Culture

Your collection should consist of digital images and/or recordings (20 artifacts or so) that capture your culture. 

Review your artifacts and reflect on what you learned about your own culture and how your culture serves as a help and/or a hindrance in school settings. Post your reflection in your portfolio.

Today's culture would suggest that it is impossible to get around without a smartphone. In some areas, they are a sign of wealth and can even be used to determine who is popular in schools. Anywhere you find people, you will most likely find someone actively using a smartphone.

 Books are a big part of my family's culture. We are a reading family. We are expected to read and all have developed a love for it as entertainment. It is highly encouraged and is not unlikely to see someone with a book out in my house sometime during the day. Harry Potter was one that my parents read to us when we were younger before we would go to bed.

 Family is a large part of Utah culture. People are expected to spend time with their family and have a happy, good family life where everyone gets along. Families consist of a mother, father, and their children.









Family dinners are encouraged. Families sit around a dinner table with a homemade meal and eat as they discuss the work or school day. Children eat with good manners (mouths closed when chewing, proper use of utensils) and participate in the discussion when called upon.








Music is a large part of people's day. Almost every where you go, you can hear someone's car radio, a speaker, or some building playing music over the loudspeaker. It is nearly impossible to find quiet when out in the city. There is always some form of music. It is entertainment, as well as therapeutic, or even a filler for lack of noise.










The LDS temples are a large part of LDS culture. When on the grounds of this temple, quiet is expected and reverence within. It is a place of worship as well as a symbol of peace and hope.
















The little name tag there is a large part of LDS culture as well. When wearing this name tag, missionaries have a duty to represent their family, church, and God. There are expectations to the way that a missionary will act when wearing this tag. For example, they are to exercise the highest form of charity and love, serving others and seeking to build up the kingdom of God.

Christmas is a large event in American culture. Celebrated with decorated trees, exchange of presents, colored lights hung in trees and on rooftops, etc. It is a time when everyone is happier and people are willing to give a little more. 

Personally, we celebrated by watching a different Christmas movie every night, or as often as we could with popcorn and in our pajamas to get ourselves more excited for Christmas day.

Social media is constantly in use. It is the main means for communication. It is normal for people at least 13 years old to have one or multiple social media accounts to keep up with friends, watch cat videos, look at pictures, or send quick 10 second videos to others. It is normal for several people to be in a room together, but not say hardly anything to one another and instead be looking at or communicating through social media.

Education is the norm. If you do not have a bachelor's degree, or possibly an associate's, it is difficult to get a good, well-paying job. It is normal for people to now go to college and earn a bachelor's and spend thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a good education.

Clothing varies from dresses to jeans and a tee-shirt, to short shorts and a tank top, to leggings and an oversized sweater. Everything is the norm in clothing. Right now some of the big cultural movements are flower print on clothing and combining mismatched prints.

There is also a cultural movement to be more active. Triathlons, marathons, hiking, etc. have all become more common as the hegemonic culture begs for people to slim down and be more physically fit. This includes outdoor activities such as running and biking. 

BYU football is huge in my family culture. When the game is on TV, silence is expected unless you are cheering because of a good play or touchdown. There is always food and it is normal for it to be extremely loud and for there to be quite a bit of jumping up and down.

Playing soccer at a young age is a part of the hegemonic culture. Children are expected to participate with their team and do their best to score a goal. Families and sometimes even grandparents attend Saturday morning games. Parents all hope that their child will love the sport and be good enough so that they can continue to play,

Grandparents are a large part of my family culture. Living close was important and behaving while at a grandparent's house was necessary. There was no running around them and manners like "please" and "thank you" were required, as well as telling them you loved them and giving them a hug hello and goodbye.

Online shopping is the norm. People expect things to get to them quickly and rarely do they go to try on clothing in a store any more. They click a few times online because it is more convenient and then wait for a package to arrive on their doorstep a few days later.



People also expect food to be ready and available to them very quickly. There are many fast food restaurants, which are a common place to eat at for a quick meal. Customers stand in line, order their food, sit at a table and eat it quickly and then leave.

Grocery stores are the place to go for food. Once inside, customers grab a cart, and put items in until they have all that they need. Hardly a word is exchanged between customers who did not enter the store together.





Movie theaters are a common form of entertainment. It is normal to buy a large popcorn with extra butter and a large fountain drink, sit in your assigned chair in the the theater and not talk to anyone. During the film silence is expected as people sit, enjoying their snacks.






Traffic signs, such as this are on nearly every corner in the country. Culture teaches us that we should bring our vehicle to a complete stop in line with the sign. Pedestrians cross the street before the car continues on.










I have realized that my culture is a very rule-based environment. Things are expected of society, and if someone does not meet that expectation they receive strange looks from other people, and some times even more serious consequences such as a fine or ticket. My culture defines my actions because I generally do not be the one person acting outside of the norm. My culture is very Internet based, as well as pleasure based. It is also a culture in which people greatly lack patience if things are not provided to them quickly.

For the most part I think that this culture helps students in a school setting. Students have a cultural expectation to attend college, and thus generally have a desire to do well in school. Culture dictates that technology be used often, and so technology has been introduced into the classroom and is being used to teach children, for the most part in a very effective way. Culture teaches children what they ought to be doing and they do it so that they feel a sense of belonging. However, sometimes this can be a hindrance to the classroom. For example, social media plays a huge role in today's society. Yet, within the school it mostly serves as a distraction. It really depends on a teacher's classroom culture what will hinder or help a child's education.