Multicultural Interview Reflection
In my fourth grade class more than 10 students were born outside of the United States meaning that half of our class’s first language is Spanish. All of these students were born in the Dominican Republic except for one who was born in Mexico. In addition to these ELL students there are several students who are also bilingual because their parents were born outside of the United States. 22 students in my class are Hispanic, so the students I interviewed, although only one of them was born in the Dominican Republic, have very similar backgrounds.
One thing I noticed, not only with these students but with most of my class is that they spend a lot of time with their extended family on the weekends. Whether it be grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins these students are always talking about how they spent time with extended family members over the weekend. This closeness with relatives seems to be very common in the Hispanic culture. In addition to spending time with these relatives I noticed a lot of students also have relatives living at home with them, specifically their grandparents. These two students in particular, both have a non-bilingual (Spanish speaking) grandmother living with them.
Because one student I interviewed was a boy and one student was a girl I was not surprised to find that most of their answers differed when it came to sports and the activities they enjoy participating in. The male student has a strong interest in watching basketball. He brings a basketball to school everyday to play basketball with his friends at recess. He has even worn basketball jerseys and basketball shoes to school on several occasions. The girl on the other hand is not interested in sports and struggled coming up with an activity she enjoys. After I suggested several activities she finally agreed on dancing as an interest, although she only does it during her prep period in school. Although these activities are very different, this is not a cultural difference. In fact, I expected Hispanic students to be extremely interested in “football” or soccer as it is called in the United States instead of basketball and dancing. The differences I got from these students I realize were not based on culture but personality.
What I realized from this assignment is that although some of my students were born in the United States and others were born in the Dominican Republic these students all have Hispanic backgrounds with parents, or grandparents who were born in the “DR”, speak Spanish, and have passed their cultural traditions on to the younger generations. All of these students have been Americanized, but in such a way that they are able to hold on to the most important parts of their culture, like family, and enjoy the American ways of life when it comes to less important topics like sports. I imagine that although these students will one day have children of their own born in the United States, they will probably pass on the Hispanic traditions to their children who will live very similar, bilingual and bicultural lives.
One thing I noticed, not only with these students but with most of my class is that they spend a lot of time with their extended family on the weekends. Whether it be grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins these students are always talking about how they spent time with extended family members over the weekend. This closeness with relatives seems to be very common in the Hispanic culture. In addition to spending time with these relatives I noticed a lot of students also have relatives living at home with them, specifically their grandparents. These two students in particular, both have a non-bilingual (Spanish speaking) grandmother living with them.
Because one student I interviewed was a boy and one student was a girl I was not surprised to find that most of their answers differed when it came to sports and the activities they enjoy participating in. The male student has a strong interest in watching basketball. He brings a basketball to school everyday to play basketball with his friends at recess. He has even worn basketball jerseys and basketball shoes to school on several occasions. The girl on the other hand is not interested in sports and struggled coming up with an activity she enjoys. After I suggested several activities she finally agreed on dancing as an interest, although she only does it during her prep period in school. Although these activities are very different, this is not a cultural difference. In fact, I expected Hispanic students to be extremely interested in “football” or soccer as it is called in the United States instead of basketball and dancing. The differences I got from these students I realize were not based on culture but personality.
What I realized from this assignment is that although some of my students were born in the United States and others were born in the Dominican Republic these students all have Hispanic backgrounds with parents, or grandparents who were born in the “DR”, speak Spanish, and have passed their cultural traditions on to the younger generations. All of these students have been Americanized, but in such a way that they are able to hold on to the most important parts of their culture, like family, and enjoy the American ways of life when it comes to less important topics like sports. I imagine that although these students will one day have children of their own born in the United States, they will probably pass on the Hispanic traditions to their children who will live very similar, bilingual and bicultural lives.