Cross-Cultural Education: Irish Heritage and Multicultural Classrooms

Cultural History and Irish Heritage

The information gathered for this section came primarily from interviews with my grandparents and parents. From those conversations, I learned that my ancestors arrived in the United States in 1850. The primary reason for their emigration was famine. At the time, Ireland was experiencing a severe famine caused by devastating crop failures. Faced with prolonged food shortages, my ancestors had no choice but to relocate to the United States. Their arrival, however, brought a new set of challenges. They had no prior expertise in adapting to a new country, no money, minimal clothing, and limited formal education. They also encountered a great deal of prejudice, largely due to their Catholic faith. Catholicism was not taken seriously by many Americans at the time, who considered it false on account of practices such as using prayer beads, praying to Mary, and venerating statues and oils. My ancestors also faced ethnic chauvinism, as Americans frequently stereotyped the Irish as perpetually drunk and ignorant.

Our family places a high value on education. We are taught to regard school as a priority and to work hard to succeed. This value was instilled primarily by our father, who understood the importance of education in the modern world as a means of securing opportunities to succeed in life. Our great-grandfather struggled to find work because he had not received a proper education, and that experience reinforced education as a cornerstone of our family culture. In the present day, education is also seen as a moral foundation that helps one conduct oneself properly. Families play a significant role in supporting children's education. When parents and families are actively involved, children's self-esteem tends to increase, the parent-child relationship strengthens, and children develop a more positive attitude toward school (Van Roekel, 2008).

At the heart of my family's culture are love, friendship, and togetherness. A central value is treating all people with kindness, particularly children and the elderly. From a young age, children in our family are shown the importance of love and friendship — a tradition rooted in my grandparents' insistence that family must always come first. My parents carried this forward by always being present and available, and this is a tradition we expect to continue into future generations. Respect for family origin is equally important. Even when family members hold different beliefs or values from their parents, they are still expected to show the utmost respect and to check in on one another regularly. As a result, conflict within the family is rare — something I see reflected in the closeness my parents maintain with their siblings even in adulthood.

Several languages were lost across the generations. In particular, Celtic and Goidelic languages, spoken three or four generations before me, gradually disappeared from our household. After my family relocated from Ireland to the United States, American English became the primary language. My parents do not push for us to study the old Irish languages, as they are rarely spoken within the family, though they do encourage learning a few meaningful words and phrases. More broadly, the family values language learning and encourages the study of languages such as French and Spanish, which may prove useful in the future.

A meaningful family heirloom is the Claddagh ring, an artifact emblematic of my family's heritage. This particular piece dates back four generations and has been passed from mother to daughter, traditionally at the time of engagement or marriage. I expect to receive it when I get engaged or married. The Claddagh ring symbolizes love and friendship meant to endure forever, reflecting my family's deep commitment to lasting love, friendship, and loyalty — values that have grown increasingly rare. By passing the ring from one generation to the next, the family affirms a togetherness and love intended to endure for generations to come (Colin and O'Dea, 2006).

Comparing Irish and Hispanic Cultures

This section compares and contrasts Irish culture with the Hispanic culture of the English Language Learners (ELLs) I serve. One of the most important points of similarity is the emphasis both cultures place on family and togetherness. In both traditions, the family is regarded as the primary source of a person's identity and as the main source of protection against life's challenges. Both cultures also prize loyalty and togetherness and are oriented toward offering support when it is needed. One notable difference, however, is that Hispanic culture extends the concept of family to include cousins, distant cousins, and even individuals who are not biologically related. Irish culture, by contrast, tends to focus on closer relatives.

Another shared value is respect. Both cultures place a strong emphasis on showing and receiving respect. However, the two cultures differ in how respect is expressed and toward whom it is directed. In Hispanic culture, there is a marked expectation of hierarchy: people are often accorded significant respect based on their social position, financial status, or power. For example, questioning a general practitioner's advice might be considered disrespectful. In Irish culture, respect is directed especially toward elders, but it is understood as a reciprocal exchange rather than a one-way deference to authority. A further point of contrast is informality. Irish social interaction tends toward informality, whereas in Hispanic culture such informality would often be interpreted as a sign of disrespect.