Report on Diversity in Local School System/Community
Report on Diversity in Local School System/Community
Culture of a society identifies the ways of communication and interaction among its members. Social structure, language, ways of communication, religion and values are the major elements of any culture. The Latin term “culture” means cultivation and perfection of something. Correspondingly, it is cultivation, perfection and creation of a person’s image. Thus, in the process of education a person develops cultural values. So, the process of communication of an educator and students with representatives of different nations and nationalities is an experience of intercultural and international communication.
A1. In the USA the main ideal is community that respects cultural diversity and provides equality for all cultures. Americans proudly claim that “their power is in diversity”. For the time being the USA is known to be one of the most culturally diverse countries. Among the demographics of the USA the most numerous is population of Hispanic origin. African Americans take the second place. Besides, there are also a lot of people of Asian and American Indian origin (Kaplan University, 2015).
Like many other schools North Ridgeville High School has a great amount of students of different nations (Nrcs.k12.oh.us, 2015). More than 12% of students are minorities. Among the most numerous representatives are Hispanic and students of two or more races. One may also notice a great amount of students of African American and Asian race. It is notable that cultural diversity is presented not only among students, but also among teachers. A1a. All of the demographic groups have common national trends that contribute to such diversity. First of all it is immigration. Many people move to the USA in search for better life. America is a country where dreams come true. That is what such immigrants think about this place. While some immigrants stay in the country, they give birth to children and, thus, the amount of culturally diverse students grows. Thus, the brightest examples are populations of Hispanic (the most numerous group) and Asian origin. African Americans have a very complicated historian aspect, as slavery. So, this particular racial group was formed by descendants of the former black slaves, as well as immigrants from Africa (Kaplan University, 2015). According to the statistics the amount of Hispanic population has increased from 12,5 % to 16, 3, Black population from 12,1 to 12,2 and Asian from 3,6 to 4,7 for the period since 2000 (Passel, Cohn & Lopez, 2011).
A2. Either staff or faculty has benefits from national diversity. For example, increase of cultural diversity in the North Ridgeville High School leads to the fact that students receive an opportunity of better understanding other cultures and realities. There are two major benefits the staff and students have. First of all, students receive an opportunity to study foreign language through communication with native speakers. Knowing of foreign language is always a strong feature of every student. At the same time one may find out more about the other countries. Getting to know new cultures one may acquire new knowledge, get new ideas and understand people better in general. Secondly, it is great to have educational staff of different nationalities facilitating the educational process for foreign students. Thus, they are capable to address for help, if it is necessary, and be sure that they would be correctly understood. As for the staff, first, foreign educators may effectively share his/her knowledge with other students. For this purpose, North Ridgeville High School welcomes the practice of hiring foreign educators. Secondly, it is a chance to draw attention to one’s culture.
The school suggests students to listen, accept and welcome the ideas of people who are different from their own. Thus, students are capable not only to find new friends, but also to get new experience. In the era of total globalization such cooperation is just priceless for the further development of the country. In such a way, either staff or faculty has benefits.
B1. There are some cultural types of communication used at the school. The first one is when a teacher encourages an open dialogue with students to minimize any cultural misunderstanding. The second one is when a teacher starts a monthly newsletter represented all the different cultures in the school to improve the cultural communication. The third one is when due to proper communication a teacher makes sure all students understand their expectations in a right way. Thus, teachers steadily work hard to eliminate any possibility of misunderstanding by means of giving their students the necessary knowledge of different races and culture. In North Ridgeville High School students are given space needed for communication, as well as appropriate instruments of communication. There are also a lot of materials on different cultures and realities available for all students.
B2. In North Ridgeville High School there are many students of Asian origin. Some students think that Asian students have insufficient knowledge of English language and that is why they are hard to be spoken with. African American students are sometimes considered to be hostile just because they are not used to show their feelings. Language barriers as well as misunderstanding of the human behavior often become a border for students’ communication. Though, the given school searches for ways to overcome the problem.
B3. Owing to the lack of knowledge of different cultures, a student may not understand the way of behavior or a joke of the other student. What is appropriate for one nation is unacceptable for the other one. One word may have different meanings in different languages. Gestures are also subject to misunderstanding. Some students may simply discriminate others just because of their misunderstanding of some facts or bad upbringing. Additional attention to foreign students may also lead to conflicts. Individual factors play a great role as well.
C1. There are numerous resources that help educators understand how to get over with cross-cultural communication. First of all, it goes about understanding of such difference. The second point is tolerance. Language barrier should be taken into account too. C2. There are numerous ways that educators may use for solving the problem of cross-cultural communication, namely Cross Cultural Negotiations available at the web site crossculturalstrategies.com. If necessary, an educator should find some useful information about the student’s nation and culture in the Internet for better understanding of his/her identity. Comprehensive planning would also be useful. One may also find useful information in the Guidance for educators of American Indian and Alaska Native Students (Ericdigests.org, 2015). C2a. According to the first source one may get necessary knowledge about the cross cultural communication along with general ways of overcoming this problem, as well as information on general principles of communication. The second one gives more specific information on reforms made for improvement of the educational process. C2b. Benefits of using the sources are obvious as they may significantly improve the quality of collaboration between an educator and student. By means of improving their cooperation one may also enhance the effectiveness of education.
References
Crossculturalstrategies.com. (2015). Cross Cultural Strategies » Communication. Retrieved 23 June 2015, from http://www.crossculturalstrategies.com/category/communication/page/2/
Ericdigests.org. (2015). Comprehensive Planning: Guidance for Educators of American Indian and Alaska Native Students. ERIC Digest. Retrieved 23 June 2015, from http://www.ericdigests.org/1997-2/alaska.htm
Kaplan University. (2015). Cultural diversity in the United States – Kaplan University. Retrieved 23 June 2015, from http://www.kaplanuniversity.edu/public-service/articles/cultural-diversity.aspx
Nrcs.k12.oh.us. (2015). NRHS Home. Retrieved 23 June 2015, from http://www.nrcs.k12.oh.us/nrcs_highschool_home.aspx
Passel, J., Cohn, D., & Lopez, M. (2011). Appendix: Additional Charts and Tables. Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project. Retrieved 30 June 2015, from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2011/03/24/appendix-additional-charts-and-tables/
