Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

 

After asking three people about their perspective on diversity and culture, I received a variety of answers.  The perspectives of each person are below:

 

1.     This perspective is from a female in her mid-late 50’s, who is an elementary school teacher.

 

“I've had varying views about culture. My first thoughts growing up were that it connected to ethnicity where someone for example came from, their country. You know living in the area in which I grew up in the 70's wasn't diverse at all. I don't even remember diversity until I really started working at a bank in Montgomery County, Maryland. I know that I have had racial biases. My children have shown me through their lives to see things differently.

Also now being in education I've come to view it as a multitude of different things. It's the environment that someone lives in, it’s their religion, their values, their traditions, the way they dress, the foods they eat, the books they read, their political views, their race, their economic status, the way they see themselves in relation to others.

 

The kids attended a very diverse high school. I remember talking with my son one day and he said that he really liked it because you didn't have to have everyone as your best friend but you definitely learned to tolerate others that weren't "like" you. It was more representative of what the rest of the real world was like. You can't live in a bubble. You don't have to accept everyone's beliefs or cultural differences but respecting them is important. The only exception to that for me is if it's a safety or health concern. Everyone needs to be safe and feel safe.

This country was formed from a melting pot of immigrates and we are still that if not more.”

 

2.     This perspective is from a male in his early 20’s.

 

“Culture is what you are like, what group you’re in, like Black, White or Hispanic. Diversity is being different than others I guess.”

 

3.     This perspective is from a female in her mid-20’s who is also an elementary school teacher.

 

“Culture is different ethnicities, religions, races, and traditions.  Diversity is kids with those differences in the classroom.  We have to learn about their culture to help them learn best in our classroom.”    

 

I feel that the second and third perspectives are the way that most people view culture and diversity.  There is a basic idea about what it includes, but not a full comprehension of what culture truly is. I believe the first response is exactly what we have been studying in this course.  It is clear that this person has a deep understanding and appreciation for culture and diversity and has even had personal experiences related to cultural differences.  She said, “. It's the environment that someone lives in, it’s their religion, their values, their traditions, the way they dress, the foods they eat, the books they read, their political views, their race, their economic status, the way they see themselves in relation to others.”  This is what we have been learning about during this course, that culture is ingrained in us; it is how we live and function every day, it is in everything that we do.  I thought she captured this very well in her explanation.   

           

In the perspectives, diversity was explained as “being different”, which is true, but no one was able to elaborate on the concept.  The failed to identify the many different ways in which we can be diverse including, age, gender, sexual orientation, and occupation.  Diverse is seen as being different, but often times the specific ways that people can be different can be overlooked.  There is so much diversity even within the diverse groups that I mentioned above.  Diversity does include differences, but it is what makes each of us an individual.    

After reading these three responses, I feel that at the beginning of this course, I was more like the second and third perspectives.  I had a basic idea of culture and diversity, but had absolutely no idea how deep they go.  I think that the more educated one is on this topic, the more one is able to comprehend just how profound these topics are.  I certainly relate more to the first definition of culture because I have studied and learned about culture and diversity over the past three weeks.  I appreciate the knowledge that I have gained because in the education field, if I don’t understand what culture and diversity are, I will certainly have a difficult time meeting the cultural and diverse needs of children and families.