3.24

            I was really shocked and found it interesting that some African Americans identify themselves with Blackness. I have never heard of that term before. I was also surprised by the fact that they communicate with each other by saying certain phrases and then they realize that they both identify with Blackness. I think I was most surprised because I cannot think of any phrases I would say to someone else that would identify myself with them. I cannot think of a phrase I would say to someone White that no one else would identify with. I think it is a cool way to communicate with others and notice that you both identify with the same people and probably culture and values. I think there are many White people or Hispanic and the list could go on that could identify themselves with some of the things that African Americans do, so I am not sure what the difference is with the Blackness identity.

            One big problems that is always present with the TESOL profession is cultural stereotypes. Kumar’s article talked about stereotypes associated with students from Asia, however, there are so many unfortunate stereotypes that these students pick up. As we have talked about before, they can pick up stereotypes from their families, friends, textbooks, teachers, the media, etc. It is part of our jobs as TESOL educators to avoid these stereotypes when teaching and to help the students steer away from any types of stereotypes because a lot of them are not accurate.

            I think an important task to think about in the classroom understands the backgrounds/cultures of different students so that you can incorporate how they learn well in the classroom. For example, in Kumar’s article he talks about how teachers are aware of Asian students culture, so they can help them learn in the classroom environment. I was kind of shocked to read the stereotypes Kumar had to say about Asian culture. I personally had never heard of some of them and was shocked to hear of such stereotypes. The Asian culture is perfectly capable of critical thinking. Everyone can think critically especially when they are asked to at school. It boggles my mind to hear some of these stereotypes and that they are still being “spread” and talked about by many people.

            I have strong feelings about stereotyping, especially in the classroom and with your students. I do not want to put any preconceived ideas in their head about what I think or know about another culture. A lot of stereotypes are rude, not true, or blown out of proportion. If you are going to teach students about different cultures, then you should be teaching them the real facts about it. Better yet, you could have students talk and teach the class about their own culture, so you are getting real facts. 

March 3

             I thought it was really sad and unfortunate that there are still textbooks today that stereotype based on the pictures they put in of different types of people. The one quote in Mendes article where Fatima said “…Here they don’t put a rich Black man for example who have a job and have a happy family…” (Mendes, 64). It is so unfortunate that some students still have to look at books that portray some people in negative ways. We are trying to teach our students about equality and that you should not stereotype, but how are we supposed to teach them these concepts when the textbooks they are using does just that? How are we as teachers supposed to tell our students that a published textbook is wrong in the way they portrayed people or an image in their book? Situations like this in the classroom can become sticky and difficult to discuss.

            Thankfully I have not experience this with my students in my clinical yet because they are only in kindergarten, but being in an ESL classroom, I am concerned that in their future they will come across issues/situations like this one. I think this is one issue that teachers should be prepared to discuss with their students. It is difficult to discuss these types of issues with students especially when they begin to hear stereotypes, but these are some of the best times to start a discussion with your class about why we should not stereotype; especially with ESL students.

            As discussed in Giaschi’s article, it is difficult or near impossible for an ESL student to challenge the materials that are given to them for their English classes. They are the “inferior” or underneath the teacher in the classroom, so they are not to question the texts they are given. However, many of them may feel annoyed or hurt by what some of the texts say whether it has to do with socioeconomic status, gender roles, images, stereotypes, etc. This can be another hard situation that may come up in your classroom, but as a teacher you should be prepared ahead of time for something like this. Also, students should not feel inferior towards their teachers, especially when something like this is concerning to them. You want your students to speak up and express how they feel about things, especially when it is something they may feel uncomfortable about such as, inappropriate texts or images in their textbooks.

            I think both of these issues are really important to discuss in your classroom especially when they come up while reading a textbook or a student has a question about it. These are not questions or situations that you should steer away from as a teacher because they could start some great discussions and conversations with your students. You should never shy your students away from participating or bringing up important discussions they believe are necessary to talk about.