Family Culture

What is makes a family? The family unit across cultures is as diverse as the many landscapes of our world. While the view on the family seems to be set by Western ideals, the majority of the globe has a more complex family structure which includes not only the nuclear unit of a father, mother and children, but a more extended unit consisting of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. There has been much change in the family structure in the past few decades the nuclear family is becoming blurred as the prevalence of divorce, unmarried couples and same sex household’s increase. It is this variation in traditional trends that have contributed to more pronounced issues within the family unit both in our own culture and through the spectrum of …show more content…
The grandmother was interested in the time frame of the program, what the job placement rates were like and how much he would be making as a licensed paramedic. I explained all the statistics to both the student and the grandmother and they seemed to be content with the answers. The prerequisites for the program was not eligible for financial aid, so the grandmother would be paying for 12 credits out of pocket, I outlined the price to her and it seemed to concern her. I gave her literature on the tuition installment plan our school offers and the student read it aloud for her, but translated it to Spanish. The grandmother seemed a little eased by this information. I drafted a course plan for the student and registered him in the prerequisite classes, the student was excited, I referred him to the program manager of Emergency Medical Services and informed him of the next steps he need to take to completed registration. I gave the student and his grandmother directions to the bookstore and the bursar’s office for tuition payment. The grandmother appeared happy as did the student, the student stood up and shook my hand, I in return shook his and thanked the …show more content…
The culture also has great respect for the elderly, elder parents are respected on the account of their life experiences and their hierarchic position within the family unit, and this is more emphasized with the elder patriarch. This is a direct reflection on what I observed, the mother and daughter trusted the father as an elder and patriarch to take the decision best for the family, and they were appeared satisfied with his role of leadership in the family unit. The issue of gender equality did ignite in my mind, with the rights of women in Muslim culture a continuous topic in the media it can be a challenge to distinguish whether this student lacked equality in the family unit or if her cultural values instilled in her the laws of her religion. In this family’s culture, the man is considered head of the family, but with leaderships comes great responsibility. The patriarch must be sole source of economic stability and leader of the family unit, if the patriarch falls out of this role due to unemployment or illness, the family unit may fall out of balance (Kobiesy 2004). The family systems model teaches us that, “the family, like other social systems us a goal seeking system. Each family has its own goals and priorities; family members select