Blog 9: Geography

Successful people come from all areas of the country and the world. Physicists, politicians, educators, etc. have diverse family backgrounds, regardless of where they may be now (such as the majority of high-ranking politicians residing in the Washington, D.C. area). This is not a hidden fact, yet there are still stereotypes associated with different areas of the country or different parts of the world that affect the expectations people have of others. If someone comes into an interview for a high-end job in New York City with a deep Southern accent, he or she will not be received as favorably as if the same person did not have that accent. Coming from the mountains of North Carolina, my parents and teachers taught us to speak without the typical accent in order to prevent the stigma of being uneducated that is associated with the accent. Being from the area, I know that it is not an automatic correlation, but I still have a difficult time hearing an educated person through a deep southern accent because of the associations and experiences. The value of education is lower in the rural areas of the south because it has been lower for generations. New England, on the other hand, was where education in this country began thus it has traditionally been the epicenter of formal education. These traditions carry into the stereotypes that people in all areas of the country tend to hold.

In our classrooms, it is expected that we will have to manage the integration of different races or languages. It seems less foreseeable that we need to consciously maintain relations with students from different regions, but that does not prevent it from being an issue that can hinder the learning experience of some students. Different regions carry with them different cultures and when that is not assumed, such as moving to a different region of the country, students may have trouble understanding why things are done in a new way. While they may appear and sound like they blend in, this may make the problem worse because others assume that they understand already. As teachers, we need to ensure the safety and belongingness of all our students in order to provide the best education possible. Often times, students will misunderstand others' actions because they do not know the local customs. These problems are not difficult to fix, as long as teachers are aware of the situations.

Blog 8: Religion

The majority of people in America at least claim to be Christian, as seen in the chart below. However, this does not mean that the teaching of Christianity should be forced upon the remaining groups. Christian groups often try to argue that we need to keep Christianity in the schools in order to teach children morals, but even Christians should be able to defend their morals apart from faith. People should know basic morals, such as to

respect others and appreciate moderation. A significant aspect of the founding of our country was the establishment of freedom of religion. Historically, ties between the church and state have led to the reputation of the church suffering when the state does questionable things. It hurts the church more than it helps it to even be associated.

It has always interested me that religions or groups within religions change their relationships with one another in light of the environment they are in. For instance, if a group of people consists entirely of Christians of various denominations, members of each denomination identify with each other against those of other denominations. Those same people would unify and identify as one group if a group of Muslims or Jews were brought into the picture. While the unique aspects in religions may seem minute or extreme to other people, they are simply part of the religion to its members. They should be respected as an important part of our students' lives and we need to allow them to celebrate accordingly. Religion is often the most important aspect of a person or family's life, so it is essential that judgment or criticism be removed from the situation entirely. Even things that we may assume are simple questions can come across as critical if presented in the wrong way.

Reflection of Panel: My high school math teacher had a noticeable scar down his calf. Being our only middle-aged teacher, we were accustomed to respecting him and not asking personal questions. As a reward for a class performing well on a quiz, he told them that they could ask him any question they wanted so one student asked how he got the scar on his calf. Mr. Jackson informed the class that the K.K.K. was still very much active when he was growing up and his father and brother were active members. They did not take kindly to his choice as the first white man to marry a black woman in the region. The scar on his calf was from an ax that was thrown at him by a K.K.K. member. It seemed unreal that a bi-racial marriage would have been novel so recently, even in the mountains of North Carolina. It often seems that the white community tries to attribute racism to other factors. Perhaps you did not get that promotion because you're a woman. I'm sure you were pulled over because you were driving so slow, not because you're black. For someone who is not racist, it is easier to assume that the group you are associated with did not mean to act in that manner...until you witness it. Even in multi-cultural Dallas, racism is not gone. Just last year, two friends of mine were in a grocery store when a white man approached the girl, who is white, and began to harass her for being with an Asian guy. They had not experienced this behavior before and were taken back, but it left an impression on the girl. While it is easy in the mainstream to assume that problems are not as bad as minority groups say, we must all be aware of the persecutions those around us endure and strive to end those battles. The following clip is from a T.V. show called 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air'. The two cousins have recently experienced being pulled over and put in jail because they were thought to have stollen the car they were driving because they were black. Will, from Philadelphia, is enraged by the racist act while Carlton, raised in a wealthy neighborhood in California, has a difficult time realizing the reality of discrimination.

Blog 7: Language

Language structures thought and is perhaps the single most identifying factor in a culture. While it is necessary to learn the appropriate language in a community in order to function, holding on to one's native language is an essential way to hold on to one's heritage. Structure and diction in a language largely explain the values and thought processes of its native speakers. In a linguistical study, researchers found that the role of gender in language is not merely a grammatical signifier, but represented the notions associated with different words. German and Spanish were the two languages represented in the study with respect to the words "key" and "bridge". In Spanish, "key" is masculine while it is feminine in German. When speakers of each language were asked to describe a key, the Spanish speakers answered with words like "sharp" and "harsh" while German speakers used words like "shiny" and "smooth". For the word "bridge", the genders were reversed for each language. This time, Spanish speakers described a bridge as "elegant" and similar words while German speakers said "scary", "dangerous", etc. The mindset of people from different cultures varies and thus language structures vary as well. This is largely an argument in opposition of the argument for the installation of a global language. Additionally, it would be impossible to take the 16 different Eskimo words for snow and the 9 different Farsi words for camel (not just different types like male and female, but the word for a pregnant camel is not the same as a baby camel and a snowflake in a blizzard is not the same as a snowflake on the ground) and put them in the opposite culture AND expect the natives to maintain those words. They would simply be lost and cultures would continue to have language evolve in accordance with their needs and values. Though linguists have drawn the conclusion of a common ancestor to all languages, Proto-IndoEuropean, the actual workings of this language remain a mystery.

Ghandi once said that to give people a knowledge of English would be to enslave them. This was in reference to the occupation of the people, not simply to allowing them to learn an additional language, but the sentiment can be applied elsewhere. In classrooms today, teachers must deal with students who may speak Spanish or Ebonics as well as plenty of other languages. While it is necessary that we educate our students in proper English in order to open the doors to their futures in the educational and the professional worlds, it is vital that this is not done at the cost of the native language. Ebonics, while simply a variance of English by appearance, largely has the grammatical structure of native languages from Africa. Ebonics, thus, is the maintaining of the native heritage of African Americans while adapting to the English of their developing culture. Even though many Black students in our classrooms may not be aware of the linguistical roots at hand, they are aware of the fact that this is how they speak with their families and friends. It is not the role of the teacher to eliminate the family and cultural values of students, especially in language, despite the role to educate them in proper English.

One of my roommates from college is bilingual in Spanish and English. She is half Nicaraguan, but her family fled from political persecution and moved to Honduras before she was born. They later moved to Houston, TX where she was raised with Spanish only at home and left to learn English at school in order to avoid learning English improperly or with an accent. While Victoria went to her first day of kindergarten with the words "bathroom", "please", and "thank you" in her vocabulary, she went to college with fluent English to the point that people would ask if she knew Spanish because they didn't know. She has in no way lost any of her hispanic heritage, but because of her professional, competitive English skills, she was able to be the first person in her family to graduate college, as well as go on to graduate school. Her teachers never lowered standards or allowed her to function in Spanish and it is because of those limits that she learned to be a student as competitive as anyone else. As teachers, it is our responsibility to take the students like Victoria who are not being exposed to English in the home (or limited English) and give them the opportunity to be competitive not only among other ELL's, but among the general population.