There are many different cultures in Southwest Florida that one becomes immediately aware of as they enter the area. They include Native-American, African-American, Protestant, European, "Cracker", Hispanic-Latino, and Cuban. Because there are so many variations of these cultures choosing just three was difficult, but for my project I will be focusing on our African-American, Hispanic-Latino, and "Cracker" populations. During this project I will address the many and varied differences between these cultures on many different levels including personal or family differences, social differences and educational differences. I expect to gain a greater understanding about these cultures during this process and by gaining this understanding I will be better equipped to combine students from these cultures into a classroom of learners that are able to succeed on all levels of History education. Because I do teach World History having a classroom full of diverse cultures lends itself to a variety of teaching activities and extra curricular learning. Miami-Dade Community College President Eduardo J. Padron. Said it best when he said "Our classrooms are laboratories for cultural diversity and the disciplines are enriched when students contribute various cultural perspectives," It has become increasingly clear that we must get creative in culturally diverse ways in order to pull all of our students into the learning culture in equal ways. I spent several days researching the material that you are about to read. My biggest source of information was the internet, but I also spoke with several other instructors and listened to their thoughts and concerns on the matter of cultural diversity in the classroom. Everyone seemed to have a unique thought or opinion but there where certainly central themes in the opinions I received. Over all each instructor hoped to provide the best non-biased education for his or her students. From this group of instructors I did my best to choose a culturally diverse section. The group was comprised of three males and three females; one African-American, one Hispanic-Latino, two native Floridians or "Crackers", one Native American and one European. We met for lunch and discussed cultures in great depth. It was certainly a fascinating experience. I also took time to read sections of several books which I have highlighted in the source area of my paper. The first of my three cultures is the African-American Culture. When we began our discussion on this culture my first question was what does it mean to be African-American? The overwhelming answer was this: Just because the color of your skin is black this does not make you are African- American. The consensus was that while most people with black skin are of African descent most of our young people today have no idea what it means to be from Africa or be "African-American. Just as most white people can only trace their ancestry, but know little about the culture and situations from their heritage. Those of African-American ancestry have perhaps suffered the greatest tragedies in American History, but they have also overcome the most. As I am writing this paper we have a well respected and very intelligent African-American Secretary of State, Mr. Collin Powell and are set to have an equally intelligent African American in the wings ready to replace him. Assuming the Dr. Condoleezza Rice is confirmed by the senate she will become the first female African American to serve in this position. I am sure that Dr. Martin Luther King would be pleased to see that his dream really is coming true. In his famous speech, he communicated not only his dream, but the dream of millions in our nation. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today!" African American culture in the south has always seemed to dictate inferiority. I am not sure exactly when this feeling began to be perpetuated, but I see it all the time in and out of my classroom. There is almost a feeling of lowliness in everything that is accomplished even though as an educator I often find that quite the opposite is actually true. In DeSoto County we still have a very distinct cultural barrier. If you are not a white Anglo-Saxon southern person it seems it is automatically assumed that you are not as good. We still have Klu Klux Klan organizations and very distinct sections of town. This is the type of town where there is still a great deal of segregation even though at this point it seems more self imposed than put upon. Another thing that bothers me about the African-American population in Southwest Florida is the abject poverty that all African Americans in this area seem to face. There is a high crime and drug rate associated with the culture. The one thing that I have noticed that is of a positive nature is the sense of family that African Americans have. They tend to look at after their own and when one does become a leader there is a true sense of pride and accomplishment among the whole community. I have discovered in my own classroom that African American students tend to work harder and placed stronger expectations on themselves than their White or Hispanic counterparts. Success does not seem to come easy for them, but when it does come it is celebrated and cherished above all else. Presently our assistant football coach is African American. He served as a basis for some of this information because he served on the panel I mentioned earlier. He was raised in Poverty by a Crack addicted mother and not much hope was given for him to live any other kind of life. However, he had a skill and someone who believed in him. He and I went to High School together and at that time 16 years ago we called him flip. We did because he knew how to handle and "flip" a football. That coupled with a Christian coach who believed in him propelled him all the way to the NFL. Three years ago he retired from the NFL with a teaching degree and returned to DeSoto County to make a difference and quite a difference he has made. This goes to show you that with a sense of community, support and belonging any child can succeed regardless of the circumstances in their life. The next culture I think it is important to examine is the culture in Southwest Florida that is well known. Around Arcadia we call them Florida Crackers. They are a unique breed of people with a unique culture and heritage and they are mighty proud of it. It seems there have always been "Crackers" in Florida and Georgia. I looked up their heritage and I discovered quite a story. During the English period in Florida, settlers began drifting into the territory from Georgia and the Carolinas. These early pioneers, mostly of Celtic stock, eventually evolved into the unique cultural group known as the "Florida Crackers." There are several legends about the origin of the term "Cracker." Some believe that it comes from early settlers "Crackin' their corn to make grits,"or from "Crackin' their whips while herding cattle. "While "grits and cows" were all a part of Cracker life, the word is actually a 16th Century expression found in Shakespearean literature. A 1594 English play used the term to describe a person who was a "boaster "or" fast talker." The term has been applied to both Georgia and Florida Crackers; both ethnic groups share many cultural traits. The earliest reference to Crackers in Florida can be found in the documents of the Governor of Spanish West Florida. In 1709, the Governor wrote, "These Crackers are nomadic, like Arabs, distinguished from savages only by their color and language." The earliest Crackers may have wandered into Florida before the Seminoles if the references in old Spanish documents are correct. If so, then the Florida Cracker could be the State's most native group, since the early aboriginal people had died out as a result of diseases introduced by the early Spanish. The Seminoles migrated into Florida from the Creek Confederacy in Alabama and Georgia in the early 1700s. However, according to genealogical research, Crackers vary in tracing their lineages. A large number can trace their heritage lines back to the first colonists brought to Georgia in 1733. These English colonists landed at Yamacraw Bluff, near present day Savannah. After the close of the Second Spanish Period, between the years 1821 and 1855, rugged backwoods folks migrated into the Florida territory from Georgia and the Carolinas and were quickly assimilated into the Cracker lifestyles. The Florida Crackers carved a way of life from the Florida wilderness which evolved into a distinct ethnic culture. There are a number of shared traits between the early Black Floridians, the Seminoles, and the Crackers. Most notably, these similarities are found in foods, homeopathic remedies, planting, folklore beliefs, and woodsman skills. As an example, both the Seminoles and the Crackers were good at raising cattle. Many Crackers became Cowmen, "a colloquial term for cattlemen or cowboys. Cracker Cattle, also called "Scrub Cows" or "Mossy Horns," were from bloodlines first introduced by the Spanish. Cracker cattlemen are credited with making Florida the top beef producing state east of the Mississippi. Florida Crackers still promote a number of nationally recognized rodeos throughout the state. The Cracker Cowboy, very much like his western counterpart, has been featured in the western paintings of artist Frederic Remington. Not all Florida Crackers became cowmen; many found livelihoods in timber, turpentine, agriculture, commercial fishing, politics, and business. The proud Cracker heritage is filled with traditions and folklore unique to the Sunshine State. However, in spite of the Crackers' contribution as an American ethnic group, non-Floridians have tried to give the name a negative meaning. During the 1960s and 70s, northern writers, deficient in cultural knowledge and ethnic awareness, promoted the term as something ignorant or bad. This effort, based on northern prejudice and bias, was further exploited by the entertainment industry, especially in movies about the South. This ignorance and bigotry by northerners have created a distortion of Florida's true native folk heritage. Today, being a Florida Cracker, or a descendant, is an honor claimed by only a minority of Floridians. The Florida Cracker, like the alligator, is as much a part of the Real Florida as palmettos and sunshine. In our school system we have a unique group of students that identify themselves as Florida Crackers. It is unclear whether they really do fit the description ancestry wise, but culturally they are indeed a perfect fit. These are the students who come to school when they aren't farming and drive the pick up trucks with gun racks in the back. Often they live in simply communities like the one in Arcadia know as Brownsville and prefer a simple way of life. Their parents are often simple people but the sense of family and community is also profoundly important to them. They may not always finish their assignments, but they always finish their sentences with yes or no mam or sir and give proper respect where it is called for. Often these students grow up and continue the hard working blue collar traditions established by their great grandfather years before when Arcadia was simply dubbed "Tater Hill Bluff" The final culture I considered when researching and writing this paper was the Hispanic- Latino culture. Over the past 30 years, the Hispanic population has exhibited tremendous growth in the United States. "Hispanics comprise about 11% of the U.S. population. Approximately 31 million individuals are identified as Hispanics. The U.S. Hispanic population is projected to become the largest minority group by the year 2006. Seventy percent of the Hispanic population is concentrated in four states - California, Texas, New York, and Florida. Mexican is the largest ethnic subdivision of Hispanics in the United States, comprising about 63.3%, followed by Central and South American (14.4%), Puerto Rican (10.6%), Cuban (4.2%), and other Hispanics (7.4%)." Hispanic is a term created by the U.S. federal government in the early 1970s in an attempt to provide a common denominator to a large, but diverse, population with connection to the Spanish language or culture from a Spanish-speaking country. The term Latino is increasingly gaining acceptance among Hispanics, and the term reflects the origin of the population in Latin America. Traditionally, Family is the most important bond in a Hispanic Family. The term familia usually goes beyond the nuclear family. The Hispanic "family unit" includes not only parents and children but also extended family. In most Hispanic families, the father is the head of the family, and the mother is responsible for the home. Individuals within a family have a moral responsibility to aid other members of the family experiencing financial problems, unemployment, poor health conditions, and other life issues. Family ties are very strong staying with relatives or even with friends of relatives is a common practice. Families often gather together to celebrate holidays, birthdays, baptisms, first communions, graduations, and weddings. Hispanic families instill in their children the importance of honor, good manners, and respect for authority and the elderly. Preserving the Spanish language within the family is a common practice in most Hispanic homes. Spanish speakers tend toward formality in their treatment of one another. A firm handshake is a common practice between people as greeting. A hug and a light kiss on a cheek are also common greeting practices between women, and men and women who are close friends or family. The Spanish language provides forms of formal and casual conversation. In more casual settings, conversations between Spanish speakers are usually loud, fast, and adorned with animated gestures and body language to better convey points. Hispanics usually give great importance to and place great value on looks and appearance as a sense of honor, dignity, and pride. Formal attire is commonly worn by Hispanics to church, parties, social gatherings, and work. Tennis shoes and jeans, however, are becoming more popular among Hispanic women, particularly in non-formal settings. Hispanics tend to be more relaxed and flexible about time and punctuality than Anglo-Saxon Americans. For instance, people who are invited for an 8 a.m. event may not begin to arrive until 8:30 a.m. or later. Within the Hispanic community, not being on time is a socially acceptable behavior. I have found this to be true in the school setting as well. Punctuality is not considered important in the school setting. Often the truancy officer in our district does most of his work with the Hispanic community. In the Hispanic world, religion has traditionally played a significant role in daily activity. More than 90% of the Spanish-speaking world is Roman Catholic. The church influences family life and all other areas of living. The church provides the vast majority of stability to the Hispanic Culture giving it much of it's meaning.. Hispanic countries celebrate the more popular international holidays, notably Easter, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year's Day In addition, each country celebrates its El Dia de Independencia. The term fiesta nacional refers to an official national holiday; las fiestas refer to festivals - local, regional, or national - that may be held only one day or may last several days. Most holidays are centered on or have their origins in religion. Many celebrations of the Catholic Church are officially designated by the government as holidays. In Hispanic countries, a light meal is served for breakfast. Lunch, referred as el almuerzo, usually is the main meal of the day for Spanish-speakers. In some countries, it is customary for adult family members and children to come home from work or school for about two hours to be together for this meal. La siesta, which is a rest period taken after lunch, is known to be a common practice among adult Hispanics. In the early evening, a light snack of coffee and rolls or sandwiches, is served. This meal is often very informal and may be just for children. In the evening, often as late as 9:00 p.m., a small supper, concludes the day's meals. Once settled in the United States, most Hispanics adopt the three-meal system. Midday and evening meals are important family or social events. Especially when guests are present, the meal may be followed by a time to linger and talk over coffee or perhaps an after-dinner drink. Usually when food or additional servings are offered to Hispanics, they tend to accept only after it is offered a second or third time. "To fully engage Hispanic audiences in the learning process, particular attention should be given to gaining and maintaining trust. Greater acceptance of educational efforts will occur by learners if Hispanic community leaders are involved in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of these educational efforts. Be aware that the physical distance between Hispanics when holding a conversation is much closer than in other cultures. Exhibiting respect for learners is another important aspect of the Hispanic culture. Teachers need to pay individual attention to learners (e.g., greeting each learner, handing papers to each individual rather than passing them down the row, being sensitive to different cultures among Hispanics, writing educational materials at appropriate reading levels). Differences in educational levels, language skills, income levels, and cultural values among Hispanics need to be considered by Extension educators when planning educational programs. Even though Hispanics share the same language, their cultures may vary considerably." Many of our Hispanic- Latino students are not true English speakers. DeSoto County has a very high rate of ESL classrooms and the need continues to grow. The majority of our Hispanic students live in the county on a part time basis as they come from migrant homes. We offer many areas for further learning development in our school district. We have after school programs, clubs, and special resource teachers to aid in the learning process. We are proud of our Hispanic community and do all we can to help them succeed. I found one very common thread running through all three of the cultures I examined. It was the notion of family. Family ties are very strong in the south regardless of what your nationality may be. All three cultures and their representatives in my panel reiterated that fact over and over again. It seems, at least to this writer that if we as a nation could get back to the importance and sacredness of the family unit we would have more far reaching success with our young people and the next generation would make us a prouder more stable nation. If we could only get away from our worries about our differences and reach out and realize how similar we really are we could reach higher than we ever have before.