10/15/21; Week 5: Response to Culture Paradigms

 

What is a paradigm?

This is the first question I asked myself. How could I explain this term to others if I do not have a clear idea about it? Hence, I went to Google for a definition. On the online Cambridge Dictionary, I found this result: “a model of something, or a very clear and typical example of something.” As I understand it, a paradigm is a model we use to explain or interpret our reality and our behaviors, and it is modelled by our culture. Nevertheless, are our paradigms correct?

A Change of Mind

After watching the Ted Talk titled “Cultural clashes in defining beauty” by Delali Bright¹ I realized how wrong my cultural paradigm was about our bodies and the concept of beauty. As she did, I struggled my whole life with my self-image and self-esteem aided by others’ criticism and comparisons, besides of body-shaming. Even as an adult, I found it challenging to overcome these false models about what it means to be beautiful. I concluded I am definitely in the wrong place and surrounded by the wrong people. Well, I love my country, so it is not the place I was born in the problem here, but the concept of what a “beautiful” person means according to our culture. A few months ago I decided I am beautiful, no matter others’ opinions or ideas about it. I decided to start loving myself and appreciate what I can do thanks to the body I am in. I make the decision of never again allow anybody body-shame me or make fun of my imperfections. Why did I decide it? Because the concept of beauty varies according to the place where you are; therefore, if it is that different, then it depends on the person who is looking at you, not on you nor your physical appearance. In conclusion, it is not your problem what other people believe an “attractive” person is.

Why do we need to change our paradigms?

As a future Tesol teacher, I am worried about my own paradigms and how they could affect my teaching practices. Students come to your classroom from a wide variety of backgrounds, and you do not know what their cultural beliefs are. Therefore, you have to be careful about everything you do and say. Even a simple, innocent joke may offend any of them if they have a different concept of the things you are talking about. These cultural differences may be encountered even among people of the same nation due to social-economic backgrounds and education. For this reason, we should not underestimate this matter and be extremely careful about our words and actions at the front of a class. Our own paradigms might influence them for good or for worse, and they will impact our students in the same way. As I always say, we should not take things for granted or jump to conclusions. We should assess our students’ ideas and concepts about the things we want to discuss about to not offend or damage their minds and souls.

As I did, I found several of my students struggling with many wrong concepts and ideas on different matters. The question is,

How can we help them overcome these false concepts?

What can teachers do to address this topic from their teaching practices?

How can we help students change their own paradigms and raise awareness about their consequences in our lives?

 

References

1. Bright, D. (2013, November). Cultural clashes in defining beauty. [Video]. Ted Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/delali_bright_cultural_clashes_in_defining_beauty#t-242618