Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture by Clifford Geertz - Essay Example

?The question of culture is one which is often regarded with specific definitions but isn’t analyzed in terms of how it affects individuals in an educational setting. In Clifford Geertz’s article, “Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture,” there is a question of what culture means and how it can be regarded in terms of education. The main theme of Geertz is to create an understanding of what culture really means and how it affects those who are in education. By building a question of the meaning and definitions, there is the ability to create a different understanding and interpretation of how to relate to cultural ideas. The strength of Geertz’s article comes from the ability to create a question of what culture should mean in a specific environment. Geertz is able to look at and analyze the interpretations of culture. This comes from the ideas of behavior and actions, intellectual relationships and interactions within the classroom. Geertz shows that individuals have created and embraced that culture must mean something that relates to identifying an individual and placing them with a specific identity and description. However, Geertz creates a challenge by stating that culture is the expression of the individual and the lifestyle they live. By building an intellectual response around this, there is the inability to understand the true identity and character of those who are relating to the understanding of culture. This leads to a common law of what culture should mean, despite the true reality of what exists within culture. The concepts that Geertz relates to and challenges readers with don’t only carry strength because of the main question in terms of culture. He furthers his alternatives with the ethnographic and anthropological discussions that are a part of culture. There is a large amount of evidence and definitions that have shown how these have created a specific intellectual viewpoint toward culture. Geertz doesn’t disregard the philosophies and definitions that are associated with these main viewpoints on culture and how this creates specific relationships to individuals in society. Instead, this is embraced with observing the strengths of these philosophies. However, there is also an understanding that this doesn’t equate to the experiences that individuals in society have and the beliefs in existence that one may have. While one may write about cultural affiliations and ways of existence, it can’t substitute for being in the experience and living within the culture as a belief and experience. The interpretations that are created then become self – limiting by the definitions and concepts that are related to this. The evidence that Geertz uses, associations to intellectual thought and the ability to show the ideologies of culture all help Geertz in creating a specific level of communication that divides the idea of culture from the experience of living in a culture. The one weakness that is in the article comes from the inability to truly analyze and understand what culture should mean if it goes outside of the parameters from those who have built observations and studies that relate to culture. Without this context, there is the inability to have a connection to culture and one remains detached from understanding other lifestyles. While there is the ability to understand that theories toward culture are intellectual interpretations, there is also the inability to create a substitute of what should exist in terms of building a deeper understanding of what culture should mean in terms of experience. The challenge then becomes based on creating a way to experience culture while bridging the gaps with intellectual viewpoints that are commonly used in terms of education. Questions of the curriculum within schools are often based on what students should be learning and what the expectations should be within the classroom. However, there is often not a consideration toward the difficulties with the expectations and the relationship that this creates with students. In the article “The Daily Grind” by PW Jackson, there is an understanding that the curriculum continues to overlook the true needs of students. There is the inability to build and connect true learning that is within the classroom while creating gaps with the specific needs which students have. This gap is one which is continuing to be followed, specifically with the beliefs that have been created surrounding education. The points that Jackson makes with his specific ideologies show that the gap in education is one which needs to alter to reach students at a different level. The main theme that Jackson points out is based on the understanding that students are expected to learn a specific amount of information in a short period of time. This learning is one that is conducted through teachers, administrators and institutions that expect outcomes for children. According to Jackson, these expectations are creating a rat race for students that don’t allow them to truly enjoy learning. Instead, the curriculum has focused on grinding in the information that students need to pass them through tests and expectations. This is creating a race to find what scores can have the best while causing schools to perform at a level that is not conducive to the learning of children, but instead to reaching specific goals for the school. According to Jackson, this is taking away from the learning capabilities of students and causing an established system to take over the true potential of students. The strength of Jackson’s argument comes from the observations of the classroom and the evidence which is based on the idea of the rat race and daily grind that he shows through policies and expectations of schools. Combining these two elements is able to show and prove that his theme of the daily grind is happening in schools. The curriculum that many are establishing then builds a specific understanding that there needs to be a sense of change within society and an alteration into changing the existence of schools and learning. This is not only strength of the argument because of the observations and evidence of Jackson. Most which are in school systems and which are currently experiencing the demands of the curriculum are finding the same difficulties and problems. One is able to relate to the argument and see the main points of Jackson through personal experience and the relationships which he creates to those involved in education. While Jackson is able to present a main problem with the curriculum, there is also a weakness in the approach he creates to those working in schools. The challenge is one which doesn’t have a constructive solution to help those in education. More important, Jackson limits the evidence to the main public school system. There are other alternatives that are moving outside of the main education system and which are finding new solutions to help with better learning for students. Tapping into these alternatives more and focusing on solutions that have developed outside of the daily grind would help educators to look at solutions and new alternatives that would help them to build a better alternative within the current school system.   References Geertz,C. (1973). Thick description:Toward an interpretive theory of culture. In C. Geertz, The interpretation of cultures (pp.3-30). New York, NY Basic Books.  Jackson, PW (2009). The daily grind. IN D J Finders & S. J Thornton (Eds.), The Curriculum studies reader (pp. 114-122). New York, NY Routledge. Read More