Cultural Autobiography
Reflection
Culture is imbedded into everyone whether they know it or not. With this, everyone’s unique individual culture allows them to have different opinions and views. This is crucial when a student learns, because it brings a new level to the lesson that is being taught. With this, I definitely agree that culture is the center to student learning. As teachers, we have to prepare ourselves for the numerous types of cultures that we will come into contact with throughout our professional career. Of course, as an aspiring teacher, I knew that not every student would be of the same cultural background, due to my own experiences from when I was in school. This passage however, showed me a more complex definition of culture then the one I used to assume. I used to think that culture was mainly where you were from and what your religion was. This passage helped me see that I was just scratching the
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I hope that with being in contact with such a variety of cultures already, that I will have no problem with cultural diversity in my classroom. I hope that being friends with people of different cultures will help me see things the way a student of the same culture sees it. One major thing I did take out of this assignment was that I need to be sensitive to everyone’s culture and to not make assumptions of a student the first time I see them. I also learned that I need to be curious about the student’s background so that I can get to know them better and so that I can create lessons that students of varying backgrounds can all enjoy so that they can succeed inside my classroom. I also hope that having a favorable attitude with students of different diversities will show students that while many people are raised different culturally, that does not mean you still can’t be kind and become friends with
So many lessons and skills can be learned from the topic of diversity. Learning about different cultures and diversity can strengthen a child 's sense of self as well as the sense of others.Keeping diversity in class can also educate the children on the differences in the different cultures in the world. This allows them to see different living conditions, taste different foods,and experience different traditions. A final reason to keep diversity in the classroom is in doing so betters the teacher being self-aware of diversity can prevent any bias acts being taken in the class. It reminds the teachers to stay open minded and equal toward any and every student that is getting an
Diversity includes not only the student’s abilities, but also their learning styles and cultural backgrounds. In addition, the teacher’s educational philosophy, which is comprised of their own values, beliefs, cultural and socioeconomic background, are factors in how the diversity of the classroom is perceived and addressed. Research by Khan, Lindstrom, & Murray, stated that, “teachers’ beliefs about diversity and their varying levels of cultural competence can positively or negatively influence their ability to effectively work with culturally diverse students” (2014, p.55). When educators are aware of these differences, they are able to appropriately plan, modify and conduct meaningful
The article talks about how teachers need to have cultural compatibility. While it might be difficult for some teacher to grasp and understand the different cultures behaviors and beliefs. For those teacher that can are more likely to provide a learning environment that is enriching and responsive to the children’s different cultures. Teacher should have “meaningful interactions with members of other cultures and promote cultural disequilibrium (Colombo, 2005, p. 2).” Activities that have this are more likely to increase cultural competence.
Culture is an aspect of everyone's life. It helps others to understand another person's beliefs and actions. There are multiple cultures in the world which are opposed to their own kind seeking help for a mental illness. There is an infinite number of cultures that are represented in the United States. “Many cultural and religious teachings often influence beliefs about the origins and nature of mental illness, and shape attitudes towards the mentally ill.” (1). One's cultural beliefs can make them think about whether or not they should seek to get help for a mental illness. Among the cultures around the world and particularly in the US, many Asian cultures do not want the community members to be receiving help for their mental illness. In these cultures mental illness is seen as shameful, because these cultures influence the “conformity to norms, emotional self-control, and family recognition through achievement.” (1). There are many cultural factors that play a role in whether or not a person will receive therapy. These factors include: language, level of acculturation, age, gender, occupational issues, family structure, religious beliefs, and traditional beliefs about mental health (2). Language limits the access of therapy. If a person living in the United States does not speak English very well, it could influence them to not seek therapy. There is a large focus on “in-group/out-group” in many Asian cultures, as in everyone who is in the family/community around them are in the “in-group” and everyone else who is not like them are in the “out-group.”
Just because other perspectives are incorporated in the classroom, this doesn’t mean that everyone will become more understanding and appreciative of other cultures. When multicultural practices have rigorous standards, allow the advancement of social communications with other cultures, and allow the advancement social justice concepts both inside and outside of the classroom, this is when students will become more appreciative of other cultures (Ladson-Billings, 1995, p.162).
According to Webster’s Dictionary, culture is defined as tradition or a way of life. It is also a defining principle in how we live our life and the type of people we become. The Salish Indians of the Montana and Celie, the main character of the book The Color Purple, are two examples of cultures that made them who they are. Celie is a poor, black, woman growing up in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-twentieth century. The men have constantly put her down, through beatings and rape, for being a woman with no talent at all. Her husband’s lover comes to town and gives Celie a chance to see a culture where a woman can stand up for herself and teaches her that love is possible. The Salish on the other hand have a culture that has gone on through the ages and still is a part of each person today despite the obstacles they have had to face. Culture does shape us because from birth it is what tells us our ideals, laws, and morals that we live by each day.
America is a multicultural society that is compiled of many ethnicities and cultural orientations. With the different backgrounds, it can sometimes be a task to incorporate each culture in the classroom. It is the teachers’ responsibility to make his or her classroom a multicultural environment for their students to broaden their horizons. Many may think
I will always use different learning styles. Also, I will not “favorite” a certain race or ethnicity. I will involve my students in creating a diverse classroom by them always questioning, “Is this fair?” “Should we judge based off of race or language?” In my classroom, my students will be challenged to do one of two tasks. The first task will be to research the different races, ethnicities, religions, language, or social class and why it is important to represent diversity or acceptance. The second task will be to research the different issues in schools when diversity was not represented in a classroom. The students will be given the resources to complete one of the following tasks each week. The resources will include books and several websites. It is important for students to understand the different cultures within the United States. By the students understanding the many different cultures could help them be more accepting and not judge a person based on their race, language, religion, or any other culture identification. Diversity in a classroom is important. Both teachers and students should value and respect the different cultures. A teacher should represent positivity towards the diversity in the classroom. Teachers are role models for their students and they should not in any shape or form not accept a student because of their race, gender, nationality, or language. In my
Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students gaining a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably than a judgmental and prejudiced view.
Every human is unique because of the genetic diversity, and also their culture. Culture does not necessarily define a person, but it does influence one’s beliefs and values. Culture can be defined as shared patterns of behaviors, ways of thinking, and interactions that are learned through socialization. Your genetic make up, most likely, will not change, unless you are somehow introduced to radioactive substances. Culture, however, because it is learned, it can vary and it can change over time. When analyzing culture, people tend to focus on certain aspects such as religion, music, language, diet, and education. Culture seems to have a definitive and infinitive meaning. This means that while culture can focus on certain aspects of ones life, it is not confined to one particular definition. Culture can vary. My definition of culture is that it is a learned behavior due to family history, environment, and social interaction.
In Clyde Kluckhohn's passage, adapted from his book, Mirror for Man, we are given an illumination of anthropology on the concept of culture. He explains that culture is not only derived by "the way we are brought up," but also personal past experiences and the biological properties of the people concerned. As humans we have learned to adapt to our own personal surroundings and have conditioned ourselves and our life styles to revolve around such surroundings by the most comfortable means possible.
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.
Cultural anthropology has taught me a lot in such a short time. This class has been very eye opening to me and has made me think more about the different cultures around me and just how important it is to learn about them. One of the things I have learned is how religion is related to culture. Culture is behaviors of a community such as the food they make, the music they listen to, and the rituals they take part in. This can be very similar to religion because a culture is based off of their religious beliefs. Some cultures do not eat pig because it is against their religious beliefs. Some cultures listen to particular songs because it is based off of their religious beliefs. Another thing cultures relate closely to is languages. Without language
“Culture consists of values, traditions, worldview, and social and political relationships created, shared, and transformed by a group of people bound together by a common history, geographic location, language, social class, religion, or other shared identity” (Nieto & Bode, 2008). Now that we have identified the characteristics of culture in the definition provided above, we can discuss the upbringing of the student I chose for my observation. For this observation, I chose a third grade male student named Israel Oketunmbi. I gathered most of the information about...
In fact, at schools there is a lot of diversity. In the classroom cultural diversity should be appreciated because they will want to learn more about themselves and their culture (Borkar). Different groups means that there will be a wide variety of topics to discuss. This benefits the students because they can learn about the many different perspectives of the world around them. They can learn different ways of thinking and n...