Perspectives on Diversity & Culture

 

I interviewed different people that I know about their thoughts on culture and diversity. When I asked them they all acknowledged that both were hard to define.

Person #1 (Jessica, 3rd grade teacher, Hispanic and German, best friend)

Diversity: Different Individuals Valuing Each other Regardless of Size, Intelligence, Talent, or Years

Culture: a group of people that celebrate the same values and traditions, see things in the same perspective, respect one another regardless of their differences, value one another

 

Person #2 (Nevia, PreK teacher, African American, mentor)

Diversity: Differences between any given group.

Culture: The background of an individuals upbringing.

 

Person #3 (John, insurance adjuster, African American, older brother)

Diversity: Diversity is about all-inclusiveness, the antithesis of homogeneity. Unfortunately it is defined by its absence in our country. Diversity would not be an issue in a true melting pot situation. we don't have diversity, we have homogeneity in our workplaces and in the lunchrooms at schools. We gravitate to people that look like us. Diversity is the opposing force to homogeneity. The concept of diversity has been developed because of our natural inclination to be with people like ourselves. It is our effort to change our natural instinct.

Culture: Culture is the set of beliefs, traditions, activities, and art of a group of people (utensils they eat with, the way they dress, their music, religion, what they watch). All of the semi-tangible things that make up a people.

 

Person #4 (Justin, Optical Dept., African American, younger brother)

Diversity: a melting pot, adds flavor, keeps things from being bland, individuality brought together as a whole.

Culture: heritage, roots, origin, the individuality of a specific group, different lifestyles that go through time.

 

So far this course has covered a few different aspects of culture and diversity, a few of which are mentioned in some of the above answers from the interviews- diversity as a representation of people who are different valuing other people who are different, and diversity being what makes us special as a people. Culture is represented in the very essence of a people. What they do and how they do it and how it gets passed on through generations.

Some aspects of culture and diversity were omitted like the importance of children and families being celebrated in their differences and what we as people can do about changing the way we view each other.

Learning what other people think about culture and diversity has helped me to realize that everyone does not necessarily think about culture and diversity on a regular basis or what they actually mean. As an educator I am to think about it all the time and how I can foster a healthy environment that encourages and supports family cultures and student diversity in my classroom. I need to not only think of it how I see it but also how other people (families I serve) may see it and consider their view when teaching their children.