Alisha

Jackson, J. T., & Bynum, N. (1997). Drama: A teaching tool for culturally diverse children.. Journal Of Instructional Psychology, 24(3), 158.

DRAMA: A TEACHING TOOL FOR CULTURALLY DIVERSE CHILDREN WITH BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS

This article explained that culturally diverse children learn and act different from one another and because of this they are commonly labeled with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). As some of them may have this disorder, the author stated that in many instances, that is not the case. Culturally diverse children just have a natural different way of acting to certain situations and if they are in a school setting where they are the minority, they are often labeled. The article continued to explain how using drama can have a great impact on children with EBD’s. It was stated that through the use of acting, culturally diverse children with EBD’s can improve conversation skills, attitudes, self-awareness, cognitive processes, and self-confidence. The article also gives way to exposing children to drama, creating drama, and presenting the material to the children with EBD’s. At the end, it gives an example of a play that could be used in class, and various activities that get the children moving and comfortable with their environment.

This article connects to this course because this course is all about diversity and so is this article. In every classroom, there are going to be culturally diverse children and some of them may need extra attention. This course allows us to explore different varieties of culture and ways to handle various situations. This article depicts a great example of children that we might have in our classroom in the future. It also gives us a very useful way to handle the situation.

Like stated above, these are types of children that I will most likely encounter in my future classroom. Culturally diverse children are everywhere in this society, which is a good thing. Its good information to realize that some students may act a certain way because of their culture difference and it’s not something they should be necessarily punished for. If they are acting up, it’s good to talk with them and to try different activities that might help them cooperate. This article informs us that drama is a great way to work with kids that have EBD’s. These are definitely activities that I would use in my classroom.



=
//The Breadwinner// by Deborah Ellis, is about a family that lives in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. One member of the family is Parvana, an eleven year old girl. She is a strong, level headed young lady. Her mom stays home and takes care of the family, because under the rule of the Taliban, she cannot work. Under the Taliban, women are forced to stay inside, unless under the supervision of a man and they must be covered head to toe. They are also not allowed to go to school. Her father goes out to the market each day to work; he reads letters for people that cannot read or write themselves. He also sells whatever possessions the family has, to earn as much money as they can. They live in a one room apartment that is part of a bombed out building. Afghanistan has been at war for many years now, and the family has to keep moving because all their houses keep getting destroyed. One day, the Taliban enter their house unexpected, they beat up Parvana’s mom and arrest her father for having a foreign education. Since her father was the only one able to have job, the family is left with no choice but to have Parvana be turned into a boy. Parvana struggles going out into the world as a boy, being the breadwinner for the family, and wondering if the stories of the beautiful Afghanistan will ever come true again.=====

=

 * About the author on the back cover: "Deborah Ellis has spent several months talking with women and girls in the Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan and Russia. During her stay, she met the mother and sister of a girl in Kabul who cut off her hair, put on boy’s clothes and sold things off a tray in the marketplace to support her family. This reminded her of the enormous capabilities of children for acts of courage and creative survival during times when most of the adult world is conspiring to stifle their families” *=====

=
The diverse group that is being depicted in this story is the Afghan culture. During the time when the book was written, Afghanistan was under the power of the Taliban. The Taliban controlled everything and had extremely strict rules, especially towards women.=====

=
By reading this text, it did not make me realize that I should be open to all cultures, or to realize that all cultures should be treated the same, but rather it has allowed me to realize that cultures have a lot of history behind them and will not always be a happy history. Having struggles in life only makes one stronger. Children like Parvana have an unimaginable amount of strength, more than I could ever dream about. The history of her, should not be hidden; her strength should be told. As the young children in my class might not quite understand this, I can teach them that life can be hard, but that only makes them stronger. The lessons that they learn from their culture, family and friends, will be carried with them for a life time.=====

=
By reading this text, it has allowed me to be more aware of the backgrounds that my students might have. Everyone has a story, and through reading this book, I am going to teach my students that they should not be ashamed of their history, but rather to embrace it. Also, I am going to be open to my student’s cultures, and I want to celebrate them as they do. The whole class should learn to accept all cultures and not alienate one of them just because they do not know about it.=====

=
This book gave me a lot of insight on the life of Afghan families during this time, and even still today, that I did not know about. I knew that they struggled, but not to this extent. It made me realize that my life is not so bad, even with all the struggles that I have faced.=====