Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 1 Student Number:47744561

NAME: SONJA BOYD STUDENT NUMBER: 47744561 COURSE: ETH 305V COURSE NAME: MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION UNIQUE NUMBER: 739284 ASSIGMENT 4 SEMESTER 2

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 2 Student Number:47744561

SECTION A: LIFE STORY

I am Sonja Boyd; I am 31 year old white female. In my community they consider me to belong to a White English Culture but my father is Afrikaans and we mostly followed the Afrikaans culture but spoke English the reason for this is because my mum spoke English and is a British and my dad is Afrikaans and a South African, I am of Christian faith. Today I am going to discuss more about my culture so that you will get to know how my culture works. My culture is mostly run through the language culture and not run strictly according to religion. My family consists of my father, mother, and two sisters. My father is the authority of the family and my mother is under my father and we follow both parents. My father has the authority to make any decisions regarding what happens within the household and what happens outside. My mother is in charge of looking after the children and making sure that the house is in order, my mum has to make sure that we get fed, clothed and make sure our schoolwork is done. I am the eldest of my two sisters and I am responsible for taking care of them and making sure that they do not do anything naughty and my other two sisters have to obey and follow our rules. The childrens jobs in my family are to play and to do basic chores. Our family is a very strict and close family and any problems that may happen are dealt with by my dad, through corporal punishment. The roles of people in my culture are clearly defined. The priest is the community leader in our church. After the Priest comes the role of the Afrikaans community. In the Afrikaans community your father is regarded as the person in charge and men are expected to work and earn a living and the women are expected to take care of the children. The grandparents are

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 3 Student Number:47744561 there to help you when you need help and are the one with gifts to spoil you. In the use language this role is very important because this defines who you are and whether you were important or not. If we spoke English to my dad or my dads grandparents we were not respected or accepted as one of them and were treated differently. But if we spoke English to my mums side we were treated properly, we never spoke Afrikaans to them because we went to an English school and my mum spoke English to us. Discipline is done by my father; he has the authority over us children. What counts as discipline in terms of my culture is that if we disobey, or disrespect people that are older than us we will receive a hiding in any form, we were never punished by the way children are punished now. The forms of behaviour that is considered socially acceptable for children of different ages and gender are that children under the age of 18 are not allowed to drink as well as you cannot get a drivers license until you are 18. Children are not allowed to leave home until they have finished school. Between the ages of birth to 8 years your duty as a child is to play and after the age of 8 years old you have to help your mom with household chores if you are a female and if you are male you have to help with the garden and your dad. In my home we speak both English and Afrikaans, we speak mostly English. My mum speaks English to us and my dad speaks Afrikaans to us. In the Afrikaans culture the way you greet a person is kissing the person hello on the lips or on the cheek and a hug at the same time or if it is of business nature you will shake hands. When we greet a person by hugging it is showing the person we care and love them, however we dont hug strangers we just hug people that are known to the family. When we greet a person that is a relative or someone who is older than you, you address them as aunty or uncle. We are

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 4 Student Number:47744561 allowed to talk to anybody anywhere, slang in our culture is regarded as rude and therefore it is not used. In terms of eyecontact we are expected to look at each other in the eyes otherwise you would be regarded as being rude and not listening, when we look a person in the eye it is showing the person respect and that we are listening. In terms of Religion, norms, values and meaningful existence, what is considered sacred in my religion is the bible and the symbol of the cross is considered holy in my religion. Everything around us is considered secular such as our house, schools, work and our environment we live in. My culture recognises all other religions and their authorities, but our own religion is our authority to us. For my culture God is the Supreme authority and the church and its elders and we follow as a family. We believe that the history of Gods people and lessons from God are in the bible, which was written by men but were guided from God. Prayer does play a role in my life, we pray in the morning, evening, before supper and when we are at church on Sundays. The holidays we celebrate are Easter (when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead), Christmas (when Jesus was born), and the Ascension Day (when he ascended into heaven). It does conflict with the mainstream society today because the ascension is not a public holiday anymore but we do however celebrate Christmas and Easter, although the true meaning of Christmas and Easter as we see it is not recognised by everybody. The principles we follow are mainly biblical, such as the Ten Commandments, which emphasize love your God as you love of neighbour. Our norms and values are based on religion. The norms and values have not changed because the source is the Bible which has not changed in 2000 years of its existence. Firstly the state will reprimand the person if any laws are broken, secondly the church leader can reprimand members of the church if the

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 5 Student Number:47744561 behaviour can be damaging to self, others or the church. An example can be adultery, slander, violence, and theft. The state reprimands by means of the court and prisons as well as implementing fines. The church reprimands in terms of verbal confrontation or reporting to the authority if needed or by expelling the person from the church. The activities I would regard as being useful to exist meaningfully is like going to church, volunteering, going to work, entertainment, teaching and learning. The educator can assist by encouraging learners to actively engage in the activities mentioned above. The foods we eat are based on the Westernised culture. Mostly from the European module, but also including some from other cultures, like Indian, African, Chinese, Japanese and Ethiopian food. During meals it is good manners to eat with eating utensils and no talking around the table. There are no obligations apart from the obligations of looking after one another with regards to social obligations. We thank the Lord for the food we eat and thank him for everything. Amen. This is just thanking the lord for providing us with the food. In our tradition and customs, we attend Church on Sundays, and we celebrate holidays around the Christian calendar. During the Easter holidays we celebrate Easter by the Easter bunny, during the Christmas holidays we celebrate the birth of Christ by giving gifts to family members and friends. The forms of classical paintings, classical composers and modern paintings and modern composers who are seen as experts in their field are seen as highly valued amongst our culture. Traditionally the media we use today to communicate with people are through newspapers, radio, television, books and the internet. The reason why we have Education is to help people learn about the values and norms of society and to gain productive

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 6 Student Number:47744561 employment. Father-child interaction, mother-child interaction, and Father and mother interaction, the methods of teaching and learning at home are reading, television, radio, internet, and other socialises. It is appropriate that student such as myself to ask for information from a teacher as this will show the teacher that I am learning and taking part in the learning process. What constitutes a positive response from a teacher is when the teacher encourages the learners when they are battling with their work by spending more time with the learner, and that the teacher encourages a positive environment. The pupils response as in my life would be to work harder and know that if I put a positive attitude towards my education the prospects of my future will look better. In my opinion parents of a particular group may have their own expectations of their own children. Teachers have expectations of different types of groups but I have never experienced any difference in treatment amongst my fellow classmates. There was no reward system that was used, only at the end of term when we received distinctions we were awarded certificates and also if we improved in our subjects. In the Lifestyle of my family, it was living in authoritative and strict living conditions. We spent most of our free time doing work for my parents especially my father such as gardening, painting, and cleaning. We never had free play because if we were not working we had to study. The planned activities we did revolved around the school holidays whereby we went and spent the holidays at my grandparents house. In my teenage life I spent most of my teenage life in sports activities and helping my family. The hobbies I partook in were cycling, running, swimming, reading, hockey, Drum Majorettes and other extra school curricula. The pets we have at home are dogs and cats.

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 7 Student Number:47744561 In my culture the dress code depends on the situation, however we mostly dress in casual westernised clothing. In school we had to adhere to the schools dress code, girls had to wear dresses and boys have to wear either shorts or long pants with a shirt. Our dresses were not allowed to be higher than four fingers above the knee. Our hair was not allowed to be dyed or any hair gel is not permitted. When there were special occasions or going out we had to dress smartly in a dress and hair made up. For confirmation we have to wear a white dress as well as for our weddings as this show purity. We were not allowed to wear anything that showed our flesh above the knees and stomach as this was considered that we were prostitutes. In my culture we divide class into social classes, the Upper high class people (Elite), Middle class (working class), and low class (poor). The High class are considered those people who have power and have lots of income from high paid jobs or were born into wealthy families, Middle Class are regarded as those people that earn salaries but are not rich but not poor either, then we have the Low income class whereby these people are low income earners and who rely on the state for subsides and housing. In my current life we still face poverty but we are regarded as the middle class, however there is a lot of poverty facing people everyday due to the economic downturn and people losing jobs everyday. Material objects are not valued in my life, because we will not take these material things when we die, and material objects do not define who you are as a person or family. The most valuable object in my life is my family.

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b) Write the life story of someone that does not belong to your culture, in the same format
I am Sandile Ngube and I am 16 years old. In my community they consider us to belong to the Zulu culture and I am black, in my family our faith consists of a mixture of traditional and Christianity. I live in Kwa-Zulu Natal. My family consists of my Mother, Father, 4 sisters and a brother. However we have other relatives that stay with us that are in our blood line. In our Zulu culture it is a sign of respect, parents and elders are not called by their names, instead their surnames are used. In the Zulu culture, my father is seen as the main authority in my family because a man is the head of the family, and all decisions regarding my family are done through my fathers approval. My father is the sole provider in my family and is responsible for providing food on the table. My mother is a stay at home who takes care of the family needs. If there are problems within the household it is done with talking with one another and my father caries out the discipline. In my family discipline is carried out by giving us punishment and talking. The roles of people in my culture are clearly defined. The priest is regarded as the community leader and we follow him accordingly. The man of the family is seen as the authority, therefore the responsibilities my father are is responsible for the protection of family members, regulating procreation, providing love, loyalty and non-contingent emotional support, housing, feeding and clothing of my family. My mother is the housewife and she has to take care of us by educating us about

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 9 Student Number:47744561 our traditions, values, norms and beliefs. My mum is always there when we need her; she provides the security and certainty of human Our everyday relationships and she protects us from danger and the restfulness of tranquil existence. We as the children fall under our parents authority and we are expected to abide there rules and go to school to receive an education. The roles of the female daughter fall under the guidance of my mother, whereby my mum teaches the girls on how to take care of their household roles which prepares them for their future of being a mother. The boys are under the guidance of my father where he teaches us the how to take responsibility and to work in the gardens. The discipline in my family is done by my father or my mother; however it is mostly done by my father. In my family discipline is carried out through either getting spoken too or by being given a hiding. We follow very strict rules and have to abide by them. We have to respect our elders and may not speak unless we are spoken too; we are not allowed to look into the eyes of our elders as it is regarded as disrespectful.

The language that is spoken in my home is mostly IsiZulu, but we do sometimes communicate in English when we have visitors. Addressing those who are older than me, especially elderly and senior people, by their first names is viewed as lack of respect. Therefore terms like baba (father) and mama (mother) are used not only to address one's parents but also other senior males and females of the community. Sawubona is usually enough of a greeting for strangers, but a formal greeting is more appropriate for those who are familiar. The formal greeting includes a three-time handshake, while asking about the well-being of the person and his or her relations (Ninjani?).

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 10 Student Number:47744561 Taking leave involves the standard Sala/Nisale kahle (Remain well), and the other person responds by saying, Uhambe/Nihambe kahle (Go well). It is customary for juniors and the young to initiate the greetings when they meet their seniors and their elders. When we approach our elders we have to either kneel before and we may not look directly into the eyes of the adult as this would be seen as disrespect to the elder because the elder has earned their position to be there. We are not allowed to communicate without being addressed first. My religion is very important to my culture, we belong to the Christian community but we also follow some traditional belief .We believe in the Ancestral spirits are important in our religious life. Our symbols for our belief are known as the Cross, dove, anchor, fish, alpha and omega, chi rho we go and worship in the church. What we consider sacred in our religion is the Bible which is comprised of the Old Testament and New Testament. In our church we have the following leaders in which we follow they are the Priest; bishop; archbishop; patriarch; pope; pastor; minister; preacher; and lastly the deacon, and then our family comes after. We celebrate the same calendar as the Christians; we celebrate Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, Lent, as well as Heritage Day. We dont go to any Zulu church but we go to a Christian church and worship God, we believe that Jesus died on the cross and was buried for our sins, we believe that we were all born sinners and that Jesus will come again alongside God and judgement day will come. The belief we follow is to Know, love and serve God. We do however follow some traditional beliefs but we no longer practice it due to the fact we live in a more westernized culture, however we do some rituals to mark special occasions. Offerings and sacrifices are made to the ancestors for protection, good health, and happiness. Ancestral spirits come back to the world in the form of dreams, illnesses, and

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 11 Student Number:47744561 sometimes snakes. We also believe in the use of magic. Anything beyond our understanding, such as bad luck and illness, is considered to be sent by an angry spirit. When this happens, the help of a diviner (soothsayer) or herbalist is sought. He or she will communicate with the ancestors or use natural herbs and prayers to get rid of the problem. We believe in a creator god known as Nkulunkulu, who doesn't get involved in day-to-day human affairs. Instead, the Zulus appeal to ancestral spirits called AmaDlozi, or to divination for assistance with sorcery and evil spirits, which we believe, are the causes of our misfortune. There are numerous ceremonies that relate to an individual's stage in the domestic cycle and also are linked to ancestors. When we were babies we are named and then introduced to the ancestors in a ceremony called imbeleko. A girl's first menstruation is celebrated through a ceremony called umhlonyane. Both of these ceremonies involve slaughtering a goat. Young women are declared adults and ready for marriage through a ceremony called umemulo, which involves slaughtering a cow. Marriage is celebrated through a wedding ceremony (umshado or umgcagco). Death is a ceremonial occasion accompanied by appropriate rites of passage. Another important ceremony is conducted a year after a household member has died and is supposed to link the deceased with his or her long-departed relatives and elevate him or her to ancestorhood. We pray to our ancestors and God, we pray in the evening. We believe our ancestors are the mediator between God and us that if anything happens it is because of our ancestors communicating with us.

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 12 Student Number:47744561 In our Christian beliefs concerning God we believe the following: There is only one God God is a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit God is perfect God is omnipotent God is everywhere God knows everything God created the universe God keeps the universe going God intervenes in the universe God loves everyone unconditionally (though people

have to comply with various conditions in order to achieve salvation) Human beings can get to know God through prayer,

worship, love, and mystical experiences Human beings can get to know God through God's

grace - that is through his love and his power God the Son God lived on earth as Jesus Jesus was both wholly God and wholly human Jesus was born to a human woman, Mary, but

conceived of the Holy Spirit Because Jesus was wholly human he was subject to

pain, suffering, and sorrow like other human beings Jesus was executed by crucifixion but rose from the

dead at the Resurrection Jesus's life provides a perfect example of how God

wants people to live

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 13 Student Number:47744561 Jesus died on the Cross so that those who believe in him

will be forgiven all their sins God the Holy Spirit After the Resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for only

a few days before going up into Heaven Jesus promised that he would stay with his followers, so

after he went to Heaven he sent his Spirit to guide them The Holy Spirit continues to guide, comfort, and

encourages Christians A person in our community is reprimanded by the government and the law, if it has something to do with the community the punishment will be carried out by the elders and often the community will approach the pastor for help.

The food we eat is the normal Westernized culture food, except we dont eat pork or drink milk, but we love to eat our meilie meal, amasi (curdled milk), meat from the cow, beans, vegetables, and chicken. . The Zulu traditional beer is not only a staple food but a considerable source of nutrition. It is also socially and ritually important and is drunk on all significant occasions. We eat with a spoon or with our hands, and we dont sit at a table we sit in front of the television and eat, and we dont talk to one another when we do sit together whilst we eat. When we have family gatherings all the elders being the wives and grandmothers, aunts and daughters help with the preparation of the food and the men sit and talk. We celebrate special occasions such as a graduation where we slaughter a cow and have a big party. We also celebrate weddings and birthdays. When it comes to giving food out to the men we are not allowed to eat first as the men have to eat until they are full and then the women and children are only then allowed starting

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 14 Student Number:47744561 eating their meal. At meal times usually the men will be together and eat and the ladies will eat together. In our tradition the holidays and celebrations are run according to the South African calendar, we celebrate New Years Day on the 1st January, Human Rights Day, Good Friday (Friday before Easter Sunday, Family Day (Monday after Easter), Freedom Day, Workers Day, Youth Day, National Womans Day, Heritage Day, Day of Reconciliation, Christmas Day (the birth of Jesus), Day of Goodwill the day after Christmas. In our tradition the most valued art is expressed through many different art forms, such as music, dance, art, sculpture and beadwork and basketry. These traditions are deeply ingrained into our whole African culture. Listening is an equally important skill, which has been perfected by the traditional oral practices. Numerous songs and dances have been transmitted by word of mouth. Music is a form of communication and it plays a functional role in our culture. Songs accompany marriage, birth, rites of passage, hunting and even political activities. Music is often used in our culture to ward off evil spirits and to pay respects to good spirits, the dead and ancestors. The most significant instrument in African music is the African drum. It expresses the mood of the people and evokes emotion. The beat of the African drum is the heartbeat of the community and its rhythm is what holds the dancers together. Dance is an integral part of the culture; it utilizes symbolic gestures, masks, costumes, body painting and props to communicate. The dance movements can be simple or complex with intricate actions including fast rotation, ripples of the body and contraction and release. Dance is used to express emotion, whether joyful or sorrowful and it is not limited to just the dancers. Often spectators will be encouraged to join in. The masks that are used in dances have religious, ceremonial and functional origins. The artist who carves the mask will

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 15 Student Number:47744561 ceremonially purify himself and offer prayers to his ancestors for guidance before he begins the actual carving of the mask. The mask represents a spirit and it is believed that the spirit possesses the dancer as they wear the mask. The chosen dancer goes into a trance-like state in order to receive guidance and wisdom from the ancestors. The dancer will utter and moan the messages received and a wise man, who accompanies the dancer, will translate the message. What is well known amongst our culture is the beadwork we do. The colour of each bead carries a specific meaning. The beads have been used to carry messages known as ucu, a Zulu term loosely translated as love letters. It is an African tradition for young girls to send a boy a beaded bracelet of different colours. The boy will court her for a while and at the appropriate time; he will ask her the meaning of the beads. Art and sculpture are prevalent in African culture. and the most common themes depict a couple, a woman and child, a male with a weapon or animal, or a stranger. Couples are usually freestanding figures of the same size, representing the importance of two as one. A male and female couple in African art usually depicts strength and honour rather than love and intimacy, as it is uncommon for African men and women to publicly display their affection. A mother and child couple can represent mother earth and her people or the strong bond between mother and child. The male figure with a weapon or animal, represent honour to departed ancestors. African men are often honoured in warfare and there is a great emphasis on weaponry in African art, as it depicts survival and power. When the stranger is represented in African art, it usually depicts someone from a foreign country or tribe that is not welcomed. In our modern society that we live in we would use the television as a source of media and newspapers, as well as listening to contemporary music, we enjoy listening to the Hip Hop music, traditional Zulu songs and pop music.

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 16 Student Number:47744561 The purpose Education in the Zulu culture, my mother is responsible for teaching us our customs, attitudes and other details of culture. In turn, we as the children will take care of our parents when we start working. If we break this cycle we will be viewed as a community outcast, one who has forgotten about his or her roots. However it is very important for us to be educated in our family because it is our future that we look forward to and without education we will be in the same position as our fellow illiterate people so it is crucial that we obtain a decent education to conform to our society today. In our culture when it comes to questions posed in the classroom we are not allowed to volunteer information because the teacher knows best and know more than me, and if I question her ability it would be regarded as disrespect to the elder. Therefore it is a difficult obstacle if the teacher asks for my opinion, but now we have textbooks to back up my answer which makes it easier to participate in classroom discussions. I find in my classroom that the teacher has expectations for each one of us individually but I do find that she is biased towards us but that is because she does not understand my culture and if she did understand then she would understand why we dont behave the same way as her culture. I however attend a public system and our reward system is that if you get distinctions you get recognised by certificates.

The Lifestyle adhered to in my family is an authoritative lifestyle, my parents will use corporal punishment if it is required, otherwise my parents will punish me in terms of taking away privileges and talking to me. In my home we do have planned activities such as going to church on Sundays and celebrations but over the holidays and weekends we go out when we feel like gathering together at the mall to go shopping. If Im not out over the weekends playing with my friends then I

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 17 Student Number:47744561 will be working in someones garden for pocket money. I am a teenager and we go and watch movies, and go shopping with friends at the mall. However most of my time is spent on studying to get a better education to be a doctor. I enjoy athletics and netball as well as reading, this is my hobbies I love doing in my free time. At my home we dont have any pets. In my culture we dress according to the westernised culture mostly, however we only wear our traditional clothes on special occasions, such as Shaka's Day and cultural gatherings. Traditional clothing, however, is very colourful. Men, women, and children wear beads as accessories. Men wear amabheshu, made of goat or cattle skin, which looks like a waist apron, worn at the back. They decorate their heads with feathers and fur. Men also wear frilly goatskin bands on their arms and legs. Women wear isidwaba, a traditional Zulu black skirt made of goat or cattle skin. If a woman is not married, she may wear only strings of beads to cover the top part of the body. If she is married, she will wear a T-shirt. In the Zulu culture class is distinguished by social class, we have the Upper class of the immensely wealthy and/or powerful people, middle class which consists managers and highly paid professionals and the Lower class of people paid average or low wages or receiving "welfare". Some are homeless. My family follows this social status as this is the norm of the urbanised culture we follow today. I believe that social status of people will never be done away with because people prefer to measure themselves against something and feel they have accomplished something in life. Poverty does impact on everybodys lives, especially for some of my family members who live in the rural areas, because they are illiterate and are unable to get a job they have less money to buy food and they dont have electricity, or running water. However we are

Sonja Boyd: ETH305V 18 Student Number:47744561 regarded as middle class because we live in the urban areas and my father has a wonderful job of being a manager in a shop, so he is able to provide for all our essential needs and help my other family members that dont live with us.

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