Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

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• I reached out to social media (Facebook) and my own family to seek out personal definitions of culture and diversity.  These are the answers I received:
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  • My mother (Claims Adjuster for a large insurance corporation) Culture – Is where your grew up, our beliefs and values of our family.  There are varying levels of culture.  Diversity – Understanding and open to everyone’s interests, values, traditions, nationalities, etc. 
  
  
  • My husband’s aunt (Studied French Literature at the University of Delaware) Culture - a group of people who live in an area determined by geography.  They share certain norms and limitations. Diversity - When several cultures have the good fortune to meet there is diversity.  No longer are there limitations and minds are open to more ideas and wider possibilities.
  
  
  • One of my sorority sisters, Sam (Patient Care Coordinator) Culture – The family and ethnic traditions (i.e.) how people celebrate holidays, how people prepare food, how people raise their children, etc.  Diversity – is the melding of these traditions and mixing cultures into a culture unique to the people. 
  • One of my sorority sisters, Jess (Inclusion Services K-8th teacher) Culture- they have certain morals, values, and traditions that represent their culture. Diversity - is when you have different cultures in one area.  In a teaching aspect you have to teach the different cultures to make students aware of the diversity that exists to they can respect each other.  
  
  
  I found it interesting that everyone had similar ideas and definitions of culture and diversity.  I was influenced to apply their definitions to the cultures I know they have come from and the experiences they have had in their lives.  We are each diverse in our own ways.  We do not share similar cultures solely based on our current living locations.  We each live in different states, with different jobs.  I really liked this assignment!