In class, we had the great joy of listening to Kim Cofino's keynote address for K12 Online Conference, Going Global: Culture Shock, Convergence, and the Future of Education.
It was an extremely interesting and well-presented address. It described very well the experience of culture shock and the open-minded, independent nature of many Third Culture Kids (TCKs). Finally, it suggested that the life-changing experiences of TCKs could now be available from anywhere through the collaborative potential of the internet.
I completely agree with Kim's description and assessment of the experience of coming to live in a new culture. Like Kim, I have lived in two cultures other than my own, and my impression of all three has been influenced by the sum of my experiences. But Kim's presentation also made me wonder what exactly would have to be done to make a "virtual" culture shock (one that would draw discomfort into tolerance and appreciation to paraphrase (poorly) the speech) effective.
Part of the magic of moving to a new culture is the immersion and the inability to fully escape from the new way of doing things. In the Dominican Republic, showing up 3 hours late is on time - we remember the story of one woman who arrived to a party at the time printed on the invitation only to find her hostess in the shower! When you do something that you've always assumed is "the way it's done", something you've never questioned, and it goes wildly different than expected, the temptation is to look at those around you for confirmation - "That's crazy, right?" But in your host culture, you find everyone is looking at you and thinking (or saying), "That crazy gringa / farang!"
Is this really doable in an online setting? We can be exposed to many other cultures, we can encounter differences. But what humbles us, and changes us, and hopefully, happily makes us more thoughtful, open people, is the sudden sense of being on the outside, the one who's got it wrong, who's not acting 'normal', who's struggling to communicate in broken and accented phrases. My fear is that in a school setting it will be difficult to emulate a "culture shock" experience given that in that key moment, when a student looks around for reactions, he or she will be surrounded still by his or her own culture and the disconnect will be too easily dismissed. Added to that, the sense immersion, of fully living and being in a new culture and place, would be difficult to recreate during "school hours" or even outside of them.
This is not to say that I think it can't be done! On the contrary, I think the possibilities are many, and the goal incredibly important and worthwhile. It is instead that I want to be fully aware of the challenges and aware of the depth of planning and purpose that must be achieved if the experience is to be a success.
Therefore, in my final project, I tried to think of a unit that would take my students (mostly quite comfortable navigating different cultures) beyond their normal experiences and challenge them in a way that might bring about the deep reflection and thought that increases compassion and empathy. I chose the unit on genetics. My hope is that by exploring a specific genetic difference or disease, becoming familiar with the details and complexities of its causes and consequences, and finally collaborating with people for whom it is a daily reality, the students will see themselves and others in a new way. Perhaps, for some, that new perspective will be meaningful and memorable in a way that will take them further toward the goal of being caring global citizens.
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