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Mexican Culture Kim Therber November 2, 2006 Introduction

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Title: Mexican Culture Kim Therber November 2, 2006 Introduction


1
Mexican Culture
  • Kim Therber
  • November 2, 2006

2
Introduction
  • The purpose of this presentation is to inform
    pre-service teachers about Mexican culture in
    order to better serve the needs of their Mexican
    American students.

3
  • Overview
  • The history of Mexico
  • Learning style preferences of Mexican American
    students
  • Socioeconomic background of Mexican Immigrant
    Families
  • The need for multicultural education in all
    classrooms
  • How teachers can effectively teach Mexican
    American students

4
Mexicos History
  • Mexican culture reflects Mexicos history through
    the blending of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican
    civilizations and the culture of Spain.

5
Mexicos Official Language
  • Spanish is the official language of Mexico. It is
    spoken by nearly the entire population of Mexico.

6
Families of Mexico
  • Mexican culture is known for the unified nature
    of the family.
  • The countrys divorce rate is among the lowest in
    the world.
  • Children regularly live with their parents until
    they marry.
  • Mexican family units stay connected. Often,
    grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and
    children live in the same area or even in the
    same house.

7
Religion of Mexico
  • Christianity is the national religion of Mexico.
    About 89 of Mexicans are Roman Catholic. Other
    religions such as evangelism, Jehovahs
    Witnesses, and The Church of Jesus Christ of
    Latter-day Saints makes up the remaining percent.

8
The Art of Mexico
  • Mexico is known worldwide for its folk art
    traditions, mostly derived from a combination of
    the indigenous and Spanish crafts.
  • After the Mexican Revolution, a new generation of
    Mexican artists led a vibrant national movement
    that incorporated political, historic, and folk
    themes in their work.

9
The Music of Mexico
  • The music of Mexico is extraordinarily diverse
    and features a wide range of musical styles. The
    best known Mexican genre is ranchera, interpreted
    by a band called mariachi.

10
The Food of Mexico
  • Mexican food that is popular in Mexico includes
    tacos, enchiladas, and pozole.
  • Traditional Mexican ingredients consist of
    turkey, sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, chiles,
    squash, peanuts, avocados, guavos, chocolate, and
    vanilla.
  • The Spanish then influenced these by adding milk,
    cheese, rice, wheat, cinnamon, oranges, and
    peaches.

11
Popular Sports of Mexico
  • Bullfighting is a popular sport in Mexico. Mexico
    City has the largest bullring in the world.
  • The game of soccer, known as futbol, is the most
    popular sport in the country.

12
Learning Style Preference of Mexican American
Students
  • Environmental learning style Mexican American
    students prefer a cool environment with formal
    design.
  • Emotional learning style Mexican American
    students have a need for a higher degree of
    structure than other groups.
  • Sociological learning style Mexican American
    students enjoy cooperative learning in groups
    compared to working alone.

13
Learning Style Preference of Mexican American
Students cont.
  • Mexican American males were found to be more
    authority-oriented and Mexican American females
    were strongly peer-oriented.
  • Physiological learning style Mexican American
    students prefer hands-on learning, kinesthetic
    instructional resources, and likes variety as
    opposed to routines.

14
Socioeconomic Background of Mexican Immigrant
Families
  • Many Mexican children are likely to be from lower
    socioeconomic backgrounds, particularly those
    whose families have recently arrived to the U.S.
    and are depending on minimum wage jobs.
  • Teachers working with new immigrant families will
    find that these families and their children have
    needs that differ from those of established
    Hispanic families in their neighborhoods.

15
Socioeconomic Background of Mexican Immigrant
Families cont.
  • Teachers need to recognize that it is likely that
    the children of these newly arrived Hispanic
    families will be motivated, hard-working
    students. Their parents have sacrificed their old
    life to provide a better life for them and their
    children.
  • Immigrant children might suffer from culture
    shock when arriving to the United States. They
    may be homesick for their families, friends,
    language, and customs.
  • Economic survival is the primary concern for
    immigrant families.

16
The Need for Multicultural Education in All
Classrooms
  • Teachers need to develop a multicultural
    curriculum that celebrates Mexican Americans for
    their Mexican American students.

17
Four Steps to Developing a Multicultural
Curriculum
  • Step One Awareness which develops consciousness
    about prejudice and discrimination
  • Step Two Knowledge or learning about different
    cultures and how cultural backgrounds affects
    learning.
  • Step Three Skills in which teachers learn
    teaching strategies and communication styles to
    be culturally responsive educators.
  • Step Four Action in which teachers implement
    education that is multicultural.

18
Characteristics of Multiculturally Competent
Teachers
  • Multiculturally competent teachers possess the
    following characteristics
  • Stress respect for diversity
  • Create a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning
    environment
  • Promote social justice and equity in society

19
Characteristics of High-Performing Schools that
Serve Mexican American Students
  • High-performing schools that serve Mexican
    Americans are characterized as putting students
    first.
  • Teachers set high expectations for all their
    students. Instruction is interacted and
    student-centered rather than teacher-centered.
  • These schools built on cultural values of Mexican
    American parents, stress personal contact with
    parents, fostered communication with parents, and
    facilitated structural accommodations for parent
    involvement.

20
How Teachers Can Effectively Teach Mexican
American Students
  • The following contributed to the effectiveness
    of teaching Mexican American students
  • Teachers who accepted full responsibility for
    helping students.
  • Teachers who were extremely caring and nurturing
    to students.
  • The encouragement of collaborative learning.
  • Student access to a wide variety of learning
    materials.
  • If allowed in a teachers school district, the
    utilization of both Spanish and English when
    needed to enhance learning.

21
Summary
  • According to the U.S. Census Bureau of 2004, the
    Hispanic population grew from 12.5 to 14.1 from
    2000 to 2004. It is estimated that this
    population will continue to increase. Hispanics
    are now the largest minority group in the United
    States.

22
Website 1
  • PBS Beyond the Border.
  • http//www.pbs.org/itvs/beyondtheborder
  • This website discusses the transition made by
    four brothers who leave Mexico in search of a
    better life in the U.S. in the documentary
    entitled Beyond the Border Mas Alla de la
    Frontera.
  • This website is useful for teachers who work
    with newly arrived Mexican students in
    understanding the difficulty they may have with
    transitioning into American society.

23
Website 2
  • Culture of Mexico
  • http//www.answers.com/topic/culture-of-mexico
  • This website describes the culture of Mexico by
    discussing the language, family relationships,
    religion, art, literature and poetry, music,
    cuisine, and sports.
  • This website is useful to teachers by allowing
    them to be familiar with their Mexican American
    students background.

24
Website 3
  • History of Mexican Americans.
  • www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mexican_Am
    ericans
  • This website describes the history of Mexican
    Americans. Its contents include defining Mexican
    Americans, immigration, the Mexican Revolution,
    labor struggles, the civil rights movement, the
    Chicano movement, and current demographics of
    Mexican Americans.
  • This website is useful to teachers because it
    discusses the challenges and triumphs of Mexican
    Americans throughout history. This information is
    important for teachers to be aware of when
    developing a multicultural curriculum in their
    classroom.

25
Website 4
  • Mexico History and Culture.
  • http//www.geographia.com/mexico/mexicohistory.ht
    m
  • This website discusses the history and culture
    of various cities in Mexico. It also discusses
    the geography of Mexicos vast lands.
  • This website is useful for teachers because it
    gives them cultural background about Mexico.
    Cultural background affects learning and will
    allow them to successfully reach their Mexican
    American students.

26
Website 5
  • Multicultural Education Internet Resource
    Guide.
  • http//www.jan.ucc.nau.edu/jar/Multi.html
  • This website is a guide to over 50 websites
    created to assist multicultural educators in
    locating educational resources on the internet.
  • This website is beneficial for teachers because
    it provides various resources of multicultural
    instruction to allow for a multicultural
    classroom.

27
Journal Article 1
  • High-Performing Schools Serving Mexican American
    Students What They Can Teach Us.
  • Authors Alicia and Jay Scribner
  • This article reports the characteristics of
    successful schools where the student population
    is mostly Mexican American.
  • This article is beneficial to principals,
    teachers, and school districts by demonstrating
    how schools can be high-performing with students
    who are mostly Mexican American and have limited
    English proficiency.

28
Journal Article 2
  • Hispanic-American Students and Learning Style.
  • Authors Shirley Griggs and Rita Dunn
  • This article identifies cultural values that may
    affect the learning processes of
    Hispanic-American students and discusses the
    learning style preferences of Hispanic-Americans.
  • This article is beneficial to teachers who work
    with Hispanic students because it allows them to
    be aware of what learning styles work best for
    the majority of students from a Hispanic
    background.

29
Conclusion
  • Mexican American students face many challenges.
    Many are from poor backgrounds. Their families
    may lack the communication skills, knowledge, and
    experience to take advantage of educational,
    cultural, and social opportunities. Some Mexican
    American students are newly arrived immigrants
    who may experience culture shock and limited
    English proficiency. However, with proper
    education that includes caring teachers who have
    high expectations for these students, Mexican
    American students can become high achieving,
    successful adults.

30
References
  • McGinnis, E. (2002). PBS Beyond the border. Web
    site http//www.pbs.org/itvs/beyondtheborder
  • Culture of Mexico (2000). Web site
    http//www.answers.com/topic/culture-of-mexico
  • History of Mexican Americans (2004). Web site
    http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mexican_
  • Americans
  • Mexico history and culture (2001). Web site
    http//geographia.com/mexico/mexicohistory.htm
  • Multicultural Education Internet Resource Guide.
    (2000). http//www.jan.ucc.nau.edu/jar/Multi.html

31
References continued
  • Griggs, S. Dunn, R. (1996). Hispanic-American
    students and learning styles. Urbana, IL ERIC
    Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood
    Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service
    No. EDD 00036)
  • Scribner, A. J. (2001). High-performing schools
    serving mexican american students. Charleston,
    WV ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and
    Small Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction
    Service No. ED 459048)
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