Reflection About Culture

Raymond Williams (Hutchison, 2011) said “culture is one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language” (p. 247). When I thought of culture, I used to picture food, festivities, clothes and country. Just like the nurse, I thought that if learned about one culture, I understood everybody in that culture. But as I started expanding my knowledge the meaning of culture started becoming harder to define. Different subjects seemed to have different definitions of what culture is. The idea expanded until it was not just a check list but “a set of common understandings, manifest in act and artifact. It is in two places at once: inside somebody’s head as understandings and in the external environment as act and artifact” (Hutchison, 2011, p. 246). The definition above explains why social workers need to learn cultural humility. It clarifies that because culture is both behavior and act, it is interpreted differently by different people. In other words, two people can be from the same exact place and still have different cultures.

No one can deny the fact that United States is rapidly becoming a more culturally and ethnically diverse nation. If the information from The Census Bureau which projects that by the year 2100, the U.S. minority population will become the majority with non-Hispanic whites making up only 40% of the U.S. population is anything to go by, it is clear beyond any reasonable doubt that we need to prepare the coming generations to comfortably embrace this change (Great Schools Staff, 2015). The subject of social diversity can therefore no longer be ignored since as a matter of fact, its impacts are already here with us. Public schools are becoming more diverse, and both the teachers and the students are feeling the impact. Teachers should therefore be actively involved in preparing their students to be tolerant to this change and teaching them how to interact in a diverse environment.

Culture is the definition of a person, like the prologue to your favorite story. The not so scientific DNA that makes you, you. The influences and people that shape your behavior, and change your characteristics. It is the environment in which you are surrounded by. The reasons behind your peculiarity. Your culture is the most important thing, your culture is you. My culture is the constant of support that my family gives me, even if I do screw up sometimes. My culture is pureness of the love that I receive, and knowing how genuine it really is. My culture is the reliability of my friends, and the constant reassurance that they have my back. I am extremely family oriented and this allows me to succeed in tackling my dreams, one at a time.

No one can deny the fact that the United States is rapidly becoming a more culturally and ethnically diverse nation. If the information from The Census Bureau, which projects that by the year 2100, the U.S. minority population will become the majority with non-Hispanic whites making up only 40% of the U.S. population is anything to go by, it is clear beyond any reasonable doubt that we need to prepare the coming generations to comfortably embrace this change (Great Schools Staff, 2015). The subject of social diversity can therefore no longer be ignored since as a matter of fact, its impacts are already here with us. Public schools are becoming more diverse, and both the teachers and the students are feeling the impact. Teachers should therefore be actively involved in preparing their students to be tolerant to this change and teaching them how to interact in a diverse environment.

For me, Given the opportunity to Bead undoubtedly brought me closer to Native culture and taught me much about patience, the ability to focus and to have goodwill. It drew my attention into how Native peoples view the world, and the simplistic yet utterly complex art styles they hold to their culture. Over the course of around a month of beading, I was opened up to such a vast world of culture. With not only beading but how it led me deeper into the Native Culture, more specifically Ojibway.

Deep Culture means more than where you come from, what you believe in & what you skin color is. Deep culture is your internal make-up that shapes you into who you are on the inside. For instance, personal space, body language, notions of leadership etc. are all examples of deep cultural make-up. Being aware of your own and others deep culture is important, because it helps fulfill your needs, understand other people, and even learn from others. The aspects of “deep” culture include, cultural universals and cultural archetypes. They show awareness of your deep culture, and that leads you to find more aspects in common with peers and distinctions. Ultimately, no one is left behind because everyone is aware of themselves as well as others.

The cultural assignment allowed me to gain a new perspective on the differences of others. I have grown up in a household of dissimilar belief systems. My mom is a dedicated Christian while my dad is unassociated with any religious beliefs. Though, he grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness. There differing belief systems have been the cause of various conflicts within their relationship. I often wondered if people with contradicting beliefs could effectively and peacefully discuss their belief systems. This cultural experience showed me that a peaceful discussion is possible between individuals of dissimilar beliefs.

I am currently working on an internship credential as a high school counselor at Carlsbad High School which is a large public comprehensive high school in Carlsbad, California. In the 2015- 2016 academic school year Carlsbad High School had a total enrollment of 2,459 students in the 9th-12th grade. 21% of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged, 3% are English Language Learners and 10.2 % are students with disabilities (School Accountability Report Card, 2016-17).

The paper is based on the following questions asked by my advisor, Dr. Larry G.Murphy

I think the culture and kind of people you grew up with and around shape who we are immensely and influence our beliefs and bias. Even though most form their own opinions and morals we grow older we still have cognitive bias that we were born and raised with. Our culture makes us who we are, it is the foundation that our lives were built on even before we were born. Saying this there are so many different cultures and with this comes different experiences and bias for each one. The culture I grew up with and around was the traditional southern baptist culture which is a culture with very distinct beliefs and values. Any culture I think shapes your perspective on everything but especially any culture that is mostly rooted in religion. This culture shaped my perspectives from the start and they were the same as my parents and everyone else I was around. As I have grown older that has changed I have developed my own opinions and ideology for different things but the fundamentals from what I grew up in and will continue to grow up around will stay with me. I think the southern culture sometimes gets put on as something that it is not but it is what has taught me to respect everyone, to value family and friends over anything, it has taught me to take responsibility for me, and cherish the small thing in life.

From the essay, saying that, “The hero in a work is a result of not only the culture from which the hero comes, but also the culture of the author,” shows the relationship of how a hero is perceived and created by means of relating one’s culture in the creation of a hero. All around the world, we are guided with different beliefs, religion and values. Some may think that a hero is someone who believes that he must die for freedom or who believes that a hero is someone who could live out the teachings of their religion or any other beliefs that one is cultured with. An author’s perception of a hero unto which his character would be based upon would depend on his own culture/beliefs and also unto the setting of the current character’s culture from his/her surrounding environment.

1. Culture is perceived as a way of thinking that influences the behaviors of a group of people.

We all have lenses through which we view the world from, in a general statement,there all diffrent. Some can be brutal but raw and others sensitive and delightful. With this information, I invite you to take a small look into my culture.

In this module, I have learned so much more. First chapter three had me thinking about several things. One of the main things was culture, I started asking myself what culture really is. To me culture is something that you expose yourself to so you can expand your mind and broaden your horizons. For me the ways I try to learn about new cultures are going to museums, watching movies old and new, reading all different kinds of books, and visiting new places. Another thing referring to culture, Ethnocentrism brings to mind things my dad used to say. He used to always bring up how Greeks were better than everyone much like the father in the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” I think that some people in this instance who act ethnocentric only do it because they are proud of their country and proud to be a certain nationality. I believe that is why my dad did it. As for components of culture it’s amazing to think how much can be associated with one culture. Like how the Statue of Liberty is associated with The United State or how Spaghetti is associated with Italy. Something else of great importance I learned about were “folkways.” Which remind me of my aunt she is married to an Arab man and visiting their house and witnessing her husband and family’s customs was quite an experience. Their clothes, the kind of food they eat, the way they pray, and just how they do things in general. It showed me what you can and cannot do and what is sacred to them in their culture. It was

Growing up into the young adult that I am today was full of experiences which I am always exhilarated to have lived in a culturally disparate communities with a distinct way of living, where I learnt about the separate values and culture. My birthplace is my Ghana, it is one of the most permissive countries in the world that encourages peace among the different religions, and famously known for our rich culture. One of the most respected and feared tribes in Ghana due to their bravery during the times of colonization by the British and other countries is the Ashantis who never allowed themselves to be persuaded or conquered effortlessly.