Cultural Diversity: Family Strengths and Challenges Chapter 2 Cultural Diversity: Family Strengths and Challenges Chapter 2

Chapter Overview I.Introductory “Quiz” II.Thought for the week III.Race v. Ethnicity IV.Six Universal Family Strengths V.Ethnic Strengths and Challenges VI.Consider the Following VII.A Tool VIII.Marriage Outside the Group

I. Introductory “Quiz”

1. America is still a melting pot. False

2. “Ethnicity” and “race” mean about the same thing. False

3. A majority of Californians are Caucasians. False

4. Asian Americans have a higher median income than Caucasian Americans. True

5. The nuclear family has been identified as the most functional family unit. False

6. American families are stronger because they value winning, money and things. False

7. Kwanzaa is the Black equivalent of Christmas. False

8. The internet contributes to the breakdown of the family. True (see p. 25)

9. Latinos have the highest rate of intercultural marriages. False

10. Male and female relationship problems often have biological roots. False

II. Thought for the Week: The more diversity we have around us, the more options and opportunities we have before us. Nicole Easley.

III. Race V. Ethnicity A.Dramatic Demonstration B.Why is it important?

IV. Six Universal Family Strengths A.Family System Characteristics 1.Cohesion 2.Flexibility 3.Communication B.Sociocultural Characteristics 1.Extended families 2.Social systems 3.Belief systems

V. Ethnic Strengths and Challenges Group Work: 1.Caucasian Families 2.African American Families 3.Latino American Families 4.Asian American Families 5.Native American Families

VI. Consider the Following: A [concerned spouse] must understand the importance of his [or her] beliefs with regard to the home. [A healthy] commitment will mean, among many things, knowing—

that because the home is so crucial, it will be the source of our greatest failures as well as our greatest joys.

that home is the one place we will be in that will require us to practice every major positive skill and not just a few, as may be the case in some temporary relationships.

that the pressures of life in a family will mean that we shall be known as we are, that our frailties will be exposed and, hopefully, we shall then work on them.

that the love and thoughtfulness required in the home are no abstract exercise in love. They are real. It is no mere rhetoric concerning some distant human cause; it is an encounter with raw selfishness, with the need for civility and taking turns, of being hurt and yet forgiving, of being at the mercy of others’ moods and yet understanding, in part, why we sometimes inflict pain on each other.

that family life is a constant challenge, not a periodic performance we can render on a stage quickly and run for the privacy of a “dressing room” to be alone with ourselves, for the home gives us a great chance to align our public and private behavior, to reduce the hypocrisy in our lives, to be more congruent.

Thus, to commit oneself to home and family is to do a wondrous thing. It is a high adventure. It is not a task for those who wish to run away, nor for those whose human causes are chosen because the cause is distant and makes no real demands of them. Neal A. Maxwel, 1972

A.Family Home Evening 1.Once Weekly 2.Format a.Open b.Business c.Lesson d.Game e.Dessert f.Close 3.Alternative Format: Activity VII. A Tool

VII. Marriage Outside the Group Panel Discussion