The Importance of Embracing Diversity Discussion Response – Description
Reply to a peer:
One point that Jordan made that connects to class content is the idea of embracing people’s differences. Dattilo (2017, pp. 40), quoted Lewis Baldwin saying, “You accept color differences, affirm them, but don’t allow them to become a barrier.” Everyone is different and those differences should be cherished and embraced not shunned or hidden. Dattilo also mentioned the idea that diversity should be valued and celebrated. Another point that Jordan made is that equality should not be the whole focus, but equity also needs to be considered. Dattilo (2017, pp. 219), similarly stated that equity benefits everyone so advocates should be working towards equity not just equality. Jordan also pointed out the idea that when meeting someone we do not know the whole story so we cannot immediately judge. This ties into the concepts of stigmas, stereotypes, prejudice, and overgeneralization (Dattilo, 2017, pp. 58-60). We do not know a person’s whole story or the specific barriers we face so we should not be able to make harsh judgments or overgeneralizations based on what we think we know.
One thing that Jordan and I have in common is that we both grew up around dairy cows. Jordan said that he grew up on a dairy farm. I did not live on a farm, but I grew up doing dairy 4H, FFA, and I worked on several dairy farms with cows. Another similarity between us is that we both enjoy traveling, specifically to national parks and other countries. In the past few years, I have had the opportunity to travel to Honduras, England, France, Italy, and a few national parks around the U.S. The third similarity between Jordan and I is that we are selective of the people we let into our lives. I am very careful about whom I trust with certain details or situations in my life and seems like Jordan is too. For me, this also ties into self-determination. The more people I let in, the more pressure and stress I feel, but staying self-determined and only letting in a few people eliminates some of the pressure (Dattilo, 2017, pp. 239). Jordan and I both grew up in small rural towns, however, a difference is that he was two miles away from the closest neighbor which made having friends as a child difficult. I had next-door neighbors, and several of them were close to my age, so I never had a shortage of friends as a child. Another difference is that Jordan enjoys studying marine life and being on the water. However, I find marine life to be slightly terrifying and have no interest whatsoever in it. Probably the biggest difference between Jordan and I is that he identifies as queer, and I identify as straight. On one of the dairy farms that I used to work on, I worked with a guy who is gay. Like Jordan, I live in a very conservative area, so it is essentially unheard of to be a gay farmer. I remember my coworker talking about experiencing many of the things that Jordan mentioned in the video.
One challenge that Jordan shared about is that he is queer and struggles with the fear of how people will react to his sexual identity. One way to promote an inclusive environment would be to have all employees and program attendees utilize neutral and sensitive terminology. This will alleviate tension, and promote respect and inclusivity (Dattilo, 2017, pp. 177). One example that Jordan gave in the video is to avoid using girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife and instead use “partner.” Another way to promote inclusivity is to review all the company’s procedures and policies. Ensure there are no policies that could harm someone who identifies as queer, and advocate to create new policies to help them. Finally, as a practitioner, be an ally to the speaker. Ensure that the speaker feels safe and protected and speak up if you notice that something wrong is happening. To measure the success of these measures, the practitioner should communicate with the speaker. Did they feel safe? Did anything go wrong? Were there any people who were rude? Etc. Another way to measure success would be to survey the program attendees to see if they felt included, why they felt excluded, or if there is anything different, they should do if the event were to occur again.
– This is a post by (Kelsey), please reply to her:
react to the post by
being specific; speak about the content of the post.
avoid talking about how you feel about the post (e.g., like versus dislike); rather, specifically, talk about what you think about the post (e.g., useful versus not useful) and why.
extend the comments made by the student by
using the student’s comment as a springboard for an idea.
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