When
asking various people about their perspectives on diversity and culture, I
received a variety of answers and examples.
Some descriptions of culture and diversity that were mentioned that I
have studied in this course are: race, religion,
where they are from and language. For example,
the South Africans I spoke with about culture, felt a strong connection to
which province (region) they were from and their native tongue. There are 11 official languages in South
Africa. Most Black South Africans can
speak all the languages due to living in Johannesburg which is considered the “melting
pot.” They have accepted others despite
their differences.
One
aspect of culture and diversity which we have not studied is caste. I learned you are born into this status and
can only marry someone from the same background. Furthermore, there are many biases related to
this system that are accepted by people.
During
this exercise I learned even though people may share some of the same traits in
their cultures, no assumptions should be made.
It is important to get to know people and their views regarding their
way of life. Additionally, the same characteristics such as religion, can mean
different things to different people.
Establishing
good relationships and maintaining open communication is key to learning about
culture and diversity in the families we serve. Also, no matter where you are from, we all want the same thing, respect for who we are.
Hi Mary,
ReplyDeletewhat you said about certain individuals being strongly connected to the region of their native language reminded me of a time in my youth when I lived in Heldsburg, California and many of the Hispanic people were banning together by their area of Spanish culture. For example there was the "Chicano", the "Tejanan" (Texas) and a couple of others that I am not able to remember. I do remember that they also were very proud of their culture and language. Although here in the United States they do not call it segregation by the caste system as in cultures, however there is a very definite unspoken segregation system which often dictates much of a person's life. For instance if a person is very wealthy and they wanted to marry a very poor person it is frowned on. The very wealthy "upper class" do not approve of "lower class" interlopers.There It is an unspoken rule that most individuals adhere to and that is like stays with like. Every now and then there will be the romantic love story that beats the overwhelming odds and the two worlds of the very wealthy and the poor unite and get married. Those are few and far between. I agree with you that it is very important to maintain open communication with those whom live around you and you are associated with. Thank you for the information.
-Floranne Taylor-
I enjoyed your writing. It reminded me of a class I took years ago with Ruby Payne, about poverty. She had stated that for people to move up in class they would need to learn the social norms of that new class so that they would be accepted. The next class culture would have to be learned so that they fit in. Your example reminded me that culture is also in class. Thank you for sharing.
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