Reflection About Culture

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 directs human actions and the way person present themselves in the society in order to remain in the culture boundaries and accepted by the common community as a respected member of the society. According to David (2001) “Culture is often used to refer to ideas, beliefs, representation, behaviour pattern, practices, artifacts and so forth that are transmitted socially across generations within a group, resulting in pattern of within-group similarity and between group differences”. Moreover, culture is transmitted on an unconscious level from generation to generation, influencing day-to-day behavior and ensuring a people 's survival (Norma, 2001).

It can be defined in so many different ways, but one stands out in relation to the context of education; culture, like civilization is seen as a multifaceted whole comprised of beliefs, knowledge, etc... Along with any other abilities attained by an individual as a member within a society (Jahoda, 2012). Children create belief systems of their own which are influenced by their family’s culture, and oftentimes (not necessarily always) are molded by their surrounding community.

Culture is the transmission of ideas and technologies across generations. Unlike genetics humans are not born with culture, they learn it from the people around them and their environment. A society's language, food, arts, clothes, religion, beliefs, and tools all fall under the umbrella of culture. Thus, accounting for the differences found between people. However, just like biology, culture cannot account for all human behavior.

During this class, Ministry, Culture, and Contextual Analysis we were instructed to observe a faith tradition unlike our own, to expose ourselves to a cross culture awareness and experience, and interpret what we observe.

We also need to know the definition of culture. Culture includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom and other habits that are acquired by a person as a member of society (Taylor 1958(1871). Precisely, it’s the people’s way of life. There are certain myths about culture which are often not true. The first myth is that culture is static; this myth is untrue since culture changes over time through the influence of both external and internal forces. The other myth is that culture is the same as tradition. This

If you ask 1000 anthropologists to define culture, you’ll get 1000 different definitions. However, you would see similar answers among them all. A solid culture is shared, and shapes the behavior and beliefs of a community. From what history shows, culture defines the very existence of a way of life and while our earliest ancestors relied more on survival adaptation, culture is now shaping humanity into a much more complex environment. Culture is taught not obtained. It is not passed down genetically. Much of learning culture is unconscious. We learn culture from our loved ones and the ever growing world around us. Culture is shared. Because we share culture with other members of our group, we are able to act in socially appropriate ways

People can search online for the definition of culture, they will find many definitions of the word culture. Accordingly to Culture (n.d.), culture is the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. Another definition is the over-all ways of living built up by a group of individual and learned from each generation to generation(culture, n.d.). It is easy to conclude that culture is, in fact, a very broad word, which may cover a wide range of definition. Also, culture embraces the world. It is such a unique experience that one can hardly mistake culture, may refer to culture, vaguely knowing what culture is and also, being right with this interpretation. Culture is something that will always be used to

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.

From my understanding culture is the traits that are shared between a group of people and not every single person that is a part of that culture thinks the same way and that is their cultural identity. For me two cultures I can think that I am a part of is my family’s culture and I am a part of my friend’s culture and that is where most of my beliefs and ideals come from. More specifically the part of our cultures I am talk about is our behaviors when we are around each other because I am sure like most people I act differently when I am around my parents and when I am around my friends.

Although different scholars have given different definitions of culture, the basic argument is that culture is a collective heritage learned by individuals and usually passed on from one generation to another. Culture can be explained by various characteristics but there are five main characteristics that are common (Johnston 2013). Firstly, culture is usually a learned behavior. Although not all behaviors are learned majority are learnt either consciously or unconsciously (O’Neil 2012). For example, children learn most of their behavior from their parents which means that they adopt cultures from the older people in the society. Secondly culture can be described as abstract in that it exists in the minds or habits of people in a particular society. In other words, in most cultures there is no explanations as to why people do various activities most of the reasons are

In this day and age, everyone feels attacked for what they believe in or what they do not believe in, attacked for what color their skin is, their sexual orientation, their religion, and so much more. Watching this video, I felt and noticed many things. It is easy to say “oh, they are a just a bunch of entitled brats” and if I am being completely honest, I do agree to a point. But that is not the full answer. The future of our country resides in the hands of our great nation’s youth, yet, they are fighting for what our constitution promises them: freedom to be who they are and to be just as equal as the person standing next to them. Despite the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, their religious beliefs and more.

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.

I took this class in order to gain knowledge of how to navigate a world with countless cultures. In the near future I will be studying abroad in Costa Rica and will apply these newly learned concepts to my travels. I also hope to travel throughout my life, so I am very much in need of tules to enter new cultures. I think the most important concept to base this class around is the platinum rule. With my personality, before taking this class, I would have assumed I should treat everyone the way I would want to be treated. In a new country I would great everyone with a smile, be outgoing and bubbly and just an overall kind person in order to connect with those around me. After taking this class I realized that that might not be the best way to approuch a new culture. It is important to remember the platinum rule: Treat everyone the way they want to be treated. Now that I know this rule, I will make sure that when I enter a new culture I will figure out before hand the “general” personality and traits of the culture I am going to. This leads me to another important concept, generalization. Before taking this class, hearing the word “generalization” I would assume someone was stereotyping and therefore disrespecting a person and their culture. After taking this class I realized that generalization and stereotyping are two very different concepts. There are so many cultures and they all have so many components to them, in order for us to prepare to go into a new culture, it

Culture is one of the most significant concepts which form the basis of sociology. In this discipline, culture means any behavior that is transmitted to people from others. The way people wear, eat, sing, dance and talk are all about culture. In the modern world, culture can be taken to be something beautiful or interesting. In simple terms, culture is a complex system of acquired behaviors which is transmitted from generation to generation in a society. For any actions to be termed as culture, various criteria have to be fulfilled. One thing about culture is that it is learned but not inherited biologically as do other traits. It is learned through socialization and to a lesser extent through teachings from older people. Culture is also