IdentityTeachers possess enormous responsibility inside their classrooms. They are entrusted with the job of teaching children skills that they will need for their futures. In order to do their job well and with success, teachers must be prepared to teach in all kinds of environments with different types of situations. A teacher must take into account all of the student’s different learning styles, how quickly or slowly a student takes to understand a certain subject, and nowadays, a teacher must understand and adapt to how a child was raised and what culture they grew up in. In the article, “Teaching Middle School Students with Diverse Cultural Backgrounds“, Walter Callahan, discusses different techniques and strategies when teaching a diverse group of students.
In order to teach students, a teacher must understand where they come from and what their beliefs are. Callahan worked in Florida so the article mainly focuses on Hispanic and Haitian cultures. He writes that Haitian and Hispanic cultures might not be accustomed to sitting at individual desks or thinking critically and independently. He also states that in Hispanic cultures it is considered polite to arrive late for an event. This obviously would upset a teacher who does not know this because those students would not think that they were doing anything wrong by attending class tardy. If a teacher were to reprimand the students or mark down their grades, they are more than likely to be confused and not comprehend.
