Reflection on Race

I enrolled in this class because it dealt with leadership. I am always looking for ways to improve my leadership skills and after reading the course description and title, I realized that I needed to be familiar with many cultures in order to be a good leader. A leader interacts with many different kinds of people who come with different cultures. I also enrolled in this course because I was interested in learning about how culture plays a role in being a leader. I noticed from my life experience that no matter where you reside, there would always be a mixture of cultures living together in the same area. I moved about six times in my life, but most of them were to different areas in the state of Maryland. I resided in the same county for most of my life but I realized that even within this small geographic area, there are many different cultures. With each new house I moved into, I was introduced to a new area that was populated by different people. This class will help me be more aware of being respectful to other cultures.

I believe that there is not just solely one definition that can describe the word "culture". The meaning varies from person to person and it is up to each individual's interpretation. As for myself, the term "culture" describes the norm of behaviors exhibited by a certain group of people whether it is a population, ethnic group, or even a family. Culture can change over time as it is passed down many generations and adjusts to the time period. Culture cannot be taught from textbooks. Simple definitions and examples may be able to be described from text but to actually know a specific culture, I believe you must immerse yourself in it. It takes time to be able to describe what a culture is like and even after much time has passed, it cannot be completely explained by word of mouth. A lot of times you do not notice that the actions you do are because of your culture's values. They become a part of you. I believe that every culture can be similar when looked at a broad scale. Every culture may have the same values overall but the weight of importance put on each individual value is what makes up different cultures. For example, American culture may revolve around respect for elders but it is not as heavily followed as it is in Asian or Indian cultures.

To me, cultural competence is the ability to recognize the existence of many different cultures and being able to effectively interact with those from each culture. This may include awareness of the differences between cultures and also knowledge about each culture. It is important to not only respect your own culture and its values but also to be considerate of others and the cultures they belong to. Throughout history, there have been issues regarding cultural sensitivity that have affected certain groups of people. For example, the role that women play in a household and in the economy has been an important issue in the past. It