Thoughts on Humanities

History & Culture

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas

The closing of the school year is approaching and it worth taking a look at the humanities development of our students.  We begin by focusing on the historical and cultural development which has taken place so far this year.  Starting with defining Humanities, History, and Culture, and ending with the application and demonstration of the knowledge gained by the learners; educators can measure the progress students have made in the classroom, and this will be helpful in preparing both learners and educators for the summer and into the next year school year.

Humanities

To define humanities we need but to look at the root word: Human.  Humans are the root of humanities.  Student development in the humanities allows our learners to understand human activity and interaction.  We acquire our understanding of human activities and interactions through the study of humanities.  As educators we experience the need to develop good humanistic skills by being present in our classrooms.  We see first hand the development of student interaction and student activity in our classrooms.  As educators, we hope that the development of students in our classrooms allows them to become better learners. 

History

History is everything that has taken place from the beginning up until now.  History is remembered, recorded, and retold today, so that we may see what could come tomorrow.  History prepares us for the future.  History allows students to learn of the events that have taken place throughout time.  How we as humans have come to have a global influence, and how that influence flows from the most remote parts of the globe.  We learn from what we have experienced, we learn from what we have lived through.  The development of historical knowledge by our students leads to a better understanding of our standing, as humans, in the world.

Culture

Culture is constructed from the commonalities that humans agree to hang on to.  Humans have constructed cultures of various sizes, in many places, at different periods of time.  Cultures can be constructed on a single agreeable commonality, or multiple agreeable commonalities.  Throughout time cultures have been constructed and destroyed, forgotten and found, preserved and protected.  Culture can bind humans together and allow them to develop great civilizations.  Culture can also lead to conflict where there can be no establishment of communication.  Cultures with clear lines of communication tend to demonstrate success, and this should be demonstrated in our students ability to communicate as a group whose commonality is to learn.

Copyright 2013.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

ELL Student Development: Developing ELL Students

ELL Student Development

Developing ELL Students

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas

Time, Diversity, Culture, and Possibility are four aspects in the development of English Language Learner students.

From one day to several years, the length of time an ELL student will require, to successfully exit the program, will be varied from student to student.  It takes time for students to develop the skills needed to successfully communicate in a new language.  Some students arrive with advanced English language skills from prior education, while others will be experiencing a new language for the first time.  With a program for ELL students that has been established, and is successful, the transition from "English Learner" to "English Learned" will be proper, prompt, and perfect.

How diverse is the new school and how familiar is the student with diversity?  If the student has been introduced to diversity, then the student's learning, in a new education setting that is diverse, should be consistent.  When going from a non-diverse school to a diverse school, or a diverse school to a non-diverse school, an additional challenge is presented to the students, and they must also adapt to this while learning a new language.

There are many levels of culture that an ELL student will face throughout their education.  These will vary from academic to social, environmental to community, and many others.  ELL students should learn how to include the many levels of culture they will be experiencing in their lives.  By learning from both the positive and the negative, what is agreeable and disagreeable, students can develop a cultural level that is balance and helps grow their own cultural identity.

ELL students are the first true ambassadors that students observe, interact, and meet with.  They have the potential of presenting their patronage in a positive light for others to see, while learning a new language, maintaining pace with their mainstream fluent counterparts, and as they attempt to achieve equal education.

Copyright 2012.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

Ethnic: The Culture SubGroup

"Ethnic: The Culture Sub-Group"

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas

 Is it a place? or beliefs? Is it the place where our beliefs originated from, or the place where our beliefs are taking place?  Defining ethnicity is complex, but it is worth defining, for it is an important part of us.  Of how we define ourselves, how we identify ourselves, and how we accept to be identified, or defined as.  Geographically we have defined areas like Africa, Asia, Europe, and The Americas, and politically we have defined countries like Kenya, China, Germany, and The United States of America, where there are ethnic groups, and cultural groups, who will adhere to a place, or beliefs, or a place where beliefs originated from.

In the State of California, in the United States of America, the major ethnic groups are: African-American, Asian, Latino/Hispanic, and White.  These are the major groups, and do not represent all ethnic groups in the state.  Each of these four major groups has been defined based on geographical, cultural, and ethnic characteristics that individuals in each group believe best identify them ethnically.  Once students have been identified by ethnic group, academic achievement can be measured, and differences in performance can be analyzed.  The overall purpose of using ethnicity as a tool for measuring academic performance should be to obtain equality in education, not to establish academic superiority.

Copyright 2012, MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

ELL Challenges: Culture

English Language Learner Challenges

Culture: Is this the U.S.?

By: Manuel R. CortezRodas

Culture is a challenge that English Language Learners face when embarking on their educational path in the United States of America.  Culture in the United States is unique, complex, and diverse.  It goes beyond ethnic identity, multiculturalism ,and socioeconomic status.  ELL's in the U. S. who are developing their communication skills are, at the same time, going through a cultural development.  This development can be looked at in the following 5 categories:

• GEOGRAPHY: The main borders in the United States are two oceans, and two countries.  Geographically the U.S. could be defined as between: Atlantic Ocean, Mexico, Pacific Ocean, Canada, at least for the 48 States that are land-connected.  There are sierra mountains, great plains, bayous, swamps, coral reefs, rivers, lakes, coast lines, and valleys.  Geographical culture in the U.S. is one step that ELL's must develop in their educational path.
• DIVERSITY: The population of the U.S. is diverse; from City, County, State, and country of birth, to beliefs, faiths, languages, and generations.  No two towns are alike.  They may be similar, but they will have some minor difference that makes each one unique.  ELL students may come from a place that in the U.S. is considered as mono-cultural, but even mono-cultural societies develop diversity in their own terms and definitions.
• SOCIETY: The United States is more than radio, movies, t.v., and internet social networking.  Society in the U.S. is in constant change just as time is too.  The cultural experiences that English Language Learners experience will be varied based on the time, and place, where they experience them.  The development of their cultural enrichment in the U.S. is a tool that ELL's should develop in their educational path.
• EDUCATION: Whether public, private, traditional, or charter, education in the United States is varied. Each education style offered in the U.S. is indeed a culture of education.  How the student behaves and interacts with teachers and students may differ from the educational style the student is familiar with.  The student has to learn the role they have in education in addition to the responsibilities and expectations that the school will demand for their students to succeed.
• PRECONCEPTIONS: The student should reevaluate any preconceptions about life in the U.S. Students can become aware of some aspects of U.S. culture through a variety of mediums including: press, media, imagery, politics, athletics, social networking, and many others.  Even if mediums communicate with accuracy, what is perceived as a concept of U.S. culture, these concepts may not be representative of actual culture in the U.S.

An English Language Learner faces the challenges of living, learning, and adapting to culture in the United States.  They are also deciding if they will retain their own culture, adapt the new culture into their own, accept the new culture, or develop a concept all their own.  Addressing preconceptions students may have about life in the U.S., while learning how culture in the U.S. is defined and constantly changing, can be a helpful tool for an ELL student to develop.

Copyright 2012 MRCR Educational Consulting Firm. All Rights Reserved.