Jennifer Worley - Culture Reflection

Review – What did you learn?

            Culture, in many ways, defines who we are. Some major aspects of our cultures are family structures, religion, language, communication style, organizational style and intellectual style. Being part of a culture, teaches what types of behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable within their culture. This could mean the culture of the community, or even the culture of the classroom. This is interesting because the culture of the classroom is most often based on the dominant culture of the community, but a child may be a part of a culture that is not part of the dominant culture, and this can definitely impact the child’s success in school. These cultural differences can affect how the child participates in class discussions and activities, attention to personal space, volume of voice, and even how the student responds to praise or constructive criticism.

Reflect   - What did it mean to you?

            The ideas in this chapter enlightened me to some specific cultural differences among different ethnic groups and races. However, I think the most important message I received from reading the chapter was that we are all different and noticing those differences is not a bad thing. In our classrooms, for example, there is diversity – different languages spoken, different religions practiced, different family structures, different foods preferred, and so much more. Those differences are what make us interesting! We must embrace those cultural distinctions that make us who we are, and learn about each other. At our last class, someone said that children don’t “see” color, but I’m not sure that is true, or that we should want it to be. Young children may not connect feelings or stereotypes to color, but they do see it. They notice that someone looks different from them. Is that a bad thing? This chapter was about promoting awareness of the differences among cultures. It is human nature to notice people who are similar us, and those that are different. Children’s perceptions of different groups of people become skewed when adults and the media associate stereotypes with those cultural differences. Children are always watching, listening, and learning. Perhaps, we should make sure that we are modeling for them how to embrace people’s differences.

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

            Korean, Mexican, African American, Italian, Colombian, Chinese, Philippine, Vietnamese, Southern American (Georgia), and Northeastern American (New Jersey) – these are the different cultural groups I have in my class this year. Now that is pretty diverse! My goal this year is to learn about these cultures, and use all of the distinctions to enhance classroom discussions and activities. I view having a diverse class as a positive quality. All of my students can benefit from working with students of other cultures. I want my students to appreciate who they are, and be able to mesh their home cultures with our classroom culture One idea that I think I’ll try is for students to try to incorporate their culture, if possible, into projects. For example, as students continue to work on personal narrative writing, I will encourage them to write about memories they have of holiday traditions or other traditions they have in their families.

            Another thought after reading this chapter is that I will just be aware of the cultural differences when I communicate with my students’ parents. For example, for students who are part of a “High Context Culture” such as Hispanic cultures, I may need to call the parents on the phone or conference in person instead of sending emails. This type of culture puts heavy emphasis on emotion, and may misinterpret feelings portrayed in an email.