Cultural competence, to me, does not just mean awareness that someone is a different ethnicity or religion than I am. I think that in our heads, we think this. That if we are competent about someone else we see that they are different, and are okay with it! That is cultural awareness, that is not cultural competence. Cultural competence is actually taking the time to understand the other individual's differences, and I think that is something that is a constant battle and problem in our society today.
To me, that is finding those unique traits of an individual instead of trying to find the ways we can relate. I want to be able to find the ways that we are different in order for success and progress to be made. In my professional development, this means constantly pursuing a productive work environment for everyone involved. Through my presentation, I talked about the recruitment, promotion, and support of those involved in my workforce. How can that be better implemented? What are the necessary steps we need to take in order for balance to finally happen.
I am an Elementary Education major, so does that not mean that my job does not just apply to those my age, but those younger than me? My goal in my job is to push for cultural competence in the next generation, not just the generation I am in now. This looks like celebrating the differences in each individual child and developing each of them while also developing me as a teacher for them. Cultural competence is not about how you can better grasp someone's individuality, but how you can celebrate it.Â