Culture

MayZin was not in school today. She usually starts her Thursday Mornings in her Math class. Since she was not here today I just observed the classroom, and started to get a sense of the structure. MayZin’s math class is not designed like a traditional classroom. It is set up more like an independent study. There is no lecturing. The students sit and work independently on different projects. They are able to work at their own pace, and there are about three different teachers wandering around if they have any questions. When MayZin’s math class got out I went to her reading class, again I observed the classroom to get a sense of the classroom. This is a reading class designed to help students get to their grade reading level. The students start their class working on a computer program called reading plus for a half hour, and then they move on and start a lecture filled with activities designed to teach students about different English grammar rules.

I have only met MayZin once so far, so there have not been many chances for me to make assumptions about her. I went into the meeting anticipating that she would have a hard time understanding me or speaking to me. I knew she is an ELL (English Language Learning) student, so I assumed English would be complicated for her, but I quickly learned that she could speak and listen to English very well. Last week she told me that she has lived in the United States for almost ten years now, and what she struggles with is reading and writing. This made me think about my assumptions. I learned that when I hear the term ELL I automatically think it means that students are learning to speak English, but it also means students are learning to read and write English. Now I know that there is more to learning a foreign language than speaking.

I have only met MayZin once, so it is hard for me to determine what type of socialization she has been brought up in. When I met her during the meet and greet last week I did see that she is quite adjusted to American majority culture, and shows evidence of multiculturalism. On the one hand she still speaks her native language very well, and she wears a hijab, but she also has an iPhone and wears western clothing. Since I don’t know much about MayZin’s culture still I did do a little research on socialization and gender roles. In Burma, or Myanmar, traditionally the men are the main breadwinners and the women take care of the household. The women are mostly responsible in making sure that the house is clean and the children have an education (CultureGrams, Family). Most of my research shows me that MayZin’s culture is a collectivistic, narrowly socialized culture. According to our textbook Collectivism means “A set of beliefs asserting that it is important for persons to mute their individual desires in order to contribute to the well-being and success of the group” and narrow socialization means “The process by which persons in a collectivistic culture come to learn collectivism, including values of obedience and conformity”(pgs. 14&98, Arnett, J.J., 2013). Burmese men and women work together to accomplish everyday activities. The men work to bring money into the household, and women take care of the household. Also according to Myanmar, or Burma’s, culture the children are supposed to concentrate on education, the adults are supposed to work on earning a living and marriage, while the elders focus on religious duties (CultureGrams, General Attitudes). They work together to make sure all aspects of life are taken care of. If each age group and gender focus on their cultural responsibilities everything will run smoothly. Along with that it is a parent’s job to set rules for their children (CultureGrams, Family). Part of narrow socialization is the acceptance of obedience and conformity. Burmese parents are supposed to make sure that their children follow rules that set about good and bad. This in turn teaches the importance of obedience.

Bibliography:

Arnett, J. J. (2013). Adolescence and emerging adulthood: A cultural approach (Fifth ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Myanmar: Family (2016). CultureGrams Online Edition. ProQuest. Retrieved from http://online.culturegrams.com/world/world_country_sections.php?cid=198&cn=Myanmar&sname=Family&snid=11  

Myanmar: General attitudes (2016). CultureGrams Online Edition. ProQuest. Retrieved from http://online.culturegrams.com/world/world_country_sections.php?cid=198&cn=Myanmar&sname=General_Attitudes&snid=6