Immigrant Teachers, American Students: Cultural Differences, Cultural Disconnections

Teachers, as often as students, articulate frustrations over each other’s choices and expectations. A teacher’s demand for respect may appear an imposition and abuse of authority to students accustomed to speaking out against perceived injustices. All teachers experience some tentativeness, especially in an unfamiliar environment. Since classroom decisions tend to be immediate, choices reflect learned attitudes and behaviors as much as logical decision-making procedures. Florence explores the cross-cultural complexities of teacher/student interactions, particularly African immigrant teachers. Despite the emotional aggravations, cultural misunderstandings offer forums for a reassessment of views, acknowledgement of differences, and initiative for positive change.

Namulundah Florence is Assistant Professor of Education at Brooklyn College, CUNY. She received her Ph.D. in Education Administration at Fordham University. Her research and teaching interests explore the impact of conceptions of self and society on education policy and practice and cultural assimilation and exclusion within the academy and beyond. Recent and forthcoming publications include bell hooks' Engaged Pedagogy: A Transgressive Education for Critical Consciousness (1998); From our Mothers’ Hearths: Bukusu Folktales and Proverbs (2005); and Multiculturalism 101: The Practical Guide Series (2009).