Values and Kitchener's Five Ethnical Principles

Last week in HED 201, we discussed the ideas surrounding personal values and how ethics pertain to Kitchener’s Five Ethnical Principles. First off, values are “freely chosen personal beliefs”. In a sense, what we value dictates what we believe to be moral.Therefore, values play a big role when trying to form our moral compass, which helps us make decisions every day. Ethics also affects how we view the world around us. Kitchener’s Five Ethnical Principles take the idea of ethics and incorporates it into a model that Kitchener believe we should all live by. The five principles are:1) respecting autonomy, 2) doing no harm, 3) benefiting others, 4) being just, and 5) being faithful. To respect the autonomy of others, one should strive to “provide leaders and members freedom of choice.” Number 2 simply refers to the simple fact that as leaders, we should “refrain from harming others, physically or emotionally.” As leaders, we should perform ac that benefit others and the planet, not just ourselves. Being just simply entails being fair and promoting equality. Being faithful does not necessarily connect to a certain religion or faith, but does state that you trust one another and keep your promises to the best of your ability.

This past week, I have been thinking about what possibly I might want to present as a solution to the case study give to us in class. The case study, in short, addresses the issue of retention rates at the University of Arizona for freshmen. While trying to think of solutions to this problem, it is important that I incorporate my own set of ethics while determining what can possibly be done to improve freshmen retention rates at the University. I believe that it is important to have both confidence and knowledge in a University environment. Therefore, in my case study, I suggested that more be done to help students who are bad test-takers by offering optional seminars or workshops on how to study and take a general college test, much like how Kaplan teaches its pupils to study for the SAT, MCAT, etc. This idea would be supported by Kitchener’s Five Ethnical Principles. This idea would not harm anyone(would only help) and would benefit others. The University would be keeping its promise to students to create a positive and supportive learning environment, while respecting the student’s right to do what they wish. By doing this, the University would also help incoming freshmen be on the same level when it comes to knowledge about test taking, which in truth promotes equality among new students. I also think that less general education classes be taught in Centennial Hall, and should be moved to smaller lecture halls. Students would learn more if given a smaller classroom environment(would not harm and would benefit students). This idea would help the University keep its commitment to parents and students that education is highly valued here. Smaller class sizes would also be fair to teachers and students. This would also not restrict anyone’s ability to be in a smaller or larger class, because both will still be offered at the University of Arizona. Overall, when making decisions, try to incorporate your values along with Kitchener’s Five Ethical Principles to yield the best results 

Identity and Privelege

       Last week in class, we discussed ideas behind the concepts of identity and privilege. The term identity has very broad definition in this course. Therefore, for our intents and purposes, the term identity is an umbrella, with many other subcategories beneath it. Two of these subcategories are ascribed identity and  self identity. Ascribed identity is “how others may see you or what society may impose on you”(as taken from the slide sow presented in class. In some cases, this may not correspond with your self identity, which is how you see yourself in society. Self identity may take the form of attributes that you associate with yourself. These attributes are ones that many others may have. Shared attributes among others increase your chance of finding someone that get along with and understands you. Several attributes can also be said to have certain privileges, or a special advantage, that may help you more in society, compared to somebody who does not share that attribute with you.

For example, I am classified in the United States, by society, as Hispanic, simply because I have a common Hispanic last name. In truth, I can trace my family back to France and southern Spain. Therefore, I am European, or White Spaniard, but because society states that I am Hispanic, many of those around me have always assumed that I am either 1) Mexican, 2) Latina, or 3) Puerto Rican. In some cases, I sometimes find that I agree with statement society makes, because I do not have ancestors that inhabited the United States when it was first colonized. In other situations, I find that I disagree with what society has labeled me, especially when someone asked me if I was going to a protest concerning the new act against the illegal immigration of many Mexicans. In this case, my self and ascribed identity do not match, and most of the time,  this is true. But I still find that I show my self identity simply by the friends I have made, who are usually white-caucasian or are of the middle upper class.

I know that my sister, female cousin, and I are not given the same privileges as my male cousin, simply because he is male. I know that when he went away for college, my grandparents bragged a little that he got into Boston University with a scholarship. Not much was said when I got into Baylor, The University of Arizona, and Arizona State University, all with scholarships. I know that even though he did not return for his sophomore year, and is now doing part-time schooling at a community college and Cal-State Fullerton, he is looked upon much more than I am for being a college student. They say he has to work very hard and that he is taking many extra courses to get to where he wants to be; they say that I am not doing as difficult a workload as he is, when, all be told, they do not know what courses I am taking. They cut him more slack than they do me. In truth, all accomplishments the girls in my family make are not as good as his. In my family, being male is a definite privilege, compared to being a female.

Ethnocentricity and Culture

        In class last week, we discussed the idea of ethnocentricity and culture. A type of culture is identified by “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations; the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” (as taken from the slide show presented during class). Culture is shown in many ways, through the clothes we wear, the language we speak, and food we eat. In many cases, different cultures coming together can result in what is called ethnocentricity, which is when a person or group takes some of their cultural aspects from their home into a new place. Ethnocentricity is something each of us practices, and can have both a negative and positive effect on the culture we are currently trying to adapt into. 

For example, the other day my roommate got on the phone with one of her friends that currently lives back in her hometown. After a while, my roommate started to talk about life here in Arizona, stating that it was much different from the life she had lead while in New York. She stated that “people living in the West are more sensitive to the words and actions people take here than they are back home.” She also confided in her friend that calling one of her friends a retard was not looked as badly upon back home as it was here. My roommate has experienced a slightly different culture here in Arizona than the one she lived in in New York. She had to adapt to the slight cultural changes here in Arizona, such as not calling a friend a retard, and realized that many cultural ideas that she thought were ok in a normal society, could not be practiced here. 

Another example involves a friend or a friend, who has recently come to the United States to learn English, as well as study here at the University of Arizona. I was recently introduced to her in my English class, and realized that she spoke broken English.I thought, “Well, maybe she has recently moved to the states with her family and is still trying to learn effective communication skills.” After sitting down at our appropriate seats, my friend starts talking to her in her home language. This is when I realize that she is an international student, originally from China, and is doing her best to try and fit in at a school that does not teach in her home language. She told me later she finds it easier to speak in her home language than it does in English, but that she did not want to exclude me simply because I did not speak the language she spoke. In a way, she was being ethnocentric, and doing so in a way that, from an outsider, may seem like her being exclusive when it came to making friends and communication with others. She took what she knew from her home country and applied it here, which is what many American do when they travel to other places. All in all, her ethnocentricity was a way for her to survive here while trying to adapt.

Cohesive Groups and Tuckman's Model of Development

In the last class, we briefly discussed the concept of a cohesive group, as well as Tuckman’s Model of Group Development, and how Tuckman’s model relates to a cohesive group. A cohesive group is one that has individual or group attraction, a shared vision or goal, and revolves around the concept of teamwork. Tuckman’s Model of Group Development states that there are five stages that create a cohesive group; forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. Forming is the creation of a new group with individuals from different backgrounds. Storming is the problematic period or period where conflict in the group arises, and not much performance is done. Norming, is the stage after storming, where conflicts are settles, and performance starts to increase.  Performing is the stage where the group is working at its maximum potential, due to the fact that the group now knows the quirks of its members. Adjourning is the point in the group process where every individual goes their separate ways, and from then on s not able to reform the group they were a part of in the exact same way. A cohesive group may not display all stages of Tuckman’s Model of Development, but most stages will be observed throughout a cohesive group’s existence.

Throughout my experience here at the University of Arizona, I have had several groups that were cohesive and that displayed all five stages of of Tuckman’s model. Recently, however, I have entered into a new cohesive relationship with my new roommate, Hillary. Hillary moved into my dorm room a week after my old roommate moved out. Our first meeting was our group “forming”. Throughout the past several months, I have experienced a time of storming and a time of norming with Hillary; we have learned what each other’s schedules are like, what our pet peeves are, and how to live together in the same small room together while providing the other with the space they need to get their homework and studies done. We have not as of yet experienced a point where we are performing, and we may not demonstrate this stage simply because we are not in a situation where we are the only friends we have. At the end of the semester, we will be adjourning our time together as roommates(since we will not be roommates in the 2011-2012 Academic School Year), and will part and go on our separate ways. Although Hillary and I are not best friends, we still are a cohesive group; we like each other well enough that we talk about our other friends to each other, sometimes watch television together, and every once and a while, help each other out with things the other may need. We do like each other, we are both committed to making this dorm work the best for us, and we believe the best way that commitment is going to hold true is if we work together. Although it may not seem like the perfect cohesive group, it still is one in every way.