Diversity Personal Statement

The first artifact I have attached for Standard Four: Diversity is a diversity project completed during the spring of 2015 for ED444 Methods and Materials for Teaching Social Studies and ED447 Instructional Technology. This project consists of different resources to use when teaching Kindergarten Social Studies Standard Three. This standard requires students to describe how rules offer safety at home, school, and in the community. This diversity project demonstrates activities that aid in individual experiences.

My diversity experience began on November 12, 2016 in Wilmington, North Carolina at the Jamaica’s Comfort Zone restaurant. I chose this experience because I feel I need to learn more about Jamaica, Jamaicans and their culture. Also, because there appears to be a large number of Jamaicans residing in various parts of the United States, particularly in New York, Florida, and Georgia (Atlanta). Prior to searching for an authentic Jamaican restaurant, I decided that I needed to do some research regarding the culture of Jamaica; and, as a result of my research, I discovered that the culture of Jamaica is quite interesting to learn about. In fact, Jamaica is a mountainous Caribbean island just south of Cuba (see Figure 1) with a population of approximately

Famous author and speaker, Maya Angelou once said ““It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” Diversity can be defined as people coming together from different nationalities, races, religions, sexes and sexual orientation to form a group, organization or community. A diverse organization is one that values the difference and similarities in people. It is one that recognizes that different people can bring unique ideas and perception to different things. Diversity is what keeps the world spinning because without diversity everyone would be the same and you wouldn’t be able to truly understand yourself. Personally speaking, diversity is important to me because I’m a product

Interestingly enough, the main diversity-related obstacle I’ve faced in my life has been the categorization of diversity itself and the notion of being “enough” in these categories. I’m a person of color, and I’m a person of mixed race. My late father was English, and my mother is African American. It was always awkward growing up without my father, because I was a drastically different skin color from my mom as a very pale and white child. People often asked my mother ignorant questions like, “Is she yours? Are you watching her for someone else?”

I am an avid volunteer and my experiences beyond school have enhanced my expertise as an educator. My ability to be bilingual and my experiences in teaching in more than one country have proven to be an asset both in the classroom and on campus. I have a deeper understanding of what diversity means through my travels and have been able to build positive and indispensable relationships with diverse students and

To understand more in depth about the effects of diversity on an individual’s career path, I have interviewed an Indian who was born and brought up in India and moved to USA 4 years back for his project work. Johnson Fernandes is an Operations Manager, currently working at Voya Financial Services at Connecticut, U.S. He has 8 years of experience in the IT industry and has worked in three different countries, India, Canada and the United States. He has done his engineering in India. This is his fourth year working in United States. He moved to US to do IT consulting for an US client. Before he could come to U.S, his company provided him various diversity trainings to help him get accustomed to the cultural difference in U.S. They provided him training on etiquettes and grooming. It trained him to be careful of punctuality at meetings and also to be accurate while providing an ETA. His training also included sessions on learning how to address people by their first names. In India, seniors are addressed by titles such as Sir, Ma’am or Mr., Mrs. or Miss. It is considered offensive in India to call a senior by their first name, especially if we do not know them personally. However, in U.S companies, most of them address each other by their first name. Cultural difference was indeed challenging for Johnson to cope up with. However trainings provided to him helped him to understand the culture of the companies in U.S. It helped him to amend his

My entire existence is a fusion of culture—and that’s the way I see it. As a first generation American, the Mexican culture, traditions, and values instilled in me by my parents infused with the experience and opportunity given to me by my birth country have transformed me into an agent of diversity. I see diversity as not only the color of one’s skin or the background from which a person comes from. Diversity is also a person’s various talents, interests, and opinions. It is where a person has been, where they are now, and where they wish to go. My existence isn't a clash between two opposing forces fighting for dominance, instead it is a blend of who I am and who I wish to become.

It is important to understand the broader issues faced by families, this is so you can respond to each family’s individual needs and provide them with support to help them more effectively and attentively. The best way to do this is by asking lots of questions and finding out as much information as possible. For example, finding out the Child’s country of birth, where they grew up, how long they’ve lived in Australia for, what languages they speak, what food do they want their child to eat and is there anything they would like us as educators to do that may help enrich their child’s experience while they are at our centre. Understanding of the children and families in our service is very important because it enables us to share each child’s

I found the concept of being diversity-supportive to be the most important concept of Module 6. I think it is the most important concept in this module because in each part of being diversity-supportive, we are taking an approach that is not only the right approach to take with every individual, but the right approach to meet organizational goals and lead highly effective teams. Because being diversity-supportive means acting proactively, the concept is leadership-driven, it encourages ownership of initiative, promotes thinking inclusively, and has the goal to mainsteam diversity, we can see it really boils down to two things: getting to know people so we can anticipate their needs, wants, and pitfalls; and removing barriers to every individual succeeding to the maximum extent of their ability.

In 1998, when my mother and I arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, I understood one thing about our big move. I understood that we had left our small village of Bogoso, Ghana to escape harsh conditions and to cultivate a better life here in the land of the free. I would be lying if I said that I immediately developed a genuine appreciation for my Ghanaian heritage. The truth is, it took several years for me to appreciate the cultural, religious, and ethnic aspects of who I was. Fearful that it would become an outcast amongst my American peers, I spent the earlier parts of my life resisting my Ghanaian heritage and running from diversity. As years went on, I realized that fitting into America meant being yourself and celebrating how you got to where you were. By high school, fitting in meant experiencing more diversity and determining what my convictions were. I joined the international baccalaureate program and challenged myself in the classroom while celebrating diversity. I also began working with The Hardy Trust organization in 2011 to construct and start the Simikade

I am able to follow a developed mission statement within my school that embraces diversity. I’ve learned the various approaches to working with families and children of diverse backgrounds. I've also developed the skills to provide services to families and their children or direct them to the proper person. I understands the role of the family as the central to the development of a child. Establishing a positive communication and relationships with families for the sake of the child is key to working with any family. Being able to acknowledge and value similarities and differences in the varying cultures and structures of families I’ve encounter in my years of service has helped me to grow as an individual. With maintaining confidentiality

Every time I hear the word diversity I watch as people around me shift their eyes to the brown faces in the room, mine included. I know what they’re thinking, “If an African-American person is in the room, how much more diverse can we be?” The truth is that, embodying diversity does not end with race. Diversity can often be accomplished by taking initiative, creating, or submerging yourself, in new programs, experiences, and cultures. This Spring I chartered the first chapter of the Pre-Law Division of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at my university. At Indiana University I noticed a need for a minority focused pre-law organization and decided to take action. Through BLSA I am hoping to encourage minority students to attend law school and increase the number of competitive minority law school applicants.

I can contribute to diversity at The San Francisco Bay School by sharing my perspective, experience, and background with other students. Diversity is not only about race and culture, but also how people perceive the world. I am a visual learner, someone who prefers to learn by seeing examples. Even though I am a visual learner, that does not mean I do not understand different learning styles. I believe you must change your perspective and be open to new ideas. My perspective on learning is that there is always another way to solve a problem. Another way I can contribute to diversity at Bay is through experience. When collaborating with others for group projects, I can use my knowledge to do research and do my part to get the job done. For example,

As you have already learned from my application, I am a second degree, second career, thirty-nine year old, single, minority student. Being a minority, alone, at the graduate level will contribute to the diversity of the UConn program, for only eighteen percent of the total graduate population are minority students. In addition to my ethnicity and age, my life experiences will also contribute to the diversity of the UConn community.

By the year 2050, nonwhites will represent close to half of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau projections. By 2005, the ethnic minority share of the workforce is expected to grow to 28 percent, up from 18 percent in 1980 and 22 percent in 1990. Although the African American population is now the largest minority group, the Hispanic and Asian populations are growing much faster. In 1994, the African American population was estimated to be 33 million, or 12.7 percent of the total population, up from 11.7 percent in 1980.