Culture matters.   We need to establish a setting in our classrooms where students can freely exchange ideas about their backgrounds and traditions.  This week alone, I charted how my Bar Mitzvah played a role in my becoming a teacher.  There’s a cause and effect chain here.  I had to quit my basketball team to study in an afternoon Hebrew school.  I didn’t like studying Hebrew so much, but because I learned on foreign language, I was able to pick up a second: French.  Once I learned French, I was able to learn Spanish.  And, Here I am!  In another class, we talked about the presence of Chinese immigrants here in Mexicali.  We explored their history in the region.  We talked about the Eastern rituals and traditions they maintain to this day.

Cultural education is not something to be downloaded or uploaded on to CANVAS or Blackboard.  This is what I think:  we should all have it in us to bridge the gap between teacher and student with personal and meaningful experience.  We can be our own best models.  Below, I share my most recent blog post – I write about Spanish-language novels, antique typewriters, and Mexicali Jews.