2/12/2021

Week 6 Response to “Individualism vs. Collectivism”

 

According to Ayn Rand a Russian- American writer and philosopher, “Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism.” It is a belief that a man is to be judged according to his/her collective of ancestors, not by his own character and actions. Let me explain the advantages and the disadvantages of the perception of the individualism vs. Collectivism views of mankind. A man should be judged according to these categories, his/her agency, cultural background, and in the highest realm.

Agency is the freedom to choose between good and evil it is a free gift given to all of us. It is our inalienable and divine right what we will believe, and choose what we want to and what we want to do, and what we want to become. Right choices make individuals grow in character, power, knowledge, faith, and all other good things. In contrast, wrong choices limit our freedom, powerlessness, and make men miserable. In the Holy writ of Galatians 6:7 it says, “Be not deceived, God has not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” meaning individual shapes as a result of any choices he makes. In addition, in the ‘Book of Mormon’ a book that is considered another testament of Jesus Christ by the LDS believer portrayed a wonderful verse that teaches us how to make a righteous judgment, Moroni the last prophet in the ‘Book of Mormon’ declares, “For I remember the word of God which saith by their works ye shall know them; for if their works are good, then they are good also. For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.” We will learn to understand that to judged justly is not by the collectivistic views but also by individualistic freedom to choose who wants them to become.

Cultural background plays a significant role as the consequences of the disadvantages of individualism and collectivism viewpoint of human society according to ‘National Center on Secondary Education and Transition’ under Part 111 – Continuum of “Individualistic” and “Collectivistic” values said,’’ the individualistic view of people as independent units leads to an emphasis on a range of self-oriented values and skills that support independent living. These values include self-sufficiency, self-determination, self-advocacy, self-competence, self-direction, self-efficacy, self-regulation, self-reliance, and self-responsibility. On the other hand, the collectivistic view of people as interdependent leads to an emphasis on group-oriented values and skills that contribute to effectively filling roles within the family or other group. Instead of living independently or going away to college, the young adult may be expected to remain at home and fulfill roles within the family.” Let me explain this in the simplest way by sighting some examples of individualistic and collectivistic values and the advantages and disadvantages. My father is ¼ Spanish blood he acquires a lot of values and characters from his half Spanish father. Family holds a special place within the Spanish worth. Family is a symbol of safety, integrity, recognition, and love. Spanish is respectful tend to appreciate the world and people around them. I remember when one of my sisters made a mistake, we will all face the consequences. As a result, we feel lost of individual freedom that can lead us to stagnation of self-worth and growth. In contrast, we learn to value collaboration, work in a harmonious environment, watch each other, our elder sisters guide us not to makes mistakes. When my father was converted to the LDS faith, he learned to value freedom and the worth of individualism just not like collectivism as a result we can now proceed to higher education, improve our individual talents, and enjoy our individual rights. In order for us to be called a good citizen or a good Samaritan, we tend to value individuals in the highest sphere of the realm regardless of their culture, values, beliefs, the color of the skin, political and educational background, social and economic status.

The origin of the word ‘Realm’ middle English realme from old French alteration (influence by Old French reial royal) of Latin regimen government from regere to rule reg-in Indo- Europian roots and from word definition of the realm which means kingdom. We know and accepted by some the beliefs that the origin of man came from the first man and woman named Adam and Eve that was created by what they called God. That all mankind belonged into one kingdom the family of Adam and Eve and man were created by the image of God, this fact supported from the holy writ in the ‘Bible’ that was written in Genesis 1:27 it says, “So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” As we apply and believe this principle, we can judge a man in the highest meaning of his/her divine potential. I do believe that if we are a teacher, parents, leaders and we perceive everyone in the same aspect we can enjoy a satisfying and secure relationship with them. A good relationship between the teacher and the students builds trust and excitement to learn more and discover new things. Stressed in relationships from both teachers and students lead to mental health and overall. It has been proven that happiness, positive emotions, and engagement has many benefits: enhances motivation, academic achievement, people live longer, more creative, more successful, better problem-solving skills can concentrate better on particular activities. Happiness builds strengths and can boost children’s optimism.

 I remember my English teacher sister who teaches 11 years in the public school. This sister is so serious in her profession and it must be, she often got exhausted from work because she wants her students to be successful not only in learning the English language but also obtain a good character. One day she was hospitalized and realized life is worth living, we need sometimes to have fun. Janet Hamilton wrote in ‘25 Things Successful Teachers Do Differently’ said, ‘’Don’t be serious. Some days, “fun” should be the goal. When students feel and see your humanness, it builds a foundation of trust and respect. Fun and education aren’t mutually exclusive either. Using humor can make even the most mundane topic more interesting.” If we broaden our understanding about individual worth towards our students we don’t need to feel exhausted because sometimes growth, learning, and character of the students derive from the different upbringing of their parents no matter what culture they came from beliefs, values, traditions, social, and economical status.

However, collectivism sometimes has a good impact in some way for example in Japan they give importance to work together as one for the benefits of the result of a great work that produces high-quality products. To paraphrase in ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ Stephen Covey an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker believes that interdependence has a greater result in any aspect of your life. In fact, trees can’t grow straight forward without the other trees beside him the same with the family we can’t be successful without the help of our family members. In October 1993 Jeffrey R. Holland of the first quorum of the seventy of the ‘Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints' testifies, “…God’s limitless love for his children, of his unquenchable desire to help us heal our wounds, individually and collectively.” Individually pertaining to our desire to believe Him and accept Him as our Savior and collectively as His beloved brothers and sisters no matter what race we belong.

 

 

 

2/9/2021

Week 6 Response to “Differences in emotional Expressivity”

Different Cultures has a different approach on how they expressed their feelings. Feelings include positive and negative emotions such as; feeling happy, feeling welcome, feeling well-rested, feeling respected, smiling and laughing, enjoyment, unhappy, anger, stress, physical distress, worry, sorrow, sadness, and pain both physical and emotional.

There are some countries that are low-emotional expressivity like Japan, Singapore, Georgia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The Philippines is the most emotional country, followed by El Salvador and Bahrain, Oman and Columbia, Guatemala, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, United States, etc. Negative emotions were highest in the Middle East and North Africa, Iraq, Bahrain, Palestine. Latin America is the highest positive emotions followed by Panama, Paraguay, and Venezuela.

I don’t know exactly the reason why these countries have a different emotional expression but I want to give some ideas base on my observation as a Filipino I know-how happy Filipino people were despite any circumstances they’re going through, they remain affirmative it might be because of their lifestyle, religious beliefs, cultural economic, political views, or caused by the educational system. In Japan I can’t barely recognize if they’re happy or sad I often ask to my friend are you happy? They will be answered yes! I will ask a follow-up question “Why are you not smiling?” Impressively, Japan is the least emotionally expressive country but has the highest GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and very low unemployment base on my observation. I can say, probably religious beliefs play a big role in how a person finds happiness because for Christian country Jesus Christ is the source of all Joy.

In conclusion understanding these differences in emotional expressivity in our classroom or in any people, we can deal with a pure understanding of the students or people's feelings, we can better understand how to communicate effectively and teach effectively without hesitation.

 2/7/2021

Week 5 Response to “Cultural Miscommunication Blog”

An American author, coach, speaker, and philanthropist Tony Robbins said, “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” One of the factors that can build a good relationship is how we convey our communication to others. And how we interpret the meaning that was spoken.  

In the year 2012, I was migrated to Japan from the Philippines. I am a member of the “Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints” I was called as a Relief Society teacher, a group of women in the church from 18 years old and above to English speaking members. I used different kinds of the method in teaching and different eclectic ways of teaching using provided materials and manuals in the church. I will simply say ‘Good morning sisters’ with a big smile with an energetic atmosphere, I used to teach using the high and low pitch intonation depending on the topic that I needed to share my voice is so loud so that they could not sleep or feel boring and you know my strategy is effective into them we enjoyed every time we study together there are different kinds of emotions such as a simple smile, laughter, cry, that makes our class more engaging and enjoyable. Most of the time to show approval of what my students wanted me to say I will give them thumbs up. Fortunately, I was again called as a volunteered teacher in Gospel Essential Class a class of investigators, new members, leaders, are present in both Japanese and English speakers because Japanese is more than the English speakers. As part of my preliminary or greetings, I just give my bow, a bow that can range from a small nod of the head to a deep bend at the waist in 3 seconds to show respect to them. I need to change the tone of my voice again, my voice becomes neutral without a high and low pitch, my facial expression becomes very serious. As an approval to what they said, I give them a simple nod so I always nodding for almost an hour in the Philippines if you can see someone is always doing this for 3 minutes, she/he probably out of his/her mind. I teach them in the Japanese language, as I can see they are very attentive and engaging I can’t see any who wants to sleep sometimes I was wondering if they didn’t get bored because for me as a Filipino this way of gestures or a way of teaching I probably asleep in 20 minutes but to them they can survive even 1 hour I can also see different kinds of emotions smiling, laughter, and sadness. In these experiences, I learned something good that we can learn and adapt to the communication styles of other cultures in order for us to work better with them.

Let me tell you another funny experience of mine I and my friend attended a meeting with 50 people are present and there were the speakers and the leaders seated at the front who hold an important part of the program my friend notice that the one man he slept at his chair and my friend keep laughing at my side because in the Philippines if you slept in the front of many people and you hold an important part of the program you show disrespect and it is shameful and disrespectful. However, in Japan, it shows how hard working you are, how serious you are in your responsibility that even you are so tired you still manage to attend the meeting it shows that you are committed and being responsible. Here another story, I was invited to a dinner with my friend his Japanese husband eating the ramen very fast and very noisy, I was surprised here in Japan it means this is so delicious or you are showing gratitude to the one who offers you food. In the Philippines, if you can hear noisy sound while eating especially on the special occasion like wedding, birthdays, and sessions, it seemed you have no good manner or having no education or no etiquette. These are some of the examples of how cultural miscommunication convey a message through conversation, expression, and gestures and sometimes if we are not aware it can cause misunderstanding, death, and trouble.

To paraphrase Christ’s unity is not subtractive but additive. The Lord wants his children to understand, appreciate, and accept our differences. Bishop Gérald Caussé, Presiding Bishop, said that “unity is not achieved by ignoring and isolating members who seem to be different.” to carry out the Lord’s work. To accept and incorporate what makes each of us unique further unites us even into Christ. There is nothing better or worse about being a woman or a man, Argentine or American, tall or short, black or white, impoverished or wealthy, because “all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33).

This understanding of cultural miscommunication can help teachers understand their students better learn in the target language, it would be in your best interest to get to know each other communication styles, gestures for optimum collaboration. The students become more receptive to learning if they feel understood they can express themselves freely and can lower their effective filter. Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, heard a colleague that said, "They don't pay me to like the kids. "Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don't like."I can see that this is true to my experience I believe that students in any classes can best learn if they have a good connection that is real, human, and personal level.

Cultural Differences Concerning Times

 2/3/2021

Week5

Response to"Cultural Differences Concerning Time"

 “Time is gold so make available for those who think you are a precious put others for unavailable” Is this quote applicable in any situations? In different countries and cultures view and use time differently. According to brother Ivers a teacher in BYU-Idaho we live in a time of Monochronic and Polychronic. Let me differentiate the differences between Monochronic and Polychronic time.

 Polychronic time orientation refers to the cultures where people tend to view time as a fluid concept go with the “flow” of the time. A time-based schedule is followed loosely, and changes or interruptions are viewed as a normal part of the routine. Polychronic cultures value promptness differently depending on the relationship with whoever they’re meeting; they are more comfortable altering plans to fit a situation as it changes. Monochronic culture will focus on doing one thing at a time, concentrating on the job at hand without distractions, and viewing previous commitments as critical, and not optional. Monochronic also emphasizes the value of being prompt no matter what, keeping to plans as best they can.

What kind of time cultural views in the Philippines? I remember I was invited to have a class meeting at 2 pm I traveled 1 hour to get into the venue as I got there no other people except me so I text the person who invited me if the meeting is canceled, she replied ‘we’re on our way’ I waited for almost an hour before the meeting got started. Another example base on my experience I went to an agency where I need to get my lab test result that is already paid at 9 am but the desk officer’s friend came they talk for an hour so I finished my transaction with her at 9:30 am. One thing I love about the Philippine views of time is that Family came first, I remember when I went to my father at his work-place he immediately stopped his work and attend to my concern he did undertime and together we went back home. I know how important he was at work because he manages people, in that moment I realized how precious I am to my father. In Polychronic cultures relationship is important.

I used to live in Japan for almost 6 years, I experience different kinds of work in a company one time I called my boss because of some reason I can’t start the work on time I was 5 minutes late so I was deducted 30 minutes in my work time. Japanese people tend to plan events, appointments meticulously. One time I attended a family gathering activity I asked my Japanese friend ‘where’s your husband’ she answered ‘he is at work all the time’ her smiling face changes into a frowning one.

In the conclusion doesn’t matter how we view and use our time differently what matters is that who matters most of our time. To paraphrase according to Stephen R. Covey an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker, to have success in any field we must give importance to our relationship. Boyd K. Packer a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles of the ‘Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints’ once said, “Family time is sacred time and should be protected and respected. We urge our members to show devotion to their families.”

 

 

Cultural Paradigms

   2/2/2021

Week5

Response to"Cultural Paradigms Insights"

How we can be united in this world of different interpretation, views, lifestyles, ideas, opinions, beliefs and values? I remember when I was in my younger days, I often get bullied for my slender body and my short stature. In the Philippines if you are like chubby and you have a wonderful body form it means you have a lot of food in your plate. Your parents literally taking good care with you attentively. I am the opposite version of all of my sisters. I remember when I attended a family reunion one of my relative asked to my father like this: Is she one of your daughters? with the end of saying to himself this word “in the family there is really one that are different” or some will question, are you eating? I use to heard these repeatedly questions in my head for so long. These questions stop me in going any gatherings I’ll rather choose to stay at home and to read books.

When I moved to Japan my life turns dark into white in terms of physical acceptance. Here in Japan, you are beautiful if you have a slender body and cute in stature. I feel accepted and a sort of belongings but my beliefs was changed when I studied about cultural differences and similarities, I believe that actual satisfaction and happiness came from believing that everyone around us has his/her own beauty and that we’re fairly uniquely blessed with unique talents from our Loving Heavenly Father who created us all. The ability to choose what we believing is extremely important to our development and finding true happiness and identity. The understanding of the truth of our true identity of who we are and why we are here could unite us as one. We are beloved sons and daughters of our Heavenly parents who inherited their divine qualities and potential. We are part of His wonderful plan of salvation and happiness. The culture of Christ is the only culture we can be united as one family, as we look into Him as our leader, creator and advocate to our Father in Heaven.

 

 

Gerwin Palec

 

Reflection on Technology Researching and Experimenting

One of my weak points in Academic journey is solving problems in Mathematics. I spend a lot of time to get the correct answer. The more I see myself low in that point, the more I pursue to learn something new. I am so happy if I got it right. I can say, perseverance in learning new things is crucial to our success—the same with my journey in researching and experimenting with modernized technology in teaching. At first, I am aloof in doing. Still, as I push myself to learn new things and do the weekly task in BYU- Idaho, I benefited from many good things that the technology could offer. Now, I enjoy using technology tools to teach my family, especially to my eight-year-old son. It helps me get his attention in using those tools in teaching him how to learn the English language. It also helps my calling in the church as I recorded videos of myself teaching the gospel. These platforms make my life easier in doing my responsibility. Technology plays a vital role in our society today. We can use it wisely or foolishly. As I am researching and experimenting with the use of modernized technology in teaching, I realized that technology has many benefits in our daily interaction with others. It can help us communicate all over the world quickly. Families are getting closer all over the world through sharing using different platforms. Technology can also improve engagement.

I remember when I teach in the Relief Society class using Kahoot for the first time. To my surprise, it was more engaging. The class participated actively and appreciatively. It can encourage individuals to learn at their speed using technology. My nephew, sister, and a friend played the ESL quiz using the tool Quizizz, and we enjoyed it a lot. I can still remember the things because you can repeatedly do it for yourself at your speed. It encourages collaboration because you can practice this skill by getting involved in different online activities and projects. There, you can give instructions on what to do for them to use the technology while improving communication skills. It could build friendship and trust because every time I have a hard time or trouble using technology, I can ask for help from experts.

However, there are disadvantages to using technology as well. Sometimes it could waste my time, especially if I got into the wrong choices on what to use. I spent hours, but I failed to use it. I felt so exhausted. I am also sometimes distracted by my smartphone and iPod when many messages and notifications are not worth my time. Some technology can distract us from our work, study, and many more. Gadgets sometimes are addictive. It can genuinely waste our time and forget the things that are matter most.  My advice is that watch yourself all the time in using technology. Try to avoid extensive use that can lead to addiction without gaining knowledge. See to it that our children use technology to learn useful things and help them grow academically, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. If possible, limit your time in using technology in work, recreation, and study. I learned a lesson from my instructor this week that we must set goals and learn how to master the techniques to achieve them. Getting the methods needed to reach our goals includes becoming the master manager of our time.

            In conclusion, researching and experimenting using modernized technology in teaching both students and teachers are essential today. It could help a teacher save time. It could make and do the task efficiently. Modern learning is about collaborating with others, solving complex problems, practicing critical thinking, developing communication skills, and leadership. It could develop many practical skills such as creating presentations, learning to differentiate reliable from unreliable sources on the internet, maintaining proper online etiquette, and writing emails. These are essential skills and knowledge we could gain in using technology. Let us use them for our benefit and improvement.