Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Various Perspective on Culture: 

“I define it as tradition, different backgrounds” Different ways of doing things. “Art, customs, mannerisms”

        -J. (2021)

"I think culture is not only ethnic and racial but is also a sum of your upbringing, background, the neighborhood you grew up in, and people you surround yourself with."

          -A. (2021)

“culture varies from country to country. When you yourself travel to different countries people will not understand your culture right away. That’s why there are hot spots. Such as Portrichmond in PA is predominantly Polish”

        -K. (2021)

Various Perspectives on Diversity:

“Different types of backgrounds…different demographics. Variety of people with different backgrounds is a good way to come up with new ideas”

        -J. (2021)

"This can be cultural also but can also include religious, racial, socio-economic, and we should try to learn that everyone's differences are what makes us unique."

        -A. (2021)

   

“There was no diversity in catholic school where I was bought up in. I began to experience more diversity once I entered high school”

        -K. (2021) 

 “If you're diverse you learn more about different cultures”

    -D. (2021)

 Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples?

J. identifies himself as a Chinese American cis (born biologically with male autonomy and defines himself as a male presently) male in the millennial/generation z age group. 

He has noticed that people tend to group Asian Americans together instead of individually and are shown to be the "model minority."  This is similar to our reading this week of Ngo, B. Beyond "cultural clash." Some quotes that stuck out to me from this reading that reminded me of what my friend was saying were,

  “This dominant discourse of the Asian American model minority positions Asian Americans as the poster-child of American meritocracy, as it simultaneously blames other groups (e.g., African Americans, Latino Americans) for their underachievement" (Osajima, 1987).

-“One way to think about dominant discourses is to think about the stereotypes or myths that exist and are circulated about different immigrant groups.” (Ngo 2008). 

    In the reading, we saw examples of Lao immigrants and their experience attending an American school. One girl in the reading says, "A lot of people like call Asian people like just Chinese or something. I hear it all the time... I’ve heard it like they’ll say “That Chinese boy.” And I’m sitting here thinking, “He’s not Chinese.” ’Cause I can tell the difference almost all the time." (Chintana n.d.) J. also said that there were times when he was growing up and he went to play at his Black neighbor's house his mom would say to her son, “hey the Chinese kid is here to see you.” Thus showing how people group all Asian people from the same country and not seeing them as individuals or of various different cultural backgrounds. 

In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics?

I learned that some of my friends and I feel the same alienated feelings while trying to fit into both our family culture and the dominant culture that is in America. It is hard to almost code switch and also remember all of the traditions and customs for each culture. One of my friends who is Pakistani shared with me a story of how she began questioning her identity when she was eleven and visiting family in Pakistan. 

    "I struggled to reconcile competing for cultural norms and expectations; this struggle to make sense of and to integrate those aspects of my identity, which are Pakistani and American is an integral part of who I am. This unique perspective allowed me to be ‘culturally ambidextrous’” (A. 2021). I adore the word she uses "culturally ambidextrous" while describing the intertwining of the cultures of which she is a part.  She also goes on to share an example of the different customs of American and Pakistani culture. "“I have often felt alienated. As an American, I have been an outsider in Pakistan. My time here has taught me to look others in eyes while conversing to show respect and engagement. Constantly being reminded not to look into the eyes of another in Pakistan has made me feel a bit off” (A. 2021).

Here is a post that I shared with my friend on code-switching and the reason people do it:

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/04/13/177126294/five-reasons-why-people-code-switch

References

Ngo, B. (2008). Beyond "culture clash": Understanding of immigrant experiences. Theory into Practice. 47(1), 4-11

My Family Culture

 Prompt: 

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

Item 1: My cell phone for picture memorability. I would want to take my phone because that's where I have many photos presented of friends, family members, pets, destinations I have traveled to, and special life events. My phone will help me hold memories of the events and people who were in my life and helped me grow, learn, and explore the world around me.

Item 2: Diamond earrings my parents gave to me for my high school graduation. These diamond earrings I carry with me wherever I travel or move to. I take them to remind me of the accomplishments I have made and how far I have grown. This was a huge gift from my parents because it is my first piece of diamond jewelry I have received from them. It shows their joy and pride of me completing my grade schooling. High School was one of the most challenging times of my life and there were times when I thought I wouldn't make it through. But my friends and family kept pushing me forward and were there for support in times when I felt as if there was no end to this period of my life. My diamond earrings give me hope and prosperity for the future. They are the shining reminder sparkling on my ear telling me  "I got this" which is what my dad would say to me during test days or sports events such as Crew relays.

Item 3: Monkey Stuffed animal. This past December I was struck by a SEPTA bus and had to receive surgery by placing a metal rod in my left femur bone. I am so lucky that the only major injury I had was a broken femur. However, it has been very hard keeping my head up and continuing forward with day-to-day tasks. I have been out of work since the day of the injury and miss my students like crazy. My best friend from high school gave me a stuffed animal monkey and some plants which on the flower pot read "hang in there". I adore stuffed animals and can't travel without one. This one, in particular, is now very special and dear to me and I even sleep with it every night. I hold it so dear to my heart and in my arms, because it reminds me of all the love and support I have from my friends, students, family, and co-workers. During my time on recovery leave, I have received many gifts and letters from students, co-workers, and friends and this stuffed animal will remind me of all the love and support I have.

My family consists of my parents, my grandma, my friends, students, and coworkers. Growing up an only child and far away from my extended family, I learned to make my own family with the people around me particularly the friends I made in high school. I know that these friends are lifelong friends and I can turn to them for anything and they count on me to be there for support and encouragement as well. Out of these three items, the one that would hurt me the most if I had to lose it or discard it would be my phone because of all the photos and videos I have downloaded on it. Sometimes a picture truly is worth a thousand words. One photo can trigger my thoughts to so many memories, emotions, and thoughts that are incaptured in that photo. 

When I think of Reseaech

    

https://wcc.yccd.edu/academics/career/ece/

     Throughout this course I have expanded my knowledge of exploring, conducting, and finding research. I have learned many new different methods of research particularly that there are ways you can combine research methods with mixed method research. I have discovered new ways of thinking about research and the important role it plays in the topic of interest I would like to be part of in the ECE field. My research topic discussing strategies educators can use to bring up the discussion of early intervention in a child’s developmental journey is a topic very dear and important to me. I want to be able to give all my students and children under my care the best shot at being the best version of themselves that they can be. I want to have informative, respectful, and impactful conversations with families on how their child can benefit from early intervention.

    Learning helpful ways of researching topics in my field of interest can help me be confident and assertive with my conversations with families. Acquiring research is a great way to show examples of how early intervention can be beneficial for a child with developmental delays. I will be able to present families with scientific figures, facts, and real-life experiences of how having a head start to therapeutic support is the best way to ready their child for the rest of their developmental journey into childhood, adolescents, and adulthood. 

    Sharing research is how we help each other grow in finding various tools and resources to help support the children and families under our care. Throughout all my studies both in this field and outside of this field of interest I have read others and even conducted some of my own research to learn more about the topic that I am interested in. Research can state facts, show statistics in both visual and numerical platforms and most importantly pave the way for success and growth for generations to come. 

        I believe one of the challenges that I have overcome in the research field is finding resources and research related to my topic of interest. In the text book reading I learned about the importance of a literature review. I learned helpful ways to research ideas and topics that are related to my topic of interest. I learned how to identify key words and phrases instead of looking up verbatim my research question. Discovering other works and research studies similar to what you want to research is a great way to get new perspectives and spark new ideas and possible conclusions or studies that you may want to conduct for your own research findings. 

    I would like to think all my colleagues, and professor for joining me in this research journey. Research is a very complex and at times difficult process to conduct and participate in, however very beneficial in the long run when it comes down to improving our field of interest. One of the main ways the ECE. field will grow is with new findings and discveries in research on how to better the edducational development of young children. The more research to be done the more conversations can be had with policymakers, economist, and scientists, who can help support funding the development of ECE field. 

Reference

Trochim, W. M., Donnelly, J. P., & Arora, K. (2016). Research methods: The essential knowledge base (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.