GT HOMEWORK 1-12-11

This is a day late but better late than never-

This post is about a chapter in a book we are reading in class. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is probably the most interesting book I have ever read. The book dives deep into successful people and ideas through out history and the factors and fate that helped these people arrive at their current and admirable positions in life.

During chapter 6 of Outliers, Gladwell begins giving us a violent and detailed history of the rival families the Howards and the Tuckers who settled their own slice of land out in the mountains of Kentucky during the 1800s. He talks about the violent history these two families have had and explains why people from the south are notorious for being extra confrontational when confronted.. Gladwell also talks about an experiment conducted at the University of Michigan that proved the southerners' more extreme confrontational spirit as opposed to people from the north.

A cultural legacy is the spirit and traditions that run through out your family, and are values that are passed on and expressed from generation to generation.

1-20-11 Update New Content is Underlined: My cultural legacy is to uphold strong values that are useful in life and ones that I will be proud to hand down to my children. I have some Irish blood in my veins as my mother is 100% Irish and my Dad is partly Irish. I can also relate to the "don't tread on me" spirit expressed by these Scottish/Irish families in the south, but I feel this can mainly be attributed to my environment growing up rather than the fact that I'm Irish. Although I love discussing things with people and debating controversial topics. I don't put up with me being taken advantage of or being blatantly insulted as I don't think any one should. Hopefully the cultural legacy I can pass on for my family is one that values free but respectful expression, humility even in the best of times, and a devotion to things that they care about that is unrivaled and not outperformed by those around them. I would like to teach my children to always be aware of what others think of them and realize their current standing amongst their peers but to never let one person or group change who they are at heart or change their natural opinion of right from wrong. I also hope that I can pass on the values of service, sharing, respect, hard-work and honesty to my children and help keep my name and family's reputation in good standing in the eyes of others.  Communication and appearing as a strong and confident father figure  for my children will be important to trying to preserve my cultural legacy. Also I would like to make sure my family and I always have open lines of trust and communication because explaining your heritage and teaching good values can only be done through good communication.