Response Paper 2

Chelsea Billek

September 15, 2011

SOC 1000 (15)

Response Paper 2

Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects, and behavior. One’s culture makes up a lot of who they are as a person and is therefore very important. From birth we are taught to adjust to this culture we are thrust into and eventually become very comfortable within it. But, there are times when we experience a new, different culture that is not familiar to us. The feeling one gets when this occurs is called culture shock. Culture shock is anyone who feels disoriented, uncertain, out of place, or even fearful when immersed in an unfamiliar culture.

I myself have experienced culture shock when I first went to college. Most people might expect one to be subjected to culture shock when they visit a new country or something of that nature, but I have never left the United States. There are many different cultures other than the obvious different civilizations around the world. Going from a high school atmosphere to a college atmosphere can definitely be viewed as a change in lifestyle. Many things changed including the length of my classes, the people I encountered, and the subjects being studied. In high school, we were in class from 8 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon. We studied the normal fundamental classes such as math and english, and were allowed to pick a few elective classes such as technical drawing or wood shop. Being from a small town, I was surrounded by a majority of the same people I had known since kindergarten.

Once I began college, things changed drastically. Given my college is only 5 minutes from my house, it is surprising that I barely knew anyone in my new classes. This alone was very intimidating and some-what worrisome. The classes were also dramatically different. Instead of studying things forced upon me by the curriculum, I was able to pick a major and took classes pertaining to my field of interest. Not only was the subject matter different, but these classes ranged in length and days taught. Some classes were once a week, while others might be three times a week. This was not as unsettling as all the strangers surrounding me. Instead, it was a lot more manageable of a schedule than being in class from 9-3 everyday.

I do not believe ethnocentrism played a large part in this experience. Although in my high school years they tried to fully prepare us for the college life, it was in fact very different than high school. I never saw high school as the normal way of education or superior to that of other forms of education. I believe education can take many forms depending on the subject matter taught and the group of subjects being taught as well. Therefore, no culture of learning can be above another in my opinion. I did learn though, that the college life style is one that offers more responsibility and flexibility for the student. There is not a strict curriculum like that in grade school and students are able to make their own decisions pertaining to classes and scheduling. Although college seems a little overwhelming at first and caused me to go through some minor culture shock, it is a culture that is easy to get accustomed to after a few weeks.