Individualism vs Collectivism
It is helpful to differentiate how each culture works around others. I liked the video when brother Ivers mentioned that "what is considered an acceptable choice to make in some culture, might be considered a betrayal, possibly, in other culture". I agree with this statement because I believe all of us have lived this at some point in our lives.
After that, he started talking about individualism and collectivism. He compared Japan/Asian countries and the United States. Japan is an example of a very oriented group country; everybody have responsibility in the decisions they made as a group. In the other side, the United States is different in that aspect. It is important to have a BALANCE.
In the reading, The Myth of Chinese Super Schools; I was impressed with the comparison between the school programs. We may "believe" that our students are not progressing because they are not having good grades, but how does that affect the creativity of our students? What are we willing to sacrifice to have "better grades"? They have seen that this type of education may sacrifice creativity, divergent thinking, originality, and individualism. If we lose that, we are creating students that are only able to deal with predetermined content and prescribed skills. We are just preparing them to the tests, not real learning.
In conclusion, no matter where we are, "we need more globally competent, creative, innovative, entrepreneurial citizens—job creators instead of employment-minded job seekers".
What are you going to do as TESOL teacher to enhance your students creativity, individual strengths, passions and social-emotional development?
I really like the idea of not having grades! In my classroom we track progress but don't grade until high schoool. We encourage free movement, socializing and expression in every aspect of our curriculum and I think it is the absolute key to happy and successful people.
ResponderBorrar