How to minimise student’s unconscious learning barriers
One year at school, I was called into the coordinator’s office and asked, “Can you describe the difference
between a horse and a donkey?” After visualising the two distinct animals, I spoke. Much to my surprise and humiliation, I was yanked out of my class and into English as a Second Language class with foreigners. How could I reveal to my zealous parents that the child they believed to be destined for university was a true disappointment? From that day on, I had an overwhelming fear of failure.
Over the next four decades, I experienced an erratic mixture of highs and lows. Highs when I achieved or succeeded, and lows when faced with challenges that forced me to reflect and awaken dormant skills and knowledge within.
A poster placed in the centre of my home reading, “The World Is Our Classroom”, has been my lifelong source of inspiration. In fact, the world has indeed been my classroom. Should you wish to connect with your culturally diverse students and make a positive difference in their lives, I provide six simple and effective habits.
Every classroom situation presents itself with learning opportunities. Aware that we are comfortable with things that are familiar, it is my worldly experience that we all suffer fear. Having worked as a multicultural coordinator, I have found teachers to sometimes be afraid of students that are different.
Have you ever had a negative teaching experience that has left you deflated, distraught or disillusioned? Have you found yourself setting goals but not succeeding? Do you sometimes wonder why you chose an educational profession?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions and you are prepared to accept and ”seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave”, here is a golden opportunity.
Working effectively with culturally diverse students requires a new starting point because no matter how many teaching years you have, it is vital that you embark on a fresh journey to self-awareness.
Allow me to congratulate you on a job well done. Congratulations! I’ve met far too many teachers caught in a cycle of negativity because they felt unappreciated. If you have doubts, dismiss them now. Shift from feelings of inadequacy to soaring high. Plato states, “The life which is unexamined is not worth living.” So be introspective and harness diversity as a learning resource.
The following six habits will enable you to become highly effective and help minimise any learning barriers students may unconsciously harbour:
Habit 1 – Believe in Yourself
Have unpleasant experiences tampered your spark? You can achieve your desirable outcomes once you believe in yourself and accept who you are and what you can do! Re-establish a trusting relationship with yourself and dance to your own music. Repeating “I AM” statements is a powerful way to generate positive energy that can filter into the classroom. For example “I AM equal to everyone and superior to none.”
Habit 2 – Communicate effectively!
Would you agree that effective teaching requires mastery in communication? Communicating effectively is the cornerstone of education and the key to effective cross-cultural communication is knowledge. Simple strategies such as active listening, using plain English, avoiding idioms and jargon, clarifying instruction and checking for understanding as well as being patient, are ways of avoiding cross- cultural misunderstandings. Remember that students with poor language and literacy skills often understand more than they can speak. Aspire to enhance cross cultural communication: it is the only ay to go!
Habit 3 – Be aware of labels
Once upon a time in my mind, I was guilty of labelling students. Where I thought some students might succeed, I also felt others would fail. This mistake is emphasised in the poem “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” After touching the different parts of an elephant each blind man concluded differently what the animal was. For instance, the trunk was believed to be a snake, whilst the tail was thought to be a tight rope. It is not uncommon to impose our own perceptions of certain situations.
Motivational speaker Wayne Dwyer reinforces if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Because our brains are wired to always find evidence for what we believe in, simply re-direct your thought process and be consciously aware of judgement or stereotypical preconceptions. Focus on the individual and not on what is assumed by what they say and do.
Habit 4 – Show Appreciation
Appreciation has the power to energise us on a cellular level because the hormone oxytocin is secreted in the brain during acts of appreciation, service, gratitude and emotional connections. What better way to counteract stress and reduce anxiety in the classroom than through fostering an inclusive learning environment, cultivating meaningful relationships, focusing on positive intention and paying attention to your choice of words. Make a habit of thanking students and give abundant praise as well as non-verbal cues such as smiling.
Habit 5 – Respect values
Regardless of race, creed or culture everyone is driven by values and it is this strong belief in values that inspires us to do what we do. Therefore it is critical to honestly reflect your attitudes and beliefs about yourself and others. Take the time to learn about your students’ background and values and you shall uncover the reasons why they can or cannot engage in class. As a teacher you have the power to make the impossible possible.
Habit 6 – Initiate New Action
Being busy is a habit that needs to be broken because it can waste valuable time and prevent learning. Do not confuse mindless activities with achieving results.
During a processionary caterpillar experiment, each caterpillar followed the one ahead, circulating around the pot’s rim. Around and around they went, and after a week they died from exhaustion and starvation because they hadn’t stopped for the food which was in the centre of the pot.
Become mindful of what consumes your time and take new action to improve your results. As an expert teacher, be the change you wish to see!