Different cultures have different manners. Actions considered okay in one culture can be considered bad manners or insulting in another culture. Some of these differences can seem strange or weird. Understanding differences in acceptable manners is important and conforming to acceptable manners for where you are shows your respect for the dominant culture where you are and will help you to not stand out or be considered unrefined and rude.
I learned a number of cultural differences while on my mission in the Dominican Republic. In the Dominican Republic, it is rude to point with your finger and instead you point with your lips. It is also rude to reject food or drink when offered it while visiting someone's home. As missionaries from the United States, we were told not to drink tap water or anything made from tap water because there were parasites in the water that would make us sick. In such a case it was acceptable to tell the people that tap water would hurt us. Because of this many people who we visited regularly would have bottled water or previously boiled water and then use that water to make juice for us.
Knowing the cultures of students in a classroom will allow a teacher to not inadvertently offend or insult students or be interpreted as having bad manners. Further such knowledge will make a teacher aware of possible misunderstandings between students of different cultures and/or between the teacher and students of different cultures. Learning and teaching about cultural differences in manners and how those differences came to be can help everyone understand each other better.
Hi, I agree with you. It is very important for a teacher knowing about the backgrounds of the students to not inadvertently offend them or to interpret badly their manners. This also is a good opportunity for the students to know each other and to find richness in the different cultures.
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