Exploring and promoting diversity is one of the foundational tasks that lie ahead of the contemporary global community. Moreover, one needs to ensure that people from vulnerable groups and people representing minorities are provided with sufficient voice and a proper platform for contributing to the sociocultural dialogue. In their article “Acculturation and Attitudes towards Disability for Arab Americans,” Zidan and Chan focus on managing the needs of Arab citizens in the American context, pointing at the issues linked to the acculturation process.
The authors of the article state that the needs of the Arab community in the U.S. have been heavily under-researched, which has led to a drop in the quality of Arab immigrants’ lives. Moreover, the vulnerabilities of the target population, namely, the ones associated with religious prejudices toward the Arab population and the issues faced by Arab immigrants with disabilities, have been vastly ignored. As a result, a significant portion of the Arab American population, especially those with disabilities, have been struggling to survive in American society.
The article features an array of markers that help to identify the target culture and understand its plight. For example, the presence of cultural biases toward Arab Americans, namely, the perception of the Arab population as an imminent threat to the peaceful life and well-being of the rest of Americans, was an evident reminder of how Arab American people are treated by a range of people in the specified context. In addition, the authors mentioned several neutral characteristics that have helped to isolate the target demographic and identify it as Arab. For instance, Zidan and Chan bring up the respective cultural and religious beliefs, thus framing the research as the one centered on the Arab culture (Zidan and Chan 107). Moreover, the authors delve into the culture of Arab immigrants in the U.S., adding to the opportunities for identifying the culture in question more accurately. Remarkably, the authors do not resort to cultural stereotyping when painting the portrait of an Arab American, which is worth appreciating.
The described stance is related directly to the work of an educator as the person who is likely to communicate with Arab students quite often given the multicultural context of the target environment. Namely, the article provides subtle guidance and instructions to teachers for encouraging Arab learners with disabilities to become more vocal in their studying, as well as introduces teachers to the methods of meeting disabled Arab American learners’ needs. For example, the article could be used to help to outline the possible language barrier and the means of overcoming it.
In addition, doing research on the specified issue has helped me to discover my personal biases and prejudices. Namely, I used to believe that the cultural history and legacy of immigrants in the U.S. does not have a tangible impact on the selection of teaching strategies that an educator may consider when approaching students from specific backgrounds. After considering the article closer, I realized that the knowledge of the cultural background allows a teacher to approach a student in a way that will help to motivate them and encourage them to perceive particular difficulties that they may have while studying as fully manageable.
My reaction toward the article is close to that one of curiosity and enthusiasm. The article has inspired me to learn more about the cultures with which I come into contact as a teacher and the strategies that I can use as an educator to encourage students in their academic life. With the focus on diversity and the understanding of the role that the cross-cultural dialogue has on the teaching and learning processes, one can spur the academic development of learners.
Work Cited
Zidan, Tarek, and Keith Chan. “Acculturation and Attitudes towards Disability for Arab Americans.” Journal of Mental Health and Social Behavior, vol. 1, 2019, pp. 104-110.