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Weekly Module 9: What is Culture? Readings Post

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In this module you will:

  • Identify practices that support cultural exchange & learning
  • Evaluate how cultural pluralism impacts your work with infants & toddlers
  • Analyze how to handle different scenarios

After reading Gonzalez-Mena (2008), answer the following questions:

  1. Summarize the main idea, key details, and what you learned from the reading in 4-6 sentences in your own words. Use key terms and vocabulary from the text.
  2. What quote(s) was most meaningful to you? (identify the page number) Why?
  3. How does this reading relate to your personal experience?
  4. How does cultural pluralism impact your work with families?
  5. What program practices support cultural exchange & learning between staff & families?
  6. How will this reading help you be a better infant-toddler professional?

Respond to 2 other posts!

Gonzalez-Mena-2008-Chap-1

43 Comments

  1. 1.Summary: Culture is influenced by race, gender, age, abilities, disabilities, language, social class, ethnicity, religion and sexuality. Though we have many different cultural differences we must always respect other cultures and be open to views that go against our own “cultural norms”. Ignoring integral aspects of someone’s culture is diminishing their identity. Teachers should treat same sex families the same way they would treat heterosexual families. They should also create inclusive spaces and materials to reflect all families. Though education is highly influenced by the United States, as teachers we should not have biased views, and meet the needs of families in a cultural appropriate way. For example not using “normal” when you are communicating with families because it just points out what can be looked as “abnormal”. Theorist like Uri Bronfenbrenner wants us to focus more of the context of the child’s culture rather than the child by themselves. Though culture is a major factor, parents and children should be looked at as individuals. Regardless as teachers we should strive to getting to know families personally, communicate with them and more importantly treat them with respect.

    2.What quote(s) was most meaningful to you? (identify the page number) Why?” I have a strong desire to quit sharing differences and begin not only to notice them but also celebrate them” page 13. This quote is the most meaningful to be because I hope I can adopt this practice. Its okay to recognize differences and that doesn’t mean one is better than the other. When those differences are all celebrated it shows that we are very much alike in some way.

    How does this reading relate to your personal experience? As read about incident Greenman encountered in hos child care. I reflected on the time I took my son to the beach. To make a long story short I wasn’t to fond of washing sand out my son’s hair for 3 days straight despite of the great time we had at the beach lol. I would have been one of those parents who had reservations on the sand activity. It wouldn’t be because I’m concerned about my child’s appearance but more so the fact that sand is not an easy thing to get out of places. Nonetheless I really love the fact that the parents along with teachers came up with the solution to have the kids wear shower caps. I’ll be using this trick next time!

    How does cultural pluralism impact your work with families? It impacts families by allowing them to freely hold on to what gives them their unique identities while still be able to participate in a class setting. It also promotes diversity.

    What program practices support cultural exchange & learning between staff & families? Transformative education and “Family centered” practices

    How will this reading help you be a better infant-toddler professional? Reading this article will help me become a better because it will remind me to look at children and parents as individual. Of course culture will play a factor in how I care for families but ultimately I want them to tell me how they want to be treated. I plan to stay away from “world view” stereotypes to the best of my ability and avoid creating my own. This article will also help me be a better infant teacher by coming up with solutions for problems I may encounter. Coming up with solutions so that all families can feel heard will be on my agenda.

    • Hey Deborah, I really liked how you replies to these questions. I like how in the first one for the summary you mentioned all of the different cultural influences. I definitely agree that no matter where we come from and the cultural differences we should all respect each other. Good Job :).

    • Deb — Thanks for your thoughtful responses! Avoiding stereotypes is important — and we will read about that in other readings very soon! Transformative education is a powerful too, as is celebrating differences from the quote you picked. Recognizing that every baby is born into a culture always grounds me in the work too.

  2. 1.Summarize the main idea, key details, and what you learned from the reading in 4-6 sentences in your own words. Use key terms and vocabulary from the text. This article talks about Culture Pluralism, which refers to how all people of different cultures and backgrounds should respect and accept each other. Also, this article talks about promoting equality no matter of the difference of one’s beliefs, identity values, race, religion or neighborhood. As humans we tend to judge or separate our own beliefs but as teachers, we are to respect the preferences of families and in doing so we should make the effort to learn different cultures and backgrounds. Like mention in the article as teachers we should welcome all families regardless and encourage to hold on to what gives families their own identity.

    2.What quote(s) was most meaningful to you? (identify the page number) Why? “We each need to look inside and discover how often we define people and their behaviors as normal by our own standards” (5). This quote is meaningful to me because I feel a lot of the time, we as individuals judge others by not being normal because of what we are used to or how we were raised, but who is to say our normal is or isn’t normal for someone else.

    3.How does this reading relate to your personal experience? I think overall this article is relatable to my personal life because it talks about not being excepted because of where you’re from. I remember when I was younger and being told by my classmates’ mom that I couldn’t hang out with her daughter and my other classmates because I wasn’t from the same neighborhood as them. Which I didn’t understand because there were two other girls that didn’t live in the same neighborhood as her and she went to pick them up from their homes but she told me I lived in the ghetto so I can’t come.

    4.How does cultural pluralism impact your work with families? I think there are times we all as humans judge others, sometimes we may not even be aware of it but being able to respect others culture pluralism is important because it will help families feel respected and want to build a relationship with you as their child’s teacher.

    5.What program practices support cultural exchange & learning between staff & families? I think welcoming all families and encouraging families to participate in programs and transformative education supports cultural exchange, when two people of groups come together to interact in such a way that both individuals learn from one another.

    6.How will this reading help you be a better infant-toddler professional? For me this article was an eye opener. Knowing how the little things I do or so can come off as judging others or not respecting their culture and background, I now understand how important it is to make an effort to learn about other cultures and their beliefs to help better support children and families through their identities.

  3. 1).This article focuses on the importance of respecting everyone’s culture,race and religion. We all have different cultures and backgrounds, that’s how we are unique and different from each other. We all bring different things to the table and to this world that is why the world is beautiful, and so it is very important to respect everyone and where they come from. Us humans sometimes judge people and we all have our own preferences and so when we see something other wise we have things to say. As teachers we need to respect each child and their family, where they come from, religion, race, background, sexuality and their beliefs. We are not there to judge but to make bonds and communicate with parents in order to do the best that we can to meet the child’s needs.
    2). The quote that was most meaningful to me is “We live in this land together and we need to get along (page 6)”. This quote stood out to me because it is very important that us as humans get along with each other and simply respect each other. We need to understand we all were raised differently, we have different beliefs and, some have different sexuality beliefs, religion, and many more. So the best thing we can do is respect each other’s backgrounds and embrace it, come together and work together to make the best out of it and learn from each other. We all have different knowledge so coming together would be perfect to make this world as great and as positive as possible.
    3). This reading connects to my personal experience because I came to this country when I was 12 years old and it wasn’t easy for me coming to a new environment, with people I never met, a new language and everything was totally different then how it was in my country. Also when I began going to school at times children tried to bully me because I wasn’t the same color as them and because I didn’t know the language. Later the same kids tried to be my friends. When children see that they can’t play around/or take advantage of you or with you then they try to become your friend. However even though my story was that I didn’t end up getting bullied there are children who do everyday and it is sad and it should be put to stop now.
    4). Cultural pluralism impacts my work with families because it creates a healthy environment and a place where everyone respects each other. And a place where no one is afraid to speak out and add in their sense and beliefs.
    5). I believe getting families involved and bringing them together, where they can interact and share different ideas that support cultural exchange & learning between staff & families.
    6). This reading helps me become a better infant-toddler professional because it taught me ways to respect everyone and their culture. When you respect everyone and their background it greats a very healthy environment where not only children will enjoy but also parents will love coming and bringing their children because they feel welcomed and accepted.

    • I agree with your last question Edisa, I think overall this article taught us all how to be a better educator. Learning ways to respect families culture backgrounds can help us build partnerships with families, which will create a better environment for children to learn and feel welcomed.

    • Edisa I really like the quote you chose. I too believe its so important to respect others, and their culture. Just because someone has a different view of life doesn’t mean they should be treated any different, if anything people should take that as an opportunity to learn from each other.

    • Edisa, I like the quote that you chose. Good job! It is important for all to keep an open mind as we live on this planet together and it is supposed to be a diverse community. Not everyone is the same and it is okay to be different. This is how we learn and grow!

    • Hi Edisa! I like the way you relate to the article. I agree with you when you say that cultural pluralism helps us to respect other people while we learn from them. It is important that we always accept there are people different from us, with different beliefs and different ideas and that is alright.

    • Edisa — Thanks for your post. I am sorry about the experiences you had when coming to the US and that you were bullied. I imagine that was very hurtful. How can infant teachers demonstrate respect for families and welcome families — what should they do?Bringing families together is a wonderful idea! Families can share resources & info with each other, developing bonds & connections.

  4. 1: Summary: The article is mostly about how important it is to treat everyone with the same respect no matter th differences between one another. everyone is different but that doesn’t give people the right to treat them different. We are all humans and no matter people’s race, ethnicity,religion, everyone should be treated with respect. Even if you do not believe in the same things or agree with others decision, we should each respect children and their families.

    2: ” I want to look at differences as sources of strength, not abnormalities or weaknesses.”(page 13). I like this quote because i find it so important that when you see the difference in people, you don’t look at what’s bad but think of it as a good thing. Not everyone is the same and that’s ok. If someone is different, you can learn so much from that person and support them.

    3: This reading relates to my personal experience because most of the time when I was a kid, I got bullied a lot. I was skinny my whole life and apparently I was too skinny compared to everyone else. The kids in my class used to call me a skeleton or make fun of how big my forehead was and just make fun of me in general. Also they used to make fun of my name calling me Salami instead of Solanny. It was very annoying. It felt like no one accepted me just because I looked different and had a unique name.

    4: Cultural Pluralism impacts my work with families because this will help families feel respected and create an environment where it doesn’t matter if you look different, you will be treated with respect. Some people don’t feel comfortable being themselves because there different and they’ve been judged so it’s important to respect every single person.

    5: A program practice that supports cultural exchange and learning between staff and families is making sure everyone feels welcome, taking time out to meet each family and learn about their culture to make them feel comfortable.

    6: This reading will help me become a better infant/toddler professional because I realize how important it is to respect everyone no matter what. It will help us build a relationship not only with the children but the families. It’s important that they feel welcome.

  5. 1. Summarize the main idea, key details, and what you learned from the reading in 4-6 sentences in your own words. Use key terms and vocabulary from the text. – The article talks about cultural framework. A framework is influenced by the attributes of culture, some of which are race, gender, ethnicity, and social class, but it gives people no reason to differentiate between one another or treat people different based on their own attributes. This reading talks about the same. Every human is different based on their views and personality, but it is important for us to be open minded and supportive of others cultural differences. Thus, for teacher it is important for them to respect families of different culture and also children in their classrooms who have different opinions and thoughts based on their attributes and cultural framework.

    2. What quote(s) was most meaningful to you? (identify the page number) Why? – The quote that was most meaningful to me was from page 4. “Identity includes more than gender and where a person comes from”. For instance, when people come across this word, they often think that it has something to do one’s gender, sexuality or where he/she is from. This is known as holding a bias or a picture in one’s head about someone. I also feel that being bisexual or homosexual does not reveal one’s identity. Identity is based on someone’s attribute to something, of how they think and perceive things in life. It is much more than just physically accessing someone.

    3. How does this reading relate to your personal experience? – I can relate to this reading as in high school, I experienced a lot of group-ism around me. People wouldn’t be friends with someone who didn’t hold a similar mindset. I experienced a similar situation. I was best friends with someone for years and all of a sudden she left me for people more like her. This is the issue that arises most of the time when people cannot accept other who are different from them.

    4. How does cultural pluralism impact your work with families? – It would impact my work with families as families would feel that being different is not an issue anymore and that it is okay to open up to people who are different from them and also the ones who have a different cultural background. It would help them feel respected and honored to be a part of an open community with different views and challenges.

    5. What program practices support cultural exchange & learning between staff & families? – It is making them exchange ideas amongst other parents about their child’s development in different cultural aspects. Bringing them together to have open discussions about what they feel and can do to help their child develop amongst other children who are from a different culture. Also, having an open house where families of different culture support their culture by preparing a dish or performing something from their individual cultures. This would give staff and the families a chance of getting to know and experience different cultures.

    6. How will this reading help you be a better infant-toddler professional? – This reading will help me become a better infant-toddler professional as I would now be more vigilant about cultural differences and how I would help others with the same. As a teacher, I would try to perform activities that involve children with different backgrounds and culture so that they interact and get to know each other and the different mindset that each child has. I would also encourage families to come together and plan activities with one another so that the build a relationship and bond with people different from them.

    • Vavi — Thanks for your reflections! I am sorry your friend from high school betrayed you; I imagine that must have been hurtful. Our cultural identities are made of & impacted by many factors — including gender, sexuality, geographic location, etc. We are all different — even if we appear to have the same cultural background, we are not the same. What would an infant classroom where everyone’s differences were celebrated look like?

  6. 1.The main idea of the article is that Culture Pluralism treats about people from different cultures need to be respectful and mindful of other people’s cultures and identities.There has to be impartiality, despite the differences people might have.According to the author, there’s got to be respect for one another, no matter their beliefs; their values; and their race, religion. The author also suggests that educators should respect diversity and be able to understand the differences among children and families from under cultural backgrounds. We should always have a welcoming attitude, so that families can feel respected and also appreciated.
    2.”Mutual respect is the goal, though it isn’t ease because, at least, in the human development/education fields, we’ve been taught a deficit model where intellectual, family, mental health practices that differ from the mainstream, middle-class norm are not viewed as cultural differences but as defects or inadequacies”. This quote stroke me the most because just as the author suggests, we should all have respect for one another, despite our differences.
    3. This article connects to my personal experience because as a foreigner in the US, I have learned that no matter how different our cultures are, or our physical appearance, or religion, we are all worth respect.
    4. Cultural pluralism impacts all of my social relationships living in this country. Mainly with my boyfriend, as he comes from a very different cultural background compared to mine. The respect we have towards each other’s religions and culture in general, makes us have a healthier relationship.We can freely express our ideas and talk about our beliefs without making it a problem.
    5.When we encourage families to engage in activities where they can be themselves, and interact with others. it is our responsability to always make them feel respected and welcome.
    6. this article will help me become a better educator as now I have a better understanding of the importance of accepting other people’s identities and more importantly, respect their cultures and differences from mine.

  7. 1. The main idea of this article is all about the importance of treating every person their is with the same respect you would give on to others, no matter how different every person is. It talks on how different everyone can be based on all their views and personality, but it is also everyone job to be open minded of everyone’s cultural difference. We are not to judge but to make connections and do our best to communicate with children’s parents to see what we can do to help better their child.

    2.”When gay or lesbian parents enroll their children in early care and education programs, it is vital that they are greeted with the same attention and respect afforded every other family.” I found this quote to be important because I have seen families of the same sex that have been looked upon differently or talked about when they drop their child off at school and to be honest I don’t think I will ever understand how they should be treated any differently. They are still people and deserve to be treated as such. They should be able to not feel that they should hide who they are or at times be scared that their child would get bullied for having gay or lesbian parents.

    3. When I was a child I used to get bullied because of my teeth and forehead, because my two front teeth were the first teeth to fall out and grow back kids use to refer to me as SpongeBob or call me a squirrel. I also have what people call a five head which was basically a big forehead when I was younger and kids would always try to come up with as many jokes as they could about my forehead. I had a few friends but through time they didn’t want to be friends with me because after all the differences other kids kept pointing out about me, they just didn’t want to be my friend anymore. For a while after that incident I use to feel ugly and I wasn’t good enough, but having the right people in my life helped me get through all that.

    4. It will create a healthy environment filled with respect for one another. Many people don’t feel good about being themselves around others so it is our job to always make them feel comfortable and show respect.

    5. Welcoming families and doing our best to encourage them to take part in programs to get to know one another and help to better themselves.

    6. Accepting and respecting peoples culture and background, and create activities where the children are able to get to know one another and be more accepting towards each other.

    • Tiana — Thanks for your post! I am sorry you were bullied as a child — those comments seem as though they were hurtful & painful. You connected respect to your work with families! How would you welcome families into your infant classroom? What exactly would you do?

  8. 1. The main purpose of this article is to inform readers the importance of treating everyone with respect regardless of their race, age, ethnicity, gender etc. Everyone has their own unique personality and their own different culture and beliefs so it is important that you try your best to keep an open mind and not talk down on or disrespect others because they may not look like you, have the beliefs or culture as you.

    2. The quote ” I want to look at differences as sources of strength, not abnormalities or weaknesses.”(page 13) stood out to me. To this day we are sadly greeted by people who just don’t value others who don’t look and think like them. For a long time and still to this day, peoples differences are not celebrated as much as it should be. While I will agree that there has been a major shift in the acceptance of others, there’s still so much more we can do but I also understand that change takes time.

    3. I’ve been in a situations where I’ve been made fun of because of my height, because I was always the tallest girl in the class and some times the tallest IN the class. I would even get made of of because my neck was “too long”. It’s a perfect length. I never let that stop me though. Instead, I decided to get into modeling and I started modeling professionally at 15 years old and i’ve been doing so ever since.

    4. It impacts families because it allows them to hold on to their culture and everything they love about it.

    5. Family centered practices supports this articles point the most. Making families feel valued, important, included and heard.

    6. I will be able to now accept families and appreciate whatever it is they have to offer and bring to the table.

  9. Aalyah — Thanks for your post! How do we shift people to accept others who are different from them? I am sorry you were bullied — I imagine those comments were hurtful & painful. How would you make families feel valued, important, and included?

  10. 1. Summarize the main idea, key details, and what you learned from the reading in 4-6 sentences in your own words. Use key terms and vocabulary from the text.
    The article Gonzalez-Mena (2008) main idea is how culture is influence by many things: race, gender, age, abilities and disabilities, languages, social class, ethnicity and national origin, religion, original geographic location, sexuality. Sometimes we assume or judge people that are out of the norm because they are sometimes people we are not used to. Additionally, sometimes in programs they can either consciously or unconsciously try to eradicate the child’s culture and force them to accept the domain culture, this in return the child loses their identity. When parents, children, and teachers work hand in hand, the children learn what it means to work without judgment.
    2. What quote(s) was most meaningful to you? (identify the page number) Why?
    On page 13 states, “According to Helen Penn and Peter
    Moss in a paper called ‘The Five Percent Phenomenon’ the research reported in most child development texts represents only 5 percent of the world’s children, yet the implications of this research are considered unviversally applicable. Think about how few people in the field of child development know much about 95 percent of the world’s children, many of them who live today in the United States of America”. This quote made me realize that many cultures and races out there are not represented enough in the books and literature we are reading to children and I think it is important we should because from a young age children should be exposed to different colors, races, cultures than from the ones they are used to.
    3.How does this reading relate to your personal experience?
    This relates to my own personal experience because it reminds me how in public schools would teach us about the american culture and so little about the different cultures that suround us on a daily basis and many would rather adopt the american culture and in a way lose the culture that we were born with.
    4.How does cultural pluralism impact your work with families?
    Cultural pluralism impacts work with families because every family will come with their own set of things that represent them and as teacher we must know what to say to what every parent belief and values and appropiately be able to adjust to each of their needs.
    5.What program practices support cultural exchange & learning between staff & families?
    Transformative education
    6.How will this reading help you be a better infant-toddler professional?
    This would help me become a better infant-toddler professional because it reminds me that it is important that when it comes to working with children i must not let my own perspective judge the different families that come into the program and assume their culture. But also letting their diversity be the way teacher and families work together.

  11. This article spoke about the importance of treating everybody with respect. This article also spoke about the dignity and preferences which is respecting each family no matter where they come from. Another thing this article spoke about is knowing how to be responsive to the child’s parents and also to the child.
    2.The quote that meant that most to me was the quote that said “To respect the dignity and preferences of each family and to make an effort to learn about its structure, culture,language, customs, and beliefs.(P5) This quote meant the most to me because i believe that it is important to respect each family and get to learn more about there background and their beliefs.
    3. This can relate to my personal experience because I work in a childcare center and I work with children that are from a different country and some of their parents have their beliefs as to how they want their child fed and there is also a child at my job who parent asked me to play gospel for him during nap time because that is the only way he would go to sleep.
    4. Cultural pluralism impact my work with families because this will help family feel welcomed and also feel respected and wont be scared to speak what they believe in.
    5. What programs practices support cultural exchange & learning between staff and families ? Making a family feel welcomed
    6. This would help me be a better infant/toddler professional because it gave me more details on why it is important to always respect a child & their family culture and reminded me to never treat a child any less.

  13. 1).This article focuses on respecting everyone’s culture,race and religion. We all have different cultures and backgrounds different from each other. As infant teachers we need to communicate with parents in order to do the best that we can to meet the kid’s needs.

    2)

    3) This relates to my personal life cause I work as a swim instructor and I teach kids from different cultures as well as talk to the families so I get an insight on where they come from

    4) Help families feel like they are at ease and can be open with what they believe in

    5) Making sure familes are welcomed and respected

    6) This will help as a teacher because the more you know the more you can help a child

  15. 1. Summarize the main idea, key details, and what you learned from the reading in 4-6 sentences in your own words. Use key terms and vocabulary from the text.
    The article Gonzalez-Mena (2008) main idea is how culture is influence by many things: race, gender, age, abilities and disabilities, languages, social class, ethnicity and national origin, religion, original geographic location, sexuality. Sometimes we assume or judge people that are out of the norm because they are sometimes people we are not used to. Additionally, sometimes in programs they can either consciously or unconsciously try to eradicate the child’s culture and force them to accept the domain culture, this in return the child loses their identity. When parents, children, and teachers work hand in hand, the children learn what it means to work without judgment.

    2. What quote(s) was most meaningful to you? (identify the page number) Why?
    “Identity includes more than gender and where a person comes from”. For instance, when people come across this word, they often think that it has something to do with someone’s sexuality, gender, or where he/she is from. This is translated into a picture in one’s head and what they think about someone. I also feel that being someone’s bisexuality or homosexuality alone does not reveal one’s identity. I believe is much more than just physically accessing someone.

    3. How does this reading relate to your personal experience?
    This relates to my personal life because I work as a basic music instructor and I’m in two orchestras so not only do I get to play string instruments with children from different cultures but I teach them and interact with their families and as a result learn more about where they’re from.

    4.How does cultural pluralism impact your work with families?
    Cultural pluralism impact my work with families because this will help family feel welcomed and also feel respected and wont be scared to speak what they believe in. Also that every family will come with their own set of things that represent them and as educators we have to know what to say in order to respect those beliefs and values parents have.

    5. What program practices support cultural exchange & learning between staff & families?
    Having families feeling welcomed

    6. How will this reading help you be a better infant-toddler professional?
    This would help me be a better infant/toddler professional because I know why it’s important to respect a child and their family’s culture. Not only do I know not to treat a child any less fairly than others, but the more I know about a child and their family’s culture and background, the more I’d be able to help them if they ever need it.

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