Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I recently asked the following people about their definition of culture and diversity.  Their responses are:

Ruthie, my 58 year old mother:  "A person’s way of life; their lifestyle, beliefs, values, and what is the norm for them is their culture.  Diversity is just a fancy word for being different."

Kyna, a 36 year old friend:  "I look at diversity as being a part of their race. but a person’s culture helps identify them.  How you are raised also defines your culture.  Depending on the country you leave in determines your own culture.  It's just a lot of things."

 

Brianna, my 9 year old daughter:  "A person’s culture is proof of people being different (diversity) from other people.  Culture includes things around you like your family.  Describing culture is really hard." 

I chose different age ranges to demonstrate how over time people's concepts of diversity and culture develops.  As I reflect on what I've learned and listen to what my friends and family have shared with me, I’m reminded of how complex culture can be.  According to Chapter 5 of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, culture refers to how particular groups of people live (Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  Everything we do reflects our individual cultures.  Mostly people view culture as the difference between ethnic groups but it is possible for the Asian culture to share some of the same beliefs as a non Asian culture.  It’s even possible for African American families to share the same ethnicity but have different approaches to their everyday living.  By listening to how others define diversity, I perceive that diversity goes hand in hand with culture because of the uniqueness of it.  There’s no way to identify culture but not recognize diversity.

Reference:
Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. O. (2010).  Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. National Association for the Education of Young Children, Washington, D.C.