Post 10

This past unit, we've explored American culture. Specifically, we have focused on cultural values. We've examined how you might be affected by American cultural values and how you might want to make changes or fight against certain values that your culture promotes. Though we may not notice it, living in the United States or anywhere else for that matter has a huge impact on who you are and what you promote. In class we examined a text called "The Values Americans Live By' by Kohl. Some values he talks about are time and its control, competition, individualism, and work. These four values I feel are very specific to the United States, and many other countries have values that are completely opposite from ours. For example, Americans value individualism. Independence is seen as a good thing and a positive quality to have, versus in other countries they value group welfare, working together, and dependence. Another value we have that differs from many different countries is time and its control. In America, being late is seen as a bad thing. People don't stop to talk to each other, because time is so crucial. In other counties, people value living in the moment and human interaction, and being 20 minutes late for work because you were in the middle of a conversation is not punishable. To relate American culture to my own life, I personally have fallen into the American trap of being materialistic. I value material things, such as a new iPhone, clothes, technology, and other things. In countries other than America, their values more fall along the lines of spiritualism and detachment. The material things don't matter as much to them, which I believe in return can lead you to a happier life. We also looked at a source called "Bemused in America" by Stefan Schirmer. He's a journalist from Munich, and he examined the differences between values in America versus where he's from. The things that are completely normal to us he thought we're weird, such as jogging in the morning, going to the supermarket, television, and more. Seeing people jogging in your neighborhood is completely normal for someone who lives here, but he was surprised. All in all, this unit I have realized how different each countries cultures and values are, especially America, and the influence that it has on your day to day life.

Riverside Dance- Community Service

Through poms, I've been very fortunate to have been able to participate in so many community service actives. Specifically, the Riverside Valentines Day Dance. Every year, we host a dance for 40 or so residents from the Riverside foundation in Lincolnshire. The Riverside foundation is a home that provides residential support and developmental training services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

This year, since I am a senior, I had more responsibilities at the dance than I did in previous years. I had to get there an hour early, at 6, to set up the tables, ice cream and soda bar, and decorate the facility. We hosted the dance this year in the wood commons. I also had to help the residents get from the drop off location at the point to the wood commons. I was nervous because I tend to be awkward around those that are different than me, and I was unsure how well I was going to be able to communicate with them. I wanted them to like me, so I went with the approach to be as nice as possible. After all of the residents got to the wood commons, we had a dance party. The residents had a blast jamming to music and dancing with us. It was so cool to see how much fun they had from just dancing around in a room to music. It made me have the same appreciation for the small things like that. After a long, tiring hour and a half of non-stop dancing, it was time for ice cream. I was in charge of walking around with the Hershey, caramel, and strawberry syrups and asking each of the residents what they wanted and how much. Some of the residents disabilities make it difficult for them to understand you, so I had to try multiple approaches in order to communicate with them. Interacting with the residents throughout the dance made me realize how much of a different outlook on the world I have than a lot of them. While I live in a world where everyone around me is locked into their phone, little to none of the residents own phones, and I realized how that effects their interpersonal interaction. Though I was nervous before the dance, it made me realize to take advantage of the little things in life because not everyone is able to enjoy them the way you and I do. Overall, the riverside dance made me realize how valuable life really is, and taught me lessons I will never forget.

Post 9

This unit we have examined the concept of culture. We began by learning about how we react to different cultures with culture shock and ethnocentrism, or the evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of ones own culture. We have learned different components of culture, including gestures, language, norms, and values. We have also learned that within cultures there are subcultures. A subculture is a cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs of interest different from those of the larger culture. For example, Stevenson is a subculture of all high schools. We have different language than other high schools, including "the patriot", "ILC", "Port Clinton", and more. If you were to use this language at a different high school, they would not be able to understand. We also have different norms at Stevenson, like not stepping on the patriot. To most people I know,  my culture doesn't have any weird norms, but someone in a different culture than me could have a completely different perception of normal. As I read "The Values Americans Live By", nothing really comes to me with shock. After examining culture in class, though, I realize someone who is not American would be completely surprised by these values. After watching the video we have been watching in class, it surprises me how much our culture differs from other. Watching the men come to the United States not knowing how to use a toilet or shower, or how to make food further proves my point. I didn't realize how many people aren't used to what we believe is normal in America. I also now realize that those in different cultures probably think the same way about American culture, and am more aware of how different each culture truly is.