Essay

We all have a culture that we learn about through the lifelong process of socialization. Enculturation is the process of acquiring the characteristics of a certain culture. Socialization is the process through which we learn social norms of the culture. Through these processes we internalize social and cultural norms, so that they become a part of our self. The sources of socialization are clear – the family, the church, the school, peers, the media, etc. As a part of a cultural group, we share customs, language, dialects, ideas, faith, and beliefs about our own culture, as well as beliefs about other cultures. Our own culture is a lens through which we view the world. This is only natural, but we must be careful that we do not use our culture as the standard by which we measure up and judge the value of other cultures.

Sometimes, culture is so intertwined with our feelings that there is a fine line between subjectivity and objectivity. As a teacher, you must be aware of your cultural lens – your learned attitudes as well as learned feelings – about the microcultures to which some of your students may belong.

Your cultural lens is made up of attitudes and opinions and feelings. Your attitudes and opinions are essentially judgments that you may pass from your cultural perspective about the rightness or wrongness of things. Attitudes and opinions are explainable. You can intellectually reason and rationally explain why you believe something is right or wrong, moral or immoral, good or bad. Attitudes and opinions are learned in the socialization process, and may even be so strong that are perceived as feelings. Feelings, however, are different. Your feelings emerge quickly and may be harder for you to explain or understand than your attitudes. There may be some attitudes, opinions and feelings you want to change, or you may be completely comfortable as you are. Either way, in a multicultural teaching environment, you must be keenly aware of your culture, and the cultural lens through which you consciously and/or unconsciously view your students.

In this assignment, reflect on your own cultural lens and think critically about your attitudes and feelings about certain microcultures. Your cultural lens is how you view the rest of the world from the vantage point of your own culture. It is your learned and socially shared set of attitudes, opinions and feelings about other microcultures. You will also assess the Educational Impact (positive or negative) of your feelings and attitudes.

Instructions:

Using the list of microcultures below, respond to the following questions for five (5) microcultures that are listed: