There are at many cultures and at least six home languages represented in my classes including Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hindi, Japanese, and English. The school has a high Japanese influence because this is the culture and native language of most of the administrative staff, head of school, and a high percentage of our student population. Because of the blend of cultures and languages, I've been doing a little research.
Did you know...
-In Japan, it's considered rude to eat standing up. (A teacher caught me having a snack in the hallway and kindly passed along this information.)
-Traditional Japanese culture promotes a sense of group identity while the Russian culture promotes a sense of individualism.
-In Russia, you can obtain a free college education by passing an exam. Russia has the highest educational level of the world. More than 40% of the population has a college or university degree. Having a PhD is not a big deal.
-The Vietnamese value system is based on four basic tenets: allegiance to the family, yearning for a good name, love of learning, and respect for other people. These tenets are closely interrelated. Doing well in school honors parents and the family name. (I know a few students who could learn from this.)
-Vietnamese culture includes a desire to achieve harmony between the self and the non-self. (This culture sounds very peaceful, I like it!)
I love anthropology. If I had to choose a different profession, I think anthropologist would be it.
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