School has Culture??!!

Its not typically considered when when the word culture is mentioned. When people talk about their culture, they do usually tend to discuss what their heritage is and describe many family traditions. Culture can be music, food, as well as sorts of entertainment. Even religion can be tied to a culture. A culture is an identity that people assume when in a particular group. It identifies them against everyone else.

And so comes the school culture a non-traditional culture that does have its own characteristics, traditions, and even food! School can be compared to a Native American tribe, where the Chief (principal) makes the decisions for the tribe, and appoints new leaders and handles situations that need attention. They are highly respected. We can also compare the school culture to that of the Hispanic culture (as in many cultures) where the women are in charge of caring and upbringing the children. Our schools support this culture and evidence shows that there are more female teachers in the field than male.

We could go on and on and find other cultures that the school setting could identify with, when we distinguish it from others it is different in its management. The school is based around a schedule of activities, disciplines, as well as traditions. Though some instructional practices are changing, the usual "teacher speaks, students listen" way of learning is still widely used. The beliefs in the school system (and if its not in all schools it should be) is that all children can learn. This is a belief that motivates everyone within the school to work towards the common goal, educate the children.

The problem with the school culture is that it does not consist of just one type of people as do many cultures. The school culture is composed of many different people from all walks of life. Different races, different languages, different socio-economic situations. Yet, these students are all placed together and are learning the same way. This is where the mismatched cultures collide (chapter 2). I agree that we must acknowledge the differences in cultures and gear teaching styles to incorporate all students appropriately and successfully in learning so that are able to receive the same opportunities as everyone else.