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Cultural Self Analysis
Shawn Haley
Department of Education, University of the Cumberland
EDOL-547 Diversity in a Multicultural Society
Dr. Susan Weaver
September 18, 2022
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For my assignment, I have decided to talk to and interview one of my co-workers at
Holmes Middle School. Mrs. Reicart is a Special Education Teacher in the sixth grade. We
have worked together now for approximately twelve months. Based on what Michelle has
told me, we have been brought up in very different scenarios. It was very interesting to hear
about her upbringing.
Background
Michelle is a Columbian, German, and American Indian female from the Blackfoot
Tribe. She is in her early fifties. She was raised in a Roman Catholic household. She attended
Catholic school and went to church every Sunday, including CCD before church. She attended
St. Raphael’s which was an all-white school. So, she didn’t get to experience other races.
Michelle’s father owned a construction company, and he taught them to be hard workers. Her
father was extremely strict on manners, respect, and behavior. Even though she was one of six
children, there were never money problems. He molded us to be strong, hardworking, honest
persons that stood up for ourselves and others. The only disadvantage Michelle could remember
was that she didn’t get to meet people like her so she could learn about her heritage (Michelle
Reicart, personal communication, September 18, 2022).
As for myself, I am in my mid-fifties. I am a Caucasian male. I am a father of two
daughters, thirty-three and twenty-one. I have lived in the Northern Kentucky area my whole
life. Some cities I have lived in were Covington, Independence, Taylor Mill, and Ft. Wright.
Currently, my oldest daughter lives in Cincinnati, OH, and my youngest daughter lives in
Muncie, IN. I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1967 at Catherine Booth Hospital. This was a
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hospital for unwed mothers to go and have their children. I grew up in Covington, KY in a
lower-class home. My mother was handicapped and therefore we didn’t have much. But as far as
I was concerned, I had everything I needed. I have one sister who is eight years younger than me.
She is married with three children, two sons, and a daughter. She currently lives in Bellevue,
KY. Both my sister and I were taught to treat everyone with respect and the same as you would
want to be treated.
Religion
Michelle grew up in a Roman Catholic household. She attended Catholic school and went
to church every Sunday, including CCD before church. The school she attended; St. Raphael’s
was an all-white school. She did not get to experience those persons of other races. Currently,
she says she believes in God but she does not attend church or have the Catholic mindset. She
says she’s religious but has developed her own beliefs from different religions such as
Catholicism, Baptist, and Islam (Michelle Reicart, personal communication, September 18,
2022).
Growing up in my household, religion was not a prevalent part of our lives. The only
church I attended was in elementary school. The school would have classes travel for Bible
School once a week. We would walk about a block and a half and attend a class in a local Baptist
church. We did that for two years which were sixth and seventh grades. Once I went on to high
school, I started attending church occasionally at a local Baptist church. I also played softball for
their team. After I graduated high school, I no longer attended church. My beliefs had changed. I
no longer needed to be defined by rather I went to church or not. I didn’t need to go to a church
to believe in God. I do however respect those who do choose to go to church and for whatever
religion they choose to worship. This is the same as what I am doing as a teacher with my
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students. No matter what or who I believe in, I can not tell students to believe in the same things
I believe in. This goes along with standard 2 of INTASC in which teachers should strive to
ensure inclusive learning environments (Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO], 2017).
Education
As previously stated, Michelle attended Catholic school. Her parents were practicing
Roman Catholics. Michelle attended college and received her bachelor’s in Sociology in 2010.
She then worked for the State of Kentucky as a social worker in the Cabinet of Health and
Family Services until 2020. She then started attending The University of the Cumberland to
attain her Master’s in Teaching (Michelle Reicart, personal communication, September 18,
2022).
Unlike Michelle, my education was in the public school system. I attended Fourth
District Elementary School in Covington, KY. I attended first through seventh grade there. By no
means was my education cheated because it was a public school. My memories still reminisce
back to the days of elementary school. I can remember learning how to crochet in third grade,
working with burlap and yarn in first grade, or learning how to make bowls and cups using clay
and a kiln in second grade. The best field trip ever was in fifth grade. We went to Frankfort and
toured all the state buildings including the governor’s mansion. In sixth grade we went on a field
trip to the General Motors Assembly Plant in Norwood, OH. The Pontiac Firebird was assembled
there. Or for seventh grade, we went to Kings Island. THE best elementary school experience.
All thanks to Ms. Mills, Ms. Hipsher, Ms. Foltz, Ms. Hines, Ms. Rahm, and Ms. Hargraves.
Moving on to high school, I was still part of the public school system. Back in that day, I
was one of approximately 400 that graduated in my class. I had a normal high school career. I
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did stay on the “B” honor roll for all high school. I did not play any sports but was a part of the
yearbook staff, Flats and Cues, and the class newspaper. I had quite a fun high school career. My
sixth and seventh-grade teachers came to my high school graduation. Again, best elementary
school ever. I graduated in 1985 and attempted to go to college. Unfortunately, I spent more time
in the game room than in the classroom. I didn’t fair too well. I joined the workforce until 2009
when I decided to go to school and get a degree. Starting back, I went to the local community
college and received my associate’s degree in under 2 years. I then moved on to obtain my
bachelor’s degree. Which I did from Western Kentucky University in 2013. And now I’m trying
to get my Master’s in Teaching so I can finally grow up and return to my alma mater and give
back to the community and make my elementary teachers proud.
Ethnic Diversity
Michelle has stated that during school, she went to an all-white school. But in
motherhood, she has applied for and received Hispanic grants for school as have her daughters.
She is also looking into business loans that cater to Hispanic females. She has also been
exploring her Indian heritage which she discovered about four months ago. She said she’s in the
process of proving her heritage as part of the Blackfoot Tribe (Michelle Reicart, personal
communication, September 18, 2022).
I have lived ethnic diversity since the early 1970s. Growing up, there wasn’t all this
Black lives matter or Black vs. White or any type of color bias. Well at least at my age up until I
was 18 years old. I didn’t know any different in 1972 when I started school in first grade. All the
children, Black or White, didn’t see hate, didn’t see segregation. We all played together every
day. We lived amongst each other. We all lived the same economical life. We were lowermiddle-class. Not poor, but not rich either. We played at each other’s house, spent the night, ate
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dinner….as far as I was concerned, the color of our skin may have been different, but we all bled
red blood. Which makes us the same.
Sociopolitical Context
Michelle said her upbringing has developed certain traits for her to be respectful,
assertive, confident, and polite. She was raised Republican and still has those beliefs today.
Being raised as a Republican has shaped her views of the world. Michelle says she was always
taught to protect the weak, respect the military, respect your elders, and do not let people take
advantage of you. She says she respects all life and loves animals. She has rescued 28 pit bulls
and have rehomed them to good homes. She says she’s an advocate for people and animals that
are labeled bad, dangerous, or difficult. She says because of this, she enjoys working with
students that have behavioral problems. She said she tries to connect with them, understand what
causes their behavior, and help them (Michelle Reicart, personal communication, September 18,
2022).
Because of my upbringing, I didn’t have any negative thoughts or biases toward any
person. By the time of graduation, there was an influx of persons from Vietnam. Again, we were
friends. Different cultures but love amongst each other. Because of this, I see everyone as equal.
No matter the color, religion, or sexual orientation. I have no aspects of diversity that make me
uncomfortable. I’ve lived within and around everything.
Education Implications
Even though Michelle was brought up in a white education system, she said she
appreciates all people from diverse backgrounds. Also recently learning about her new cultural
connections, she’s looking forward to exploring the Blackfoot Tribe. She is also excited to learn
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about the other cultures that she shares with her newfound Indian culture. With, she says she
doesn’t judge people that are different from her. She gets to know them and learns about their
culture. She builds bonds with all her students, and she doesn’t put labels on them (Michelle
Reicart, personal communication, September 18, 2022).
Again, speaking of my past, I grew up with no diversity implications. There was no
racism ever in the twelve years I was in high school. Being brought up in a neighborhood where
all races and religions lived together and helped each other out. I take that closeness and use it
today in my classroom. I show all children the same respect every day. A student, Black or
White, can have a bad day and make a few bad decisions, but tomorrow is a new day and I tell
them it’s a new day and I don’t hold grudges. I also try and see the good in all my students. I
hope that all the students see how I treat everyone and can take away and feel the same way and
think that everyone is equal. My showing my students this helps me with the INTASC standard 2
which says that being understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and
communities ensures inclusive learning environments (CCSSO, 2017).
To end, I learned a lot about how my friend Michelle was raided and how she is looking
to explore her roots and cultures. I was also impressed with how she has overcome her religious
upbringing to become a religious independent and take in to account several different religions. I
also learned that she lived a relatively safe life that was free of diversities. She also experienced a
strong upbringing that has taught her to spread her strengths to the children she teaches.
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References
Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). (2017, November 6). InTASC model core
teaching standards: A resource for state d­­­­ialogue.
https://ccsso.org/index.php/resource-library/intasc-model-core-teaching-standards-andlearning-progressions-teachers-10