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“Communicating Across Cultures”
Father Michael Oleksa
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Culture can be defined in three ways…
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Culture is
…the way you see the world, the beam of light you are in, the worldview.
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Culture is
…the game of life as you understand and play it.
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Culture is
…the story into which you were born.
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Our Culture
• The “Global Literate” Culture• American Cultural History
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Our Culture…the enactment of our story…human experiences on the
planet earth…the story we tell ourselves.
Human Experiences on Planet Earth
Millions of Years
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Our Culture
Millions of Years
EWK(Everything Worth Knowing)
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Our Culture
Millions of Years
•Biology
•Math
•Astronomy
•Cartography
•History
•Law
•Art
•Music
•Religion
•Ceremony
•Poetry
•Flora
•Fauna
•Medicine
•Economics
•_________
•_________
•_________
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Our Culture
Millions of Years
BiologyMath
AstronomyCartography
History
Law
ArtMusic
ReligionCeremony
PoetryFlora
FaunaMedicineEconomics
EWK
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Our Culture
•Cities
•Law
•Libraries
•Writing
•Courts
•Knowledge
•History
•Schools
EWK
A Package Deal
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Our Culture
Potential
Experience
Chronos
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Our Culture
Labor < Leisure
SpecializedMarketable Skill
Productive CitizenGlobal Economy
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Our Culture
Game 7-8 Major Languages Today
Chinese EnglishFrench SpanishGerman RussianArabic (Hindi)
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Global Literate
“Ball Game” 7-8 Major Languages Today
Global Political PowerGlobal Economic PowerGlobal Social Influence
Global Military Domination
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Our Ball Game’s Fundamental Assumptions
Global-literate Written language Knowledge-based Fragmented Specialized “Marketable skill” Chronos time
Leisure-labor (Play-Work Potential-Experience Productive
(Autonomous) individual citizen
Global economy
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GLS Profile
Increasingly secular Nature as resource
for human benefit Human centered and
dominant
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Why Schools?
Schooling:
• Necessary for the accumulation of status and possessions
• The more possessions, the more security is valued• But…Freedom vs Security remains a dilemma
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Global Literate Society’s Attitude Toward Time/History
Future Orientation
Knowledge to:
• Predict
• Control future
Literacy is key
Constant change
Development
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Traditional Local Culture’s Attitude Toward Time
Origins/Beginnings
Static
Eternal
Permanent
The past does not change.
Truth is forever the same.
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Basic Characteristics of Traditional Local Cultures
“Pre-historic”: Non or Pre-Literature
Traditional
rooted in Local Ecosystems
Non-literate: Oral
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TL Culture’s Education
• Education = Schooling• Education = What we learn that is…
• Useful vs Useless• Meaningful vs Meaningless• Relevent vs Irrelevant
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Traditional Local Educational Goals
Who we/you are.Where we/you fit.
How we/you relate.
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Curriculum
Origins…Patterns…Paradigms in Sacred Stories (Myths)
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Traditional Educational Goals
(1) Who in Alaska: The Human Beings
Lingit InuitDene/Dineh Yup’ikUnangax InupiaqYuut
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Traditional Educational Goals
(1) Who?
KairosRepetition and RemembranceEternal Structures
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Traditional Educational Goals
Nuna
Imaq
Qilak
(2) Where We Fit?
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Traditional Educational Goals
(3) How we relate to each other and the world.Myths:
Sacred (origin) Story containing paradigmsLegends:
Mostly negative stories w/consequences for violating patters/models/paradigms
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Traditional Curriculum
Song/Dance/CeremonyArt/Architecture
Clothing/Vestments/ToolsHousehold Utinsels/Weapons
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Playing the Game of Life
Ritualized Behaviors:Expectant Mothers (Naken Anellrusit?)NukalpiatFirst catch (Mingqeq)Table Manners (qanaqliq)Naming (Yup’ik/Lingit)Koo-eex “potlatch”
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Traditional Local Characteristics
• Oral LanguageWisdom-basedWholisticGeneralistHuman BeingKairos
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Traditional Local cont..
Meaningful-Meaningless According to Paradigm/without Paradigm Real Person/Membership Eco-system/rural Essentially spiritual Nature as dominant
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Traditional Local cont..
Spirit and Nature CenteredBalance and HarmonyConnection and Relationships
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Traditional Local cont..
EducationWho?Where?How?
