Tuesday, June 22, 2010
thought about today
I like Qualley's views on perspective - taking time to be willing to listen, think, and learn about others' cultures or lives even if you don't believe as they do. I have had students completely change their attitudes about a culture after listening or reading about them. For example, when I introduce Native American beliefs and living styles, many students think that it's funny or weird until they do the research and discover why Natives believed or lived as they did. Sometimes students do a complete 180 on what they had previously thought.
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Unfortunately, many of us make rash judgments about cultures or other nationalities we are not familiar with. We are exposed to misconceptions through movies, TV shows, and even music. And unless we purposefully remain open minded or make the effort to become familiar or do a bit of research about a culture, we remain ignorant or, worse, become bigoted and biased.
ReplyDeleteEileen, have you watched THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE? It shows what we do to make "others" like ourselves. I show the video when I am teaching a unit on tolerance. The kids are always outraged at what happened to Native American families. They always want to write a letter to someone. Some even do further research which leads us to FAREWELL TO MANZANAR. I do a teach a unit on tolerance and peace.
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