Acceptance of the Mexican-Americans and the American-Jews - Research Paper Example

? Cultural Awareness, Understanding, and Acceptance Task: Introduction (Section A) I will explain cultures of the Mexican–Americans and the American-Jews in my home state. The depiction of the culture will focus on their characteristics. Examples of those characteristics are lifestyles, values, and morals. The cultural characteristics in the paper are religion, traditions, and languages each culture speaks. The populations that I chose for researching about their cultures are the Mexicans-Americans, and the American-Jews. The three cultural themes that am going to discuss for these dissimilar cultural groups are the religion, language, and traditions. I will explore religions, language, and traditional practices of the two cultures. The most common religion practiced by Mexican Americans is catholic, where by the church leaders intercede for the believers. However, for the American-Jews, Judaism has dominated and as opposed to the former, these leaders do not intercede for the followers. It is also evident that the two cultures consider families as the centre of their societies and thus hold life cycle ceremonies in commemorating the key events. Mexican-Americans speak Spanish and English, while the Jews’ speak mostly in Yiddish, as the Ladino. Section B The Mexican-Americans culture Religion Mexican Americans have harnessed and utilized religion as a cultural resource and an instrument for social, civic, and political empowerment and protest. Religion is in the system of the Mexican American civilization and uniqueness (MACC, 2012). Religion plays a vital part in shaping the values, hope, and aspirations of many people of Mexican ancestry in the US. Religion has an intimate connection to the culture, and Mexican immigrants’ Catholic identity, that being Mexican American and being catholic seems equal. People think that the two posses an in extricate connection even if an individual fails to attend church regularly. Some names such as Jesus and Mary are extremely common in the culture and demonstrate the fundamental connection between popular Catholicism and Mexican American identity (Trevino, 2012). The Mexican Americans mostly use their spiritual practices to criticize patriarchy and sexism. Most prominently, they use their spirituality in the promotion of holistic vision and medicine. The power of religion is manifest in the growing religious pluralism in the Mexican American community in pop culture, where multiple religious symbols, rhetoric, and traditions are combined (Espinosa & Garcia, 2008). Traditions The Mexican American families are mainly the customary family (Tutwiler, 2005). The Mexican Americans communities, value families, and meeting the needs of all family members is paramount. They give attention to the extended family and power interaction amid family heads. Life-cycle ceremonies are also crucial to the culture as they highlight points of social transition for them. During these rituals, deep human emotions come into shape through interactions. The rites that mark birth and marriage ought to express joy. Those marking deaths indicate sadness and grief. Additionally, life cycle ceremonies make it known to the participants, as well as the broader social order that major shifts in role expectations are in order. Upon a child’s delivery, husband and wife assume new obligations; wile death makes a spouse widowed. The affected people should accept the new definitions of themselves in the family and community. In the culture too, women usually undertake home duties (Huttilinger, 2000). In many traditional cultures, the life cycle of Mexicans Americans families link the conjugal family to the broader extended family, and to friendship circles within the community (Williams, 2000). In the Mexican American culture, love is essential in marriages, and love comes from sex, therefore, it demonstrates love. Moreover, unmarried couples are prohibited from engaging in non-procreative sex (Worell, 2001). Languages spoken Virtually half the Mexican American homes, speak Spanish. Nationally, about 47% percent of Mexican Americans grew up in homes where Spanish was the language spoken. Language use, like other features of acculturation, changes Mexican Americans across different locations (Marriam-Webster, 2000). Half of the rich Mexican Americans who live mostly in the non-Mexican neighborhoods speak English to their children, while some speak both Spanish and English to them. Among low earning Mexican American parents, half of them speak Spanish solely, while others speak both. The languages they speak possess both educational and economic effects to the Hispanics (Leal, 2012). Those whose mother tongue was English, had completed school about 50% more often than those whose mother tongue was Spanish, and had gone to college 70% more often (Zastrow & Kirst- Ashman, 2007). American- Jews culture Religion The examination of Jewish culture from many years back illustrate that, shared spiritual practices, are larger part of Jewish identity but not all Jews. The religion has assisted in shaping the lives of the American Jews. American Jewish is more than a religious uniqueness, and the continued influence of Jewish cultural institutions in America shows the extent to which this is the case (Hayman, 2012). In America, there has been the expansion of synagogues beyond their roles as religious institutions to provide their congregants with cultural and religious services. The faith of the Jewish is Judaism. Judaism is a monotheistic belief and among the world’s earliest religions. The religious literature of Jewish is the Tanakh and Siddur (Jewish holy books, 2012). Dissimilar to other religions, the spiritual should not mediate on the person’s behalf with God, does offer atonement, as well as hearing the confession. Traditions In the Jewish Americans’ tradition, family is the heart and soul in the society (Jewish Virtual Library, 2012). Stress is applied on assuring that family members’ needs ought to be met and respected. Because of the assimilation of sex tasks today, there is little variation in gender roles between Jewish American and white-American families, as both parents share home and family responsibilities. Parents receive much honor, and that means that children will be mindful of them, as they weaken. They consider marriage an ideal state as it is in the bible that man should not be alone. Marriage is of benefit in procreation. Sexuality is thus a significant portion of marriage, and non-procreative sex though accepted should only occur in marriage (Pleck, 2000). Language spoken Unlike other American ethic group, Jews fail to identify with a common homeland, having come from many nations. Therefore, for a long time span, the common language spoken was Hebrew. This language had become assimilated into the society was even used in writing scripts, and leading some religious ceremonies. As a result, the majority of the residents enjoyed using it thus; it acted as a common bond among the Jews. During the Diaspora of the 20th century, a large proportion of the inhabitants fled from Palestine to some European countries. In the process, two common languages emerged, which included the Yiddish, a mixture of mostly German and Hebrew and Ladino a mixture of Spanish and Hebrew (Marger, 2011). Concept map (section C) Conclusion and discussion (Section G) In my research, I observed some similarities in both cultures. In both cultures, family is vital in the society and all family members’ needs ought to be met. Additionally, in both cultures, sex is essential in marriages and non-procreative sex is acceptable only for married couples. Moreover, religion is vital in shaping the values, hope, and aspirations of the people in the two cultures. There were some similarities in the Mexican American and Jewish American cultures. Firstly, I found that, religiously, the Mexican Americans are Catholics, while the Jewish Americans faith is Judaism. Moreover, unlike the Mexican Americans, the Jewish Americans spiritual leader is not needed to intercede on the person’s behalf with God, does not grant atonement, and do not hear confession. Another difference is that, in the strict Mexican American home, women are mostly responsible for doing home chore, but in the Jewish American homes, married couples share the home responsibilities. The information about the different cultures is useful in classrooms because if students comprehend assorted cultural practices, they learn to value each other in class. A teacher can use the information about the Mexican-American religion, which is Roman Catholic as an instrument for social, civic, and political empowerment. The teacher can describe how holding to these virtues can enhance an individual’s social wellbeing, along with how students can utilize it in empowering themselves politically. Teachers can also use the principles of Judaism to instill some moral values to the students. Teachers can use the information learned about languages in these two cultures in describing the diverse nature of the Americans. For instance, it would be appropriate to show that Mexican-Americans spoke in Spanish and English and could still relate well. These, as a result, would enable such students appreciate the diversity around them. Moreover, teachers can use the information acquired on Jewish American traditions, in helping them understand the usefulness of families in traditional times as compared to the present. For instance, students would note that in the Jewish culture families acted as the soul of the society. Teachers can also initiate programs aimed at discussing the traditions of this culture together with comparing it with other cultures represented in the classroom. Section H I used several books that contained dissimilar cultural practices particularly, the Mexican American and Jewish-American customs. Additionally, I used some articles, available from the internet. I searched for information concerning the mentioned cultural themes of the two cultures. I found the books at the library at a section labeled culture. From this section, I manually searched for books that had the Mexican American and the books that talked about the American Jewish. I, therefore, applied critical thinking expertise in the identification of information related to the three themes. I located most of information from books, which I evaluated and assessed in acquiring the most basic information. I also held discussions with my peers thus identifying the most useful sources. The sources that were most relevant were books especially the ‘The Mexican American, religion, spiritually, activism, and culture, as well as Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives’ because it contained detailed information that was extremely relevant to the study. I drew the themes that I found in the sources by observing the texts in the sources and organizing the materials from every text according to the main theme. I identified the key elements of the two cultures concerning religion, languages, and traditions using quantitative methods. I then organized the different information from the various sources to compile the work. Firstly, I separated the information found into three units namely, religion, language, and traditions. I included the concepts maps to show the rough outline of the cultural practices. In addition to using concept maps in gathering the necessary information, I created an outline comprising all the necessary information to include in my discussion. The use of sticky notes in extracting the useful information from the identified sources was also part of my research. This took a key role in assembling all the needed information. Prior to making the sticky notes, I highlighted the main paragraphs and passages in simplifying the entire research process. The report is significant because it would help in the acknowledgement and interpretation of cultures of the Mexican American and Jewish American students. The information obtained will be helpful because it will help in understanding the people from the two cultures in my neighborhood. It will also help me in my teaching profession by understanding my students, especially if I will be working in the region having many people from the two cultures (Haynes, 2005). References Primary Espinosa, G., & Garcia, T. (2008). Mexican American religions: spirituality, activism, and culture. Dunham: NC. Duke University Press. Leal, L. (2010). Latino and the economy: integration and impact in schools, labor markets, and beyond. New York: NY. Springer. Marger, N. (2011). Race and ethnic relations: American and global perspectives. New York: NY. Cengage Learning. Merriam-Webster, I. (2000). Merriam-Webster’s college encyclopedia. New York: NY. Merrriam-Webster. Pleck, E. (2000). Celebrating the family: ethnicity, consumer culture, and family rituals. New York: NY. Harvard University Press. Tutwiler, W. (2005). Teachers as collaborative partners: working with diverse families and communities. New York: NY. Routledge. Williams, N. (2000). The Mexican American family: tradition and change. New York: NY. Rowman & Littlefield. Worell, J. (2001). Encyclopedia of women and gender: sex similarities, differences, and the impact of society on gender, Volume 1. Maryland, ML: Elsevier publishers. Zastrow, C. & Kirst-Ashman, L. (2007). Understanding human behavior and the social environment. New York: NY. Cengage Learning. Secondary Sources Hayman, J. (2012). Is Jewish identity in America half-full or half empty? Partnership. Retrieved from http://www.pjll.org/content/jewish-identity-america-half-full-or-half-empty Haynes, J. (2005). ESL Teacher as cultural broker. Everything.ESL.net. Retrieved from http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/crosscultural.php Jewish Holy Books. (2012). Jewish holy books. Retrieved from http://scheinerman.net/judaism/HolyBooks/HolyBooks-c.html Jewish Virtual Library. (2012). Family, American Jewish. Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0006_0_06269.html MACC. (2012). Our catholic identity. MACC. Retrieved from http://www.maccsa.org/about.php Trevino, R. (2011). Mexican Americans and religion. Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved from http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pqmcf Huttlinger K & Clark, M. (2000). Elder care among Mexican American families. 7(1), 64- 81. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9526315 Read More