SOCS 350 Week 7 Discussion. A Graded,Appreciating Our Differences (graded)
We have been talking about the importance of understanding our own attitudes
... [Show More] and prejudices in
order to appreciate cultural differences. In light of this topic, why is it important? How have you dealt
with situations in which you did or said things that you later learned or realized might have been
offensive, or at least misunderstood?
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Responses
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(an instructor response)
Collapse Mark as Read FINAL WEEK OF GRADED CLASS DISCUSSIONS! Professor Morgan
Email this Author 10/11/2014 12:53:55 PM
WELCOME TO OUR FINAL WEEK OF GRADED CLASS DISCUSSIONS!
We took some time earlier to visit the question posed in the heading above... this week we can
actually elaborate, in the spirit of sharing what we have learned from our own experiences, related
to the topics that we've covered so far...
Before you post, please be sure to read what others have posted, so that we may have a dialogue. It's
possible, even likely, that you can find similarities in your experiences.
Ready?
Think about the people you have connected with the most here... did you find yourself agreeing with
their points of view, or did you connect more with those who challenged your points of view...?
Collapse Mark as Read RE: FINAL WEEK OF GRADED CLASS DISCUSSIONS! John Curry
Email this Author 10/13/2014 1:36:14 PM
Prof. Morgan and Class,
The past seven weeks have been quit an adventure to say the least. I have encountered students
with opinions the same as mine and different from mine. I can remember that week 2 discussion
over what does it mean to be American was my first encounter in this class where my strong opinion
clashed with that of another. I have to say I actually enjoyed the disagreement and that I did notice I
disagreed with the same student during a different week’s discussion. For the most part I noticed
that I agreed with a lot of the class and a handful that commented on my posts seemed to have
agreed with me week after week. I always like classes where the instructor pushes us to give our
opinions and then support them, it creates a very diverse atmosphere.
I can remember where I was having a meeting with my staff and I was going over the chain
of command. I instructed the staff that RNs were at the top, then LVNs and then CNAs. I made the
comment of CNAs being at the bottom of the food chain and this tended to offend and upset some
of the CNAs. They felt as if I insulted them and felt them to be worthless. After a few of them brought
this to my attention I addressed the issue and reminded them that I started as a CNA and worked my
way up to the position that I am in now. I reminded them that CNAs are the backbone of patient care
and they play a vital role in the care given to their patients and that LVNS and RNs depend on them
and their knowledge.
Collapse Mark as Unread RE: FINAL WEEK OF GRADED CLASS DISCUSSIONS!
Arthel Tamakloe Email this Author 10/13/2014 7:04:39 PM
I have enjoyed this class very much. I appreciate your style of teaching, Prof. Morgan. You have
challenged me to look at race, ethnicity and social status with understanding eye especially when it
comes to diversity. I have also gained great respect for my classmates. I agree with majority of the
post and some of them I have to agree to disagree. I applied week 4 "working together " concept in
our monthly meeting last week, how understanding and valuing cultural and racial and ethnic
differences promote productivity. Wow 7weeks already.
Collapse Mark as Read RE: FINAL WEEK OF GRADED CLASS DISCUSSIONS! Timmy
McCoy Email this Author 10/14/2014 11:45:42 AM
Profesor Morgan and Class,
I have to say where has the past seven went. This was second online class to take and my first to use
a E-Book which was very different to me. I have enjoyed everyone's post and our opppions may be
different at times but it gives us a new way of thinking. I have been lucky to have grown up in a area
where we had several cultures and really enjoyed everyone's post.
I think this class has broaden my way of thinking on culture and diversity even more. My wife was
raised to be a very closed minded individual and only associate with people of her race. She
expressed to me when reading some of the post how far she has come froma narrow minded person.
We all can continue to learn new ways of thinking and step outside of your box when it comes to a
new culture. I am glad I took this class and have a better way of thinking.
Timmy
Collapse Mark as Read RE: FINAL WEEK OF GRADED CLASS DISCUSSIONS! Nicholas
Matzenbacher Email this Author10/16/2014 4:16:21 PM
Hello ProfessorI have really enjoyed this course! I found it very interesting, educating, interactive, attention-getting,
and helped inform me. Like I have said in many post before, I'm form a small town, rural, and
country community so I have never really ever experienced diversity as well as know much other
cultures because I have never really seen it, been around it, or experienced it before. This course has
really helped inform and educate me on cultural diversity in all parts of our everyday life's.
One of my parts of this course would have to be it's method of teaching. We not only got to learn,
but it was as interactive, strong communication, and laid back course. It made me feel like I was
sitting in class still learning, and no other online class as made me feel that way. Great job Professor
Morgan!
I also really enjoyed it when it came to discussions and communicating with classmates. Everyone
got to speak their minds, learn from one another, and be ourselves. I know the two classmates that I
related to, communicated the most, and shared a lot of similarities with were Timmy and Kristen. But
I really enjoyed reading and communicating with everyone in the course. I felt like I connected with
people who I had similarities with more, but I still feel like I tried connecting with all the classmates
in some way or another (or at least I hope so). Personally, I have always enjoyed communicating with
others who I don't always agree with so I can hear their points of view, think about their view, and
then learn from it. Overall, I really enjoyed this course and would highly recommend it to others.
Thanks for educating me, especially in a subject that I needed to learn and be informed about.
Collapse Mark as Read RE: Appreciating our DifferencesDonna Tizzano Email this Author
10/12/2014 5:36:34 PM
Modified:10/12/2014 5:37 PM
Professor and Class,
During these past 7 weeks, I have learned so much from reading my classmates posts. I learned from
the classmates who had the same point of view which I did because they often had different
scenarios or examples which helped me to validate my point of view on a topic. I found that most of
the time, the same classmates week after week were the ones who shared my point of view on
things. I especially enjoyed reading posts from diverse classmates who did not share my point of
view on the various topics. These classmates opened up an entirely new perspective on how to view
the subject matter. Seeing different perspectives, it challenged me to complete more research on the
topic being discussed and to help me be more open minded and accepting of different views on the
scenarios being discussed.
Over the past several weeks we have learned that stereotypes are beliefs which have been passed
down or learned or developed through life experiences. Our prejudice or preconceived attitudes may
be conscious or unconscious (DeVry, 2014). As we have discussed, if we do not identify and admit to
our own personal biases, prejudices and triggers, we will never be able to fully appreciate how a
variety of diverse perspectives brought to the table will assist in problem solving and creative
solutions. If we do not learn to at least recognize the beliefs, traditions and culture of those we work
with or come into contact with, we will miss out on the benefits of assimilation in our society.
When I first graduated from nursing school, I worked at a Jewish Hospital where we cared for many
Orthodox Jewish patients. My first encounter with an Orthodox Jewish male was when I was
providing care to a female patient and her Rabbi came to visit. When he entered the room, I
immediately noticed the traditional Jewish clothing, hat, and hairstyle of the Orthodox Jew. I turned
to him and introduced myself and held out my hand to shake his. He said hello, but kept his hands at
his side and did not extend his hand. It was an awkward moment for me, I was embarrassed. I quickly
put my hand down and exited the room. After this encounter, I did quite a bit of research on the
Jewish culture so that I would be better educated on how to be respectful of the traditions and
beliefs of their culture. Looking back, it certainly would have been helpful if there would have been
some formal education provided on cultural diversity during our orientation period. I know that the
Jewish customs and traditions were respected in the hospital, we maintained a Kosher kitchen and
provided electric candles during the Sabbath, but no education was provided to new hires in order to
help them embrace this diverse culture.
Donna
Reference:
DeVry University. (2014). SOC350 Cultural diversity in professions: Week 1 and 3 lessons. Online
Publication.
Collapse Mark as Read RE: Appreciating our DifferencesJennifer Schmieder Email this
Author 10/13/2014 9:00:05 PM
Modified:10/13/2014 9:01 PM
Donna,
I had a very similar experience working at a primarily Jewish hospital with an Orthodox Jewish
couple. I was new to the facility. I acquainted myself with my patient and attempted to shake hands
with her husband as a greeting, while introducing myself. He did not receive the greeting well, and
like you I was confused and embarrassed. “It is felt that touching a person of the opposite gender is
essentially a sexual act, or at least the precursor of a sexual act” (Rozovsky, 2014). I meant no
disrespect and was certainly not being forward, just misunderstood, as an example of this lesson
progressing.
Jennifer
Rozovsky, R. (2014). May I shake the lady’s hand? Retrieved from
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1051760/jewish/May-I-Shake-the-Ladys-Hand.htm
Collapse Mark as Read RE: Appreciating our DifferencesKristen Roberts Email this Author
10/14/2014 1:35:29 AM
Donna,
I must say that I read a lot of your posts and agreed with almost everything you had commented on. I
enjoyed readying your posts and you had a lot of information to add. I learned a lot these last 7
weeks. Thank you for putting in so much effort to your post and really making the content worthy
reading. I honestly think that all of our posts and discussions are important because we all come
from different walks of life and that is a perfect example of how much we have learned because of
diversity. Diversity it self can be a learning experience.
Kristen
Collapse Mark as Read RE: Appreciating our DifferencesDonna Tizzano Email this Author
10/14/2014 6:43:29 AM
Kristen,
Thank you so much for the kind words. I too noticed that we were most often on the "same page" in
our perceptions and thoughts. Your posts are very comprehensive and insightful. I enjoyed seeing
how you related them to your patient experiences and interactions.
I was very anxious about taking this class, because I did not know what to expect. I am amazed at
how much I have learned and how I have been challenged to see other perspectives related to
diversity. It has certainly made me more open minded to different cultures. I can honestly say this
has been the best class I have taken so far in my BSN journey.
Donna
(an instructor response)
Collapse Mark as Read RE: Appreciating our DifferencesProfessor Morgan Email this Author
10/15/2014 7:16:10 AM
One of the ways that we interpret a person's comment is voice tone.
Another way we make a determination about a person's comment is by their accent. We each have
an accent that denotes something about us. How many have been aware of the ways in which
accents do not come into play in an online format?
Collapse Mark as Read RE: Appreciating our DifferencesDonna Tizzano Email this Author
10/15/2014 8:27:32 AM
Professor and Class,
Until you mentioned it, I did not consider how a person’s accent would factor into the dialogue of
classroom vs on line learning. English is the dominant language in the United States. If we were in a
classroom setting, a person communicating with an accent may heighten a classmate’s preconceived
stereotypical attitudes towards the person which would not happen in an online discussion. These
prejudices although they may be conscious or unconscious, negative or positive, being face to face in
a classroom with a student speaking with an accent may hinder effective communication. [Show Less]