Cultural Humility
Freire and Horton explain the relationship between practice, theory, and knowledge in the simple concept that without practice there is no knowledge. Miles brings up the idea that “Practice in itself is not its theory. It creates knowledge but it is not its own theory”( Horton 98). This differs from the original social construct that we all grew up with that emphasizes the importance of learning theories and putting them to practice afterwards. The two have always gone hand in hand in the western educational system, but Horton views these concepts in a different way. They are all important but in their own way and yet exceptionally distinct from one another. Horton and Freire bring up the metaphor of planting a seed in a garden and watching it grow. As an educator, you have to start where the student is and not where you are as an educator. He goes on to say “But, if you’re going to start where they are and they don’t change, then there is no point in starting because you’re not going anywhere. So, while I insist on starting where people are, that’s the only place they could start. I can start somewhere else. I can start where I am, but they’ve got to start where they are. But then if you don’t have some vision of what ought to be or what they can become, then you have no way of contributing anything to the process” (Horton 99). This is different as well from our education system that starts everyone off in the same grade based on age and not on knowledge or experience. This correlates closely with “A Close Encounter of Human Kind” by Abraham Verghese in a sense that every patient was in a different state of mind and had experienced different things from one another. This doctor learns from his patients experiences and not from the textbook way of treating patients. There was one particular homeless patient that stuck with him because of his wisdom about treating people with human decency. He states that “This encounter between two Americans, between doctor and patient, had been carried to all the fullness that was permitted, and yet it was incomplete, as if he had, as a result of this experience, set in place some new barriers that neither I nor anyone else would ever cross” (Verghese 1). This goes to show you that education is not simply in black and white but rather there are many different forms and methods that you can teach someone in the most effective way possible.
The idea that you cannot learn anymore regarding any subject is absurd in the sense that our minds as humans is always able to learn new ideas and adapt to new ways of thinking. In 1991 Rodney King was brutally beaten by LAPD officers which led to riots and public protests against police brutality. This led Oakland Children’s Hospital to question their own ignorance and made them want to learn about all different cultures. This sparked the incentive to begin implementing the principles of Cultural Humility into their healthcare system. Melanie Tervalon states that “Our ultimate goal is that there will be a sense of equity, a sense of equality, and a kind of respect that we are driving forward” (Cultural Humility 0:45). They wanted to treat every patient with equal respect, and in order for them to do so, they had to recognize their own ignorance to different cultures and be willing to learn from them. Ignorance does not necessarily mean that you are not intelligent, it only undermines your intelligence if you are not willing to learn or ask questions about a culture that you are unsure of. This relates back to Horton and Friere’s discussion when Horton says “There’s no right I could claim that anybody else in the world can’t claim, and I have to fight for their exercising that right just like I have to fight for my own. That doesn’t mean that I have to impose my ideas on people, but it means that I have a responsibility to provide whatever light I can on the subject and share my ideas with people” (Horton 105). By simply asking questions, you are putting yourself in a position where you can expand your knowledge and opinion about a culture and hopefully disprove any stereotypes you previously had.
In “Close Encounters of Human Kind” Verghese is not neutral about the suffering of his patient’s because he is not in accordance with it. He demonstrates this by apologizing to the homeless man for how he has been treated by this country. Horton says “Neutrality is just being what the system asks us to be. Neutrality is following the crowd. It was to me a refusal to oppose injustice or to take sides that are unpopular. It’s an excuse, in other words” (Horton 102). By him apologizing, he is demonstrating that he wasn’t just following the crowd and treating this man like all of his other patients. He took the time to listen to his story and had the opportunity to learn from it. Elnaz Eilkhani says that “My definition of Cultural Humility is to be open to learning all the time” (Cultural Humility 22:23). In order for us to truly practice Cultural Humility, we must recognize when we are wrong about something and not see that as a problem, but rather as an opportunity for growth.
Some concrete actions that I can take to practice Cultural Humility in my community partner experience is to do some research about some of the different cultures that I am going to be working with. While attending the orientation at the Canal Alliance, I learned that the majority of the students in the after-school program are from Guatemala. By simply doing some research about the culture I can help break some barriers and limitations that would otherwise stand between me and the student. We are all different as human beings and by recognizing that and adapting to it, we can get the most out of this service learning experience. We should not allow power imbalances to stop us from treating everyone with the same human respect and decency that we would expect from others. This can be demonstrated simply by showing up on time, doing our jobs correctly, taking our time with each of the students and trying to help them with whatever they need. Practicing Cultural Humility can help us as students get the most out of this service learning experience and take away from it a lesson of a lifetime which cannot be taught in a classroom.
