Personal Cultural Identity

Alicia Robinson
Critical Topic #3

In order to be a successful educator, an individual must first be aware of who they are themselves. I am constantly moved by the facts and stories represented in Gollnick and Chinn’s Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society (2009). Accounts reference the empathy and ignorance of members of the school community at the start of each chapter. In a school setting, there will be diversity in language, race, religion, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, among others. As a teacher, you will be forced to contemplate issues of diversity and equality. Before an individual can address that in a class, he or she must first be aware of his or her own biases or prejudices. This teacher needs to have an understanding of their own cultural identity, which may affect how he or she views the students and greater school community.

When I consider the cultural groups to which I belong and that comprise my cultural identity, those groups are not immediately clear. Growing up, I was more aware because they were perhaps more prevalent in my life. I was raised in East Providence, RI. It was a middle class, blue collar area. There was a large Portuguese population and racially diverse neighborhoods. As a member of a large family, I do not recall considering myself an individual, as much as I recognized myself a part of a bigger unit.

My identity was given to me through our environment and daily activities. I went to a Catholic school from Kindergarten through 12th Grade. Religious faith played a large part of my life, as it was practiced in school and observed each Sunday and Holy Day. Clearly, a part of my identity was Christian.

My father worked often and hard at his own business where he customized marine canvas, while my busy and devoted mother was fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom. My brothers, sister and I were part of a working class family- another prevalent part of my childhood identity. The six of us together created a family that worked best when we all played a role. Responsibilities and chores were a regular part of weekly activities.

My family has lived in the United States for generations, so although we lived in a largely Portuguese community and partially shared the ethnicity, it was never a defining cultural identity. We were American before our ethnic background cultures, which include English, Swedish and Portuguese. I was a kid; I went to school, dance, piano, baseball and Girl Scouts. My brothers and I constantly played outside with the racially diverse neighborhood kids. Because I was always around other races, I never recall defining myself as Caucasian or noticing racial differences. Some would argue that is a direct effect of being a part of the dominant culture. Contrarily, I do remember a neighborhood friend saying that she was Protestant and that they did not say prayers at school, nor did her family attend church. This was thought provoking for me as a child. Religion was a defining part of my life and the fact that someone was different from me had left an impression. Similarly, I always spoke English, as did everyone in my family and school. I distinctly remember sleeping over a friend’s house where her family spoke Portuguese in the home; this also made an impression on me.

As I’ve matured into an adult, many of my traditions and values remain from childhood. However, the cultural groups to which I belong seem to have been blurred by maturity, experience and travel. I now recognize myself as female, and where I am not a huge feminist, it is a defining part of my identity. I enjoy a comfortably compensated position as a nanny where I am exposed to a variety of people and groups. The wealthy family I work with send their child to a school with families of similar socioeconomic status. Waiting to pick up the child, there is a clear separation between the mothers and the nannies, who are often of a different ethnicity, race, class or language. Class seems especially important to these people, and I am bothered by this. I generally place myself in between the two groups and also view my status the same, but not a very significant part of my identity.

Although still in the northeast, New York City is certainly not East Providence! I identify myself with the people of this city, as it is a large part of my life and who I am becoming. Further still, I spend at least two months out of each year in a small town in Montana on the Rocky Mountain Front. I feel that I’ve become equal members of both of these geographic groups, and the traits and characteristics that define them. They are strikingly contrasting worlds, with completely different cultures and priorities. Yet, somehow over the course of the five years of experiencing these diverse societies, they have both become a part of my cultural identity.

I no longer belong to a Catholic congregation, but I do feel that I have maintained many of the traditions and values. I am a spiritual person, but my religion is no longer the part of my life that it once was. I worked with a Jewish family five years ago. Just as I was curious about my Protestant neighborhood friend, I was intrigued by this family. It was my first close hand experience with a non-Christian faith and I wanted to know everything.

In constant travel to various regions of the country, I have become fascinated with people’s diverse cultures; their language, routines, traditions, faiths, heritage make each individual who they are.

More and more individuals assimilate to the dominant culture, or become "Americanized". I wished I could speak another language or that my family had immigrated from another country in recent generations. I was envious of friends and family who observed rich ethnic and racial heritage. I am impressed when someone maintains their cultural and an identity group.
Still, through experience, people change and their worlds expand and hopefully, an open mind prevails. Teachers need a respect for the human race, before any content knowledge. Through example, perceptions and attitudes, we help to shape future generations. I hope to expose my class to multicultural diversity and to celebrate uniqueness and individuality. I hope to be successful in recognizing any biases of my own. Each person has their own story and belongs to any number of cultural groups. The essence of a person is created through unique and diverse experiences and there is no denying diversity through multiple cultural routes. Each identity should be recognized and celebrated equally, while remembering, that all of us are a part of a greater humanity.


References
Gollnick, D and Chinn, P. (2009). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.