Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I chose to ask my boss (the church pastor) and an associate pastor their definitions of culture and diversity.  The former defined culture as a group with shared practices or beliefs or characteristics.  This definition addresses in a general manner both the surface and deeper aspects of culture as we have been studying it this week.  The latter defined culture as socialized actions and reactions of a specific tribe or society. That definition could reflect both aspects of culture if you consider the actions are based on the group's beliefs and values.  The third person is a grandparent of one of our preschoolers and she was born and raised in the Caribbean.  She did not define culture for me, rather she brought me a poster of important landmarks where she grew up and enjoyed telling me about all the places represented.  She said the cultural aspects she missed most were the food and living near the ocean.  She is passing along her culture to her grandchildren by teaching them how to make the kind of crafts she made and sold while living in the Caribbean as well as teaching them how to prepare special foods from her homeland.  Though she didn't include it in our discussion on culture, we have had other discussions that tell me she has very definite thoughts on child rearing that do not go along with the dominant culture, but instead reflect the strict upbringing she received in the Caribbean. 

The grandmother chose not to define diversity.  My boss defined it as bringing together those with differing cultures, usually done on an intentional basis because we naturally congregate with those of similar culture.  He didn't get into specific examples of diversity but rather chose to look at how diversity is created.  The other pastor defined it as the existence of a variety of cultures.  I think it is harder to define diversity.  This week we learned how to create an acceptance and appreciation of diversity.

It is always good to get others' perspectives.  It was interesting that the two people who gave more general descriptions were of the dominant culture and the person who gave very personal and specific explanations was not part of the dominant culture.  It really helped me see the value of communicating with our preschool families and giving them the opportunity to share how they think and what they value.  It is important to develop that mutual respect.