Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I really enjoyed this assignment as I love to talk with people and find out more about their ideas and views.  My conversations are summarized below.

Person 1:  She is a new teacher at my center and she is has only been in our country for 2 years.  She believes that culture is the way you dress, talk, treat your family, and includes your religious beliefs and family values.  She believes that diversity is when others accept you for who you are and you accept them for who they are.

Person 2:  He is a father in our program who recently got out of prison.  He believes that culture means what race you are, how much money you have, where you live, the people you hang out with, what holidays you celebrate, and how your family is seen by others.  I am not sure that he understood when I asked him about diversity but after a brief conversation he stated that everyone is different and that's okay because we are not supposed to all be the same.

Person 3:  She is a fourteen-year old girl who is the daughter of a close friend.  She stated that culture is everything about us.  It can mean the food we eat, where we live, who we marry, how much money we have, if we go to church, and if we go to college.  She stated that diversity is how people learn to get along even though we are all different.  She also stated that at her school most people are not the same so she doesn't see what the big deal is about people being different and why adults have a hard time getting along.

I found it interesting that I got so many different answers.  Some of the responses alluded to surface culture, such as food and holidays, but most of the answers were related to deep culture, such as values, education, religion, and living arrangements.  I most enjoyed talking with the fourteen-year old and am excited that she has such an openness to others and recognizes that adults sometimes have a hard time accepting people that are of a different culture.  I believe that awareness of these differences is a very important key to learning to accept others.

Reflecting on my conversations with these 3 people about culture and diversity I have realized that my definition of culture and diversity is steadily growing.  I am finding myself thinking more about deep culture issues and how they affect my relationships with others and how my previous definition of culture and diversity was definitely superficial.