Someone’s history affects how they view their world. It affects their mindset, their values, and what they view as their culture. Kohls writes about Americans values being surrounded around themselves. Some of these values are change, time, individualism, privacy, self-help, future orientation, action orientation, honesty, and materialism (Kohls 1984). My interviewees value education in their life and their family’s life. Some characteristics that Kohls describes that contribute to valuing education would be self-help, future orientation, and materialism. Another value that was common between the people from different cultures was family. It is important to understand why these different cultures’ characteristics and family pertain to why they …show more content…
They explained that family is what can motivate and keep happiness throughout the family unit. Education and family were by far the most important parts in their lives. Something I question, how and why has cultural aspects and family shaped them into a person who values education?
Literature Review The articles I found made it clearer to me how important family is when it comes to education. One of the most important concepts I got was, “parental involvement is crucial to facilitating a child’s high school success and enhancing their post-secondary opportunities” (Villalba 2014: par. 3). This quote is important to better understanding both of my interviewees. My grandmother told me how much she pushed her children to succeed in their schooling. This article focused on how Latinos focused on education. The people who were intended to read this article and take something from it are Latino parents who now live in the United States with children who are going into the education system (Villalba 2014: par. 7). Sadly, this connects to my interviewee from Chile, but in a different way. She came to the United
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After reading other articles, I now understand that my Latino interviewee is part of a culture that is collectivist, unlike the American individualistic person. They focus on family and the success of a group. For this reason, education is an important part of their lives. My grandmother grew up in a different type of culture. She is part of the Polish culture but has been surrounded by American customs her whole life. After reading the article, I understand how growing up in different classes in the United States can change how a person views education. From living in the family she was raised in, she grew to value education. Both of my interviewees value education, and I now have a better understanding why from looking deeper into their culture and their family life
My object of study is Hispanic women experience inequality in education due to the social constructs of subordination of women and Hispanic culture. Historically women have been conditioned with a patriarchal system, which a woman’s domain should be at home, to be a homemaker. The ideology of inferiority can and will justify the deprivation of natural born rights. During the progressive area and women’s rights movement women wanted to be seen as people, they wanted to have rights to own property, negotiate wages, legal documents, access to birth control, and the right to vote, those women who had the voice to deal with these issues were white upper and middle class women. During this time Hispanic women, amongst other minorities, were fighting battles against racism, segregation, exploitation in the work force, access to a good education, and oppression through Hispanic culture. It is not just a struggle to be Hispanic overcoming the inequalities within the education system but to be a Hispanic women within the education system has greater disadvantages. This case study will investigate what forces contribute to the inequality within the education system for Hispanic women in the United States.
In the text, “The American Cultural Configuration” the authors express the desire of anthropologists to study their own culture despite the difficulty that one faces attempting to subjectively analyze their own society. Holmes and Holmes (2002), use the adage “not being able to see the forest through the trees” (p. 5) to refer to how hard it is for someone to study something they have largely taken for granted. Holmes' article focuses predominately on paradoxes within our own culture, many of which we don't notice. In a paradox, two contradictory statements can appear to be true at the same time. This essay looks at two paradoxes commonly found in everyday life: the individual versus the family and religion.
Growing up in a Mexican household where education isn’t a priority or important has been one of my major obstacles that I’ve had to overcome. Although my family’s culture believes that education isn’t necessary their experiences and lifestyles have influence and motivate my choices for my future. I come from a home where I have no role model or someone influential. I have no one to ask for advice for college or anything involve in school. In most homes, older siblings help their younger siblings with their homework or projects but in my house no one was able to provide me with any help. I grew up to be independent and to do anything school related on my own. My parents are both immigrants who didn’t get to finish elementary
Valenzuela utilizes various compilations of research to construct her exceptional argument regarding the issue of subtractive schooling with regards to 2nd generational immigrant students. She thoroughly analyzes and assesses the multitude of differences between 1st generation and 2nd generation students and their affinity for education. She divides the topic into 3 categories and asserts how each one adds to the issue of inadequate education for Mexican/Mexican-American students in the US public school system. Her research is conducted at Seguin (pseudonym) High School in Houston, Texas. She examines the effects of substandard education in regards to the students and their academic performance. She uses quantitative and qualitative research
Achieving the best education is a rewarding accomplishment for many students, especially for minority groups. It allows the individuals to pursue careers they love and be financially secure. But not everyone has been able to receive the best education possible . Throughout history Chicanos had to face inequality in the education system. They have been segregated, tracked, and denied culturally relevant programs. These problems have driven Mexican American student to fight for education rights with protests and lawsuits. Even though Chicanos have continued to struggle for many years, no progress has been made in the American education system. To this day, Chicanos continue to struggle with inequality in the education system such as the concerns with the increase dropout rates of no English speakers.
Alarcón, W., Cruz, C., Jackson, L., Prieto, L., & Rodriguez-Arroyo, S. (2011). Compartiendo Nuestras Historias : Five Testimonios of Schooling and Survival. Journal Of Latinos & Education, 10(4), 369-381. doi:10.1080/15348431.2011.605690
Hispanic culture has had a profound effect on American education when it comes to diversity in schools. “Here are now approximately 10 million Hispanic students in the nation’s public kindergartens and its elementary and high schools; they make up about one-in-five public school students in the United States” (Fry 5). There is predicted to be a strong growth in Hispanic students, by 2050 bureau projects predicts that the Hispanic school-age population will increase by 166% (Gonzales 5). With the increase of Hispanics in America, there has been an increase of the graduating Hispanics in school “A record seven- in – ten (69%) A Hispanic high school graduates in the class of 2012” (Fry 5). There has been a 97.1% enrollment rate for Hispanics in America ranging from ages 5 through 7 in 2011 (Fry 5). For college there has been a 15.3% enrollment for Hispanics ages 18 through 24, and for ages 25 and up the enrollment rate is 2.1% (Fry 5). More than 21% of schoolchildren are Hispanic (Samuels ...
Latinos will make a big portion of our education system as this population continues to grow in the United States. It is estimated that by 2050 about one quarter of our nation will be of Latino decent; this will be a higher number in some states such as California, Florida, New York, and Texas (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). At the same time, there has also being an increase in national interest in parental involvement in our schools. Schools who work with families to support learning of children at home, such as doing homework or reading, tend to succeed not just in school, but throughout life (Henderson & Berla, 1994). If having more parent involvement is important for students’ educational benefits we need to take a look at why some Latino parents are not involved in some schools and districts, and if they are not, we need to understand their perceptions of their participation in the education of their children. I will examine existing research, theories, and studies related to my research study.
Orozco, Graciela L. "Understanding the Culture of Low-Income Immigrant Latino Parents: Key to Involvement." The School Community Journal 1st ser. 18 (2008): 21-37. Web. .
I interviewed my grandmother, father and mother for this project. It was very interesting to uncover many of the stories and values that I was unaware of throughout my life. My father’s mother is currently 91 years old and offered a difficult interview by giving me too many stories to analyze for this project. She grew up in the Midwest and moved throughout several states as a child. Her parents separated when she was 8 years old leaving her mother to raise her independently. They settled in Missouri at a religious community called Unity Farm. Her mother taught school while raising my Grandmother. The value of educatio...
Latino/a Americans are also one of the fastest growing ethnic minority groups according to the United States Census Bureau (date). When looking into the Latino/a American culture, the most important values leisure time, activities, the Catholic church, and family relationships (Saracho & Spodek, 2005). Andres-Hyman, Ortiz, Anez, Paris, and Davidson (2006) state Latino/a Americans, like Asian Americans and African Americans, value collectivism, interdependence, and cooperation. Religion is also extremely important to the family and plays a huge role in daily life. Some families believe being socially well-educated is more important than being academically well-educated, and if an individual knows how to behave properly in a social setting, they will honor their family in the eyes of the community (Saracho & Spodek, 2005, p. 212). Latino/as rely on their family, community, traditional healers, and/or church for help during a health crisis, and value marianismo, which refers to traits in women including moral nurturing and self-sacrifice (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2014); the male counterpart, machismo refers to the belief that men should be strong and provide for their families (Andres-Hymean et al., 2006). Andres-Hyman et al. talk about the three major cultural constructs worth noting in the Latino American culture. The first construct is dignidad y respeto, which means dignity and respect. Familismo means family values and emphasizes family relationships and family loyalty. Lastly, personalismo refers to relating to one another on a personal level instead of a formal or institutional level. Latino/a culture also values building interpersonal relationships, and if one is unable to interact with others due to a...
Throughout history we have seen that family values have been one of the most important aspects of societies around the world. Although these values may be different from one another, we can see that it is a ma...
In this paper, my focus will be on Racial & Ethnic Characteristics, family structure and Culture. Some of the things that I will be talking about throughout my paper will be the different things from my generation and my parent’s generation as well. The reason why having a family is a major thing is because you can always enjoy time with them and share anything that you feel like is important with them. They will always be ready to hear anything their child has to say. It is not really hard to stay with them like someone that would leave their family over a small argument because they can always get over it regardless. Family is one and your only place where your life begins and love never ends. In order to create a family, you have to work for it to make it perfect, in order to be a good example of that whole society.
Education is a social problem that is very prominent in the world today. Education affects not only children currently attending school, but what they do when they are older. It affects where someone may end up later in their life, what job they will have, and how much money they will be making. Unfortunately, not everyone graduates high school, goes to college, and earns a high paying job. The cards some people are dealt can be much different, and education today arises as a social problem because of income, family life, and the area someone lives. These three areas can really help someone in their education, but it can also set them back.
What values are gained through education and individualism in America? The morals of education and individualism open the horizon for American’s through achieving a profession, find motivation within themselves to succeed, and knowing how to maintain that success. Once those accomplishments are acquired they become symbols of what an individual can achieve within their nation in becoming part of a productive community. Additionally, further recycling those gain opportunities of success amongst the following generation of American’s to help further prosper their country.