Teacher's role includes socializing 7. Personal property 7. Sharing When children caught between expectations of home and school are forced to choose one over the other, there is inevitable loss. Parents, teachers, administrators, and students all need some awareness of how these conflicts operate in classrooms and schools, so that all have a hand in addressing them. The experiences of the Bridging Cultures teachers show that awareness of the causes of such conflicts almost always leads to new thinking about solutions.
Some solutions are quite simple and easily carried out.
The following sections present examples of home-school conflicts and possible strategies teachers can use to help bridge the sometimes differing needs and expectations of a child's school and a child's home. This is different from most accommodation, which works in the opposite direction, with children and parents constantly adjusting to the needs and expectations of the school and the dominant culture. Of course, to do well in U.S. schools, students from different cultural backgrounds have to accommodate to school culture. However, to the degree that teachers can build bridges between home and school, they can better support students in developing the skills they will need to succeed. Independence Versus Helpfulness Teachers may highly value children's ability to work independently and to focus on getting their own work done.