Sharing Diversity in the Taiwanese Classroom
In slow-motion, I peer over my left shoulder to see the enthusiastic local English teacher (LET) that I am scheduled to teach with during the 2012-2013 academic year. She clenches her fists shouting, “加油, 加油” (good luck). All the while, a cacophony thrums through the elementary school hallways as the entire school gathers in the courtyard for the school assembly. In a matter of seconds, time returns to its accelerated pace, as the principal of the school invites me to the stage. He is introducing me to the one-thousand plus students. I am overwhelmed by the energy onstage; he commands the audience. They respond appropriately, and in a humbling and warm Chinese introduction, he ushers me to the stage. That is when I—in my pristine Kenneth Cole dress shoes, suffocating khakis, and wrinkled polo from Old Navy—am likened to President Obama. Being compared to a respected global leader is certainly a compliment; yet being consistently compared to NBA players, hip-hop artists and President Obama gives me reason to question: What narratives of certain groups of people in the United States are being exported to foreign countries? I share no similarities with President Obama aside
