Culture is Embedded in Context

Sonia Nieto defines the many aspects of culture. Many times I think of culture having to do with someone's ethnic background, such as traditions, values, language, foods, clothing, etc. However, according to Nieto there are actually different facets of culture. The part that I want to blog about is that culture is embedded in context. Nieto's main point is that culture is influenced by its environment, therefore we cannot generalize about a certain culture. For example, the experiences of Puerto Ricans in New York is different than the experiences of Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico. Just as the culture of a school may depend on its surrounding environment and the values of that community.

Nieto also points out how in the U.S. culture is decontextualized because of the media and school curriculum. I loved the example that Nieto used about Native Americans. I think we have all seen the stereotypical picture of a Native American- a tan, shirtless man with long black hair decorated with a feather. These are the pictures we see in many elementary school books. So this is what students think Native Americans look like. I spent a summer in New Mexico for a missions trip working with Navajo people. They look, dress, and act like any of us, but many students have the stereotypical image stuck in their mind. And many of them are still living in poverty and being oppressed because of the treatment of Native Americans in U.S. history, but many people think that the Native Americans are no longer oppressed. This shows the messages that we send to our students, whether it is intentional or not. As educators we have to be critical of the texts and media we use. For example if we decide to show a movie in class, we should be critical to whether that movie perpetuates stereotypes of certain groups.

In terms of connecting this with science teaching, we as teachers should not assume anything about students of a certain culture and be careful not be be affected by what is portrayed in the media. Students have misconceptions about what science is also- that science is only for crazy looking old white men in lab coats. They may think science always involve doing some experiment with beakers and chemicals. We should find examples in texts or the media that show everyday people participating in science so students know that they can be scientists too.