Culture Reflection Ellis

Review of Chapter 1 Culture

Review- What did you learn?

            This chapter on culture challenged me to think a lot about my own views on the subject while I was reading. I found it very interesting that the author talked about culture being made up of so many different aspects of a person’s life from their family to location to even literature. All of these different parts of our lives shape who we become. I realize how important it is to understand my own perspective on culture so I can understand how it relates to my views of the world and how that translates to my classroom.

            I also learned that culture includes the way people communicate. Some cultures are more relaxed about this process than others. For example, some cultures tell stories and have discussions while others listen more before they speak. This is something that needs to be shared because it helps explain more about how students and even parents interact within the school. Cultures can be characterized by these aspects and many others. These characterizations are not meant to stereotype. They are supposed to help understand different culture groups.  As Noel (2008) says, “ a major role for schools, including the teachers who work in them, is to recognize the cultural socialization of students, to understand the effects on students’ identities, and to determine the steps to take to provide an educational and social experience for students that does not harm student’s socially constructed identities” (p.37). I think this all boils down to being aware of not only your own cultural identity but of the cultural identities of your students.

Reflect- What did it mean to you?

            When reflecting on this chapter, I thought about how much has changed since I was in school. I was not in a culturally diverse area and because of that I was not challenged to think about people and ideas that were different from my own. I think that is why I chose to work in a more diverse school. I think it is more fun and definitely more challenging to teach children from diverse backgrounds.  As schools are becoming more diverse, we need to redefine culture and how it applies to our schools and our classrooms. To accomplish this, we also need to think about what we are teaching our children and how we expect them to behave and act in a classroom. Just because something worked in the past does not mean that it is right for the future. I also enjoyed reading the case studies. They really made me think about how important it is to get to know as much as we can about our students. As educators, we need to be more understanding of our students.

Refine- How will you use the information in your classroom?

            What I have taken from this chapter is that I need to understand my own views of culture as well as my students. I need to make sure that I am considering their backgrounds and beliefs before I make decisions in the classroom. I cannot just focus on what I think is “normal” or right. I need to become more aware of what students are bringing to the classroom and how my choices are making them feel. Doing this will help me become a better educator. I think that one way to embrace the different cultures in my classroom is through literature. I need to make sure that my classroom library represents the different cultures of my students. I should include books where children speak different languages. I have started trying to add to my classroom library in this way and love seeing my students get excited when they find books that they can relate to.  This chapter taught me that in order to teach students to embrace and accept different cultures that I must set an example for them to follow.  I need to encourage students to be themselves. We are all unique and it is important to celebrate these qualities. I need to make sure that I find ways to do this as often as possible.

References

Noel, J. (2008). Developing Multicultural Educators. Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc.