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Cultural diversity in a classroom
How can culture impact identity
Cultural diversity in a classroom
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Every child grows up with some or the other experience of scorn, mockery and humiliation. The sad fact is that your average school playground is a brutal place, scattered with bullies and children who are growing up listening to bigoted opinions. It is no fault of the children themselves, they are just seeds planted without caution or care; and with no proper guidance their stems sprout the wrong way. Growing up, I had an extremely hard time dealing with the fact that I came from a multi-cultural family. It was unbelievably difficult to stand up and tell my friends that no, I did not come from an all-Qatari family. When I tried, the consequences were heartbreaking. In time I grew to be ashamed of where I came from and who I was. My family didn’t define me, but I still felt like I should be ashamed of myself for belonging to them, for having that DNA. When I was older, I realized that my colorful background was something to be proud of. And I couldn’t be happier about who I am and where I come from. Every Friday I sit at a table and eat with people who can belong to every single co...
After reading Alsultany’s “Los Intersticios: Recasting Moving Selves,” I realized that there are many misconceptions among those who have single or mixed racial background. For individuals who have more than one races, it may seem that they are at an advantage since they have luxury to take side with which ever race they choose. However, it actually results in a constant aggravation when one is constantly questioned about their race. Alsultany was asked by her classmate about her racial background. It was apparent that her classmate confirmed in her mind that Alsultany was different from her since she didn’t supposedly fit the description of a typical American, despite mentioning that she was born and raised in the U.S. This further strengthened
Many of the stereotypes we encounter and hold today were formed because of events in the past, which were formed to rationalize and justify past social and political agendas. Many of the stereotypes that we now hold today were learned long ago and have been passed from one generation to the next. This book has forever inspired me to believe in the value of each child and discourage racist attitudes wherever I encounter them. Gregory Howard Williams encountered many hurdles growing up and successfully defeated them all. He could have easily confirmed the expectations of his negative peers and developed into a self-fulfilling prophecy, but instead he chose to shun his stereotypes and triumph over incredible odds.
Living in a world where African Americans are judged because of their skin color, while whites are passed by with no other thought is confusing. What do people think when they see me? I am biracial, and because of this, I’ve faced the struggle of having to explain my races to those who can’t tell, or just make an incorrect assumption. It’s not a bad thing, having two races and two cultures, because I’ve been open to multiple traditions my entire life, but sometimes it’s hard not being considered a whole person because I’m not considered one race or the other. Being biracial has shaped my life experience and the way I see the world in countless ways.
Of my heritages there are only two Puerto Rican which consist of Taino Indian, European, and African and, Mexican which consist of French, European, and Aztec blood. I am very proud of my heritage and am glad to have learned so much of my roots and who I am. I think that the stuff they tell you in school is not anything like what I have described in my essay.
I wanted to wear brand clothes/shoes they did, I wanted to do my hair like them, and make good grades like them. I wanted to fit in. My cultural identify took a back seat. But it was not long before I felt black and white did not mix. I must have heard too many comments asking to speak Haitian or I do not look Haitian, but more than that, I am black, so I always had to answer question about my hair or why my nose is big, and that I talked white. This feeling carried on to high school because the questions never went away and the distance between me and them grew larger. There was not much action my family could take for those moments in my life, but shared their encounters or conversations to show me I was not alone in dealing with people of other background. I surrounded myself with less white people and more people of color and today, not much has
In my household, from the time I was in Kindergarten, my mother expected academic excellence and nothing less. With her help I was an A student, Science fair grand champion, Young authors winner, Community helpers member, Young academic role model and more. At the age of eleven I lost my mother to Invasive Breast Cancer. Being academically successful was her goal for me and up to that point in her life she instilled the values of education and hard work ethic into me. At that young age I had to decide how I was going to continue being academically successful in school and what were my educational goals for myself. Since that day every school year I ask myself that same question,and this year being my senior year it’s more prominent than ever. My short term educational goals are: to apply and be admitted to 4 universities, maintain a 3.7 gpa, pass AP calc and English exam’s with a score of 4 or higher, and graduate with honors.
As I reflect on my extracurricular and academic activities, I see the essence of my future. I want to attend a great university (like the University of Texas); I want to work hard to become a nurse—a person who has devoted his or herself to caring for the well-being of others.
In my life, while my race is apparent to everyone on the physical level, I think it often goes unnoticed how important race and heritage has been in my life, both in the way I’ve been treated by those around
Some warn that throwing bullies in jail might not be the best remedy (1). Instead, the best solution considered is to have a national rally. By gaining more visibility, their goal is to have the cause elevated. According to Eliza Byard, the head of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), “Locking children up (and) imposing criminal penalties on children represents a tremendous failure on the part of adults” (1). Kids should not be blamed for their actions, parents should take the fault instead. Emma Teitel mentioned that bullying is caused by “parents discord” and “cruelty”. She also included that she feels uncomfortable with the fact that “bullying is a rite of passage; kids will be kids, and bullies will be bullies” (Teitel 1). This states that saying “kids will be kids” will bring no solution, if not more damage to the problem. If we say this, we might as well say “bullies will be bullies”; this is basically a mirror factor. Some may oppose that by saying that bullying pushes past the children’s
At a young age, I already internalized so much self-hatred because of the color of my skin and hair. I struggle with this immensely since I’d watch Disney movies, that only popularize one racial demographic, and the only person that I could semi look up to was Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. But there was no real representation of minorities when I was growing up, so I strived like any other person would to be a Disney princess. I always asked my mom to put weave in my hair or do something with it, so I could have long flown hair like Princess Ariel, from The Little Mermaid movie, or strive to look as beautiful as Princess Aurora when she was sleeping. And I continued to struggle with these ideas that what is beautiful was to be white. And I just couldn 't comprehend at the time, that I was already beautiful just the way I am. It wasn’t until I got to high school, where I somewhat shed these ideas on what was beautiful. I just realized that the media and the movies are essentially fake and photoshopped. And the models for the tv and magazines were too boney and hungry. I got used to my curves and by the body by that time. But I didn’t really show forth pride for my melanin nor color. I just accepted the fact that I was black and born that way. I didn’t realize how rich and important my color is as well as my culture. It was until I started school, here in the University of Boston,
In a school setting, is it usually tweens and teens who engage in prejudicial bullying towards those of different nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. Although, we should keep in mind that it is not only limited to the school setting and can be carried on into adulthood. This type of bullying borders with cyber bullying, verbal bullying, relational bullying, physical bullying, sexual bullying and many other types of bullying. (6 Types, n.d) Though with the younger generation it is less common to find someone judge another person because of something liker their race or sexual orientation, there are still people in the world who are prejudice against a group of people and there are people who will take their prejudicial thoughts and turn them into extreme actions. There have been multiple cases where a teen or even a child has been put in a bad situation because of reasons mentioned before such as their race, religion, or sexual orientation. This is why if a someone is being targeted, it should be reported to someone with authority immediately. People who are bullied because of prejudice are often targets for being called names, being excluded from groups, being taunted by their peers, and even become targets of sexual, physical, and cyber bullies. Because prejudicial bullying can lead to things as extreme as terrorism and hate crimes, the person targeted should not sit back and hope that it will blow over with time because it leaves room to expand into such extreme acts. Instead the person should address it right away as I have mentioned earlier in the
Times are changing and I feel like I am forced to conform to the everyday social norms of America, which makes me feel impuissance. Racial identity, which refers to identifying with a social group with similar phenotypes and racial category, is the only experience that I have with life (Organista, 2010). Racial ethnicity was used to build my self-esteem and to keep me in the dark when it came to how society treats individuals of darker complexion. However, once I left the confines of my family and neighborhood, I was forced to befriend and interact with individuals that had different cultural values and beliefs than me. This experience caused me to learn how to appreciate other racial and ethnic groups and their cultural values and belief. This is an accurate definition, of acculturation because I was able to understand and fit in with individuals different from me, while maintaining my own culture and ethnic identity. Therefore, knowing the importance of my ancestry, while acculturating and developing my own identity was all used
People often times come into the world and grow up without really knowing who they are. Individuals are being raised in an environment where they do not know their own cultural background. Although recently there seems to have been an increase in the number of people who are aware of their heritage. Even with that increase the number is still small, while vast majority know very little about their culture. It is important knowing the value of one's racial/cultural heritage. Knowing about the traits and tradition of one's own race could provide insight on how important one’s cultural heritage is.
There are two sides to a person’s family and one side of my family has been traced all the way back to slavery. My father’s side of the family originally came from a Georgia plantation. Although my father is Afro-American, his great-great-grandfather was a general who owned slaves. From Georgia my father moved to New Jersey. After settling in New Jersey, my father enlisted in the military and began his life as a military man. My mother’s side of the family is all from Puerto Rico. My grandparents moved my mother and her sister to America when they were very young. They moved to Macedonia, Illinois. When my mother got older she too enlisted in the military as a nurse. My mother met my father while they were both serving in the military in Germany. After they both finished their time in the military, my mother mov...
Children are bullied for thousands of reasons, none of them are valid (Hile [pg. 26]). There aren’t any causes that puts a child at risk of being a bully or being bullied by others. It can happen anywhere in any city, town, or suburb. It also can depend on the environment, such as upon groups of gays, ...