Culture in the Classroom

Growing up in the valley, the only culture I knew was the Hispanic culture because I was surrounded by a majority of Hispanics. When I moved to Victoria when I was 9, I had a major culture shock. I was exposed to many different types of cultures. I didn’t realize other people lived their lives differently than I did. I thought everybody ate the same food, celebrated the same things, was close with their family, and had the same beliefs. I remember feeling so bad for one of my friends because she said she hadn’t seen her cousins in years and I’m used to seeing mine everyday. Little did I know, this is normal for some families.

Teaching culture in the classroom is very important because children do not realize that there are different ways to live other than their own. There are so many cultures in the world and it is impossible to teach about every one. Although, a good place to start would be to teach about the cultures of the children in your classroom. The children will get so excited when they are able to talk about themselves and what represents them. They will feel important and will not be ashamed of who they are. It is also important to make sure the children are open to learning about everybody else’s culture and be respectful. These lessons don’t even have to take up much time. It can be as simple as including small things throughout the day, such as saying words in different languages.

There are many resources for how to include different cultures in the classroom, such as:

· https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/Exploring-Cultures-in-Your-Classroom-Activities-to-Try1710.html

· https://busyteacher.org/7080-top-10-ways-to-teach-culture.html

· https://www.teachervision.com/subjects/social-studies-history/culture-diversity