Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

This week’s assignment consisted on asking three people their definition of culture and diversity. The first person I asked was a friend in her late 30s. She defined culture in two words “The traditions”. She defined diversity as “differences- seeing things in a different way, different own point of view”. The second person that I asked was a nineteen-year-old college student. She defined culture as “your beliefs, where I come from- my origins, background, and ethnicity. She defined diversity as people that have different beliefs, background----- you know stuff is not the same”. The third person I asked was a man in his late 40s. He defined culture as “where you come from”. He defined diversity as” your race”.  

Some aspects of culture that I have studied in this course were included in their answers such as traditions, beliefs, origins, background, race and the way we live. Two people defined diversity as differences, but in different perspectives. One focused on the changing of one’s mind or perception while the other focused on the aspects of cultural diversity. The third person focused on the physical characteristics of diversity.

According to Derman-Sparks, & Edwards,

culture refer to how particular groups of people live. The way we eat, sleep, talk, play, care for the sick, relate to one another, think about work, arrange our kitchen, and remember the dead including the language we speak, religion or spiritually we do or do not practice, the clothing, housing, food, and rituals/holiday with which we feel most comfortable (2010).

Reflecting on their answers and expressions when ask this question regarding culture reminds me of myself when I began this course, and that many people are unconscious about deep culture and the things that really makes them tick focusing on the surface of culture and diversity.     

Reference

 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.

My Family Culture

My Family Culture

Senerio:

If a major catastrophe has devastated the infrastructure of my country, and the government decides to send myself and immediate family members to another country which culture is completely different form my country, and I am told that I can only take one change of clothing, and three small items that are dear to me, and represent my family’s culture, and then when I get to the country, I am told I can only keep one of the items what will it be?

The three items I think I would take are my family’s photo album, my cell phone, and my charger.

I chose my family photo album because it holds a lot of memories. The family photo album holds pictures from new births to my grandmother celebrating her ninety- first birthday. Each picture tells some type of story. There are celebrations of marriages, different holidays, and gathering where we are just playing games such as kickball, volleyball, and other activities.

I know a phone in materialistic, but I would take my cell phone because I would want to have some means of communication to continually try to reach other family members. I chose the charger because I would need it to charge my phone.

If upon arrival to the new country, I was told I could only keep on item. I would not like giving up the only way of communicating, but without a doubt, I would choose my family’s photo album. You all have probably heard the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words.” That is the way I feel about my family photo album. The album is the only thing that I have which represent my family’s culture. Keeping this album will give the younger generation an insight into their family’s cultural, and rituals in the future.

In doing this assignment, I realized how children must feel when they are forced to participate in unknown territory. Entering preschool can seem like going to a foreign country for younger children. They are leaving what they know as their “norm” and entering a different world with different rules and expectations. As early childhood educators we need to make this transition for children as easy as possible. We need to find creative ways to learn about diversity am our families.