I've been starting to think about lesson plans for next year. One of the hardest things for me to convey is the idea of culture to freshmen. It's just a term that they can't comprehend.
The way I have found to talk about culture is the talk about the culture that exists at each of their high schools. What was it like. Then, talk about the way that each of them has brought something that has created the culture of their freshman class. The each bring something different and create a new culture. Then we talk about members of their new culture who are resisting joining- what barriers are they facing. What can they do to overcome the barriers these students are facing to help bring them in to be an active member of the new culture.
I've decided that maybe I would have them bring three things to class one night - something that identifies their high school class, something that identifies them, and something that identifies the University student body. I'll see if this will help them visualize the concepts I am introducing as we talk about change in organizations.
What would you bring if I asked you to bring something that identified you?
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Perhaps asking them first about what identifies them on a national level, then by community, then by school would help.
I think most people have an idea of what it means to be an American, or be of a certain race (which also have their own cultures), before going on to think of corporate or other institutional culture like a high school. To kids, they only know their high school, so they don't know that others "feel" different if they were to go to another one.
Just a thought...
The one thing I'd bring to adult Show & Tell would be a Brazilian flag. It's where I was born, and I take great pride in being from another country while living here.
Jules
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