Culture Reflection Rice

Carrie Rice

Thursdays ISC

September 6, 2012

Chapter One Reflection

Review- What did you learn?

            Prior to completing the assigned reading of chapter one in Developing Multicultural Educators by Jana Noel, my view on culture was flat and without depth. Perhaps this was caused by never taking the time to develop my thoughts and views on the subject. Nevertheless, my perception was that a person’s culture was their background, or family history, plain and simple; while some people are interested in knowing about their own culture, others do not take an interest in learning about it. After completing the reading, my view on culture is revamped. I realize that there is more to a person’s culture than just a history. Culture is an active entity that influences a person daily. It continually forms perceptions, views, and beliefs. Once culture is looked at beyond surface level, it can be seen as a survival tool, a motivator to be one’s best self, and an instrument in bringing a person their sense of belonging.

            Organization, communication, and intellect are components of daily life in addition to being components of a person’s culture. This connection between daily living and culture being intertwined resonated with me. Although I find a person’s history interesting and am eager to learn about it, I never before thought of being able to see the components of a person’s culture in how they carry out their everyday life.

Reflect- What did it mean to you?

            After gaining this new insight on the components of culture, what it involves, and how it affects everyone, I began thinking about my own culture and how it has contributed to making me the person I am today. I enjoyed reflecting on how my own culture has taught me survival, a sense of belonging, and the endeavor to achieve my best self. For example, although a bit simplistic, there’s a joke in the primarily Dutch community where I was raised that you could go into any of my friends’  cupboards and find  a stack of margarine containers waiting to be reused for other purposes (leftovers, knickknacks, etc). Even something as simple as that example shows a way in which my culture has created a way for a need to be met and created a sense of belonging for my friends and I.

 In addition, since gaining this new perspective on how culture affects my daily life, I consistently contemplate why I do the things I do and analyze how my culture has contributed to the process of how I carry out these actions.

Refine-

            Currently I am a push-in ESOL teacher for grades first through fifth. This schedule gives me the opportunity to interact with many diverse cultures every day. In the past, I may have let the amount of objectives needed to be taught in a school year overwhelm and override my consciousness of the culture of my students. However, after having a refreshed perspective on how culture truly contributes to the make-up of a person, connecting with my students, discovering and being more aware of their culture, this will lend to me being a more effective educator.