Marcie Ivy

EDU 648: Engaging Diversity in School Cultures

July 6, 2016

According to Webster Dictionary culture is defined as the beliefs, customs, arts, etc.,

of a particular society, group, place, or time. Culture has great importance. Culture is the

identity of the nation, without culture the society is impossible.

Culture is not something you study for and you know it but it is something that is passed

along from generation to generation. As children we copy behavior that we have seen and heard.

We learn culture by watching our parents and close family and then we apply these different

roles in our daily life and adapt our culture. Culture is the result of past and present changes that

occur in it, and thus it absorb that changes in itself and the culture become the result of past and

present experiences and the process continue to next generation.

Every society has a culture of its own. It differs from society to society. Culture of every

society in unique to itself. Cultures are not uniform. Cultural elements such as customs,

traditions, morals, ideals, values, ideologies, beliefs in practices, philosophies institutions, etc.

are not uniform everywhere. Culture is transmitted from one generation to the next. Parents pass

on culture traits to their children and they in turn to their children and so on. Culture is

transmitted not through genes but by means of language. Language is the main vehicle of

culture.

A persons culture goes beyond what someone eats, how they dress, or their music.

According to Cushner, McClelland, Safford there are twelve sources of a persons culture

identity. These sources lead to a persons culture identity.

My Culture
 Marcie Ivy
EDU 648: Engaging Diversity in School Cultures
July 6, 2016

Based on the 12 sources I am a creative, black, middle aged (I think 42 is middle aged),

heterosexual, fairly healthy (obese by medical standards) woman, whose primary language is

English. I am an African American, United Methodist living in rural Mississippi. I consider

myself as middle class.

Each source can stay the same or change throughout our lives. A persons culture identity

can change as the source changes. There are influences to help define who we are as individuals

though or cultural identity. These influences can also impact how we view others.

Several influences have affected my cultural identity. Some have stayed the same and

some have changed throughout my life. Some things that have not changed or will not change

are the following:

My race
My sexuality
My ethnicity
My language

An influence that has changed my cultural identity is that I got married. Once I got

married things I was accustomed too changed. Getting married has changed the following

sources in my cultural identity:

My religion (from Baptist to United Methodist)

My geographic region (moved from TN, to IN, to MS)
My social class (changed jobs based on relocation)
My social status (change of jobs)

The following sources will change throughout my life whether I want them to or not:

My age
My health
 Marcie Ivy
EDU 648: Engaging Diversity in School Cultures
July 6, 2016

My ability

My socialization to teenagers

An agent of socialization is people and groups that influence our self-concept, emotions,

attitudes and behavior. There are several agents that play a role in the socialization of people.

Every agent of socialization plays a role in the development of our cultural identity.

Teenagersso many words come to mind. Like most people my age, the first thoughts

will be negative: wild, irresponsible, immoral, and self-centered. For generations people have

complained about young people, but today the intensity of concern and the level of fear seems

deeper than the when I was young lessons of our grandparents.

Teenagers learn to develop trust, independence, the decision on who they are, their

relationships with others, and reflections on life in general from their first teachers their

parents/family. As he or she develops and advances in their cultural identity, the agents become

stronger or weaker in their capacity for influence. The way a teenager presents his/herself is

often said to be a reflection of parenting (good or bad). A parent can teach their child right or

wrong and sometimes outside influences (friends, media, etc.) can lead a teen in the wrong

direction in discovering their cultural identity.

Friends provide support for teenagers as they transform into adulthood. They become less

dependent on their parents. They will increase feeling of self-sufficiency, and connecting with a

much larger group. A persons friends provide perspective outside of individuals viewpoints. It

also helps them learn to develop relationships with others. Not all friends are good friends. No

matter how much I may try to tell my children that friend might not be a good influence.

Sometimes they have to learn this lesson on their own.

 Marcie Ivy
EDU 648: Engaging Diversity in School Cultures
July 6, 2016

The use of the internet has taken communication to a whole different level. The use of the

internet has an enormous effect on a teenagers cultural identity. The internet covers a wide range

of means of communication, information and entertainment, such as books, music, newspapers

and magazines, radio, television, and social media. The internet has an enormous effect on their

attitudes and behaviors. It also affects their way of thinking. Many are hiding behind

computers/social media instead of real contact with people. How they see human characters in

different programs and its advertisements on social media influences our perspective on what is

healthy, cool, or the new IT item. Social media helps in shaping the attitudes, values, and basic

orientation of people to life. Everything doesnt have to be posted.

When I am able to understand my own culture I am capable of understanding other

peoples culture. The values that have been embedded in me are a direct result of my culture

which is instrumental in shaping my values, behaviors, and attitude.