Cultural Contexts The cultural lens encourages us to recognise cultural practices and objects, ideas and beliefs in ourselves and in the people we work and for. It also prompts us to to see that we operate within particular cultural context, and that the institutions and buildings we operate in, and the systems and procedures we promote, are cultural objects in the own right that should be analysed for the way the encourage certain ways of thinking and discourage others. Culture is not merely a question of ethnicity, but also beliefs, spirituality, age, gender, and sexual orientation. Using a cultural lens can help us to remember that the assumptions we make, based on our culture, may looked upon as very strange by people from other cultures. Therefore we should be very attentive to the cultural assumptions we make in our day-to-day practice. (Shaw, 2013, p. 6-7)
I can totally relate to this aspect of contextualising my practice. As an older, gay, white, female living on the other side of the Waitemata from my school - I am a cultural individual in my school - in the broadest sense. I came to my present school with a number of different mindsets from those which existed there. Some have (thankfully) changed and some I have assimilated from the dominant culture of the North Shore - but many of my own remain and are naturally affected by my day to day practice - much as I affect those around me. I have raised awareness of diversity. I constantly challenge the older ways of thinking about our mix of students, modelling not using stereotypes and asking WHY procedures are not questioned when they dont take into account individual differences in culture, background, inclusion....
I can only be aware. I can listen, I can change what I can. I can promote equality at all times and I can accept where others are coming from with their cultural lenses - but it is my responsibility to enable others to do the same. It is my job to enable others - particularly my students to see things with other lenses at times.
I think this has been encapsulated by my feeling that I am no longer the 'sage on the stage' in my practice - but I am endeavouring to become 'the guide on the side' - facilitating learning rather than proving myself as the disseminator of all useful information. Sometimes this frustrates my students. Sometimes it would be easy to TELL them what they need to do to get an Excellence grade - but it's not teaching. They are not really learning. If they have to DISCOVER what they need to do then they are learning. And they will retain that information better as it will relate directly to them - if I have done my job well.
I can totally relate to this aspect of contextualising my practice. As an older, gay, white, female living on the other side of the Waitemata from my school - I am a cultural individual in my school - in the broadest sense. I came to my present school with a number of different mindsets from those which existed there. Some have (thankfully) changed and some I have assimilated from the dominant culture of the North Shore - but many of my own remain and are naturally affected by my day to day practice - much as I affect those around me. I have raised awareness of diversity. I constantly challenge the older ways of thinking about our mix of students, modelling not using stereotypes and asking WHY procedures are not questioned when they dont take into account individual differences in culture, background, inclusion....
I can only be aware. I can listen, I can change what I can. I can promote equality at all times and I can accept where others are coming from with their cultural lenses - but it is my responsibility to enable others to do the same. It is my job to enable others - particularly my students to see things with other lenses at times.
I think this has been encapsulated by my feeling that I am no longer the 'sage on the stage' in my practice - but I am endeavouring to become 'the guide on the side' - facilitating learning rather than proving myself as the disseminator of all useful information. Sometimes this frustrates my students. Sometimes it would be easy to TELL them what they need to do to get an Excellence grade - but it's not teaching. They are not really learning. If they have to DISCOVER what they need to do then they are learning. And they will retain that information better as it will relate directly to them - if I have done my job well.