Across the Board Respect

This morning in the shower something clicked within my brain: with two more weeks and one more paycheck before July 5th that I could establish a payment plan and enroll in a community college. Unbeknownst to me some of my best ideas come while in the shower because there is no stress and I start off fresh without any problems. Little did I know what would unfold at the departmental cross-cultural seminar.

This morning’s cross-cultural instructor astounded, encouraged and provoked my thinking to enhance and excel in an increasingly global workforce and society without prejudging and discriminating against any other. Her life was prolific: A black female baby boomer serving as active military; traveling to far distant places such as Japan, England, etc.; managing a family; earning an MBA and continues teaching others at Montgomery College, the local community college. It literally blew me away! She possessed a dynamic personality which was immediately felt as she greeted everyone with a handshake and introduced herself. The seminar was thoughtful by providing positive and realistic solutions regarding cross-cultural solutions as well as dissected and reexamining generational differences. As a 28-year-old she was the first person to say that my generation, which she labeled the Boomerangers, because though we received a college education would return home to reside with our parents, comprised of the best thinkers and were the most educated and technologically savvy people in the office. We didn’t need computer lessons, learned extremely quickly and demanded respect and results. Respect is the main word she stamped into our minds over and over again because truly that what understanding different cultures is all about in the first place. Throughout the seminar all of my accomplishments came back to me: attaining both a BA and an MBA; graduating from high school with Honor Spanish V and Honors English IV; traveling to London as the only Northerner on a southern university program (that was intra-cultural and inter-cultural shock at times); relocating from Cleveland to Washington, DC and making decent middle-class money; and, am in the process of continuing my MA in Economics degree because discipline and follow-through are very important to me.

Ms. Middleton also told the class about her presentation at the United Nations and how she met children throughout the world who knew four to five different languages (Well, at least I knew two and will be learning another two through either a cultural learning center or an agency). She also asked the Secretary if there were programs created here to which he didn’t provide a real answer. She admonished the US school system that except for the Chicago public school system for not teaching American children foreign languages. When she asked did she know of anyone whose children attended a public school system reminiscent to her example, only I rose my hand; and, secretly thought that I knew children twenty years ago studying Chinese. Heck, I took Spanish. Learning another language was nothing new but I noticed that foreign language instruction was reserved for honor students only.