Culture and the Teaching and Learning Process

#education
#Culture
#teacher
#student
#respect
#ethnocentrism      


                In the field of social science, culture is one of the favorite word. It is one the favorite topics especially in the disciplines of sociology and anthropology. Culture is the origin of Philosophy. It is one of the things described in History. Behavior is a part of culture, which is which, the theme of Psychology. Of course! We cannot do away with geography without understanding culture. Geography is not geography without the study of culture. How about Political Science? Politics is about relationship and being in a culture is a series of relationships that would later be groups. In short, culture covers every field of the discipline, every college student, tend to take with the least possible amusement and enthusiasm. Little do they know, that those disciplines if taken seriously, is the closest to the world outside the school.

                Social Science’s goal is to change the society for the better. By this, Education, by definition is a field of social science. Education’s goal is to improve the society. To bring positive changes such as, teaching that marijuana is good, prostitution must be legalized, rape is not a crime, there is no God that we are a product of a great accident, and man’s primary purpose of existing is to destroy his environment. (I just used sarcasm) Therefore if that is the case, we must understand that culture plays a very critical role in the field of education, just as its other social science counterparts.

To define the word, culture is the set of beliefs, values, and norms, shared by a group of people that in one way or the other, gives them a stereotyped identity. For example, my father is an Ilocano, aside from the craving for frogs, eels and dog’s meat, some say that we hold our money so tight which was partly true and partly yes!

Let’s chop eat for an easier digestion

1.       Beliefs- this element of culture is the set of beliefs that is common to the persons inside the cultural group. In includes how they view their world around them. As I mentioned earlier, culture is the origin of philosophy. This element is the most sublime. We cannot observe it as is we are observing a frog, as it is kissed by a fairy tale fanatic wishing in her irrational mind, that the poor animal would turn into a prince. We can observe it from their behaviors. The Chinese, when they celebrate their new year, they do it with fireworks. Who do they do that? There comes the belief. They use fireworks because they believe that that noise would scare of demons and bad luck. We Filipinos are good imitator of such. Some scared off bad luck together with their fingers. Part of this element of culture is their religion, and some logical assumptions such as superstitions. (again I used sarcasm) To make it more bearable, Beliefs are the reason why people do what they do and value what they value.

2.       Values- to understand value, there are only two questions. What is good? What is desirable? It is the one that dictates daily actions and speeches. Again it is another element of that culture that is rooted in the first element (belief). For example, Muslims believe that pig is a dirty animal, it is a part of their valuing that they do not eat pork because they believe that the act is undesirable. The process goes as this; what we believe is incorporated to our valuing. What we value is seen on our actions. Those actions if consistent to a group where you belong becomes the identity of your cultural group.

3.       Norms- this is the expected behaviors or that standards which are expected in being a part of a cultural group. It is the social standard of morality, conduct, propriety, ethics and legality. Consistent with values, norms is another representation of beliefs. Norms has is divided into folkways, mores and laws.

a.       Folkways- This is defined as the customary behaviors of the people who belong on that specific culture. It includes the collective habits and ways of doing things. The Palawanos for an instance, I’m referring to those who still practice the upland way of planting rice (Kaingin). They wake up early in the morning 4:00 AM to work on their fields. 10:00 AM they will rest, At 3:00 they will go back to their fields to work again. What explains to that is that’s their way of life. It is a common thing for them because they are farmers and they share a common way of doing it. The common unwritten way of how a group is doing something, is called folkways. Maybe they are not aware of it. They only thing they know is that they do not want to work under the killing heat of the sun, and that their way. Folkways are the unwritten reasons why people inside a specific culture conform to the majority, with the least realization of it.

b.      Mores- It is the main reason why there is no need for an average intelligence Filipino, to read the criminal law book, cover-to-cover upside down, just to realise that killing another human being is not a good idea. It is the unwritten standard that is common to everyone. It does not need to be written that stealing is bad, killing is bad, and raping is bad, an etc. In a simple definition mores are the unwritten code of conduct shared by a group of people.

c.       Laws- Ideally, these are the written rules that are imposed by authorities to maintain peace and order. It is the primary basis for legality. Laws are like promises. It is made to be broken.

Why is Culture important?

The following are the reasons, why we should consider culture inside the classroom process.

·         Language- language is a part of culture. It is an integral part, and one of the observable basis for its identity. Language is a means for communication. Imagine the disaster made a person who is being taught mathematics using an alien language called English? For Americans, of Britons, learning mathematics in with their native tongue as their medium of instruction, lessens the tyranny. Try doing the same thing, to upland people who barely speaks the Filipino language. I have an equation for that. Alien subject matter + Alien Medium of instruction= disaster.

·         Cultural Relativity- Culture is relative. It means there are differences among all the cultural group. These differences might came from beliefs, values, and norms. One classic example is the food culture. One that is a favorite in one culture could be an abomination for others. I’m not referring to pork. Furthermore I’m not referring to frogs, dogs and eels. Diversity is exciting. It is so exciting that it could make you push yourself into a cliff when not taken in a good perspective. Putting in in a more concrete sense, is it proper for a teacher to teach that having more than one wife is bad disregarding that other culture allows it? Is it proper for a teacher put down judgement that eating a certain kind of food is unacceptable? Or is it proper to judge a student because of his cultural beliefs? Religion?

·         Ethnocentrism- One of the greatest disaster in inside the classroom, is having an ethnocentric classroom and complemented by culture ignorant students. Ethnocentrism is the view that a culture is superior to another. One of the victims of this kind of thinking are the Spanish priest thinking that everything that is not from Spain is inferior. Resulting to that, Filipinos ended up as a nation without a clear identity. Teachers have no right in judging someone because of his/her culture. Teachers are the ones who should adapt the culture of his/her students.

Other things about culture

                I would just want to remind whoever dares to read this piece of crap, that teachers are the trustee of every country’s cultural heritage. Meaning to say, our job is help develop it. Culture has life. As long as there is a group that practices its, customs, traditions, and folkways, language and many other things about it, it’s still living. Culture develops over time, as generations and times change.

Conclusion:

A cultural sensitive instruction

                Culture is a good spring board for learning. Culture provides learning before a student. That was before he learns his way to school. A teacher’s job is not to unlearn culture, starting from it is a much better strategy. In a more concrete sense, why use an apple when guava is abundant everywhere? This does not mean that we should not teach the things that they are not familiar with. What I’m trying to say is that, we must start from what is known by the students.