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U.S. Students of Different Cultural Backgrounds
Stereotypes about cultural background abound. Assuming that every Asian American student is good at math, or that every African American student is an athlete or from an underprivileged background, leads to faulty expectations that are communicated to students in subtle ways, often only subconsciously. Before instructors form expectations about their students, it is important to view them (regardless of their cultural backgrounds) as individuals who may or may not have characteristics of the dominant culture.
Teaching style expectations are often different across cultural backgrounds. While it is impossible for an instructor to accommodate all teaching style preferences and still be true to a personal style, it is important to work to accommodate different frames of reference. Many students whose family traditions are rooted in the culture of such places as Africa, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and pre-European America exhibit learning styles that emphasize group cooperation, holistic thinking, a concrete rather than abstract orientation, a valuing of personal knowledge, oral over written tradition, and reliance on imagery and expressiveness to provide an affective component to learning. Instructors who recognize the strengths of these cultural orientations and provide opportunities for students to draw upon them not only further the learning of these students but enrich the learning opportunities for majority students, some of whom may share these styles and others of whom can profit through expanding their stylistic repertoires.
Instructors should take the time to get students' names right, especially those from languages other than English. It is also important to be sensitive to names of groups; for example, "African American" and "people of color" and "students with disabilities" are currently favored, at least in certain geographic locations. "Minorities" is objectionable to many who know that they either already are, or soon will be, in the majority in their state or country. The safest stance is to use currently favored term and to defer to a student’s preference if an alternate is offered.
Students bring to the classroom a knowledge of the achievements of their cultures and the traditions of their heritage. Instructors who incorporate these achievements in their curricula not only build on their students' sense of pride and self-esteem but also enrich the scope of knowledge available to all students in the course. It is important, however, for the instructor to avoid assuming that a student with a given cultural background is able or willing to serve as the representative of that culture when classroom discussions occur. Calling on an African American student to talk about slavery or a Native American to talk about life on an Indian reservation puts the student in a sensitive position, even if the teacher's motivation is student involvement. In other words, one student cannot speak or address the issues and concerns of an entire race or ethnic group.
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