Culture in School Learning - Book Report/Review Example

 Culture in School Learning Critical Annotation Hollins, E. (2008). Culture in School Learning: Revealing the deep meaning. New York: Routledge. Author’s Credentials The author Etta Hollins, is the Chair of Teacher Education and a Professor at University of Southern California. Dr. Hollins is teaches various courses in this institution on multicultural education and methods of teaching diverse populations. She is recognized for her authorship, presentation as well as in consultancy regarding teaching diverse populations and teacher development. She has published different articles and books such as culture in school learning, several edited volumes, and among other publications. Moreover, she has research interest on focusing on teacher literacy in urban schools and in preparation for teacher educators. Hence, her recent publications include learning to teach in urban schools (2012), and learning styles (2012). Dr. Hollins is currently involved in various professional activities such as American Educational Research Association where she is the vice president for Division K. She is also a Foundation member of the NCATE/CAEP Transformation Initiatives Committee. Additionally, she is engaged in Research and Policy Advisory Council for the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME). She is involved in Bias and Sensitivity Review Team for the Teacher Performance Assessment Consortium in Stanford University. Usefulness of the Book The writer Etta Hollins presents a process in developing a perspective in teaching that embraces culture as a central unit in school learning. The book covers a six-part process that enables the teacher to meet the students’ needs regarding different culture backgrounds. There are different perspectives towards teaching in all learning institutions. Teaching is the central role of culture in school learning institutions. The teachers strive to come up with ways to explain operational culture that reveals its deep meaning in learning and cognition. Discussion within the chapters is intended to generate discussions and critical thinking and not find answers to the questions. Discussion Objectifying Culture Classroom teachers are supposed to construct a practical definition of the word culture that makes its central and systematic nature into the realities of the human existence. Examples of such include explanatory and interpretative functions that form the cultural perceptions of the world. The definition of culture around the world should include functional objectives in society arrangements, human survival, and the development of human beings. Human development includes developing spiritually, psychologically and socially (Clark & Caffarella, 2011 p. 2). The interconnectedness of cultures should be evident in its definition. One should be able to describe culture’s dynamic qualities in response to the fundamental changes in life’s circumstances and conditions. The process of identifying a working condition to culture is not easy. Learning one’s culture was the foundation of the social movements the Black American had in the 20th Century (Hollins, 2008 p. 25). The school curriculum had the students learn about their cultures and their ethnicities in schools. There were the ethnic and cultural students in different colleges and universities in North America. The groups for the inter cultures had an aim of improving the relationship between the different groups and communities. Education about cultures improves cross-cultural understandings among different ethnic and racial groups of the students. The school movements were part of the Civil Rights movement of the people who were demanding equal rights for people from different ethnic group. Examples of the civil rights movements include the one that had Martin Luther King as the leader in demanding equal rights of the Black community in America. Black people understood their origin and their culture and knew they would fit properly in America. The civil rights activists encountered many difficulties but got their rights at the end of all the struggles. The multi-culture education has its basis in the core values of democracy, human rights, equity, and social justice. The ideal society envisions and affirms the democratic right of each and every ethnic group to have and retain their heritage. The society should have core values that include equity, social justice, universal human rights, and respect for the dignity of every individual. The freedom to keep and to maintain one’s culture, language, and beliefs ensure maintenance of dignity and the right of human beings. The celebration of cultures and different ethnicity is part of the American constitution. The American people of different ethnic group celebrate their diversity by different functions and ceremonies. Thanks’ giving in America is a holiday to embrace family and friends and to be thankful for the people in one’s life. The black community celebrates Thanksgiving in a different way from the Spanish community and the English people. The Chinese people are living in America also celebrate their culture and diversity with the other communities and embrace their culture. Personalizing Culture It is the process of deep introspection that can reveal the central theme of culture in our lives. It enables one to acquire understandings of how early socializations have a lifelong influence on our lives. It helps one to know their identity and group identity. One is also able to identify perceptions that people hold towards the world that have a cultural frame and to describe participation in cultural values and practices. Culture directs our personal lives as it is an integral part of human beings’ existence. The invisible script of life can engulf and blind us to the actual factors that make us unique as a person of a particular culture. Engulfing oneself in their beliefs can lead us to view the world as an extension of ourselves. The people that are culturally different from our culture are exotic (Hollins, 2008 p. 33). They have different cultures and practices that are sometimes strange to us. Most teachers base the classroom practices on their cultural practices. These teachers are more successful when practicing with students from their culture rather than the ones from a different culture. Personalizing the cultures is important in an education system as both the teachers and students can experience different cultures and engulf the other culture as they do their own. Sharing of different cultures makes one aware of the factors that distinguish their culture from other cultures. It is possible to do this while still maintaining a positive regard for the different cultures. The awareness is important in improving the socio-cultural communication and facilitates the process of teaching and learning. Examples that can help embrace cultures include; the origin and history of a particular family surname and a study of the people who have the name. Use of Helms’ to help identify relationships between races of people on a social and personal level is also an example. Examination of a particular line in a family heritage reveals a lot about their culture. It reveals their continuities and discontinuities of different cultural transmissions while illuminating the role culture plays in shaping a person’s life. Studying the Helms’ of a person’s racial identity encourages one to have a deep analysis of the transmission, influence, and maintenance of values and perceptions regarding a particular culture or community. Learning about the Student's culture Reflective-interactive inquiry is an approach to learning the students’ culture and backgrounds in a way that can inform the classroom practices. Reflective-interactive technique relies on ethnographic techniques used in gathering information and analysis of the information. It is a systematic process of inquiry that helps compile and examine the information that supports understanding the relationship between different cultures, school learning, and cognition. How the teachers can expand their knowledge of the various students’ cultures is the main aim of learning the student’s culture. The teacher should be well placed to make sense of all the diverse and complex experiences of the social and cultural practices of different students (Hollins, 2008 p. 340). The assumption is that the cultural knowledge, background experience, and the competencies the students acquire outside the learning institution is helpful and necessary in school learning experience. A classroom teacher needs to understand the nature of the cultures the students bring to class. An example is of a student who has just come to America from Africa to study. The student from Africa will not be comfortable with the dressing code he/she sees from their peers. Africans are conservative in their modes of dressing, and the teacher needs to explain to the student about the American culture. The student will take some time to adjust from the conservative way of life in Africa to the “carefree” life of Americans. The school curriculum has its basis in the Euro-American culture and the students from all cultures have to study the culture. It is okay to study the American culture, but the other cultures should also be part of the school curriculum. There is evidence that suggests that there is a degree of continuity between the backgrounds of the students and school learning in a way that the students perform better when they know the culture they are studying. The purpose of the teacher forming the inquiry is to develop competence when relating the knowledge about students’ to instructions. The teachers reflect and grow from practicing teaching to become the best educators when it comes to different culture studies. Applying the knowledge of Culture to Teaching The definitions of culture and data collected regarding cultures should have an application by the teachers in a classroom setting. The teaching curriculum can be reframed based on the information one has acquired during collection of data. The school curriculum serves the purpose of transmission of cultural knowledge and the perpetuation of the cultural practices and values. Most schools in the United States continue to give curriculums that embrace the cultures of different ethnicities in the country. The syllabus serves the purpose of embracing and maintaining the Euro-American culture as a form of knowledge to the students. It can be noted that the syllabus has a problem in that it is only meaningful to students who have similar cultures. Students with a different culture and from other ethnic backgrounds do not learn about their cultures. Some of the students adapt well to such settings, but others who are not able to keep up end up failing in their examinations (Hollins, 2008 p. 40). The system should be able to reframe the curriculum to accommodate students from all ethnic backgrounds. The curriculum, thus can be designed to be able to address the needs and wants of a particular culture. Making the curriculum inclusive of all the cultures can decrease failure rates of the students in subjects regarding cultures and beliefs. The insights one acquires from studying specific cultures is valuable in the study of specific cultural groups in identifying different ways to reframe the curriculum in order to meet the specific needs of the students. The aspect of including the school curriculum promotes the understanding and the knowledge of the country’s unity. One can identify parts of the curriculum that are okay and the ones that require adjustments. Redesigning the classroom instructions is not often discussed as one of the contributing factors in the disproportionate rates of school failures that are part of ethnic minorities and lower-income students. Teachers that involve themselves in practicing the curriculum have little influence on the blame if the students fail in exams. There are however, theories regarding the failures in school including; the theory of cultural mismatch and the theory of contextual interactions (Clark & Caffarella, 2011 p. 3). The theories are helpful in understanding the working definition of culture. It also helps in facilitating the formulation theory that helps to plan instructions for students of different cultures. Conclusion Learning different cultures in schools is important for the social development of the scholars. It enables them to relate well to their peers and other people. The education system in America does not fully embrace other cultures. It is evident that not being able to embrace the other cultures affects the students' overall performance. The school curriculum should embrace all the other cultures in America into the curriculum. References Clark, M.C., & Caffarella, R.S. (2011). An update on adult development theory: New ways of thinking about the life course. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc. Hollins, E. (2008). Culture in School Learning: Revealing the deep meaning. New York: Routledge. Read More