Teaching the mighty culture: made by us & maker of us

As human beings we create culture, modify and refine it, teach it through formal and informal education, accumulate and pass it on through the generations. Culture is unique to humans. We are the maker of it. At the same time, culture is the maker of us. Our genes are not enough to make us who we are. We have to learn to be somebody. Being American, French or Turkish does not make any difference, this is all learned. The content of learning in becoming somebody is our culture. Not just our identity but the patterns of our behaviors ranging from eating, speaking and learning to all kinds of human activities are all molded by the culture we learn. Unlike innate biological features, which are given to us, we learn culture. Since we learn it, we can unlearn or relearn it, or we can learn more than one culture and can live a bi- or multi-cultural life. Teachers should learn the vitally important role of culture in shaping the identity and behaviors of their students. In this article, I explain how I teach culture in a teacher education program

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