Anderson University stands out from other universities in many ways, with one of the reasons being Anderson’s travel and cultural opportunities. Traveling is an integral part of the learning process. Living or spending time in another country takes a student outside of their realm, literally and emotionally. They are forced into flexibility. The popular term “culture shock” is named that way for a reason. Students can also stretch their worldly knowledge through campus cultural events. While most colleges offer study-abroad options for their students, Anderson students can study-abroad, sign up for a Tri-S trip, or attend campus events if they desire to learn about cultures. Anderson University offers these possibilities to its students, but …show more content…
As a way to learn and validate the research process, the students of English 1120 each conducted a survey with the other students in the class. The task was to compose surveys of two or three focused subject questions. It was especially pertinent to create questions with enough depth so that the results would reveal information about student behavior. In the class survey I composed, students answered questions based on their relationship with cultures different from their own. The first question asks students if they had ever traveled, and how far their adventure took them if they had. Ten students have traveled outside of the United States borders, and five students have ventured across the pond to other countries. Students then answered the question, “Do you desire to know about cultures that differ from yours?” Twelve students replied that they do desire to learn more, and seven students replied that they would like to learn other ways of life in some respects. The final question asks, “Do you think learning about different cultures is beneficial to you as a student?” Eighteen out of the nineteen respondents marked that they believe cultural learning is beneficial to them in their academic life. For the students who show a desire for cultural learning, what are their …show more content…
Tri-S (Study, Serve, Share) is an office on campus dedicated to helping students participate in trips. Incredible! It is such a need on campus that there is a whole office devoted to cultural learning. Every year, Tri-S groups travel out of the country. Furthermore, twenty-five percent of Anderson’s undergraduate population chooses to go on a Tri-S trip each year (Donna Sharp). “Through programs like Tri-S and study abroad, students have the opportunity to actively engage with other cultures; to “cross borders and connect worlds,” if you will” (Ryan Grondahl). Tri-S trips are not the only cultural learning form. Anderson students also have the chance to study abroad. Generally, the students must have some experience in a country’s language, but students are not limited to non-English speaking countries. “Sally Shulmistras, French professor and co-chair of the Department of Modern Foreign Language, said that studying abroad, ‘is a great opportunity for all students who want to have a true understanding of another culture’”(Hannah Schumacher). For students who desire to learn without traveling, there still proves to be plenty of options. “AU has held events this month to commemorate African-American History. The AU Renaissance fair captured the attention of many students by putting on a jazz concert in Mocha Joe’s. Other events included a free showing of the film, ‘12 Years a Slave,’ a series of
In A Woman Who Went to Alaska, students were introduced to the local culture that can be found in Alaska, particularly during the Gold Rush. In “Ruby Bridges: A Girl of Courage,” students were able to understand what it was like growing up as an African American in the Southern United States, particularly during the Civil Rights Era. While they don’t promote international cultural diversity per se, these two readings can still expose students to cultures (or rather, past mindsets) that they are not necessarily aware
“In addition to giving special attention to the history and current situation of their own nation, [children should] learn a good deal more than they frequently do about the rest of the world in which they live” (6). In this method of education, students will be creating bonds with characteristics of cultures that they personally find good and worthy of upholding. Rather than upholding traditions of their own nation without the respect they where originally meant to give. In this way, you would find differences in other nations cultures and not see them as flaws, but as unique features you can appreciate and strive to
Cultural differences pose several barriers for students and may impair their opportunity to learn. These barriers are created by differences in language expression, communication style, preferred learning style, gender-role customs and behaviors, and limited parental involvement due to these cultural or socioeconomic barriers (Ralabate, & Klotz, 2007).
The life of a college student is really amazing and diverse. In fact, a person can expect to live with people from different cultures, background, and histories that it is a mix of diverse multicultural experience. Even more when a student can talk with another student from a different part of the world with totally different culture, this was my case when I interview my friend from Nigeria.
Cultural Studies has provided a reader and a group of people with a basis as to what is acceptable and what is not. It has allowed for a better understanding and for an acceptance of texts involving subject material that may or may no be offensive to some readers.
In such a multicultural world, being knowledgeable and understanding of not only your cultural background, but that of others is essential. Building my awareness on cultures different from my own, and how it shapes an individual’s identity, will foster my personal and professional development. Subsequently, I conducted a cultural interview with an individual whose cultural background differed from my own. Several similarities and differences between our cultures were apparent in the interview, specifically in the areas of race, ethnicity, language, values, and worldview.
As stated in my Week 3 Journal Entry, at one point I was helping in a classroom with a child who speaks Spanish. Instead of trying to force the child to speak English, I tried to use some basic Spanish when I worked with them in order to make the child feel more comfortable. I believe by making this small effort to speak the child’s native language that the child was more willing to participate in class and try to learn English. An additional example of making a relation from the text to a personal experience is when I was in elementary through high school. I did not realize until reading Spring’s book how little cultural diversity was taught in my elementary, middle, and high school. I went to school in a very Scandinavian county, and we did not have a lot of diversity. There were several students in the district who came from Hispanic, Asian, or African decent—but they were very few. I cannot recall a day when a teacher spent time to discuss a one of these student’s cultures, which is utterly ridiculous. With the amount of time spent in school and the amount of diversity in the world, it seems illogical to barely speak of ethnic and cultural diversity. Even though there were only a handful of students in the district from different cultures, it would have been beneficial to learn more about the rest of the world because when high school is done we all go out into that diverse world. I know I will take the time and make the effort to teach my future students about the beauty of diversity and
Experiencing a society of multi-cultures is beneficial through a variety of concepts to epitomize each individual identity. A person may vary in the degree to which he or she identifies with, morals, or...
One of my core beliefs and values as a person is that much of the learning we do as people comes from being pushed out of out comfort zones. The best way to grow is to test the limits of what we’ve grown accustomed to, and undoubtedly you experience this when you travel and live outside of the country. For most of my Freshman year, college itself has been where I have been doing a lot of growing. I moved away from home, all the way across the country, experienced culture shock, and took classes I would have previously shied away from. However, now that I am closing in on the end of Spring Quarter, I am looking for new ways to expand my worldview now that UW feels like home. I am ready to do more growing.
To conclude, cultures are a major part of our lives and they constitute the image we see the world in. cultures can sometimes influence us, even in ways we don’t expect. Sometimes we find ourselves forced in cultures with negative stereotypes but that does not mean we should be ashamed of those cultural groups but rather embrace our culture and stray from the negative characteristics of that
International students face many different challenges when studying abroad. This is due to many factors. First they are living in a country very far away from their own. The country they are studying in also has a very different way of life than theirs. Also the laws in foreign country are much different than the laws in their own country. Due to that they face a lot of problems trying to adapt to this new culture. Me personally as an international student in the US studying in ASU have faced three particularly difficult challenges that I was able to overcome through time. In this essay I will explain how international students can overcome tough challenges and situations.
The Role of Culture in Shaping us as Individuals Culture has a big impact on how we all fit in as individuals in today’s society, and since this assignment is about that I decided to include some of my own experiences to illustrate my point of view and compare it with those of my classmates and some of the readings. My family and I moved to United States in 1998 from Albania. My parents believed that I and my sister would get a better education here and also it would be useful and interesting to learn another language and its culture.
“Schools are changing in ways that, up until a few years ago, we thought unimaginable. Today, schools are more diverse than ever, and those trends will continue into the future. Unfortunately, teachers and schools have not always met the challenge of linguistic and cultural diversity” (Laureate, 2014). We must take the opportunity to get to know our students in order to recognize and value their uniqueness. “Teachers must work to understand the cultures of their students in a meaningful way, which involves recognizing the beliefs, values, and behaviors that characterize the various cultures of their students. Students themselves can be a valuable resource in learning about a culture” (Trail, 2000). Observations are a valuable method of assessment. Through observations, teachers can take note on students’ development, learning styles, students’ needs, and cultural influences. Teachers can use these notes to make better choices that impact student learning. These observations and interactions will also help us learn about other cultures. Having the opportunity to observe and interact with the students will equip you with information that cannot be learned from a book.
Finally, the movement to a divergent country, culture, and customs are valuable experience in my life for many reasons. The first value from this experience shaped me as autonomous person. For example, in the past I relied on my family on very thing, however, after this action I had a lot of knowledge to manage and control my life. Also, my family believes in my decision and my opinion more than before. Furthermore, I have ability to communicate with many people from many different countries after I had had this experience. Being in a new country opened my mind to many different cultures which helped me to build my communication skills. To illustrate this point, in my class, we have international students from China, Korea, America, Italy, and so on, so it allows me to communicate with many cultures and know about them.
The word 'culture' is often described in terms of concrete ideas or social artifacts. Gary R. Weaver describes some common conceptions such as "good taste," "art or music," or "something that people in exotic foreign lands had."1 However, culture in the context of international assignments relates to how people perceive the world and the influence this perception has on their actions. It is culture on the interpersonal level. Different cultures can perceive the same thing differently, which leads to miscommunication and misunderstanding when one crosses into another culture not their own.