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From my experience in multicultural schools (formerly in a school with 40 countries represented and 31 languages spoken at home), the entire school needs to work on appreciation that the richness of cultural backgrounds provides for the school. What a bonus for your students to be able to celebrate their own culture while learning from their peers about other cultures! In the cafeteria of my former school, we displayed flags from all the countries represented in the school, and we had a large multicultural celebration once a year to focus on the strengths that the diversity brought to our school! You are already on the right track, Debra, when you seek to understand the unique needs of your students who come from different countries! "Debra W. Waugh" <debwaugh.lm_net@FRONTIERNET.NET> wrote: I've not been following the discussion about the issue of China and librarians, but Edi Campbell's post on the subject caught my attention. Her advice on how to best help students from Taiwan in the our libraries seemed very practical and useful to me. I don't know if I am wandering far from the original post, but there's a spin-off discussion I would like to see: My school has many students whose parents come from various countries in the Mid-East and from India and Pakistan. Other than thinking that they are very driven to succeed I've never given much thought to how their cultural influences from home might affect the approach I need to take in the library. If any of you have special insights into students with these cultural backgrounds can you share what you have learned about assisting them with research? (I know that one mistake I make is assuming that every student in these ethnic groups has a parent who is a doctor. It's true for many in our school district, but by no means for all.) Also, (and I apologize for being VERY politically incorrect here) we have a community of students who live in the local "projects". They are both black and white, and I have a lot of trouble understanding the blessings and hardships that come with their home life. I lost a student there three years ago. She had enormous academic potential, taking advanced courses like Japanese, and I had assumed she would go on to a bright future, college education, etc. Instead she was stabbed to death during an argument in front of the apartment where she grew up. In contrast, we have a young couple with a child who live in approximately the same neighborhood. When a house fire destroyed the mom's parents' home the 14 year old mom went back into the building to rescue the baby. The baby is fine, but the mom will have terrible scars on her face and arms for the rest of her life. But she is resilient and happy, and she and her boyfriend continue to have a strong and committed relationship. Also, we have a sub-group of black students who are deeply involved in their church communities. I strongly believe that every student is an individual, but I also know it can help to better understand their cultural backgrounds. It would be great if there could be some posts on insights into various groups that we need to serve in our schools. And obviously I am writing from the perspective of a small town white girl, but I hope that some of you who have a more diverse background than I do might address the idea of serving students with a similar background to mine, but who are accustomed to a multi-ethnic mix of students in their school. I hope that I haven't offended too many people with this post. Please bear in mind that my point of view is limited by my life experiences and I am just hoping to expand that point of view by asking for this discussion. (On the other hand, letting me know that you are offended, and why, will probably also help me to grow, so feel free!) Thanks! Deb Waugh Librarian/Instructional Technologist The Emmett G. Shufflebarger Library at Graham High School Bluefield, Virginia debwaugh.lm_net@frontiernet.net -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. 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