Missy-

Diversity means that which is diverse or different. When applied to groups of people you want an organization to be diverse because this allows for many thoughts, ideas, experiences, beliefs which can strengthen or enhance the group as a whole.

Culture has to do with how a group of people may be identified or grouped.  This is done through their common traditions, customs, religious beliefs, laws/gov, holidays, games etc.

Mike-

My culture is a Marylander. I enjoy being a part of and watching the Orioles, Ravens games, crabs in the summer and drinking Natty Boh . But it’s also I guess being American and taking pride in the flag and red, white and blue as well as the Star-Spangled Banner with freedom also being very important to me.

Diversity- I’m a white male and over 21; I’ve been dealt a good hand. But maybe that in itself is something diverse.

Laura-

In America. Culture are the traditions we brought from our country of our ancestors (sounds cliche) but a lot of my cousins still celebrate the Russian church holidays with rituals & traditional food. It is great first & second generation here but it usually gets watered down by the third generation... which in my opinion, increases diversity in this country.

Diversity, understanding and perspective increases and improves as “immigrants” intermarry and live together. I definitely think it’s what keeps America (relatively) peaceful. We bring our beneficial traditions that fit in with American life.

Refection:

After reviewing the responses I received from my peers, I was able to reflect on their definitions and compare their definitions to what I have been learning. As I look at the definitions for diversity, two out of three of the responses focused on elements of individuals being different, contributing their own ideas to society. These examples represent what I have been learning in my courses at Walden. Diversity includes differences amongst individuals where that is cultural differences, language, educational, religious, etc.  Looking at the definitions I received, it appears that my peers have a better understanding of what it means to be diverse compared to all that goes into culture.

Reflecting on the definitions I received relating to culture, most of the answers reflect surface level culture which are things easy to see such as foods, holidays, and attire (Derman- Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 56).  However, I was impressed with the last definition I received from Laura as she addressed ancestors and her cousins and spoke about the holidays celebrated by their family. These ideas do reach into deep culture; focusing on more significant things that impact one’s culture. The other definitions are missing details which cover deep culture. An example of what deep culture entails includes, values, gender roles, health care and ideas about education. In addition to this, the none of the definitions mention an individual’s “cultural identity” or “social identity” which influence and identify different aspects about an individual which makes them more diverse. This information is important to understand to ensure you are not make generalization about an individual and their culture; having an understanding of these definitions allows for a less stereotypical society (Derman- Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 56).  

Reflecting on these definitions has allowed me to understand that “deep” culture is not a typical understanding an everyday person would have. The definition with more detail that I received from Laura is my peer that has a different background from me and is from Russia. I had the thought that perhaps individuals who are more culturally diverse have a deeper understanding of culture and diversity because they have possibly experienced more hardship in terms of relating to the dominant culture. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about diversity and culture and what it truly means so I can better understand different individuals within society. Without this opportunity to learn about what culture and diversity truly means and how culture truly impacts one’s life, I would not fully understand the experiences of some individuals and the impact culture has on their life.

References

Derman- Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti- bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).