For this assignment:
Interview three friends/ family members/ acquaintances/ or colleagues including one person who you believe is in some ways culturally different from you…
Record their responses:
Definitions of culture: “Culture is things that enrich our lives, they make us part of a unit (like a family or community), they are defined by geography, they are rich in history, they are when we have opportunities and experiences, they come from the ability to have enriching experiences and they define who we are, culture is our beliefs, thoughts, practices, ways of doing things, how we approach situations, how we interact and make decisions.”
Definitions of diversity: “Diversity is a product of our culture, diversity is mainly race, age, gender, religion, political affiliation, diversity makes the world interesting and scary to some, fear of the unknown is why there is sometimes little acceptance of diversity, diversity defines who we are- our abilities, too much diversity can be a bad thing.”
Reflection: I chose to interview a fellow early childhood colleague and found her responses similar to what I have studied in this course. These include how culture is rich and is defined from experiences, and makes us who we are inside. She also commented that diversity and culture go hand in hand- that knowledge of both are a necessary part in teaching young children respect, tolerance and acceptance. My elderly family member’s response to culture was passionate about her own and how it defines us, but then her reaction to the definition of diversity was guarded and cautiously answered. She mentioned that too much diversity makes this world confused on who we are; we lose sight of our culture when it starts mixing with others. I was taken by her comments, but had to respect her thoughts and understand that her perceptions were due to her childhood and life experiences. The third person I interviewed was a young parent in our early childhood program. This parent is also a student at our community college. He answered the questions with enthusiasm and included that culture and diversity go hand in hand, that we are living in a melting pot of culture and mixing all together slowly. He mentioned that diversity makes us all definable as different and unique- I liked his statement.
It is amazing how these responses have influence my thinking about culture and diversity. I respect all three individuals I interviewed I different ways. What an interesting assignment.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteThis exercise helped us to see the opinions of others about culture. I liked the third definition of culture, and I think that is one of the objectives of this course which is to see and consider each family and student that we teach as unique and not as part of a cultural group. Thanks for posting.
I, too, thought this assignment was interesting. I chose to invite friends to participate in my assignment through Facebook. Therefore I wasn't comparing who they are with who I am ahead of reading their definitions. After I received a number of answers from friends, I chose three people that come from different walks of life and differ in culture and diversity from myself. I hope that I am able to interview people for future assignments as this was very insightful!
ReplyDeleteCaitlyn
AMy: Your colleauge had a great answer for the assignement. It is interesting that the elderly woman was guarded with her definition of diversity. It sounds like you received answers from three different generations. The elderly woman must have some thoughts about diversity that are different than ours because of when she grew up, which makes sense. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteAmy -
ReplyDeleteThe melting pot analogy is one that we hear often. In a lecture on this topic some time ago, I was encouraged to consider the United States as a salad instead. I questioned this idea but it has taken on a new significance during this class. The items in a salad all go together but are able to maintain their own identity. This make me think of all of our discussions about culture and diversity and how it is so important to recognize our differences and similarities.
Teri
Amy,
ReplyDeleteYou are very fortunate to interview your elderly family members. They always have great wisdom and heart warming stories. One of your family members from your post mention about losing sight in who you are. That statement is so true because it happen to me three years ago. Being confused and lost is a horrible feeling. But one way I found myself was going deep into my culture from youth and figuring out what makes me comfortable and happy. Thanks for your post, Amy!