Practicing Humility

Practice, knowledge, and theory exist on a plane where they can supplement each other and aid each other’s growth, yet still maintain the ability to stand alone and represent something completely unique. While they have their differences, I believe that the underlying constant between the three ideas is change. Knowledge is not static, and Freire describes it himself as “always becoming” and “changed to the extent that reality also moves and changes” (101). Theories are similarly mobile and indefinite, but this is largely due to theories needing to be tested in order to claim validity. Horton describes theory in an abstract way that somehow makes far more sense to me than any concrete example could. He relates theory to a spiral, which I picture as a line going around and around either inwards or outwards infinitely. Horton holds this spiral image in contrast to a plain circle which connects back to itself and closes. If you think about theory as a circle, you will just be going around and around. However, if you picture theory as a spiral it opens up doors for trials and tribulations that can grow in any which way. To further exemplify this, Freire outlines how when faced with a problem you should think “Look maybe here is the explanation of my obstacle. There is a theory” (99). It is a way to problem solve. Lastly there is practice, which I take as what carries you from a starting point through the rest of your journey. Freire says that “without practice there’s no knowledge” in order to display the sheer importance of practice. By definition, practice can not be static. It has to be growing, fluctuating, and reflecting always to maintain its own meaning. To me, this is when the idea of cultural humility comes into play. In the “Cultural Humility” video by Vivian Chavez, the line between cultural competency and humility is clearly drawn. While competency implies more of a topic, cultural humility is a tool and an approach that is constantly wandering and adapting in the same space as knowledge, theory, and practice.The ideas for the video “Cultural Humility” took shape in response to inequity and gaps in public health services and medicine as a whole. Ideas charged with race and class stereotypes and mistreatment became apparent at a Children’s hospital in Oakland, and unfair social structures developed. Many of the women in the video emphasized how threatening institutional discrimination can be, and how disheartening it can be to experience patients and families of all ethnicities and backgrounds coming to the hospital and feeling like they don’t have a voice because of their heritage. One pediatrician explained the responsibility that establishments possess with the criticism: “principles are not just about individual activity and behavior. Institutions have got to be self-reflective.” In his essay “Close Encounter of the Human Kind,” author Abraham Verghese also mentions working in medical institution that are lacking in funds and resources. He describes his best tools; “careful listening, the thorough exam, the laying of hands,” as forms of therapy for many of his patients in medical clinics throughout India and Ethiopia. Through this method of connecting with patients on deeper, more personal levels, Verghese is practicing placing subjugated lives and voices at the moral center. He listens to their stories and views patients as fully rounded human beings.

From a distance, it appears that the people I will be working with as an ESL Teaching Aid lead very different lives than I do. I refuse to believe this is true after a closer look. I intend on going deeper than the surface level to access my own understanding of cultural humility. Cultural humility is a tool, a philosophy used to learn and grow, so I do not expect to connect and thoroughly understand anyone’s life without putting in the care and work. A main focus of mine throughout my service learning experience is being aware and examining my own power and privilege. In the past few years I have become increasingly conscious of my privilege. At times it has made me feel shameful, as if I don’t deserve certain things that have been given to me, or even things I have worked for. However, I plan on using this experience as a way to check my power, to share it, to open it for everyone to take.