PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY AND CULTURE

It is always fascinating to learn how people perceive the world around them. The assignment this week included finding out how three people in my network of family, friends, or colleagues feel about diversity and culture in our society. The three people I chose are my husband (age 44), an African American male, a family friend (age 25), a Caucasian female educator, and an acquaintance (age 48), a female teacher’s assistant from Ecuador. Kenneth, my husband, gave the following definition of culture…”culture is your beliefs, your religion, your upbringing and all that your parents has taught you combined with the way that you present yourself in your community. Diversity is the differences between groups of people who live together. Some groups are treated better than other groups…they have power because they join together in certain situations. These groups receive certain privileges that other groups do not because they are thought less of in society “(personal communication, 2012). Amy, my friend, said,”your culture is your way of life. It defines who you are and what you believe in. It is how you relate to others in society. Diversity is making sure that you are aware of the differences between people so that everyone feels valued when living together” (personal communication, 2012). Sylvia, an acquaintance from Ecuador, said, “culture is your family and traditions. It’s the stuff that families do with each other. It is your heritage. America is much different than Ecuador…we do lots of family things together. Your weather is different…we only have two seasons in Ecuador. We have summer and winter. We have much delicious fruit and no humidity. Diversity is difference. Some of the children in this class have a hard time understanding me…I’m trying to learn the language. They do give me lots of hugs…they are so sweet. In Ecuador there is more school work…children work very hard to learn about English too” (personal communication, 2012) Each of the three interviews reinforced what I have learned about culture. Kenneth, Amy, and Sylvia all share the belief that culture portrays a valuable part of a person’s life. It encompasses what you believe in and what you have been taught through your family, your experiences, and your environment. Kenneth and Sylvia both agree that diversity mainly consists of the difference that is reflected in each individual. While I agree with both of them, my perspective is more closely related to Amy’s view that diversity is making sure that you are aware of those differences in order to successfully guide your own thoughts and views. Sylvia looks at diversity on a much larger scale. Many things that guide her perspective on diversity are things that I have never really thought that much about…the difference in the weather and the difference in an everyday occurrence like the amount of homework that children complete. This activity helps to reinforce my belief that culture and diversity are a vital part of every society and it defines who we are as a people.