Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this blog assignment I wanted to explore how people from different generations would define culture and diversity. I chose to ask three people (grandmother, mother, & best friend) from three different generations. My grandmother and my mother are the two individuals that differ from me culturally due to age.

Grandmother's Definitions

Culture: A part of a person's heritage; beliefs and traditions
Diversity: Different aspects of people; Different ways people do things

Mother's Definitions

Culture: Mutual traditions amongst a group of people
Diversity: Blended ethnicity

Best Friend's Definitions

Culture: Characteristics and beliefs of certain demographics within the world. There are different cultures within time periods like each decade. I also look at culture in terms of learning and exposure of the mind through experiences as human beings.
Diversity: I consider the word diversity to be complex. When I think of diversity I think of a variety of differences in terms of people and things. I think of diversity as a good thing when each of those differences are utilized and viewed as strengths. Although we have made great strides it's rare that you see people of color at the top of successful companies as well as gender and sexual orientation. I look forward to the day when we can all appreciate diversity and when we voluntarily segregate ourselves less.

All of the women's definitions of culture included shared beliefs and traditions of a certain group of people. This has been mentioned as important aspects of culture throughout this course. However, we have learned that this is merely surface culture and as early childhood professionals we have to dig deeper. My best friend's definition touched on this when she included a human beings' experiences as the basis for culture. It has been stated several times in this course that culture includes the way people see the world. In addition to dress, food, music, and religion culture includes how children are raised, views on education, and language.

When looking at the definitions of diversity the focus was mainly on the obvious forms of diversity which are race. My best friend is the only one who mentioned gender and sexual orientation.Their definitions seemed to be too narrow to really define diversity accurately. Many types of diversity were omitted from their definitions such as age, family composition, and ability. Diversity is such a broad topic because people differ in so many ways.

One thought that I have taken away from this assignment is that culture really does have an effect on the way we think. The culture of each generation was reflected in the responses I received from each of the women. I believe that being raised in different generations has a lot to do with the answers I received. My grandmother seemed to be the most uncomfortable when having this discussion with me. On the other hand, my best friend talked freely which can be seen by her substantive responses. My mom was open but kept her answers quick and precise. My grandmother was raised during segregation when culture and diversity was not appreciated or talked about. This made her reluctant to talk to me about each topic. My mother grew up during a time when the black movement was in place and blacks gained a sense of empowerment. During this time, culture and diversity basically meant race/ethnicity. This can be seen in her responses which were solely based on race. Like me, my best friend grew up when culture and diversity were discussed freely in school. The amendments to the IDEA made it possible for students of all abilities to be in the same classroom. Students dressed to reflect their personalities and expressed thoughts about their sexual orientation. My best friends' definitions reflect this thinking because she mentions gender and sexual orientation.

Another thought that I have taken away from this assignment is that we have to become more willing to talk about culture and diversity. Just like my grandmother, many people feel uncomfortable talking about culture and diversity. Early childhood educators have to be open to discussing these topics and addressing issues related to them.