• Describe culture and some of its characteristics.
• Identify the dominant culture  in the United States and explain its impact on people who are not members of the dominant culture.
• Understand three theories and ideologies that describe ways in which schools respond to students who are not members of the dominant culture..
• Identify microcultureal groups to which students belong and explain why some are more important to their cultural identity than others.
• Understand that student learning is influenced by language, culture, and family and community values.
  

• More than 1 million new immigrants annually are introducing new religions, languages, and ways of thinking and acting to areas of the country that previously tacked the rich diversity of urban areas.
• Diversity is broadly defined to include: class, ethnicity, race, religion, language, gender, sexual orientation, ability, age and geographic locations
• Children learn how to think, feel, speak, and behave through the culture in which they are raised.
• Each of us belongs to a number of different microcultural groups within our culture.  See figure 2.1 on page 47.

CULTURE AND SOCIETY 

• Culture is learned, shared , adapted, and dynamic.  People learn their culture through enculturation.
• Enculturation: the process of learning the characteristics and behaviors of the culture of the group to which one belongs.
  
• The dominant culture in the US is that of white, middle class, Protestants whose ancestors emigrated from Western Europe and are financially successful.
  
• Males have dominated the political system and related government positions of authority.

DIVERSITY AND EDUCATION 

• You will be teaching a diverse group of students.
• Ethnographic studies provide valuable information about how teachers and schools interact with students in the learning process.
• Learn definitions of assimilation, acculturation, cultural choice, and cultural pluralism found on pages 48-50.
  

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS 

• SES: the economic condition of individuals based on their income, occupation, and educational attainment.
• Social stratification: levels of social class ranking based on income, education, occupation, wealth, and power in society.
• See poverty statistics on pages 52-53.

 RACE AND ETHNICITY

• pages 54-57 deal with ethnicity and race.
  
• See figure 2.4 on page 55 depicting the racial composition of the US population.
  
• Read the relevant research on page 56 regarding the welcoming of immigrant students.
• Ethnic group: Group based on the national origin of one's family or ancestors in which members share a culture and sense of common destiny.

LANGUAGE 

• Language interacts with our ethnic and socioeconomic background to socialize us into linguistic and cultural communities.
•  Read pages 57-59. 
  
• Read the debate on "Should all students be bilingual?" found on page 58.

GENDER 

• Males and females are culturally different even when they are members of the same socioeconomic, ethnic, and religious group.  The ways they think and act are defined in part by their gender identity. Read pages 60-63.
• Key issues in this section are: salary differentials, socialization of children into gender roles, the impact of Title IX legislation, and sexual orientation.
  

EXCEPTIONALITIES 

• More than 49 million people in the United States have a disability.  Read pages 64-67.
• See figure 2.7 on page 64, "Labels for Disabilities."
  

RELIGION 

• Religion can have a great influence on the values and lifestyles of families and can play an important role in the socialization of children and young people. See pages 67-68.

GEOGRAPHY 

• Communities and their schools differ from one region of the US to another.  Read the differences in suburban, rural, and urban communities on pages 69-71.
• See important web sites on page 73.

TEACHING IS A WONDERFUL PROFESSION!