Personal Culture

1. iPhone: this is my day to day communication

2. Education: there is an expectation of going to college

3. Religion: I go to the church building three hours every week

4. Transportation: Mazda 3, I'm always driving everywhere

5. Birthday parties: the most important celebration of the year

6. Political association: Democratic party

7. Christmas (and other holiday) traditions: example--sitting on Santa's lap

8. Photo communication: Snapchat

9. Public Education

10. Family dinners

11. Temple marriage: belief that families are forever

12. Family dynamic: Men work, women stay home while children are young

13. Hiking: nature is meant to be enjoyed

14. Gardening: emphasis on being self sufficient

15. Life Goal: have a family!

16. Believing all children, including those with disabilities can achieve (Special Education)

17. Traveling: acquaintance with other cultures is required

18. Hamburgers and Hot dogs, anything on the BBQ

19. Body language: Folded arms = closed off

20. Dress: focus on modesty

21. Straightforward communication: Clear and focused on getting things done

(I didn't know what kind a visual to include for this one and it wouldn't let me embed the youtube video I found about being straightforward in the workplace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMfJNFDtcko)

Review of Personal Culture:

The first thing that I learned about my personal culture was how much of it is based in my religion. I remember my father once saying that religion is a part of us, not just something we do, and I now am understanding that. My life goals, standards, traditions and beliefs all came from my religion. Everything I know and do can come back to my knowledge that I am a child of God and so is everyone else around me. The LDS religion isn't the only religion that influences culture; any student in the classroom who is active in a religion may have the same experience that I have had with a religiously based culture.

I also have a cultural focus on family and education. I knew that family mattered to me, but I had never thought of it as an essential element of my culture. My family has always had a focus on education, and that is easily one of the most important elements of my culture. Coming from a line of educators, I plan to be an educator myself, and I want to work in the field of special education, showing students who struggle that everyone can learn and succeed.

My culture is generally a very positive influence in the classroom. I have a friendly demeanor, clear rules and no secrets (straightforward communication), a belief that everyone can succeed, and a strong ethic for working together. I learned that through working with a family, but I know that a classroom can become like a family, and thus work together as such. Another way that I think it helps is that although the majority of my cultural artifacts are similar, I am a democrat, and in Utah that has always set me apart and I have been the minority. Just understanding what it means to be the minority has helped me to have a more open mind.

However, my culture is pretty typical, and although I strive to travel around and get to know and understand other cultures, since I have lived in Utah, I have always had a similar culture to the majority. There will always be students in my classroom who have drastically different cultures than mine, and thus far I have only tried to understand them, not to be like them or to communicate with them. For example, family has been everything to me, and I've come from a family who valued education and supported me in everything I do. Not everyone has that blessing, and I fear I will accidentally fall into expecting that my students do have that kind of support when they don't.