Theories
1. People dress in spectacular colors to compensate for their monochromatic surroundings. Just as brush fires sweep away the last of the verdure, we happen upon holidays featuring the obligatory fashion shows of one shiny chiffon outdoing another. High heels on dirt roads are the order of the day.
2. A person's exposition of their own culture is one of the least accurate descriptors, particularly when aimed at a party of a distinctly separate culture. Perhaps we come with far too many things we'd like to prove, or to dispell. The communication that occurs between two parties when they stop describing their respective cultures seems far more informative, but can only come when the novelty of being different has passed.
3. People adapt to nutrient poor diets by absorbing more from their food source. There's no other way for me to understand a bouncing, growing 5 year old living on rice and oil.
4. While people can be taught to learn at any age, they will, after sufficient exposure, continuously reject any teaching method (and quite possibly its associated environment) proven to be ineffective to them in the past. An 8th grader who has, as of yet, not been taught to read in a room ruled with desks, will only learn by stepping outside of the classroom, if not physically, then at least metaphorically.
5. The elements of your culture which you were conditioned to perceive as guilty pleasures, or the lowest form of idle time-wasting may never be of use to you due to this conditioning. However, in a place where these things (television, comic books, text messaging) are not taken for granted, they may become a powerful medium and impetus for learning and intellectual development.
2. A person's exposition of their own culture is one of the least accurate descriptors, particularly when aimed at a party of a distinctly separate culture. Perhaps we come with far too many things we'd like to prove, or to dispell. The communication that occurs between two parties when they stop describing their respective cultures seems far more informative, but can only come when the novelty of being different has passed.
3. People adapt to nutrient poor diets by absorbing more from their food source. There's no other way for me to understand a bouncing, growing 5 year old living on rice and oil.
4. While people can be taught to learn at any age, they will, after sufficient exposure, continuously reject any teaching method (and quite possibly its associated environment) proven to be ineffective to them in the past. An 8th grader who has, as of yet, not been taught to read in a room ruled with desks, will only learn by stepping outside of the classroom, if not physically, then at least metaphorically.
5. The elements of your culture which you were conditioned to perceive as guilty pleasures, or the lowest form of idle time-wasting may never be of use to you due to this conditioning. However, in a place where these things (television, comic books, text messaging) are not taken for granted, they may become a powerful medium and impetus for learning and intellectual development.
posted by mchughtie at 2:48 PM
1 Comments:
Typical, Tell people you want to stay in Africa, and a lot of people comment, but try to say something intellectual . . . people want drama, colleen, not theories. Even equity credit line didn't comment. As to your first theory, I have to disagree. In Ireland, which was generally dark and gray, people dressed dark and European. But they painted their houses bright pastels, so maybe you're right.
Post a Comment
<< Home