...A Diverse America This paper focuses on the question “How can people be made more accepting of diversity?” The paper is organized into five sections: What I Knew, What I Want to Know, Literature Review, My Search, and the Conclusion. The sections What I Knew and What I Want to Know provide background knowledge on why this topic is one of personal importance and why I fell others should see its importance as well. The two sections also address what subjects will be spoken of and researched in the paper. The Literature Review is divided into three sections: What is Diversity, How Does Diversity Affect Individuals, and How Can Acceptance of Diversity be Promoted. Each of these sections provides research on their respective questions, mostly focusing on religious and racial diversity. The My Search section contains information from a personal Interview with Dominik Unger, a previous political refugee. Finally, the conclusion contains personal...
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...Final Project: Race as it relates to your community What is a community? According to the dictionary, a community is a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. The community in which I live in is about equal in the amount of Hispanic, and African American residents; however, it appears to have fewer Caucasians than both Hispanics and African Americans. In this paper I will consider relations within my community, local government, schools, and workplace. I will also discuss the problems that an in-depth interview with Emmanuel King from King’s Group Home for Children (a local community children’s advocate) and my own personal accounts have made clear. Community relations within my community are positive for all the members in the areas of government, schools, and workplaces with only a few minor issues. Most members in my community do not look like me. I live in a mostly Hispanic and African American communities so most of my neighbors do not look like me. Even though my neighborhood is comprised of mostly Hispanics and African Americans, my community has a great range of Caucasians, African Americans, Asians, Arabs, and Hispanics. The people in my community get along extremely well. When it comes to the working environments in my community everything varies. Because my community is home to the state government as well as the local government and the fact...
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...people do not believe that diversity truly exists in America. David Brooks is a huge advocate for this statement and has written an essay called “People Like Us” that claims diversity is an illusion in America. In this five page essay David Brooks starts off by saying he has never seen a truly diverse neighborhood where people of different backgrounds and careers live in the same area. When I read this statement by Brooks, I think of a multi fruit flavored pie that is covered by a layer of crust making it hard to see if the pie is actually mixed all together or if each slice is a separate fruit flavor. In retrospect to a neighborhood each part of a diverse neighborhood contains only one ethnicity in a slice of it (the mexicans are with the mexicans, and the asians are bunched with the...
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...Mean Girls is an iconic movie that hit theaters in 2004 and is referenced all around the world. The movie is placed in a cliché high school setting where a new girl joins the “popular clique” to secretly scheme behind their backs and ruin their control over the school. She had never been to public school before and was putting her best foot forward to fit in. This is a prime example of a typical teenage crisis, which is fitting in while maintaining your true character and labeling fake friends during the teenage years of life. The search for friendship begins around the age of thirteen because this is age of middle school. Middle school is usually the easiest years of being a teenager due to the fact that everyone is new to the school so they act normal. However, everyone eventually adjusts to the new environment along with the responsibilities and the competition to make friends begins. The...
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...Boyd continues to talk about of multicultural literature for elementary children. She states, “Students shape their view of the world and of themselves partly through the books they read” (Boyd 1). Unlike the majority of childhood picture books, One Hen is set in Africa and contains African characters. By reading about a variety of cultures, such as Ghana, students will learn at a young age the importance of diversity throughout the world and learn to be accepting of people and cultures differences. One Hen also teaches them aspects of Ghana’s culture that students would be unaware of while living thousands of miles away. They are exposed to the life style of a child around their own age living in completely different conditions with completely...
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...should not be determined based solely on race. It should be based on their academic and nonacademic achievement. One should look at the qualifications of candidates instead of their race. In addition, an individual from a minority group should not be given slack on the requirements to gain an acceptance just because of their race. “[T]he average SAT disparity between Stanford's African-American and white admittees reached 171 points in 1992, according to data compiled by the Consortium on Financing Higher Education and cited in Richard herrnstein and Charles Murray's book, The Bell Curve.” The African-Americans, in this case, are given an unfair advantage. Why should they be accepted into a school when an individual with a better application was not accepted just because the school wants diversity, or for any other reason? People all be given equal opportunities. The color of their skin should not give them a better chance than anyone else. Furthermore, Affirmative Action is a policy that rewards people for the wrong reasons. A person’s race or gender should not determine the...
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...Racial Discrimination and Harassment Case Study Dana Agent 3/9/2014 A very clear example of harassment based on an employees’ race is evident in the lawsuit filed against MMR Constructors, Inc. in Arkansas. An African American employee was subjected to racial harassment by white employees that included racially offensive language, graffiti and death threats. White employees went as far as going to the black employees’ home in the middle of the night and threatened his life because he apparently reported the racially charged incidents to the company. The employee reported the “midnight visit” incident to the company and the company refused to take action against the employees because it did not happen at work. When a company overlooks incidents happening on and off the worksite, it gives the harasser the impression that the company condones the behavior. Harassment by definition is the act or an instance of harassing, or disturbing, pestering, or troubling repeatedly; persecution. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions’ (EEOC) definition of harassment includes slurs, graffiti, offensive or derogatory comments, or other verbal or physical conduct. “Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA).” (EEOC.gov) The employee was a victim of harassment and subjected to unethical...
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...Subject: Science Grade Level: 8 Description of diversity activity First, the students would get into groups of 4 or 5 to collect data on the different genetic traits the students may have. Some of the traits could be hair color, eye color, attached or detached earlobes, dimples, freckles, curly hair, left or right handedness, and hitchhiker’s thumb. After the students are finished collecting this data and still in groups, I would give them words like “diversity,” “culture,” “prejudice,” “respect,” and “acceptance” to define with their partners. When this is complete, the groups of students would share results with the rest of the class and we could make a table depicting all the different genetic traits and their prevalence. Then I...
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...Nhung Le Ms. Rodriguez ETH/125 31 March 2012 Cultural Competence 1. Explore race relations in your community. What is the cultural/racial make-up of your community (For demographics of the city you live in search http://factfinder.census.gov/ , or other credible source)? Are you a member of the majority or minority racial or ethnic group in your community? What does it mean to be ________________ (your race) in your community? What does it mean to be ________________ (your ethnicity) in your community? How do community members treat you because of this? Do the leaders in your area represent community members like you? Do the local media (I.e. news, newspapers) represent community members like you equally and fairly? Are there racial/ethnic inequalities in your community? Explain. I explored the race relations in my community and the cultural/racial make-up of my community using 60135 is: Subject | 60135 5-Digit ZCTA, 601 3-Digit ZCTA | | Number | Percent | RACE | | | Total population | 6,007 | 100.0 | One race | 5,948 | 99.0 | White | 5,753 | 95.8 | Black or African American | 9 | 0.1 | American Indian and Alaska Native | 13 | 0.2 | American Indian | 7 | 0.1 | Alaska Native | 0 | 0.0 | Both American Indian and Alaska Native | 0 | 0.0 | American Indian or Alaska Native, not specified | 6 | 0.1 | Asian | 16 | 0.3 | Asian Indian | 0 | 0.0 | Chinese | 1 | 0.0 | Filipino | 5 | 0.1 | Japanese | 0 | 0.0 | Korean | 0 | 0.0 | Vietnamese...
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...Some went to the extent to temporarily move so that their child would automatically go to the zoned high school. After being accepted they would return to their old neighborhood. However, this was not surprising because the better high schools were always located in areas where there was a larger white population. Since living in these neighborhoods cost more, people could not afford to live there over a long period of time. Therefore, moving into the area for a short period of time became the solution to their problems. Everyone was aware that to receive a better education you needed to live in a better school...
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...AFFIRMATIVE ACTION--MORAL COMPENSATION OR REVERSE DISCRIMINATION? For forty years the issue of affirmative action has been subject to a tremendous amount of debate and controversy. When President Kennedy proposed the idea of preferential treatment in 1961, the nation was in the midst of radical changes regarding civil liberties. It was a time when the injustices imposed upon minorities were beginning to be recognized, and people wanted to make up for the years of oppression that served as a barrier for the advancement of minorities in America. At the time, the idea was morally justified and socially appropriate. While it is still a morally commendable effort today, the system has become an attempt to atone for the sins of our country's past, and a double standard that threatens every citizen's liberties. The first problem with affirmative action is the obvious fact that it is an attempt to end discrimination with discrimination. When a company or university discriminates against a white male for the sake of bettering the outcome of another racial group, an injustice occurs. Affirmative action is the governmental legislation of the active discrimination of one person over another an unacceptable and dangerous double standard. Secondly, affirmative action seeks to reconcile the injustices of the past. The horrible atrocities of the past, including slavery and the refusal to grant women and minorities the right to vote, cast an ugly shadow on the history of our nation. But affirmative...
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...The Politics of Sociology Video Group Member Diversity and Communication Style We can see in the video one of the local college’s sociology department trying to brainstorm what courses they should offer for the following semester. Their group consists of 5 members (3 male and 2 female) and they are locked in a discussion that shares the ideas they have. With its composition, we can say that it has great diversity and with their acquaintances, it promotes a much easier time communicating with each other. Their leader pushes for each member’s position to be recognized by the others in the group so that they can succeed in communicating with one another. Their leader would keep them within their procedure so that they won’t stray away from their goals when their members are talking out of the topic. With their efforts, such as being knowledgeable of the topic of discussion, being acquainted with other members, composition of the whole group, and implicit norms really helped them communicate effectively from within. With both genders represented it provided a variety in views, and it did not become a hindrance when they tried to communicate as one. Effective groups completely understand what their goal is and have the utmost belief that it has meaning and its achievement would be worth it. For this situation, progression would be hindered if they go into the topic of how relevant the course is and their enrollment. Asides from that, with their expression saying, “student will...
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...definition of racism, but I think that there is more to her definition then meets the eye. From what I understood from her definition is that race and racism only exists because these concepts were socially constructed by humans. Alan Goodman, also agrees that, “…."races" are the products of history and social life, not biologically determined” (Goodman, 4) Therefore, there are real consequence in the world that affect all individuals due to the concepts of race and racism existing. Although, I don’t feel like that was Pollock’s main reason as to why it is important to address racism. I believe that she wanted to express how racism is effecting everyone, and how we all can as a society can take little steps to eliminate racism and work towards accepting everyone for who they are. Pollock says that, “… everyday antiracism requires both addressing people's experiences in the world as racial group members and refusing to distort people's experiences, thoughts, or abilities by seeing them only or falsely through a racial lens” (Pollock, xix). In conclusion, Pollock and the other authors that contributed to this book want to really emphasizes on the point that everyone needs to be a part of addressing the larger problem of racism, because our communities suffer when we are segregated by races. So What?” When I hear the word “culture,” I immediately imagine a person telling me about their cultural traditions or about the customary within their community. I have always assumed that the term...
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...arrive at a school and not only help out the school, but also help of the children. The main dispositions of learning consist of the commitment to diversity, commitment to ethics, commitment to the teaching profession, and knowing the philosophies and theories of education. Throughout a semester of a number of speakers, class documents, and Martin Haberman’s Star Teachers, I feel like I have learned how important these dispositions truly are for the success of a teacher and what I need to work on to better myself to become a true star educator. The first disposition of teaching is the commitment to diversity. Commitment to diversity is a strong point of mine because I have first handedly seen the benefits of diversity in the schools. In one hand I went to a middle school that was about 30% African American, 25% Hispanic, and 45% White. On the other hand I went to a high school that was almost 95% White, 4% African American, and 1% Hispanic. I feel like the students I went to school with in the diverse community had a more open mind about society in a whole which clearly made for better learning. I also observed that the teachers at the diverse school seemed to have more motivation to drive the students to succeed. The more diverse schools also seem to have a more positive attitude towards diverse cultures and learners. The more open a student is to other cultures, the more open he or she is with society. Diversity, a key to live, is extremely important in the school system which...
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...U.S. Education Today & Tomorrow This paper reviews four important trends in our educational system today across America and discusses the impact of these trends on our future educational system. We live in an ever evolving world with constant changes that are affecting every aspect of our lives daily. Our educational system has not been immune to these changes and shouldn’t be since these changes and our ability to adapt to these changes will determine our future academic success and our place in a global society. Trend 1: Diverse & Older Population America has always been a melting pot of diversity, but current statistics show that in the near future minorities will become the majority percentage of the population (Pearson, 2010). Immigration, legal and illegal, have been substantial for a long time now and is changing the needs that educational systems have to address. For example, the need for qualified and minority teachers who can teach English as a second language will and does continue to grow (Pearson, 2010). Educators will have to adapt to this also by being more sensitive to various cultures and perhaps re-evaluate the current curriculum to promote multicultural literacy. Furthermore, the number of people that will retire will be doubled by the year 2050 and there will be fewer people of working age paying into the tax system that helps support education and elder services (Pearson, 2010). Because of this, financial constraints most...
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