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.
14 years ago
6 comments:
Hi Kim,
I really enjoyed the example that Nieto used with the Native Americans as well. I feel that too many times we generalize about different cultures and need to make sure we portray all sides of culture to students. For example, in class we discussed how in science it is important to express to students that the things we discover are all over the world, not just in our classroom. Students may work with a piece of granite and think its awesome, but not realize that there is tons of granite and that a lot of everyday objects can be made from granite. I think that the idea of portraying all aspects of a culture to students can be tied into science teaching by ensuring that students see all aspects of the science topics as well.
It occurs to me that my preconceptions about people have been undone by exposure to contrary examples. In addition, I have had wise mentors who have helped me understand what it is that I am seeing. Coming into contact with new possibilities is only half of the challenge. The other half is that the teacher guides the student toward new realizations ... especially when old ideas have to be discarded.
I think the Native American example really opened my eyes to other stereotypical depictions that students are exposed to. It also emphasizes the fact that we need to really get know know where our students are coming from and not give in to stereotypical views. As teachers especially science teachers we need to get to know what students already know about science and make sure they aren't giving into stereotypical views as well.
Hey Kim,
I could not agree any more with what you have written, especially the part about stereotypes. How fitting is it that we had to read this article on a day such as Columbus Day. When I read your section about the Navajo people the first thing I thought of was Columbus. I remember learning about him as this great Hero who discovered land and did all these great and epic things as an elementary student. It was not until high school, and by complete chance, that one of my teachers, I believe it was a foreign language teacher at that, told us the truth about him: how he basically just wanted gold and enslaved people to do his work. Essentially he was your typical money-hungry entrepreneur who could care less about the effects of his actions. I find it amazing that many people do not know this fact because I did bring this up to some friends, after we had graduated mind you…. and after a few drinks which is beside the point…. and almost all of them had never heard of this. They still believed he was this great “do the right thing and hurt no one” type of person. What I am trying to get at is this. As future teachers we, as you have mentioned, we need to educate students on facts then let them make their own decisions. This could not be seen in a better field than in science. We present the data and the students make their conclusions and this will not only follow them in science, but in life. They will learn to examine all the information before making hasty generalizations.
I think as teachers it is so important for us to use critical literacy when considering what to expose our students to. It is so important not to reinforce stereotypes, but to show them what the real world is like. I think it is so important to expose kids in all content areas to real life examples. Bring in Native Americans, bring in community members, bring in families to share knowledge and culture. This is the only way both us as teachers and our students will really see how these cultures function in the context that they know.
Kim,
I really enjoyed the last paragraoh you wrote. I agree, so often science is portrayed as old white men working in some obscure lab. Rarely is science shown as multicultural, even in the media. I mean, look at any movie that involves a scientist. The Core, Dante's Peak, Armegeddon, etc. All those scientists are white men.
This baffles me because science is so multicultural. Science is rarely confined within borders of countries and nationalities. Science is universal. Scientists travel all over the world doing their research and connecting with people. This side of science needs to be shown in classrooms.
I agree whole heartedly with you; it is so important for our students to understand that no matter who or what they are, they can do science too. I personally am amking an effort when I teach to bring scientists that aren't dead white men into the classroom. Sometimes this is difficult when teaching the history of something (like plate tectonics) because back then only white men were allowed to do science. That is no longer true today and students need to be shown that change.
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