Would you change your culture to please other people? In the descriptive short story, Fish Cheeks, describes a family meal where two different groups of people shared their culture. Amy Tan explained the story in great detailed and also taught an excellent lesson about not being afraid to be diverse from other people. “You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame.” People act different, culture wise yet, at the end of the day everyone is alike.…
1) In the 1940s, some physicians prescribed low doses of a drug called dinitrophenol (DNP) to help patients lose weight. This unsafe method was abandoned after a few patients died. DNP uncouples the chemiosmotic machinery by making the lipid bilayer of the inner mitochondrial membrane leaky to H+. Explain how this can cause weight loss.…
The culture that a child lives in adds yet another element to this already complex mix. For…
One way to understand and respect other cultures is to simply not to assume. We must reframe from making assumptions. As teachers we must not assume that members of culture share the same believes and values. Another way is to works towards cultural reciprocity, which means to understand and recognize how different values and beliefs influence families’ perception and…
The story “SHUN-WAI” by Taien Ng investigates the changes and differences of the Chinese culture over time as well and between generations. The narrator Taien is Chinese-Canadian, and talks about her experiences in life and how they affect her. In the story Taien first describes her mother as being a strong woman, and how her mother would only say “You see? Mothers know best!” (Taien 54). Her mother also then switches the topic to the problems of Taien’s vegetarian diet. My mother says the same exact things as Taien’s mother, which means that therefore I can relate to all the feelings she had when her mother said those phrases. However I didn’t have a diet anywhere close to one of a vegetarian’s but for some reason my mom always complains about it. I often listen and do as my mother says, but when I ignore her that's when there's a sense of regret which leads to her telling me “You see? Mothers know best!”. The main difference between Taien’s mother and mine are the culture differences. My mother is an atheist, but our family is Buddhist which irritates her when she has to perform Buddhist rituals. Much like how Taien’s mother who’s a…
The diverse cultures in our society should be recognised and reflected throughout the curriculum. For example, incorporating music, foods, stories and drama from a range of cultures will help to contribute to a prosperous curriculum. This demonstrates that we (as a school) are not only valuing the culture of groups but also supporting all pupils to explore and understand cultures which are…
A student raised with the Culturalcentric lens may have difficulty adopting some of the traditional classroom norms of group behavior. If there is a way to incorporate a cultural practice or tradition, one that is unique to this student, do so. It would validate them and offer a wonderful learning opportunity for their classmates. Also, there are times when the needs of the entire classroom must supplant the individual. A student with a Culturalcentric lens may have a challenge realizing these moments. A clear but firm reminder to this student that they are part of a larger group with common, universal goals - i.e. "to learn", may be needed.…
As seen in Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan, the author is afraid that Robert will be disappointed in her family’s traditions: “What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas” (Tan 185). Amy was so worried about what Robert would think, that she thought poorly of her culture. At the time, Amy wished she was just an average American. Amy’s mother was very upset with the way Amy was acting: “You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame” (Tan 186). Her mother tells her that it is okay to be different. Amy realizes later on that her mother is right. Culture caused Amy a temporary issue, but once she looked back on the big picture, she realized how important culture…
It really doesn't matter where someone comes from, how old they are and what gender they are; everyone is equal and has the same ability to learn new things when given the opportunity. Sedaris references the nationalities of the individuals multiple times throughout his story. When he is describing that first day of class he describes each student and where they came from and gives a brief description of each but it didn't matter where they came from they all struggled equally. While they might have all struggled, they also bonded as a class and were able to find comfort in knowing that they weren't alone in this. They spent time outside of class practicing their conversation skills. Sedaris mentions that there was no sense of competition proving that none of them had any malice toward the other classmates. Even the teacher who is verbally attacking the class throughout the whole story doesn't single out any one student, she equally treats the students with the same harsh words and actions. It takes the author, Sedaris, white awhile to feel like he has succeeded in some way but he finally has a moment at the end of the article where he understands every word the teacher spoke to him. This is evidence for his goal in that persistence pays off. He persisted and eventually succeeded in understanding the…
There a variety of differences amongst students in a classroom which include gender, socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic differences. As a teacher, it is important to be aware of these differences in order to maximize the learning and development of all students. Dealing with children form various ethnic groups and cultures can be especially challenging. Teachers must be attentive towards students with cultural/ethnic differences, and may have to adapt their teaching styles in order to create a culturally inclusive classroom. For example, if a teaching was doing a lesson on music and art, he/she could play songs, and show artwork from various cultures. This would allow students to explore the different cultures they might not know much about, as well as make all the students feel included. However, this can be challenging task if a teacher has many students from various cultures. Additionally, as a teacher it would be challenging to make sure all of the students understand and respect each others…
“Cultural appropriation is a sociological concept which views the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture as a largely negative phenomenon.”…
There is no wonder that we have an obesity epidemic in America. Food is everywhere we turn. Whether it’s sitting along the roadside, calling at you in bright colors from grocery store shelves, glowing in vending machines or even in the elaborate television commercials we watch. There is no way to escape from the never ending advertisements. This is where the epidemic of obesity begins. We as Americans consume more food portions than our body can handle and not enough physical activity, causing higher medical costs and a lower quality of life.…
Children with different cultural background will be influenced by several factors such as religion, beliefs and their families. These children will be exposed to different attitudes and lifestyles and they may celebrate different festivals. For example the children's cultural beliefs or practice may cause the children emotional conflict when they want to participate in an activity such as physical development which goes against their families wishes or religious beliefs.…
culture into the class (Banks, J. and Banks, C., 2003). This starts with me the teacher being…
The film What’s cooking? is about four different families all coming from different cultures, but focuses primarily on the women of each. We have a Jewish mother who is trying to accept the fact that her daughter is a homosexual and trying to eases the acceptance. Then we have the Nguyens, the mother follows the Vietnamese traditions really tightly and depends on her eldest son to help guide her young children. In the Avila family we see Elizabeth, whose macho husband has left her for her cousin and has found consolation with a colleague. In the Williamses the wife is dealing with an infidelity from the husband as well as putting up with an annoying mother in law. These family problems show us that every women has the same problems no matter what ethnicity they are or culture.…