Living Together with Diversity by Valuing Our Differences

This paper is going to cover my personal reflection of what diversity means to me. I will discuss the messages I learned as a child about various minorities and majorities, and how my views have changed since then. I will also describe a situation in which diversity directly influenced my life. This paper will also include reflections of the common read novel The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. I will detail how the main characters experienced diversity. I will give examples of how diversity changed their lives and which person I personally related to the most.

Our student population is comprised of students from across the city, both inside of our school’s neighborhood community and far outside. Our students are largely commuters who come from the far south sides and far west sides of the city. Due to this, we are fortunate to have a student body with diverse experiences, backgrounds, familial structures, and histories. Currently, our student body is 70% Black, 25% Hispanic, and 5% White and Asian.

Educators should critically examine their own values, beliefs, and attitudes related to difference in diversity because we as individuals all have different experiences, beliefs, values and attitudes that can be quite diverse. Staying mindful of this difference is essential in professional practice. For this to really be effective, you need to critically reflect on how your own life events have shaped your beliefs, values and attitudes. Educators must put all assumptions and bias’s aside and keep an open mind when dealing with these differences. For example, by reflecting on your background, you can become aware of biases and prejudices that may impact on your relationship with others from different backgrounds. Once identified, you can then

1.1a Explain what is meant by Diversity Diversity is a reality created by individuals and groups from a broad spectrum of demographic and philosophical variations. It is important to support and protect diversity because of valuing individuals and groups free from prejudice, and by fostering a climate where equity and mutual respect are intrinsic. "Diversity" means more than just acknowledging and/or tolerating difference. Diversity is a set of conscious practices that involve: •Understanding and appreciating interdependence of humanity, cultures, and the natural environment. •Practicing common respect for qualities and experiences that are different from our own.

“The multicultural training movement has indeed contributed to a greater and much needed understanding of the differences among various racial, ethnic, and cultural groups (Speight, Myers, Cox and Highlen, 1991).” In looking at this statement counselors will need to expand their thinking outside of the Western European contexts. There is a difference between Western culture and other cultures. Sue & Sue, 2012 states “ each cultural/racial group may have its own distinct interpretation of reality and offer a different perspective on the nature of people, the origin of disorders, standards for judging normality and abnormality, and therapeutic approaches. (p. 45).” As we are brought together with more cultures it is imperative to understand the differences, which will enable counselors to become culturally competent.

Everyone has their own experience with diversity growing up. Some kids grow up in a very diverse neighborhood and school district, while others grow up in small farm towns where their closest neighbor is five miles away. It is always interesting to see how everyone is raised, their beliefs, and their personal experience to diversity. No matter how an individual is raised, as an educator we need to make sure everyone feels welcome in our classroom no matter what their background is.

What I found interesting in this chapter would have to be about Diversity “The New Social Norm " in the chapter it talks about the different cultural backgrounds, opportunity changes, peoples beliefs, and religion. I find this interesting because without social norms there would be chaos in the world. In today's era society is built upon the thought of citizen conformity to a prescribed set of values and norms. In the chapter, it states “The United States is a multicultural society. This is unlike a monocultural society in which everyone looks and acts alike and believes pretty much the same thing. Diversity brings with it both opportunities and challenges; it brings opportunities for people to find commonalities and share unique beliefs and

The mass medium I have chosen to critique is a new television show called This Is Us and it airs on the NBC channel. This Is Us is a show about a family with triplets and they show how they handle all the different parts of their lives. This particular mass medium addresses many of the different current issues going on in today’s society including; race, diversity, education, religion, and politics. This Is Us addresses diversity in today’s society and portrays many different types of people within this one television show. To prove that this mass medium portrays diversity I will look into how this show illustrates race, different social stances, and different educational backgrounds both positively and negatively. Also, to better the credibility

It is important to understand our diverse Americans because our country is full of unique people from across the world. Our society is built with people that celebrate their religion In their own way and our country lets us embrace our religion. Our society is an environment where people can exercise their religion without persecution of religion, unlike in other parts of the world where individuals aren't free to practice their religion. In addition, there will always be that Americans will respect you no matter what your background is, unfortunately there's also a small portion of Americans out there that will disagree with you and the choices you will make. As of right now there aren't many places to go without witnessing diversity at

As an occupational therapist, healthcare worker, and an immigrant, I am a part of diverse communities. Living and working in diverse communities have not only helped me to become culturally competent but also grow personally and professionally.

Explains why its valuable to have different races in college campus. Explain how i have helped promote diversity.

A writer named Jacqueline Woodson once said that; “Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.” This means that diversity is all about differences, because no two people are exactly the same. This includes, races, ethnicities, gender, religions, beliefs, favorites, opinions, style, learning style and anything else that makes someone who they are as a person. This definition of diversity coincides almost identically with inclusive ideas in regards to disabilities. The question I have, however, is whether or not Inclusive Theories can be used when there are no children with disabilities present in the classroom. In an attempt to come up with an answer I interviewed a second grade teacher, Ms. Smith* at a Quaker school.

I believe that the perspective I have to offer this medical school is unique. From my Black uncles to my Arab aunts, I feel lucky to be able to call so many cultures my own. Furthermore, my experiences during college have been vital to my understanding of diversity. Veterans, the LGBTQ community, the disabled, and variation across the spectrum of political opinion or in body shape are but a sample of the diversity that I have witnessed. Diversity goes beyond race or religion and this has been made evident to me during my undergraduate career. Thus, I wish to bring my culturally competent outlook to the student body and look forward to gaining from the viewpoints of my peers as well. Exposure to a wide breadth of the human experience has helped

Diversity allows us to understand the differing cultures throughout the world and gives us the ability to learn about the world around us. Without diversity, we are limiting ourselves to the cultural ideas and practices we’re involved in and aren’t understanding other ways of life around the world. My family from my mom and dad’s side come from many different backgrounds. My parents have taught me since I was a kid to respect everyone around me. I have members in my family who are European, African American, Native American, and likely other backgrounds that I haven’t been able to connect with yet. I also have family members who are part of the LGBT community. This diversity within my family has allowed me to learn about the different cultures

The Beyond diversity workshop dealing with racial issues made me think more in depth about what people of color have to endure. I have always tried to put myself in others situations to help me better understand their actions, and this workshop shined some light onto issues I have not considered. These issues (like how the majority of the United States population sometimes ignore one pivotal point in history—slavery, and celebrate others—like 4th of July) encompasses what social psychology is about: how we relate to, and treat other people. Obedience, as discussed in Pettijohn with the shock experiment, help me better understand why good people may treat others the way that they do. For example, in my home