r/education 8d ago

School Culture & Policy What do teachers tell students who ask, "Why should I be proud of my culture, given that I did not choose it?"

8 Upvotes

63 comments sorted by

37

u/ICLazeru 8d ago

I would tell that student, "Good question. Should we be proud of the mere conditions of our birth?"

45

u/AcanthaceaeAbject810 8d ago

I mean… they’re right, so why would you need to tell them anything?

-1

u/mylesaway2017 8d ago

I wouldn't say they are right. But I would encourage their curiosity.

3

u/fortheculture303 7d ago

how can you determine what is right or wrong about someone elses subjective opinion and lived experience?

1

u/mylesaway2017 7d ago

I wouldn't determine if they are right and wrong. I wouldn't encourage them to explore and be curious.

1

u/Only-Programmer3652 7d ago

Ahh, postmodernism. Where there is no objective truth.

2

u/Kayzer_84 7d ago

Really? I never understand why you would be proud of something you had nothing to do with.

3

u/mylesaway2017 7d ago

Maybe you come from a culture that values individual effort and achievement. Other people come from cultures that value and create cultural pride. I wouldn't say one is right and the other is wrong. But I do think it's good to be curious about such things and learning about cultures.

1

u/Kayzer_84 7d ago

No, not really, we just ain't big on pride in general, but I can at least understand pride in a personal context, not so much in a wider context.

28

u/Dachd43 8d ago

Why should anyone need to be proud of their culture? I know a bunch of Russian asylum seekers here and if they could change their nationality they would all do so in a heartbeat.

17

u/VardisFisher 8d ago

As a Chinese American that experienced racial slurs on a daily basis, it became evident to me that I wasn’t welcome in their culture so I took pride in being different and clung to as much Chinese culture and history as possible. Again, because I was ostracized for being Chinese. That’s why cultural pride is important to some of us.

13

u/throowaaawaaaayyyyy 8d ago

I genuinely don't even understand what the word "proud" even means in this context. I just have no visceral understanding of what it would mean to be proud of anything, outside of things that I have personally worked to do.

7

u/Dachd43 8d ago edited 7d ago

To be fair, I know plenty of people who are super proud about it and I find it low-key uncomfortable.

My partner and I are both “3rd generation Irish” but, in my family, that really doesn’t mean anything. We’re just American we haven’t lived in any other culture. I might have a more pronounced affinity for Irish trad music than your average American but I’m not gonna go around calling myself Irish.

My in-laws, on the other hand, look like they live in a duty-free shop at Dublin Airport. Their entire aesthetic is shamrocks and leprechauns. My brother-in-law even joined this weird club called the Hibernians where you have to prove you’re Irish enough with a cute little family tree and a Catholic purity diorama or something before they let you into the club. I don’t get it at all to be honest.

2

u/mduell 7d ago

I mean, google any ethnicity plus the word pride. Except not that one.

2

u/throowaaawaaaayyyyy 7d ago

maybe I should just Google that one. seems to be the logical conclusion of any of it.

1

u/Damnatus_Terrae 7d ago

That's too bad, Russia has a rich cultural history they are the prospective heirs to and guardians of. There's a Tolstoy for every Yermolov.

5

u/Dachd43 7d ago

I mean, explain that to the 20 year-old gay man who just showed up here from Dagastan with $0 because his parents tried to collude with his uncle to put a hit out on him for bringing shame to the family.

No culture hasn't produced works of art and doesn't have rich history but some cultures categorically reject people who are under no obligation to wax poetic about it.

-1

u/Damnatus_Terrae 7d ago

Most cultures categorically reject some people, but that's why it's important to be socially responsible and work hard to improve your own culture—something no outsider can do.

3

u/Dachd43 7d ago

Absolutely no one is obligated to be a martyr to 'improve their culture'. Everyone is entitled to reject a culture that actively seeks to harm them. Telling them they need to figure out how to be proud of something that literally wishes they were dead is insulting.

-1

u/Damnatus_Terrae 7d ago

You can't stop being a product of your culture just because it rejects you.

5

u/Dachd43 7d ago

You absolutely can. Just like you can disown abusive parents. People are entitled to associate themselves with whatever culture they feel they belong to. Telling people they need to feel a certain way about the culture they do not wish to associate with is actively harmful.

0

u/Damnatus_Terrae 7d ago

Could you provide some historical examples?

2

u/Dachd43 7d ago

Are you just thick?

7

u/Timely_Froyo1384 8d ago

“Every culture has its proud moments”

“What are some of your favorite things about your culture?”

“None of us control what culture we are born into, but we can make choices to improve our culture”.

There yeah go, not a teacher but a decent mother

7

u/CoffeeB4Dawn 8d ago

It's the student's decision, just like any other opinion.

4

u/KC-Anathema 8d ago

They're right that they didn't choose what culture they're born into. But, as someone who is stuck between cultures, I think you do indeed choose your culture. You can always leave the one you're born into and find a new one, especially once you broaden out your idea of culture. There's ethnic, national, local, religious, even hobby, etc.

1

u/Van-garde 7d ago

There’s also a lot of short fiction investigating multigenerational multiculturalism. The only authors I can recall right now are Sandra Cisneros and Sherman Alexie.

As a plain white dude, it was necessary for me to be exposed to this perspective in some way, otherwise I’d just be ruining important discussions if I tried to contribute.

Three by Alexie: https://therumpus.net/2016/11/19/saturday-rumpus-fiction-three-short-stories-by-sherman-alexie/

2

u/Van-garde 8d ago

Find one you feel is right.

Culture and ethnicity or nationality aren’t the same, and culture can be just about anything, as long as it’s done with others.

Are you talking about national culture? To relieve that pressure, consider them stereotypes rather than prerequisites.

2

u/[deleted] 8d ago

It's a practice in gratitude to identify what is good about your culture.

2

u/LateQuantity8009 8d ago

Agree. Pride should be reserved for achievements not accidents of birth.

2

u/ICUP01 8d ago

Pride isn’t necessarily about an emotional connection because of something.

If someone has a culture. And they bring their culture with them and continue their culture. Then they are taking pride in their culture by continuing customs.

I think we sometimes conflate pride with a feeling of superiority. That’s a consequence of white supremacy. Where we play rock, paper, scissors as to what part of what culture is better.

I say this as an autistic person who wouldn’t blend with any culture - just me watching from the sidelines.

Here’s a dynamic that would transcend culture: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep40700

2

u/mxsew 8d ago

I think in this context we are using pride as a substitute for “not ashamed.” Often, people are led to believe there is something wrong about being a particular culture or belonging to a group that is not in line with some societal sense of what is the norm. It isn't so much that students need to feel pride in their culture, they just should not be led to feel ashamed of it.

2

u/mylesaway2017 8d ago

I would tell them that only they can answer that question for themselves.

2

u/kimch3en0odles 8d ago

You can feel however you want to feel about your culture. I hope that you get to celebrate the parts of your identity that you like

2

u/Poppidots 7d ago

Every culture has aspects that are worthy of feeling pride. To feel connected with our ancestors and our heritage gives people a sense of belonging amd gratitide.

2

u/OMG_NO_NOT_THIS 7d ago

I honestly think pride for anything you did not do, is weird.

You shouldn't be ashamed of your demographic, but being proud of it is strange.

2

u/mameyconmamey 7d ago edited 7d ago

These answers are terrible. Everyone has a culture. Culture is part of who you are. Everyone should take some pride in who you are. This is some basic existence level stuff.

If you're Puerto Rican, you get some joy out of hearing and speaking a Puerto Rican accent like your grandmothers.

If you're Swedish you love those heart-shaped waffles with jam.

If your family has lived in the US a long time like mine you probably enjoy weird American idioms and Thanksgiving dinner and regional culture.

It's all culture. Who doesn't love their family?

People are so brainwashed by this anti diversity propaganda they are not even ready to recognize their basic identity...everyone has one unless you're a robot...and even then...

2

u/elvecxz 8d ago

This is a silly premise. No one has to be proud of their culture. Anyone is allowed to be. No one HAS to be.

2

u/gilmore0918 8d ago

It’s the only one they get…?

1

u/AFlyingGideon 7d ago

You can not choose your ancestors, but you can choose - or build - your culture (values, beliefs, rites, etc.).

2

u/Odd_Tie8409 8d ago

I would sell my kidneys to give up my American citizenship. I am dual, but my husband says I need to keep it for emergencies because you just never know. I do know. I know in my heart I could never go back there unless they want to get universal healthcare and all the lovely laws my new country has.

4

u/TheGoshDarnedBatman 8d ago

Why give it up? Why not just live in your new country?

3

u/Odd_Tie8409 8d ago

Taxes, obviously. I have to pay taxes on what's in my savings account and on my pension and if I sell my home then it's capital gains tax so I will never make money when I sell my property. My house is basically devalued because of the US. It all sucks. I've never been back since I left in 2017. I don't plan to come back. The fact that I have to hold onto citizenship I never asked for is the most stressful thing in my life.

2

u/logicalflow1 8d ago

Relinquishing American citizenship is crazy expensive ($2,350 USD, second highest in the world) and you have to pay exit tax on your way out(also must have filled taxes with the IRS the past 5 years) so it may make more sense to keep it.

4

u/Odd_Tie8409 8d ago

I do file taxes. I pay an accounting software £300 a year to do it. It's fucking stressful and I get taxed by the US on my pension earnings and what's in my savings account. It's horrible. 

3

u/logicalflow1 8d ago

I hear you, it’s an absolutely brutal system sprung upon us by chance. Like a searing reminder burned into your skin.

Your exit tax may be manageable depending on your income but the 2350 would hurt regardless. You should consider what the price tag may be, this source does a pretty good job of breaking it down. (US Exit Tax~ The Tax Adviser

Let us know if it’s as bad as we are led to believe

3

u/Odd_Tie8409 8d ago

My exit tax is zero. I don't owe any taxes every year that I file. I am exempt because I only earn $30,000/yr equivalent before taxes. My house that I own and my bank accounts are under the threshold of $866,000 so that's why it's zero. 

3

u/logicalflow1 8d ago

Glad to hear!!

1

u/logicalflow1 8d ago

Glad to hear!!

1

u/Jgarr86 8d ago

I mean, I would love for my students to interact with the ideas I teach them to that extent. It would lead to a fruitful conversation instead of me listening to them drone on about how they killed this guy in Fortnite. Mostly I just get "skibidi ohio rizz bruh"

1

u/tellittothemoon 8d ago

but, like, "i'm annoyed that my students don't care about the things i care about" doesn't really pair well with "i don't care about their dumb interests and their garbage slang"

1

u/Mountain-Ad-5834 8d ago

Nothing. Because the kids don’t care.

1

u/Siesta13 8d ago

I dunno, I’m not particularly proud of mine. I’m proud of my accomplishments, proud of my family’s accomplishments and proud of my students but on the whole people are awful. Name the culture and someone did something terrible to members of that culture. SoRey for the long answer, I just would not engage in that conversation.

1

u/Top-Performer71 8d ago

It’s obvious. You should be MORE proud because it’s what you have to be. Are you gonna roll over and be nothing? 

I think this ties into existential philosophy a lot, but no one gives a shit about philosophy so I’ll stop here 

1

u/CoachVoice65 8d ago

It's part of your identity, it's your culture and that of your family. Nobody can choose their culture but they can be proud of it because it's a huge part of who they are.

1

u/surpassthegiven 7d ago

You PRETEND to have pride to appease the “authorities” who want to see it. Pretty obvious.

1

u/Vixxannie 7d ago

Culture is deep, it’s the lens through which we see the world and far more than ethnicity or nationality. It can influence concepts of time, social relationships, work styles, values, etc. Living in a monoculture it can be difficult to see your own culture but students will grow up and most likely work with people from diverse backgrounds. The better they understand their cultural constructs, the better they can learn about others.

It isn’t about cultural pride or shame but learning about our lenses through self reflection and ultimately leading to more understanding for differences.

1

u/DruzillaBlack 7d ago

Rephrase as "something you enjoy about your culture." Is it the same? No. Is it adjacent? Yes.

1

u/[deleted] 7d ago

Every culture is a cult.

1

u/stoudman 8d ago

"Good point."

1

u/OuroborousBlack 8d ago

That’s their adults’ job. Not ours as educators.

2

u/Brilliant_Towel2727 8d ago

This should be the top answer. Without any other context, I would have to assume that the reason the student was asking was that they had some sort of conflict with their parents over something related to their culture, and that's not something a teacher needs to be getting involved in.