The Importance Of Ethnic Identity

Introduction The purpose of this paper is to cause the writer to reflect on the past and discover what incidents developed the writer’s ethnic identity. Ethnic identity is an essential aspect of the self that connects people of common heritage with a particular ethnic group, and is an important component of social development (Brown, Spatzier, & Tobin, 2010). Ethnic Identity is part of our self-concept and how we view ourselves and our relation to the groups we belong to. Before one can truly relate to people of different ethnicity than their own they need to understand their own ethnicity and how they came to identify with that group ethically.

General information The writer of this paper is a 47 year old, white female. Born in October

Both parents had a bachelor degree in teaching; her dad continued his education and did not go into teaching. However, after working many jobs this writer’s mother went back into teaching and is now a retired preschool teacher. The writer has used her education for the last 23 years, by owning and operating her own daycare, teaching in private schools, mentoring daycare directors, and currently working as a home educator for Head Start. This writer has worked with young children as far back as she can remember. Working for Head Start

PERSONAL CRITICAL INCIDENT 3 gives the opportunity to be around many different cultures and explore why people are the way they

A mixture of multiple cultures makes it difficult to identify with just one ethnic group. It was difficult growing up knowing that the traditions that one has is not from a deeply rooted ethnic tradition that ties to one specific ethnic group. This writer has a deep desire to identify with one ethnic group, especially Hispanic or African American a while writing this paper has discovered the reason why this desire is so strong. This desire could be considered xenocentrism, which is to have a preference for another ethnic people, ideas, or values. However, the writer believes that it is more about loving people and desiring to be accepted by all people. The writer of this paper loves and accepts all people and wants to know the stories about how they became who they are now. Looking back on the critical incident that caused this writer to identify as white has also lead to the discovery of why there is the desire to connect and be like

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African Americans or Hispanics more than other ethnic groups.

Critical