Ethnocultural Heritage

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Ethnocultural Heritage

• By Amy Widdel
• EDUC 2201-9
• October 30, 2003
• Dr. Elizabeth Johnson - Professor

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My Personal Definitions

• Culture Culture is the growth or development of
  a particular group of people, which can include
  the arts, cuisine, clothing, religion, etc.
• Ethnicity Ethnicity is the classification of a
  group of people distinguishing them by their
  origin and habits exhibited therein.
• Diversity Diversity makes up the components that
  display the differences of one group of people
  from the next.

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The Assumptions I make about People of Other
Cultures

• I feel they think because I am white, I have an
  easy life.
• I feel some people think that I am racist because
  I am white. This assumption is made without even
  knowing me. I am guilty until proven innocent.
• I feel sad that even still today most other races
  are still not considered equal among many whites.
• Sometimes I do find myself stereotyping people.
  (i.e. Asians are all smart, Indians or Middle
  Easterners are hard working entrepreneurs.) I
  really try hard not to stereotype people. I have
  been stereotyped before. I did not like it.
• Generally I feel upset that we, as people, cannot
  move forward because of the constant upheaval of
  the past.

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The factors and/or Events that have influenced
the development of my assumptions

• I was raised by parents that were raised by
  racial southern white parents.
• Movies Imitation of Life, Boys in the Hood,
  Dangerous Minds, The Bruce Lee Story, Titanic,
  Monsters Ball, etc.
• My first best friend, who lived next door, was
  black. This was before the term African
  American was used. His father was white and his
  mother was black. I called him brown.
• I grew up in a school and community that was
  diverse and mixed culturally.

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Throughout the course of history, people from
different cultures, races, and ethnicities from
numerous places in the world have arrived in the
United States.
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Migration has influenced/impacted public
education by

• The ever evolving separation of church and state.
• Equality of all peoples of different cultures,
  ethnicities, and backgrounds. This is also still
  an evolving process.
• A systematic program or curriculum put into
  practice for all public school systems.
• Free public education available to all income
  levels and backgrounds.
• The school system is the center of growing towns
  giving all a fair opportunity to learn.

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My Personal Ethnocultural Heritage

• I am English, Scottish, American-Indian, Irish,
  German, and French.
• My parents completed high school and some
  college.
• My maternal grandparents finished high school and
  vocational college.
• My fraternal grandparents did not even finish
  high school. They were 15 and 17 when they
  married during the Great Depression.
• My family came from a long line of farming, post
  office, and railroad workers.

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• I feel it is important to understand cultures
  other than my own because
• As Americans we should - it is the very basis of
  our country.
• As humans, we should learn about and respect each
  other.
• As a community, we need to work together to
  understand each other for the community to grow
  and prosper.
• If we are united as one, we need to understand
  each other in order to meld together.

• My Expectations Regarding Multicultural Learners
  are
• I feel that it is a group effort between the
  teacher and the parents in order for the child to
  succeed. The family needs to learn the same
  school expectations required as well.
• To have respect for all students different from
  each other. Respect is a two way street.

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Recommendations I would like to have for
improving the educational opportunities of all
students in my instructional setting of Early
Childhood

• I would like to incorporate books and stories
  into my lessons from different cultures.
• I would like to have families of all the children
  to come in and discuss their familys heritage,
  culture, etc.
• Have buddy systems that rotate weekly to get
  different backgrounds and personalities working
  together. Team work, not cliques.
• Have maps in the room to point out places around
  the world to the children.
• Show applicable movies to express various
  cultures.
• Listen to different music from various cultures.
• Have multicultural supplies and props in the
  classroom to bring diversities together. To let
  the children know that people are beautiful and
  unique in their own ways. What matters is the
  person on the inside, not the outside.
• Involve families to come in and help with the
  class activities to educate the families as well
  about other cultures.
• I would like to change the current testing
  programs to be equally fair to all students based
  on their individual needs. Have testing yearly
  that represents each persons progression.
  Everyone learns differently. Not everyone should
  have to conform to one mold.