“Domain II, Competency 6” EDLD 5345 Course-Embedded Internship Activity Log 4.

I feel that my experiences living in culturally different areas in Texas, will serve me well if I choose to aspire to be a principal. I have lived in a community where racism was rampant. It was such a part of the culture and blamed for all bad consequences received. This community lived in both culture destructiveness and cultural incapacity. Not only did they try to put people out-of-business for being the wrong race, they taught it to their children as a way of life. The sad truth was that this inability to look beyond skin color or affiliation was what kept their community from thriving. The graduates could not wait to get out of all the negativity. Although the schools worked hard to create a climate that embraced the culture, the community mentality that all their problems were caused by their oppressors (who they really could not identify) led me to believe that it could only be fixed by spiritual revival.

Although I believe communication and understanding are keys to reaching cultural proficiency in a school, I am not sure I agree with the idea that all of our differences should be spotlighted. I do not believe this has always been thought of as what is best for our nation. For example, while in college, I did extensive research on LULAC, the League of Latin American Citizens. This organization was founded by Frank Tijerina after returning from war service. He returned home to find many Hispanics had moved to the United States but had not acclimated enough to the culture to fully participate and take hold of the “American Dream”. He formed this group to promote the learning of English, achieving the requirements for citizenship, and learning how the constitution and government worked. (Retrieved from http://www.lulac.net/about/history.html. Jan 26, 2011)
I do believe that all students are benefitted from an environment that is accepting and loving toward who they are as an individual. Schools should strive to meet students where they are academically, socially, emotionally and physically. Using this knowledge, schools can create climates that build on the students’ strengths and help them overcome their weaknesses.