Cultural Issues in Public Schools - Essay Example

Cultural Issues in Public Schools Before going to discuss cultural issues in public schools and their association with anthropology, let us get a better understanding of what culture actually is. Culture represents customs and traditions, which people belonging to any specific country or society adopt. If we talk about culture with respect to the concept of culture in public schools, we can say that culture of public schools depends on the overall culture of a country. If a country is diverse ethically and culturally, the culture of the public schools will also be diverse which will raise cultural issues in the schools along with some benefits for the students.

The thesis statement of this paper is that ‘Cultural issues that occur in public schools of culturally diverse countries affect overall culture of the public schools’. Cultural Issues in Public Schools Cultural issues in public schools refer to those issues, which occur between the students belonging to different cultures and societies. “Cultural diversity in the classroom opens the minds of students to an enriching experience” (Borkar, 2010). .In a society having diverse culture, different kinds of cultural issues occur along with benefits for students.

Some of the common examples of cultural issues in public schools include low level of understanding between students, discrimination, and language proficiency. These cultural issues also relate to the study of cultural anthropology, which refers to the study of cultural differences that exist between humans. Let us discuss these cultural issues in some detail in order to get a better understanding of how these issues affect overall culture of the public schools. Less Understanding One of the biggest cultural issues in public schools is that of less understanding between children from different societies and cultures.

The gap between the cultures of students does not let them mix with each other. It is the responsibility of the teachers to help students understand each other in order to create brotherly relations between them. “As public schools become more diverse, demands increase to find the most effective ways to help all students succeed academically as well as learn to get along with each other” (Anonymous, n.d.). Teachers should promote such activities, which should eradicate cultural differences between students, such as, creating soccer teams consisting of players from different backgrounds.

Discrimination Discrimination is another issue, which can occur in the public schools. The types of discriminations, which may take place in such situations, include racial discrimination and religious discrimination. Teachers need to project good qualities of all cultures and races in the classrooms in order to create positive images of all cultures in the minds of the students. Language Proficiency Language proficiency is another cultural issue that exists in public schools where students from different cultural backgrounds study.

Lack of effective communication skills due to difference in languages creates psychological differences between students. Teachers can improve language proficiency of all students by arranging language classes for the students who are weak in written, reading, and oral communication. Conclusion Summing it up, people from different cultural backgrounds find it difficult to understand each other. Cultural issues also exist in public schools where children belonging to different cultures study together.

It is the responsibility of the teachers to help students understand each other because cultural issues affect overall culture of the public schools. References Anonymous. (n.d.). How important is cultural diversity at your school?. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/find-a-school/defining-your-ideal/284-cultural-diversity-at-school.gs?page=1 Borkar, R. (2010). Cultural Diversity in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/cultural-diversity-in-the-classroom.html