“Some people do things different from us”: Exploring personal and global cultures in a first grade classroom

Jewett, Pamela. (2011). “Some people do things different from us”: Exploring personal and global cultures in a first grade classroom. Journal of Children’s Literature, 37(1), 20-29.

This is an account of Jewett’s experiences reading international children’s literature in a first grade classroom, and working with the children there to develop their conceptions of their own cultural identities as well as their conceptions of cultures different from their own. Jewett is an associate professor at the University of South Carolina, and the teacher who invited her into this first grade classroom was one of her former students.

The theme here was the necessity to move children beyond the typical emphasis on outward, surface aspects of culture (Jewett refers to Meyer and Rhoades and their “Five F’s”: food, fashion, folklore, festivals, and famous people) and to expand their views to include deeper aspects of culture. I particularly liked the discussion prompts that Jewett used to help children go deeper. One was “What really matters about this topic?” Another way this was phrased was, “What is really important about this?” A second prompt was “What surprised you (or worried you) about this topic? Why?” These simple prompts helped the children dig below surface aspects of culture. A heavily used strategy here was the “cultural x-ray” (developed by Kathy Short), which was a visual representation of the dichotomy of surface culture (what we can perceive on the outside using our senses) and deep culture (those things that are inside us and are most important to us). In looking at deep culture, often we can get at what truly binds us together as humans, as well as at the fundamental differences that, when honored, make our differences something wonderful as well.

In my own experience, I have found first graders, and even much younger children, are capable of so much more than we think they are. Surface culture is focused on in some schools because people believe children cannot comprehend abstract aspects like deep culture. Hogwash! The story we have here is one more piece of evidence that yes, young children CAN think about such things. Sometimes I wonder if the arguments that they can’t understand are really more adults’ desire to take the easier, safer road. Food, fashion, folklore, festivals, and famous people are sure to please on many levels, and are easy to find information on. When we get at what is really important, though, that can take us to unfamiliar ground and might lead to some uncomfortable moments or even opposition in communities were ethnocentricity runs high. Although in the case described here, we hear about nothing negative, the section on “The Best Laid Plans”, where we learn that the children’s passion for a book about the Maasai people led Jewett to change her focus to Kenya instead of Afghanistan and South Korea as planned gave me pause. Although I am all for being open to children’s interests, in light of current affairs, Afghanistan might have been a braver country to focus on, and a focus that may be more needed right now. It is risky to look at and honor the culture of a perceived enemy. Though switching to Kenya took a lot of additional work, and introduced uncertainty into the curriculum plan, in some ways Kenya was a lot safer than Afghanistan. Could fears about those risks have influenced (even subconsciously) to the decision to switch topics? I hope not, but I did wonder.