I really enjoyed the three assigned videos by Brother Ivers
at BYUI, the TED talk by Delali Bright from West Africa, and the young men from
Sudan, Africa in the National Geographic, who each addressed cultural paradigms.
Their words gave me a lot of food for thought in how I interpret the world
around me and how our society affects our opinions and values and therefore our
joys and sorrows.
As Brother Ivers addressed complex cultural paradigms, I realized,
‘they can veil your eyes or open your eyes to seeing things in other cultures.’
Or in other words, unless you find out about other cultural paradigms, and how
other people view cultural differences, you won’t know what causes their interpretations
and behaviors and reactions to a situation.
As Brother Ivers discussed the importance of challenging our
thinking about some of our cultural paradigms, I wondered if there really is a
right and a wrong way of thinking? I venture to say ‘no’, unless it negatively
impacts someone else. So, we should often ask ourselves, how are we treating
those around us due to our cultural paradigms? Do we look down on others
because they don’t behave or think or believe as we do, or because they aren’t
as wealthy or smart? Do we recognize that everything we have is a gift, since
it can all be taken from us tomorrow? How should the answers to these questions
impact our thinking? I would hope that when we understand others a little
better, we can express a little more gratitude to God, be a little more generous
to those around us, and that we can treat them with a little more humanity.
Another question that arises then is, how do cultures create
their models or paradigms; these false needs and false problems that may not
exist in other cultures? We see that our paradigms affect the young and old
alike, as well as those who have always lived in their homeland, and those who
have immigrated. If paradigms force us to interpret reality in certain ways,
can we then ask, what is reality? I believe that reality is wherever you are
living right now.
The viewing activities this week reaffirmed my belief that
being a teacher is more than just making sure the students understand and can speak
the language. It is also about helping them integrate and make that difficult
transition into a new culture, or into a new reality. It is helping them
acclimate to a new culture with all its differences. It is about helping them learn
how they can navigate in their new surroundings and understand new paradigms; some
of which aren’t necessarily good or bad, or right or wrong, but simply their
new reality.
Hi Jeanine:
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to muse on how cultures form certain cultural traditions, isn't it? Who thought the running of bulls through a city (Pamplona Spain) was a good idea? I agree that it is important to treat the language and culture as a whole when teaching students, so that they can understand and function better.
Hello Jeanine, I agree with you; A language not only consists of linguistic knowledge, but also the ability to know what to say, when, how and in what context to say it. Language is an integral element of culture and we do not want the student to give up his or her culture or personality.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanine,
ReplyDeleteWhile reading your post, many memories came to my mind of my first years living in this country. There were many unanswered questions to me. I learned English on my own, so learning about this new culture took me many years to accept many things that I didn't understand. When a read you about reality and find a balance it will be very beneficial for our students, that aren't aware of the many culture differences we have. You're right that right or wrong there new paradigms to be learn and at the same time I know that we can learn some of other cultures.
Thanks for your post, I enjoyed reading it!
Rosa