanextremelyruralareaandregularlyvisitingfamilyinthe
southern states, cultural intolerance has never been a foreign ideology to me.
Luckily,myparentswereraisedintheSanFranciscoBayAreaandexposedme
toagreatdealofdiversityandcultures.GoingintothisIDIassessmentIfeltquite
confident that the results of the assessment would display just how culturally
competentIwas.
MyIDIresults
Interestinglyenough,theresultsofmyIDIwerequiteeyeopeningandshowed
mejusthowmuchmoredynamicinterculturalcommunicationsare.Ifiguredit
relatedsimplytothetoleranceofothercultures,butreallythewholepictureisa
bitmorecomplexthanthat.

 ListedabovearetheresultsofmyIDIsurvey.Asyoucansee,myperceived
competenceisquitehigh.Iperceivemyselfasbeinghighinacceptancealmostto
thepointofbeingfluidlyadaptivetotheenvironmentssurroundingme.Finding
commonalityinotherculturesandbeingcomfortableshiftingonesowncultural
perspective characterizes the acceptance stage. Unfortunately, in reality my
culturalcompetencefallsinthesubcategoryofPolarizationReversal.Inother
words,Iamoverlycriticalofthecharacteristicsthatcomprisemyownculture.

Reflection
Whenpursuinganyprofessionthatrequiresinteractionwithpeople,itis
crucialtopossessboththeunderstandingandskillsettocommunicatewithothers
inaneffectivemanner.Whenworkingwithchildren?Amplifythistimes1000
becausethesechildrenareveryeasilyinfluencedandyouareultimatelyshaping
the quality of the world. On a smaller scale even, in order to develop and
effectively deliver content and curriculum, students are going to have to feel
comfortablewithyouasaleader.Myonlyexperienceworkingwithalargely
diverse population has been my 2 years in the University strength and
conditioningdepartment.Workingwithmanydifferentpeoplefromalloverthe

worldhasbeenablessing,andIquicklylearnedthatthelanguageofphysical
healtheasilycrossesallbarriersandsortofhasalanguageofitsown.
Iwassurprisedtoseehowbigofagaptherewasbetweenmyperceived
culturalcompetenceandmyactualculturalcompetence.Itwasinterestingtosee
thathavinganegativeconnotationattachedtomyowncultureisactuallystill
consideredlackingculturalacceptance.Thequantitativeresultsshowntomeb
Colleen weregreat.However,itis howshebrokeitdownandexplained my
qualitativeanswersthatprovedtobethemostlifechanging.Sheanalyzedmy
answers to a T. Explaining where my strengths were, like my strength with
findingcommonalitieswithothers.Shealsoexplainedmyweaknesses,likemy
intoleranceforotherswhoareintolerant.TigerPridewillhelpmetremendously
withmycommunicationskills.FirstandforemostIamextremelyaccustomedto
intentionallyportrayingmyselfasauthoritativeandtrytodemandrespectthrough
bodylanguage.ThisisnotgoingtoworkaseffectivelyinTigerPridebecauseof
theveryyoungageofthestudents.Youneedtofosterapositiveandcomforting
environmentinwhichchildrenfeeltheycanapproachyouwithquestionsand
input. Cleveland Elementary School is fairly diverse in race, and even more
diverseincultural differences.Becauseofthesevariables,theexperience will
surelyimproveeveryaspectofmypersonalandprofessionalskills.
DesiredImprovements

1) I would like to improve upon my body language and

approachability,andconveyabettersenseofpersonability.
2) Iseverelylackpatiencewiththosewhoarenotacceptingofother
cultures.Althoughitmakessense,itisimportanttolistenandhelp
changepeoplewhoareclosedmindedbecauseshuttingthemout
onlyworsenstheirdispositions.

3) Lastly, I would really love to learn how to use cultural

communicationtohelpstudentscommunicatebetweeneachother.
Notsimplyregardingmycommunicationwiththem.