Mod 3 Discussion: Moving Students Into a New Culture

I experienced a culture shock at an early age in my life. I moved from a small town in Western Pennsylvania called Latrobe. In Latrobe everyone new everybody in this small town and we talk differently then they do here in Ocala FL. When I was 10 I moved to Ocala, Fl. and coming from Latrobe and speaking the way we spoke in Latrobe to Ocala is totally different and it is that way today. In Latrobe we say "yinz" instead of "yall" we call soda "pop" in Latrobe. We have different words for different things and way different then Ocala. When I moved to Ocala, FL. I remember going to a theme park and saying How are yinz doing today and asking for a pop and the workers at Disney World looked at me confused. I asked for a pop and down here they call it soda. They did not know what I was asking for. I also said the word "yinz" and in Florida they say "yall" My way of speaking from my hometown was different from Florida and it took me a few years to adjust from the words I used in my hometown of Latrobe to the words they use here in Florida. It may seem small but it made me feel out of place and uncomfortable my first few years here in Florida. I try and take my experience and ensure this does not happen in my classroom by asking questions to the parents finding out how and what I can do in my classroom to ensure their child are comfortable in the learning environment.