ABSTRACT
Large waves of recent immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America, the Middle East, and Asia have necessitated new ways of thinking about learning and teaching. However, most educators are not adequately prepared for the cultural mix which faces them, and they do not have adequate resources to help them understand underlying cultural values. Although it is highly useful for teachers to learn about all the cultures that make up their classrooms (Banks, 1997; Banks, 2001), accumulating the information necessary to understand their nuances can be daunting. A Bridging Cultures kindergarten teacher, Kathy Eyler, expressed her frustration, “I wanted to understand my students better so I started studying Mexican culture. Then I realized that the children in my class came from many distinct regions, each with different histories and traditions. I just knew I would never know enough. I had to give up trying” (Rothstein-Fisch, Greenfield, & Trumbull, 1999, p. 64). However, Kathy’s frustration turned to understanding, action, and advocacy as a result of the Bridging Cultures Project.
