I asked a Madam Clerk, a Broker, and, a first-year
college student their definitions of what diversity and culture meant to them.
And the Madam Clerk said diversity means a variety of people, culture means a
familiar atmosphere. And the Broker said diversity means people from different races
and gender, he said culture means where individual grew up, their religion,
foods they eat, customs they have. And the first-year college student said that
diversity is when there are different people around, from different countries,
and she said culture is the way people do things in their countries or families.
All three individuals answered with
understanding mentioning several things that have come up in my studies. Such
as their familiar atmosphere which I deduced means their homes, religion,
foods, and customs all are partial answers. Just recently I learned from
listening to our webcast from Gonzalez-Mena, Derman-Sparks, and Benavides that
culture is everything about a person (Laureate Education,2011). As Gonzalez-Mena
(2011) said:” …. it’s like an iceberg, that only the tip shows…”. We all are learning every week more aspects
of what culture is, so I was not surprised by the short answers I received. The
one answer that omitted much was “familiar atmosphere” that was a surface answer
because it left out the depth of an individual. It was the answer used in times
past by most ;it did not touch the innermost person perspective, but the surface of
what is viewed like foods, holidays, and music. In fact, that was the answer I
would have given if I had not taken this course.
I think that the answers show that most
people are not going deep into the culture of others without a personal reason. It
is a superficial way which keeps up the barriers and lets people off the hook from
investing their time and understanding. And I want to be different from that, I
would like to genuinely care enough about others to consider what is important
to them.
References
Laureate Education (Producer).
(2011). Culture and diversity [Video file]. Retrieved from
Laureate Education (Producer).
(2011). Family cultures: Dynamic interactions [Video
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