Cultural Reflection Essay

When I first got accepted into Stuyvesant High School, I heard countless of rumors stating: “Oh the workload is terrible”, “The competition is so fierce” or “Out of schoolwork, extracurriculars, or sleep: you can only pick two.” I found it hard to let it faze me, since I graduated from one of the most prestigious middle schools. However, the rumors transformed into reality when I stepped into Mr. Nieves’ Freshman Composition Class. The workload at the beginning of the year was brutal, coupled with assignments from other core classes that seem unaware of the workload of other teachers. Reading assignments were a regular, and there were journal entries and occasional quizzes to keep us in line. What made it bearable was the friends I made in that class; everyone had their own opinion about the topic we were talking about, and listening to other perspectives really broadened my horizon and enriched my learning experience in Stuy. Another thing that this class has taught me is the importance of time management, a skill that I will carry on for the rest of my high school career and life. When I choose to sign up for Mr. Nieves’ AP American Literature class in my Junior Year, I was hoping to relive the discussion-based lesson plans and meet more outstanding peers. I was not disappointed, to say the least, reflecting through all the experiences at the end of the course. The lesson plans he laid out for us were an interesting mix between small lectures and class output, and what I

Anthropologists have always had their discrepancies with the word culture and its background significance. There have been numerous definitions that have filtered through the field, yet not one that everyone can accept or agree with. Franz Boas, an anthropologist in the early 20th Century, and his students, had a difficult time figuring out the objective of what culture is. Culture is about learning and shared ideas about behaviour. Although Boas and his students had a slightly different idea in mind. They ultimately reached a conclusion, a definition of culture in their view that is a contradiction in terms. Boas sates that, “ culture was expressed through the medium of language but was not reducible to it;

Cole Moore: I thought that Cole’s introduction was very professional and got straight to the point of what his group was discussing. The idea of combining the themes of the military, patriotism and one’s heritage was very impressive and caught my attention. Also, tying it to the themes of the red convertible was very interesting! While the presentation was amazing, I was confused as to what was the artifact. It seemed as if you talked more about general themes rather than close reading the design on the jacket. Nevertheless, you did an amazing job presenting.

It was my first time visiting this church, I was nervous yet anxious. The pews had beautiful burgundy cushions and plenty of space. I was just thinking in my head, ‘I hope this church is great and not boring’. Ramah Grove Missionary Baptist Church was my grandparents’ church so I was being introduced to everyone. It seems as if as soon as we sat down the choir started singing behind the pulpit. They sung a few songs that didn’t genuinely interest me so I started to daydream about starting a new school the next day and then I heard something that caught my attention.

Each night of the week we sat in our dorm rooms and Toni conducted an open devotion. It was our last night at the camp, so we all expected for the devotion to be extremely long. However, that was not the

For the house of worship visit I went to Congregation Etz Chaim which is a Reformed Jewish synagogue. I have been though many different Christian church so going to a synagogue is a different experience than what I have grown up with. This should an interesting experience. For this paper I will describe my visit and go over things I thought were important, interesting or things that I couldn’t get out of my mind. When I first stepped into the building it didn’t look like what I expected it to look like. I thought the synagogue would be plain and nothing in there, but I was wrong. The synagogue looked somewhat plain, but I could tell this plainness was for prayer and services. The synagogue didn’t have any windows or elaborate decorations like a Catholic church would have, but if you looked up, there was window or whole in the middle which you could see the clouds through. When I sat down I saw there was a small piano and a closet in the back where they put the Torah and other important things. I did see some older folks that were serious about the service compared to some of the younger generation that were just talking amongst themselves. The people there were very friendly and welcoming as I sat and observed service.

There are all kind of feeling that are transpiring throughout my mind when think of the term cultural analysis. In executing the communication concepts of African American cultural, I found that the Chinese and African American cultural are strongly tied to their beliefs and family concepts. I define myself through my culture as being an African American male, thought out religions, education, and family is very essential in my culture. Also, being limited to making lifestyle changes, and the different ways we communicated with each other are how I define myself through my culture. Being African American my perception of my culture is that we as a community are high in health, crime, education, and public housing, which implies welfare, government assists, black on black crime, and drug abuse. Being an African American, other cultures have a better chance at getting better jobs, education, and opportunities in life.

The church service was to start at 11 a.m. and we reached the church around 10:20 a.m. As we walked inside the church I was fascinated by the size and beauty of it. It was a big church with beautiful decorated stained glass like we see in cathedrals and a wonderful music room. This first thing that amazed me was the size of the sanctuary. In Nepal we have small temples where people go to pray and worship various deities. The sanctuary could probably seat more than five hundred people. I felt like I was in an auditorium and about to perform my solo in front of these people. The part

At the mandir, weekly luncheons were held so local residents could learn about Hinduism and see how the mandir project would eventually look after completion. They were given personal tours of the mandir to witness the intricacy of the carvings and understand some of the symbolism of the architecture. I signed up immediately to become a tour guide, devoting my weekends for an entire year to this task. I even invited my middle school teachers, friends, and classmates. Perhaps most importantly, I invited those peers who had made caustic comments about my faith over the years. In each of the tours I gave, I took the time to explain the vision of the mandir and its purpose in my life. I patiently fielded numerous questions, responding in the best way I could. Eventually, the community’s combined efforts led to the residents of Chino Hills standing behind the mandir in unanimous

A professor of education at the University of Hawaii Kathryn Au wrote an article on Culturally responsive education titled “Culturally Responsive Instruction as a Dimension of New Literacies” in the article she talks about how she sees culturally responsive instruction as a theme running through literacy curriculum aimed at helping students of diverse backgrounds achieve high levels of literacy in their education. also how the idea behind culturally responsive teaching is that the teaching approach build upon the strengths that students bring from home cultures, instead of ignoring these strengths or requiring that students learn through approaches that conflict with their cultural values. Culturally responsive teaching has the goal of helping students grasp academic concepts through means and content responsive to their cultural values and practices.

I came in right on time at three in the afternoon; I had mentally prepared myself to begin my two hour journey of meditation. When I first arrived I had 15 minutes before the class began I was totally nervous I could not imagine who would I meet or if I am even dressed for the occasion. As I entered I saw people of all kinds coming in and out of the temple. This showed me that truly anybody can practice Buddhism. I tried talking to some of the people

It took two attempts to visit the temple because there is only one tort each day at 9:30 am, on Saturday and Sunday (not throughout

Our first official stop of the day was actually a town named Mooresville. Mooresville was a very petite town, so much so it was more of a neighborhood, which was known for its history. We began our experience by visiting a tiny cafe located on the main street of the town. The establishment was filled with antiques, artifacts and art. Considering we had just eaten a very filling breakfast, we did not order any kind of refreshments, instead walking through and glancing at the items while chatting with the barista. After leaving the cafe, we began touring the rest of the area, first stopping to study the church I had previously read about. Mostly, it was a simple church but acting as a steeple was a hand with one finger extended, pointing towards the sky. The architect who constructed the plans for the building added this special detail. His purpose for the symbol was to help lost souls find their way to heaven. We then ended our experience of Mooresville by driving through several of the short streets, admiring the ancient shacks that made the historical landmark so authentic.

Having a temple located beside our campus makes this campus a unique place for all of us. Each week, there are many faculties and students serving there as a temple worker. I am so grateful to be one of them.This is a learning opportunity that God provided for me so that I can learn early. Like temple president’s wife says: young people who serve here is a huge blessing, they do not have to wait till older age. This serving experiences can help them do better in their future

1. Culture is perceived as a way of thinking that influences the behaviors of a group of people.