From our round-robin impromptu exercise--standing in a circle free associating about "Culture is__________" one by one, we learned a lot about culture with 100% participation in the class. Great teamwork and great being in the moment to make it happen. Thanks!
So ultimately you should be noticing how culture is shared, symbolic, all-encompassing, and integrated. We should be sure to explore how culture is maladaptive and make sure everyone gets that. Here's a question to begin that inquiry and the group that had this section can chime in on the blog and in class:
Is culture always helpful?
Answer: No. Cultural practices can be maladaptive in the long-term. One example is that our own culture prizes consumerism and consumption, the use of the automobile, and climate-controlled living spaces. However, the technologies used to achieve these comforts may be causing environmental damage which is detrimental to us in 
the long-term. (see The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard).
Some things about the modern classroom can be maladaptive in the long run. Can you think of any? Here's a quote that suggests perhaps an alternative for the classroom:
How do you think certain practices we have used between teachers and students for a long time might be maladaptive?We aim for a broadened view of cultural socialization that considers its mechanisms and implications for education. Here, we follow the observations of Moll (2000): 'We are moving toward a more dynamic, processual notion: that cultural life consists of multiple voices, of unity as well as discord, including an imperfect sharing of knowledge; of intergenerational misunderstanding as well as common understandings; of developing both adaptive and maladaptive practices while discarding others—in short, of human actions that are always creative in the face of changing circumstances. . . . [I]t might be more realistic to say “that people live culturally rather than they live in culture.' (p. 330) Cultural socialization can be defined as how people learn to “live culturally.” (Italics added). From “Every Shut Eye Ain’t Sleep”: Studying How People Live Culturally by Carol D. Lee, Margaret Beale Spencer, and Vinay Harpalani in Educational Researcher, Vol. 32, No. 5, pp. 6–13
How has our avoidance of talking about whiteness contributed to both an adaptive and a maladaptive practice over time?
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3 comments:
I don't think that certain teaching practices are maladaptive as much as they are proven. In subjects which require the systematic processing, storage, and analyzing of information, such as mathematics or chemistry, traditional teaching methods are most effective. When we look at tests comparing the quality of education in the US and other countries, it's hard to keep in mind the fact that teaching style is less influential than student competence, societal distraction, and other factors outside of classrooms. As a society, we need to ask certain questions. Is intelligence more important than knowledge? Is social skill going to produce better graduates than discipline and technical knowledge? Being part of a society in which people change jobs many times over a lifetime, I wonder if, as a society, we aren't placing enough value on expertise and specialization. Before we look at how knowledge and skills are distributed, we should look again at how important these facts and skills really are. Maybe the fact that maladaptive teaching practices exist is less important than the question of whether or not curriculum is maladaptive in itself.
^forgot to sign the above comment.
I agree with abe, I don't think there are any modern methods of teaching that are maladaptive. There are some methods that may work better than others as well as some methods that may inhibit learning. For example in there is a lot of emphasis placed on test grades rather than just attaining new knowledge. Technology helps and also hinders learning, so it's a bit of both.
One example i can think of is
Food pesticides because they affect the food we eat which will negatively effect us in the long run.
Also newly innovated drugs may help us temporarily but may cause long term damage if used inappropriately.
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