Abigail Weber

What is your Definition of Culture?
Each morning as I greet my students, I am always
amazed by the differences in each child. There is a
range of hair, eye, and skin colors, and languages.
Each student brings their unique culture to the
classroom which creates an incredible learning
environment. A learning environment that fosters
tolerance, learning about different people and of
course learning and trying to understand culture.
While learning about each other, our class begins a
class discussion.

“Who would like to share with the class what they
think culture is?”
A few blank stares and raised eyebrows,
“When you think of the word culture, what do you
think of? What are your thoughts?”
Finally, a break in the silence.
A young girl explains, “In my culture I have two
languages and I have music and yummy food.”
As the discussion continues, we make a class list of
all the components of culture. Our list includes
language, food, music, clothing, writing, reading,
unique customs, children, adults, religion, learning,
and family traditions. But is this the definition of
culture?The bell rings and the students flee out of
the room, but I am still thinking about the concept of
culture. If all the students in my class have
different cultures then the combination of the
cultures must make up the “American” culture or the
“United States” culture. At least that is what I like
to think. My parents are from very mixed backgrounds,
so I am left without a clearly defined culture. I
think culture is the parts of our society that you
think are important and those that you believe define
you.

Margaret Mead explained, “Culture means the whole
complex of traditional behavior which has been
developed by the human race and is successively
learned by each generation.”
I did not learn specific
traditional behavior from my parents. They modeled
behavior, and shared their ideas and opinions but it
was and still is my responsibility to create my own
sense of culture. Ruth Benedict explained, “What
really binds men together is their culture, -- the
ideas and the standards they have in common.” If this
is the true definition of culture, then why am I
friends with men and women who do not share the same
ideas and standards as me? Why do various people in my
family have radically different ideas and standards,
yet when we come together we have a joyous time and
seem “binded” together. Students in my classroom
certainly have different ideas but are certainly
binded together. Edward Taylor explains culture “is
that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief,
art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities
and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” I
agree with this definition, yet I have not acquired
all of the definition, rather I am in the process of
acquiring and feel as though I will always be
acquiring and defining my culture.

Culture is a fascinating concept.
I will continue to
explore my own definition and through that continue to
acquire my own culture. During my search for the
definition of culture, I began to learn about the
culture of Jordan. One of my students, Sally Smith
(names have been changed), was born in Jordan and
moved to the U.S. about five years ago with her
parents, and younger sister.

Critical demographic, social, and historical
information about the group
I did not know much about the country of culture of
Jordan but have been learning about it through a
student in my class and her family. Both her parents
have visited my classroom. They have taught geography,
the Arabic language (both reading and writing) and
have shared delicious foods, music and clothing from
Jordan.

The Middle East Kingdom of Jordan is bordered on the
west by Israel and and the Dead Sea, on the north by
Syria, on the east by Iraq, and on the south by Saudi
Arabia. This small country is comparable in size to
Indiana. Jordan is ruled by King Abdullah II, the
government is considered a constitutional hereditary
monarchy. Jordan was separated from the Palestine
mandate in 1920, after a few years Britain recognized
their independence and abolished their mandate. Since
about 1920, Jordan has been ruled by a succession of
kings. The population of Jordan is 5,307,470. The
ethnic breakdown is Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, and
Armenian 1%. The official language is Arabic, and the
other language that is spoken is English. The
religious breakdown is Islam 92%, Christian 6% and
other 2%. Jordan does not have any international
disputes. However it seems that there is a deep rooted
dispute between some Jordanian citizens, who have fled
their own countries in search of refuge, with the new
rulers of their homeland.

Expectations that students and parents have about
schooling and their community
The literacy rate in Jordan is 86%. Since this is a
high percentage, the expectation for children to
literate is high. The main factor that keeps the
literacy rate high is a result of religion. The first
command of the Qu’ran is “read,” so most Jordians are
serious about their education. Primary education is
free and compulsory up to the age of 14. Most students
attend government school, and about 25% attend
religious schools. The role of women has changed
throughout the years. Today, almost half of all
students in college or university are women. When
talking with Sally’s parents, they explain, “We want
Sally to receive an education. We want her to be
fluent in both English and Arabic. We visit Jordan
every summer and we want her to talk with her
Jordanian family. We speak Arabic at home, but
encourage our daughters to practice reading in
English. We want her to go to college in America.”

Factors about the group that have influenced its
immigration to the U.S.
“We want to live in the U.S.” He says firmly with a
smile from ear to ear. I tried to inquire about why
the family decided to move from Jordan to the United
States,m nut was unable to get a clear answer. As with
many groups of people, it seems as thought the Smiths
moved to the US in search of place where they would
have more freedom and not be in fear of being pushed
out of another country.

Characterization of their language structure and
discourse rules
The Arabic language has about 28 different characters.
Many of them sound similar to my ear but are
pronounced significantly different. The written
language looks extremely different from English. They
write from right to left and the language forms a more
artistic appearance.

Having Sally’s parents in my classroom was
fascinating. I am glad that they had the opportunity
to teach us about their culture. They also cleared up
a few rumors and mysteries. Students asked about the
Smith’s involvement, opinions and information about
the September 11th attacks. A few girls in the class
asked about the scarf that Sally’s mom wears to cover
her head. Others wanted to know whether or not Sally
was going to be required to wear the scarf, and if she
was going to move back to Jordan. Everyone loved the
food and music and invited the Smith’s back to our
school. As I continue to define my own definition and
sense of culture, I constantly learn something new
from the rich cultures in my classroom which add to my
definition. Hopefully, next year Sally’ a parents will
return and possibly another parent will teach about
their culture.