I think that two of the best ways to teach about other cultures is through music and food. In different grades you can focus on different topics in other cultures (family dynamic, beliefs, rituals, dress, etc) but music and food can be incorporated from early childhood on, never getting boring.
Everyone can relate to music. Even if it's not their style, even if they think it's horrid, they can recognize it as music. Music and visual arts are the only two 'necessities of life' that experts can't explain through evolution. Music started as words, and art as pictographs, but their evolution into extravagant necessities can't be explained. Music tells a lot about a culture; the spirit, the shared values, the formality--all without words.
Food is another way to introduce other cultures. In one of the classrooms I worked in we had a new child from Japan, who spoke little English and was constantly made fun of for what was in her lunch box. We invited her mother to come in and talk to the kids about their culture, how what we see as 'gross' foods are their hamburgers and hot dogs, and they see those as our gross foods. The next day she came back and, as a class, we made hot dog sushi (rice and seaweed wrapped around hot dogs) and every one loved them; her lunch became the most coveted trade one could make.
I think that it is our job as educators to open our students eyes and minds to those that are different from what we think of as normal. Everyone has their own story, and each culture can teach us more about ourselves.
Image credit: http://www.dunwoody.edu/content/Image/Diversity/Diversity_Hands.gif
No comments:
Post a Comment