For me the connection between culture and learning, would have to be my upbringing, I am a Hispanic, I grew up in a big family. I was the 2nd oldest out of 6 children. We grew up in the SW side of town and I was known by my peers as either Valerie's younger sister and Mark's older sister. My Dad was a quiet and stern growing up, while my Mother was loving and nurturing. My Dad was a business man and my mother was a hard-working waitress. I believe that I tend to be a little of both. I get my organizational skills, neatness, and getting things done from my Dad. I get my lovingness and caring attitude from my Mother. My Mother's parents were pastors when I was growing up so I spent a lot of time with them in the summers.
So the connection between culture and learning is that I tend to use all that I grew up with to help me to learn. I was not exposed to a lot while growing up, because being one of the oldest, I was always caring for my younger siblings. I found that education was important however, I did what I had to do just to pass. My junior & senior year, I was pregnant. I walked the stage pregnant. So I didn't belong to any social groups. Even though my family did expose us to church, I didn't really understand the whole concept of having a relationship with God as opposed to just thinking about a whole bunch of rules and things I could not do. If I had a relationship with God then, I would have understood the concept of keeping myself for my husband and maybe would not have been a teen mother. So where I grew up most of my friends were having babies at an early age. I was the last of my friends to get pregnant. One of the reasons, I decided to further my education was because a vice principal told me, that because I was pregnant again I would never amount to anything.
This negative account helped me to change the way I thought about learning. So culture is important in influencing our lives. I learned to appreciate the positive and negative about how I grew up. So these experiences in my life have cultural/learning connections that have led to my strengths and weaknesses.
I also felt that my family was the most important culture in my life, both growing up and now. My family sounds a little similar to yours, my father is a retired detective with a college degree and my was a homemaker. Both were always there for us and encouraged us to go to school. So for me, my famil and literacy go hand on hand because education played a huge role in my life. My mom wanted us to graduate from high school and college. I think for many people other cultures play a large impact on their lives. As you stated church is a culture in your life and I am sure it guides you now, like for many. School sports, band, social groups, all are a type of culture or support group. Culture can have positive impact on lives, but sometime their are also negative factors that are involved. I have had friends that did not go to college because they had to work to help support their family, so that could be looked at as a negative influence, because one friend was talked out of going to college. Her family made her feel bad for not contributing to her family and being "selfish" for wanting more in life. But I do believe cutlure and literacy go hand in hand
ReplyDeleteWow Melissa...as I was reading your blog I was thinking to myself that I can totally relate to you and your life experiences. I come from a family of six and I too was raised with a religious upbringing (my grandfather is a preacher). My father is from Mexico and shares much of the same qualities as your father. He built his business from the ground up and instilled in his family the importance of education. My mother graduated from college with a double major in English and Spanish. She attended college late in life because she too was the nurturing and caring mother who waited for my brothers and I to be a little older before she went back. And also like you, I was pregnant during the last semester of my senior year. But unlike you, I had the support of not only my friends and family, but of my school's faculty as well. I agree that experiences throughout one's life do impact the cultural/learning connections that make you who you are. You take each experience whether it be good or bad and that influences your decisions on what you choose to do with your life.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you included "I tend to use all that I grew up with to help me to learn." Even though you had a negative experience from an unacceptable comment your VP made, you were able to turn that comment into a positive experience. That comment as well as other experiences changed your life, and gave you passion to continue your education. Culture can impact us in ways we choose to let it.
ReplyDeleteI too felt that family is the most important part of my culture and the way I was brought up. Family influences can be positive or negative and we can take them as they come. Some of my family believes that we just go to work right out of school to support your family while others believe your strive for what you want. I know that I already talking to my child about futhering her education not as a choice but that you do not finish school until college. I want her to have many opportunities.
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