Cultural Background Summary The term culture refers to a way of life – traditions and customs – transmitted through learning, which play a vital role in molding the beliefs and behaviors of the people exposed to them. According to Tylor (1871), a British anthropologist, culture is that complex whole, which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. These influences are conveyed from generation to generation through the learning process. Every culture is unique, but similar in many ways.
No culture is like another culture. Some areas that are similar I have noticed are their commitment to their families, religion and education. Some differences that I have noticed are language barriers and family values. This paper will emphasize the various sources that play a part in my cultural background. I was born in the state of Mississippi in a small town where the population was a mixture of White, Black and Hispanic. Everyone seems to get along. My father and mother raised six girls and two boys with me being the next to the oldest of the siblings.
From the age six through twelveth grade I attended the Tylertown public school. In 1988, I graduated from Tylertown High School. After graduation my life’s journey began. My family, religion, customs, and traditions definitely played a fundamental role in my beliefs, ethnics, and behavior. I was grounded with firm beliefs in the Pentecostal faith. As in my teenage years, I participated in religious activities and traditions in the home. These activities challenged me to become a devoted follower of that doctrine and incorporate it into every aspect of my personal and professional lives.
My cultural background plays a role in the contributors that has formed and fashioned me into the person I am today. Consequently, I continue to live my life with those same qualities and have also passed them down to my children in the same manner my parents did to me. As I previously pointed out in the above paragraph, I come from a large family. Without a doubt this absolutely enriched my personality and my individuality. Living in a big family taught me to be considerate of others and giving of myself. We had to share everything from food to clothing.
My mother would say share and share alike. One of her most famous sayings was to treat people as how you would like to be treated. I have worked in different positions on different jobs throughout my life. This experience has contributed to my cultural background. I’ve held positions from factory worker to certified nurse assistant to clerical officer to case worker and to counselor assistant. All of these areas contributed to my understanding of different cultures. Just as finger prints are different, a person’s identity is unique.
No two persons are the same. Even responses to the same situation will be different. There are various sources that may be different for every person ranging from a person’s upbringing to a person’s religion. However, personal experiences influence behaviors, attitudes and character. I think this has made me see things from different viewpoints. For example, two boys tryout for the basketball team and both are cut; however, one boy decide to practice harder and the other just gives up sports altogether.
Both boys had two experiences that were the same (e. g. the sport and being cut) however, the boys had different outcomes (e. g. practice harder and quit sports). Differences between races and cultures varies, it naturally affect behavior, attitudes and ethnics in many ways. My identity has been molded after going through the experiences of acculturation, assimilation and climate pluralism. Acculturation is a process in which members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and behaviors of another group. (1979-82)
