October 2020 (11th grade)
Discovering the Universe: How Childhood Knowledge Forms Our Understanding of the World
Childhood is a time of discovery. As you grow you experience the world through your senses. The blueness of the sky and its cotton candy clouds. The roughness of the ground when you scrape your knee while playing tag. The sweetness of your apple slices, the comforting cinnamon smell of your grandma’s arroz con leche, and your brother’s contagious laugh. Eventually, you start to learn about yourself, who you are at your core and how your existence meshes with that of the universe around you. We learn through experience and exposure; what we see and hear from those in our communities, families, and in society shapes our perception of the world and our place in it. Childhood exposure, whether positive or negative, is a powerful force; it is the foundation on which we form and evolve our understanding and beliefs as we grow into adulthood.
The exposure we gain from our families and communities influences our self-identity. At a young age my parents ingrained in me the importance of being proud of where I come from. I am a second generation Mexican American and when my grandparents immigrated to this country they set roots in East LA. My home, East Los Angeles is a beautiful, resilient, working class community; predominantly of recent immigrants and Mexican Americans. I was taught to be proud of East LA irrespective of any stereotypes or perceptions others may hold. I saw hard working Mexican street vendors lining the East LA streets of Whittier Boulevard selling raspados (Mexican shaved ice), working to achieve the American Dream. I grew up in the midst of the East LA cityhood movement, a movement to incorporate the community into a city. This was the ultimate display of pride, people who believed so deeply in their community that they spent countless nights organizing and advocating for its progress. My dad began and led the movement, so it was inevitable that I would absorb this pride and passion for East LA. Everything and everyone in my environment taught me to appreciate the strength and resilience of my community.
This positive exposure aided my transition to Windward. Going from public school in East LA to a private school in Mar Vista was initially daunting. I had never attended a school where the population was overwhelmingly white and students at Windward never had a Mexican peer from East LA. However, the pride of my roots equipped me to brave and embrace the culture shock. Unfortunately, at school I have heard insensitive comments regarding Mexicans and working class communities like mine. Nevertheless, my own experience tells me that those comments come from lack of exposure and ignorance. Insensitive jokes and ignorant remarks have never and will never deter me from proclaiming with pride “I’m from East LA!” I just as eagerly joined the Student Ambassador Program at Windward to represent my community and attract other Latinx students.
Just as positive exposure can impact a child's understanding of their place in the world, so can negative exposure. Sherman Alexie, author of “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” is a successful Native American novelist who grew up on a reservation. As a child Alexie learned that he and his peers “were expected to fail in the non-Indian world. Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians” (13). Despite the negative stereotypes, Sherman Alexie succeeded in becoming an author but he is an exception rather than the norm. As an adult Alexie returned to his childhood classroom and observed “sullen and already defeated Indian kids” (14). These kids conformed to the negative perception of Native Americans their community perpetuated. They absorbed from their surroundings that the only acceptable thing for a Native American to do was fail. My positive childhood exposure propelled me along my journey of discovery and potential and in contrast the environment of Alexie’s reservation dragged children down, making it difficult for them to believe in themselves.
Beyond our families and communities, society also plays a significant role in the formation of our worldview and self-perception. Positive and culturally competent representation in media and society can contribute greatly to a child's self confidence and dreams. I know first hand how representation can have an astronomical impact in a child’s life. I remember being in an auditorium filled with students while Astronaut José Hernández told his story up on stage. As a child he split his time between Mexico and California helping his family pick crops. In 2004, after being rejected 11 times, he was finally chosen for NASA Astronaut Candidate Training. At the end of his presentation he showed a video of himself on the International Space Station. There I was, a seven year old with my eyes glued to the screen, watching him float in mid air. I am certain that if you watched my face as I saw that video you would have witnessed the exact moment the universe expanded before my eyes. That day I decided to become an astronaut. In José Hernández I saw someone who looked like me, my family, and my community. I drew confidence and inspiration from his story. Believing you are capable of achieving anything you set your mind to is one thing, but actually seeing someone like you accomplishing big dreams is invaluable.
Sadly, many children do not witness this positive cultural representation. They form a negative or limited perspective of their potential in the world. This can be seen in Sherman Alexie’s story. Alexie is a successful novelist but it was only once he was older that he realized he could be an author. Growing up he never knew Native Americans could write poetry or novels. During his childhood he felt that “Writing was something beyond Indians” (14). A lack of representation makes it difficult for kids to visualize themselves achieving their goals and dreams. This is why it was important to Alexie, as a Native American author, to go back and show students living on the reservation what is possible. He understood the inequity that exists around representation for minority children. This level of positive exposure is an inspirational and self empowering tool for children.
Exposure from your family, your community, and society work together to form the personal foundation you build upon as you grow. Sherman Alexie and his peers only had a very one sided, racist narrative of their culture. Negative stereotypes about intelligence and potential can have a detrimental impact on a child's worldview. Growing up I had a very different experience to Sherman Alexie’s. I saw people who were proud of our community. I had a Latino astronaut to inspire me. The strong foundation I developed got me to Windward. It provided me the strong self identity and sense of belonging I needed to feel comfortable at Windward even when it was scary. At Windward I am exposed to new cultures and backgrounds; I can continue to expand my worldview. As children we discover the universe through what we see and hear. We form our identity, beliefs, and understanding of the world through what we directly experience and the right exposure can propel us beyond the farthest reaches of the galaxy.
The exposure we gain from our families and communities influences our self-identity. At a young age my parents ingrained in me the importance of being proud of where I come from. I am a second generation Mexican American and when my grandparents immigrated to this country they set roots in East LA. My home, East Los Angeles is a beautiful, resilient, working class community; predominantly of recent immigrants and Mexican Americans. I was taught to be proud of East LA irrespective of any stereotypes or perceptions others may hold. I saw hard working Mexican street vendors lining the East LA streets of Whittier Boulevard selling raspados (Mexican shaved ice), working to achieve the American Dream. I grew up in the midst of the East LA cityhood movement, a movement to incorporate the community into a city. This was the ultimate display of pride, people who believed so deeply in their community that they spent countless nights organizing and advocating for its progress. My dad began and led the movement, so it was inevitable that I would absorb this pride and passion for East LA. Everything and everyone in my environment taught me to appreciate the strength and resilience of my community.
This positive exposure aided my transition to Windward. Going from public school in East LA to a private school in Mar Vista was initially daunting. I had never attended a school where the population was overwhelmingly white and students at Windward never had a Mexican peer from East LA. However, the pride of my roots equipped me to brave and embrace the culture shock. Unfortunately, at school I have heard insensitive comments regarding Mexicans and working class communities like mine. Nevertheless, my own experience tells me that those comments come from lack of exposure and ignorance. Insensitive jokes and ignorant remarks have never and will never deter me from proclaiming with pride “I’m from East LA!” I just as eagerly joined the Student Ambassador Program at Windward to represent my community and attract other Latinx students.
Just as positive exposure can impact a child's understanding of their place in the world, so can negative exposure. Sherman Alexie, author of “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” is a successful Native American novelist who grew up on a reservation. As a child Alexie learned that he and his peers “were expected to fail in the non-Indian world. Those who failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and appropriately pitied by non-Indians” (13). Despite the negative stereotypes, Sherman Alexie succeeded in becoming an author but he is an exception rather than the norm. As an adult Alexie returned to his childhood classroom and observed “sullen and already defeated Indian kids” (14). These kids conformed to the negative perception of Native Americans their community perpetuated. They absorbed from their surroundings that the only acceptable thing for a Native American to do was fail. My positive childhood exposure propelled me along my journey of discovery and potential and in contrast the environment of Alexie’s reservation dragged children down, making it difficult for them to believe in themselves.
Beyond our families and communities, society also plays a significant role in the formation of our worldview and self-perception. Positive and culturally competent representation in media and society can contribute greatly to a child's self confidence and dreams. I know first hand how representation can have an astronomical impact in a child’s life. I remember being in an auditorium filled with students while Astronaut José Hernández told his story up on stage. As a child he split his time between Mexico and California helping his family pick crops. In 2004, after being rejected 11 times, he was finally chosen for NASA Astronaut Candidate Training. At the end of his presentation he showed a video of himself on the International Space Station. There I was, a seven year old with my eyes glued to the screen, watching him float in mid air. I am certain that if you watched my face as I saw that video you would have witnessed the exact moment the universe expanded before my eyes. That day I decided to become an astronaut. In José Hernández I saw someone who looked like me, my family, and my community. I drew confidence and inspiration from his story. Believing you are capable of achieving anything you set your mind to is one thing, but actually seeing someone like you accomplishing big dreams is invaluable.
Sadly, many children do not witness this positive cultural representation. They form a negative or limited perspective of their potential in the world. This can be seen in Sherman Alexie’s story. Alexie is a successful novelist but it was only once he was older that he realized he could be an author. Growing up he never knew Native Americans could write poetry or novels. During his childhood he felt that “Writing was something beyond Indians” (14). A lack of representation makes it difficult for kids to visualize themselves achieving their goals and dreams. This is why it was important to Alexie, as a Native American author, to go back and show students living on the reservation what is possible. He understood the inequity that exists around representation for minority children. This level of positive exposure is an inspirational and self empowering tool for children.
Exposure from your family, your community, and society work together to form the personal foundation you build upon as you grow. Sherman Alexie and his peers only had a very one sided, racist narrative of their culture. Negative stereotypes about intelligence and potential can have a detrimental impact on a child's worldview. Growing up I had a very different experience to Sherman Alexie’s. I saw people who were proud of our community. I had a Latino astronaut to inspire me. The strong foundation I developed got me to Windward. It provided me the strong self identity and sense of belonging I needed to feel comfortable at Windward even when it was scary. At Windward I am exposed to new cultures and backgrounds; I can continue to expand my worldview. As children we discover the universe through what we see and hear. We form our identity, beliefs, and understanding of the world through what we directly experience and the right exposure can propel us beyond the farthest reaches of the galaxy.
Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me.” 19 Apr. 1998.
Alexie, Sherman. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me.” 19 Apr. 1998.