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).
I was intrigued that you added age into a part of your discussion. Age is one thing that I rarely ever think about. My students on the other hand think talk about it all the time, how cool it is that so many of them are all 4 years old now, and that a select few are 5. I do not look at people and think of how old they are, I look at people and think I wonder what journey they have been on.
ReplyDeleteHi Kiara,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog! I think our ideas were very similar in that we both saw that each of the people giving definitions of culture and diversity were diverse in themselves. They were their own person, giving their own answer to the same question. I think that this was a great way to explore what diversity really means.
Aloha Kiara,
ReplyDeleteAs I read your blog post it reminded me about the time I was living in Korea on a military base. Many Koreans really don't like Japanese people because of the war. Most have put it behind them, but being open and friendly is different. I love shopping in Korea and especially bargaining with vendors. One way I got past some of the language and cultural barriers was to pick up a few Korean phrases and understand their culture. Showing them respect made them open up and give me good deals. Come to find out they could speak a fair amount of English. Many times I've been ask where I come from. They expect me to say Japan, but when I say Hawaii they brighten up the conversation about their dream to visit Hawaii some day.