Being Culturally Sensitive Essay

America is greatly influenced and enhanced by the many versatile cultures which inhabit it. Cultural diversity has added to our economy in such a way that it brings innovated ideas and contact structures throughout the world. International cuisines have come to America through subcultures, have expanded the food industry, and have allowed English Americans to try new foods and flavors. Immigrants have brought with them religious values that greatly differ and vary from those at which were natural in the main stream American culture. The educational development through foreign nationals has led America, as a nation, to excel and be deemed one of the most intelligent nations in the world! Consequently, the subcultures have kept our

We live in a society that has prospered generously over the years. America has opened its doors for so many different people by establishing itself as a free country. Not only have we progressed in technology and economically but we have created our own identity by becoming a free nation in which every individual has the same rights and eligibility as the other. This is the core of our countries success; we are not a nation unified distinctly by a specific race, religion or culture but by the compulsive efforts of our nation’s laws to uphold freedom in every aspect of a civilian’s life. People are not only allowed but encouraged to practice the religion of their choice, eat the food they desire, speak the language they prefer. There is even freedom in the most minute of things such as being able to listen to the music of your choice, these are the laws that promote diversity and strengthen our nation today. Our nation’s identity and prosperity is built upon multiculturalism and ethnic tolerance. However, this was not always the case it has taken many long and brutal years become the stable and versatile country that we are today. Specifically dating back to when this land was first founded and thereafter we see our nation has struggled with conflicts against politics, discrimination, and public affairs up till this very day.

The United States of America is a perfect example of cultural diversity. Starting with the Mayflower landing in Massachusetts Bay in 1620, to the Great Migration from 1915 to 1930, to the continual immigration into our country today this country has seen its culture grow and reshape itself over the years. The culture of the United States is diverse but understanding and appreciating various cultures does not always exist within today’s classroom or in today’s society. Understanding or even defining cultural diversity , identifying the challenges cultural diversity brings, or how to face cultural diversity are all issues educators face in today’s classroom.

Diversity exists all across the United States. It is defined as the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. Along with the ever-growing diversity in America, brings along intercultural communication. Intercultural communication can be defined as a situated communication between individuals or groups of different linguistic and cultural origins. Due to the limitless amounts of diversity and intercultural communication across the United States, misunderstandings and clashes between cultures are bound to occur. These clashes have been as extreme to be used to explain violence and crime not only in the United States, but also throughout our entire nation. On the other end, these cultural clashes can be so personal in our everyday lives because of our expectations of a certain behavior coming from our own cultural backgrounds, as many others have very different cultural backgrounds and expectations of us.

In the last 100 years, the American population of 65 years or older people has increased eleven times. The 2030 estimates project that 22.3 percent of the population (80 million) will be 65 or older. (Bookman & Kimbrel, 2011). Basically, the majority of the over 65 population is healthier and is living longer. However, people of color have suffered through racial suppression in this country. Many of them enter old age after a lifetime of struggle that has not allowed them to save for retirement and where, because they have not had access to decent health care, they are in poor health. (Bookman & Kimbrel, 2011). Medicare does not cover all of the care the elderly may need, especially those with chronic conditions.

Television still doesn’t completely represent the diversity in America. Roughly three-quarters of film actors were white in 2014. There was only 12.5% African American, 5.3% Asian, and 4.9% Hispanic actors while there was 73.1% white actors. Studies also show the majority of actors are male. According to the annual 100 top grossing films 2007-2014 only 30.2% of speaking or named characters were women, while 73.1% were male whites.

Kemi Llesanmi, director of the laundromat project(a project that tries to increase value of art in neighbourhoods in New York City) once said: “Through culture, new ideas are generated, diverse perspectives are unearthed, bridges are built between them, and civilization moves forward.” I think he couldn’t be more right.

I hail from the hearth of cultural diversity in the United States of America, New York City. Therefore it wouldn't be a surprise that all of my conscious life, I've been surrounded by different cultures, backgrounds, and views divergent from my own. Even though the sheer fact that my hometown displays an ability to thrive in a vibrant community, I don't believe that speaking about it alone would be sufficient enough to express why I would be able to fit into a vibrant community analogous to one of the most prestigious universities in the world, Rutgers University.

The United States (U.S.) is the third largest country in the world with a population of more than 320 million. It consists of 50 states, and is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. The United States is known as a nation of immigrants, as people from all over the world have migrated to the country over the years, in particular people from the northern part of Europe, a majority of them being the English who have populated the country from as early as the 1600s. These people were the ones who, together with the Native and Latin Americans, Africans and Asians, shaped the values and traditions that became the ruling culture of the United States.

Do you know why that woman next door wears a black scarf around her head all the time? Or why the boy who sits behind you in math class already knows who he is going to marry? How well do we know and understand the people who are around us daily? The most common answer to that question would likely be “not very much.” As Americans we are known as a diverse nation; one mixed with people of all types of race, religion, color, nationalities, cultures, and backgrounds. We pride ourselves on being diverse but is that even completely true or is it just a concept we connect our country to because it sounds nice. Weather it is the language barrier , ignorance about religious practices, or lack of respect for cultural beliefs around the world , there is a huge disconnect within people and group relations across the globe. It is important that citizens of the United States and citizens of all other countries evolve and become “citizens of the world” to be able to understand and respect cultural and religious practices through out the world.

However the cultural and racial diversity may look like, we still find the problem of acceptance. We believe that the U.S. is a country in which it doesn't matter where a person is from or who the person's ancestors are, but then again we all hear from time to time some kinda of complaints about the mistreat of people.

There have emerged many diverse cultures in United States of America as a country. These races are reflected all over in the country including my school, that is, University of Central Oklahoma. In this report on cultural studies and diversity, I am going to discuss and answer the following three questions: 1. preparing a report on my faculty colleagues and administrators; 2. analyzing the current communication practices within my school; and 3. proposing ways to better serve the diversity needs of my school.

The United States of America has a diverse population of cultures that helped make it the “melting pot” of the world. People have always been on the move since the beginning of civilization. In these resettlements cultures have been exchanged between the different people. The mixing of these cultures in history have not created one race of people but rather formed many multicultural nations. The United States has a turbulent history with the arrival of multiculturalism into society that occurred from immigration, the civil rights, women’s movement, and the LGTB movements.

The period from World War II till the present has been widely regarded as a period of an immense amount of social progress. The years following saw vast acceptance of people of various tenets of faith and colors of skin. One can argue that for a period of time America post-WWII, there was growing amount of acceptance amongst the population, especially with the election of the first Catholic President, John F. Kennedy. The sentiment of allowing other people continued as quotas of allowing people from other countries diminished with the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965 opened up availabilities for Hindus and Muslims to enter the country. With the existing demographics in this early phases of the post-WWII United States, America was definitely making strides towards becoming a more pluralistic nation, continuing a trend from even before WWII. Things began to take a reverse shift in the late 1970s as counterculture left white conservative evangelists thinking that the new generations were preventing their stronghold of the country. America has been a less pluralistic nation ever since the Reagan Revolution and the rightward shift of the white demographic and the new religious right, the attacks on 9/11, and just recently with the election of Donald Trump. All of these events have elicited feelings of subliminal prejudice against minority religious sects, such as the of the Islamic faith.

When implementing prevention programs, it is important to consider culture and diversity, such as socioeconomic status, sexuality, spirituality, ethnicity, and other aspects. Culture involves every aspect of an individual’s external and internal life. Many definitions of culture exist. One way to define culture is the knowledge, experience, values, ideas, attitudes, skills, tastes, and techniques that are passed on from more experienced members of a community to new members. Carriers of culture include families, religious organizations, peer groups, neighbors, social groups, and professional organizations. Some cultural experiences are related to biological factors, such as physical stature and skin color,