John Duplice As I was going through the different readings, I found that they made a lot of sense. But then I re-read the Nacirema reading and came up with a simple question, “HUH?”. When I read it for the first time I knew it dealt with the U.S., but what was the author trying to get at. I read through many of the other students` ideas about this article and found that others had many different interpretations of it. So I then compared my life to that of the Nacirema. I found that, not sure if I am completely off base or not, this article was trying to show how are priorities are all mixed up. We value money and image as what dictates success and happiness. I found that the shrine rooms and of course the box or chest discussed are either our banks or safes. As we gaze upon these shrine rooms, bank accounts, we rate our happiness and status. Next, Miner brings up the medicine men, who I believe represent the government or specifically the IRS, hence the excruciating pain involved and the gleam in the eye of the holy-mouth-man (tax man?). One part I am having trouble with is the meaning of the small font beneath the charm-box and the ritual of it. Is this just our daily ritual of preparing to go to work as begins in the bathroom? I also am having trouble interpreting the meaning of women baking their heads in the oven. Is this representing the oppression of women in our materialistic society? Towards the end of the article Miner discusses the temple where people wish to go even though it is a place of horror to the people of Nacirema. Could this place be retirement? Something all hope for, but fear as the beginning of the end. I found the other articles very informative in that they gave a nice base for which I expect to build upon in this course. I was able to relate very well to a lot of what was introduced in the Culture article. I especially found that the emphasis on culture being learned is important. Growing up in Northern California, I was exposed to many different cultures. I believe the idea of bi-cultural does not depict society today correctly. Bi signifying only two, I believe multi-culture would be a better description. Recently I read an article about K-mart looking to address the many cultures and diversity of society now in their advertising. If corporate America is addressing these issues, I believe our society is really changing. Especially since we value our economic welfare above all as discussed by Miner`s article. We seem to believe that most people in the U.S. are of a single culture, when I believe just the opposite is true. I wonder if my background is just different than that of most or has the U.S. truly changed and therefore we are using outdated terminology to address our society. The definitions listed with the articles and the behavior formation chart is very helpful. I find it to really help in putting the terms into the perspectives of the readings.

Georganne B. Hyde This is a combination of all the reading including chapter one, additional Internet reading required as well as additional Internet websites. I want to start with Joel Springer's definition of "culture." He concluded that it is the totality of socially transmitted behavior or patterns, art, beliefs, instructions and all other products of human work and thought. In chapter one my eyes were opened to thoughts that had not surfaced in years - the power elite versus strict culture identity. The theories of Hirsch versus Schlesinger - what should be taught in the public schools? Should schools like the ABC schools at Dartmouth really be necessary? The cultural intersections do exists and many cultures other than the Anglo-Saxon Protestant, suffer when they try to exist without assimilation into the dominant culture. Charles Wagley defines culture as "learned behavior acquired by individuals as members of a social group. Edward B. Tyler (1881) defines culture as "knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and other skills and practiced acquired by people as members of society. There is even a section on culture versus genetics. It is suggested that some scientific filters are sometimes used to make cultural phenonomena seem biological. The article "Culture" mentions Native American culture and how the life/family/community style is so important. There seems to always be extended family support for survival. European Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture seems to push individualization and survival. I also noticed in this specific article that there was no mention of women when defining culture group. Springer includes women as one of his groups. Cultural poverty is everywhere in the U.S. as well as international. This culture is not defined as ethnic or racial. This specific group develops microcultures just to survive. "Body Ritual Among The "Nacirema" article was great. Nicirema spelled backwards is American. This article was great. It went through the daily routines as well as the annual checks ups of a certain culture of people. He made me stop and really think about what one does on a daily bases. Other cultures might let nature just take its course. Someone having perfect teeth and health, will still not make he/she lasts forever. People in real life do not always meet their goals. Howard Gardner discovered multiple intelligences. Maxine Greene uses educational philosophy in art to help understand cultures and cultural diversity. Both stress art as a means to understand how people think and the customs they use in their specific cultures. According to "Aesthetic Education," the opportunity for artistic expression is a fundamental human right. The arts and aesthetics of a culture serve as an important key to understanding of that culture. The arts become a method of teach about that culture. "Intelligence" was a different article. As stated before, Howard Gardner has been working on the existence of multiple intelligences. R. Cohen stat there are tow styles of intelligence: analytic style used by the academics and businessmen and the rational style that expresses oneself. Howard Gardner introduced the pluralistic approach. He started with seven different classifications, added the eighth and is now considering adding the ninth. Why is this really important to educators? If we know that multiple intelligences exist, the educators can seek many ways to unlock the exciting desire to learn for a student. The behavior formation is used as a graphic to help show influences on a person as it forms the person's culture. Many things can shape one's culture. I read Paul Gorski in the Multicultural Pavilion articles. In fact I used several of his articles in my website paper for Unit 2. His article on assessing websites is wonderful. Another article he wrote gives us an alphabetical listing of resources for multicultural education. Seventeen pages loaded with useful materials. The checklist for all multicultural educators is great. The purpose is to get you thinking about how you speak and act around other people not necessarily in your culture. I feel we are just cracking the surface in our learning about other cultures. Why is this necessary? In order to have understanding and peace in our world, everyone must learn about their fellow person.

Kari Nathan In many ways these readings are very much the same. They have a common goal of understanding, understanding through teaching of cultural differences. Within the first reading, Minor used an outside prospective showing the relative culture of the Nacirema as a barbaric and mysterious culture. He intrigued us with the cruel and strange rituals that paralleled ours. His focus was on a part of culture that people of all ethnicities could relate to and visualize. The fact that the majority of people the in the industrialized countries have been to the doctor, dentist, and owned a bathroom made it a perfect subject. Lured into the unfolding facts of this mysterious culture the reader is deep into the article before they are blindsided by the fact that the author is talking about the reader. “I do these things,” you think to yourself. Then you are thinking is who are the Nacirema and why are they sounding so familiar? Then it hits you, this is me and why do I do these things? Do people from other cultures think that we, the civilized, developed, and advanced people, are these strange and barbaric creatures? The answer I think Minor was looking to show us was not that we are strange and barbaric, however; we should look at other cultures with understanding without judgment. We can not fully understand other cultures until we become part of them not as an outside observer but as one of the people. Until complete cultural diffusion is achieved we will have to rely on our understanding. Similar to Minor, Gardner theories on multiple intelligences is looking at the processes of learning and thinking in its simplest form. His idea is that there are many different degrees and means of learning and thinking and we as a whole need to begin to understand these characteristics. Gardner is not telling society that they need to change their way to learn and think to be the same but rather we need to change the way we look at learning and thinking. The vast difference in human abilities on a multitude of topics further stresses the need for understanding why. Why one can paint while others cannot. Why one can run faster or longer that the average. Why one can do the most complex mathematical equations in their head while others struggle with making change. We as a society need to embrace these differences with research and teaching to allow all to achieve their greatest potential. All people teach whether it is by example or actual instruction we need to be aware that what seems plain as day to our self may be like asking a rocket scientist to perform the Nutcracker with no training. Understanding will make society as a whole learn and grow. By taking the time understand our differences we can make out differences our strength and not our limitation. “Aesthetic Education” is one direction of Minors multiple education. The concept that the refined arts are a large part of a cultural identity is showing that not everyone expresses themselves in the same means. For the artisans of a culture the canvas was means to tell the story whether it is the morals of the society or the pastimes it is all part of the greater culture. As scientists we study the archeology and text of the times to find truths. Many or the artifacts found are both cultural and artistic. The pottery of many cultures tells a story and serves a purpose. With art, cultures instructed their morels to new generations by showing how to make a clay pot for holding water and than painted with symbols of other facets of their culture like the story of a maiden turning animal hides into clothing. Art and culture go hand in hand without understanding of one you would not have understanding of the other. Without the inside prospective a pot might just be a pot without meaning or reason.

Brad Francis - Nacirema It didn't take long in the article to learn that Naricema is American spelled backwards, or to realize that this was a fairly critical "observation" of American culture. I found it somewhat humorous, but was also disheartened, realizing that a lot of it was true. Being a native member of the culture, I didn't find any of the observances outrageous, but on reflecting, I could see how someone else could. I think that it is very easy to judge another culture, but very difficult to understand it. It might be even harder to have the vision to see what is wrong within our own cultures, simply because it all seems so normal to us. I believe Minor wrote from the perspective of someone from a "developed civilization" to try to create a distance and a more objective viewpoint. Although he consistently stated that he didn't understand why the Nacirema did what they did, he was also clear to point out their foolishness for doing so. This gave an indication that he was from somewhere where the people had surpassed the Nacirema culturally, but somewhere they could possibly get to in the future. More practically, I think I agreed with a lot of what was said. I see myself and our culture constantly caught up in activities that contradict themselves. The article touched primarily on issues of health and wellness, which are an enormous area focus and industry in this country. We have the highest rate of obese individuals in the world, but probably more diet and exercise programs than anyone else as well. We have historically tried to improve the "quality" of foods, only to find out years down the road that some of these additives or processes caused cancer of other health problems. We eat high levels of fatty foods, then find it surprising when heart disease sets in. It seems that we are bent on "fixing" our ailments and then find out that we have to "fix" a new ailment caused by the remedy and the cycle continues on and on. Much of the information in this unit was new to me, or at least was presented in ways I hadn't seen before. The concepts of multiple intelligences and cultural relativism, in particular, were areas that caught my attention. Regarding multiple intelligences, how does this apply in a classroom, for instance, if you have students who have these different intelligences, either inherently or from their life/cultural experiences? Do we all have some level of each and can they be taught/developed? Can two different students who learn differently learn the same information from the same input, or does the input need to be modified for them? If so, how can a teacher with limited time and resources construct each lesson to reach such a variety of learning styles? Maybe I'm not understanding the implications/applications of what Gardner is talking about, but as a future teacher, these were the questions it raised for me. The concept of cultural relativism also interested me. The definition, along with an article on the discussion board about a play, "The Vagina Monologues," which was banned in Malaysia for its provocative subject matter, reminded me that I think more often than not, we do make judgments about ideas and practices that are not naturally part of our belief system. Maybe sometimes it is an issue of slow "cultural diffusion" and over time, these things gradually become acceptable, but I think whether it is right or not, there are certain things that a culture will refuse to ever embrace or even tolerate. Although I think I understand the idea in a broad sense that no one culture is best or that there are good and bad cultures, I'm not exactly sure where to go from there. Does cultural relativism mean that we attempt to understand other cultures simply for the sake of understanding, or do we try to make changes within our own if we see something we think is better? (Instructor's Comment: You need to answer this one for yourself) For instance, I really have an appreciation for the close family ties and affection I've seen in Latin American families. That is a characteristic that I want to make a part of my relationship with my wife and children, even though it wasn't really part of the culture (my family's) that I grew up in. Also, the text states that some universals exist, which suggests to me that cultural relativism isn't all entirely relative and subjective. What are these universals? How does this apply in my classroom? Just for the sake of example, if I have a child who is from a culture where lying is praised (I don't know of one, but I'm imagining...), how do I react when he lies to me about an assignment or a confrontation with another student? Also, I know that in some cultures and/or religions, murder is acceptable or praised, as our nation has seen in the recent terrorist attacks. A recent article posted from the Journal Star reported that a large group of religious leaders of many faiths, including Islam, came together to denounce such violence. However, under the description of cultural relativism, would such acts be deemed condemnable or not? If so, where are lines drawn on such issues and what do we say to someone who truly believes otherwise?

Kari Nathan Body Rituals of the Nacirema I found this to be a most interesting article. I had never seen it before and did not make the connection of Americans with the article until I had read it the second time. The first time through I found the Dentist part as a interesting similarity but I missed the shrine/bathroom parallel. The reason for this article I felt might have been a way for the author to point out the strange American culture indirectly so people would not disregard the information before reading it. It seems that we think what we do is normal and everything else is strange and/or wrong. It really made me stop and think when I realized it was about Americans. I never would have questioned our way of life and culture with out the outsider prospective the author shared with us. "Body Rituals of the Nacirema," I found this to be a most interesting article. I had never seen it before and did not make the connection of Americans with the article until I had read it the second time. The first time through I found the Dentist part as a interesting similarity but I missed the shrine/bathroom parallel. The reason for this article I felt might have been a way for the author to point out the strange American culture indirectly so people would not disregard the information before reading it. It seems that we think what we do is normal and everything else is strange and/or wrong. It really made me stop and think when I realized it was about Americans. I never would have questioned our way of life and culture with out the outsider prospective the author shared with us. Multiple Intelligence was an article I was intending to find because it is being referred to every week in one of my other classes. I think that there is great room for study in this area. It would be very import to utilize this difference in education so everyone is learning to the greatest potential. In relation, is the Aesthetic Education article, the study of cultural art is another means of further studying the varied cultures in all there forms. The old saying a picture is worth a thousand words might further solidify the concept on multiple intelligence and art describing culture.

Cindy Litz The "Culture" article confirmed beliefs I have embraced in regard to culture in studying it from the aspect of nursing assessment. Also, as the mother of two adopted children, I am convinced that culture is learned, not genetic. I do not know what kind of cultural background their birthparents come from. I do know that our children's cultures are products of the culture they are growing up in. (Although at times I'm certain their behavior is genetic--they certainly didn't learn it from me!) I especially identify with the concept of people being bi-cultural. I have seen this with friends who have moved to or from a different part of the United States, or to the United States from a different country. They adapt to customs from our area, but do not lose all of the customs different from ours. To a certain extent, I also see biculturism within myself. While I have always lived in the Midwest, experiences and people I have encountered in my education and professional life have added cultural dimensions to my life that other family members do not have. The Nacirema article was quite interesting, and a bit entertaining. While initially the article seems to be describing a culture quite different from ours, it quickly becomes a quite accurate (and amusing) description of the American culture. I have previously been exposed to the idea of multiple intelligences, and wish that all educators, especially in elementary and middle schools, could grasp this concept. However, I had not previously thought of multiple intelligences in the light of a multicultural society, and how these different intelligences impact our enculturation.

Andy Boell For myself, differences in cultures was directly related to genetic explanation. Although I was figuring this out on my own before this class, the Introduction: Culture article hit the nail on the head. I know the reason I've always thought that is because that is the way I was raised, and that is because that is how my parents were raised, so on and so forth. After living in Chicago for a year, I was beginning to figure out many of the cultural stereotypes I had were falling apart because time after time they were not holding true; not all Mexicans were dirty and lazy, not all African-Americans were no-good trouble makers, etc. My family enjoys the culture they live in and continues to build their stereotypes about other cultures and races. The culture article brought very valuable insight into the way to remain or at least become open-minded about different cultures. I particularly liked the concept of being bi-cultural. Especially in the United States, I would say most people are indeed bi-cultural, one way or another. I think that by realizing this, it helps paint a better picture on the different cultures people are parts of. The Nacirema article really made me think; not so much as in what Miner was getting at, but at the perspective he took. It got me thinking about the entirety of the other articles I have read, or shows I have watched about other cultures. If someone else were to document the same culture, would they take the same points of view? Why did Miner focus on doctors, medicine, dentists and hospitals? If the main focus would have been on a different aspect of the "American" culture, would it have the same effect? My answer is possibly. The information would remain as true as it is in Miner's article, but author has a lot of room to use many different words to explain things and can totally control the reader's perspective, especially if the reader has no previous knowledge of the particular culture being reviewed. I now see that the only way to "measure" another culture is by not only experiencing it, but seeing the whole picture for yourself. Reading someone else's documentation of it will only set you in a downhill motion for stereotypes and mystical practices without any particular reason. Cultures advance in the same manor as scientists say animals evolve - only those new ideas (or mutations) which work, will be passed on and taught to the next generation so they can again improve upon them. This procedure is dependent upon one's environment. This is why I feel a person must experience a culture first-hand before he or she can say they understand it. The Aesthetic Education article introduces a good point that if a person wants to learn more about a different culture, to go experience it first hand. Do not limit yourself to readings, because as I stated before, it allows you to make stereotypes and probably supplies customs that do not appear to have any associated reasons. I like to compare this idea with a student internship or student teaching experience. If not for being able to experience the field of study from a professional point, then you will not know if it is for you until it is "too late". Students can't always obtain the entire experience outside the realm of pure knowledge and fundamentals until they experience it. In otherwords, things in theory are not as they are in reality. It holds true with jobs as it does with cultures. Pinpointing a strict definition on what intelligence really is may be difficult. Limiting the definition to logic, spatial and linguistic areas (as a typical IQ test does) or logic and linguistics (as most standardized college entrance exams do) is foolish. There are so many more areas where knowledge exists that are not obtained in the groups limited above. I believe Gardner's approach to intelligence is more accurate than any other idea I've seen. I totally agree most people are "intelligent" in multiple areas, but only a truly intelligent person would have to be intelligent in every area on Gardner's list. It makes no sense to say a person with exceptional musical talent may be considered unintelligent simply because he or she cannot excel in a standardize test. A broader definition is badly needed and Gardner's list is a good start. I read the article on dual-immersion at Flowery. I think this program is an extremely unique, but excellent as well. If such a class would exist around here (and it could, I haven't done much looking), I would consider it for my own child. Learning another language will not make someone rich, but at least it opens the doors for possibly for the child. From a cultural perspective, although it won't totally teach the child much about they cultures that speak the language he or she is learning, they, however, will have a better opportunity to learn from it because they now possess the communication skills to allow them to experience other cultures first hand Other comments about the assigned reading: I enjoyed the assigned reading. It has actually increased my level of enthusiasm for this course. I especially like the idea that our education system should begin to teach to a more universal culture rather than the historical white anglo-saxon culture. For some subjects this will not change much, such as mathematics. However, anything that relies on heavily on history as part of the course work, would either have to branch out, culturally, that is, or offer separate courses which focus on different cultures, but leave the option open to students. I know this is easier said than done, but if others would think about it from a more global perspective than simply local or national, it would make more sense. I belief is the point of primary and secondary education is to prepare students to interact with the world, not just the United States. Aside from the language barriers, the core knowledge about worldwide issues should be presented. For example, more geography than what is typically taught in a history class that only touches on the countries the United States either fought with or against. Before September 11th, I wonder how many people really knew much about Afghanistan. Now, more information about Afghanistan is floating around than the European continent. I just thought I would share my comments and to get some feedback because I am curious how many people would agree with it.

James Blake The biggest message I took from the "Culture" reading was the transmission of life through our culture, our physical survival and our social survival. It is a circle, with the biological transmission of life needing the other learned part, or culture, to keep humanity going. Highlights from the section of Native-American culture in this reading, helped me realize what has been happening to me as I spend more time with students from other countries. I haven't realized my own heritage until spending time with people different from myself, because I have never felt my ethnic heritage challenged or threatened, as it was quoted in the article for most Euro-Americans as being the "legitimate" culture through growing up in the Midwest. It was fun to read the "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" as a riddle and go back and figure out what each strange magic ritual was. It helped me see that although each ritual may have a place in a particular culture, when viewed from a foreign perspective, it may seem odd or even sadistic, thus the concept of cultural relativism. When talking about this article with my wife, she brought up the point that why does "Nacierma" (America spelled backwards) refer to a culture placed where the U.S. is, not the whole northern and southern continents that share the name? As I fell in to the trap myself, calling the U.S. "America", I am reminded of the legitimacy issue I have inherited from the Euro-American culture, which takes over names of many obviously differing cultures (e.g. Mexico, any one of the South American countries) as it's own, by ignoring them. The articles of "Aesthetic Education" and "Multiple Intelligence" help me tie down some of the big concepts in more of a practical way thinking in the classroom. Employing various methods of educating people, through words and multimedia, is important in order convey an idea. I have first hand experience with this in translating my notes to a new international student; she could understand diagrams but not the test questions, which were verbal descriptions of concepts. By having a variety of aspects of intelligence in mind that is cross-cultural, as stated by Gardner, more process rather than product based, I think the classroom would be fairer for all students. For example, for teaching purposes, I would rather classify somebody as being a good athlete and encourage those ventures rather than worrying about if they were involved in a mainstream school sport or one that had less participation because the mainstream culture doesn't participate in it.

Steve Rogers When I say the Nacirema or "american" I distinctly remember that article from an 11th grade Sociology class in high school. The first time I read it I was trying to figure out where a culture like this existed and who would do such things to their bodies. I mean if you read it and compare it to our society it is quite shocking. However I do get a good laugh on the parts dealing with the "latipso" or ospital or hospital. The relations to the bed pans is right on. In dealing with the parts of behavior formation, they all seem like common sense things that go into ones formation. I mean you have your stereotypes, the laws, the accepted ways of doing things, your beliefs and ideals...These all seem like things that anyone could put together as part of your Behavioral Formation. I was especially interested in the following list: The characteristics of culture include: Learned Behavior Shared Behavior Based on Tradition and Custom Means by which humans physically survive (i.e. livelihood) The reason this interested me was that these for the most part in some form make up the same list as Behavioral Formation. Very interesting, indeed

Norman Regier Initial Reaction:I concur with the essay "Aesthetic Education" that give understanding to the culture, because it points out what is important. In the Philippines there were many paintings about the ocean, the sunset, planting and harvesting rice, downtown Manila in the rain with cars, taxis, kalesas all competing for the same limited road space. Oh, I disagree that musicians are necessarily "smart" in math. Essay: forthcomming

Linda Jackson Page From my own experiences, I cannot understand how people insist learning is based only on genetic or environmental factors -- one independent from the other. Without question, genetics shape us, but a society's values, beliefs and rules of conduct play a major role in a child's development as they emerge from the warmth of their embryonic incubator. The cultural differences from one society to another are no more obvious than in its children. Growing up in the South, I can cite too many instances where cultural prejudices became a part of a child's legacy not because it was taught but because it was acquired through enculturation. Consequently, one's culture firmly implants itself in its children and shapes their learning. Aesthetic education as purported by Eli Siegal, Self and World, would foster curiosity, creative problem solving and independence in students and shape their intelligence. Siegal's explanation of true intelligence, "the ability of a self to become at one with the new," provides a brief synopsis of aesthetic education and how it can affect learners. I believe aesthetic education would permit children to examine and discern the sameness in those things that appear opposite and differentiate between how the world is made and the injustice of cultural ethnocentrism. If we teach children to appreciate other cultures' foremost characteristics, how could it not positively transform their learning? The theory of multiple intelligences is fascinating. I look forward to learning more about Gardner's theories. Here again it is obvious that intelligence is multi-faceted and different from one individual to another. I am constantly amazed at the different levels at which my eighth graders operate. There abilities are so varied. I teach one young man who appears, on first contact, to be a slow learner. However, the opposite is true. He is very artistic and one of the few students who has moved past the point of seeing everything in concrete terms. His genetics and culture has shaped him but his artistic ability has helped him move beyond it.

Ann Buttner I found this article to be fascinating. There are so many aspects of the article that could be related to our way of life in America. In fact, I think Miner wrote it to show us that we share similar characteristics of other culture and that all cultures have rituals that bear close resemblance. In other words, we're really not that much different from everyone else. For example, there is a highly developed market economy in America and Nacirema and that even as sophisticated Americans, a large part of our day is spent in ritualistic activity e.g., work, school, even our meal and bedtime routines. I also found a lot of similarities between some of the rituals described in the culture of Nacirema and those of the Roman Catholic religion. For example, there are many references to the cleansing and blessing done by water e.g., baptismal font, holy water font at the entrances and exits of the church building, etc., in the Catholic religion and this seems to be very similar to Nacirema. As a nurse, I also was struck by the similarities between the "latispo" and American hospitals. For example, many older people view a hospital as sort of a "last resort" or as a place you go to die. At the same time due to the facts that more and more health care is provided on an outpatient basis and that we are seeing more critically ill patients in the hospital, a fair number of people do not recover--or die--in hospitals. As in a "latispo", a person is the hospital often has to perform very personal bodily functions in the presence of strangers or be disrobed and examined by any number of physicians, especially in a teaching hospital. I was amazed at the similarities here. Walt Disney really did have it right..."It's a small world after all!" I don't have any particular questions at this time. I learned a lot about the characteristics of culture from the Nacirema article. I thought it was a very accurate article and it may me more aware of my own attitudes re: culture. The article re: Intelligence was worthwhile. I found it interesting to learn about the different types of intelligences and how anthropologists focus on product while psychologists focus on process. I hadn't thought of that before. The right to artistic expression is one that, as a society, we often take for granted within our own culture but we may either consciously or subconsciously deny in other cultures. Finally, I found the glossary of cultural terms very useful. This glossary, I feel, will better help me understand the crux of the concepts we are--and will be--discussing.

Kristen Wilton The Nacirema article was great! Looking at Americans form the point of view of an "outsider" is both enlightening and humorous. It is good to take a different look at ourselves. The article made me think about a friend of mine who took her family on a vacation to China a few years ago. I remember how appalled she and her teenage daughter were by the public restrooms. No stalls, no doors, few actual toilets, mainly just a drain or hole in the floor. There was no way they were going to go to the bathroom away from their Americanized hotel! To people;a who have lived in China their whole lives, it was no big deal, but to people who had three "shrines" in their own home, privacy was a must! Interesting how culture is learned, isn't it? We need to remember the Nacirema article as well as Wagley's definitions when interacting with people who come from different cultural backgrounds than ourselves. As far as culture being learned, that is so true! Women from Middle East countries have been taught exactly what their place is in the world, as far as their cultures are concerned, and that is what they live by, no matter what their own thoughts are. It is hard for American women to watch an Iranian woman be herself, and very easy to judge them based on our own ideals and beliefs. This is something we need to stop doing. We need to learn to appreciate other cultures for what they are, rather than criticize them for how they differ from our own. I enjoyed the article about intelligence. As a special educator, I agree with Gardner's lists of intelligences. I saw many Learning Disabled and Behaviorally Disordered students who did not approach learning in the "traditional way", but really were no less intelligent than their peers. I worked very hard with classroom teachers to make sure they were addressing several types of intelligence rather than just logical/mathematical intelligence and linguistic intelligence. The teachers who were able to do this had many more successes with the LD and BD students than teachers who only saw things in black and white. This theory of intelligence applies not only to the disabled population, but to all people.

Deb Weitzenkamp. A couple of stories came to mind after reading the materials for unit one and reviewing some of the current articles. First of all a story about a prior graduate class. I was reading materials posted by the instructor and was forming the "opinion" that the instructor wasn't very "literate" as they couldn't spell well at all. After weeks into the class, remaining in total oblivion, I decided to read the instructors resume. By reading the resume I realized that the gentleman was teaching the course from Australia....which explained by he spelled things with s's instead of z's in many cases. As the course went on I realized that not only had I jumped to conclusions, I really had leaped the wrong direction. I loved the class and the instructor really stretched my thought processes regarding distance learning. By the end of the course, and still today, I occassionally catch myself spelling things with z's. I don't know exactly why the readings reminded me of this huge error in judgment, but keeping that memory close to my heart reminds me to try to not make petty judgements, when they probably are only founded on tidbits of information. The second thing that I would like to mention is that when reading the article "Learning about South Africas unique customs", I realized that my mother-in-law may be part Dutch. Unfortunately her side of the family remains very "uninterested" in their families history. My mother-in-law has some interesting quirks in that she uses a lot of what we called "made-up" words. Over the years we have begun to realize that these words she uses actually exist, to some degree, in another language....and surprise...she has used them correctly. We laugh a lot about it as she doesn't know where in the world they come from, only that her family always used them and that they became part of her everyday words. For instance, when my children were little, she would tell them to get on their strumphlings. She knew that meant socks...and later when my husband took German in college, he learned that the word for socks is very much like this word (forgive the attempt at spelling). She also makes rusks, no one ever eats them, but she always makes sure that they are available in case we want them. In the article about South African customs, I learned that rusks are a Dutch food. The most interesting thing about the whole story is that she thinks she is Swedish, but yet there are rumors that her grandfather was native american. The "language" that she has adopted as part of her vocabulary include words that are German and Native American and now Dutch. Of course though maybe there is some Swedish in the language she has adopted, we just haven't figured it out yet.

Dustin Buggi The most interesting reading for this unit was by far Body Ritual among the Nacirema. Horace Minor's idea of the American (or Nacirema) culture is a great way to think about our own culture. It does show how, in our culture, the unattainable body is so desired that we alter ourselves to look it and hence, all look alike. I believe that Minor wrote this to help us look at our own culture in a different way. To look at our culture and beliefs in the eyes of the outsider. It goes to show why so many outside cultures and counties find the "American People" so confusing and misunderstood. I do like how he finishes the essay by saying, "It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist so long under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves." 1 It is truly amazing that we do exist so long under the self-induced burdens. Maybe our culture could not exist with out these burdens. Would we know what to do with out them?

Juli Steen I found the introductory culture reading very informative in that our culture is what comprises our everyday lives. "Culture is the mundane aspects of life as well as the awesome." (Raymond Williams) It is easy to forget that our culture is passed on to our children through everyday experiences. We learned cultural behaviors from our parents and our environment. The culture reading also made me realize how difficult it must be for children to grow up in an environment with competing cultures such as the Native Americans. Since I grew up in the dominant culture of American society, I never had to deal with the issues involved with living in a second culture. That concept is something I never really thought about until now and it is something that I will always remember as I interact with friends and children from different cultural backgrounds. Horace Miner's Nacirema article is quite interesting. I first read an excerpt of this in high school. I remember it so well because I was thoroughly repulsed by the oral rituals described. How could anyone be so barbaric? Of course when I found out it was Americans that Miner was describing, it was rather funny, yet oddly disturbing to think that people from other cultures may view my cultural habits the way I did when first reading about them. There are so many rituals of other cultures that our culture deems repulsive. One that immediately comes to mind is female castration in Nigeria and Egypt. There have been many stories debating the humanity of this ritual recently. I¹m sure Miner¹s purpose for writing this article was to turn the tables and make us look at our own rituals through another culture¹s eyes. He does accomplish his purpose very well and provides a very valuable lesson about judging another culture¹s way of life. The reading involving aesthetic education was a good reminder that art is also used to understand a culture. Artists reflect and comment on their world around them through their work. Sometimes this can cause controversy, as with the debate about a statue to commemorate the firefighters who died at the World Trade Center. In an article titled Skin Deep, written by Mike Kelly and published in The Record (North Jersey Media Group) on January 15, 2002, there are plans to make a statue based on the photo of three firefighters raising the American flag over the rubble of the World Trade Center. In the photo, the three men are all white. The Fire Department, the benefactor and the sculptor thought it would be good to make the statue multicultural by making one of the firefighters black and one Hispanic. Now they are getting criticism from all sides about their choice of the race and all male gender of the firefighters for the statue. A well-meaning gesture to make a memorial multicultural has gone astray in the wake of public opinion. Unless someone comes forward to make peace among all those involved, the statue may never be made. I¹m not sure what this says about American culture except that future generations may have one less artistic reference for the World Trade Center tragedy. I like Howard Gardener¹s concept of multiple intelligences. Everyone has something that they are good at, and his theory that there are different types of intelligence supports this. The list of intelligences goes beyond the usual music, physical (i.e. sports) and math into such areas as communication and nature. All to often, teachers focus on book learning as the measure of intelligence when we should be focusing on the whole person. I know many people who are not ³book smart² but certainly have other types of intelligence that Gardener describes. The diagram of behavior formation fits perfectly with the way children learn their own culture. Since culture is our everyday habits, the way we perform these habits is either reinforced or rejected by those around us. When we get negative feedback, we adjust our behavior to solicit a positive response from those around us. This forms a cycle because our culture is involved in behavior formation and our behaviors are what make our culture

Ann Laughlin After reading the article on culture, I reflected on a couple of issues that occurred this last year when I was working with nursing students at St. Joseph's Hospital in Omaha. This particular hospital has a very diverse patient population, most notably a big influx in the Sudanese population. Many of the women we cared for had "tribal markings" on their bodies. These markings were very pronounced, large areas of scarring on their foreheads, chest areas, and genital areas. To me, this was a shocking phenomenon as it creates for a rather startling appearance. It is the custom, with certain Sudanese tribes, to brand all girls at birth with very characteristic and specific markings that denote what tribe they belong to. The Sudanese are very proud of this (although for myself and my students it seemed like a "horrific" custom)and we had to take great care in assisting these individuals with bathing, especially in the areas where the tribal markings were prominent. The article on culture really emphasized the point that for many of us, as members of the dominant culture, there is no need to incorporate an understanding of other cultures. Providing quality health care and establishing a trusting relationship, so vital in health care, would indeed be difficult if a health care provider had this type of "mind-set". The definition of cultural relativism really pertains to this example. Within this definition, the customs (branding) that are considered sinful in one culture (such as the dominant Anglo-American culture) may be totally praised or accepted in another. This is the case with the Sudanese branding custom. As I continue my work as a nurse, I feel I am becoming more open-minded (hopefully) to the different ideas and customs of different individuals.

Janice Hayes. 1. Understanding culture is a major focus in HRFS, and the main point of interest to me in the first reading was "universal characteristic of cultures of poverty that cross racial and ethnic lines. Racial and ethnic cultures can share characteristics also but these characteristics are relative rather than universal". Understanding poverty is important to me as a Family Financial Management Major. 2. Miner's article was humorous, but he noted that we are a markey economy, [and so are suffering in the recession]. 3. The glossary of cultural terms and the definition of terms are studied in HRFS, and so were not new. It does help to have definitions from different 'fields' of study. 4. Not being an 'education' major, the aesthetic education article was a new bit of information for me. Finance does not tend to incorporate the 'arts', but Family Science and definitely the Textile, Clothing, and Design departments do. 5. The article on multiple intelligence was interesting, and from a different approach - analytic and relational styles. The seven intelligences listed were a new slant for me. 6. The behavior formation chart is similar to that from Family Science. I agree that all cultural-based behavior is learned, as is bigotry and discrimination seen at very early ages. What a shame when ! ignorant parents teach their ignorant views!

Kathleen Hesser I really enjoyed these readings. The article on culture as well as the Glossary of Cultural terms probably evoked the deepest thought in me. Because I have deaf children, I live at the intersection of two cultures. Behaviors that are ³normal² and transmitted in deaf culture can be seen as rude, odd or even stupid by ³hearies². For example, deaf people can be seen looking in windows and trying the door of a friend¹s home if nobody answers the door. Hearing people would never invade privacy in such a way. My children are learning behaviors that are sometimes difficult for me adjust to because they don¹t fit my own cultural beliefs. I can really see how culture influences behavior. I hope I will have the opportunity to read more of Wagley. I found ideas represented in the Glossary interesting and useful. We can¹t understand other cultures from the outside. It is to easy to judge based on our own cultural relativity. I had not previously read ³Body Ritual of the Nacirema². Miner poetically describes some of our most basic rituals from the perspective of an outsider looking in. I laughed out loud as I read his descriptions of the mouth-rite and ³holy-mouth-men². (One of my best friends is a dentist.) I have previously read some of Gardner¹s work, and think his multiple intelligences make really good sense. I, personally, possess only some of them and have known very few people that are strong in each of these areas. I wonder, though, if our society places equal value on each of them.

Jessica Broers The links and documents in unit One were very interesting because they explained the importance of diverse cultural setting, interratial interactions and the significance of working with different groups. I found the articles to be intersting in that their beliefs were subjective such as ours when we are put into different settings out of our norm. I wouldn't know exactly why a certian culture performed the way they did until actually seeing the rituals and customary traditions. I think that it is important that people like Howard Gardner has found that observing cultures is a way to differentiate between other intellectual funtioning people. I think the snthropoligidts are important because they observe the natural settings themselves. The different intelligence groups remarked signified an important understanding between cultures and how they are reflected on the backgrounds of certain cultures. I found that the linguistic intelligence group is the most important because the act of communication seems to be one that is universally important between all cultural groups.

Cheryl Ssnodgrass As I read over the assignment fot theis Unit I realized that everyone has cultural customs and beliefs. Many times when we come from a middle class caucasian familty one tends to think that there is no ethnicity to ourselves, but after reading these articles I realized that we all have different cultural customs. Celebrating Christmas is a cultural custom for us, the food we associate with Christmas are also cultural customs. It was different to evaluate things in this fashion, because I always assumed that only other race groups have cultural heritage.

Susan K. Waittt About Nacirema, I thought, so what. Americans prioritize petty things. I think that is part of the luxury of living in America. We are also a culture who plunks hard earned money into little machines for a chance to pull a handle and watch the wheels spin. Where else can people afford that kind of entertainment? So Americans like personal hygiene. It is what separates us from the animals and third world countries. Society has come a long way in our advancements of sanitation and personal hygiene. Can we regress? I think the fact that in America we have private health insurance is another huge reason we can be so fixated on good teeth and plastic surgery. I also wanted to point out that most of the super models that are well known in the US are foreign. So, do they grow up worshipping American values on beauty or does their own society prepare them to come over here and be beautiful? From the first on-line reading I had a few questions, rhetorical probably. What about children adopted by people outside their culture -- when differences are biological? I know it is learned behavior, but unfortunately there are certain expectations we have of people who look a certain way. I suppose it is much the same dilemma the Native Americans face having two cultures pull at them. Another culture struggle I think happens for hearing children of deaf parents. I don't think they ever figure out where they belong and if they do it is a struggle. The deaf community does not want to acknowledge them and for many it is all they know until they begin public school. I also wanted to know about people who want to change their culture. How long does it take you to "learn" it? I think of people like John Walker. It seems to me we are forcing him to be considered American. I still haven't figured out how he can be convicted of treason. I think he made a conscious effort to leave and did he really take any government secrets with him? I'm not sure I'm really sold on the idea that we all have an individual culture. I think we are stretching the term a bit far. Of course we all have behaviors that we have learned from and shared with friends, family, TV, school,....etc. I think they used to be called values. Now we call them culture. I'm thinking this is probably a definition coined by some white Anglo-Saxon male who was having need to feel multicultural and validated in a society where we are trying to become aware of those who are different from us. Maybe I think this because I struggle with what "culture" I am. I like just being me. I know it's from living with the same people and an "American" education. Is it a crime to be white in America? Sometimes it feels like a strike against you.

Patricia Michael I find it quite intriguing that Nacirema stands for American. Perhaps Miner wrote the article as a wake up call for American cultural behaviors. I feel we are products of our environments. Where we are born, where we live and who we are exposed to have a significant impact on our behavior. My life would be totally different had I been born somewhere else or grown up in the city as opposed to the country. The traditions of family and church have influenced who and what I have become to some extent. Miner's article is a humorous play on our so called "rituals" and cultural habits. The article on culture dealt with interesting approaches to defining culture. I especially liked the Native American perspectives. It also helped to clarify the aspect of poverty related to culture. I hadn't thought of it in that sense before. Lessons learned are that culture is an everyday way of life for its members. It is everywhere. It encompasses past, present and future. I can really identify as being a product of the culture of rural Pennsylvania. The students in my class have fun, and so do I, comparing PA to Nebraska. It can be humorous for both of us. Unless you live in a culture all your life you are not in a position to make prejudgments on behaviors associated with it. Because they are different than what you may be used to does not make them wrong. Getting to know another culture is a way to understand and appreciate it. I feel there are misconceptions about our culture as well. You cannot make a rationale judgment on an entire culture based on one or two elements of that culture. Being a part of the educational community I can relate to the Multiple Intelligence concepts. I can see them first hand in the many students I work with each day. Just watching my students I can see how their behaviors are formed within the educational environment. I a

Judy Jensen Many interesting concepts on culture were introduced in this unit. I had previously read the article on the Nacirema during an anthropology class at UNL in the 1970s. I was shocked by the article the first time, but not this time. It does sound like a strange and “foreign” even alien culture upon the first reading, especially since it is written to sound so scientific and research based. When reading it this time, I thought it sounded more like the parodies or fractured fairy tales that we read today. The most important concept that I took from this unit is the fact that culture is a learned behavior. I always thought of it as something that was just there, and really had not considered how we acquire it. This really “hit home” as I was reading a children’s novel Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wolff at the same time I was studying this unit. The story takes place in 1949 and is told through the eyes of the 6th grade girls on two baseball teams as they prepare for the annual rivalry game between two towns. The author weaves aspects of Japanese culture into the story and once again we see culture as learned behavior. Aki, the Japanese girl on the team, tried at one time to lose her Japanese heritage and become more American by unlearning all things Japanese that had been instilled in her, but she found this an impossible task. Shazam, a prominent character in the story, “learned” to hate all Japanese since her father was killed on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Since the story is told through the eyes of at least 22 characters, subtle statements throughout the novel illuminate the various prejudices in these communities. The reader sees not only ethnic prejudices, but also ones based on religion and poverty. The prejudices are those that have been passed down from parent to child. (i.e. transmission of culture) I would highly recommend this novel for teachers to include in a unit to foster understanding among cultures. Novels like Bat 6 make me realize the importance of multicultural education in American schools so hopefully children can learn to accept others more readily and not judge their culture as the only and best one (cultural relativism). Richard Pachter’s Miami Herald book review of The 10 Lenses: Your Guide to Living & Working in a Multicultural World by Mark A. Williams was especially pertinent for this unit. I agree with the author’s premise that we are all subjective in how we view the world around us. I could identify with several of the “lenses” that the author lists. First of all, I think I fit the mold of Assimilationist. When I lived in Germany and Europe, I tried to fit in with the Europeans as much as possible. Here in the USA I do feel that we need to be sure we support our national and patriotic ideals in order to keep America strong and free. At the same time I have integrationist tendencies where I believe we can all learn from each other’s cultures and break down barriers to foster greater understanding of each other. I also feel that I could fit the “Meritocratist” lens since I believe if you work hard enough, you can achieve your dreams and goals. The sky is no limit if you wish to use your abilities to the utmost. It shouldn’t matter what race, ethnic group, gender, or economic class you come from. Don Feder’s Jan 23rd article in the Boston Herald was an eye opener on immigration statistics. I realize this article has a definite slant against immigration, but it did make me wonder if perhaps today’s immigrants should be more concerned with assimilating into American culture as the immigrants of the last 150 years were. I would hate to see America lose its melting pot atmosphere. The author thinks the multicultural and bilingual movements in schools today are keeping immigrants from assimilating into American culture. Mr. Feder fears that without assimilation, America will become like Bosnia with many ethnic enclaves and the accompanying unrest. Once again, transmission of culture comes into focus. Do we totally assimilate these immigrants into American culture for the “good of the country” OR do we take the positive aspects from the culture and teach them to others so that we can all understand and appreciate our differences? (Behavior Formation Chart)

Peter Gomez The Nacirema unit was difficult for me to read. After reading through a couple of times, and pondering what was said, I could relate the message that was said to my own life. I can give names of people who are at both extremes. Some are "drug dependant" like those in the story, other parents refuse medical service to their children, until excessive damage is done. I thought that the other sections that were read were very detailed specific. It functionally defined many terms. I do agree that our surroundings have a big influence on who we are, but I don't think that our environment is completely responsible for shaping us. Just like we are not genetically programmed to think, our society influences our thoughts, but not always how to think. People interpret and process things differently, that is why people of the same culture have a variety of opinions on the same beliefs.

Melissa Abele The articles in this section were interesting. Earlier this year, my classmates in the student affairs program (there are 5 of us) and I did a major research project on student attitudes for building a new culture center on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. The most interesting items to emerge from the study, which included a sample of 250 students, showed that American Minority and International students felt strongly that the building in for them, but that Caucasian students believe it is only for students of color or international students. Many caucasian students do not view themselves as having a culture, although this is entirely false. I have a culture as a Nebraskan, as a student, as a German-Irish-Czech American, etc. The article on culture highlighted that fact. In addition, the article on the Nacirema showcased the anthropological aspects of "American culture." In the mid-1970s, an anthropologist did a study and wrote a book on college student life in residence halls titled "Growing Up in New Jersey." That book was a depiction of the culture of students, their mating rituals, their social activities, etc. The result is a great understanding that college is its own culture, as well. The definitions were good to understand the elements common to many >studies. The Intelligences reminds me that different people view >"intelligence" in different ways, as well.

Stephanie Loos I found the articles to be a good review of previous learning and experiences as well as bring up some new thoughts. In the article Culture I liked the idea of different types of culture influencing who we are. When one thinks of culture one usually focuses on ethinic culture. The article however brought forth different aspects of culture such as poverty. I think that one could probably say the same about culture of middle class or the rich as well. I would think that you could even go as far to say that you could do culture of religions, regions, professions, etc. All of these things combined have impacted who we are. I had not read about Nacirema before. It was interesting to see how American culture could be protrayed differently. I also found it a little discouraging to read about what it is we do. The diagram on behavior formation seemed to tie in all of the articles on culture, aesthetic education and multiple intelligence to show that it is not one factor alone that effects us and the feedback we receive might not always be the same depending on where we are or who we are with. I hope this is what you were looking for.

Brian Foley Having added this course late I am playing catch up and have read the Unit 1 articles during one session so my thoughts are running them all together. The Narcirema articles is enlightening and entertaining as it is very useful to step away from our own perspectives to find a new way of discovering prejudices and biases. So much of what we do when seen outside its perspective can appear arbitrary and subject to routine for routine’s sake. How we look at bodily functions and the shrines attached to them is certainly eye opening. These are such rudimentary habits and procedures that do have a logic to them but the fundamental basis for them is rife with meaning gained through cultural peculiarities. The author’s attachment of being “able to establish sufficient rapport with the natives to examine these shrines” clearly indicates the superiority and condescending view we often take in looking at people different than ourselves. We often take liberties in allowing ourselves idiosyncratic mannerisms and ways of expressing ourselves but look down on others who may show similar or, heaven forbid, different behaviors. There is incidentally a race of people known as the “Naidanac” who show similar patterns of life to the Narcirema but strongly insist they are unique and remarkably different although a surface analysis would show many, many similarities. The Glossary of Cultural terms offers a similar effect as the first article. It offers the opportunity to see what our own perspective is as relativism, transmission of culture and cultural diffusion are strong ongoing influences that we should at least be aware of effecting us when we look at others. Our understanding of other cultures is made more difficult if we do not see the influences we take into our observing them. The Aesthetic Education and Intelligence articles work nicely together as we have strong cultural perspectives even within our own society. How we look at intelligence or the lack of it, is a crucial element of education. The Multiple Intelligences are become more accepted but do cause many difficulties for some as it breaks the mold on how we assessed intelligence in the past. The Gardner approach leans heavily on the cultural influence and is very useful in dealing with multi-cultural student populations in many if not virtually all schools in the U.S. today. The approach does seem to address how diverse human intelligence is. Finally, the section on Behavior Formation with a Definition of Terms is helpful as a visual in indicating how individuals are subjected to a number of strong influences, which then starts a loop of two-way causes and effects. Any one of ideals, norms, knowledge, beliefs, experiences, and expectations can have varying degrees of influences on each member of a cultural group. How much influence each factor has can certainly change and interact with the other factors at any given time.

Cindy Nash I remember reading the article "Nacirema" in a Sociology class my junior year in college. It started a good discussion on how easy it is for us to judge a different culture and ask why? Why do they eat bugs? Why do they not shave? Why do they not use deodorant? We can become very judgemental, but when somebody analyzes our culture like the Nacirema article, it makes some of the things we do seem really funny. I feel that culture is a learned behavior. Everything I do, I learned from watching my parents or others around me. From living in different parts of the country, Michigan, Indiana, Nebraska and Delaware, I have even needed to assimilate to a different culture, even if it is something as small as calling "soda" "pop" or vice versa. My husband who spent most of his life in Delaware and is a minority has a slightly different culture than I do. I'm not sure if that is more because of his race or because of the p! art of the country he grew up in, or a combination of both. From reading the article on culture, I don't even think the experts could say for sure. As for the essay on Aesthetic Education, I remember taking an IQ in a high school psychology test. At that time we were studying the culture bias of standard test. As the class was at Southeast here in Lincoln, it was an all white class. Needless to say, the smartest person was concerned mildly retarded. I had never really given much thought to people have to assimilate to a certain culture in order to succeed in America. I think it is possible to maintain your native culture, as well as fit into the the upper-middle class world, you just need to know where your priorities are.

Barbara K. Pester I am currently student teaching and am using Gardners theory of MI when designing units of study. In a unit on the 1960's students are given choices for assessment. They can complete a traditional research project, or they can act out significant events, ie. Civil Rights, conduct a debate between two individuals, ie., Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, or they can put together a fashion show that reflects the counterculture set to music that reflects the period, to name just a few of the options. I believe that the information is much more intersting to the students when they are allowed to chose their own method of assessment that reflects their particular learning style. History alive curriculum is also a valuable way to incorporate aesthetic education with multiple intelligences.