What information about diversity in the United States has helped me better understand or relate to others in ways that I may not have in the past?
I feel like I had a pretty good grasp on what diversity in the United States looked like until I took this class, I have learned so much about the issues that everyone faces on a daily basis. This has also taught me that it is not just those of different races, beliefs, or even cultures who struggle with this it happens to everyone. I think that we have all been subject to some kind of separation or even forms of racism, this can include anything from being bullied at work or school to being treated differently by your community because you dress or look a certain way. Diversity is a great thing to introduce when you are young to show our children that we are all equal no matter where we come from. I also feel that this is something that needs to be reminded to us as adults, as I think that I feel we forget as we grow. On the job training I think is something that is very beneficial for us all to learn how to interact with those who may be slightly different then us. The information that I’ve learned about diversity in the United States has helped me better to understand and to relate to other people than I used to in the past. I understand that diversity is all around us. If it was not for diversity we would all be the same. There would never be any challenges in our lives to make us better. When we go through diversity we learn new ways to better ourselves. It was a time that I never wanted to go through any type of diversity. When I was younger I wanted everything to be easy. As I got older I started to look for ways to challenge myself to do better, and that is when I was able to recognize diversity and what a big part it plays in our lives.
Yes, I’ve learn that over the centuries my cultural has been involved in some really terrible things.
Have you learned something new about your own racial, ethnic, or cultural history?
I actually have learned quite a bit about my own history, for example my mother’s side of the family is Italian and I actually never thought that they had really faced too much in compared to let’s say the African Americans or even the Hispanics. All though after taking this course and doing a little researched I have learned just how much they had to face. I have learned that all though this is a very deep enriched culture they have had struggles finding a job, making friends and even finding jobs. Many Italians have been faced with the stereo type of being in the “mob” as well as being gangsters. There is also the assumption that because they are Italian they are in some ways ignorant.
I also discovered some great things about my culture for example the Italian culture is known to be very family oriented, they love to celebrate with food and family. In the Italian culture family doesn’t necessarily look like it does here, the average household includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, this is not out of necessity but just the way they choose to have it. I think this would be a great way to live!
Trends in immigration will continue to shape the demographics of the United States. What will the U.S. population look like in the year 2050?
This is a very tough question to answer because all though most people will project what they would hope it would be vs. what they would actually be. Over the next fifty years, the population of the United States is expected to grow by nearly 50 percent, from about 275 million in the year 2000 to an estimated 394 million people in 2050. U.S. population growth is influenced by immigration and emigration rates, as well as by birth and death rates. Immigration will play the largest role in the growth of the United States through mid-century. Immigration trends tell us to expect 820,000 immigrants to arrive annually in the United States. Two out of three will be working age upon their arrival. By 2050, we expect immigration to have increased the U.S. population by 80 million people. Fully two-thirds of the projected U.S. population increase will be due to net immigration. In addition to immigration, the other key determinants of the U.S. population size will be birth and death rates. Particularly important to the American labor force is the large number of people born after World War II, from 1946 to 1964. This baby-boom generation--which has been a major force in the labor market for the past 20 years--has now reached its prime working years and makes up about 47 percent of the workforce. The youngest baby boomers, just reaching 35 years of age, will continue to participate in the workforce for many years. As this population ages, the median age of the workforce will rise.
How can we foster a climate of acceptance and cultural pluralism in the United States?
The United States which has a relative strong dominant culture which includes strong elements of nationalism, a sporting culture and an artistic culture. In a pluralist culture, unique groups not only co-exist side by side, but also consider qualities of other groups as traits worth having in the dominant culture. A successful pluralistic society will place strong expectations of integration on its members rather than expectations of assimilation. A society that lacks a strong dominant culture can easily pass practicing cultural pluralism to multiculturalism without any intentional steps being taken by that society.
This course has taught me so much about how this world is, how it should be and also how much we need to make a change and work together to make this a better place for not only us and our children but also for all the future generations to come. My goal is to be a social worker and work with foster children and I am sure that I will encounter a lot of ugly but I now have a better understanding of why this happens and how to deal with it.