Intercultural Learning is a process that moves human beings (minds, hearts and bodies) to a deeper awareness of their own culture (norms, behaviours, relationship and visions) through a qualitative immersion in another culture. The intercultural concept that I have been exploring is the freshman culture. They are new by definition, ready to become part of something bigger. Being a high school or college freshman is the first step into that bigger world. It is the chance students want to "spread their wings", and it's a safe environment (for the most part) for parents to allow them.
It helps to have a younger brother who, this year, is a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Aaron Stech was a popular student, an athlete and good student in high school. Aaron talked about the huge step he, like thousands of other young adults, take when they move up to the college ranks. "It was kind of frightening at first but once I got used to it, it was fine. I didn't have a problem with the transition moving from high school to college." Aaron comes from a small town in northeast Nebraska where class sizes are only around 25 students. He hadn't noticed too much bullying while in high school. It was just not done. It was nothing like C.J. Pascoe's experience of studying boys and the term 'Dude, you're a fag.' Aaron hasn't noticed any of this bullying or the fag discourse in college either. Research by Pascoe (2007) states "While the intensity of the fag discourse may decline with age, observations of and discussions with college students indicate that the gendered rituals central to adolescent masculinity do not disappear as youth leave high school and move to college. While college classrooms are often constructed as non-homophobic and gender equitable spaces and while many colleges have anti-bias policies that cover gay people, students enter the classroom having been steeped in the fag discourse during their former school experiences." It's a good thing for students to not have to deal with such things as this, and one can hope that it continues to diminish.
Milton J. Bennett writes (1998) "The study of intercultural communication has tried to answer the question, 'How do people understand one another when they do not share a common cultural experience?' . . . Today, living in multicultural societies within a global village, we all face the question every day." Communication is important according to Bennett. Aaron says, "I feel that if I work hard and be ambitious I will feel like I'm moving up the ladder rather quickly with large schedules as well as meeting a lot of new people to help me with things I may not understand."
Being a college freshman is a first chance on a level playing field to pick his/her own friends, do what he/she wants to do, have control over his/her life to finally mold him/herself into who he/she wants to be. With this power comes discipline, because with the ability to change his/her life for the good, he/she also has the ability to change it for the bad (ex: dropping out). One of the most important lessons one will learn at college is time management and balance. As much as everyone would love to go out and party all day, they must discipline themselves to get school work done, or else the days at college could be few and numbered.
The psychological health is important to view when studying freshmen. It's all in how the student adapts to the new situations. Some handle the step rather well and are emotionally comfortable in the new cultural context. According to Martin and Nakayama (2010), "Obviously, the newcomer's psychological well-being will depend somewhat on members of the host society . . . if migrants are made to feel welcome, they will feel more comfortable faster. but if the host society sens messages that migrants don't really belong, psychological adjustment becomes much more difficult." Aaron says that he has felt welcome at the University of Nebraska. He even compared what being a freshman is like now as a college to what it was like when he first started high school four years ago. "It is similar because of the whole not knowing where classes are and being scared of making it on time or making a fool of myself. All while trying to do my best get good grades and balance my social life and my after school activities."
It helps to have a younger brother who, this year, is a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Aaron Stech was a popular student, an athlete and good student in high school. Aaron talked about the huge step he, like thousands of other young adults, take when they move up to the college ranks. "It was kind of frightening at first but once I got used to it, it was fine. I didn't have a problem with the transition moving from high school to college." Aaron comes from a small town in northeast Nebraska where class sizes are only around 25 students. He hadn't noticed too much bullying while in high school. It was just not done. It was nothing like C.J. Pascoe's experience of studying boys and the term 'Dude, you're a fag.' Aaron hasn't noticed any of this bullying or the fag discourse in college either. Research by Pascoe (2007) states "While the intensity of the fag discourse may decline with age, observations of and discussions with college students indicate that the gendered rituals central to adolescent masculinity do not disappear as youth leave high school and move to college. While college classrooms are often constructed as non-homophobic and gender equitable spaces and while many colleges have anti-bias policies that cover gay people, students enter the classroom having been steeped in the fag discourse during their former school experiences." It's a good thing for students to not have to deal with such things as this, and one can hope that it continues to diminish.
Milton J. Bennett writes (1998) "The study of intercultural communication has tried to answer the question, 'How do people understand one another when they do not share a common cultural experience?' . . . Today, living in multicultural societies within a global village, we all face the question every day." Communication is important according to Bennett. Aaron says, "I feel that if I work hard and be ambitious I will feel like I'm moving up the ladder rather quickly with large schedules as well as meeting a lot of new people to help me with things I may not understand."
Being a college freshman is a first chance on a level playing field to pick his/her own friends, do what he/she wants to do, have control over his/her life to finally mold him/herself into who he/she wants to be. With this power comes discipline, because with the ability to change his/her life for the good, he/she also has the ability to change it for the bad (ex: dropping out). One of the most important lessons one will learn at college is time management and balance. As much as everyone would love to go out and party all day, they must discipline themselves to get school work done, or else the days at college could be few and numbered.
The psychological health is important to view when studying freshmen. It's all in how the student adapts to the new situations. Some handle the step rather well and are emotionally comfortable in the new cultural context. According to Martin and Nakayama (2010), "Obviously, the newcomer's psychological well-being will depend somewhat on members of the host society . . . if migrants are made to feel welcome, they will feel more comfortable faster. but if the host society sens messages that migrants don't really belong, psychological adjustment becomes much more difficult." Aaron says that he has felt welcome at the University of Nebraska. He even compared what being a freshman is like now as a college to what it was like when he first started high school four years ago. "It is similar because of the whole not knowing where classes are and being scared of making it on time or making a fool of myself. All while trying to do my best get good grades and balance my social life and my after school activities."
REFERENCES
Bennett, Milton J. (1998). Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication: Selected Readings. 1.
Pascoe, C.J. (2007). 'Dude, you're a fag' Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/06/28/pascoe
Martin, Judith N., & Nakayama, Thomas K. (2010). Intercultural Communication in Contexts. 326.
Pascoe, C.J. (2007). 'Dude, you're a fag' Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/06/28/pascoe
Martin, Judith N., & Nakayama, Thomas K. (2010). Intercultural Communication in Contexts. 326.
Ben,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you included information about how the "fag discourse" plays out in the college setting. Did your brother offer any ideas as to why his school had a different culture in regard to the bullying than other schools? Or is maybe just unseen?
I don't know if this is the direction you want to take things, but it might be interesting, since so many people have been through the experience of being a high school or college freshman, to find someone who didn't go to high school or who didn't go to college. You could get an idea of their perception of this culture that most people are a part of, and how it's impacted their image of their self and their relationship with the majority culture. You could also look at people who were home schooled, since they may have very different ideas on these transitions than a traditional student.
Interesting work so far. Good luck!
I think you had some great insight from your brother on how he is feeling about being a college freshmen. I also liked how you incorporated the "fag discourse." Maybe you will explore this further in your next log, but I think it is important that you gain some information from a high school freshmen, like you talked about in your first blog. Comparing the experiences and feelings of a college and high school freshmen would be interesting to read about. I would suggest including as much information from a high school freshmen as you did from a college freshmen. I look forward to reading more!
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