Culture and Psychology-Week 7-6/4/22


Culture presents many different beliefs. The belief about what we should grow up to become based on our gender, economic status, station, and so on shapes us more than we might like to think. In the United States, the sky is the limit and really, you can go further than that if you want. But in other cultures, there may be things in tradition or social obligations that may tether us to a certain outcome. This isn't necessarily a bad thing unless our culture is holding us back from our full potential. What is our full potential? Only the Lord knows and it isn't for any one of us to tell someone else what they should and should not make of themselves. 

Now I said that in the United States any dream is open, which is only mostly true. Yes, we are an open society and like to think that anyone can do what they want. The fact is, there are subcultures within our grand culture that says otherwise. As an example, women are told to be anything they want, but if a woman wants to stay home and raise children, then she must be listening to voices of oppression. But then this woman goes out and gets a job, then the culture of her church may look down on her for following the ways of the world. The point is, many people have different opinions and they think they get to press their culture on us because we are within their social realm. In the United States, that is not the case and we can fight against these things if we want to. Though some of us may want to follow the advice and expectations of our culture because we love them and it is a part of who we are. Isn't that good and beautiful? 

In the classroom, we may come across similar instances. Students of ours may be trying to uphold a culture that is expected of them. If this cultural pressure is causing true harm to the student, like depression, it is important to help our students without shaming them for not living up to those expectations. There is a delicate balance that must be met in helping students. Respect for differing beliefs is crucial and realizing that our one perspective may not be perfect. This is a step in the direction of helping students see the importance of variety. As America is often referred to as a mixing pot, let's really take the best from all cultures and mix it into our lives to form the best us that we can be. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Cross-Cultural Students in the Classroom -Week 7-5/30/22 Cross-culture is probably one of the only sure things that will happen in an American classroom. As I have taught for the last 5 years, the diversity of the classroom has amplified. I enjoy watching a multitude of cultures spread across the room which helps us learn more about the world and about ourselves.  In our public school systems, we try very hard as teachers and staff to be considerate of other cultures and beliefs. Many times we think we are doing a great job, but then are surprised that some things we thought were concerns were actually cross-culture attributes that we had not recognized. Some forms of what we thought was bad behavior, lack of interest, or shyness, were actually cross-culture behavior and we were labeling our students. I live in the Western part of the United States and we are usually not very dynamic people. We speak in fairly calm voices and tons and don't get excited in our speaking as much as
Read more

Cultural Paradigms-5/14/22

Cultural Paradigms-5/14/22 Cultural Paradigms are a fascinating subject. Paradigms are how we look at things, it is our perspective on something. In culture, paradigms are everywhere. In the United States, our views on clothing, food, and morals are very different from a place such as China. Yet within the United States, there are also many paradigms. Utah has a much different culture than New York. In Utah, Sunday tends to be a day for family and God, whereas, in New York, it may be culturally acceptable to shop and do yard work. Though even that paradigm is shifting in Utah. As a child, I lived in Germany. I remember while on a field trip to the lake, being shocked to see women laying on the dock, topless, and men fondling and kissing them. There were about half a dozen ladies and men, laid out like it was the normal thing to do. In America, you would be arrested for indecency. That is an example of a cultural paradigm. What is acceptable in Germany, is very unacceptable in America,
Read more
Image
  Attributional Tendencies-Week 6-5/28/22 Attributional tendencies are an interesting concept that we all use often in our lives. Are we to blame for our successes and failures or are other circumstances or people around us to blame? In our culture, no matter what culture that might be, there is a tendency to lean one way or the other. If you succeed in obtaining a good career, is it because you worked hard and earned it, or is it because others set you up for success by helping you along the way? If you didn't get the career you wanted, is it because you were lazy or dumb, or was it because you were born into poverty and that set you up for failure? What we don't realize is that depending on the circumstance, the answer could go either way or be somewhere in the middle. Often though, we only see it one way or the other and that can be dangerous or just untrue.  In America, we often give our successes to ourselves, while in Japan, they give the successes to others. But when the
Read more