The Culture of School "Schools are more than institutions where
teachers impart skills and lessons; they are places where
teachers transmit cultural knowledge," says sociologist Prudence
L. Carter. "Education is as much about being inculcated with the
ways of the 'culture of power' as it is about learning to read,
count, and think critically" (2005, p. 47). Our schools
naturally teach the European American values of individualism
and independence, self-direction, initiative, and
competitiveness (among others), using European American methods
of communication and learning. But as we have seen, these values
and methods are not universal. Other cultures in the
world—including several with deep roots in the United
States—bring up their children according to different beliefs
and values. And when the children of these cultures enter the
European American education system, teachers, children, and
families all face new challenges. The hardest part is that we
don't really know how out of touch we are. Locked in our o