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Hillary Lechlitner
Dr. Pike
Edmul 205
1 May 2014
Cultural Autobiography
I come from a small town where everybody knows everybody. I know who lives
in the house across the street, down the block, or even on the other side of town. Also, I
even know who lived there before the person living there now. I grew up never having to
worry about the safety of my family members or myself. The biggest uproar of terror my
hometown endured was the possible sighting of a coyote in one of our cornfields. And,
that was quickly taken care of by the next morning. My hometown, Wakarusa, is located
in the northern part of Indiana about an hour from the Indiana Michigan line.
Growing up all throughout my life, my family has been in the middle class. I am
the youngest of four children with two educators as parents. My father is a high school
teacher who teaches different classes from a small autos class to a graphic design class.
My mother was a middle school guidance counselor and now she just uses to her time to
sub when asked. As I have grown and developed, I can see how my social class has
affected me. Growing up, I was always given more than I needed. Food was always on
the table, and plenty of it. My parents always had gift for me to open on my birthday and
cake with candles for me to celebrate another year of living. I never questioned how
much I was loved, cared for, or supported because I knew I always was by my parents.
Furthermore, growing up as middle class also taught me the importance of appreciating
the little things. It taught me to appreciate small gestures and acts of kindness and I was

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always able to see this in my parents. A lesson that I am very much appreciative of, as I
have grown older, is learning from a very young age that nothing is simply handed to me.
I must work diligently and purposefully to gain and receive the things I want. My social
class also helped teach me to not sweat the little things and look at mistakes and a
learning tool instead of a negative concept. Mistakes happen and I may fall down, but it is
how I come back from those mistakes or falling down that defines who I am. I was
definitely shaped as a person through my social class; furthermore I have also largely the
person I am today because of my religion.
From the time I was born until high school, I attended a very small church called
Wakarusa United Methodist Church. Through my church and my parents I was taught a
plethora of values and lessons that have shaped my own thinking and desires. I was
always taught as a child to follow the rules and treat everyone as I would like to be
treated. All throughout middle school and high school, I stuck by those rules. I was a very
obedient child and student and never wanted to participate in any activities that would
hinder my learning ability or ruin opportunities for the future. More than just that,
however, my beliefs as a Christian taught me to love honestly and without expectations. I
learned this valuable lesson through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice when he died on the
cross. Because of learning this treasured lesson, I now live my life choosing to love other
people intentionally and without a hidden agenda no matter their race, gender, sexuality,
or beliefs. This has influenced my development immensely. Through hearing numerous
teachings about the Bible and how Jesus died for me, I have been given a confidence
through Him that has affected how I look at my daily life and how I choose to treat other
individuals and how I see and perceive the world. My faith is the most important aspect

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of my life and it has definitely taught and shaped me the most as a person because of all
the amazing things it has done in my life.
My development from childhood to adulthood has also been molded by my
ethnicity. Growing up in an American, Caucasian home definitely made me the way I am
today. With that being said, my family does not celebrate any long held, family traditions
as some other cultures participate it. We have always celebrated the major holidays such
as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc. however, outside of that, few events exist where
my family celebrates based on traditions or culture that are specific to us. Because of this,
I do not find as much connection to my heritage as some other ethnicities. For example,
as a student studying Spanish education, I have learned about the plethora of traditions
and festivities the Spaniards participate in because of their ethnicity.
My father has a long lineage of German ancestors while my mom has many
ancestors, but I do not feel strongly connected to either of those ethnic groups. I do not
feel strong to these ethnic groups because my family does not celebrate any traditions that
are specifically for those ethnicities. With that being said, my family not celebrating these
traditions has not negatively affected me in the least. I am perfectly fine with celebrating
and creating our new traditions now as Americans.
For ten years I participated in the Beef Club in 4-H. Through this program I
showed cattle for ten years. 4-H taught me some of the most important values in my life.
One of the greatest lessons it taught me was the importance of responsibility. Being in
Beef Club, I was responsible for my animal. I had to feed them daily and I also bathed
them or her regularly. This experience also allowed for numerous opportunities to meet
many different kinds of people. During my ten years in 4-H I created friendships with an

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assortment of individuals with varying personalities. This has allowed me to understand
and interact with different people and hear about their values and beliefs along with
understanding where they come from. What I also loved from this experience was how I
developed and grew from my first year in 4-H to my last year. I started the club by having
people help me whenever I needed it to helping younger members the last couple of
years. The ten years in this club taught me some of the most valuable lessons.
Being a female in the world creates various challenges that can arise because of
stereotypical gender roles. From the day I have been able to walk, I have been
participating in sports. Because of this, I have always been competitive; furthermore, I
have always wanted to be the best between boys and girls. I have never liked when
people assume boys will be better athletes than girls just because they are boys. I have
always been an advocate for real strong women and proving themselves in this world
where more often than not, the world can be against them in certain roles. This has helped
me in my development to learn to let nothing stand in my way and to fight for what I
know I deserve.
Along with my social context growing up, certain situations have occurred that
have helped shape who I am today. As stated before, I have interacted with a wide variety
of different people through the various clubs I have been involved with and also the
activities I have participated in. Some of these activities include playing sports, being a
member of 4-H, traveling to different countries for missions work, and volunteering. One
of the most significant experiences I have had while here at Ball State University is
volunteering at the Buley Center, an after school program for elementary school children.

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I attended the Buley Center every Friday for three hours for five weeks. Here is a
reflection after my first visit to the Buley Center.
I have visited the Buley Center one time so far for three hours. During this time, I
helped set up the students after school snack. After serving the students food, I also
helped clean up after the kids. For the remainder of the time, I went outside and engaged
with the students in various activities outside.
Certain differences are present amongst the children at the Buley Center and me.
It is obvious that the socioeconomic status between the children and me is different. The
children live in a lower class system than I did when I was their age. It is obvious that
some children have grown up in a different atmosphere when compared to me by the way
they act and activities they participate in. However, overall, few differences exist between
the children and I at the Buley Center.
The Buley Center is a wonderful place for the students to attend for an after
school program. It is a place for them to be fed, interact with friends, and receive help for
school. Furthermore, it is a safe place for the students to attend after school while also
being helped with schoolwork that they might not receive at home. Another aspect that
the Buley Center provides for the students is some consistency. Some of the students at
the center need consistency and structure in their lives because they may not be receiving
the support at home. The most important thing about the Buley Center, in my opinion, is
the support that is present for the students. It allows a place for the students to feel safe
after school while the parents are working.
Thus far, my one experience at the Buley Center has not heavily influenced me in
any significant way. I have attended places similar to the Buley Center before and

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because of this, I was not surprised by anything that happened there. It was very similar
to what I expected and envisioned it would be before attending.
Although it was what I expected, challenges still existed while I was volunteering
on Friday. One major talent for me is how to properly discipline the children, if I even
have the right to do so to the children. They speak differently than I do, so it is my
instinct to correct certain phrases they speak or how they pronounce specific words.
Another aspect that I struggled with is the students respecting me as an adult and
listening to me when I ask them to do certain things. This challenge is understandable
because I am a new face and have not regularly attended for them to know who I am.
Because of this, they also think they are able to manipulate me and trick me; however, I
did not allow any of this to happen because I was able to tell when the kids were lying.
Not a challenge that I faced, but an observation I noticed was that all of the students do
want attention and enjoy attention.
Different options exist as to how I can handle these problems that I have dealt
with so far at the Buley Center. One way to address this challenge is to continue attending
the Buley Center and become a regular face to the students. By showing up regularly, that
will hopefully be able to fix the problem of the children trying to manipulate me. To deal
with the need for attention from the students, I will do my best to make sure I spread my
attention evenly amongst all of the students and not only favor certain ones. Overall, I
have enjoyed my time at the Buley Center and look forward to returning and working
with the children.
Another experience that greatly impacted my life was in the summer of 2011. I
traveled to Kenya, Africa with eight of my soccer teammates to complete missions work

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and work at an orphanage in a small town called Nakuru. While in Kenya, we also lived
in the orphanage. During my time in Kenya we participated in various activities. One of
the first days in Kenya, we visited a different orphanage in the slums of the capital
Nairobi. This was without a doubt one of the worst things I have ever witnessed. To see
how those individuals had to live and what they considered a home was nothing but
horrifying and tragic. While at the orphanage we played with the children and fed them
sandwiches. The look of gratitude on their faces is truly something I will never forget.
The trip to the slums also taught me the lesson to never take things, even the little things
for granted. Even something as simple as shoes is something I take for granted daily, but
something those children in the orphanage live without daily. If nothing else, the trip to
the slums humbled me immensely.
The rest of the week we spent time working in the orphanage where we were
staying. We played with the children, organized clothing, and cleaned other facilities that
the orphanage needed. Through the experience of living in the orphanage we also were
able to interact with many individuals who were natives of Kenya. It was amazing to hear
their stories and hear their perspectives on different aspects of life. I love getting to know
diverse groups of people and interacting with them. Through this experience I learned
that even living in places vastly different and halfway across the world, I shared similar
interests and desires and some of the Kenyans. It was incredible to connect with them on
different aspects of life that might seem impossible from the outside looking in. From
finding joy in spending time with loved ones to enjoying the beautiful sunshine, I
remember having some of the best conversations ever with some woman Kenyan workers

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at the orphanage. Furthermore, I learned some of the most valuable lessons about myself
during my time spent in Kenya.
Growing up, my father was a basketball and tennis coach, and today he still
coaches basketball. Because of this, sports have always been a very important aspect of
my life. From the day I was able to walk, I was given a basketball to shoot or a soccer
ball to kick. As soon as I was old enough to sign up for camps or other sports leagues, I
was begging my parents to put me in anything and everything. I was also constantly
competing in sports events at home with my three older siblings. Looking back at my
sports career, I have realized it taught me more than I could have ever imagined it would.
Participating in both basketball and soccer for over ten years in my life, I was able to play
with a wide variety of teammates. I encountered various personalities, some whom I was
able to get along with easily and others not so easily. Although my personality or attitude
would clash with some of my teammates, I learned that we all had the same common goal
while playing and that somehow brought us together and made it possible to work
together to accomplish the same goal.
Sports taught me the art of cooperation and how to affectively achieve that with a
wide spectrum of individuals. Furthermore, it also gave me the wonderful lesson that
hard work pays off and when I work together with my teammates and we are all able to
achieve the same goal together, the reward is that much sweeter. One of my best friends
in high school, I most likely would have never been friends with if it were not for sports;
individually we were vastly different and most would never guess our friendship would
develop the way it did. However, because of our love for basketball and our
determination to work as teammates, we created a bond stronger than most.

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Two people in my life that have made a significant impact in my life and helped
shape my identity are without a doubt my parents. They are two of the most inspirational
and important people in my life. Furthermore my mother and father have taught me the
most valuable lessons in my life and shaped my identity because of it. They have always
encouraged me to fearlessly chase my dreams and with great effort and perseverance,
anything is possible. My parents push me to dream big because then big things will
happen and you will accomplish much. My two biggest supporters and encouragers are
without a doubt those two. I have never worried or questioned their intentions as to if
they support me. Throughout the years, as I have grown older, I have realized how truly
blessed I am to have grown up in a home with such uplifting and supporting parents.
Being the youngest of four children has also willed itself to a plethora of lessons
to be learned. As the youngest, I learned how to fight for myself; additionally, it created
me into the extremely competitive being I am today. I have always enjoyed competing in
sports and different events and this first begin with small activities and games against my
siblings at home. I learned that a healthy amount of competition is always good and
encouraged. One of the greatest gifts I also learned by having three older siblings is that I
knew I always had someone who had my back. Wherever I went or whatever I did, I
knew that my siblings were always there to encourage and stand beside me. Another
blessing of having three older siblings is learning from their mistakes and having them
help me through certain situations they have already endured. It is one of the greatest
blessings that I have continued to realize, as I have grown older.
This course has helped me realize and appreciate the presence of differences
among people. It has forced me to think about my own diversity or lack of diversity in

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my life. Furthermore, it has encouraged me to learn and understand various groups of
individuals and highlight their differences in order to use them positively. Moreover, I
have learned to not view them as differences, but just individual characteristics that make
each of us diverse and create our identity. Yes, we all may look different, speak with
another accent, celebrate our own traditions, or dance to different music; however, we all
share the same desires of wanting to be loved, accepted and encouraged.
As I look into my future as a teacher, that is what I hold onto. I want to encourage,
accept, and love my students. By doing this, it will take some discipline, equal discipline
among all of my students. As a teacher I plan to accept all ethnicities, races, cultures, and
highlight on them. I want students to be proud of where they have come from and also
help teach other students about other cultures or traditions. This course has challenged me
to think about the presence of different races and cultures of students that will appear in
my classroom and learning how to effectively teach each of them individually.
Additionally, it has taught me to never assume or act upon my previous stereotypes of
different races, religions, or ethnicities. I have learned to treat every student equally and
discard any previous given information or lack of regarding students. Having an open
mind and an open heart is one of the best ways to help my students in the future.
As people living in the world today we are not as different as some people would
like to argue. Each person is unique in his or her own way and has certain aspects and
characteristics that make him or her different from others. Because of this, it is
challenging to answer whether or not I am essentially different from my classmates.
Fundamentally, no I am not different from my classmates. My classmates and I all have
values, whether or not they differ, we all still have them impacting our lives. Each student

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has their own personal struggles that help shape their character and personality. We all
have our own set of strengths and weaknesses; furthermore, we all share the desire and
ability to achieve, but also the ability to fail. My classmates and I all have interests and
certain ways in which we enjoy spending our free time. However, those specific
struggles, strengths, values, and interests are what make each of us different.
Although I am fundamentally the same as my classmates, I can also say that I
view myself different from them. I have certain aspects of my life that no one else has in
their life. I have distinct experiences that no one else around me has undergone and
because of those situations I may choose to react differently than any of them in certain
instances. I view myself as somewhat different from my classmates because no two
people are the same. As I stated earlier, each of us possess characteristics and traits that
make us distinctively different from others. I would consider myself different from my
classmates because of the specific aspects that form my personality; however, I would
say fundamentally, I am not different from my classmates because we all share the same
building blocks of what defines us.
The presence of diversity in my life has definitely helped shaped the type of
person I am today. Being raised in a small town in northern Indiana was not the most
effective place to experience a wide range of diversity; however, its presence was not
completely absent. I was surrounded my mostly middle class, white individuals and
families; however, I was exposed to other ethnicities through extracurricular activities I
was involved in. I think by seeing other types of ethnicities and cultures, it has helped me
value my own culture and lifestyle, but also, appreciate others traditions. Being a
Spanish education major, I thoroughly enjoy learning about others cultures and traditions

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and realizing that although we all have our own specific traditions the motives behind
most are overall similar.
The course reading and discussion has certainly brought up some points about the
American classroom that I had never taken into consideration before. The American
classroom yields itself to assimilation, where it tries to remove parts of a persons identity
and insert more American ways. Instead of trying to adapt their teaching styles and
methods to fit the students needs, many teachers expect students to adjust to them. In
numerous accounts, the American classroom can be very unaware of different cultures
because it expects other cultures to conform to its beliefs. When understanding cultural
differences five different guidelines are present verbal communication, nonverbal
communication, orientation modes, social values, and intellectual modes. Verbal
communication deals with the grammar, phonology, and patterns of discussion for a
culture, how a person might interact and speak. Nonverbal communication refers to body
language, meanings associated with artifacts, or personal space. Following
communication differences is orientation mode, which refers to body positions, attention
modes, or time modes. How a culture might interpret certain body positions or their
differences in relation to time. Social values deals with ideal behaviors and goals, what is
acceptable and what individuals deem most important. Finally, intellectual mode signifies
how a student prefers to learn or what type of knowledge is most valued. These
guidelines are significant as a student and as a teacher.
As a student, it is important to know what your strengths and weaknesses are. It is
important to know in what way you learn most efficiently and what type of ways you do
no learn most effectively. As a student who has been the majority for most of my life,

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simple things as my body language or differences in how I say certain words is something
that I have never had to worry about or thought about often. For the most part, most
teachers teaching styles have suited me well. On the flip side, as a teacher, it is
imperative that I am aware of my students needs. It is important that I recognize their
differences in order to effectively help them learn what I am teaching. By knowing their
culture, I can better adapt my teaching to fit their specific needs.
Growing up in a small town, where the closest major city is three hours away,
places me in the category Jonathan Kozol talks about in his opening line. I certainly have
no firsthand knowledge of the realities to be found in urban public schools, considering
my school has a day specifically designated for students to drive tractors to school.
Although my school consists mainly of white students, we still have African Americans
and Hispanic students attending. I did not completely grow up in my own little bubble;
however, this article certainly opened up my eyes on public schools in the major cities. I
was somewhat nave in being as surprised as I was on the percentages of white students
who attend public schools in the major cities. I was surprised at how poor several of the
city schools are due to the students descriptions like Mireya. I knew many of them were
lacking money and resources, but nothing as severe as the bathroom incident Mireya
described. Also, something I always take for granted, especially during school, is the use
of an air conditioner. Not having an air conditioner in school on those extremely hot days
would certainly have changed my ability to focus during school. There are certainly
aspects of my school like air conditioning that I took for granted every day in high
school.

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Based upon the gigantic statistics throughout the article of public schools, the
authors argument of still separate, still unequal is extremely valid. The fact that teachers
in the major cities have only had two or three white students in ten years is surprising to
say the least. Because most white students in major cities attend private schools, while
most African Americans and Hispanics are in public schools does seem to make our
schools still as unequal as the years of Martin Luther King Jr. however; I believe we have
come a long way since those days. Public schools in other parts of the country are not as
segregated as the public schools in the major cities.
I was not completely surprised however, that most white students in major
students attend private schools. Furthermore, if the public schools in the major cities are
poor quality and the parents are able to send their children to private schools, why
wouldnt they? Most parents want the most for their children and the best education
possible; if they are able to give it to their children, I am sure most parents would choose
to do so and never have a second thought. But, of course not all parents have the luxury
of sending their students to private schools; and it appears most of theses students end of
being African American and Hispanic students in the public schools.
The next argument is the lack of money in these schools and how poor of quality
everything in the schools appears. This is true, because due to the lack of money, the
public schools in major cities do not always have the most up to date technology as other
schools. However, money is not the answer to everything. I am sure there are teachers in
public schools with lack of resources, money, and even interest from students who do a
much better job at teaching than some teachers who have all of the resources in the

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world. The path to success for students does not allows strictly correlate with money in
schools, like most private schools; however, money in schools certainly does help.
There certainly is no easy solution to this problem of segregated public schools in
major cities. Definitely as future teachers we can learn to work with what we are given
and make the most for our students. We can also help raise awareness for those public
schools less fortunate that others. No child, like Mireya, should have to worry about
using the restroom during a seven-hour school day every day. Eldridge Cleaver stated it
perfectly in his speech when he said, Youre either part of the solution or youre part of
the problem.
As Cleaver stated, my purpose for multicultural education in the future is to be a
part of the solution. I want to fight for those students who may feel discriminated against
or alienated. By being aware of the situations in our society and not turning a blind eye, I
believe I can help fight with others to find the solution.
Through my personal experiences during my twenty-one years and also through
this class I have gained a better understanding of what multicultural education is for the
future. I have traveled to different parts of the world and experienced other cultures to
help me understand how others live. Furthermore, college has opened up my eyes to
various aspects that I would have never seen if I had not left my small town and
experienced larger groups of people, especially people my age. As a teacher, multicultural
education is a way for me to fully understand how to respond to our constantly changing
world. It has provided me with knowledge about the thousands of cultures, races,
religions, and traditions present in the world today. Overall, I have learned to not view

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those aspects of people differently, but to view those characteristics as positives in my
future classroom and a way to further enrich the learning environment.