Culture Reflection-Phillips                                                                                                        

 

What did you learn?

Having grown up in a large Scotch-Irish family, I have experienced the comfort and sense of belonging that a common culture brings to life and the changing and evolving of that same culture as time progresses and I change and interact with the world around me. I haven't spent much time reflecting on these changes, but after reading the chapter, it was evident to me that even though we may not want to acknowledge it, culture is not static (Noel, 2008,p.14). It changes and evolves as we do. Even though I already knew that our culture shapes who we are and how we think, it was interesting to read that in addition to meeting our needs, our culture may also create new needs that can be harmful (Noel, 2008,p.14). Our need to "fit-in" is strong and can often create a negative atmosphere.

The idea of looking at the components of culture rather than characteristics of a particular culture was new to me. The components of time and space were particularly intriguing. My cultural background taught me to value promptness and personal space. I have often felt uncomfortable when someone gets "too close" when conversing with me, even though I knew that this was not meant to be threatening or offensive.

I knew that school culture has a great impact on the shaping of our children, but never gave much thought to the far reaching impact on students coming from different cultures. As a student teacher in my undergrad days, I was taught that the role of public education was to educate and create productive members of society. I never viewed this as a "way to keep dominant groups powerful and to ensure that those who have little position or power remain less powerful (Noel, 2008,p.34).

What did it mean to you?

This first chapter prompted me to give thought to how much my life has changed over the years. My views have been shaped not only by my family and culture, but by the schools I attended and the friends and people I have met along my journey. Many of my views and ideas are not those of my parents or grandparents.

The idea that we can look at culture through components rather than stereotypes and generalizations is comforting and appeals to my sense of fairness. Also, I have new insight as to how my role as an educator has been shaped by my culture and that of the school system in which I teach. I am somewhat disturbed that while creating "productive" members of society, we (educators) may have been destroying a student's sense of self and cultural identity.  

Journal Reflection 1                                                                                                          2

How will you use the information in your classroom?

I intend to be more cognizant of the students in my class, to explore and understand their backgrounds and views, taking time to give them validation before introducing them to new learnings and ways of viewing the world.  

I want to scrutinize my teaching techniques and encourage empowerment of all students by closely looking at how the eight categories from the book by Phillip Jackson (1998), Robert Boostrom, and David Hansen, The Moral Life of Schools impacts my teaching and my students. I want to remove as much bias and negative impact as possible while helping my students come to an understanding of the new school and community culture that they now experience.

I realize that this is just the first small step in my understanding and learning of how to facilitate the education of the EL student. I have much to learn and will make mistakes, my hope is that they will have no lasting negative impact on the students that enter my classroom.