"The Culturally Diverse Classroom: A Guide for ESL and Mainstream Teachers," Katie Brigaman

When I began reading this "article," I was a little put off by and worried about the sweeping generalizations the author makes about other cultures and their educational systems (to the point of tackling continents - not even countries). But then, at the bottom of page 11 (or is it 10?). Brigaman writes: "It is important to keep in mind that all students are individuals. No matter what the ethnic background, each student has needs that must be met. Stereotyping and generalizing the needs of students due to 'ethnic grouping' only leads to misrepresentation and misunderstandings" (10-11 or 11-12). Some of what Brigaman says after that seems contradictory and written (perhaps, at times, miswritten) confusedly. But nonetheless, an important point is made: while culture is important and certainly informs a student's needs and expectations, we mustn't be blind to students as individuals with their own unique situations, needs, responsibilities, and personalities.

Additionally, I enjoyed some of the contradictions about U.S. culture that arise from McElroy's observations. For instance: "Each person is responsible for his own well-being" paired with "Helping others helps yourself." So, I need to be responsible for my own well-being and expect others to do the same, except that I should help them... Also, "God created a law of right and wrong . . . As a society, Americans have continued to believe that the Almighty God created humanity . . . The separation of church and state values the idea..." And finally, "Almost all human beings want to do what is right/Human beings will abuse power when they have it." No wonder it's so difficult for immigrants to find their place here. These kids are being pulled between two ideals already, and here we go throwing around contradictions like they're confetti. McElroy also talks about how Americans value hard work (manual labor specifically) and recognize that one earns one's place on the fiscal and social hierarchy through hard work, not birthright. This must be difficult to understand for people who see our country through media, where we celebrate successes like Bill Gates, but where Paris Hilton is the real celebrity (through no hard work), where we put down factory and labor jobs as employment of a lower class in favor of medicine and law and finance and business (jobs to which we give prestige even though our nation really is built on labor).

So Brigaman is right. We need to recognize our students as individuals. Imagine if teachers tried to give us what we need using McElroy's summary of U.S. culture. We wouldn't know what to do; it'd be one thing today and another tomorrow! We'd all find human development tied to Adam and Eve this week and to evolution next. But when we see our students as individuals among a larger group, we can begin to understand how the group influences the individual and vice versa.