Critical Cultural Narrative #1

Sports in my life

Sports seem to be a part of most people’s lives in one form or another. Some are participants, some are spectators, and some use sports for other purposes, but all have a relationship to sports. In my culture, sports are a large aspect of my life, which is why I have come to this analysis. Just like any experience, playing sports can teach one a lot about life, can help one through life’s struggles, or it can be a way to fellowship with others. Analyzing sports and the impact they could have on someone’s life can be a productive endeavor.

The concept of sports has been a part of life from an early age. My first notion of organized sport was at the age of six. Most boys my age became active in some form of organized sport, but I chose soccer—Germany’s most popular sport. The sport parallels American fanaticism with football. I participated in less attractive sports like street hockey and basketball as well. A peculiar observation I made is experiencing these sports in two different societies. Soccer, for example, has much more power to unite a community in Europe than it does in the United States. Yet, football in Germany, would be considered an alternative sport.

I have participated, have watched, and met people with similar interests in sports. As a spectator, I find most sports interesting, especially when an athlete overcomes extraordinary obstacles. I have also come to the realization that such feats are not accomplished overnight, but necessitate understanding and experience. As a participant, I learned that my body can get accustomed to many stresses and that it can lose its abilities just as quickly. Through this analysis I also assert that I met many friends through sports because they are athletes. Some qualities that every athlete possesses are qualities that I share with them, thus I identify more easily with athletes.

There is a definite link from sports to education. As a spectator I understand some cultural values that people generally appreciate. Most people like a person who works hard, or hustles to achieve his/her goal. As a participant in such a culture, I have learned that with time many seemingly impossible dreams can become achievable objectives. Sports have also taught me that camaraderie can be a determining factor in a community of people. A group has to have a common goal, which leads to the next assertion. People will find their friends by being themselves and enjoying what they do. Ideally, a person who wants to become an athlete will surround himself/herself with other athletes. Sports unite people.

This is a crude analysis of sports and its cultural significance to me and my education. Going into further detail would yield multiple pages. Sports have been a great learning experience because it relates to certain truths about life. There are limits. Practice makes close to perfect. Pain is inevitable, but precautionary measures can make a majority of these pains avoidable or manageable. Lastly, all commitments require time. These truths that I have found through sports will also be foundational to my teaching because other learning experiences face comparable challenges where these truths are applicable.

Critical Cultural Narrative #2

Water droplets

Today, I was driving down the road with my fiancée, she made me aware of the colors and shapes of the clouds. It was a sight I have never seen before. Shades of pink and purple colored the sky. The trip made me aware that our society is losing one of the most precious gifts God has given us—the ability to be thankful. Today, magnificence is measured by our ability to manipulate nature. Rarely do we take time, to appreciate nature for what it is and think of our place in this bigger world than ourselves. This kind of thinking manifests itself in various aspects of our daily lives, of which one is the way society views water.

Let us think about our regular day, our daily rituals that represent this void of appreciation of nature in our social culture. I go to the bathroom and use disinfected water to brush my teeth and flush the toilet. Of course, our social culture would reject any individual who would do otherwise and use the bathroom outside (regularly) or use rainwater to brush teeth. Our society has made nature a force to fear instead of a universe that we will never fully understand. We disinfect our water, but sometimes I wonder if we disinfect it so much that we poison ourselves with the chemicals that are used to clean the water. Too many people in our social culture do not know where their water comes from.

Economic culture knows the value of water. Our economic culture has seized the opportunity to charge a buck a bottle for supposed clean water from a spring. I assume the next manipulation will be to charge people for the air they breathe. The costs for attaining water would not be nearly as high, if we thought about nature in a different way. For example, a gardener could use water from the previous rain as the main source for watering his/her garden. There is no need to use water from the city. The rain water may have algae growing in the bucket where the rain is collected, but it probably is just as clean as the chlorine, fluorine injected water that comes from the city. Unfortunately, the water hose instead of the water bucket has become a symbol of an affluent, all-American family.

Political culture also knows the value of water. Some have suggested that our war in Iraq could be one about clean water as well. The place of attack was argued to be a strategic plan to gain political power near a body of water. Considering the bottled-water boom in the nineties, the scarcity of clean water around the world, and the economic profit of selling water, one has to wonder if capitalism and politics, or political and economic cultures do not go hand in hand.

Meanwhile, our historical culture deems the water issue not an important one. The ritual of taking long hot showers and buying from racks of clean water after a ballgame is common. These rituals have come to signify a reward for a hard workout. Nature will eventually catch up with our affluence and we will have to learn to appreciate nature for its limits. We have to understand that overpopulation will cause scarcity in water and natures ability to replenish and clean our water. Before we deem water clean or dirty all of us should take a look at water under the microscope. The historical meaning of water has to be changed on the social level. One person saving water will just give other people the impression that there is more water for them to use. Socially responsible individuals realize that conserving water through various actions is important regardless of the abundance of water. Our fast-paced social culture needs to slow down and appreciate the fact that the water cycle takes time to cycle around to us again.

Critical Cultural Narrative #3

The Danger of Social Solidarity

Introduction

write down a sentence or two that describes a new social group. Make everyone part of it by spreading the word to each person. Sort of like Telephone and make a point about the importance of the idea being rooted in you first before social solidarity can be achieved.

What do you know about your hometown?

College has adopted the following initiatives as immediate priorities:

• Universal Access to Information Resources

• International Education Programs

• Sustainability and Environmental Initiatives

• Entrepreneurship for the Public Good Program

• Single Parent and Student Family Support

• New Faculty Chairs

• Service and Outreach Programs

• Diversity Education Initiative

• New and Renovated Facilities

Cultural Experience

Caretta, WV

http://www.angelfire.com/bc3/bigcreek

History of McDowell County

Statistics

Impact of narrative?

Makes me question our country’s state in all cultural aspects. Something is morally wrong here.

What have I learned from it culturally?

Our political and social culture paints a deceptive picture of our country (constructs a deceptive historical meaning). The need for cultural awareness is closer to home. Our economic culture has a wider range than we realize. Our neighbors’ needs are not up to standard. The quality of social culture has to be determined at the individual level. “We are only as strong as our weakest link.”

Symbol of coal (past) and Ritual of surviving together (today) Factors that foster social cohesion in the area.

• water
• school
• community centers
• dollar general

Why did I encounter this narrative?

Problems in history with social solidarity

Social culture

perpetuates distortion of ideologies; thus, quality of socialization is low and unstable.

Christianity- just because we identify with the symbol of Christ’s crucifixion, does not mean we are Christians

Inquistion

Historical culture

often distorts the true context of the original idea or ideology soccer and other sports

Economic culture

promotes the idea that money might run out so you better make money wherever any way you can.

Our basic necessities once could be met without money. Now, we have to use money to take care of our needs!

Political culture

democracy in our nation?

does a Republic promote social solidarity?

pride of a nation is lost to those who did not create it How will this narrative impact me as a teacher?

1. I will have to use my political power to promote accurate ideologies.
2. Every class should construct and understand its own ideology for success in the class. (promoting social solidarity in the classroom)
3. Every individual is important in order to improve society. Theory and practice should be present in my classroom. (We all understand how hard that is)

How social culture works

What is the overall cultural significance of the narrative?

We have to be sensitive to individual needs and also construct meaning with all individuals in our community. Moving further from individual interaction creates a increasing misconception of accurate symbols, rituals, and ideologies of social culture.

Be aware of all political candidates that do not include you.

You have to do your part in being informed, but it is not all your fault if you are not completely informed. Obviously, something is too big; something takes too much time to maintain.

Are any of us good citizens of Berea, of our country, or this world.

We need to be recognized as individuals. In the end belonging to a group just is not enough.

References

Baxendine, Denise. Big Creek People in Action. May 3, 2004 http://www.angelfire.com/bc3/bigcreek

Berea Chamber of Commerce. Berea, Kentucky. May 3, 2004 http://chamber.berea.com