Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

In meeting with some colleagues this week the topic of discussion was cultural diversity and each person had a different way in how they defined cultural diversity. I had a conversation with three wonderful people about cultural diversity.

Person 1. She is a K-5 teacher and has been teaching for three years. She believes that culture is the way people have been raised to live by their family. She believes that diversity is a group based on differences of race, gender, sexual orientation, social class and disability.
Person 2:  She is in a Head Start Program who has been a teacher for two years.  She believes that cultural diversity is the inclusion of diverse people in a group or organization that embrace cultural diversity in the workplace or school area with different types of culture of people.
Person 3:  She is a Head Start Center Director for over three years. She believe that cultural diversity is a gender roles that shaped our culture’s ideals for masculine and feminine behavior in ways that have been modified but not radically changed since the early years of time.

What was interesting to me is that each person had their way of how they viewed cultural diversity. When I talked to person 1 once she told me she believes that diversity is a group based on differences of race, gender, sexual orientation, social class and disability. Now I had to ask her how disability went with cultural diversity. She told me because some disabilities are passed out among the community to be involved in helping different cultures seek help for people with disabilities. That is seen in the same light as equality for other minority communities where social structures such as prejudice, segregation, inaccessibility and cultural/religious beliefs are the problems.

In reflecting on my conversations with the three people about culture and diversity I have learned that still people defines cultural diversity totally different. I also learned that people have their own why in how they understand cultural meaning to the best of their own knowledge. I see I need to learn more about cultural diversity but I find that this was very interesting doing because so far what I have learn that everyone has their own social identity in what they believe in .