Hello all,
The article by Jocelyn Glazier and Jung-A
Seo stood out the most to me. I believe this was because, as mentioned
throughout the article, I was more able to connect the information in this
article to my own experiences. The article describes how “majority students often
feel “cultureless” (Glazier and Seo, 2005).” It explains a student, Mark, who
is not able to connect the literature that he reads to his own personal
experiences (Glazier and Seo, 2005). Before taking my Human Relations class
that helped me discover more about my own family culture and social culture, I would
have been able to relate to Mark as a white American with a difficult-to-define
culture. The class had me research my own family to help me try to figure out
my culture. However, I still have some difficulties trying to define my own
culture. My question to all of you is: How do we make sure majority students
discover their own culture so that they do not feel “cultureless” when reading and
discussing multicultural literature?
Glazier, J., &
Seo, J.-A. (2005). Multicultural literature and discussion as mirror and
window? Minority students in one U.S. high school class find their voices, but
the majority students have a different experience. Journal of Adolescent
& Adult Literacy, 48(8), 686+. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.morningside.edu/apps/doc/A132746287/PPPC?u=
morningside&sid=bookmark-PPPC&xid=61f53cd6.
Hi Hali!
ReplyDeleteI read your post, and found it interesting that you identified with Mark and his challenge to define his culture as well. This really struck me when I was reading, because I tried to define my own culture and couldn't. I am not sure in which discipline you teach, but if I were teaching this to upper elementary students, I might start with a unit on culture. This would help us to define what it means, what culture consists of, and to maybe do a research project on our own cultures, like you did in your Human Relations class. Then, hopefully students will be slightly more aware of their own culture before reading, so that they do not feel left out in discussion like Mark did. What are your thoughts on this? Would this have helped you as a student?
Hello Kaetlyn!
DeleteI believe doing a unit on culture would be a great idea before moving into reading a multicultural novel. This would have helped me better understand my own culture before reading about another culture. I would be better prepared to compare the cultures and relate my experiences with the characters.
Kaetlyn,
ReplyDeleteI can also relate to difficulty in defining my own culture just like you and Hali. I think your suggestion of exploring more deeply what culture is defined as and what it consists of would be greatly beneficial. I think it would be especially important to complete and introduce this unit on culture before reading multicultural books with the class so that they can more effectively see the text as both a window and a mirror. I also recommend having students record experiences they feel are significant in their lives but also any family traditions they do and create a whole-group discussion/conversation on where these traditions may have come from and if it represents a part of their culture.
Hi Hali!
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you also related to Mark. I am glad I am not the only one who is unsure about their own culture.
Kaetlyn,
I like the project idea because it can be a lot of fun, but what if there are students like us who do not know what their culture is? Recently, at 21 years old, I did a 23 and Me test and found out the percentage of ethnicities I am. It was cool to discover that I am Scandinavian, Irish, and Greek, but that knowledge did not change how it defined my culture.
Brenna,
I do like the idea of introducing the unit with multicultural books so they can see a window and mirror of culture. I also like how you mention how family traditions represent a part of culture. The people who surround you create an impact more than what you are born as.