I drew this and I want to show you what it does mean. The symbol <0/ means deaf power the right-hand holds on your ear < and the left means hand up /.  Which captures the values, histories, and languages of Deaf people worldwide. Signifying and symbolizing our cultural pride, it spreads. You can use Deaf Power to represent the diversity of our identity, which is greatly diversified. They support the use of this open-source symbol both inside and outside of the Deaf community. Also, you see the drawing with white hands and it means I love you in sign language. Most people who work closely with Deaf colleagues understand and use the concept that Deaf culture matters in deaf education when they are developing practical teaching models and designing research projects. Because it provides a robust support system within a hearing society that frequently does not prioritize the needs of Deaf people, Deaf culture is important. Deaf Power is to promote the history, languages, and values of the global Deaf community. Signifying and symbolizing our cultural pride, it spreads.

I reflect on what it means to be an American citizen, that comes in different races and ethnicities. The children celebrate the American Independence Day full of joy and pride. The Indian holiday of Holy looks like so much fun with all of those different colors all over their body. How the Arabic families have a close tight relationship. Irish culture is well represented in this country; who does not love the Saint Patrick’s parade? LGBT+ people should be respected and accepted. 

The Lunar year or Chinese New Year is something that I look forward to every year, it is one of the few celebrations based on good luck and fortune! I appreciate the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa holidays, they use candles or menorahs as the main symbols of their rituals. The fun celebrations of Halloween and Christmas are just the way children get to really enjoy the true meaning of their Western culture.

I have a strong appreciation for the Polynesian culture, especially for Hawaii and Tahiti. Their dances are so beautiful that captivate children who want to learn how to dance it out. My Mexican culture is very well appreciated for the people that love art in every way, and being the Day of the Dead the most loved holiday for most, since it is about remembering and celebrating their loved ones that already had passed away. The Persians from Iran, the Middle East people that are not Arabic and that is where the father of my children comes from. 

At last I celebrate the children with special needs, being Autism the main focus since my daughter Laila is on the spectrum. I even put a picture of her in the collage, the beautiful girl with colorful lips and black hair. The picture of the Autism Acceptance symbol represents what we all want for our special needs children, just to be accepted. The puzzle symbol represents the complexity of the disorder, since professionals are still trying to figure out how to find a cure for it. At the bottom of the board is a picture of my son, my daughter and myself, that represent a small  diversity of people in this country. 

As an educator, I would love to teach children about all the diversity of people and cultures so they could get an appreciation for it. Our differences are what makes us special, it is what makes our lives more fun and nurturing.

I believe the image generation on the third slide is most aligned with what I wished to convey about my time in this course. While I’m not sure that images like this created by artificial intelligence are considered art, I do believe it’s a great way to convey meaning. This image shows a woman of color and two young girls of differing ethnicity looking contently in one direction. The child in the middle Is seated with a book, while the educator sits beside her seemingly ready to assist if necessary. I’d like to imagine that the piece of writing in front of the student is a sort of cultural or social reflection of herself, maybe a story about a girl who looks like her who does something positive for herself and/or others. One concept that I’ve really connected with is the idea of positive representation in schools and media. Children of color see themselves as less than or have more of a potential to because they don’t often witness children or adults in their ethnicity being portrayed as “good” in books, movies, or shows because those roles are dominated by white illustrators who draw white children, white actors, and white authors who create white characters. I seek to give children positive reflections like this picture does, I seek to create a classroom where children are engaged and happy, and I seek to be culturally sensitive in my diverse society.

Diversity is the representation of different identities, including race, ethnicity, culture, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. On the other hand inclusion is the state of being included within a group.  In essence diversity is like a mix and inclusion is getting that mix to work well together. You need one or the other for both to work. Which is why I created this art piece. It is a puzzle. You need every unique piece to create one whole piece. We work like this puzzle, if one piece is missing we cannot be as one, and if all the pieces  are there but we dont piece them together we get the same outcome. 

This piece represents how confusing it can be to identify Diversity concepts due to various factors including religion, age, or political affiliation. These concepts are easy for some, for others they create confusion at best and fear at worst. While it may be easy for those of us who do understand and value DEI concepts to judge those who do not, I am hoping to convey the importance of holding a space for empathy instead. While it may sometimes feel like we live in a black and white world the reality is there is a lot of grey space in between. The words in my piece are all related to topics we learned in class with random letters scattered all around to create a sense of background noise that is confusing. It is meant to mirror what it is like to attempt understanding new concepts that are out of the person’s comfort zone. Even when we remain in disagreement, true dialogue is still important to remind us of each other’s humanity so that confusion does not descend into fear. Remembering each other’s humanity can help shape laws and policies that will not actively harm the already vulnerable. Our goal in teaching our youngest citizens through a Diversity lens is that they can see themselves represented in the worlds they inhabit and learn to value others as well. 

Karen Pulido