Cultural Identity Strategies

According to the Hay’s addressing model, my cultural identities as a Latina woman of low socioeconomic status makes me part of non-dominant groups. My identities set me apart from the majority population which means that; I am perceived inferior than those of dominant groups. My lineage constitutes of indigenous ancestors that like me, share a darker skin tone that till this day is seen imperfect.

There is a Mexican man that enters with the rest of his family. They eat beans, rice, flour tortillas and etc. The family does there every day routine, the dad wakes up at six- thirty to go to work in his truck. The children go to school and the mother stays at home. The things a person does in their all has a reason which goes all back to culture. Culture is what makes up everyone different from one another. Texts such as “What is Cultural Identity?”, “Where Worlds Collide” and “Two ways to Belong” supports that depending on one’s culture it effects one perspective on the world and others.

Cultural Identity is “The definition of groups or individuals (by themselves or others) in terms of cultural or subcultural categories (including ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, and gender)” (Oxford Reference). Everyone has cultural identity even though some are unaware of theirs because their habits and traditions might be seen as normal to the person and they might not make the connection that it is a cultural tradition or connected to their cultural identity. Some people are very aware of their cultural identity and have conflict within their identity because the cultures may not coincide. Frida Kahlo’s Self Portrait: On the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States and Pat Mora’s “Legal Alien” both show cultural conflict through symbolism, conflict, and purpose.

After knowing the cultures and beliefs of each child I care for, I will create an activity or programme for the children that includes knowing each others culture. These s activities will help the children be exposed to multicultural

- Talk with and explore the culture, heritage, backgrounds and traditions of every child within the context of their community and expand on this by getting the children to engage in these cultures actively for example learning a dance from a child’s culture.

First of all, it is important that every person is respected and appreciated despite differences. In this program we have four main goals for your child in this area. We will teach in a way that each child will be able to demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, pride in his heritage and culture, as well as teaching them to have positive social identities. Each child should demonstrate comfort and joy in our differences, in human diversity, they will learn appropriate verbiage for human differences, and we will work towards guiding them to make deep, caring human connections.

There are a number of strategies you can use to enrich children’s understanding and respect for cultural identities. The first would be to establish a good knowledge of all the different cultures and backgrounds of the children and families who attend our centre, this is initially done through enrolment paperwork. Talking and forming good relationships with families is another way to gain insight into different cultures. Once this has been done you can incorporate this knowledge into the program and curriculum within the room. By incorporating different cultures into the room you are showing children that everyone, interesting and valued. Show and tell group times are a great way to showcase a culture, for example, a child could bring in a

The Four C’s known as critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity helped to prevent education from being long and complicated, (An Educator's Guide to the “Four C’s). Breaking into teams and exploring each candidate side, creating a mock voting station, creating a speech in regards to their candidate and discussing open ended questions would be a few of the 21st Century skills used within this assignment. Students being able to problem solve and decide who they feel is the best candidate would be considered another skill.

“Dale, dale, dale, No pierdas el tino; Porque si lo pierdes, Pierdes el camino”. The classic piñata song that is sung at parties. It translates to “Go, go, go, don't lose your aim; because if you lose it, you will lose your path.” The phrase ties in with my identity because of my cultural background and experiences at parties. Who am I? What is my cultural identity? The questions that have me trying my best not to have an existential crisis. I am a Mexican American, my parents were born in Jalisco and I was born in California. As for my cultural identity, I am a NSHS student that has been shaped by music, technology, and sports.

I think that the best way to improve children’s understanding and respect for different cultures is to expose them to other cultures and encourage them to be inquisitive and ask questions. For example, it could be a good idea to put up a map of the world or pictures of flags from different countries so that the children see this and can discover a curiosity for the world. (Chen, et al., 2011) This also allows children from other backgrounds to see that their heritage is included and accepted at the centre. Another way to entwine a variety of cultures into the centre is to ensure that the toys that the children play with represent different cultures. For example, the centre could include dolls of many different races, include a range of play

enjoyable. The setting could organise a day where everyone has to perhaps dress in their cultural

Race can first be classified by the geographic place of origin of a people group, but can also be visually identified by shared physical characteristics such as skin color, hair color and texture, and facial features. When defining culture, I think of my own which encompasses: traditions and customs; general values and ethics; political influences; religious influences; technological influences; historical influences; gender roles/expectations; social class; social status; economic status; education; language, including its proper and improper use; and something I may have overlooked prior to my required readings for this paper- race.

influenced my cultural identity and how I see myself? I address the complexity of my racial

Unfortunately, or fortunately, whatever your perception I do not believe we get to a certain point where we know ourselves completely. The self is constantly being shaped by external and internal factors; therefore, when we speak about cultural identity that is something that changes as well. Using a framework can be a helpful way to understand cultural identity. I like the Person Centered approach for understanding cultural identity. Person Centered tenants of unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence help create and maintain a trusting relationship between counselor and client. However, the Person Centered approach doesn’t allow the client to bring awareness to their unconscious thoughts, and how those motivate them to act and think. This could also be termed as the shadow

Cultural identity is the basis in which identification is used to express different aspects pertaining to identity and heritage. A person's cultural identity may be created by social organization, as well as traditions and customs within their lives. The two aspects that construct my cultural identity are the frequent chores I must complete every day in order to fulfill my behavioral expectations, and the youth group I attend weekly. These aspects are important to my family and me. Therefore, my identity has an immeasurable effect on my upbringing into this multi-cultural world I live in.