personal experience I got when we first moved to the US

personal experience I got when we first moved to the US

The choice of my topic was driven by the personal experience I got when we first moved to the US. I was worried about how my sons who I enrolled in elementary school, would cope in the new environment. As a parent, I knew they would face a great challenge, especially at the beginning of schooling here due to the language barrier. One day, I decided to pass by their school to check how they were coping in the new environment and before I got to the office, I saw younger son standing outside their classroom as the others were continuing with their science lesson. As I approached to enquire more, the teacher stepped out and explained how he was arrogant as a third-grade pupil not finish the assignment like the others. She was furious as she told me how my son looked down on the ground and murmured when he was asked to explain why he did not complete the work. The teacher said that it was disrespectful for a pupil to talk in a way she could not comprehend. She added that it was good that I passed by as I could talk some sense into him since this was not the first time he failed to complete the assignment. As the teacher was talking, I periodically looked at my son, who was looking at the ground most of the time. I asked him to explain this behavior, but still, he could not when the teacher was standing there. He feared her and could not tell that he had trouble to get friends as they laughed every time he spoke his broken English. When she went back to continue with the lesson, my son explained that the assignment was a group work, and since he did not have any friends, he could not complete the task. He was a boy with confidence at home and always spoke his mind, but this was different in school. Why was that?

As he was cheering up after seeing me, I stood closer to the classroom and paid attention to what the teacher was teaching the other students. I was curious to know why my son did not have any friends. My sons’ sitting position was at the back of the class, far from other students. The classroom was appealing, with bright colors, and everything was in order, except for my son, who seemed to be the odd one out. I felt like I had failed him as he had not told me about the lonely life he had in school. The teacher was doing most of the talking, and there was no student-student interaction, and even worse, I later learned that the moment they had student-teacher interaction was when they were asked to draw something or do assignments. For that lesson, the teacher was teaching about the states of matter and demonstrated everything. It was not long before the principal came by and talked to my son, to go back to class with a cheerful attitude and do better next time. The principal asked me to wait till the end of the lesson, and we would talk to the teacher together to know how to help each other. My sons’ confidence was slowly fading away as he did not have a chance to express his feelings and share knowledge with others at school. The group discussions were done once a month, and students were given the freedom to choose their groups. My son could not fit in any group, so he was punished all the time. In most science classes, he lost interest and could not concentrate even if it was his favorite subject. The result of that terms’ science assessment came out, and only four out of 22 students scored proficiently; this is only 15% of the class. My son was among those who failed and therefore, could not advance for the physical science unit.

After making my reflection on this incident, I learned that the teacher was frustrated. At the principal’s office, she explained how she had a rough time to teach students from different cultural backgrounds without parental support. She further insisted that her job was to teach but not to deal with behavioral issues caused by cultural backgrounds. Her comments implied that some students were unable to learn, and even her best teaching methods could not help in bridging the academic or cultural deficiency that her students had. Apparently, the teacher lacked self-efficacy as much as a good number of her students. My son was suffering as this type of teaching environment praises students who are compliant and punishes those who are noncompliant. This experience was evident that the quality of an instructor is one of the most significant factors that affect students’ achievement. Science was no longer my son‘s favorite subject, and until now, he has not changed the negative attitude. It was evident that the teacher lacked enough training on how to deal with challenges brought by cultural diversity in the education system. This insufficient training questions the teachers’ self-efficacy in dealing with different cultures and backgrounds and consequently affects the students’ self-efficacy. Diversity involves how people are the same and how different they are. Culture is one dimension of diversity that has not been embraced fully in many education systems around the world.