My Brown Eyes
Facilitator’s Guide
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
Table of Content
Cultural Competence in the Classroom
Introduction: Cultural Diversity
Background
Synopsis
Using the Film in Organizational Setting
Learning for Your Organization
Taking Action
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
Introduction: Diversity/ Cultural Competence
This video can be viewed at many levels. The aim is to promote understanding of those
who may be different from us. Many of the audience may be able to identify in some way
with the main character. All will be able to learn something about being different.
What is Culture and Cultural Competence?
Culture has been defined as "the shared values, traditions, norms, customs, arts, history,
folklore, and institutions of a group of people." We concern ourselves with culture
because understanding culture helps us to understand how others interpret their
environment. Culture helps shape how people view the world around them and their roles
within it. Culture also helps shape group values and attitudes, including perceptions about
the efficacy, helpfulness and the reasonableness of things. Understanding culture also
helps participants avoid stereotypes and biases that can undermine their efforts. It
promotes a focus on the positive, and reflects an appreciation of cultural differences.
What are key elements of Cultural Competence and why is this important:
Cultural competence is defined as a set of behaviors and attitudes integrated into the
methods of an organization and its professionals, that enables them to work effectively in
cross cultural situations. Cultural competency is achieved by developing the skills and
practices important in cross-cultural interactions and using knowledge about individuals
and groups of people to create specific practices and policies to apply in appropriate
cultural settings. When professionals are culturally competent, they establish positive
helping relationships, engage the customer, and improve the quality of services they
provide.
Changing Demographic trends = Need for cultural competence
The United States is formed by immigrants from many cultures. The rapidly changing
demographic of the United States has placed an increased emphasis in studying, living,
working with people from different cultures. Even after many generations many of the
immigrant groups still retain much of their culture. There has been growth of immigrants
and refugees from all over the world. Hispanics now outnumber African Americans at
more 12% of the population and growing. Asian and Pacific Islanders are about 4% of the
population and also growing. For school-age children, minorities now account for 40% of
the population and the growth trend is expected to grow. This has made it increasingly
important that everyone and particularly educators increase their cultural awareness and
competence.
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
Background
About Jay J. Koh
A native of South Korea, Jay and his family immigrated to the United States in 1979. Jay
was at that time about the same age as the boy portrayed in My Brown Eyes. Today, Jay
makes the great Northwest his home: he is a graduate of University of Washington and
the Vancouver Film School in British Columbia.
Jay is an active leader and educator in his community. He is the executive director of
Kingstreet Media, a non-profit motion picture production company dedicated to
educating and developing new and emerging talent in the Asian American community.
Kingstreet Media actively seeks and produces films that demystify Asian Americans and
other under represented communities that Hollywood and the mass media left behind. Jay
also dedicates his spare time teaching leadership skills to the brightest high school
students of Washington State in its summer leadership education program sponsored by
The Washington State Secondary Principle's Association. Jay also tours the nation with a
lecture series focusing on race and media. He has spoken at Duke University, NC Chapel
Hill, University of Washington, Oregon State University, and Southern Oregon State
College.
Synopsis of My Brown Eyes
An eight-year-old boy rises early and prepares for his first day of school in America.
Clever & resourceful, he makes his own lunch and also breakfast for his immigrant
parents who work until early morning, but he is unprepared for the challenge that awaits
him at school. The rest of the film depicts the child who becomes excluded and silent at
school: children laugh at the little boy's name and make fun of the lunch he has prepared.
This is a beautiful and poignant story of immigrant life as told from the point of view of a
child.
Although My Brown Eyes is a simple story of an immigrant boy's first day of school in
America, the impact of this video is tremendous. Jay Koh's film not only heighten
awareness but captures hearts and forever impacts his audience's view of what the
American immigrant experience is about.
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
Using the Film in Organizational Setting
The facilitator should prepare viewers for the emotional content of the film and create an
environment in which emotional reactions, including crying are okay.
Participants will be afforded the opportunity to reflect on the issues raised in the film.
The time needed is flexible, but at least forty-five minutes is recommended.
After Viewing the Documentary you may want to follow the viewing with one or more of
the following activities:
First Reactions – Ask participants to reflect and write down reactions alone. This
gives participants time to reflect on this powerful film.
General Discussion- Ask participants to reflect on questions that the facilitator
will bring forth. Encourage discussion.
Specific Reactions – Facilitator will try to dig deeper into the reactions of the
participants with the aim of trying to determine their cultural bias. Facilitator will
discuss the language barrier, socio-economic barrier and the ethnic minority
barrier to cultural communication.
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
First Reactions
Procedure: Ask participants to write down quickly the initial thoughts on each of the
following characters in the film.
Parents
Child
School/Teacher
Classmates
General Discussion
Procedure:
In a discussion, ask the participants to consider any or all of the following:



What did you learn?
What scenes do you think you will still remember a month from now and why
those scenes?
Did any part of the film surprise you? Do you think someone of a different
race, ethnicity, or religion would also find it surprising?
Be sure to elicit responses from the audience on the following:

The responsibility of the parents to the child

The responsibility of the school to the child

The responsibility of the teacher to the child
Looking at the film’s main characters:
What are your reactions toward the following:
The little boy
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
Imagine yourself in his shoes. Imagine moving to a different country where the people do
not speak your language. Do you feel that the boy’s actions are understandable?
His parents
What is your first impression of the boy’s parents?
Did you think it was strange that they did not get up in the morning to make breakfast?
Why do you think they did not come to school to pick up their child after the fight?
The Teacher
What is your first impression of the teacher?
How would you have treated the boy differently had you known that he did not speak the
language?
The boys in the playground
What is your impression of the boys in the playground?
Do you feel that is something that is likely to happen in your school?
How do you explain the behavior of the boys?
Specific Reactions:
What is the impact of the language barrier?
What can the teacher and the institution do about it?
What are some of the socio-economic assumptions of the participants?
How did they impact their view of the child and his parents and the teacher?
What is the impact of being a minority?
How did the fact that the child was a member of an ethnic minority impact the way the
participants viewed the child and his parents?
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
Learnings for the organizations
Factors affecting Cross-cultural communication
1. The impact of the language barrier on the interaction
In the video we see that the little boy is altogether at a loss in school. His lack of English
language skills immediately sets him apart from the group. Unable to communicate, he is
flustered when the teacher asks him questions, and he can not bridge the gulf when the
other boys ask him to play ball with them.
Many teachers may never have had much diversity in the classroom. For many it may
have only been recently that they have encountered a recent immigrant in their classroom.
Some are unaware that there are students who only speaks English as a second language
or does not speak English at all. Many are not prepared or trained to accommodate such
students.
Language discrimination has long been used to discriminate against new immigrants.
Many people in the United States feel that people in America who do not speak English
well are either dumb or very different from us. However immigrants are neither.
Immigrants are no different from the rest of us. Immigrants who move to the United
States in the adult stage of life often have a more difficult time learning English than the
young. They are given fewer opportunities because they are assumed to be less capable.
2. The impact of socio-economic assumptions and cultural values
Many immigrants come to this country and have to work hard just to survive. Many
recent immigrants may have been professionals in their home country. They may thus
have left behind their careers as teachers, accountants, lawyers, physicians when they
came to the United States. With limited English language skills and non-transferable
educational degrees or licenses, they would have to earn their living as small
shopkeepers, seamstress, dry cleaners, or restauranteurs. These would all require many
long hours for many years.
Most teachers belong to the middle class and may not understand the economic struggles
of recent immigrants who are often struggling financially. Many participants have
expressed shock that the parents in the video were not more involved in the life of the
child. The parents did not get up in the morning, nor come to school when the principal
called home. Some may even think that it is child abuse to ask the boy to clean the
parents’ room after school. You may ask if anyone had noticed that the boy turned off the
alarm clock so that his parents can sleep more. They were probably in a hurry to leave
home as they did not clean up after having breakfast.
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
Another point to note is that the parents bought over-large shoes and did not seem to
know their own children’s shoe size. This is also a socio-economic factor as many
parents will buy larger clothes and shoes for their children to grow into.
Review the impact of being a minority
Many have commented on the differing realities faced by minority population. Many in
minority communities live apart from the majority community either because they need
the support of community or because their housing opportunities are limited.. Their
network of friends and acquaintances, and the businesses that they patronize may include
mostly members of the same community. In such a community, there often forms a group
identity. And if the minority community feels marginalized by the majority, it may view
everything through the prism of “us versus them.”
Minorities often have a different perception of bias than the majority. As an example, a
teacher may call upon a student because the teacher is comfortable knowing that the
particular student will know the answer and give a reasonable response. The minority
student who may also know the answer may feel that there is bias because he or she does
not speak as well. If the student begins to see thing through the “us versus them” prism,
then his conclusion may be that the white middle-class teacher does not care much about
him or his community.
In the 2000 census, there were some 10 million Asian Americans. It is a very diverse
population with immigrants from over 10 countries, from Korea to the Philippines to
India. Within each population there is also tremendous diversity in social economic
background and English language proficiency, from professionals to peasant farmers. The
perception that they are a model minority has led to diminished attention to the needs of
many in the community who do need help. Asian Americans are also often thought of as
“the perpetual foreigner.” Many have experienced in their interaction with the majority
culture, that there is an automatic assumption that they are not American, are unpatriotic
and are more loyal to foreign governments than there own.
Taking Action
The first step is to acknowledge and accept differences. There are many dimensions by
which a person can be measured. There is diversity in race, gender, socio-economic
status, abilities and disabilities. Be aware of one’s own cultural values. How does one’s
own culture value work and play, personal distance, emotional closeness, hospitality and
thrift. Such self-examination of cultural influences can lead to a better understanding of
how one view others.
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
Continually assess the cultural competence of the organization. The cultural competence
of individuals in the organization will vary widely, falling in a continuum of values. Their
rate of change will also vary. Thus the cultural competence of the organization is
constantly evolving as the organization learns and changes.
Be aware of the impact of learned expectations or stereotypes when interacting across
cultures. A classic example from the video is the different cultural expectations of body
language. In mainstream United States, it is expected to maintain eye contact and speak
up. In many other cultures, the expectation is to avoid direct eye contact and to defer to
elders. Yet this action would be interpreted as either disrespectful or unreliable in the
United States.
Make a conscious effort to understand the role of culture in the behavior of others. Seek
to understand the norms of behavior and how group dynamics develop. Consult with the
ethno-cultural communities and expand cultural knowledge
Ask participants what kinds of things school or teachers could have done differently.
The chart below summarizes what could the school have done differently.
Analysis of Conscious versus Unconscious Bias
Bias
Anti-Bias
Awareness and acceptance
of difference.
Proactive process for new
students.
Lack of training, translator,
ESL
Challenging the idea that
bias is always intentional
Conscious
Unconscious
Unequal Access
Practice some of the below skills and take some chances:
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
How to develop cultural competence in teaching children of color, poor children and
immigrant children
-
Be aware of language barriers
Learn about your students (names, culture, family)
Learn about different cultures
Encourage parental input
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
First Reactions
Write down quickly the initial thoughts on each of the following characters in the film.
Parents
Child
School/Teacher
Classmates
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide
The facilitator Guide has been developed with feedback and input from:
Frederick Chen, Ph. D., Thomas More College
Deborah Wei, School District of Philadelphia
©2004 Master Communications, Inc. My Brown Eyes Facilitator Guide