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Strategies for Working with Diverse Families

by Jennifer Asimow

We have looked at all sorts of ways to “Focus on Families” over the past 8 months- but I haven’t really addressed the special concerns you might have in working with diverse families. During the month of March (and perhaps into April) I want to look at strategies for working with diverse families.

Today, I thought I would share the definition of “Human Diversity” that Harold Washington College developed for Assessment purposes. It took ages for us to come up with the exact wording that was both inclusive and broad, as well as current and cohesive.

It reads…

Human Diversity is defined by such things as: age, citizenship, education, ethnicity, gender, health, language, marital status, national origin, political beliefs, physical attributes and disabilities, race,religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other differences in cultural expression and tradition.

This definition reminds us of all the ways in which human beings are diverse from one another. It helps us be mindful of the richness that diversity brings to the world. It is a statement of inclusion, rather than exclusion; of acceptance rather than rejection; of respect rather than judgement.

Can you add anything to the list?

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