Code-Switching

 

Code-Switching

One of my favorite podcasts is NPR’s Code-Switch. Code-switching means to assume the cultural norms or practice the hidden rules of a different culture to be more accepted. As a white male, I know I cannot ever know what it means to code-switch daily. Nor can I ever understand the tremendous energy it must involve and how exhausting constantly code-switching must be.

 

I went to a boarding school and several of my best friends were Puerto Rican. Whenever I was hanging out with them, I remember trying to use Spanish slang when telling stories. I remember them struggling to understand my family dynamics whenever they visited my house for a weekend.  After a three-day weekend at my home, I remember Jaime saying, “Man, your house is crazy different. That was insane.” My niece, who spent the first years of her life in Switzerland, spoke French at her school and on a vacation in San Diego, she tied a rope around her waist and pretended to repel down the stairs. As she did so, she started to explain what she was doing, but it was all in French. With so many technical terms, it was impossible for her to discuss it English.

 

It’s impossible for us to leave our culture, even temporarily. Our cultures are how we see the world. It’s the totality of our ideas, beliefs, values and behaviors. For most of us, code-switching is not necessary, but for culturally different groups of people, code switching is often part of their daily routine. The implications are far-reaching.

 

Of course, numerous cultural factors influence the way we see the world and to contribute to who we are and how we act.

  • What factors do you share with our students? Other staff?
  • How do you differ from our students? Other staff?

As you answer these questions, the more differences you find the more bridges you need to construct. I also find it helpful to answer these questions from a student perspective, especially for a student with whom I’m not connecting or one from a non-majority group (a recent immigrant, a student with a different sexual orientation, a student living in poverty, a Black student, etc.)

 

For more:

How code-switching explains the world (from NPR with some great video clips)

The cost of code-switching from HBR

 

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