For my class assignment, I needed to ask three people their idea of what culture and diversity were. I asked a 25 year old white, middle class woman with a high school education, a black 23 year old with a college degree in sociology, and a 12 year old mixed race girl from a middle class family.
The 25 year old white woman responded with the typical short answer regarding racial differences and being accepting of them. It opened up an interesting conversation, because of course I had to relay what I am learning. She said she did not think she had a culture, because to her that meant something which is actually diversity. Being like "most people" to her meant she was not different. She enjoyed discovering that she had some unique qualities, giving her culture!
The black 23 year old college graduate knew exactly what I was asking and gave me a detailed description of her ethnicity, her heritage, and her culture (including the surface culture and deep culture!). Her definition of diversity was "varying characteristics people in a common interest group possess."
I asked the older sister of one of my students what she thought of culture and diversity. She said that culture was how a person lives, and diversity was people being together who are different from each other.
I felt the woman who was like me thought like I did at the beginning of this course--that because we are part of the main stream, and don't have any family traditions, that we did not have culture.
With the exception of my college graduate friend, only race was thought of when describing culture and diversity. Most people, if not properly educated, do not think of housing situations, parenting techniques, health care, work, religion, gender roles, or any of the multitude of deep culture characteristics. All these contribute to a person's identity, and their actions and reactions in social situations.
I enjoy opening up my eyes to deeper meanings for people I don't know, and also enjoy telling others about it. It will help me to provide better educational opportunities for all the children and families I serve.
Renee! I enjoyed reading your blog post, and the different ages and races of people you chose to interview that all had different educational backgrounds. Its amazing to me how "ignorant" people can be when it comes to culture, including myself! This course is really teaching me a lot about culture and diversity, and how different everyone in this world really is! Great post!
ReplyDeleteEboni
Renee,
ReplyDeleteI too have learned so much in this class and have already broadened my view of culture. That is great that you were able to share information with your friend and start a dialogue that gave her a new perspective. I think that is so important in today's world to be able to have these discussions and learn from each other, yet still respecting our differences.
Jennie
Dear Renee,
ReplyDeleteI agreed with you that the definition of culture is getting more and more complicated with the changes in the world. I am sure the definition of culture in the past is very different from those in today's world. Our life, our thought, our experiences, our interactions and ideas keep changing these days. With the internet, people's knowledge and information are richer thatn in the old days. As a result, the perspective of culture and diversity will also be different.
Renee,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post explanation about each person that you interviewed. It does clarify the definitions they chose.
This simple assignment is a fabulous way for us to discover how little is understood about culture and diversity, even within ourselves.
How can we educate the population about this aspect of our every day life?
Zeina
One way is to be a jabber mouth like myself! I think some of the people I interact with on a daily basis tire of hearing me talk about this subject but they are too polite to stop me. Maybe I will get through to ONE of them! :)
DeleteI loved the reading all the different opinions about culture and diversity. I have learning more things about diversity and culture and the different roles it plays in all individuals. We are all unique in our own way and we all have beliefs that describes each and every one of us. I know there are times when some people may try to conform to others so they can feel validated and accepted. But we have the right to have our own beliefs, opinions, feelings and perspectives and that is what makes each and every one unique individuals
ReplyDeleteRenee,
ReplyDeleteMy daughter, who also has a Bachelors in Communication and a Masters in Business Management also was able to give me a much more detailed answer when I asked her the definition of culture and diversity. I was thrilled when she summed up her response by telling me "If you didn't have culture, you wouldn't have diversity - they go together". I'm glad to know that regardless of where people are receiving their upper education, these crucial topics are being taught to some extent! Now if we can keep our younger generations educated about these things...society may stand a chance!