As individuals we can perceive ourselves as being more culturally
flexible or more rigid. Willingness to interact with other groups varies from
individual to individual. As students we often perceive interactions among
ourselves as completely dependent on our individual choices, however Carter
demonstrates that our flexibility is not wholly dependent on personal decision
but on outside sources.
Carter mentioned that our personal preferences and prejudices
are most likely created by our community and society. Therefore, studies are
able to show a variance in the cultural flexibility of students from
minority-majority and majority–minority schools. Her findings demonstrate that
black students that attend minority-majority schools tend to be more culturally
flexible. These findings have multiple factors that come into play, which do
not derive from one source and demonstrate high levels of complexity. Student’s cultural identity is maintained and altered
as individuals become willing to forgo their prejudices and fears. Failure to
do so has been proven to create a deficiency of skills which are necessary to
navigate through multiple socio-cultural environments. Those individuals who
consciously decline participation in activities that will expose them to
cultural diffusion are inclined to believe, to some level, that it will
separate them from their cultural identity. I have personally seen this fear in
many immigrant students who try to stay within their own ethnic group. This
practice can be detrimental as they close themselves from activities that would
expand their horizons and increase their knowledge. Nevertheless cultural
flexibility is not constrained to the decisions of the individual, but is highly
influences by other factors like self-esteem, environment, and adults. Self-esteem
seems to be a predominant factor in determining the cultural flexibility of
students. Carter’s study indicates that “the culturally flexible individual
enabled by strong self-concept and self-esteem…may not necessarily feel great
pressures to conform to narrowly defined group-based identity markers”1 However,
self-esteem is not overly abundant in teenagers, furthermore, it can prompt
students to overconfidence. What is clear is that different schools experience different
levels of cultural diffusion and within those schools different groups have diverse
experiences. Cultural diffusion can be beneficial to socialize individuals into
the type of culture of the area. But in order for this to be effective adults
have to consciously make everyday decisions that will have a positive impact on
the lives of their youth. Carter mentioned that educators and not only students
create symbolic boundaries. They must
not only make available extracurricular actives such as sports and inter-school
competitions and honors course, but they must also encourage them and even help
them. Yet, this task cannot be thrown at educators, but it must be shared by
parents and even the community.
In conclusion I would ask you to consider your own experiences
in high school, or those of your friends, and how those experiences have
affected your/their ability to socialize with outside cultures?
Carter,
Prudence L. "Cultural Flexibility: The (Un)Making of Multicultural
Navigators.
"Stubborn
Roots: Race, Culture, and Inequality in U.S. and South African Schools". New
York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
I think Angelica does a good job of highlighting the extent of social influence on individual perceptions of and behavior in relation to other groups, and relating this to her observations. I would agree with her observations and found it interesting - and troubling – that in one of my seminars this semester my class routinely self-segregated into two Asian and non-Asian groups whenever we did group projects. It seems as though greater encouragement of cultural flexibility still needs to be encouraged within and past the high school level.
ReplyDeleteI really like how Angelica ended her response by prompting us to reflect on how our high school has influenced our ability to socialize with other cultures. Exposure to other cultures in high school undoubtedly influences your understanding and ability to connect with other cultures and members of those cultures. Acquiring cultural flexibility in high school likely has longterm benefits that help the individual navigate college and work environments, or everyday interactions with strangers.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great essay that clearly highlights Carter's perspectives on cultural flexibility and ways to create it in the school system. I appreciate the note on the responsibility of adults to create this type of environment from students - from educators but also supported by family and community. I do think that it can be difficult for some families and communities with low resources to be supportive and help with extracurricular activities if they are barely getting by and surviving with no spare time or energy. In regards to immigrants, the fear of cultural diffusion I feel is more complex than just not wanting to participate or mix cultures but rather may often be linked to fear of racism and oppression that immigrants experience - both documented and undocumented immigrants.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate Angelica's final question as it leaves me with much to ponder. As someone who was raised in France and the USA and learned to navigate these two cultures at an early age, I do feel it has given me a kind of resilience and ability to adapt to many types of environments, situations and people that I may not have otherwise. There is a certain confidence that I have when stepping into new experiences that only developed as I learn to operate in culturally diverse settings.
I find it interesting that Angelica highlights Carter’s point that schools and educators play a large role in shaping symbolic racial boundaries by promoting certain expectations or norms, as this was not really my experience in my high school. I attended an extremely homogenous school (upper-middle class, roughly 80% Asian and 20% white), but even so there was a distinct difference between being “Asian” and “white.” All of our AP and honors courses were taught by white teachers but dominated by Asian American students, and there was a fairly universal (though perhaps politically incorrect) understanding that each math or science AP course would have one or two “token white students” while the English and social science AP courses might have as many as 6 non-Asian students. However, I don’t believe that there was any stigma, expectation, or “cultural or racial barrier” keeping the white students out of the AP courses. Rather, it seemed to be simply a difference in cultural values that prompted white students to opt out of the AP courses, and Asian students to opt in (though certainly there were many Asian students in non-AP courses as well.) In true stereotypical Asian-American fashion, many of my Asian-American peers felt pressure from their parents to take every AP course our school offered and achieve straight A+s. On the other hand, many of my white peers indeed did very well in school, but felt less pressure to perform well academically, though more pressure to perform well in sports or extracurricular activities such as Girl Scouts or National Charity League. Nonetheless, in both cases, we all held "conventional" values of education and financial success that seemed to come from our shared socioeconomic status, rather than from our ethnic cultures. This seems to illustrate the complexities that Carter alludes to when she discusses how interactions between race and socioeconomic status affect cultural diffusion and cultural flexibility.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how the author took the most important parts of the Carter reading and condensed it into a shorter, more refined form. This blog highlights some of the more important aspects of youth culture, such as how a myriad of factors can determine cultural identity and how cultural identity varies from environment to environment. The culture in one school or neighborhood area is subtly different from another, and it breaks down an aspect of the adult centered perspective, which is how adults tend to view all youth equally.
ReplyDeleteI particularly enjoyed how the author ended the blog on a note that caused reflection for readers. For example, I’ve seen the different cultural identities simply by walking through other high schools. The way people acted, dressed, or interacted varied from my owns school, and each school would differ as well. As the author pointed out, these differences stem from a myriad of other factors in culture.
This essay provides an interesting insight into Carter's examination of cultural flexibility. Cultural flexibility is affected by multiple factors including an individual's characteristics an environment. Those who have higher self-esteem and a more outgoing personality may be more inclined to associate with other individuals from different cultures. It is important to acknowledge the importance of self-esteem in cultural flexibility. Those with higher self-esteem may feel less pressured to conform to the "group based identity markers" present in schools. In my own experience, I never had any problems associating with individuals outside my culture. Often times I associated with people whom I shared interests and hobbies with.
ReplyDeleteCarter makes an extremely important point in regards to the socialization of students. Their surroundings heavily impact who they are and who they’ll become. When youth do not have the opportunity to interact with a diverse group of people, they often rely on stereotypes and media representations when they do interact. Given media representations and stereotypes are grossly inaccurate at times, they may cause people anxiety or prejudices when interacting with those of a different background. This is how, as Carter mentions, our personal preferences and prejudices are most likely created by our community and society. Often, prejudice is not caused because of an innate characteristic, but one’s environment. I thought it interesting that Carter linked self-esteem with cultural flexibility. In essence, she is saying that those who are confident in themselves and grounded in who they are are better able to navigate different cultures. If this is true, wouldn’t this imply that those who consciously remove themselves from extracurriculars to avoid losing their ethnic identity are of low self-esteem? In my experience this is not always true. Sometimes there is a fear of losing touch with who you are that prompts avoidance rather than low self-esteem. Sometime this fear stems from pressure from one’s own ethnic community that is claiming the youth is becoming “too White” or “unethnic.” This goes to show that one’s environment does highly impacts one’s personal preferences and prejudices.
ReplyDeleteIn the Carter’s reading, she discusses how one with cultural flexibility can bring about positive consequences in the school academics and forming identities. Angelica Martinez pointed out Carter’s main perspectives on cultural flexibility and asked the reader to share our own experiences in high school. I could not personally relate to examples given in the reading, because I never went to US school systems. However, from my own personal experience attending international school in Japan, I think that the same conclusion that Carter reached could be drawn in other countries too. Looking at Berkeley, or any other schools with more than one ethnicity, one can witness that same races stick to hanging out with each other. Reasons could be that it is easier for one to mingle with same ethnic background because of the language and culture, and the fear or being overwhelmed by difference of others. However, as proven in the reading that cultural flexibility positively influences the youth, it is important to encourage them more to interact with others and change the perspective that there are certain things for specific races. If we assume that the racism does exist in the United States, sticking to status quo will not solve problems related to racism in the future. If schools continue to emphasize the stereotypical traits, it will make them think that some races are not as competent. Especially I think that during the adolescent time, the youth significantly forms their identity and this plays a prominent role in their future success. Schools are not doing a great job if they fail to make students feel that there is equal opportunity and instead reinforcing the “difference” in a certain way that makes students feel discouraged. It is important to realize how important it is for, as schools should take a role in materializing cultural flexibility.
ReplyDeleteAngelica did a great job of summarizing the correlations between majority-minority/minority-majority schools and multi-cultural competence. I feel my experience in high school has been a lot different than most Cal students. I've always thought it was interesting when students came to Cal and thought the school was so diverse. I grew up in the Bay Area, and my hometown's racial composition was 25% Asian, 25% Latino, 25% White, and 25% African American. I never knew that until I came to Cal that learned Huffington Post found the Fairfield-Vallejo region to be the most diverse in the nation. Reflecting on my experiences at Cal and in Fairfield, I feel that Cal has pushed me to be less culturally flexible. Now that there is not a critical mass of students at Cal who are Latino, I tend to stick to and attract other students of color. Interestingly, my friends from back home were much more diverse than they are now. I think my experiences in a very diverse highschool helped me be extremely culturally competent and educated about other's backgrounds. I was encourages to break down stereotypes and forge multi-cultural understanding with other students. Now at Cal, I don't feel there is that same type of willingness to learn about others.
ReplyDeleteAngelica does a great job summarizing Carter’s work. Carter mentioned, “Educators and not only students create symbolic boundaries”. I do believe that it is quite important for students to be exposed to other cultures and understand that their own culture is not necessarily the superior or the inferior culture in the society. Carter comments that self-esteem seems to be an important mediating factor for a child’s ability to navigate across or through multicultures. Carter also acknowledges that self-esteem was not constant across certain racial or social groups, nor could it predict actual ability. Lack of self-esteem has historical roots and is not limited to cultural flexibility. I think that economic and social factors play crucial roles in this issue. Beyond the issue of race, social class is another predominant factor in determining the cultural flexibility of students. I personally think that the notion of social class also deserved to be studied in Carter’s article.
ReplyDelete