My Cultural Values

My mother worked four jobs at once to make financial ends meet, while always stressing the importance of education and financial independence to my brother and myself. My grandmother only achieved a second grade education due to the financial constraints on her family at a young age, but still in the end managed to make certain that of her children and grandchildren had what was needed to flourish and become successful, educated members of the community. The tenacity and history of these two women I still carry with me today. Their struggles have inspired to me to only want more from life, but also serve as a positive role model for the younger members of my community. I observed from other family members how an education can open a multitude of doors and opportunities. I want to make the biggest and most significant on my community and on my family as possible, and the only foreseeable path is to achieve a college education to gain the necessary skills, knowledge and connections needed to flourish and implement positive

Because of my parent’s humble beginnings in the south and being ever so present during the Civil Rights era, education was very important in my household. My father would often say that education and knowledge could never be taken away from you once you have acquired it. He himself, only had a 3rd grade formal education but yet at the same time was a modern day math wizard. He was the second to the oldest out of eleven children so he chose to continually work the fields so that his younger siblings didn’t have to and they would have the opportunity to attend school during the day. My mother continually pursued higher education and received her Associates of Arts degree as an adult. Later in life, as a senior citizen she also attended South Suburban College in South Holland, Illinois and enrolled in a couple courses in Computer Training and

Education has always been an important foundation upon which my family encouraged the most. Not just the education pertaining to structured schooling, but the fundamentals in life that require you to interact in society and be a part of something bigger than yourself. They demonstrated how to commit to values such as responsibility, motivation, and consistency; and, how to be open-minded and passionate about the things you believe in. These things all required a sacrifice in various ways. They always stress how “sometimes you need to give up something to get ahead, or how sometimes sacrificing the familiar and what you expect from yourself to get the results that you are seeking in the long run.”

My parents grew up in families with little parental direction. Attending school, overcoming adversity, getting a job and becoming successful were up to their own making. Although my parents did not go to college, they took advantage of other opportunities to better their lives so that my siblings and I would be able to attend universities. They worked hard to get jobs even without college degrees, and then worked harder to maintain those jobs; subsequently, this furthered their positions in their workplaces. By setting an example of making the most of what life has to offer, they influenced me to seize every opportunity that crosses my path. Going to college was not an opportunity my parents could take advantage of, but it is one that I can.

It is important to respect and understand a child and their families culture because if educators don’t it can make it difficult for families to feel a sense of belonging to the centre. As educators it is important for us to help families and their children develop a cultural identity and sense of belonging but it is important we don’t change the families parenting style, we just assist them in any way we can. It helps children feel positive about their culture if they feel a sense of belonging within a child care, school and community. Educators can use the internet and community to learn more about the languages, traditions, beliefs and values of the children’s cultures so that they can help the children feel more positive about their culture

My granny was the only person in my family to have a college degree. I am the second because of her. From middle school on we talked about college, where I would go, and what I would do when I grew up. Parents encourage careers that lead to the greatest profit, mine were no different. My granny never encouraged me to choose a career based on the profit. She only encouraged me to choose what made me happy. Life had it’s own plan and some things changed how my educational journey would pan out, but that didn’t make it impossible. Because of her I knew anything was

I was born at seven-thirty in Manhattan, New York on October 14th, 2002 to seventeen-year-old, Samantha Souchet and eighteen-year-old, Luis Soto. They were kids having a kid. I was raised by many women on one block. Such as my two great-grandmothers, my grandmother, my mother and my three aunts. I was the only child in the house so I kind of grew up acting like a little adult, which I still kind of act like. You tend to learn a lot of things from living with a bunch of women your whole life. I always speak of all the lessons they taught me but I hardly ever speak of my father. My father is my hero and role model.

My grandmother was a devoted woman. She was deprived of schooling and her basic rights as many Middle Eastern women in her era and, therefore, could not read or write. But she ensured to provide the support her family needed. Yes, my grandmother was not educated, but that did not prevent her from developing other skills. What she lacked in education made up for in skills.

Throughout our lifetime, us as people decide to admire different objects, ideas, and people due to what pleases their thoughts and actions. The infinite examples of things we could’ve valued could’ve been toys, friends, book, etc.. But then we began to mature and begin to come out of our little shells to discover new products, views of the world, and new ways to advance in our technology and therefore influencing what we value today. And as I matured in my lifetime, I established a novel value to my parents the greatest.

After listening to my father's experiences as a child from a family with no college graduates, I have always placed my academic success above everything else. My grandparents worked from morning to night to have food on the table. They made countless sacrifices to provide a better lifestyle for their two boys. My father moved from Mobile, Alabama to Hammond, Louisiana his senior year of high school due to my grandfather's job. Although he resented his parents for a while, he quickly realized it had to be done. Paw Paw was forced to drop out of high school when he was in the tenth grade to help provide for family, which consisted of fourteen children and his single mother. Therefore, he couldn't take the risk of losing his job due to his lack

Being the oldest of three children to a single mother brought forth plenty of hurdles. Growing up I yearned for a father figure, sadly that void remained for years. The lack of a father figure hindered my academic progress and personal life. The sense of abandonment cast me on an island all by myself, contributing to a lot of my troubles at home and school. I honestly didn’t believe anyone would ever be able to relate to me, but I was soon proven

See growing up in a large family like mines education was very important. Despite we didn’t have many to graduate from college put a lot of pressure on me. See my grandparents didn’t go to high school or college. So, they were real hard on their kids about go to school and graduate. So, made my parents hard on my brother and me about our education. My brother and me will be the first in our large family to graduate from college. My mom was real hard on me because she didn’t want me to go to in be like her. She had

Now, some traditions may be very different even opposite at times, as humans we do still share many common interests and normally a common goal. No matter the religion, the customs, or the practices, every good parent strives to feed and shelter their children. Family is of upmost importance to human beings, and a family can come in all shapes and sizes. Adults want to work and earn a living to provide for their families and children seek knowledge through education. Safety and health are top priorities for families as they are both vital to human survival. Growth and productivity is a shared value among the races and throughout cultures.

During my senior year of high school, my father and I started to discuss my future plans and goals, and that’s when he changed my perception on the importance of education. He explained all the hardships he faced and shared with me stories of instances where he made avoidable mistakes due to his lack of higher education. Although he managed to turn his life around, he had no doubt that he would’ve been more successful if he was educated. My father inspired me to be the first in the family to complete a higher level education and take over the family business one day.

Growing up in the south, being an African American male, and raised by a single mother shaped me in an unique way; a way that would be completely different from a white male the same age, same social class, and also by a single mother. Being raised by a single mother can be very difficult for both the parent as well as a child, but for generations these mother-child bonds have been generally successful. I’m the only child to a single mother as I mentioned earlier, the mother-child bond was strong. This of course had positives, but it had negatives as well. How my mother raised me was different in each life stage with their own positives and negatives.