Cultural Competency For Social Work Coursework

Culture is a deceptive and complex concept that a person belongs to. It becomes evasive as people surrounds themselves within a culture and live deep in their group while participating in common norms (Wang, 2011). A person consistently becomes programmed to function appropriately and effectively in their culture (Wang, 2011). However, what happens when someone is placed outside their culture and immersed into an unfamiliar group? It may be perceived as an obscure encounter while trying to understand their established, acceptable and effective behaviors and knowledge. In order to become culturally competent, there should be a context of understanding of the appropriate social, cultural, political, and historical perception and awareness to …show more content…
When starting my Cultural Competency for Social Work coursework, I accepted a position at Wyoming Public High School as a paraprofessional. To my amazement, I was immersed into a diverse community with a variety of cultures. I then discovered that Wyoming Public High School is ranked number four as the most diverse public school in the state of Michigan (“2017 Most Diverse High School,” 2016). However, I was incognizant of the number of Spanish speaking students and involvement of the Hispanic community at Wyoming Public Schools. Majority of students belong to a rich Mexican culture and are bi-lingual as Spanish being their primary language. It was a concept I had to become accustomed to considering it was unfamiliar to me. I had to become culturally sensitive and understand the student’s values in order to build a positive relationship while working with this population. Therefore, my cultural competency approach was submerging myself within a rich Mexican culture and Hispanic ethnicity, while being the (Caucasian) minority, to gain a deeper understanding of this population; specifically in a school …show more content…
Nervous, I did not know what to expect. In my past experiences of working in a school district, majority of the students customarily belong to the same racial and ethnic population. It was easy to adjust to the cultural norms and expectations. However, the first thing I noticed as I walked into a school was the number of diverse students. As I continued down the hall, there were both Spanish and English posters and signs on the walls, I could hear students primarily speaking Spanish and listening to Latin-American music on their phones. I had to reevaluate myself for a moment. I started to ponder if the school was aware that I did not speak Spanish and was unaware of the Hispanic customs. Conversely, once the school bell rang and the students returned to their classroom, the students began to speak fluent English. It was intriguing to see two culture, American and Mexican, to combine together to create one entity. It was appalling to witness the number of bi-lingual pupils in the school