Writing Across Borders

The main point in the first part of the documentary was that students and teachers of different cultures vary on views of what good writing is and how to write.  This was present in many ESL students at Oregon State.  The one professor said, in a point of view paper on cafeteria food in schools, that she felt much differently about the topic since she grew up in a part of the world where nutrition was much lower than in the United States.  As teachers we must recognize that writing reflects our background experiences, and sometimes our students have very different experiences than ours.  A Japanese and Peruvian student describes the format of an essay being different in Japan and Peru.  In their eyes,  they value the way that they write because of the enforcement that they had in the country they are from.  It would be the same if a student that came from a school in Chicago that told their students to make their paragraphs only a couple of sentences to be short and to the point and then that student goes to a school in the suburbs and then gets marked off for making their paragraph too short.  The student from Colombia mentions that writing is also a reflection of how you speak in your culture.  I would agree that it is a cultural thing for Americans to say "How are you?" in passing and not wait for your answer.  I can see how it may be disagreeable to different cultures, but because it is something that we do not see as offensive but practical and acceptable, I do not think there is anything wrong with it.  Now if I know that a person has different customs, I will accomedate myself because I know that they are used to something different.  Is it wrong of me to think that my own cultural habits are wrong?  I feel as though I should still keep my cultural habits and my own identity, but when helping students with their intellectual growth and development to leave my preferences at the door. 
What this documentary enforces is that writing is relative, what you have read or said and gotten good feedback on is what you will try to reproduce.  However, that does not always mean that everyone will like it.  When teaching students of different cultures than your own, and even students with the same culture, the way that they have been expected to express themselves is a valued and appropriate technique.