Why sustainable companies are better

It's been a while since I posted anything, but it feels good to be back.

Today I want to talk about sustainable companies, and why they are a better option for purchasing products.

First of all, there are thousands of companies out there, and it can be really hard to know which ones are good. Reviews online are always a good option when it comes to choosing what product is best, but nothing beats word of mouth recommendations. 

I remember when three years ago, in the middle of the pandemic, I had to choose a bank to open my first savings account. Some friends had told me about their terrible experiences with banks, with one of them telling me how her bank opened a savings account in US dollars without her knowledge, which she had to pay later with interests. I was terrified! Argentina doesn't have the most stable economy, and inflation has always been a problem in my country, so I knew I had to educate myself and ask for other people's experiences when they opened their savings accounts. 

Two of my friends told me they chose the same bank. These friends don't know each other, so there is no way they knew I'd ask both the same question. I did some research and found out the bank they told me about had its headquarters located in another country, which made me feel safe about putting my money in one of their savings accounts. Plus, they were a sustainable company, which is always important for me because I don't want to feel guilty about not taking care of our planet.

This brings me to my main point here: Why should you choose sustainable companies instead of regular, old school companies? Well, for starters, you are not just a number for them. You are a valuable customer, and they will get to know you before offering you a product. A couple weeks ago, I was finishing a lesson with one of my students, and my phone started ringing, Someone was calling me, an unknown number, so I was afraid of answering. Turns out it was one of the representatives of my bank, offering me a special discount on a new insurance product they thought I would enjoy. Talk about being taken care of!

Also, choosing a sustainable company means you are investing in the future, and in better options for yourself and future generations. I wouldn't want to be responsible for the terrible things big companies are doing to our planet, especially being a religious person and a follower of Christ. 

So, next time you have to choose between a regular company or a sustainable company, choose sustainable! I promise you won't regret it.

 

6/5/21; Week 7; Response to "Culture and Psychology".

 

Culture is the system of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that that form a distinctive way of life of people. Sometimes, the term is also used to refer specifically to the artistic, intellectual and other aspects of life. In this sense, culture is nearly synonymous with ethnicity, which refers to the common language, history, and future experienced by a group within society. 

Culture has elements that are obvious, like unique holidays or customs, but also features that are subtle or easy for outsiders to overlook, like beliefs about the nature of intelligence or about the proper way to tell a story. When a classroom draws students from many cultures or ethnic groups, the students bring to it considerable diversity. Teachers need to understand that diversity, and understand how students’ habitual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors differ from each other, and especially how they differ from the teacher’s.

How would you help students of different cultural backgrounds feel comfortable in your classroom? Let me know in the comments section!

6/5/21; Week 7; Response to "Differences in Manners".

 

How do you greet someone you meet for the first time? The answer to this probably depends on where you are. If you try an Asian bow to say hello to someone in South America, you will get a confused reaction. However, if you try to give someone in Japan a kiss on the cheek, they may become genuinely scared. As a result of globalization, the world has become more neutral in some ways, for example, the handshake has become the most normal way of greeting people in international formal situations. 

Topics of conversation that are considered taboo change a lot as well. Generally, in the Western world, asking someone’s age is  disrespectful, however, in Japan and Vietnam it is pretty normal. It’s no surprise when a Chinese person asks how much money you make either. In India it is very common to ask young people if they are married, and, if the answer is “no”, then they are not afraid to ask “why?“.

Regarding table manners, there are some things which unite most of the world. It is common on all continents to say something before eating, usually something like ‘good appetite’. Interestingly, one language where this is not said is English, in which it is more common to use the French “bon appetit”. One thing that most people would always consider rude is burping at the table, however, in China it is seen as a compliment to the cook.

In a classroom, our students may come from different cultural cultural backgrounds and have different manners. What can be rude to us, can be completely normal and acceptable for them. That's why as educators we need to be respectful and accept our students as they are. Instead of being quick to judge when they do something that doesn't seem quite right, we can ask them "why do you this? Can you explain it to me? I want to understand your point of view". By doing this, we will create a safe learning environment in our classroom.

6/5/21; Week 7; Response to "Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom".

 

What is Multicultural Education?

Multicultural education is not a task to be done or even an end goal to be accomplished. Instead, it is an approach to education that aims to include all students, promote learning of other cultures, and teach healthy social skills in a multicultural setting. “It is the present and future of education,” according to Shilpa Bhouraskar, who runs a business offering online courses to students worldwide. “Multicultural classrooms are a melting pot of learning,” she says. “Rather than a passive, one-way flow of learning from teacher to student, there is a brainstorming of ideas, stories, and experiences that enrich the educational experience in ways that are impossible in monocultural classes.”

Classroom Resources for Multicultural Education

Using different activities and games in multicultural classrooms is a great way to promote inclusivity and encourage students to share their heritage. It’s also a beneficial way for teachers to involve students in different styles of study to immerse them in their learning. Sharing about oneself within the confines of an activity is often much easier than being asked open-ended questions and being put “on the spot.” These activities can then provide a safe space for dialogue and serve as an entryway into more in-depth interactions later on. It also gives us the opportunity to get to know better our students and their cultural background. For example, some immigration stories where students have the opportunity to share how their family arrived to the country they are now and the struggles they went through.

What are some other ideas for activities on a multicultural classroom? Let me know in the comments!

5/29/21; Week 6, Response to "Attributional Tendencies".

 

Attributions are inferences that people make about the causes of events and behavior. People make attributions in order to understand their experiences. Attributions strongly influence the way people interact with others.

Researchers classify attributions along two dimensions: internal vs. external and stable vs. unstable.  The attribution theory states that usually the attributions people make about events and behavior can be classed as either internal or external. In an Internal, or dispositional, Attribution, people infer that an event or a person’s behavior is due to personal factors such as traits, abilities, or feelings. In an External, or situational, Attribution, people infer that a person’s behavior is due to situational factors. Researchers also distinguish between stable and unstable attributions. When people make a Stable Attribution, they infer that an event or behavior is due to stable, unchanging factors. When making an Unstable Attribution, they infer that an event or behavior is due to unstable, temporary factors.

When people make an attribution, they are guessing about the causes of events or behaviors, and these guesses are often wrong. People have systematic biases, which lead them to make incorrect attributions. That's why it is important that as educators we are aware of the tendencies our students may have to be able to better understand them and their point of view. As we do so, we will develop a good relationship with them and they will trust us more.

For you, why is it important to understand attrbutional tendencies as a Teacher? Let me know in the comments section!

5/29/21; Week 6, Response to "Personal Space Differences".

 

Personal space is the region surrounding a person which they regard as psychologically theirs.
Most people value their personal space and feel discomfort, anger, or anxiety when their
personal space is intruded. Allowing someone to enter personal space and entering somebody else's personal space are indicators of perception of those people's relationship. An intimate zone is reserved for close friends, lovers, children and close family members. Another zone is used for conversations with friends, to chat with associates, and in group discussions. A further zone is reserved for strangers, newly formed groups, and new acquaintances. A fourth zone is used for speeches, lectures, and theater; basically public distance is that range reserved for larger audiences.

Although it’s important that Teachers recognize the necessity of a strong behavior management plan, they must also be aware of how culture influences personal interactions. This is especially when we consider that Teachers often come from different cultural backgrounds than those of their students. Without an adequate knowledge and understanding of how culture affects student behavior, a Teacher might misinterpret a student’s actions.

For example, a Teacher is talking to a student. The Teacher comes from a culture in which it is considered respectful to make eye contact when being spoken to by an adult. Jordan, on the other hand, has been taught that making eye contact is disrespectful to adults, and so he looks at the ground when his Teacher speaks to him. The Teacher’s understanding of culturally based responses is critical to interpret Jordan’s intentions. If the Teacher does not understand Jordan’s culture, a seemingly insignificant action like looking at the ground could be misinterpreted as defiance, apathy, or lack of respect and could result in the Teacher administering a negative consequence. This is the reason why it is vital to understand cultural differences regarding personal space.

And for you, how are space differences considered in your culture? Let me know in the comments!

5/29/21; Week 6; Response to " Individualism vs. Collectivism".

 

What are the differences between individualism and collectivism? Individualism emphasizes individual goals and rights., while collectivism emphasizes group goals and personal relationships.

Individualism stresses individual goals and the rights of the individual person. Collectivism focuses on group goals, what is best for the collective group, and personal relationships. An individualist is motivated by personal rewards and benefits. Individualist persons usually set personal goals and objectives based on self, and they are very comfortable working with autonomy and not part of a team.

The collectivist is motivated by group goals. Long-term relationships are very important. Collectivistic persons easily sacrifice individual benefit or praise to recognize and honor the team’s success. In fact, being singled out and honored as an individual from the rest of the team may be embarrassing for a collectivistic person.

The generalized geographic clusters of individualism may be found in Anglo countries, Germanic Europe, and Nordic Europe. Geographic clusters for collectivism are often located in Arab countries, Latin America, Confucian Asia, Southern Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

In most cases, culture, and specifically the characteristics associated with individualism and collectivism, have some influence on learners’ and instructors’ behavior, attitudes, and expectations. For example, in classrooms with collectivistically-oriented learners, face maintenance and harmony reign supreme so that neither teachers nor students should lose face and as such, any confrontations or conflicts are usually avoided or formulated in a manner so as not to hurt or cause any harm to anyone. Conversely, most individualistic societies have weak face-consciousness where conflicts are brought into the open with confrontation in learning situations being regarded as salutary. Coming to terms with these cultural differences can be difficult for language educators. It is commonplace for most language instructors from Western and individualistic cultures to endorse a communicative and active learning approach in the classroom where speaking and engaging in discussions is seen as a vital aspect of language acquisition. 

How have you seen individualism and collectivism in your own life? Let me know in the comments!

5/29/21; Week 6, Response to "Differences in Emotional Expressivity".

 

Emotional expressivity is the ability every individual has to communicate emotional states through nonverbal movements and gestures, including through the face. The emotional expressivity can change depending on the biological gender, culture, personality, social conventions and fear of disclosure. 

• Considering this, it is important that we create a positive environment in our classroom where our students can express freely what they are feeling without the fear of being judged or misunderstood. As educators, it is vital that we encourage them to express their thoughts during our lessons and do our best to understand their points of view.
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• What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments! 

5/22/21; Week 05, Response to "Culture Miscomunication".

 A cultural misunderstanding occurs when something—a word, gesture, object, social context, almost anything you can think of—has different meanings in two cultures. Sometimes the misunderstandings get resolved, sometimes they lead nowhere, and sometimes they can escalate to anything from love to war.

Here are some of the most common cultural misunderstandings a person may have to face:

1 - Hand Gestures: Pay attention to your body language when  you are in an unknown company, especially if you in a foreign country. Sometimes, the hand gestures you make can have different meanings than what they had in your country.

2 - Embracing: Embracing is one of the ways to greet in most parts of the world, but not in all parts of the world. There are some countries where trying to embrace might get you embarrassed. For example, in East Asia it’s advised to keep a respectful distance. If you are in a Buddhist country, don’t touch their head because it is considered sacred and if someone touches it is a serious insult to them. In Qatar, men and women are forbidden to publicly embrace one another.

3 - Mind your feet: In many cultures, especially Muslim people, sole of feet are directed very carefully. If you are pointing your feet soles to someone it is like disrespecting them.

4 - No Shoes: There are many places in the world where you must take your shoes off before entering. Masjids and Temples are the common example for this. However, in some cultures you are not even allowed to enter in a house with your shoes on. In the South Pacific or some parts of East Asia, you must remember to remove your shoes before entering a house as a sign of respect and cleanliness.

5 - Using Words Carefully: Words can be sharper than a sword, that's why they should always be used carefully even if you are in homeland. On an international level, they can create a great deal of confusion and awkwardness. Sometimes, wrong pronunciation can cause misunderstanding and often one word may have different meaning in different cultures or countries.

As Teachers, we help students from different cultural backgrounds. This means that misunderstandings can happen, so we have to be very careful and be aware of how we act and what we say. We should create a classroom that is a safe place for them when we solve problems and misunderstandings instead of create them. 

Do you have any experiences with cultural misunderstandings? Let me know in the comments!

5/21/21; Week 05: Response to "Culture Differences Concerning Time".

 

There are two different ways in which cultures around the world perceive time. A monochronic time system means that things are done one at a time and time is segmented into small precise units. Under this system, time is scheduled, arranged, and managed. 

 The United States considers itself a monochronic society, and the same happens with north European cultures such as Italy, Greece, Spain, England, and the Scandinavian countries. John Ivers, a professor of cultural paradigms at BYU-Idaho, states that "in the market sense, monochronic people consume time." 

On the other hand, a polychronic time system is a system where several things can be done at once, a wider view of time is exhibited and time is perceived in large fluid sections. Examples of polychronic behaviors are typing while answering telephones, or taking notes while participating in meetings. Some polychronic cultures are Latin American, African, Arab, and Native American cultures. People that belong to these cultures are much less focused on the preciseness of accounting for time because they concentrate on tradition and relationships rather than on tasks. 

When I had the opportunity to live in the United States, I remember that I was very surprised to see that meetings and classes started on time. Being from a Latin American country, I was used to meetings starting 10, 20 or even 30 minutes late. I also remember noticing how Americans talked about time, using terms like "spend" and "waste". In Spanish, time is not something we spend, is something we have. 

These differences can affect the way we see students, and also affect how they see us as Teachers. It is important that as educators we respect and understand what every one of our students brings to our classroom. Understanding the values and assumptions a culture places on these temporal dimensions is essential to create policies that improve the quality of peoples’ lives.

How do you see time in your culture? Let me know in the comments!

5/17/21; Week 05: Response to "Culture Paradigms".

 

Cultural paradigms are at the basis of human thought, action and interaction. They are the cultural role-concepts that we use to negotiate our notion of self and our relationships with others in our everyday lives.

The nature of our existences makes it such that humans always exist within a social and

cultural context. We manage our individual lives and social relationships by way of our connection to ourselves and our connection to those around us. Our languages and cultures make communication and cooperation possible. Through our linguistic and cultural development, we create concepts which help us to navigate our personal and interpersonal lives. These concepts give us a sense of self and of self in relation to others. 

 

Having this in mind, it is important that as Teachers we are aware of cultural paradigms that are present in our classroom. Every one of our students has a different cultural and social background, and they perceive themselves in a unique way. As educators, it is our responsability to develop intercultural awareness to show empathy and help our students according to our needs.

Why do you think cultural paradigms are important in a classroom.? Let me know in the comments!

4/29/21; Week 02: Response to "Is the Great American Teacher Dead?"

The decision to become a Teacher is not easy. We must have a deep desire to help others improve, and we need to have a lot of patience with ourselves as we develop the necesary attributes to be a good educator.

Being a Teacher requires countless hours of preparation, good planning, appropriate teaching methods and the ability of get the students' attention for as long as we can. We also have to adapt our teaching to what our students need, incorporate new tecnologies to our lessons and make them both fun and interactive. Not everyone can be a Teacher, especially in another language!

I think that the "great American Teacher" is not dead. With dedication, love for our profession and towards others every Teacher can become great with time and practice. In his paper "Is the great American Teacher dead?", John J. Ivers mentions some of the qualities that every great Teacher must have. For me, the most important are:

•  Abstraction in speech and thought.
• A good delivery.
• Empathy.
• Generosity.
• It is important to tell stories and give examples.
• Jokes.
• Symbolic speech.

Something that I would add to that list is having a good relationship with your students. Every student is unique and learns at a different pace, and it is our responsibility as Teachers to get to know them well enough to teach them what they need in a way that is easy for them to understand.

I love being a Teacher, and I strongly believe that anyone that loves to teach and help others to learn has the potential to become a great Teacher.

For you, what qualities are important in a Teacher? Let me know in the comments!