Brianna Beaupre

EDMUL 205
Cultural Autobiography
My personal development of my values, beliefs, and attitudes
towards people in other social and cultural groups has definitely
changed over time and will continue to change. There are many factors
that have contributed and continue to contribute to my views on a
variety of issues. One big deciding factor on how my views on class,
religion, and culture were formed was simply where I grew up.
I was born and raised for the first nine years of my life in a small
farming town in Illinois. The town population is around 6,000 and 88%
is white while almost 10% is Hispanic. The estimated median
household income in 2000 (age 5) was around $32,000. This is more
than $20,000 short of the average median household income for
Illinois. 59% of the students in my middle school were from low-income
households. There was crime where I lived so safety was an issue. I felt
very confined in the community. I always felt as though something
better was out there. All of these things started the development for
my views and beliefs.
One of the views I held was that religion was something that was
mostly bad. In Hoopeston, church was almost required. It was a place
where everyone simply talked about everyone else and was very
judgmental. I was under the impression that church definitely was a

place where more bad than good happened, so any form of religion
was not a good thing in my book. Another view I had was that
everyone who is part of the blue-collar class never really amounts to
much. I think this stems from not knowing anyone with anything
higher than a Bachelors Degree. I say knowing with quotation marks
because I didnt know a lot of adults and I was young when we left. It
may also stem from the fact that not very many high school graduates
even attempted college. People tended to stay in Hoopeston their
whole lives, and being a curious child, I couldnt fathom why people
would want to stay, so I assumed it was because they couldnt leave.
Those views changed though, when I moved to Fishers, Indiana in the
fifth grade.
Moving to Fishers was such a culture shock for me. Fishers has
been rapidly growing since before we moved there. It went from a
small town to a city seemingly over night; in fact, the population has
grown by 121% since 2000. The estimated median household income
is around $95,300. Indianas median household income is about
$47,000. That is a $63,300 difference from households in Fishers to
households in Hoopeston. I went from not knowing what name brands
were to knowing people who owned small yachts.
Living in Fishers has changed so many of my views in a multitude
of areas. First, I no longer think of religion the way that I used to.
Fishers has quite a few churches and I would say that a majority of the

residents attend a church or are religious. This includes students as

well. It was being friends with those students and knowing how serious
they were about their religion and how much they loved church that
opened my eyes to the realization that I shouldnt see religion in such a
bad light.
Unsurprisingly, another view that changed was my view on class.
I started to see that just because someone doesnt have a lot of
money, or doesnt wish to live a fancy lifestyle, can still be happy and a
contributing member of society. I didnt understand the concept of
small town living, until I left it for a city where it can be hard to create
such a close community.
I think simply growing older has changed my views as well. When
I was younger I saw things as black and white, and now that I am older
and can reflect and think deeply and critically, I see the shades of grey
that I couldnt before. The divide of good and bad is not as clear now.
My beliefs have had the chance to grow and develop, and honestly,
they are still developing.
My family has played a big part on how I view things as well. For
example, my mom is Christian and my father is Catholic, but religion is
never discussed in our household. When my parents realized that I
didnt like church when I was younger, they never forced me to go
again; in truth, my parents never really attend church either so it
wasnt a big issue. They decided that instead of trying to preach a

religion to their children, they would let us make that decision for
ourselves. In the meantime my parents made sure to present both the
good and bad sides of religion fairly. They opened my eyes to a
multitude of possibilities. My mom even took my brothers and I to hear
the Dalai Lama speak in Indianapolis. My mom isnt Buddhist, but
believed that it was important to take the opportunity to hear him
discuss his religion. They never conformed me to their religion and the
things that it entails which I am incredibly grateful for.
Overall, I would say that my parents have been very good about
presenting both sides to any issue on race, class, gender, sexual
orientation, and more. Whenever I have a question or want to discuss
one of these issues, they listen to what I think and then share what
they believe and what other beliefs about the issue are. So I am aware
of how they feel about certain issues, but have never felt as though my
own feelings werent accepted. I dont agree with everything that my
parents believe in, but we can respect each others views. This is
something that has been instrumental in my development as a person,
and future teacher.
College has been another event that has helped to develop my
views. I have never met so many people from so many different
situations as I have since I have been in college. I am friends with
people whose lives have been completely different than mine. They
hold beliefs and values that dont match with mine and I think I am

much more accepting because of it. If I had never moved from Illinois
or gone to college, I would only know the culture of being a white, bluecollar person. Even thinking about entering another culture would
probably make me really nervous. Now, I feel as though I have some of
the experience and tools I need to be a teacher that is capable of
handling students that have many beliefs and views and come from a
variety or situations.
As a teacher, prejudice shouldnt even be a concern or problem,
much less an issue that should enter the classroom. Being a teacher
means that even when you may not agree with someones religion, or
class, or views, you still need to be respectful. How I have grown up,
both with living in a small, impoverished town, and a wealthy suburb,
as well as having the parents I do, has shown me how to respect
others. This class has simply helped to reinforce those values.
Multicultural education is all about having the ability to understand
those that live in different ways from yourself.
I feel as though this class has helped to expand my knowledge of
other cultures and what they go through, very quickly. Normally it
would take me befriending someone who was Muslim, for example, to
understand that most of what I know about Muslims has been simple
misconceptions. Since my high school was diverse, I was exposed to
some other cultures, but havent been immersed in them or had the
knowledge that I now have since taking this class.

Another example would be that while I have African-American

friends, going to Motivate Our Minds has shown me another side to
that culture that I havent experienced before. The majority at MOMs is
black, so I was fully immersed in that culture when I was volunteering.
Mentoring those kids is a different experience than being friends with
someone who is a part of the African-American culture. I experienced
that they communicate with each other differently. They tend to be
louder and less reserved. I found out that family is a huge part of their
community and culture just like when I lived in Hoopeston.
Overall, I would like to think that I have a good foundation of
views and beliefs that will continue to develop with time and being
involved in different situations. I really want to work on being more
comfortable and understanding of people in different religions,
cultures, races, classes, and more. This class has been a great
stepping-stone to realizing that goal and I cant wait to immerse myself
in more situations like MOMs.