Different Types Of Cultures When The Class First Began

Culture plays a paramount role in our lives. “It is what shapes who we are and how we view the world” (Thorp & Sanchez, 1998,

Many people have different views on culture and what it includes. I think culture is a mix of many things that become a norm for a group of people over a long period of time. I think that culture is a mix of music, food, traditions, and relationships. Cultures also bring together a group of people who hold the same values and beliefs, an example of this would be any religion. Culture affects all areas of a person’s life as it affects the way they view people, make relationships, make decisions and in general how they live their life. While most cultures have existed for many years, they are not static. Many traditions are held to but there are still changes as more generations are joining and the older ones are passing away.

I’ve always known contradicting cultural views I experienced my parents’ Mexican culture that was being passed on to me, and at the same time American cultural norms at school as I socialized with people of American society. I very quickly began to see how vastly views

Studying the histories of cultures that are different from ours gives us a frame of reference that can lead to better intercultural communication. It is not only important to study the histories of other countries’ cultures but our own American subcultures as well. We need to understand

In this project, I highlighted the cultural aspects that need to be included in cultural books. These examples and aspects provide details that accurately show what a cultural is like. We want to be accurate in our depictions of these different cultures so that our children will be educated. It also teaches our students how to be open and loving to those of other cultures. I have really enjoyed being exposed to these different cultures and look forward to using them in my new classroom.

I agree with you on the fact that it is important for us to step outside of our own cultures. I believe we both feel that is the only we are able to grow as a people and society. And yes, we should also get rid of any biases or stereotypes that we may have. But I feel that if we do not know we have those views it is hard to get rid of them. In addition, we must also acknowledge that we have certain biases and stereotypes against other cultures before we are able correct them. One cannot fix a problem if they feel that there isn’t one. I am happy to know that you recognize that you have been excluded from those different than yourself and that you have been able to benefit from our class. I agree that the class is very informing and eye-opening.

Culture is the lens through which we view the world; it is the mirror we use to reflect and interpret reality. It teaches us how to think and what to think about. It reveals to us what is beautiful or ugly, helpful or harmful, appropriate or out of place. In effect, every culture provides with a series of lessons. Among the lessons we learn are how to say “hello” and “good-bye,” when to speak or remain silent, how to act when angry or upset, where to focus our eyes when functioning as a source and receiver how much to gesture, how close to stand to another, and how to display emotions such as happiness or rage. By instructing members, culture guides behavior and communication, revealing to them how to act, think, talk, and listen.

At the beginning of this course if I were asked to write a cultural biography within the first week I would have not known where to start. Through the extensive discussions online and in class I have been able to recognize more about my own culture in ways I had never thought about. Through my past experiences up until entering university, culture had never been a topic of interest or seen as a necessity in my life as there were not many differences both culturally and racially around me. However, through analyzing the readings and my own experiences I have been able to take a deeper look at my life experiences as well as my own views and how it has impacted who I am today.

Based on those thoughts, my own interest in culture and its effects on teacher’s teaching, on students' understanding has been a growing one. I feel that I have always been intuitively aware of the many different cultural groups and environments that existed around me. I have also understood the need to use the language and the understanding of the group in order to live within it or along side it.

This class made me to recognize that culture is an important part of life. When working with people and building a relationship, it helps us to have a better point of view and understanding of their cultures. Having to discover another culture that is not yours is pretty interest because some of the customs can be kind of similar and it's also important to remember how much we have in common. Each culture has an interested culture roots by exploring the values, customs, norms and traditions in and it has is own role of play when it comes to culture. During my career I will start to use culture competence to the people that I’m surrounded in my everyday life. In a professional career this is an important tool to use with other people, I think

about other people’s cultures, and see how they differ from mine. My goal for this class is to

This class has been the first class that I can remember which not only forced me to research a culture that wasn’t my own, but also required me to find similarities and differences between the two. I grew up in a traditional American family and had little interaction with people from outside of my community. My heritage was never something that my parents pushed upon me. I was always very comfortable with how life was here in America, and, although I had the opportunity to go abroad on vacation twice with my family, I never felt like I was able to

While the Storti text provides practical knowledge on how to bridge cultural gaps, the Smith & Carvill text provides the reader with a Christ like focus on how and why to interact with individuals from other cultures. When attempting, as recommended above, to explain the expectations of the US culture, the teacher should not disregard or disrespect the practices of the individual’s native culture but help them understand the expectations here. Smith & Carvill (2000) note, “as good hosts, teachers need to value, affirm, and deepen the life experiences of their guests, the students” (p. 87). If the teacher can help the student feel accepted and understand the culture, they will have better motivation and better success in learning. This

Culture is a set of rules for how a society deals with its problems, whether they’re social, economic, political or otherwise. Culture is important to understand because it consists of many interrelated aspects that mold and change together. These rules help give you an emic, or insider’s perspective of a community of people and allow you to more precisely understand the thought processes behind why people do what they do. You can ask members of a particular culture about their cultural rules, but it’s often quite difficult to string together how or why a particular value is important. Instead, you can observe the behavior of a given population and reconstruct the cultural rules, or even go further and use the consequences of behavior to determine the actions that caused it and thus the societal premises. Interested in the cultural rules of Clemson students, I decided to try to reconstruct them. Because the behavior of students is readily accessible, I observed student behavior rather than asking the students directly or observing consequences.

Culture is all the things we learn as part of being with a group of people. This includes, language, shared symbols and values. These are the things we learn as we grow. Within our main or base culture other co-cultures can exist. An example of this would be I am an American citizen, I was born in Norfolk, Virginia, graduated from Maury High School and I work in Portsmouth, Virginia. English is my primary language, I vote in every election, I file my IRS taxes every year. All these things make my culture primarily American, however, my co-culture is that of an African descendent American woman. I learned other things that were a part of this culture, how to care for my hair which is much different from that of American culture. The history of African descendent people in American is also different than that of the base or American culture. So, everything I learned from Black History, to soul food, our church is all learned information and different from American culture. We can learn to improve our communication skills with knowledge about other people and cultures. We can read more and learn to interact with other people. We need to embrace others with the understanding that everyone is different but we are all still the same. We should always keep an open mind when dealing with new situations and never be afraid or ashamed to apologize