Skip to main content

05/26/2022; Week 6; INDIVIDUALISM vs COLLECTIVISM

 INDIVIDUALISM vs COLLECTIVISM

    This was a very interesting topic for me since I don't think I have given it much thought. I like to look for the meanings of the words and terms because it helps me to get a better idea. What is INDIVIDUALISM? It is the freedom to be independent and self-reliant. According to Professor Ivers "In individualistic society, they'll have tolerance for individual mistakes that may cause tragedy for the group and just hope that doesn't happen again. 

    Now, what does it mean COLLECTIVISM? Without looking in the dictionary I can see the root of this word and it means to collect, to gather. In a culture it means to give priority to a group over each individual in it. Professor Ivers says " In a group-oriented society, they might have a little less tolerance for things that could hurt other members of the group big time." To me it means to gather the interest of each individual and give one main purpose as a group.

    I assume that neither of them is better than the other, but we should rather look for a balance to allow each individual to think for himself and to be able to choose for himself with a one focus to help others achieve the same and help one another. In a ESL classroom we cannot withhold each person their own culture and experiences but we can collect them and create a single purpose to help everyone learn and aim to their individual goals. 






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

05/28/2022; Week 6; Personal Space Difference

  PERSONAL SPACE DIFFERENCES  I believe the concept of space is a very essential concept for all living creatures. If we think about it everything relates to the space we take in this universe.  We all see it differently according to how we have been raised and how we have been using it with those around us. In a molecular perspective even among atoms. Some atoms "personal space" is different depending what element they are around with. If it is not bondable it can be very reactive.  The same goes with people. We need personal space or personal closeness depending on who we are with and how our personal emotional space is as well. I grew up in a culture where houses are so close to one another, but it was expected to keep a respectful space on noise and cleanness with those you live near to. I remember as a kid we had the chore to sweep the sidewalk right outside our home. Often the neighbor would sweep all the way to our section, and we never saw that as intru...

05/17/2022, Week 5, CULTURAL PARADIGMS

 What does the word PARADIGM mean? According to Brother Ivers it refers to a concept, idea of something that gets stored in your head and we will use those to compare it with other concepts and either relate them or evaluate them. They can be simple like what we interpret as a tree or more complex like friendship.  Our brains are super computers and are constantly coding and processing information. The brain begins to create a master folder of what it is culturally acceptable or expected. We use our core values and principles be the guide to those concepts. Per example, I grew up in Mexico and it is expected that you greet with a hand shake when you meet someone for the first time. Now, some other countries may do the same or something totally different like a bowing. Brother Ivers shared a quote from Carlos Fuentes, "w e shall know each other or we shall exterminate each other." What I got from this quote is that if we don't put the effort to get to know each other with...