Perspective on Diversity and Culture

     My nephew’s definition of culture is his traditions, beliefs, and values on how he views himself in his everyday life. He is a free mason; so his belief is quite different from mine which is Christianity. He believeth in God, the son, and the Holy Spirit. His belief is that he believes in God only, and that the son is actually the son in the sky, in which they pray to. His definition of diversity was that all race falls under a category level and is labeled into groups that are established in society.

       My Asian friend’s definition of culture is the relationship among traditional cultures and the Western atmosphere. The idea that her definition of diversity consist of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Chinese folk religion and Shinto, Christianity and etc. Her prominent culture is Buddhism. Some people in her culture practice Christianity, which is similar to my beliefs and culture. However new languages are continually emerging everyday in Asia.

     However I have an African friend that gives his definition of culture as the source of impersonal or mystical mysterious power that there is a creator among us. Their cultures also consist of Christianity and Islam beliefs. His definition of diversity is solely tied with his belief in Shamanism, Zulu, Animism, e.g., Nuer, and Wolof. The hair and skin tone are all cultural practices in Africa. The aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course that are in my answers are Christianity, Asian, Buddhism, and African American-Christianity, and Islam. For example, Christianity, the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, Buddhism, reincarnation, after life, and African-Islam believe in a creator of the universe.

     Christianity has been omitted because in other religions they worship the father and not the son. One way my thinking about other’s culture is that every individual is entitled to choose his or her own culture throughout life. The aspects of what they believe in when they are born into this world are solely upon them to choose.

My Family Culture

 

“Culture refers to how particular groups of people live. It is the way we eat, sleep, talk, play, care for the sick, and relate to one another” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 55). In our daily interactions, we exercise our culture and single relationship to our tradition. The purpose of this assignment is to imagine being in a major catastrophe that has almost devastated the infrastructure of my country. The surviving citizens were evacuated to other countries that were willing to take refugees. Not knowing where their final destination would be, you were told that your host country’s culture were different from your own culture. In addition to taking one   change of clothes, you were also told to bring three small items that you hold dear and that represents your family culture. The three items are a family portrait of my immediate family, a necklace, and a Bible.

The photo of my family is dear to me because I will always remember and connect the good times that we shared together. For example, every year my family and I would have a family reunion. Before my grandmother died, she gave me a necklace and told me to pass it on with all of the wonderful memories that we shared talking about life struggles and over coming them. The Bible is my key to moving forward with everyday problems that go on in my life. After arriving at my destination, I was then told that I could only keep one personal item and I had to give up the other two items that I bought. This made me feel very sad to give up the photo of my family, and my grandmother’s necklace. The Bible would be the only thing that I will keep because it is the tool to my survival in the world. One insight that I gained about myself is to stay strong and positive, and I will make it throughout this catastrophe.

Reference

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).