Essay Two

Hayley Wheeler

Mrs. Fonseca

CAS 115, 9:30-10:45am

16 October 2013

Passing on Culture

                        John F. Kennedy once stated “conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth”. Imagine someone deciding for you how you will live and what you will believe. Then, if you stray from the culture of your family, you are persecuted and said to be disrespectful. On the other hand, if a parent came from a culturally rich background, it would be disappointing if their children were to refuse to learn about their culture. It would be very sad if the children were disrespectful and altogether threw the culture from their lives. Some people believe that children should follow the culture and traditions of their society, while others believe that they should have the freedom to make their own decisions as an individual.

Children should be able to choose their own paths in life. Their parents should not force them to follow the traditions and culture of the society. It can be too much pressure on their children. Their children would end up pleasing everyone around them, yet inside they would be unhappy with themselves for conforming out of peer pressure. When parents and society are strict about their culture though, it can lead to problems. For example, in Lok Siu’s “Queen of the Chinese Colony”, Miss Honduras tries to shed light on an option of how the Chinese society can carry out their culture. She was at a beauty pageant, which put her in a position where she was expected to be completely traditional. Yet Miss Honduras went against the grain and this only led to a great conflict at the

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pageant. She was looked down upon because she did not know any of the Chinese dialects, which was untraditional, and she also did not dress in the more traditional Chinese gowns that others wore. When people go against the grain like Miss Honduras, it can create rifts. When someone is different or stands out, others may look down on them and see their deviation as a bad thing. When people stray from the culture of society, it can lead to stereotyping and other negative ways of thinking.

Yet many others agree with Marcus Garvey when he says, “a people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots”. They believe that their descendants should carry on the family traditions and culture. Some say that this should not be all that difficult because your culture chooses you. Often a child is born into a culture without even realizing it because they grow up in learning systems that are based on the culture. They grow up surrounded by the characteristics and ideas of their culture so that before they know it, they have internalized the culture. That is, they already have ideas of the social norms before they even start questioning the culture.                     Children should not be disrespectful towards their parent’s culture. Their parents probably feel a lot of pressure to keep their culture going by passing it down every generation. Manuel, for example, in Inés Arredondo’s “Silent Words”, works really hard at keeping his culture after immigrating. He suffers though because in a different land, surrounded by a different culture, his children could only learn a little from his past. He tries to teach his children of where they came from to help them better understand who they are, yet they have very little interest in what he has to say. Eventually, Manuel realizes that his children are so different from him culturally, being so Americanized, that

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they seemed alien to him. They have been so accustomed to America by now that, to Manuel, they seem like they are from a whole other world. His children showed no respect towards his culture. They should have tried harder to understand their father’s past and to listen to his teachings.

Children should respectfully make their own decisions and live their own way. Culture is constantly changing as politics changes and shifts over time, which is why parents should accept that some aspects of their culture they grew up with will be different for their children. The parents should teach their children about their culture and where they came from. It is important for people to not be ignorant of culture and cultures of other parts of the world. Yet the children should make the ultimate decision on how much of their parent’s culture they plan to make their own. Children should not be afraid to start something new. These days, when someone is “different” or sticks out, many people look down on them. This is where racism and stereotyping starts because for some reason, being different is bad. Yet if everyone thought the same things and lived the same way, society would never move forward and advance.

Eliana Tardio, a Family Resource Specialist who is a Hispanic diversity support blogger, believes that “encouraging Latin culture in children is not only important, but imperative”. She says that when people immigrate to another country, only slight adjustments should be made to their culture, but the main body of their culture should be kept. She insists that children be taught about where they come from because it would help the children to better understand who they are. In a country far from their culture, the only way children can learn about their own identity, is through their parents. Tardio

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goes on to explain that a child who grows up “without a clear identity will, unfortunately, not develop a strong self-esteem”. Then there is Nadia Chernyak, an author and graduate student in the field of human development, who agrees with the idea that “as children become more exposed to their own culture and adult behaviors, they are more likely to adopt their culture’s ways of thinking”.  Nadia talks about a study performed that found that some people think there are so many obligations to follow in their culture that there is not much free will involved. Others responded to the study by saying that the obligations are choices, “free to be followed or disregarded based on personal desires”.

In conclusion, parents should teach their children about their culture, but leave the ultimate decision, of whether they want to follow the culture, up to their children. Growing up in their parents culture and learning systems are bound to make a mark on the children by leading them in the ways of the culture. So the children will already feel as though the culture is a social norm, yet as they get older, they will find other options. Children growing up in a country far from their parent’s culture though, should at least show respect by listening to their parent’s teachings about their culture. The children should be free to try out these options without being cruelly judged. They should show respect towards their parent’s culture, yet be free to make their own decisions.

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Works Cited

Arredondo, Inés, and Cynthia Steele. “Silent Words.” Underground River and Other                     Stories. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1996. 30-37. Print.

Kennedy, John F. “Quotes About Conformity.” Good Reads. Good Reads, 2013. Web. 06           Oct. 2013.

Nadia, Chernyak. “American, Nepalese Kids a World Apart on Social Duties | Cornell

Chronicle.” American, Nepalese Kids a World Apart on Social Duties | Cornell Chronicle. Cornell University, 20 May 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

Ramos, Zuania. “Raising Children To Be Proud Of Their Roots By Encouraging Latino     Culture At Home.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 Aug. 2013.        Web. 06 Oct. 2013.

Siu, Lok C. D. “Queen of the Chinese Colony: Gender, Nation, and Belonging in    Diaspora.” Memories of a Future Home: Diasporic Citizenship of Chinese in       Panama. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2005. 511-42. Print.