My name is Linda Carlos Ruiz. I’m a 36 year old teacher from Finland. I live in Kauniainen, close to Helsinki and I work in a primary school in Vantaa.  I think a lot about the big challenges the world is facing and how I can do something to help the situation. Massive migration in the world is a reality because of the poor conditions people are living in in third world countries, and I think it is our duty as human beings to help people who are forced to migrate as best we can. As teachers we are in a key position to promote intercultural competence and respect for different cultures.

 I have a smartboard and a document camera that I use on a daily basis. We have 5 tablets in my classroom, which the students often use to translate, to look for pictures and for different kinds of learning games. Learning games are great for getting lots of practice and widen your vocabulary. The children also love Kahoot-competitions.

 My job is mostly about interacting with students and parents from different cultures; building relationships and bridging cultural differences through those relationships.  I feel that good home-school communication is essential for the child’s well-being and school-success. Establishing a good relationship with the child’s parents requires an open-minded and curious outlook and also appreciation and respect for the culture the family comes from. 

1. We have to be willing to step out of our comfort zone as also mentioned by Alicia and Erika. We have to be willing to try new things and remain curious and open-minded.

2. We have to be willing, and also make time, to really listen to our students. This sounds really easy, but it’s not. To really listen you first have to have a relationship with the students where they feel that they can trust you and they can talk to you. 

Building this kind of trusting relationship takes both time and effort. It also involves some points already mentioned by several in the padlet: 

3. Creating a good and peaceful atmosphere in the class. You have to create an environment where everybody feels accepted and welcome and the student’s don’t have to be afraid of making mistakes and they feel that they can be themselves. This also means dealing with any conflicts that may arise among the students in a manner that really shows you care and that every human being is equally valuable.

4. l strongly agree that a very close school-home cooperation and parental involvement is essential for every child but especially for immigrant students. The teacher can’t hesitate to contact the parents even about things that seem small. This can be difficult if the teacher and the parents don’t have any language in common, but as an interculturally competent teacher you can’t let this stand in your way. You just have to think positively and believe that you can work it out somehow and show respect for the parent and their culture, even if you don’t agree with every aspect of their culture.

I think the most difficult part of being an interculturally competent teacher is knowing yourself. I think that is also a life long journey. But on the other hand, if you struggle with this yourself, then it is easy for you to put yourself in the shoes of your students. All young people struggle with identity issues. But when it comes to immigrant children these identity issues appear much earlier. As a teacher you have to able to support the students in their search for their identity. 

 

I also agree with Alicia that you have to strengthen the group. Make them work together. Collaboration is one of the most important skills children need to learn. When they learn to cooperate they also learn empathy. As Alicia, I also believe that empathy can be taught, even if it takes a lot of practice for some. You have to actively teach the children to think about others. Different kinds of group task where the students have to work together are great for this. You have to strengthen the group and make them work together. This also generally has a positive effect on the atmosphere. Also movies, stories and drama are good ways to teach empathy.

 

I also think that kids have to learn how to express their opinion. With older students writing and different kinds of debates and discussions are good ways to do this.  Students need to learn dialogue and they have to learn that it is acceptable to have different opinions. Like Erika said: we have to accept that we can’t always understand or change the way someone thinks, and we have to accept that”.

You are a reflective practitioner who is open to trying out new things to ensure the diversity of your students is valued and recognized in your teaching approaches. You make the learning process relevant to your students by adapting resources or providing examples that reflect the student’s experiences. You try to integrate cultural diversity as a topic in your teaching beyond prescribed moments in the curriculum.” 

 All this sounds good and well… but… I want to know how to improve myself. I want to know how to get better. That’s why I’m taking this course (and others too). Almost daily I feel inadequate, like I should do more, and better. I just don’t know how… Do you others have this same feeling?

 Reflecting on my own practices isn’t always so nice… Sometimes it makes me feel lousy… Sometimes I just ask myself, what the hell am I doing? How could I do this better…? The problem in my classroom is the very large differences in age and in knowledge. Most lessons I would just have to duplicate into 8 to be able to help everyone efficiently. I think I don’t use enough group work and dialogues and discussion. But the problem is that with most students I don’t have any language in common so the communication is limited to body language, acting, and a few words and phrases. This sets a lot of limits. Team work is possible among 2-3 students, for the rest it’s just unimaginable… 

 

I’d like tips and ideas on how to involve everyone in teamwork when the students don’t have any language in common. Neither with the teacher nor with each other. 

I think it’s very important for all teachers to know their students. You have to know them to able to personalize the learning and to understand each other. Knowing what languages the students speak is a very important part of that. I could not believe my ears when Erika told me that there are teachers who don’t know what languages their students speak! As a teacher you have to be interested in your students and in getting to know them isn’t that one of the first questions that you ask…? I agree very much with Alicia when she said that we teachers need to embrace diversity and show the students that all languages are accepted and valued! It is not respectful toward the student to prohibit them from speaking their language in school. I think it’s extremely important to make the students feel proud of the language competences they have! When we strengthen their self-confidence and make them feel secure and proud of whom they are, they are more open towards learning a new language.

I agree also with Erika that it is important that the teacher take enough time to make sure that everyone has understood what he or she was trying to explain. It’s much more important that everyone learns the subject thoroughly than it is to hurry on to new areas of knowledge. I also think the students should be allowed to use whatever technology they have available (for example smartphones) to help their learning.

Padlet comment: Both videos were great but that second video was absolutely wonderful. I almost got tears in my eyes. What a wonderful school were the staff really is committed to doing everything they can for the students. I loved the ideas of the artifacts and the fabrics. I will definitely try that! I agree with Marco from Germany about the scaffolding. I usually help every student make a subject specific list of word translated into their own language when we start a new subject or theme. I also always keep the doors open for the parents. I think it's very important that they feel welcome and that they can come and talk with me whenever they need. I also try to make the different cultures show in the classroom to make the students proud of their own culture.

 I absolutely loved the video from the British school. It was full of wonderful ideas and tips. I loved the decorations they had made with fabric and I’m going to try something like that too. Making the school look and feel welcoming is very important. The head teacher was right on the spot when she said that “the school should reflect the community in which it works”. How they had managed to open up the doors to the parents was amazing, as was the learning library they had invented. Truly an example we all can learn from. 

I think that creating a good atmosphere and a sense of belonging for all the students is a school-wide effort and the head-teacher has the most important role. It’s a very difficult thing to do alone. I would like to get more tips and information on how to involve teachers who are not so interested in cultural diversity.

As for the class-culture and class identity I think it is a very important, but not so easily achieved, goal. I agree that it takes both time and effort. I have tried this year to create a good class-identity, but I am not totally happy with the results. The biggest problem in my class is that the students who speak Russian create their own little group and it’s difficult for them to make contact with the rest. I’m going to try different things to brake up this group, like luch-time partners that change every week. 

I liked Alicias tips very much and im definitely going to try some of them also. I loved the class-motto and I have been thinking of the wattsup-group also, but since the children in my class are between 7 and 12 years old I have been hesitating.