Diversity Talk 2022

​1- hour lesson by Marina Brzostoski, CTE Multilingual Learners Teacher

​Diversity Talk CEHS

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Learning Goals:

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• recognize and use the language of cultural and linguistic diversity;

• start thinking as a culturally and linguistically responsive classmate, co-worker, and preschool teacher.

Cultural Diversity

1. Please do not eat it YET.

​2. Please choose one even if you do not want to eat a munchkin.

​Choose a munchkin !

1. Why did you choose this type?

​2. Is your munchkin better than other students' munchkins and why?

​Next: sit at a table with people who chose the same kind of treats.

​diversity

​In your small groups, discuss:

1. Please do not eat it YET.

​2. Please choose one even if you do not want to eat a donut.

​Choose a donut !

other languages

​Is this a diverse group?

​How do you feel when you see/hear words in other languages?

​Linguistic Diversity of this group

How many languages do you speak as a group?How does it make your educational experience in this program more powerful?How does it make it more difficult?

​What is the official language of the United States?

​Have you ever seen or eaten food from another country, such as dried squid or fried crickets and think of it as weird and gross? This is an example of ethnocentrism! That means you use your own culture as the center and evaluate other cultures based on it. You are judging, or making assumptions about the food of other countries based on your own norms, values, or beliefs. Thinking “dried squid is smelly” or “people shouldn’t eat insects” are examples of ethnocentrism in societies where people may not eat dried squid or insects.

​Ethnocentrism

​My example:

utensils: which is better- forks and spoons or chopsticks, or no utensils?

​Can you think of examples of ethnocentrism?How can ethnocentrism affect our school lives?

• having prejudice to other cultures

• evaluating everything based on their standards

• excluding people from other cultures in their daily life.

What if:

​

• We did not judge a culture to our own standards of what is right or wrong, strange or normal.

• What if we tried to understand cultural practices of other groups in its own cultural context?

  “Fried crickets are disgusting! ” VERSUS “Why do some cultures eat fried insects?”.

Small group discussion:

​Food choices

Personal Hygene

Personal space

Punctuality ​

Eye contact

Gender roles ​

​How may these categories differ in various cultures?

​Vocabulary Review:

• diversity

• culture

• linguistic diversity

• assumptions

• ethnocentrism

• norms

• values​

• prejudice

• exclusion

• equality

• ​stereotypes