This is patently racist and should be struck down by the Supreme Court. Where are the Asian serving, African-American serving, Caucasian serving, Native American serving designations. Political Correctness once again run amok.

Like the emphases at the historically black colleges and the Native American colleges, an emphasis on serving hispanic students at colleges with large hispanic populations is an academically and socially-appropriate mechanism to help students earn an education.

Here in Hawai'i, we serve all students, yet we place an emphasis on Native Hawaiian students and traditional Hawaiian culture. The emphasis helps all students thrive in our island culture. Our University of Hawai'i campus, UH Leeward CC, has a very large percentage of Native Hawaiian students.

I am privileged to work closely with Native Hawaiians. My life is enriched because Native Hawaiians enjoy sharing their culture. I teach them science, and they teach me about life.

I hope to work at a Hispanic-serving college one day, too. This haole boy also loves hispanic culture. Viva la raza!

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jffoster wrote "Abnd what exactly does such "cultural competency" mean and who decides it?"

Anyone who interacts with people from a different culture rapidly realizes the value of understanding someone's cultural perspective. The Japanese perspective is distinct from the Australian perspective. The Cameroonian perspective is distinct from the Mexican perspective. The instructor/student relationship commonly is cited by students as crucial to retention. If an instructor better understands a student's cultural perspective, a stronger relationship can be forged. I worked with Japanese students for many years, and it took me several semesters to understand their perspective on the world. Once I did, I was a better instructor for them. Simple as that. Cultural competency is an easily understood concept.

"something in Latinoamerican "culture" might be maladaptive"

Culture is real - I am part of one and so are you - so the quotes and the condescension are unnecessary.

"Como se dice in espanhol "molleycoddle""

"Mimar" is a pretty good equivalent.

Pero wáchale vato, such observations as yours are not PC, and therefore not permitted. For the ñ try alt 0241.

Gracias, Señor (Ruiz.
But I couldnt the alt0241 to work. I got the * ñ * here by typing it into an MS Word file then copying and pasting, and that's too much trouble for general use.

I know that PC observations are generally frowned upon, especially in this and most other academic venues, but I can't be fired for them so I'll continue making them. Actually, I tended to make them even when I could have been fired for them.

Melane3 ((4), I'm an anthropologist and it was cultural anthropology that invented / discovered Culture in the modern (not just the arts sense). Most people who prattle about "cultural competency" are ill prepared and equipped to discuss and analyze the nature of Culture and cultural process.

jffoster wrote

"Melane3 ((4), I'm an anthropologist and it was cultural anthropology that invented / discovered Culture in the modern (not just the arts sense)."

And I am a a geochemical oceanographer, yet I realize that no one invented culture. Culture predates anthropologists, modern societies, and homo sapiens. Cultural competency is a term, like math competency, and its meaning is obvious.

Cultural differences exist between groups of students, e.g. Japanese and Samoan, and understanding cultural values and norms helps an instructor better deliver education. Fortunately, instructors in Hawai'i are exposed to many distinct cultures, and we welcome the diversity.

Melane3, you will notice that I wrote INVENTED / DISCOVERED, [we cant do italics in this venue.] Yes, of course culture existed in the paleolithic, and before anthropologists, just as metamorphic rocks, geosynclines, and continental drift existed before geologists. But as analytical and explanatory concepts, Anthropology invented, or developed if you prefer, the modern concept of Culture just as geology invented, or developed, its major concepts. And for you to presume to lecture me on Culture is as inappropriate as it would be for me to lecture you further on plate tectonics or ocean currents.

The notion of "cultural competency" as educationists and people who promulgated the material in the original post most anthropologists find to be extremely naive and shallow. It's meaning "is obvious" only so long as you treat it as either a cliche, a code word for something else, and/or or don't think about it very much. (For that matter, what exactly is "math competency"?)

And the original post isn't about whether we are going to be exposed to some number of different cultures but rather about to what extent institutions of higher learning are going to be pressured to accommodate them.

Jffoster wrote:

"Yes, of course culture existed in the paleolithic, and before anthropologists, just as metamorphic rocks, geosynclines, and continental drift existed before geologists. But as analytical and explanatory concepts, Anthropology invented, or developed if you prefer, the modern concept of Culture just as geology invented, or developed, its major concepts. And for you to presume to lecture me on Culture is as inappropriate as it would be for me to lecture you further on plate tectonics or ocean currents. "

You miss the point I made, We do not need to redefine and clarify common, everyday terms. Terms such as culture are clear to everyone. You stated "cultural anthropology that invented / discovered Culture in the modern (not just the arts sense)." I disagree.

Like most professors, I strive to accomplish goals and solve problems. This thread's premise is that certain actions can increase Latinoamerican student retention and success. I support the initiative.

You, however, use terms such as educationists and question terms such as math competency. I strive to solve problems, and you strive to obfucate educational issues.

America rapidly is become a multicultural society, much to the chagrin of many. However, most Americans welcome cultural diversity, and our institutions should respond to our changing society.

Otra vez, viva la raza y bienvenidos a todos.

Viva la raza... comments such as this one are the ones that have slowed down the entire process. The noise "la bulla" creates hostility.

Melane3 (9):
No, I got you're point. It is historically and anthropologically uninformed. Culture was redefined by Anthropological research. It used to mean "the arts and belles lettres" and to many "humanities" types, especially in Romance Languages, it still does.

"You stated "cultural anthropology that invented / discovered Culture in the modern (not just the arts sense)." I disagree."

Your disagreement is noted. When you've learned some anthropology and read a good deal about the nature of culture and how anthropologists do their "dcompetency" research, then come back and your disagreement might actually be taken seriously. Until then it's about as relevant as my disagreement with continental drift would be. It is "clear to everyone" that the Sun goes around the Earth, where "everyone" means the casual observer. And for many centuries the not so casual. I believe it was C Wright Mills who once said that conventional wisdom is much more conventional than wise.

traslavina wrote:

"Viva la raza... comments such as this one are the ones that have slowed down the entire process."

Cultural awareness slows the educational process? It inhibits retention and academic success? Clearly, your assertions are incorrect.

The recommendations in the article state that college instructors can increase retention and academic success by better understanding their student's perspectives. This is a common sense, obvious stance that I use in the classroom daily.

It is surprising that some college instructors find this observation controversial.

jffoster wrote:

"No, I got you're point. It is historically and anthropologically uninformed. Culture was redefined by Anthropological research. It used to mean "the arts and belles lettres" and to many "humanities" types, especially in Romance Languages, it still does. "

Yet, strangely, you clearly missed my point. Culture has existed for millions of years, regardless of what the participants called it. I discuss the concept, and you quibble about an academic definition by a particular group. That is my point, which you missed.

Your point that "cultural anthropology that invented / discovered Culture in the modern (not just the arts sense)" is incorrect. When an African tribesman states that something is a part of his cultural practices, he does not care whether or not group of academicians redefined a word.

The concept of better understanding students' perspectives is valid, and I support the initiative delineated in the article.

Melane3 wrote in 13

"Your point that "cultural anthropology that invented / discovered Culture in the modern (not just the arts sense)" is incorrect. When an African tribesman states that something is a part of his cultural practices, he does not care whether or not group of academicians redefined a word."

It doesnt matter whether he cares or not or whether or not he knows its orgin in the sense in which he uses it. My point in adducing this history was that you were presumeing to give me a sophomoric lecture on what culture is and you lack the background to do so. And I really have better things to do than continue this any further. But we're not going to, for instance, ban the singing in karaoke on our campus of "I did it my way" just because for some reason or another Filipinos find it distastefule and an affront to their "culture". And a student in my class is going to have to turn work in on time (barring real emergencies) regardless of whether the culture he comes from thinks deadlines are important or not.

jffoster claims:

"cultural anthropology that invented / discovered Culture in the modern (not just the arts sense)."

Newton did not invent gravity, meteorologists did not invent the atmosphere, chemists did not invent atoms, and cultural anthropologists did not invent culture. Your contention is incorrect.

"And a student in my class is going to have to turn work in on time (barring real emergencies) regardless of whether the culture he comes from thinks deadlines are important or not."

If this is your argument against HSIs, then you do not understand the issues. The student/teacher relationship is central to retention and academic success, a fact commonly noted in student surveys. The article lists a recommendation to "increase the cultural competency of faculty members to work effectively with Latino students." Relationships are stronger when each person understands the other's perspectives. This is a concept clearly understood by most people.

Jffoster wrote:

"But we're not going to, for instance, ban the singing in karaoke on our campus of "I did it my way" just because for some reason or another Filipinos find it distastefule and an affront to their "culture"."

Filipinos love karaoke.

i didnt say they didnt love karaoke. I said that for some reason or another they seem to find the song "I did it my way" (Frank Sinatra...) offensive.

Actually chemists and physicists did invent the atom. It was a theoretical construct. So was the notion 'electron', &c &c. "Pluto", i.e. a planet beyond Neptune, was invented, i.e. posited, in order to try to explain some otherwise anomalous observations. That doesnt mean atoms didnt exist independ of their scientific theoretical invention.

This is just soooooo usual, a couple of academics debating minutia completely off the point. Reminds me of the myriad of committee meetings I have had to endure listening to academics try to demonstrate how smart and important they are. And that reminds me of the poor souls at the elderly care facility leaning over the arms of their wheelchairs unaware of what is going on around them and drooling on the floor.

melane3 and jffoster, I'm really interested in this argument. I am in my first year of an interdisciplinary masters program and taking my first course in Education policy and administration. Jffoster, can you please elaborate a little on how "cultural competency" is a naive notion?

jffoster wrote:

"Actually chemists and physicists did invent the atom."

Again, you are incorrect. Atoms were generated in the shortly after the universe's creation. Humans did not invent them.

jack-433 wrote:

"This is just soooooo usual, a couple of academics debating minutia completely off the point."

Reread my posts, I repeatedly tried to point out the importance of forging strong student/teacher relationships to increase retention and academic success. That is a point made in the article. jffoster, conversely, wrote numerous posts belittling the notion of students' culture and arguing that anthropologists invented culture.

I support the initiative delineated in the article, and I reject the notion that it is racist (1st post). That is exactly on point.

kvandorn wrote:

"Jffoster, can you please elaborate a little on how "cultural competency" is a naive notion?"

Yes, jffoster, please do.