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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.
My parents were proud of being African American Guyanese immigrants, and they often speak about their grandparents who were Portuguese, British, and from St. Vincent. My parent’s sibling didn’t all look alike and their ancestors didn’t either and I never once heard them speak badly about them being lighter or darker. In fact, my father would boast about having ancestors that are White, Spanish and Indian. Gaining a sense of ethnic and racialized self both worked in my favor and against me. I live in a neighborhood surrounded by many different ethnicity, nationalities, and race. Along the years it changed, less and less Caucasian people lived in the neighborhood. I was raised around people of many different racial identity and ethnicities, this allowed me to accept them because I was exposed as an adolescent. My parents shared friends of various races in which they spoke highly about and they never instilled in me that I shouldn’t accept a certain race. However, I wish they taught me how to deal with those that are not so accepting of African
Students are told not to bully, not to say mean words, and not to hurt others. It only focuses on the negative side of the problem. “Empathy clearly plays a tremendous role in an effective anti-bullying program” (Jones and Augustine, 2015). Kids aren’t being taught compassion, tolerance, and empathy thought these programs. The only thing that these students are being taught is what a bully is and everything they should not do. Clearly, tolerance is not being built amongst students. This is a trait that students learn as small children. It is hard to change the viewpoint of a child once their viewpoint has been taught, whether it be good or bad, they develope those thoughts about certain topics. Once tolerance and acceptance is established and taught bullying and harassment in secondary schools will significantly drop.
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
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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, ...
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...
My journey as a student has always been focused on the path to college and success. Before I even set foot in kindergarten my mother, a college dropout, always told me that “honor roll wasn’t an option” and that I would be attending college in the future and achieving a degree. Most of the time I made these requirements. Most of the time I was awarded honor roll or had a newly edited list of colleges to attend, but sometimes life got in the way of my dreams of achieving success.