CROSS CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING

EDUCATIONAL ATTITUDES Diversity in education, participation in the classroom, the teacher-student relationship, dependent learning, the honor system, competition, the right attitude, career goals, American education, and the American Dream. EDUCATIONAL ATTITUDES International students, accustomed to their countries educational expectations must adapt to new classroom regulations in a foreign college or university. In one country prayer may be acceptable in a classroom, in another it might be forbidden. In some classrooms they must humbly obey their teachers and remain silent during a class period. In others, student may talk, eat and smoke during class as well as criticize teachers. DIVERSITY IN EDUCATION No two courses are alike in America because of the diverse method of teaching and non-standard curricula. State-funded universities have different requirements and expectations than parochial college. However, there are shared features in American college and university classrooms despite the diversity of educational institutions of high learning. PARTICIPATION IN THE CLASSROOM Participation in the classroom is not only accepted but also expected of the students in many courses. "Although there are formal lectures during which the students are passive, many courses are organized around discussions, students questions and informal lectures. Some professors prefer class discussion while others encourage student to question and challenge their ideas. THE TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIP Many teachers believe that an informal, relaxed classroom environment is conducive to learning and innovation. Students may have an easy-going and friendly relationship with their teachers and professors. Some teachers and professors, being in a position of authority, treat their students as equals, although these students are in a subordinate position. The teachers and professors may establish social relationship with the students outside the classroom but in the classroom they are the teachers and professors. Professors have different roles in relation to students. Professors may be councilors, friends as well as teachers. Students must realize that when a teacher's role changes, they should adapt their attitude and behavior. INDEPENDENT LEARNING Many teachers believe that the responsibility for learning lies with the students. The ideal student is considered to be one who motivated to learn for the sake of learning, not the one who interested only in getting high grades. Grade conscious students may become frustrated with teachers who do not believe it necessary to grade every assignment. Homework is sometimes returned with brief comments but with no grades. Even if a grade is not given a student is responsible for learning the material assigned. When research is assigned, the students are expected to take the initiative and to complete the assignments with minimal guidance. Professors will help the students who need it, but prefer that their students do not be overly dependent on them. THE HONOR SYSTEM Ideally the teacher-student relationship at universities is characterized by trust. The "honor-system" imposed by the teacher and the university demands that the student be honest in all areas of school work. Thus cheating in class, violating of the honor system may result in the student's failing the test or a course. The student may even be expelled from the school. COMPETITION Relationships between students in the classroom can be competitive or cooperative. There are courses where grades are calculated in relation to other students' scores. In these classes a grading curve is used. The students may be reluctant to share lecture notes for fear that their own grades will suffer. There are other reasons for competition among students, as a high grade is needed for entrance to superior high schools. In addition when facing a competitive job market, students may be judged on the bases of their grade point average and faculty recommendation. It's the student himself who is responsible for succeeding in this competitive system. Competition is one of the cultural values. Educational practices such as the honor system and the students participation indicate a respect for individual responsibility and independence. Alternative teaching methods show a cultural preference for innovation. THE RIGHT ATTITUDES A good physical setting and a balanced physiological frame of mind are necessary, but the most important thing is the attitude toward the study which stems from motivation. Here are some attitudes that will help you: Concentration: Don't play around and daydream "Hit the books" as soon as you sit down to your desk. Concentration is a human skill which can be learned and you have to work at it. A critical attitude through keeping an open mind is important when you read. Keep your mind sharp through a questioning attitude. Working as fast as possible is also important. The longer you spent poring over a point in the text, doesn't mean that you would absorb it. A constant flow of stimuli through rapid reading is the best way to catch ideas. You go through the text again very quickly (skim) and you will retain the main ideas much better than if you have plodded through the text. Learning is not automatic. One can get the skills for success only by conscious effort based upon proven experience. Students fail because they do not know how to study. Three factors that are necessary for success in school are ability (scholastic aptitude or intelligence), interest in school work or motivation and understanding of goals and efficient methods of study. CAREER GOALS Career goals are the base for a successful college experience. Once you have a clear picture of your goals, your study will fall more easily with a proper prospective. They will signify a way of acquiring skills, not a way of acquiring grades: Vocational guidance is given to students to help them understand the occupations open to them and know whether they can qualify for these occupations or not. In addition to this the students need to understand their own strengths and weaknesses, their likes and dislikes, their basic abilities before they make any final decisions about their careers. Any career demands special aptitudes roughly classifiable into the following: 1. required intelligence level 2. aptitudes for the kind of work 3. personal qualities needed for the kind of work. The student who knows what his aim is in college and how he plans to achieve its continuance in his life's work is known as "goal oriented”. He is the one who is on the road to success. AMERICAN EDUCATION Each country believes it has certain values which are important. It plans its system of education to insure the survival of these values for the next generation. As countries are different, so are their goals of education. The goal of America is to carry democracy forward into the future. There are five characteristics that set American education a part from other countries. They are: (1) Education for all, not for the elite (2) Decentralized control (3) Opportunity open to both sexes (4) A methodology based on the philosophy of pragmatism. EDUCATION FOR ALL Every child should go to school as long as he can benefit from the experience and wants to continue. This means that 70 percent of young Americans are in secondary school and that about 30 percent of college age are getting some kind of higher education. The Americans believe that the important task of society cannot be performed by an elite trained from an early age and drawn from a special class. Society as a whole must have the opportunity, because human potential is found not just in one class but throughout a population. School turns the spotlight on talent which might be hidden and allows the bright ones to rise in the economic and social scale. There are also laws against child labor. Today a child under sixteen finds it difficult to get a job. The government labor unions and industry have establish rules that keep those under sixteen in school. The school is where they belong. DECENTRALIZED CONTROL There are fifty independent school systems in operation. Schools are run locally, financed by local taxes and locally supervised. Americans distrust the growth of monopoly in any area. A SECULAR, NON - RELIGIONS BASE Church and state are separated. This is stated in the Bill of Rights "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise there of." This doctrine remains unaltered and there is no national religion to influence the schools. OPPORTUNITY OPEN TO BOTH SEXES Education should be open to both sexes. Although American women do not take as full advantage of their opportunities beyond high school as men do, it is not because these opportunities are denied to them. A methodology based upon the philosophy of pragmatism Pragmatism holds that the purpose of thought is to guide action and that truth is to be tested by practical results. Pragmatism is also related to the first four points and it is difficult for overseas students to understand how it applies to education. THE AMERICAN DREAM Teenage Americans are friendly and uninhibited with visitors. There seems to be no generation gap. This is because of the way they have been brought up at home and at school. Self-disciplined is important in American schools and homes. Americans of all ages tend to question orders, if they are doubtful about them. They will not obey blindly and if there is a crises and there is no one to tell them, they will use their own initiative. Education has a very honored place in American society and parents of every background and of all income groups send their children to the local high school. Americans believe that a good education will enable a child to achieve a higher standard of living than his or her parents. THE AMERICAN DREAM Parents are encouraged to share in the school life of their children and most schools have highly successful Parents-Teachers Association. Choosing and preparing for a career are of extreme importance to American teenagers, because the fear of the young people today is to grow up and find no job waiting for them, so they need no encouragement to work hard at school. Young people mature early in America. It is not always easy to tell a girl of fourteen from a girl of eighteen.