Valuing Cultural Diversity

ESOL students entering our classrooms face many challenges and adjustments. As we have seen they face positive or negative stereotypes by other students, teachers, and the school system. The longer they remain in this country and the more proficient they become in English, the more likely it is that they will face an identity crisis as they try to determine where they belong. Pressures from home to maintain their native language and aspects of their culture often conflict with the cultural norms of the dominant culture. Many ESOL students are also suffering the effects of war or persecution in their native lands. Others who came for economic reasons may be preoccupied by the need to survive economically, a factor which may take temporary precedence over school tasks. As teachers of these students, we must understand this process of cultural accommodation and our role as their teachers.

The article titled "Valuing Cultural Diversity" on pages 54-55 of your study guide gives further evidence for acculturation as a positive alternative to assimilation. Dr. Boynton states that "Educators face a complex challenge in working with students from various cultures. They want the students to maintain their sense of personal identity and self-esteem that is derived from the home culture. But they also want students to function in U.S. schools which require students to adjust to or even accept the strongest values of the dominant culture."

Think about one way that you as a teacher might face this challenge.

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