Cultural Consiousness

Culture has always been defined in generic terms, but really, is very vast and complicated, kind of like the Grand Canyon. You can say that it's a big gorge found in the Southwestern part of the United States, but it really had to be explored intricately to truly describe it. It's the same with culture -- "In its broadest sense, it includes a wide variety of constructs such as mental habits, personal prejudices, moral values, social customs, artistic achievements, and aesthetic preferences of particular societies" (267). We can define it in a basic form, but don't have all of the in between details.

I think that the Color Purple is a very good way to explain culture to students. In an ESL context, students all understand that they all have their own background, or as the book states, their own cultural lens (the blue color). Their classmates of different cultures are the red color, who wear different lenses. Their lenses then overlap, causing the blue to see through the red or vice versa in order to better understand that other culture. Neither group has to give up their culture, they just simply mix together to form what Robinson calls "a third culture." The "third classroom culture" is the where all of the different cultures are seen and respected on the same level. This explanation is simple enough so that students in the classroom can understand, yet has a deep enough meaning that it really makes them aware of their cultural boundaries and differences.

With different cultures also comes cultural stereotypes. This is includes fashion and dress, food, religious identity, cultural norms and rituals, and languages.
After reading the article, I never realized how purposelessly stereotypical I was of the Asian culture (see, there I go again). I have grown a lot in college, especially when it comes to tolerance and stereotypes. I would never consider myself intolerant of other cultures, rather uneducated. It's good to realized these tings about myself as a teacher, so I can better myself for the future.