Mr. Akimoto, who has lived in Hawai‘i for the last 12 years and who is the father of a 10-year-old boy, attended a parents’ day meeting at his son’s school. When the teacher praised his son, Mr. Akimoto started criticizing the boy, referring to his poor time management, his failure to study enough, and other flaws. He didn’t stop it until he saw that the teacher was mystified by what he was saying.

This is an example of a situation in which behavior learned in one culture is inappropriate in another culture. Modesty, highly valued in Japanese culture, where it is usually expressed through negative criticism, is inappropriate to the American school system, which is based on positive reinforcement of student effort.

The Japanese view modesty as a virtue and try to be humble in all types of human interactions. They would prefer to be modest when others praise or applaud them. Mr. Akimoto’s reaction to the teacher’s praise of his son is very common in Japan; however, it could have had serious consequences here had Mr. Akimoto unknowingly changed the teacher’s expectations of his son.

Students at HPU, with 105 countries represented in the study body, see culturally based dysfunctional behavior all the time and learn from it. We have all had classes in which Caucasian students speak out and Asian students keep quiet. Also Caucasian students often use nonverbal communication expressively while Asian students are relatively expressionless. These examples illustrate the patterns and standards of our own ethnic and social groups and also prompt us not only to appreciate other’s behavior, but also to emulate it appropriately.

One of the ways to understand other cultures is to experience their people and languages. Experience of different cultures makes us realize that we have our own “culture,” and that it affects our actions based on our perception of values. Often, other cultures offer different ways to do things that might be even better. For instance, at HPU a person from a country where individualism is discouraged can learn self-assertion. For U.S. born students at HPU, exposure, in the classroom, to students for high context cultures such as Japan or China provides an opportunity to learn how to communicate more effectively with them.

Discovering how a particular culture is reflected in its people’s behavior is incredibly enjoyable. And by learning to appreciate other cultures, we can educate one another