Blog 9: Geography

Successful people come from all areas of the country and the world. Physicists, politicians, educators, etc. have diverse family backgrounds, regardless of where they may be now (such as the majority of high-ranking politicians residing in the Washington, D.C. area). This is not a hidden fact, yet there are still stereotypes associated with different areas of the country or different parts of the world that affect the expectations people have of others. If someone comes into an interview for a high-end job in New York City with a deep Southern accent, he or she will not be received as favorably as if the same person did not have that accent. Coming from the mountains of North Carolina, my parents and teachers taught us to speak without the typical accent in order to prevent the stigma of being uneducated that is associated with the accent. Being from the area, I know that it is not an automatic correlation, but I still have a difficult time hearing an educated person through a deep southern accent because of the associations and experiences. The value of education is lower in the rural areas of the south because it has been lower for generations. New England, on the other hand, was where education in this country began thus it has traditionally been the epicenter of formal education. These traditions carry into the stereotypes that people in all areas of the country tend to hold.

In our classrooms, it is expected that we will have to manage the integration of different races or languages. It seems less foreseeable that we need to consciously maintain relations with students from different regions, but that does not prevent it from being an issue that can hinder the learning experience of some students. Different regions carry with them different cultures and when that is not assumed, such as moving to a different region of the country, students may have trouble understanding why things are done in a new way. While they may appear and sound like they blend in, this may make the problem worse because others assume that they understand already. As teachers, we need to ensure the safety and belongingness of all our students in order to provide the best education possible. Often times, students will misunderstand others' actions because they do not know the local customs. These problems are not difficult to fix, as long as teachers are aware of the situations.