Jason Gerhow’s Cultural Biography

Jason Gerhow
Assignment 1
Edu 280 Valuing Cultural Diversity in Education

My name is Jason Gerhow, my family and my culture are just one of many parts of my

life. I grew up with a sister and 2 parents, a Mom and Dad. My mother grew up in many different

households with many parts of her family, from living with her mom and dad, to just her dad and

then living with a Korean step mom. I often heard stories of my mom’s step mother and her two

step sisters. It’s a past filled with what sounds like fear, but feels as if love shined through it all.

Then my father, he had a rougher past, living in a military family, living through many fathers,

abuse and more. He eventually went to the military at a very young age, and then several years

later he became my father. He grew up in a basic American family, who’s roots hail from

germany. My dad had another daughter before meeting my mother, but that's a story for another

day! Many years later, I was born! My culture I feel is mostly small mixes of korean and german,

and even then I feel it’s mixed itself into something entirely new. Something that I don’t really

have a name for at the moment, but nonetheless feel it residing within myself. I grew up with

loving albeit overprotective parents, and grew up with a small family around me. Only seeing my

fathers side grandparents and losing contact with my mothers, I feel I missed out on more

cultural opportunities but I have no say in the matter. Regardless, my sister and I grew up

entirely in Nevada whereas my parents lived in many different places. My name and my sister's

name weren’t really chosen for any culturally significant reason, from what I recall I was named

after one of the contestants from the old show ‘Big Brother’. Regardless I do my best to remain

calm and nice and something I feel that I got from my mom, having spent so much time with her.

I can also have a semi-hot headed part of me that you will often see when I'm truly passionate

about certain things, such as me being right about video games, something I also grew up on! I

feel that I got that hot headed side from my father, as he himself can be hot headed. I feel that

this assignment was really more of an eye opener, that I don’t exactly know everything about my

culture or that I still have lots to learn about who I am in my own family dynamic.