LEARNING CULTURE

            Culture and family values are the driving force in a student’s education. The value and importance a family places on education sets the tone for the child’s attitude toward school. Understanding the multiple layers of culture in a student’s life will help to create lessons and a positive classroom environment. These factors and many more will help create successful outcomes for student growth and comprehension. Communication and social order can play a significate role in a student’s outlook and understanding of educational materials. The information provided was collected from an inter-city school. To protect the integrity of the school a pseudo name of City High School will be used throughout this summary.

City High School

The following sections will describe City High School and its unique culture. Factors that create success for the students in this school and opportunities to create a positive learning environment for all students.

Culture

            City High School’s cultural heritage is home to a majority of Latino students. The sociality aspect for students at City High school is a somewhat collectivistic mindset in culture values and traditions students find most important in their lives. Students can find success in the classroom when their personal cultures are reflected in lessons (Mujawamariya, & Hamdan, 2013). To help teachers understand the culture of students it is recommended a survey be sent for all students to complete at the beginning of the year. The results will be sent to grade level teachers to help guide them in their lesson planning.

Guidance

The uncertainty aspect of the educational culture falls in the neutral category the culture has a balance between controlling and letting the future unfold as it may. An article by MacBeath (2006) discusses the challenges schools face to uncover the attributes needed to create an honest learning environment. To help guide students, a post-high school plan will be discussed throughout their four years of high school to help students decided the best path for their future. The program will begin freshman year and focus on different aspects throughout each individual student’s career. This planning process will also help to minimize the power distance to create a more equitable experience for all students.   

Conclusion

The unique balance of a student’s education lies in their culture and educational experiences. City High school strives to create an environment of respect and rapport students can succeed in culturally and academically. Data is collected to distribute to teachers to help them in the process of creating culturally aware lesson plans. Teachers are given regular opportunities to further their knowledge of the cultural traditions of the student body and encouraged to add cultural aspects into their daily lesson plans.