The definition of culture was asked to a friend of mine of a different race, a family member, and a friend who has a different religion. The definitions that I received were somewhat similar for culture. The participants may not have used the exact same words but their responses shared commonalities. They all defined culture as the traditions, customs, and religious practices of a set of people. The morals and values were also mentioned.
The definition of diversity was also asked to the same people. Again all of their responses shared commonalities. Their definition of diversity was said to be based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, and political affiliations. One participant in particular stated that her definition of diversity meant understanding the uniqueness in everyone and also recognizing that we all are different. She stated that her stand on diversity is that we should all be able to respect each other and celebrate each other’s views in a positive manner.
The majority of the aspects of culture that I have studied in this course were included in the answers I received from the people that I interviewed. For example the religious practices, their traditions, their behavior are all examples of what I have studied in this course. Some important aspects were omitted during the interviews. For example in culture the foods that are eaten are very important. This is an example of surface culture (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). These are things that are easily seen, tasted, and defined (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). Another thing that was omitted in culture was ethnicity. A person’s cultural group is related strongly to his or her ethnicity, which reflects the place of origin and cultural background of the person’s ancestors (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).
In diversity most of the aspects that I have studied in this course were included in the responses from the people that I interviewed. For example they talked about race, religion, ethnicity, gender, and political affiliations. The one thing that I thought was important was omitted in the responses and that is age. People can be really biased when it comes to age whether they see you as too young or too old.
When I think about other’s definitions of culture and diversity I believe that my own thinking is influenced because although we are all different we all share some commonalities in our definitions of what culture and diversity is, and if we recognize the differences in each other and respect those differences we can overcome many barriers.
References
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J.O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Hello,
ReplyDeleteGreat post!! A lot of great points. I loved this assignment and seeing hoe even though we interviewed different people each person had similarities in there responses with each word defined. I also learned that people didn't express Social Identities and how they make us so diverse as a person also. What do think about Social Identities after learning about them.
Hey Sharon,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! when I first began asking my three individuals the how they define culture and diversity, they looked as if I was giving them a quiz! what was so interesting about each conversation is how they all went beyond the "standard" definitions, and leaned more towards examples to define them.
Hi Sharon, I had the same experience as you did with regards to the similarities with how each person defined diversity and culture. They all included the external symbols of culture to define what it means. I think we all tend to do this as we learn to define things through what is visual, so the external symbols that we see with regards to culture is included with how we define what it means to us.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great when people who are asked about diversity and culture that they don't always refer to the differences, but look at how they are unique. It is a refreshing way to look at diversity.
I also agree with your point regarding how we can overcome barriers when we respect diversity.
Thank you for sharing how the individuals you interviewed defined culture and diversity.
Take care,
Stephanie