Social, Political, and Cultural Pressures

.....dreamed of becoming successful the field of social work or another career that involves helping people, I was told that I could not succeed in college because of my learning disability. The situation occurred when I was applying to join college to advance my professional development and skills. Throughout high school, I was in an individualized education program (IEP) because of the learning disability. I obtained decent grades in high school and also held several leadership and volunteer positions because of my passion to help others. However, when applying for college, I was told that I may not succeed because the learning disability was affecting my academic performance. The school administration told me that the course I was applying for was very demanding and a learning disability would affect my chances of success.

The situation was influenced by some external social, political and cultural factors, which made the school administration to doubt my potential for success despite the learning disability. From a social point of view, the situation was influenced by the neglect and/or treatment of people with learning disabilities (O'Hara, 2003). The society tends to neglect or mistreat individuals with learning disabilities, which probably influenced the perceptions of the school administration regarding those with learning disabilities. On the other hand, the society also has negative cultural attitudes towards people with learning disabilities. Cultural factors have contributed to misconception and misunderstanding of people with learning disabilities through generating the belief that they cannot succeed academically. This situation caused me to feel very bad because the administration was doubting me despite my decent performance in high school. The support I received from my parents helped me uncover my potential because they believed in me, encouraged me, and provided me with necessary resources for success.

Unit 2 Discussion

An example of a political influence that would be difficult to identify in the American culture is the nationalist ethos practiced by Americans. The American individualistic culture has contributed to the focus on nationalism by citizens of the United States. Through this focus, Americans tend to take pride in national achievements and consider the nation as the best country in the world. This spirit of nationalism has contributed to the emergence of the United States as the world's superpower as the government places much emphasis on creating and maintaining a national identity to achieve the American dream. Identifying this political influence is difficult for Americans because of their individualistic culture that affirms an individual's dignity and supreme value.

An artistic expression that could help a person demonstrate individuality, autonomy and creativity is self-reflection. In this case, an individual need to spend time to reflect on his/her beliefs, values, norms, and behaviors to determine their impact on his/her life as well as others. Self-reflection would help open up an individual's experience through enabling him/her identify areas for improvement and change. Additionally, self-expression enables one to expand his/her capabilities, which in turn enhances his/her capabilities to demonstrate individuality, autonomy and creativity. This process also enables an individual to validate his/her own self-concepts, which in turn improves his personal view of individuality, autonomy and self-empowerment across all his/her actions (Kim & Ko, 2006). The self-reflection process influences a person's choice behaviors and preferences as well as personal identity. This process can expand an artist's perspective or view of the entire culture or country through promoting a collectivist attitude where the opinions and interests of others are considered. In this case, the culture or country not only focuses on self but also considers other people.

References

Kim, H.S. & Ko, D. (2006). Culture and Self-Expression. Retrieved from University of California Santa Barbara website: https://labs.psych.ucsb.edu/kim/heejung/kimkofrontier.pdf

O'Hara, J. (2003). Learning Disabilities and Ethnicity: Achieving Cultural Competence. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 9, 166-176.