If my family were to be evacuated
to another country and I could only bring three small items that represented my
family culture I would bring my bible, my phone, and a family scrapbook. I
would bring my bible, because it shows the beliefs of my family for many
generations. I would explain to others the meaning of my bible but talking to
them about my religion and beliefs. I would bring my phone as it represents how
my family has adopted what the dominant culture had brought to my family of
using technology for daily occurrences. I would explain to others about how I
used this in my day to day life to contact people, as a calendar, for social
media, and to take pictures and videos. Finally, I would bring a scrapbook as
it would show the closeness of my family. As part of our culture we spend a lot
of time with family. I would explain this to others by showing them the
pictures of family gatherings. When they looked at the pictures they would also
see the physical piece of our culture; Caucasian Americans.
If upon arrival I was told I could
only keep one of these items I would be okay, because I could still keep my
bible. My bible is what has given me a solid foundation of values, attitudes,
and beliefs to live by.
This assignment was difficult for
me to complete as I had a hard time coming up with three items to represent my
family culture. The more I thought about it the more I understood about my
family culture. I found myself asking family members the same questions. The
common answer was “this is difficult”, but the first item anyone said would be
the bible or a cross.
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI also found myself asking others what they would take with them if they had to evacuate. I asked a friend and co-worker who is a Mexican immigrant. She brought pictures with her when she came to the U.S. She smiled when she described the way her family sits around the table on Sundays and shares memories while going through the photos. She shared that it is her favorite thing to do.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI also chose my bible as one of my item. My religion is also a major part of my religion. When I asked a friend what items he would take and he said his American history book that he can share with others and passed it on to his family. He would also bring art work and his bible. If he had to choose one it will be his bible because his religion is purpose to his life and survival.
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI guess it was the same for all of us. Most of us tend to think about culture as the Derman Sparks described as "surface culture" or what Taylor described as something "exotic" which only people of very different cultures may have. In doing this assignment we realized that family culture can also be very simple things just like your family scrapbook, your personal bible or anything significant to the family. It would be wrong I believe to represent only surface culture in the early childhood setting as these may not sometimes represent the family culture of the child and therefore would not be meaningful to him or her. This is why I guess as early childhood educators we need to ask parents. Good post.
Caroline