This study will not be conclusive to the state of education. If anything, this study will further my own understanding of the propagation of a culture in local area schools and could help the schools involved in my study. Another important aspect of this study is to see if normative culture in education actually encourages multicultural perspectives. As a teacher in training, I am interested to see if schools would welcome new approaches to education or if multicultural education will remain just a theory.

Remembering my high school days, I found that awards, especially in athletics predominated almost anything else. The high and active culture surrounds itself with sports. Even among the poorest schools in the nation, this influence is acculturated to give students something to believe in. Take, for example, the kid from the poor, inner city school. He had aspirations of playing in the NBA someday. Many high school graduates (myself included) had a dream of becoming a star someday. If we do not succeed, then we do not want it bad enough. That is partially true, but the culture around us has to meet us halfway to make that dream come true. Better yet, the culture around us should leave options open by mixing traditional teaching with new ways of learning and allowing many options to enter the minds of students. Any niche they want to be a part of is one that they can be proud of and will not be considered a low culture.

Culture is a term that embodies characteristics that define who someone is and what is important to someone. Although the term is often associated with groups of people, it influences each individual and their life. Since everyone is influenced by their own culture on a daily basis, students should be given opportunity to deal with this important issue. I want to give students this opportunity even if the subjects they study do not seem to relate to their lives. An significance of this study is to remember that we are teaching students who are different and require more individualized teaching, rather than putting them all into a box. Moreover, if the student thinks that the subject does not relate to their lives, they will be less likely to learn anything at all. Thus, regardless of subject area, a teacher’s overall goal should be to reach as many students (cultures) as possible.

As a foreign language teacher, this study is extremely important to gauge the expectations of schools and of the state. This study directly relates to the goals set forth by American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). In today’s world, more and more societies are becoming multilingual, and the United States should not be an exception, especially, with numerous immigrants and the melting pot of different cultures that are represented in the United States. Therefore, goal number one, “communicate in languages other than English” is imperative as a foreign language teacher and basically any school (ACTFL).

The second crucial goal that this study addresses is to see if schools are making an effort to “gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures” (ACTFL). As a foreign language teacher, this will involve that students open their minds and learn to understand that different cultures have a different perspective on issues. Question number 20, in my survey, specifically asks current teachers about this aspect and goal. This study is also important because it emphasizes a key goal about foreign language study. Ultimately, students should use the information from foreign language study to connect with other disciplines, addressing Standards 3.1. In this study, I am connecting my foreign language study with multicultural education and the current culture of education.

Studying anything outside oneself should have a reciprocal response on the individual. By addressing Standard 4.2 of Goal 4 “Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and Culture,” students should gain insight into their own culture and should gain some understanding into why cultures have certain rituals and traditions (ACTFL).

Finally, an ideal for foreign language study and for all schools is goal 5, “Participating in Multilingual communities at Home & around the World” (ACTFL). Standard 5.2 is a goal for a students to become life-long learners. This goal is directly related to multicultural education which encourages the communication across cultural lines.

As a student teacher, this study is also useful for incorporating the New Teachers Standards. Since I am not directly involved in teaching students and since this is a project that focused on observation, the study will focus mainly on the last half of the standards. At the end of this project, I will have evaluated myself in regards to my survey and other information I have gained from the Education and Culture course. Throughout this process I will be engaging in Professional Development; thus, meeting New Teacher Standard VII. A significant portion of this study will involve using new technology. The use of various software programs, such as Inspiration, Word, and Excel, along with the Internet, will incorporate Standard IX “Demonstrates Implementation of Technology” into this study (Kentucky). An important aspect of this study mirrors Standard VI, which requires that the teacher collaborates with Colleagues, parents and others (Kentucky). Although I will mainly communicate with school administrators and teachers, the project will require a significant collaborative effort and encouragement to include schools as an observational resource. Ideally, the project should be mutually beneficial; the school should gain insight from an outside perspective, and I should sharpen my career goals as a teacher through this study, which circles back to Standard VII and includes Standard V. Through reflection of my learning and observation of school culture, I will be able to come to a solid conclusion.

The most important aspect of this project is to come to this realization—one cannot, within a semester, make an accurate judgment on culture and education of any institution. Ideally, the surveys should take the form of interviews, which can be problematic because of the time issue for all involved. By resorting to surveys, one makes the assumption that the persons surveyed are completely honest and that they fully understand what is being asked. Undoubtedly, questions will always emerge and often are left unanswered. Furthermore, limiting the range of answers to four check-off boxes, according to a Likert scale, which often generalizes a sentiment. When seeking improvement, generalizations have to be kept at a minimum. Therefore, I installed the observation survey to give me a personal measure for comparison of results.