How can we be sensitive to the fact that we are teaching people with different backgrounds and from different countries and cultures?
1 Answer
We can practice avoiding ethnocentric comments and use cultural relativism.
Explanation:
Answering questions on Socratic involves teaching people of all different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and people who have learned through different systems of education. While the website is in English, Socratic is used globally.
Depending on the question asked, it may be necessary to use cultural relativism, which means not judging another group or belief from your own culture’s eyes. Instead, you should try to understand those beliefs using that culture’s system. Read more here. It is important not to be ethnocentric (ethnocentrism is the belief that one group/country is superior to all others).
Specifically, we can use strategies such as trying to avoid using abbreviations or terms that are unique to specific areas. For example, I would try not to say something like, “those living in the northwest may have noticed an increase in flooding” or “Congress meeting in the Capital Building” because we can’t assume every reader is from the United States (they’re not) and they may or may not know what we are referring to. Instead, I can rephrase both phrases and say, “Those living in the northwest of the continental United States” or “The US Congress meeting in the Capital Building in Washington, DC.”
It’s also good to be aware of where you take your examples from, and try to use examples from other parts of the globe, making those non-US residents feel included and as though Socratic welcomes users from all over.
We also need to be careful not to use stereotypes directly or indirectly. Our own assumptions about regions, cultures, ethnic groups sometimes inadvertently show in writing certain answers. For example, always referring to men when using examples of careers in physics (perpetuating the stereotype that males are good at science and females are good at social sciences) or stating that we can reduce wildlife hunting by educating indigenous groups or native people on conservation (perpetuating the stereotype that all indigenous people hunt and that all indigenous people are uneducated).
If questions or answers pop up in a science/math subject that don’t fit the global mathematical or scientific standard, use caution when explaining this and do so considerately and politely. In some cases, people are using different belief systems.
By following these practices and being mindful of who our readers are when we write answers, we can continue to ensure that Socratic is user-friendly and welcoming from people of various backgrounds.
