On May 2, University of Rhode Island School of Education professors Amy Correia and Dr. Rabia Hos spoke to students at Cranston High School East about the concept of culture and how it affects people’s perspectives throughout their daily interactions.

The event was split into two half-hour sessions. Correia spoke from the perspective of a white former high school teacher who taught English Language Learner students who had moved to the United States one or two years prior to being in her class.

“This experience shaped who I am,” she said.

Prior to that, Correia had taught 10th-grade American Literature. In that class, the students looked and sounded like her.

“It was my white, female, blonde existence,” she said. “With my ELL classes, I realized that a one-size fits all perspective is not appropriate, and I started to think a lot about myself and how culture impacts me and my students. I had 12 countries and there were eight languages spoken in one ELL class.”

Correia asked the students what they thought culture encompasses, and she received answers such as dance, language, religion and food. She said those were correct, but were just the tip of the iceberg. She helped the students delve more deeply into the concept of culture.

“Culture is not fixed, it’s always changing,” she said.

Correia asked the students to consider where they fall on a spectrum when it came to individualism versus collectivism – whether they were more interested in the team’s success or their own, for example – and to think about how people’s perspectives and opinions on such issues affect their daily interactions.

“That frame of thinking impacts the type of learner you are, whether you are collaborative or independent,” she said.

Correia closed out her portion of the presentation by reminding the students how important it is to communicate with one another and to consider that the culture others are coming from may differ from their own, and that may lead to misunderstanding. She also reminded them to think about their own culture and how it impacts their perspective.

“When thinking about culture, be reflective of what shapes you and who you are. Build bridges, find common ground,” she said. “You have to understand yourself more in order to understand others.”

Hos spoke to the students for the second portion of the hour and shared her story of coming to the United States from Turkey, where she had been raised.

“We came to the United States when I was 17,” she said. “My mother had not been allowed to go to school and my father had a high school education. In Turkey, you could become a teacher with a high school education.”

At the same time that her father won a green card in a lottery, Hos’ mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and required several surgeries. The family moved to Huntington Beach, California, just two weeks after her mother had undergone a surgery.

“Change is hard, but change grows you,” she said.

Hos spoke about what she and her family members had to do in order to survive their frequent moves and adjustment to life in the United States, and how those experiences shaped her and her perspective.

“My mother was my role model. She made me work harder,” she said.

When a guidance counselor in her high school told Hos not to apply to college due to her proficiency level with the English language, both parents pushed her to apply to a community college – especially her mother, who encouraged her to pursue an education after not being allowed to herself in Turkey.

Hos started attending a community college in Rochester, New York, where the family had moved.

“Navigating the system helped me to learn the language,” she said.

After two years in the community college program, Hos transferred to a four-year university and pursued teaching in order to help others like herself. She later pursued a master’s degree, became an ESL teacher, and went for her doctorate.

“It’s been 24 years since my arrival,” she said. “I wish I’d known how to ask for more. I wish I’d initiated discussion and reached out to others.”

Hos left the students with words of wisdom.

“Find opportunities, find your passion, initiate discussion and reach out to others even if they don’t reach out to you,” she said. “It’s still not easy, it’s still a struggle, but life is not easy. Find your balance, be proud of your identity and never be ashamed of where you came from. Never give up, be confident. Persevere and do the right thing, even when no one is watching you. Your future is in your hands. If I can do it, you can.”