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What I learned in College

I’ve heard many people say over the years, “College was a waste for me. I don’t use anything I had to learn in those classes.” That’s a shame. I still use a lot of things I learned in college.

One course where I perhaps learned the most was a cross-cultural communication course. In that course, we had to read Body Ritual Among the Nacerima by Horace Miner. He wrote it in 1956. If you’ve never read it, please go here to read it before continuing my article.

Done reading the article? Ok. What did you think of the Nacerima’s rituals? I bet they are kind of “odd” compared to what you do each morning, aren’t they?

Have you ever heard of this tribe before? I had not. It’s interesting to sit back and watch others, what they do. How funny they are! How weird they are! I’m glad we are not like that!

Nacerima. Who are they again? Maybe flip your perspective, and you’ll understand a bit more. Look at them from a different angle. Oh. While you’re at it, flip their name. Spell it backwards. What do you get? American.

Now re-read that article. It’s about the Americans.

I hope college taught me empathy. (Although, that definitely started at home.)

Being empathetic doesn’t mean I have to agree with everything another person does.

I enjoy travelling. I’ve enjoyed traveling out of the country. I enjoy learning. I enjoy learning from other cultures. It doesn’t mean I have to accept everything they do into my own, but I sure hope I’m open-minded enough to at least consider that they might have better ways of thinking, being, and doing than I have.

In Ohio, the Senate has passed a bill called, “Advance Ohio Education.” It’s unsettling to me. In it,

“the bill would require a “both sides” discussion to be allowed on “controversial beliefs” so that the institution would not hold a stance. Essentially, only allowing the institution or professors stance to be rooted in factual, historical or data driven evidence.

The bill lists “controversial belief’s” as follows:

“Any belief or policy that is the subject of political controversy, including issues such as climate policies, electoral politics, foreign policy, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, immigration policy, marriage, or abortion.” (Source).

Would my cross-cultural class be allowed under this?

I remember several quarters (now semesters) later, what I learned in that cross-cultural communication class enabled me to think a bit more critically about something we’ve all probably done: travelled.

I remember writing a paper about being a tourist and how, it seems, everything we are taught about being polite goes out the window as a tourist. And that’s a shame. I still think of those things when I travel.

Think about it. We are taught, or at least we used to be taught, not to point at people. Visit Amish country sometime. The English people are pointing constantly at the Amish. Back in the days before cell phones, we were taught some manners about taking photos of people as well. Go into a different culture, and the travelers many times are taking photos, without asking. My list went on.

Can you think of other things we do today when we travel that go against the manners we were taught?

My dad was a preacher. I remember as my brother and I were finishing high school, people would ask us where we were going to college. Neither of us had a Christian college on our list. Some were appalled at that. My dad’s answer to folks when they confronted him: we’ve had these kids for 18 years. They shouldn’t have to go to a Christian college now.

What if we had wanted to go to one? I imagine Mom and Dad would have been supportive of that, if our reasoning was legit.

In my part of Ohio, energy is a big issue. Our county first sold coal according to ODNR data in 1816. We have also had the most coal-mining deaths on the job. Oil and gas also dominates. They want both sides taught. Do they really? Or are they just wanting the big business side taught?

And how is this going to be regulated? When I was in China in 2012, I was there with a gentleman who was a grad student teaching during the Tiananmen Square massacre. I remember him talking about having “minders” in his class, making sure he did not teach the wrong thing, mention democracy or hand out any “propaganda.” Are we headed for that?

I understand the uncomfortableness when there are classes that mention the Big Bang Theory and you aren’t supposed to believe in Creation. Been there. I understand the uncomfortableness when in a meeting and oil and gas folks call solar people “tree huggers” when I just installed solar heaters at my house. Just minor examples.

Yes, many times the last few years I’ve felt derided for my beliefs. I don’t fit neatly into a box on either “side.”

But striking back isn’t the answer.

This bullying-culture needs to stop. Maybe we all need to take a cross-cultural class to learn to be more empathetic.

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On a related, but different, topic… for those of you reading this newsletter because of the local history and genealogy connection, what has studying those things taught you that you wish more people understood?

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