Perspectives on Culture and Diversity

This week I spoke to three people that are close to me and asked them what there definitions of culture and diversity were.

1. Scott feels that culture is ethnicity and religion.  He said diversity is change and the different ways people lived.

2. Daniel said that culture was a combination of race, ethnicity, religion, and backgrounds.  He said that diversity was the different ways people live.  This includes sexual orientation, family dynamics, economic factors, beliefs, and values.

3.  Vanessa said culture is a persons background, including religion, beliefs, values, language, ethnicity, and where they are from.  She said diversity is the different ways in which people live and why.

The answers that I received touched on the surface of culture and diversity.  They all mentioned ethnicity and religion.  This course is teaching me that culture and diversity encompass so much more than just the surface.  It also focuses on why children and families behave the way they do, it focuses on self identity, and it focuses on the emotions and feelings the children and families have.  I have realized a couple of things from asking others for their definitions of culture and diversity.  First, they have the same definitions I did at the beginning of this course.  It is also helping me to realize that by knowing and understanding what culture and diversity fully means, we as educators can ensure that we are passing the accurate definitions to our children, families, and staff.  As a result, everyone would be learning to accept and value others for their similarities and differences.