For this assignment I asked my mother, my sister and my husband to share their definitions.
My Mother:
Culture-"The influences that affect my life (family background, place where I live, things happening in the world around me)"(Dine, 2015).
"Diversity is a collection of people or things that are different from each other (for example: a multi-age group of people, a gathering of people of different religious beliefs, a group of people of different nationalities) working toward a common goal"(Dine, 2015).
My Sister:
"Culture is a concept that societies construct to define their collective sense of identity, making them feel as if their group is distinct from other groups"(Dine, 2015).
"Diversity is the breaking up of homogeneity through harmoniously combining people or things that differ in significant ways"(Dine, 2015).
My Husband:
"My definition of culture is the different ways people live their lives. This could be the type of foods they eat, the clothing they wear, the beliefs they have, the language they speak, etc. The wonderful thing about America is that it is mixed with many different people that are from all different cultures"(LaBonville, 2015).
"My definition of Diversity is people of different cultures (ethnic backgrounds), age, race, religion, gender, etc. If it wasn't for diversity, the world would be a pretty boring place because everyone would be the same"(LaBonville, 2015).
Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples?
I have studied that in this course that culture is more then just the food we eat or what we wear. It is much more then that. Culture is everything about us. My sister definition said it is how they define a sense of identity. That bought me back to week one when we learn about our identities.
My mother and husband had a good definition of diversity. My mother stated that it was more then just race, that it is also religion, etc. My husband stated the same thing that everyone is different and all diverse.
Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission?
I feel they covered the definitions very well. They are not studying culture and diversity so they would not know every aspect of culture and diversity. Some things they omitted was in the deep culture. They omitted work, role of children and migration.
In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics?
Reading other definition bought me back to when I did not know much about culture and diversity. I knew what it meant but did not know about the deep meaning of them. Looking at their definitions showed me that I am growing and learning.
Hi Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the 3 people you chose to speak with about culture and diversity. Each person shared their thoughts and feelings about culture and diversity, but their definitions are very different, but similar all the same. Every person has their own experiences, personal feelings, and understandings of culture and diversity and express it in their own way. Through this assignment I have learned that culture and diversity play a key role in every single person's life and role in the world. Culture and Diversity is so much more than I ever really thought it would be. It influences everyone and because of culture and diversity, I find it difficult to not offend someone on a daily basis. I want to continue to learn about culture and diversity to help support the young children and their families in my program to feel comfortable to share with others, including myself, about their culture and diversity, while learning about other peoples' culture and diversity.
Cheryl-
ReplyDeleteI like how you entered each persons comments. When I was writing my blog I included each of their comments together because they were so similar. Erin made a great point about how each person has their own experience and understanding of diversity and culture and we all describe it in different ways but it is similar at the same time. I like how by looking at your three peoples definitions has shown how you have learned a deeper meaning of diversity and culture.
Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteTaking this course has helped me to understand the major influences of culture as it relates to discovering our identity. After the completion of this assignment, I realize that culture have a variety of definitions and that culture affects almost every aspect of teaching and learning process. Thanks for sharing.
Your family and my family said similar things, and they sound so very important and official! I love that your husband said that America should be celebrated for its diversity. My children and my friend said the very same thing. Our diversity can get mis-understood and not be celebrated because of petty differences however, it is fantastic that we have so many differences that we can celebrate if we choose.
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