Before coming to the United States, I taught first- and fourth-grade students for six years in Korea. As a Korean educator, I am naturally interested in what and how American children learn about my country. I have had several opportunities to be a guest speaker to introduce Korea to elementary students, and I have been doing volunteer work for a year in elementary schools. While talking with teachers and visiting elementary classrooms, I often wonder what is the most meaningful way to teach American children about Korea and other countries.
Our schools are helping to prepare young people for the future by equipping them with an understanding of how to live in a multicultural and interdependent world. National social studies standards and local school districts require teachers to include multicultural themes in their curriculum. Teachers are already incorporating multicultural education in their classrooms, and they are endeavoring to do so in an appropriate manner.
A problem can arise, however, if children learn only about the differences between America and other countries. I have observed that when teachers begin a lesson about another country, they usually start by asking where the country is, what language the people speak, what kind of clothes they wear, and what kind of food they eat. After that, children try to find general facts in an encyclopedia or on the Internet about the country. Unfortunately, that is frequently all that children do. Although some teachers may teach their students how to play international games or hold an ethnic fair, those are mostly isolated events after which the teachers and students return to the regular program. The activities themselves are valuable but do not provide opportunities for the children to go beyond the events and make connections to the real world.
The differences between the United States and another country should be a part of children's learning; however, teaching only about differences between two countries is not enough. We need to go beyond the differences and consider how multicultural education at the elementary level can contribute to children's futures. The ultimate goal is for students to see the big picture of culture. The bridge to that understanding is based on similarities.
A focus on differences results in a learning experience that often generates an egocentric perspective. Without any depth in their learning, children quickly make snap judgments, such as "That country is not developed," or "We are better than they are." Most children, when comparing another country to their own country, judge differences to mean that the other country is better or worse, and usually worse.
Young students often possess one-dimensional stereotypes about other countries. When I conducted informal surveys (table 1) in an American and a Korean classroom, I found that each group had formed stereotypes about the other. For example, many American children thought that every Asian man could do kung-fu or karate. Children in Korea believed that every American has a gun. For the most part, the children based the stereotypes on some element that they had observed or heard. I found that the children then took that one small piece of information and applied it to the entire population.
Teaching only about the differences between countries rarely helps students to make personal connections. With a learning experience that bears no relevance to their lives, children come to feel that other countries are geographically far away and totally different worlds. Meaningful learning takes place when we endeavor to find the ways that we are connected to the other culture. In that way, teachers prepare their students to be cooperative world citizens.
When I came to the United States, I was confronted with a new environment. Although I expected new things, I was so overwhelmed by my experiences that at first I only saw the differences. I decided that Americans liked different foods, had different ways of relating to one another, and had different values. Things that I found important did not seem to matter to them, and things that were important to them did not matter to me. For example, in Korea, saying thank you is not an automatic response but one that is used to show great appreciation; in the United States, thank you is used almost automatically. I became afraid to share my thinking with other people because I would be embarrassed if my ways of thinking were unfamiliar to Americans. Of course I made many small mistakes because of cultural differences. I knew no one, I felt different from everyone, and I was lonely every day.
Over time I have come to experience the similarities that the cultures share, and now I cherish them. That did not take long, and I am now much more at peace living in another culture. When Americans watch a sad movie, they cry just as I do. When Americans meet an unkind person, they too become upset. American parents love their children and do their best to take care of them, just as Korean parents do. After school, many children in Korea and the United States prefer to play outside rather than to do their homework.
One day, in a bookstore, I found an interesting book about American proverbs and was amazed to find that the American proverbs were so similar to Korean proverbs. Then I talked to friends who were not Americans, and they told me that many of their proverbs also have meanings similar to American proverbs. Again I was amazed. Proverbs, which are unique to each culture, show the way people think and behave. The similarities of proverbs mean that people in the world have developed related values and rules for living out of different situations. Where Americans say, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence," the Koreans say, "The cake looks always bigger in the other person's hands." For more examples, see table 2.
When visiting classrooms and talking with teachers, I began to look for even more similarities. Korean and American classrooms look very much alike, with the teacher's desk, the blackboard, maps, and students' crafts and projects on display. Students do their homework, and teachers check it. During meetings, teachers talk about their students and sometimes complain about the administrators and the parents. Teachers develop hands-on activities for their lessons. Although the teachers use different languages and different materials, much of the daily life in schools is the same.
Urban Koreans and urban Americans also live quite similar lives. They use public transportation to go to school or work in their major cities, which have many tall office buildings. People talk through cellular phones while they are walking on the street and work in occupations from computer technician to taxi driver. In both countries, children watch cartoons, ride bicycles, or jump rope. Adults enjoy watching movies or having dinner with friends.
When I lived in Seoul, I lived in an apartment with my family. In the morning, I was usually in a rush to eat my breakfast of rice, kimchi, and coffee, which I gulped down in a hurry, just as Americans rapidly eat their cereal or toast. I usually drove a car to go to school but used the subway when I was worried about getting caught in traffic. After I got to the school office, I signed in, went to the classroom, and prepared for the day's lessons. When I had free time, I met my friends to go shopping or to see a movie. Across the world, those are common features of an urban teacher's life.
By noticing similarities, I managed to change my perspective of cultural differences. That motivated me to view my experiences through Americans' eyes, rather than from my limited experiences, which gave me a change in perspective that helped me to gain emotional comfort. Furthermore, experiencing the similarities led me to think about why there are cultural differences and about how they are formed and changed.
Seeing the Big Picture
Inquiring into the roots of a culture helps children develop a new perspective of that culture. Cultures have their roots shaped by their geographical and historical environments. Understanding the background helped me to step outside of the narrow vision built by my own early experiences and to view the American culture from multiple angles. I was no longer comparing the American way of life to the standards born out of a Korean woman's experience but to a standard that fits that culture's background. American students may initially react with a "yuck," when they learn that fish is a staple dish of the Korean diet. If, however, they are given the geographical background that 46,650,000 people live an area of 38,230 square miles (Hudson 2000) and that much of the land cannot be farmed because mountains cover 70 percent of it and Korea is surrounded by ocean, they will understand that eating protein-rich fish is a logical solution.
Exploring diversity within a culture prevents children from constructing one-dimensional stereotypes. All cultures are pluralistic, and children need to understand that there could be more than one way to view certain issues. Within any country in the world, young students can find that there are many ways of living. When children recognize the diversity within a culture, they come to realize that the stereotypes they may have had do not apply. They then develop flexible and open-minded perspectives.
For me, getting to the big picture of culture was a progression--a process that evolved from seeing differences to recognizing similarities to understanding the background, the flexibility of cultural perspectives. Through this process, I learned to respect American culture, not just to tolerate it. Now, should I go to another country to live, I shall find it easier to understand, accept, and respect that culture because I will see the big picture of the culture instead of small differences. I believe that exploring cultural similarities with children will also help them to see the connections between the cultures of the world.
Use Children's Literature
Children empathize with many different characters through children's literature because it deals not only with facts but also with emotions. When students find that people in different cultures experience similar emotions and desires, they readily see the underlying similarity. Children's literature bridges the gap between geographically distant worlds and can also give students a better understanding of how and where people live.
One of my favorite selections is Yunmi and Halmoni's Trip, written by Sook Nyul Choi (1997), in which the author shows us how an American girl experiences and deals with cultural differences in Korea. Although her parents are Korean, Yunmi grew up in New York. She cannot speak Korean, and she is not familiar with Korean culture. After she arrives in Korea, she feels as lonely as any foreigner. She eventually overcomes her feelings of isolation by playing games with other children and sharing their feelings. The book introduces traditional Korean culture and shows the similarity that can be found in children's emotions.
When teachers look for books in their schools and public libraries, they may wish to follow these simple guidelines. First, try to find books that are well balanced in terms of differences and similarities. Second, try to find books that go beyond the facts to show what are important values. Third, try to find the books that provide the historical and geographical background of the country.
Use Proverbs
Teachers can be easily find proverbs by searching the Internet. If they type "Korean proverb" into a search engine, it will lead them to Web sites that explain Korean proverbs. Useful sites include <
Use Real-Life Examples
Finding the relevance of other cultures to one's daily life is quite simple, although children do not often recognize it. Children might be surprised to find that a quick survey of what they are wearing reveals labels from many different countries. An activity in which students report, graph, and map where their shirts, shoes, and watches come from shows how we are all interconnected economically.
They can find real-life examples in newspaper articles that deal with current events involving the United States and other countries. Teachers can also use the Internet to log on to the local or national newspaper, typing the name of the country into a search box. The search will likely produce several articles that are related to a particular country. Teachers or students may try <
When showing pictures to children, teachers need to make certain that they note when those pictures were taken or what historical period they represent. Children can easily become confused when they see pictures that were taken thirty years ago. Developing countries typically undergo rapid and dramatic changes, so children need to view current photos to avoid misconceptions about another country or culture. If the time of a photo is not known, it might be better not to use that picture as part of a lesson.
Only when students learn respect for other cultures will they start thinking about ways to contribute to and become citizens of the global world. I believe that children can go beyond recognizing differences and come to understand, accept, and respect other cultures. Through their learning experiences, students can bridge the gap in their understanding of other cultures so that they can contribute to and incorporate themselves into the global culture of our world.
The author thanks Dr. Jane White of the University of South Carolina for her constructive feedback and editorial suggestions.
Stereotypes American Students Have about Koreans
Koreans are short and have black hair and black eyes.
Koreans believe in Buddhism. There are no Christians.
Koreans can do Kung-Fu, Karate, or Taekwon-Do.
Koreans eat raw fish.
Koreans are hard workers.
Stereotypes Korean Students Have about Americans
Americans are white, tall, and big.
Americans are very rich. All of them own one or more cars.
Americans carry guns with them at all times.
Americans eat a lot of food, anywhere and anytime.
Americans are good workers.
Choi, S. N. 1997. Yunmi and Halmoni's trip. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Hudson, J. C. 2000. Goode's world atlas. New York: Rand McNally.
By Eui-kyung Shin
Eui-kyung Shin is a doctoral student in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina at Columbia, where she is focusing on multicultural education and geography.
