I
found the readings for this week very interesting. I really enjoyed the first
piece I read by Paulenko, The Making of
an American: Negotiation of identities at the turn of the twentieth century. The
paper focused on the narrative identities constructed in first-generation American
immigrant autobiographies. We often forget to look at autobiographies which are
really powerful sources that provide real-life perspectives from someone’s
personal journey. As a learner, hearing other’s experiences helps me make
connections and relate to the material.
A
large part of the article looked at several memoirs published during the Great
Migration by immigrants who had arrived in the United States between the years 187O
and 1913. Twenty-four million immigrants uprooted and came to the U.S. during
this time. Most of these immigrants came from southern or eastern Europe. However,
as more individuals came to the U.S. people began to differentiate between the “old
immigrants” and the “new immigrants” who were perceived as different from the
population culturally, linguistically and ethnically. People began searching
for a ‘national identity’ when the large number of immigrants, different than
those before them came into the U.S. With
this array of newcomers with very different backgrounds, “old immigrants”
sought the need of a standard, U.S. citizen which eventually led immigrants to ‘Americanization’,
the process immigrants undergo to assimilate into American culture.
The
many stories that were in this article were chronicles of the first immigrants
to undergo the process of Americanization. Their stories were originally needed
to provide hope for other immigrants, help educate mainstream citizens and
continue the process of Americanization in the U.S. As I read this article I asked myself, why
does undergoing Americanization require individuals to give up their own
personal culture and heritage? Why can someone not belong to more than one
culture? I am a student and a daughter. I am also a big sister, a friend and a
tutor. I can’t belong to only one cultural identity. Why can’t immigrants keep
their culture while assimilating to the American culture? I remember learning
about the Great Migration when I was little and hearing the old saying “America
is a melting pot”. This statement refers to all the very different immigrants
like the men and women from this article that came to America, stepped into its
pot and melted beside each other into one thing, a result of Americanization. I
always thought this concept of a ‘melting pot’ was sad. When I first heard it I
imagined a toy of mine melting out the in the sun after leaving it on the
driveway too long. It is no longer the toy I loved, it is barely recognizable. Last
year I heard a student refer to the U.S. as a “salad bowl” instead. In this
salad bowl, we recognize we are a country made up of immigrants, made from
people who are diverse and who came to the United States for a better life. We recognize
these people are here, and we appreciate them for their differences. We do not
try to melt them down until they are unrecognizable but instead we appreciate
each and every one as a whole, contributing to our nation, a nation built by
immigration.
I’d
also like to mention a quote by Lanunzio in the article recalling his own
identity after years of trying to assimilate “I have now been in America for
nineteen years; I have grown up here as much as any man can; I have had my
education here; I have become a citizen; I have given all I had of youthful
zeal and energy in serving my adopted country; I have come to love America as I
do my very life- perhaps more arid yet they still call me a 'foreigner.' Though
he had gone through the process of Americanization he was still treated like an
outsider. Even when a population decides to recognize a group of people, they
may never be treated as equals. I hope that in my work with bilingual and
multicultural students, I can help these children not only feel like a
contributing part of the classroom but a contributing and accepted part of
society. I want my students to know that despite what others may tell them,
they are Americans.
While
the first article discussed how immigrants were expected to reconstruct their
identities in order to assimilate into American culture through a process of Americanization,
A1.1. looked at how people construct their own identities. Parisa is a woman
who struggles with others view of her as an Iranian. It was interesting to hear how she tried to mold
others image of her and her fears of being seen as different or accepted by her
colleagues. It was sad to read her story because it seemed like while her
colleagues respected her as a person they could not respect her as an Iranian.
They seemed to assume she was an exception and not the rule. It was interesting
to see how instead of challenging their own conceptions on what an Iranian
woman is like, they assumed that because she did not fit their preconception of
this role- she was different. A1.2 looked at what people say about their own
culture. I thought the story about Janet, Zhang and Ming was actually very interesting.
I have heard others discuss this topic before but I never really thought about the
reasoning for these students. It discussed how some students may exaggerate
their own cultural identity to counter American culture. I think it is
important as educators to remember that despite how the student portrays their
own cultural identity, it is still meaningful to them. Whether or not their
cultural identity is seen as correct or not should not influence how we work
with these students. A1.3 claims that when two people converse they send
messages about their culture whether it is intentional or not. The example given was of a group of girls on
a school bus whose cultural identity was seen in the way they talked to each
other while on their ‘home ground’. Reading this story made me think of the
different dialects found across the United States. Dialects are not only variations
in pronunciation but they may hold differences in etiquette and mannerisms. For
example, If I needed something from someone it would seem normal for me to go to
them and simply ask “Hey do you have the math worksheet?” etc. While that is
considered normal here it may be thought of as rude to other groups of people,
in other areas of the countries. My mother is from the south, what they call
the “boot hill” of Missouri. I have noticed how different things are in my
mother’s hometown and where I am from up north near Chicago. In that particular
part of Missouri if someone needed to borrow something, no one simply asks for
it. Instead the person visits the other, sits with them and talks. Students
have very different cultural identities whether they relate to situations like Parisa,
Zhang or the group of school girls. Despite their differences their cultural
identity is valuable and I believe it is important to keep this in mind for
instruction to better connect with students.
Cultural
identity is key when working with students. We must remember the many factors
that go into creating this perception of our cultural identity whether it is
our own perceptions or others. We should also remember that we do should never
give up our native culture or encourage others to do so to assimilate into
American culture. Our native cultures make us who we are and should be embraced
by society as contributing members.
No comments:
Post a Comment