What exactly does the word "culture" mean? This is exactly what we discussed today in education 350. Culture is a very complex word, that can have many different meanings. For example, merriam-webster.com defines culture as "the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time." On the other hand, edutopia.org describes culture in a classroom as "the overall vibe and mood of the room; the things that are valued (or not valued) in that classroom." Even within my education 350 class we created several different definitions of "culture." At the end of the class, we decided that the best way to describe culture is as a growth/development of human characteristics and social norms through the integration of beliefs, values, and traditions based on place and time, shared by a group of people.
The idea of culture connects directly to the North Carolina Teacher Candidate Standards (NCTCS), specifically standard two, which states that "Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students." Without fully knowing what culture is, I cannot, as a teacher, provide the culture in the classroom that my students will need in the future. In order to provide a safe and respectful environment that helps all diversities benefit, I have to understand what culture is and how to create that culture. I believe that creating a nurturing and safe culture in the classroom is essential for student learning. "Positive classroom culture leads to more opportunities for students to positively connect with the content, their peers, and their teacher" (see link at bottom). I believe that the definition my education 350 class came up with is very helpful in understanding the culture of a classroom. In the future, I hope to provide my classroom with values and beliefs based on their education. I want my students to value learning, and I also want them to believe that they are capable of anything. Although these are not the typical ideas we think of when we think of value and belief, I think it can definitely apply to classroom culture. I plan to do this by making my class excited about learning, by always encouraging them, and by never giving up on any student.
Overall, I believe that learning about culture, and realizing how complex that word truly is helped me to have a better understanding of classroom culture, as well as how to understand the cultures my students come from. I hope to continue to learn more about culture in education 350 in order to benefit my classroom in the future.
https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/5-innovative-ways-create-positive-classroom-culture
Megan!!
ReplyDeleteI really thought it was interesting when you discussed the different definitions of culture. Culture is really so complex and it is so hard to define! I love the part when you said that if you as a teacher do not understand culture we will not be able to provide the culture in the classroom that the students need. It is so important to know what culture is!
I am also very excited to keep learning about culture in education as we continue through the semester. :)
I love the quote you inserted from the article! It's all about being positive! A positive learning environment is what's going to make our students learn and grow! I wish more people would understand that being positive is the key to many things in our world!
ReplyDeleteI like how you talked about classroom culture, I had not really thought of how the culture in our classrooms could also affect the students'. Culture is a very complex thing and we still have so much to learn about it and I am excited to see what else we can learn to be able to see culture in a new way.
ReplyDeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteI love the quote that talks about positive classroom culture leads to more opportunities for students. This is totally true! Having a classroom that is loving and nurturing will make our students comfortable with us but also their peers so that they see everyones different culture but they also respect it and embrace it. Knowing what culture is, is most definitely going to help us tremendously when we have our own classrooms! :)
Megan,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! The outside research was really good. I like the connections you made to your future classroom and the NCTCS. I want you all to love learning so that you can share that love with your students! Next time, try to make connections to specific indicators within the NCTCS.
Also don't forget to include 410 as well.
DeleteThank you for the feedback! I wrote a separate blog for 410 because I struggled to combine the topics for this week. It's called Integration and Assessment, I put the separate link on the blog tracker for 410.
DeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteWe used the same resource from eudtopia. I think it is important how we started the semester with learning how difficult this word is to define and then go forward in the semester to expand on this. Here we go!
I completely agree with everything you said about culture. I love the definition of culture that our class came up with. I really like hoe you structured this blog bc it was very easy to read and follow along with.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about the meaning of culture but thanks to class and what you've said I definitely have a better understanding of what it means. I even question my own culture now.
ReplyDelete