Meghan Krekeler EDUC 130- Introduction to Multicultural Teaching Dr.

Karla Henderson Case Study Case Study In this Case study we will be looking at cultural diversity characteristics and how they affected the individual in their academic studies. After interviewing and personal reflection I found five different areas of diversity between myself and the person I interviewed. This includes differences in ethnicity, race, class, sexual orientation, and language. We have some parts of our identity that are the same such as our gender, we are both female. Also our religious faith is similar; we are both Catholics, although she chooses to be an active member in her church while I choose not to be an active member in mine. Our difference thought are greater than our similarities. Ethnicity My individual is from Mexico City, Mexico; she lived their till after her 15th birthday and then moved to the United States with her mom, dad and sister. She was affected greatly in her academics when she moved to the United States because she was use to the structure of her school in Mexico and had friends who were similar to her making it easier for her to fit in. When she moved to the United States she had a hard time at school because she didnt know English which made it a lot harder than school in Mexico. It is harder for individuals who are of the Hispanic/ Mexican decent to fit in when they are so use to the ways of Mexico. For an individual

that are of the majority ethnicity it is easier to relate and fit in at school because you are familiar to your peers and can relate to their lives. Race Another part of my individuals identity that is diverse is her race, she considers herself Hispanic. She went to Lawrenceburg Schools and said she was the minority at the school which made it hard for her to fit in socially. When she was living in Mexico she had better grades and more friends. In the U.S. school is a lot harder and she doesnt have many friends around the area. This is culturally diverse for our area because it is made up of mostly white individuals. Lawrenceburg, Indiana is made up of 93.5% white individuals with Hispanics or Latinos at 1.2%. (U.S Census Bureau, 2013). This means Hispanics or Latinos make up 58 of the 5,042 people in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Sexual Orientation The individual that I interviewed considers her sexual orientation to be lesbian. She currently lives with her significant other in a house outside of Lawrenceburg. When asked if her sexual orientation affected her ability to achieve academic success, she stated Sometimes, when homophobic remarks are made that make me feel uncomfortable and make it hard for me to concentrate on my work. (Anonymous, July 20, 2013) This judgment that people have of the LGBTQ community affects their abilities to thrive and concentrate on achieving.

Class She works in a factory throughout the week, during the day, and goes to school at night; she is of the lower working class. Her job allows her to attend Ivy Tech at night which was the school she aspired attend or at least any school so she could go to college would have worked. Academically her class hasnt really affected her much she has had to try harder but there have been many reasons for her to have to work hard to understand what she is learning. Language Finally, the Language barrier between her Spanish roots and our English language has been her biggest obstacle to overcome when she moved to the area. Although her English is rough she managed to teach herself whatever English she could while she was finishing high school and starting college. With the help of her family including her mother, father and sister she managed to understand the basics and learn the rest from her peers at school. With Spanish being her original language her academics have been greatly affected. She said that if she could have understood the information that she was learning better she probably would be doing better in school. In conclusion, being culturally diverse in our area is hard this individual is a female, catholic Mexican, Hispanic, who speaks Spanish and emigrated from Mexico to Lawrenceburg Indiana. She orients herself as a lesbian and has worked hard to learn our language and try to fit in with our mainly white society.

References
U.S. Census Bureau. (2013, July 29). AmericanFactFinder. Lawrenceburg, IN. Retrieved from Census Bureau State and County American FactFinder: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml Anonymous interview, July 20 2013, personal interview.