Tutela a guiding influence

If you have been interviewed for a tutor position in recent months, you may remember the question about intercultural competency. Many people respond, "I'm not sure what that means." I'm not completely sure either! I have, however, experienced several cultural competency trainings. One of the hints I've received from training is that sometimes, as a white person, I need to be quiet and listen. So I'm going to make sure not to write Suzi's Great White Discussion on Cultural Competency. Instead, let me introduce you to this issue of Tutela!

In Terry's Tales, Terry Ishitani discusses stereotypes about Asians and Asian-Americans in an educational setting. Erin McKee interviews Support Service Programs Peer Assistants about their definitions of cultural competency, and writes about the way law professor and former Vice Provost W.H. "Joe" Knight, Jr., opened her eyes to understanding diversity.

The Book Nook reaps a harvest of ideas for your autumn reading pleasure. NDIL Program Coordinator Johnnie Sims recommends two books that can help us learn more about diversity. Academic Planning Counselor Patricia Moreno gives us a review in Spanish and English of an autobiography about two improbable partners in Nazi Germany. SSP support staff member Regina Hatcher, who recently returned from a visit to the Olympics, discusses a book about the frightening world of women's gymnastics and figure skating. Finally, tutor Traci VanDeest contributes a compact review of a classic piece of modern fiction. So enjoy this issue, learn from this issue, respond to this issue. We look forward to your ideas and energy!

If you yearn for more concrete ideas about competency, you're in luck. Our second workshop--Cultural Competency in the Tutoring World -- falls soon after this issue comes out. The date is Tuesday, October 10, from 4 to 5:30, in 210 MacLean Hall. Workshop presenter Diane Finnerty, diversity resources coordinator in the Office of Affirmative Action, has created a dynamic and participatory program. We'll expect to see you there! A final note: Please peruse the Reminders List -- it's short but vital to the success of your tutoring career!

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Shhh! Don't tell, but we aren't all the same!

It seems like a ridiculous statement; of course we aren't all the same. But start talking about how we aren't the same and throwing around phrases like "culturally diverse" and "traditionally underrepresented," and people start whispering and avoiding the subject the way they avoid discussing diseases.

Last year, I attended a lecture by W.H. Knight, Jr., UI law professor and former UI Vice Provost, and he explained diversity in a way I understood and could use to enhance my education, both in and out of the classroom.

Most people would say there are only two ways for a flipped quarter to land but not according to Knight. A quarter could land on its edge or, if it's tossed in outer space, it won't land at all. Recognizing these possibilities requires thinking in broader terms, but it's that kind of thinking that provides opportunities to build bridges between diverse people, he said.

Diversity is about recognizing the grand opportunity to understand how people who are different from each other might approach a difficult issue and maybe even find a solution for some of the problems that exist for them, Knight added.

According to Knight, many people in college don't take full advantage of this opportunity. Knight urged, "You should seek out people who are different from you, seek out people who hold different perspectives and engage in conversations. Talk about the issues of the day, and what you discover is that people have different views."

Knight discussed the possibilities that college brings. He explained, "There are opportunities every time you get up in the morning to build bridges, and there are opportunities to burn bridges." Knight suggested that, "Your college experience should be about reaching new horizons and new boundaries in learning. It should be about building community with people who see the world differently. It should be about recognizing that each of us has a set of rights; but with every privilege, there comes a set of responsibilities."

Not only do people have responsibility to themselves, family, and friends but to everyone in the community; if people handle the responsibility with integrity and are open to different ideas, it allows them to respect themselves and others, Knight said. The college atmosphere is especially rich with diverse ideas, he added.

"The beauty about being around real smart people is that real smart people always find ways to stimulate you to think more deeply about an issue. "It's all about trying to learn from each other and in recognizing that, as my daddy used to say, it's not book learning that makes this world a better place. Your education on this campus is as good as you make it. It has nothing to do with the grades you get. It has everything to do with how you go about stimulating yourself and challenging yourself in new ways," Knight said.

According to Knight, if students learn from each other while they're in college, when they leave they will know how to handle the real world. Change is inevitable, but how change is coped with is what is important.

In and out of the classroom, students can learn how to be more open-minded to different solutions and ideas, Knight said. In the classroom situations, people need to engage each other in more discussion, especially about touchy issues. In their social settings, people need to be bold and initiate conversations, which is hard to do, he added. "It's physically, mentally, and often times emotionally exhausting, but we have to do it. We have to be risk-takers," he said.

According to Knight, the best way to spread the message of diversity is to work at it on an individual level. "We think macro, and this frustrates us; we need to focus on the small scale. Each one teach one," he said.

Knight has inspired me to do exactly that, and I hope that relaying his message does the same for you. Talk to someone new today, or talk to a friend about something other than the weather. It doesn't have to be an elaborate production. It only needs to be a conversation between people who respect each other's differences and aren't afraid to learn from each other.

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When I was a student studying counseling at a master's level, I took a course called "Counseling Clients with Special Needs." In this course, we discussed multicultural counseling. I was the only minority in this class, and it was interesting to hear different perceptions on racial minority groups from other students. Since I'm Asian, I was curious about what they thought about Asian people. Some claimed, "Asian people are smart, especially good at math and computers." Hmmm. Now some may say this statement is okay because it says something good about Asian people. Well, I barely passed my freshman statistics course. I wonder what people believing in the above statement would say about me. Should I feel bad about myself for not being able to ace my stats course, because I didn't meet this expectation of being a math whiz?

Many of the Asian students you come across on this campus may be Asian international students. Oftentimes these are students sponsored by their countries and represent the highest achievement level in their homeland. It is not surprising that these individuals are frequently very successful as students. They tend to have a strong commitment to success. When we observe Asian surnames in a list of award recipients for natural science achievements, it becomes easier for people who have little experience interacting with Asian-Americans to stereotype Asians and Asian-Americans as being academically gifted. Their achievements might be a reflection of personal commitment to excellence or parental influence but not genetic predisposition. I haven't heard any new science discovery that Asian-Americans are endowed with some special strand of DNA! Some Asian-American students at Iowa have shared with me their staggering number of hours of studying. If all students invested similar amounts of time in studying, I have no doubt that many more students would accomplish results similar to the "academically gifted" Asian and Asian-American students. Research has shown that time spent in studying makes a significant difference in learning and achievement.

Generalizations are necessary in order to move through life. However, they are only guidelines for our behavior, to be tentatively applied in new situations, and they should be open to change and challenge. On the other hand, stereotypes may be defined as rigid preconceptions we hold about all people who are members of a particular group. The danger of stereotypes is that they are impaired, either through faulty logic or through limited experiences. Cultural differences are not the problem. The problem lies in society's perception of the attributes attached to being a minority group member. For instance, in my Asian cultural upbringing, I was taught to avoid direct eye contact when listening and speaking to high-status persons. Many people from other cultural backgrounds make the assumption that direct eye contact is essential to communication. But my lack of eye contact does not mean that I'm not interested in or not listening to the person who's speaking to me.

What do we need to be aware of when we interact with students from different backgrounds? We first need to move from being culturally unaware to being aware and sensitive to our own cultural heritage, values, and biases. Then, we need to think about how our own cultural heritage may affect students from different backgrounds. We also need to learn to feel comfortable with differences that exist between ourselves and our students.

As a tutor, you may work with students from different backgrounds. These students will bring you opportunities to exercise and promote your own cultural competency.

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Terry and Suzi put on a fabulous workshop; but for all those who missed it, here are the highlights from the workshop on learning styles.

• Everyone has different learning styles, so don't assume that what's easy for you is easy for your student.

• Terry gave everyone the C.I.T.E. survey to help determine our own learning styles, so if you or your students are unsure how you learn best, stop by the office and pick up a copy or talk to Terry.

• Suzi presented tutoring scenarios so we could put our new learning style knowledge to use. If tutoring sessions start to feel frustrating, take a look at where the central problems lie and make sure you're explaining material in ways that correspond with the student's learning style.

• Check out your Tutor Tool Kit for strategies for different learning styles, and feel free to visit the office library for tons of resources on learning styles.

Some comments from tutors at the workshop: "I learned that you need to tailor your tutoring style to the student's learning style, and the survey will help you and your student figure out exactly what their style is."

"I really appreciated talking with other tutors and hearing their opinions on how to deal with different situations."

"I will definitely use this in my future tutoring."

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When I started working at New Dimensions in Learning, I caught on to most of the jargon quickly. Then someone mentioned asking the peer assistants about cultural competency. The who about what? Using my razor-sharp contextual skills, I figured that peer assistants, well, assist peers. I also had a general idea what cultural competency meant but couldn't define it without using the term "culturally competent." Luckily, I was able to chat with some peer assistants about their jobs and about their ideas regarding cultural competency.

According to Cheree Rawlins, her role as a peer assistant is to help new students make the transition to college smoother. She smoothes the way by telling students about resources available on campus and introducing them to programs about their academic and social lives.

Peter Reed gave some examples to flesh out Cheree's description. "This year as a peer assistant I've attended our annual Fall Kick-off, at which I got the opportunity to introduce myself to a bunch of new and returning students. We're putting together a career development event, and I'm also working on a movie night," he said. Next, I tackled the trickier question of cultural competency. Peter came to the rescue again. "To me, this means being sensitive to the fact that we come from different cultural backgrounds. We should ultimately be able to share essential parts of ourselves regardless of where or how we were raised. Learning to do this is the process of cultural competency," he explained.

Grace White said that being culturally competent means being aware of cultural values and perspectives that are different from her own and understanding how these different values influence relationships.

Rey Sandoval also stressed the importance of simply being aware of other cultures. "You don't necessarily have to agree with the style or beliefs of other cultures but be aware that differences do exist. By being aware, you can be sensitive to peoples' needs; and in the process gain a better understanding of where someone else is coming from," she said.

Annie Lee agreed, "Cultural competency is understanding cultural differences and looking at things with an open mind."

Bret Ibarra added that it's not just about recognizing differences: "Cultural competency requires an understanding that there are similarities between cultures, too."

To learn more about peer assistants and their thoughts, read the new issue of Quest, the Support Service Programs newsletter, available in the office around October 11th.

You can also discover more about the peer assistants by looking HERE.

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Patricia Moreno, Academic Planning Counselor: Aimee and Jaguar: A Love Story  by Erica Fischer

It has been 55 years since the capitulation of Nazi Germany. Since 1945, the tragedy of the Holocaust has often been re-lived through the personal histories and testimonies of its survivors. Aimee and Jaguar is the title of one Holocaust book I particularly encourage you to read. This book is a unique testament to the human capacity for passion, love and resistance, even in the epicenter of genocide. In its pages, Aimee, the author who is now 87 years old, tells her story to Erica Fischer, a German historian. Aimee yanks out of her memory, using a shoebox full of love letters and old pictures, the chronology of her war-time lesbian romance and its violent ending. Aimee was the Aryan wife of a Nazi officer; Jaguar, a Jewish woman marked for death by a yellow star. They somehow manage to create a life together in the Berlin of the 1940's; but more importantly, they manage to find unique forms of resistance to torture and murder. This emotionally devastating true story depicts their incredible subversive ingenuity and a miracle of love in the margins of a threatening society.

Traci VanDeest, tutor: The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

This has to be one of my favorite books. Why? Well, most people have heard of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. But what about the women in his life? This is the retelling of the legendary story through the eyes of his mother, sister, aunt and wife. So the next time you want to escape the insane life as a student and want a new perspective on an old story, pick up this book!

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What's the difference between six dozen dozen and a half dozen dozen?

Answer to September's Brainteaser: The number 7 on a telephone keypad.

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Page last modified November 2000. Site maintained by University of Iowa Office of Support Service Programs.  Copyright © 2000 The University of Iowa. OSSP site developed by Ray Mescallado.