Analyzing the homeworktext:
The text that we had to read was about people who live between the Canadian Cree and Mexico.
è So the text is about Americans. In the text they explain a lot of rituals that we always do, but it is explained in an ironic way. This can be a problem because we can’t recognize ourselves in the text.
è We have to hold in our minds when we talk about other countries.
Problems of categorations
What do you think about when you hear the concept Culture?
- History
- Religion
- Food
- Way of raising children
- Values
- Traditions
- Trading
- Landscape
- Climate
- Civilization
- Celebrations
- Habbits
- Language
è It’s a complex concept.
Evolutionary concept of culture
Evaluate into the nature because of landscape.
Points
· Some cultures are better and more right than others ( Western kind of view)
· Some cultures rank higher than others on a developing ladder
( for example:
-Eskimos
-western Europe
-
.
.
.
-moan, pygmies, aboriginals
This came out the research but the scientist thought that it wasn’t possible so he changed the ladder so that the Eskimos are in the middle and the west European ones are on the top.
The goal must be always to move up the ladder to become more and more developed towards western standards.
è But actually there is no ranking of cultures!
Relativistic concept of culture
·
O=O=O=O
- The fact is that people meet and not cultures. So between people there can be conflicts but not between cultures.
è Problems with this kind of thinking
· Individual differences are ignored
· Many people use culture to explain problems or situations or things that you do
· Local contact will be ignored
· Culture is not something that you have -> it is wat you create among people when they interact = tacit knowledge, values that we share but we don’t know it beforehand.
· Everyone in a culture does not have the same values. There are always differences within a culture
· Cultures are always changing
If it can never be the same how can we talk about “culture”
Answering the questions
1. Why is it important to be aware of having a knowlegde about the concept of culture when working as a teacher?
It is important that we realise wat 'we' do and what normal is for us, because you are going to look at the children and if you see that they do something on a different way it is important to ask your self where does the difference come from and not to change the difference and make the child the same as you are. You have to respect that other people have other values and other habbits, this is not always inline with a specific culture, but people say that it's because of their culture just to give it a name.
2. What challenges do you see in the concept of culture?
- to see differences between people not in a judging way but in a way that shows the people that you are interested in them.
- a challenge for every teacher is to carrie for his class, this means that every child in the classroom gets respect for who he is and how he is, from the teacher and from the other pupils. That everyone can be his self and he doesn't have to change his self because he is different in that kind of way.
- be aware of you own prejudices!
3. is the concept useful when we talk about human differences?
I think sometimes it's useful and sometimes it isn't, because when we talk about a certain culture we allready have a list of prejudices in our head... and that's why i think that it isn't good. If I ask you to tell something about for example the spanish culture: the first thing that you probably want to say is that they are always late... but not every spanish one is like that and you have to be aware of it, the concept culture makes it much more difficult to don't make prejudices. But the concept culture is a good thing when we want to give something a place, why do we act like this, and why do they act the opposite? People all over the world have different values, habbits and you can structure them in the word culture. Because where you come from,... has a large pack on who you are.
4. How is the concept used within your profession?
I think the concept is everywhere, so also in our profession, you have to be aware that there are always differences between people. And you have to respect the differences and you have to do that also as a teacher. You have to show your kids with most of the time different cultures, that it doesn't matter what culture that you have you have to respect everyone. If you learn your childs this behavour, the children will not even see the differences anymore. And they get the knowlegde that no culture is better than another one!
-> i liked this Challenge because we allready saw a lot in our education in Belgium of this concept.
