Race, Culture & Ethnicity
This blog is designed to help you think critically about your own cultural perspective & its potential impact on tutoring
As you were reading the materials in Unit 7: Race, Culture and Identity, you were asked to think about the following questions:
How does your cultural perspective affect the way you read and write? The way you think about academic writing? Your values?
We want you to think very carefully about the answers to these questions.
Based on these answers, for reflection write about what you need to be especially conscious of as a tutor, given your particular cultural perspective, how it impacts your attitude to academic writing, and consequently how this attitude impacts your expectations of your tutees. In your reflection, write about some situations in your tutoring when students have made you aware of these particular perspectives, and as a result have caused you to suddenly rethink or back-track on your responses or approach to the tutoring session.
Based on awareness of your perspective, add a section on how you can work toward creating a “safe” or “brave” space for your tutoring sessions.
Note: Do not use real names for your students; refer to them as Student X or Student Y etc.
(I’m not really sure how to answer the first question because it’s hard for me to see how my cultural perspective has shaped my reading and writing. As a student, I’ve always kind of been on my own; the main things that have influenced how I read and write are my interest in the material, as well as experimentation with different writing styles to see what works and what doesn’t. I can’t say for sure whether my culture has shaped my writing and reading, although I do know that I’ve had a few teachers and professors who either helped me become a better writer by showing me how to write more clearly and concisely. As far as academic writing, I think that’s my definition: as long as you can articulate your ideas clearly, concisely, and with good, credible evidence, then that seems academic to me.)
As a tutor, I think it’s important to be conscientious about who my students are, that they may be coming from backgrounds and cultures completely different from the one I come from, and that not everyone is going to have had the same educational opportunities or experiences that I’ve had. Not all of them have had “good” teachers and some have even had traumatic experiences with mean teachers or professors who poke fun at the way they write. I also recognize that not all of my students are going to relate to me, as we likely come from different backgrounds, and that’s okay!
I remember taking a linguistics course during my undergrad years and learning about AAVE (African American Vernacular English), and when we went over it in class, it reminded me of my K-12 years when I had witnessed so many students of color being made to feel incompetent because they used AAVE instead of what most of the teachers considered to be “proper” English. Many of my students use a form of AAVE, both in their speaking and their writing, and I do try to keep in mind that it’s not necessarily an “incorrect” form of English as I learned from teachers growing up, but that it’s just another dialect of English. It’s not incorrect or correct, it just is; language is language, and as long as we can understand each other and express ourselves clearly, then I try to respect it.
I have a few ESL students who are delightful to work with, as they work hard and always come to each session willing to learn and feel comfortable asking questions if they don’t understand something. However, sometimes I’ve had moments where I realize how challenging and frustrating it must be for them to have to go through all the mental translations and then re-translate it all back into English. For those students especially, I try to be mindful of what I’m saying, how I say it, and I’ll pause and ask if there are any questions before moving on. I try not to go too quickly or too slowly, and I try to give them a few extra minutes to respond.
At the beginning of the semester, when I first began meeting with students in pairs and on the first day of class, I told my students that my virtual classroom is a no-judgement zone. I’m not here to judge them and I don’t expect them to know everything or be perfect; what I /do/ expect is that they try their best and be respectful of each other. I still hold to this expectation and I do encourage my students that, if they don’t understand something or if they’re struggling, they can always talk to me or reach out via email. I try to be positive, patient, and encouraging during each session, especially while helping them see and correct grammatical errors, and kicking off each session by asking how they’re doing/how classes are going also seems to help them feel more comfortable speaking up.
What a great reflection Ashley! I love the fact that you have told your students that the tutoring session is a judgment-free zone, so to speak. Having their ideas valued is important because if they feel shut down, then they are much less likely to engage with the assignments/material. And I also like the way you begin each session with a “How is life going?” question. Sometimes, I catch myself just jumping into the material in class without taking a moment to check in with them. Just taking a minute to actually ask a question of the class sometimes elicits information that is important to know about. This week, I am taking a bit of time to meet with students individually—I am hoping that helps me to understand why some have fallen behind with their work for my class.