Dare 1 Nadine Dare EDMUL 205 Dr.

Park 10 December, 2008 Cultural Autobiography I was raised in a predominately Caucasian neighborhood and I attended schools that contained very few minority students. When I was ten years old, at the end of my fourth grade of elementary school, my family moved into a new neighborhood and the neighbors across the street from us were quite diverse. The mothers side of the family was entirely Hawaiian and the fathers side of the family was Japanese. Both parents were fluent in English as well as their native tongues. The result of this was that all three of their children spoke three different languages: English, Hawaiian, and Japanese. My twin sister and I would baby-sit for them on a regular basis and on days that we did not baby-sit we would walk over to talk to the parents and play with their children. We were always fascinated with the fact that the children spoke three languages and we enjoyed observing how they their three cultures mixed. At that age I was unaware of discrimination towards others for the color of their skin or the country of their origin so I was entirely unconscious to the varying forms of prejudice that family likely had to overcome to live within the social and financial means that they did. Since learning about some prejudices and discriminations I have retained the belief that ones appearance does not determine ones value. I believe that all people are of infinite value because they have been created in the image of God. For this reason, I have recognized and been aware of different cultures and nationalities around me but I have always seen these differences as positive and I enjoy learning about them. I believe that acknowledging differences and

Dare 2 learning from them is the best way for cultures to interact and, by far, the best way to discourage racism. Throughout my high school career I had the privilege of being surrounded by others who thought in the same manner. One instance that stands out clearly in my mind is of how one of my teachers taught her daughter, of about three years old, how to treat those who look different from herself. My teacher had very pale skin with red hair and her daughter was just as pale but with extremely fair hair. They were in line at a grocery store, one day, when my teacher noticed that her child was staring at the woman in front of them. The woman looked tired, but what caught the young girls attention was her deep toned skin. My teacher turned to the woman and asked her to bear with her. Upon the womans confused consent my teacher touched the womans hand and began running her finger back and forth across it saying to her daughter isnt she beautiful? Her daughter nodded with wide eyes. At her words the womans face lit up and she beamed at my teacher and her young girl. That is what I think of when I hear someone talking about integrating schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces. I think of how, if more people would think about other races in the same manner as my teacher did, integration would be easy and there would be no racial teasing in schools. My family moved to Indiana just before my senior year of high school. Before this time I was unaccustomed to the people around me focusing on racial tensions. After establishing ourselves and making several friends, I was shocked to find that a major topic of discussion consisted of race and racism. I met individuals who mentioned that in the city they were raised in it was not safe for an African American to walk the streets at night due to the extreme prejudice. This was not a scenario I was familiar with. I had not known that such activity existed in the present day in this country.

Dare 3 It is my goal as a teacher to encourage my students to accept one another despite their race and cultural background. Learning about the cultures of those around me has been a source of joy and excitement in my life and I would like to pass on that excitement to my students. In the process of gaining this knowledge my love for learning has only been stimulated and it has grown over the past two years. During my time at Ball State University I had the privelage to read an article written by T. Goldstein, entitled, Contemporary Bilingual Life at a Canadian High School: Choices, Risks, Tensions, and Dilemamas This article discussed the unique position of students who were born in Hong Kong and who currently live in Canada while attending Northside Secondary School. The students came from upper class families and they natively speak Cantonese. One cultural difference that has been detrimental to these students is that speaking English outside of the classroom is seen as showing off and as being rude. Speaking English fluently is a great asset for these students when the time comes for them to find jobs. Major issues discussed in the article are how teachers deal with instructing a large percentage of Cantonese speaking students and how the students have to choose carefully between practicing English and maintaining positive peer relationships. Several different methods are in place that instructors use to cope with their classrooms full of multilingual students. These methods range from an English only policy in class, to the freedom for students to collaborate in a language of their choice. Cantonese speaking students who were underproficient in English were expected to live up to a double standard. Many Northside teachers wanted them to speak only English at school while their peers expected them to speak only Cantonese unless conversing with someone who did not speak the language.

Dare 4 Throughout my reading, I found that I am in favor of allowing students to speak their native tongue in the classroom. One way of easing tensions created by the teachers inability to understand his or her students would be to encourage the students to informally teach their teacher Cantonese. This would also help to alleviate the problem of not knowing that the students are saying. I believe that if the teachers expect their students to learn English than they must show a willingness to learn the language of their students as well. I am not entirely in disagreement with Mrs. Yees choice to enforce her English only policy in her class. This is because she is not blindly telling her students that she does not want to hear Cantonese. She, herself, is a native of Hong Kong and she already knows the language. She simply wants to force her students to practice their English because she knows that it is not socially acceptable for them to practice English in their peer circles. I agree with certain aspects of both opinions, for this reason I have cultivated an idea that would effectively reduce the tensions between non-Cantonese speaking teachers and their limited-English speaking students. This would be to arrange a class for the mono-lingual English speaking teachers to teach them Cantonese. As they are learning Cantonese, the teachers would begin to understand the difficulties of trying to understand a completely foreign language while trying to keep up with the pressures of school. To further break down the boundaries, I suggest that after school a time be opened up for students and teacher to help each other with the languages that they are learning. In helping their teacher to learn Cantonese the students would be, in effect, practicing their English skills. While I understand that teaching and learning a language at the same time would be extremely difficult and often not entirely enjoyable, I also believe that it would be beneficial to both the faculty and the students of Northside or any other school in a similar situation.

Dare 5 When I was in early elementary school I had difficulty in finding acceptance with my peers at school. I have always understood that it was because my family was different but when I was reading Patricia Phelans piece, Students Multiple Worlds: Navigating the Borders of Family, Peer, and School Cultures, I realized that there may have been a reason as to why my familys difference caused so much trouble for me in school. Phelans article explores the idea that students move through cultural boundaries between their schools, homes, and social lives. The authors argue that students whose homes or social circles contain a culture that is similar to that of their schools will do well academically. Conversely, students whose home or social culture differs marginally or drastically from the dominant culture within the school will perform poorly because their values differ from the schools expectations of them. The authors have specifically divided how students manage this shift in cultures into four degrees of success: Smooth Transitions, Border Crossings Managed, Border Crossings Difficult, and Borders Impenetrable. I found throughout my reading of the article that I agreed with much that the authors had to say. Through my own experience in elementary school, I found that the difference between my home culture and the culture at my school had a huge effect on my academic performance and my social life. In my case, the cultural difference was religious and it resulted in the children in my neighborhood teasing me because their parents forbade them from playing with me. This had a drastic effect on my academic performance. When I was caught up in thinking about how no one liked me, I would not achieve at a high standard. By the time that I was in fifth grade I was under the impression that a 75% was an acceptable grade, I did not realize that it was a C and therefore not a mark to strive for. My grades soared when I transferred schools. Part of this transformation occurred because I was

Dare 6 around people of my own religion and culture while in a school setting and part of it was that I found that others my age could be nice. During that time, I made my first friend thus, uniting the cultural congruity of my home, social, and school arenas. One major factor my cultural adjustment at my new school was that my teachers engaged in my academic performance and they would check up on me when I was not working hard and earning adequate grades. They conveyed that they actually cared for me individually despite what my fellow classmates might think that they would speak to me outside of class to ensure that all was well with myself and my family. As my teachers showed an interest in my wellbeing I began to work harder academically and my grades rose. Within the setting of a school that culturally matched my home values; I excelled in my academics. Through that change, I shifted from traversing different worlds between school and home containing barriers that I perceived to be impenetrable, to congruent worlds between school and home with smooth transitions from one to the other. This not only increased my academic performance but it also increased my self confidence and, in part, helped me to begin finding friends in the people around me. Through my experience, I agree with the multiple worlds theory presented in this article. It has proven to be true based on my childhood. I believe that teachers need to take into account the values of a childs home when evaluating what expectations to place on that child. It also applies to the teaching methods that should be employed for that childs greatest chance of success. If teachers in the United States today would take cultural differences into account I think there would be far less students failing out of class or graduation without the minimum skills necessary to survive in this country.

Dare 7 Raised in a middle class home, my parents have always been able to provide me with my needs and the reasonable comforts I desire for most of my life. Despite the fact that I have never been in want, I was not ignorant of those who were less fortunate than I was. As a young child, my mother would encourage me to make friends with people of lower classes than we were. I had a friend whose mother was struggling to pay her bills but I did not realize this until years later. I knew that her house was smaller than and not as nice as mine but I did not think that this was a reason to be mean to her. During most of my high school career my school participated in a food drive around Thanksgiving. We would collect food and then on the last day of school before our holiday break the entire school high school would load up on busses and drive down to a food shelter. Once we had arrived, we would help to check people in, load food into boxes, and take those boxes out to peoples cars. This was a rewarding time for me; I loved to see the faces of those who would otherwise have nothing to eat on Thanksgiving. The time that I spent freezing in the snow carrying heavy boxes out to cars parked far away is one of my best high school experiences. Exposing students to the joy of enhancing others lives through the giving of gifts, is an effective way of discouraging the lifestyle of entitlement. I believe that through encouraging altruism classroom discipline will become less of a problem because much of that is caused by students who believe they are entitled to special treatment. My parents were very adamant that my siblings and I would not gain a sense of entitlement and that we understood that all that we had was given to us. This perspective helped to encourage me to obey those in authority over me and to prevent me from taking what I had for granted. The summer before my junior year of high school, I had the privilege of flying to Nicaragua with a group from my church. This experience revealed to me the living conditions of

Dare 8 the underprivileged people who live in the poorest country in the Americas. It was here that I was physically shown what I had been told from a very young age, that I dont need possessions to be happy. The individuals that I met in Nicaragua had so little, they even made the destitute in the United States appear wealthy in comparison, but they were among the happiest, most loving, and most grateful people that I have every had the pleasure to meet. On the opposite end of the spectrum during middle school and all but my senior year of high school I was also surrounded by people who were extremely wealthy. I had friends who literally lived in mansions and they had separate summer homes. These people I met in school were convinced that I was underprivileged. Though I was never afraid to invite friends over to my house, I did find myself more comfortable going over to the homes of my friends. I found myself more uncomfortable when I was around the extremely rich than when I was surrounded by some of the poorest people in the world. This was because the people who I have met who were impoverished did not put on an air around me and they were honest about how they felt. To me, it seems that wealth serves more to distract people from the reality of life around them, while poverty opens their eyes to the world around them as it really is and they do not bother with petty attitudes such as a haughty exterior or breaking another down to cause one to feel good about himself. I realize that I view class in an opposite spectrum than what most people do but I have seen how money affects people. The extremely wealthy are very often unhappy and searching for something that is missing in their lives. The poor feel the same way less often and many of them are happy, they have nothing to lose and they live freely. A goal that I have for myself is that I would treat those around me in the same manner despite their socioeconomic status. I would like

Dare 9 to see the wealthy learn to love others around them as the poor I have mentioned do. It is a refreshing environment to be in and it is a sign of healthy relationships. Through an article, written by Lois Weis, that I read I have found that there are other ways for those who are in poverty to act. This article was entitled White Male Working-Class Youth: An Exploration of Relative Privilege and Loss and it consisted of what the author observed of the white working-class males within her study. Within this context she concluded that they were angry from the shift in social status from only white males filling the highest social positions in the work force, to females and minorities joining them in that sphere. There was some behavior that the boys in Freeway High School deemed only acceptable for other white males. They would instigate fights with minorities who acted in the same manner that they did. Weis examined how inter-racial couples were treated and concluded that the white males sought possession over any white female. They did this in the form of only allowing another white male to date a white female. I found this article to be full of students who had little to no respect for the people around them, either male or female. They were extremely rude to the point that I was shocked to find that there was no allusion to punishment for their appalling behavior. I believe that children who act in this manner do so, not because of anger over a decreased social status, but because they were raised by their parents to act this way. If a child is raised in a household where it is found acceptable to disrespect adults and peers, than it is probable that the child will not respect adults and peers outside of the home. From the excerpts of conversations on pages 242 and 243 of the article, a window into the lives of the students at Freeway is opened. All of these male students understand a womans role in the family as caring for the children and keeping the house neat and clean. A mans role is

Dare 10 only to work and bring home the paycheck. From this I conjecture that the students interviewed, live in homes where their fathers are not major components of their lives. Bob especially, specifically stated that only the mother has any responsibility to take care of the children in a household. This implies that the head of a household has only a minor part in his childrens upbringing. An additional aspect of the lives of the students interviewed that is brought into question is the quality of their family lives. Though it is likely that the worst of their recorded conversations were provoked by the proximity of friends, if their words were not exaggerated, the existence of abusive relationships comes into question. If a child literally would expect his mother to refrain from telling him what to do under threat of physical punishment, than it is likely that he not the only one in the household who treats his mother that way. These children also have the idea that a good looking woman will not be faithful to her husband (244). Children obtain their ideas of marital relationship from their own parents relationship. This is also true at Freeway, as evidenced by Tom on page 245. Tom believes that marriage is a joke because married people do nothing but argue with each other. He evidenced this with his own parents haggard relationship. If the children interviewed at Freeway High School had been raised in environments where their parents had healthy relationships, and they were taught to respect themselves, than they would have extremely different views on how others, especially women, should be treated. As it is, the young men in this article appear to think that women are merely objects for them to possess and to be guarded from exposure to disrespect from young men who are of a minority. This is ignoring the fact that they themselves engage in the same behavior that they are critical of for a boy who is a minority, to no ill-effects. This is a hypocritical way to view life.

Dare 11 Ones culture is viewed in many different ways depending on the color of ones skin. I found an example of this in Pamela Perrys writing, White Means Never Having to Say You're Ethnic: White Youth and the Construction of "Cultureless" Identities. This article covered the issue of white students defining themselves as being cultureless. The author argues that by defining themselves as cultureless, white students are asserting their perceived racial superiority among their ethnic contemporaries who have culture. She asserts that by claiming to be without culture white students are implying that they are better than others in two ways. They see themselves as the norm while everyone else is abnormal or they are claiming to be more advanced by being beyond culture. Pamela Perry supports this claim through analyzing white culture in two California schools, one of which consists of a predominately white student body, while the other is evenly multi-racial. I found this very interesting as, falling into the category of a white student myself, I had never thought about trying to define white culture. All that I could think of when asked to define it was consumerism, an overemphasis on underweight women, and a lot of television geared towards self-centeredness and instant gratification. Then, I realized that I was defining a piece of American culture that is not unique to the white members of the country. In the sense that white students define their culture with terms that apply to American culture, I agreed with the article. That was the extent to which I agreed with the article. I found that I profoundly disagree with the author in her claims that this definition of white culture is an act of superiority. It seemed to me, that through her findings, she was calling every person of light complexion in the United States racist by association. Not only is this claim not true but the author has neglected a key component of the make-up of this country. She seems to believe that all white cultures are

Dare 12 the same. If this is the case, I would like to know how French, Scottish, German, and Yugoslavian cultures are the same, since they are all European countries. The people of these countries have deeply defined cultures that vary greatly. One thing that I found fascinating was the fact that at Clavey, the students who were white were considered to be a part of the dominant American culture despite the fact that the majority of them were first generation immigrants. They were also not allowed or offered to have their own cultural booths at the school multicultural week. This is not a valid form of defining white culture in the United States. People who have never been to the country before are automatically considered to be a part of the mainstream culture and are assumed think of themselves as better than a large portion of the country, simply because of the color of their skin. I believe that the inability to define ones culture is a product of belonging to the predominant culture in a country. It is much easier to look around and see what one is not, rather then what one is. I do not accept the claim that all white people believe themselves to be racially superior as true. As a white woman I can attest to the falsity of that claim. It seems that the author of this article is against her own skin color and she is making hasty generalizations about all white cultures in order to support her claims. If she had acknowledged the differences between white European cultures, and admitted that they are different from each other and from mainstream American culture, the author would have provided a better argument. I have been in contact with people with disabilities, both physical and mental, for most of my life. My first instance with a disabled child in my classroom was in fourth grade. This stands out in my mind distinctly because the class had a rotation of who was to sit in a special room with this boy to eat lunch with him. He was allergic to peanuts and this meant that on those days I had to come up with something other than my customary peanut butter and jam sandwich to eat

Dare 13 for lunch. I found this to be annoying at the time but now I appreciate that I had the opportunity to get to know this boy, even if it was because I was required to spend time with him. Over the years I have found myself in increasing situations where I am befriended by a mentally challenged individual. This has happened, both at my church in Utah before I moved to Indiana and at my church that I have joined since moving here. Throughout this experience my heart has softened towards these people. At my church in Utah, a woman in her early thirties would come up to me after the service and give me a hug and play games such as hide and seek with me. She seemed to have the mindset of a child and she was very loving. At the time I found her attentions to be occasionally annoying. In hindsight I learned a great deal from that woman. In my current church I teach Sunday school and in the fourth grade is a girl who appears to have a similar mental state as the woman in Utah. I treasure my time with her and I have come to accept the quirks of spending time with people like the two women I have mentioned and I enjoy myself and do all that I can to make their day wonderful. Another form of disability that I have encountered since moving to Indiana is physical disability. A man in the college youth group at my church had his leg amputated about six months before I met him. He moved around using an electric wheel chair that weighed about three hundred pounds and he had written out his testimony to allow others to learn from his mistakes and to share how he had survived his accident. He is one of the kindest people that I have ever met. I find it fascinating how the people who have been through the most extreme heartaches and endured the greatest difficulties are always the ones who are the most loving, the most understanding, and the most gentle in all of their ways. My friend from my youth group has a great attitude about his situation; he is thankful that he only lost his leg instead of his life. Last year my family invited the youth group over to my

Dare 14 house for a bonfire and to roast hot dogs. My friend came as well and my sisters, my other friends, and I decided to take him on a tour of my back yard which consists of trails cut into about an acre of forest. As we slowly helped to push the wheel chair along the trail it proceeded to get stuck in a dip. It took all of us working together with much laughter to pull the chair out of the dip and put it back on level ground. My friend never became upset; he enjoyed his time with us. He is an excellent example that a physical disability does not cause one to miss out of the opportunities that are presented in life. That is decided by ones attitude as ones abilities change drastically with the attitude one has towards using those abilities. I myself know what it is like to have a physical disability, though, mine is not obvious. I have had an unknown problem with my wrist which causes it to hurt, especially when bent or pulled on, and has done so for the past eight years. When this began I was very angry about losing my ability to continue in the strenuous activities that I enjoyed knowing. More than actually participating in these activities I took pleasure in the thought that I had the capability to perform them. As time passed though, I began to learn from my discomfort instead of despising it. I have discovered that I am now better equipped than I otherwise would be for counseling students who are in pain. I am excited to know that I have this potential, I can help them learn how to live with it even when there are no explanations and it does not make sense to them. I am excited for the prospect of the opportunities that I will be open to through the process of teaching children in my class. I want to help them to learn lifelong lessons that will stay pertinent to their lives long after their schooling is completed. This is my passion for the students whom I have not yet met. I hope to positively impact their lives, no matter what their race, socioeconomic status, or disability. It is my hope that these children will learn to love

Dare 15 others and to cope with what has been given to them so that they can help others to the best of their abilities. During the course of one of my classes at Ball State University I had the honor of volunteering my time at the Buley Center which is a Boys and Girls Club in Muncie. I was initially worried about volunteering at the Buley Center. From what I had heard described in class by fellow students, I had come to expect volunteering at the center to be little fun and a lot of work. I was also anxious about the prospect that the children might not want my help or company. In addition to this, I was concerned about inconveniencing my sisters with the need to stay in Muncie for such a long time after we were finished with our classes. On the first day that I arrived at the Buley Center I was frightened but I refused to let that stop me. I went inside and was completely surprised. I was engulfed in a loving atmosphere full of very sweet children. I was accepted by the staff and youth that I met and had a wonderful experience. On my first day I discovered the Girls Club. There were six girls who had gathered and I asked to join them. After I had filled out the member information card, I listened as they tried to think of a fun activity for their first meeting. At this, an idea came to my mind and I asked if any of them knew how to make an origami fox. At the negative answer I immediately began to instruct the girls in how to fold their paper to fashion foxes with moving mouths. We had a fantastic time. I felt honored to be a part of making the first Girls Club meeting memorable. Through my volunteering I have met some extremely special people, not only among the students but in the staff as well. I have enjoyed speaking with all of the adults who have committed their time to the Buley Center. Every one on the staff has a great burden for the children of Muncie and I am grateful for their presence and growing friendships. I feel as if I am treated like family and I am proud to call them my friends. The sacrifices that they make to run

Dare 16 the center and take care of all of the children is inspiring. I would like to be able to help the people around me in such a powerful manner. One of my favorite afternoons while volunteering was the day that I brought my twin sister in with me. She was only able to spend the first fifteen minutes with me before she had to leave, but that was all the time that we needed. As we walked into the throng of children, we received, for the first time in our lives, open-mouthed astonishment. From their reactions I gained the impression that many of these young people had never before seen twins. The thought shocked me that it was possible that we were the first set of twins that some of these boys and girls had ever seen. I had never before imagined that such a situation was possible. I am grateful for my experience through the Buley Center, not only for the friendships that I have made through the students and staff, but for reminding me why it is that I want to teach. I want to help equip children like those at the center for better lives, so that they can rise above any low expectations that others may have for them. I have seen how incredibly special each and every one of these children are and I want to help them as much as I can. Volunteering at the Buley Center has helped me in many ways. I must admit that when I first came, I was afraid of being the only white girl in the room. This frightened me because I thought that I would be ostracized if that happened. On my very first day that fear was alleviated when I sat in a room, the only white girl, and proceeded to thoroughly enjoy myself. I continued to do this with every subsequent visit and I am completely at ease in a room full of people whose skin is a different color than mine. This experience has taught me about myself and about the people who live around me. I have come to know a small amount about the people who live in Muncie, apart from Ball State; thus creating a desire in myself to continue helping in bigger ways that I ever have before.

Dare 17 Works Cited Goldstein, T. (2003). Contemporary Bilingual life at a Canadian High School: Choices, Risks, Tensions, and Dilemmas, In Sociology of Education 76(July). pp. 247-64. Pamela Perry, White Means Never Having to Say Youre Ethnic. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 30 (2001): 56-91. Patricia Phelan, Ann Locke Davidson, and Hanh Cao Yu, Students Multiple Worlds: Navigating the Borders of Family, Peer, and School Cultures. Pp. 52-88 in P. Phelan and A. L. Davidson (eds.), Renegotiating Cultural Diversity in American Schools (1993). Weis, Lois. (1993). "White Male Working-class Youth: An Exploration of relative privilege and loss," in Lois Weis and Michelle Fine (Eds.). Beyond Silenced Voices: Class, race, and gender in United States schools. Albany,NY: SUNY Press. pp. 237-58