Observations

1.) 11/17/15: The people with whom I am closest with had not yet heard of the shooting in Kenya.

2.) 11/15/15: NPR news coverage is exclusively focused on Paris attacks.

3.) 11/7/15: Started following VICE news in conjunction to NYT - VICE reports specifically on race and gender daily, whereas NYT does not

Recognizing Cultural Incompetence

         As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, something I have occasionally struggled with at my internship is the racial homogeneity of the client population (white, typically New England natives, between ages 20 and 70). There are incredible challenges at Milestone, but until last week, for the most part, I didn’t feel that my cultural competence pertaining to race had been questioned, per se.

         Last week, however, I had the chance to work with an individual from another country experiencing the complexity associated with the intersection of co-occurring disorders. For the sake of this post, this individual will remain anonymous, but some of his attributes will be described.

         This client is from Kenya, a non-practicing Muslim, an English Language Learner, presents with schizoaffective disorder, a traumatic brain injury, is homeless and has a severe alcohol and cannabis use disorder. WOW! Not only did all of this clinical jargon apply to this individual, he was also enthusiastic, kind hearted, dynamic, and excited about the potential opportunity to find housing and sobriety.

         Given that substance abuse is really a “symptom” of other, greater issues, usually tied to trauma and subsequent mental health issues, it is not uncommon for clients to present with co-occurring disorders – anxiety, depression, and PTSD most often. What was unique in my experience thus far, however, was the diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder – never mind that this individual recently arrived from another continent. Not entirely familiar with this, I was a little anxious about my own competence with this client, and whether or not I possessed the knowledge, skill set, or competence to work with this individual, respecting the multiple facets impacting their  affect.

         Ultimately, however, I think the client and I surprised each other with how well we were able to work together! Given the language barrier between us, we compensated with hand gestures, and the use of visuals sketched out on a notepad to help describe the chronology of certain life events, and number scales used to rate emotions. We found levity in the interaction; he was able to share his story, I gathered important data, and helped set up referrals with case management and housing.

         What was incredibly humbling in this experience, aside from being in the presence of someone inherently positive despite enormous challenges, was realizing that if this were my client over a long period of time (multiple sessions and/or a case manager), at this time, I would not have been fit for the job, and would have needed to lean on colleagues and an interpreter, or ultimately make a referral and assist this client’s transition to another agency. This is stemming from a number of reasons:

1.) I don’t feel that I have adequate training in the mental health field (yet!) to take on repeatedly working with a client with this nature of disorder

2.) The intersection of Islam and his understanding of his mental illness, led him to interpret the voices he occasionally hears as “demons.” For the purpose of my working with him, it was important that I document this; however, given Milestone’s lack of mental health licensure, that sort of content gets passed on to future agencies and caregivers. I realized immediately that it was important for me to learn more about the perception of mental health in Islam (as it is practiced in Kenya), but in the moment, I realized that I did not know anything about that, specifically.

3.) The language barrier between us was pretty significant – and again this could absolutely be due to a speech impediment developed after the brain injury – however, it was totally unclear to me as to whether this individual’s expressive ability would have improved given the chance to speak with someone else in his native language.

         I learned a ton from this experience – most notably that I really want to take on these sorts of cases again in the future! What I learned about myself, though, is the importance of recognizing my own limits, and areas in need of “cultural growth and development.” For example, I know that I did not speak the native language of this client, and while I cannot do anything to change that in the immediate context of working with them, I understand my own deficiencies, the necessity to reach out to others for support, and the responsibility I have to continue learning (always!) to increase my cultural competency. Given that culture is constantly morphing and changing, this work will be endless, and that is exciting.

Is Acculturation Dooming Students to Fail?

Here we go! Another messy blog post that will probably lose focus, attempt to tackle a large issue (of which I have a limited scope) and most likely lack a solution for my dissatisfaction for one aspect of “the way things are.”

Despite these self criticisms, the issue that has me most ‘fired up’ this week based both in the Rothenberg selections and outside experiences, is the expectation of acculturation (in schools most notably) that is expected and imposed upon newcomers in the United States.

I contend that certain levels of acculturation are definitely necessary to navigate a new living environment – whether that means basic mastery of language relating to directions, food, and safety, or driving according to the laws of a new country. Where I struggle, is digesting the demands of acculturation in academia.

In the Rothernberg text, several authors describe their painful experiences with acculturation (emotionally, and not necessarily academically) the connection to acculturation in schools is obvious. In the selections, “Civilize Them With a Stick,” “Then Came the War,” and “Crossing the Border Without Losing Your Past” individuals describe the pain and discomfort felt when forced to abandon their culture in favor of adopting an American identity. While the cases described here were extreme (family presence in a Japanese concentration camp; the struggle to remain anchored in Mexican culture) I can’t help but let my brain refer to the demands placed on kids in public schools (2014).  It is easy to see how the students currently in the systems could describe their academic lives as traumatic in the future – even if supported, in some ways, their experiences might not fall totally short of the emotions described by the authors of these texts.

I have demanded acculturation of my students as a teacher, and I can speak honestly and say that by following the demands for Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) put in place by the city in retrospect, I am ashamed – and I don’t necessarily have a better solution. In Boston Public Schools specifically, despite massive Haitian, Vietnamese, Guatemalan, Dominican (and many other notable concentrations of students originally from different countries), the accepted model of English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction does little to support children’s strengths in their native languages, and rather uses strategies to make core content “accessible” in English. This approach, known among educators and ESL researchers is absolutely not the most effective helping children acquire English proficiency, and forces children to acculturate to school demands with little consideration to their levels of readiness. Children often go through a “silent period” where they aren’t able or comfortable to speak up in schools, feeling as though their voices have been squashed. Other, more culturally compassionate ESL models require a higher number of humans and resources (think – more bilingual teachers, aids, funds to pay them) etc. in public school districts that are already completely shorted of funding. I understand (and at one point accepted this) however, with some time and space from the teaching profession am really questioning the daunting reality children experience in the face academics.

I saw this again in my graduate school experience. (To be clear, my knowledge of the situation is limited as I only viewed as an outsider). In higher education, I watched as a classmate of ours withdrew from the program – possibly due to an array of motives, but I suspect it may also have had to do with inability to adequately “acculturate” (in regards to language or performance standards). I am noticing the pattern repeat even among adults.

As an educator, I firmly believe in maintaining rigorous standards and expectations for students – but at times I question at what cost? When does academic acculturation surpass compassion in terms of importance? I don’t know how we, as an American society could meet every individual exactly where they are in academia, but my experiences, and the literature about acculturation have led me to the belief that the current expectations are at times un-supporting and ask too much academically and emotionally of newcomers.

References:

Rothenberg, P. S. (2014). Race, class, and gender in the United

States: An integrated study. New York: St. Martin's Press.