The memories of our experiences with other cultures jump to mind. The Greek belly dancers at the little taverna on Broadway, curried rice at the East Indian booth at the food fair in the mall, Japanese sumo wrestlers on tv, a poster of the Eiffel Tower on the wall of the bank offering vacation loans. All representations of culture in varying degrees of accuracy and purpose, all representations of culture as a thing a noun as something that can be seen, smelled, tasted, bought. Culture is more, though. If we see culture as stagnant then we risk becoming stagnant in our thinking, feeling, and our teaching.
Culture is action.
If we see it this way we see it as a verb. It is alive. Always moving, growing, changing. Our students embody culture as a verb, and though we may not realize it, so do we. A passionate call to make sweetness and light the way of the world.