Differences and Similarities

Teaching in a Diverse World

Differences

• No matter who you are, how you define yourself, or what culture you came from, you will be teaching people who are different from you.  

• There are many social, experiential, cultural, physical, intellectual, socio-economic, and so forth forces active among people such that everyone is "different."  Also, every person within a group that has been societally defined is different.

  

Every human being thinks...

DIFFERENTLY

Logic

Pardon the ancient reference...but Mr. Spock was all about logic.

What makes sense and is logical varies from person to person by reason of both outside forces and internal tendencies.  

An example: Logic and Economic ClassRuby Payne (A Framework for Understanding Poverty) argues that each economic class has a culture that is largely invisible to itself.  

Part of the difficulties we face as educators is the potential for misunderstandings because of economic class differences.

Are people poor because they have a deficient culture?  No.  The “culture” of poverty, according to Celano and Neuman, is a “rational response” [aka logical] to the conditions of poverty—in other words, people who deal with unmitigated poverty react in certain ways and these ways are reasonable under the circumstances.  

For example, story telling

Payne points out that people from different classes tell stories in different ways and for different reasons.

In wealthier homes that use the language of schooling, stories are told chronologically or they move directly toward a point.

In homes that use nonacademic dialects, stories are told for the purpose of entertainment or to reinforce a relationship between speaker and listener.  When you have little or no money, relationships are your only security, so you reinforce them all the time.  You need friends who will take you in if you get evicted or who will lend you money when the car dies.  Therefore the stories are told not from “beginning to end” chronologically but the most emotionally interesting aspect is usually presented first.  

Without knowing about different narrative structures (storytelling conventions) people from different

economic classes might misunderstand each others' stories.

Doctor:• Uses

academic language

• Expects stories to be told in chronological order

• Feels impatient when patient appears to talk without an apparent point

Patient:• Uses

nonacademic dialect

• Storytelling is primarily about relationships, not getting across information

• May not know how the doctor wants medical information to be presented

Lots of room for misunderstanding,

frustration, and disrespect.  Yet within each culture their form of storytelling has logic.

Time

Perception of time is another area in which there can be differences between individuals and groups of people.

Two understandings of time...

Clock time

This is academic time; certain events begin and end at certain times, no matter what is happening in terms of people's emotions or the time it takes for someone to express him or herself.  It is important to stay aware of what time it is so you can meet all your obligations.  This is logical because people have responsibilities to meet and clock time allows you to accomplish these efficiently.

Experience time

Events end when they are ready to end (emotionally, socially, etc.).  Don't go onto another thing until this thing has ended.  It is rude to end an event before participants are ready to end it.  Clock time is secondary most of the time.  This is logical because relationships with others is really important and fundamental to survival.  Experience time expresses respect and caring for others.

Crossing time boundaries

Individuals are not bound by the approach to time they were raised with.

Individuals with an experience time background can learn how to deal with clock time through jobs and other kinds of interactions with clock time institutions (schools, doctors' offices, etc.).

Individuals with a clock time background can learn to operate in experience time in situations where that is the norm.  This could include visits and social interactions with individuals who are experience time-oriented.  

Time

Yet, when people from one time form approach people from another time form, many misunderstandings may arise.

Both sets of people can feel disrespected.

Experience time people feel disrespected when cut off due to time constraints.

Clock time people feel disrespected when experience time people are "late" (because they were involved in another event that ended when it ended).

Both approaches to time have benefits.  But in order to avoid feeling disrespected and reacting negatively because of that perception of disrespect, it is important to know about these two ways of thinking.

Factors significant to thinking

This is not information to memorize.  It is information that shows you why people may be doing things that may not make sense to you.

Factors

Ability/disabilityEthnicityCulturePolitical eventsHistorical eventsReligionSocioeconomic classCharacteristics of inner life (e.g., neurological effects on thinking)EducationLanguageDialectParentingCommunityEmotional characteristicsFamilySpecial talentsLocal geographyLife eventsHobbies, interestsDevelopmental stage

There are many factors that contribute to how a person thinks.  The following slides will cover a few of them.

People can choose to change how they understand things, particularly when they get more information on why something is as it is.

When you initially meet someone and you don't know about that person, hold off judgment until you understand their reasons for doing what they do.

Special talents

Whether a student is excellent in gymnastics, playing a musical instrument, doing advanced math, doing advanced scientific research, etc., these students think differently from those who do not have an all-consuming special talent.  

Students with a strong talent are going to be spending most of their free time practicing and/or working in the area of their talent.  As a result, school work may seem irrelevant... unless... the teacher decides to have this student learn the curriculum using the talent as a spring board.  

It is logical in the minds of these people to spend hours and hours doing one thing and it may be difficult for them to understand people who don't do this.

Emotional characteristics

Mood variances can dramatically affect people's thought content:

For people with anxiety, safety tends to be a major priority.  Ignoring, or worse, denigrating, this priority creates a huge emotional barrier to learning.

Depression makes most activities seem uninteresting or as if they are too much effort.  They may have a difficult time choosing to engage in something.  They may also have a sense of helplessness--"nothing I do ever works."    

People in a manic phase tend to overestimate their abilities and capacities.  In this phase, they feel capable of doing anything and everything.

People with anger issues tend to interpret other peoples' actions in relation to themselves, assuming that other people intend to do wrong/insensitive/rude things when the person with anger is not even part of another person's thought process.  They believe that they have a right to control others.  Therefore when someone doesn't do what this type of person wants, it is logical for this person to force the issue.

Inner LifeThe characteristics of a person's brain can have a profound effect on one's thinking.  Here are a couple of examples:

People on the autism spectrum are often very sensitive to how clothing feels.  Something that might be mildly annoying or not even noticeable to those not on the autism spectrum may be impossible to live with for those on the spectrum.  For example, cotton clothing is very soft, but clothing that has other fibers (spandex, polyester) has a rougher feel.  It is logical, therefore, for anyone who has this kind of sensitivity to feel completely frustrated if the clothing does not feel right.  

People with dyslexia often have normal eyesight and hearing but then the brain processes communication-related information from the eyes and ears in an untrustworthy manner--letters jump back and forth and sounds don't sort out into meaning all that easily.  They can experience huge frustration when they don't have clues in advance about what to expect or when they are made to feel dumb because they have to keep asking questions in order to understand what is being said.  When others are aware of this and they are willing to give the person some cues as to the topics being discussed and are willing to try two or three different ways of explaining something without making it obvious why they are doing this, the person with dyslexia will feel more comfortable.  

Developmental stage

Abstract stuff, such as mathematical algorithms that have not been experienced concretely, is complete nonsense to a person who has not reached formal operations (Piaget).  

It's normal to be extremely interested in one's peers and their reactions during adolescence.  And it is therefore logical to consider what one's peers would think when contemplating doing something.

Sometime during the middle of life, people often get much less interested in doing things for no apparent reason, such as busywork or letting someone else control their learning.  It is logical for these folks to resist something that feels like b.s. 

ParentingThere are four types of parenting:  authoritarian, permissive, neglectful, and authoritative.  

Authoritarian parents attempt to control their kids excessively. Children often respond by becoming fearful and unsure or by being rebellious.  What makes sense to a person with this background is either to avoid making people in authority angry or to exercise control in the way of one's parents.  

Permissive parents want their kids to love them, so they don't say "no."  It's logical, then, for kids raised by permissive parents to assume that they have the right to do what they want regardless of others.  They may not be able to set and complete goals for themselves.  

Neglectful parents might not provide basic needs (food, shelter, etc.) and/or they are not emotionally  involved in their children's lives.  Neglectful parents do not know what is happening in their children's lives--even things that are potentially devastating.  Therefore, they don't protect their children.  Children raised in this type of home may feel angry as adults because they did not get what they needed as a youngster.

Authoritative parents provide their children with love and limits.  These parents are fair and they acknowledge their children's feelings.  Children from this kind of family are often successful as adults because of this strong background.

Parenting

The idea of learning about the four types of parenting is not to excuse people from bad behavior.  

Instead, people raised in the various types of households may need more information in certain areas.  For example, children raised in a permissive home probably need more information and support in the area of goal setting and achievement.  Children raised in a neglectful home may not realize that other people can help them accomplish tasks and may not feel worthy of others' help.  Children raised in an authoritative home may assume that other people have been raised in a similar type home and then expect other people to be successful and confident.  Children raised in an authoritarian home may try to control others inappropriately or may not be able to stand up for themselves.

The upshot

Many factors contribute to how a person understands the world.  Most of us have a combination of factors both inward and outward that help to create our basic thinking.  

Being aware that all people think differently can help you to understand your students and your colleagues better.  If you know that another person thinks differently than you, then you can get the clues you need to "walk in their shoes" in order to understand why a person does what he/she does.  To keep relationships positive, it is really important to assume that every person has reasons for what he/she is doing and that those reasons are sensible to that person.  Hold off judgment until you understand what is happening and why.