I feel like I learned many valuable things while taking this course. Beginning with the
first module that distinguished the traditional family from the non-traditional family and how
non-traditional families can feel oppressed by being different than the societal norm. Another
surprising thing that I learned were the different categorizations of work. Housework, care work
and market work were all grouped together in my mind as "responsibilities". However, when
discussing that wealthy famines are able to hire people to do their unpaid work, it made sense to
me how this can be another inequality that separates groups of people and can boost the upper
class further to the top since they have more time for paid work or to spend with their loved ones.
Going through each module and studying the material has given me new empathy for minorities,
like different races in America and non-traditional families. I believe there are many factors that
keep African America, Mexican and Asian individuals from attaining a full and healthy life.
There are also several factors at play to help propel the wealthiest individuals and oppress those
in the lower or working classes. I do think that this course has helped to decrease my
enthnocentrism. It is easy, as a white woman, to say that people aren't created equal, but we all
have the same opportunity to succeed. However, this is not the truth and the material and
studying that I did during this course shows a vast difference in opportunity between races.
In my original reflection post I admitted that I had very little exposure to different
cultures and did not know very much about diversity, considering that I grew up in a middle-
class household with a traditional family. I would say that after taking this course, my
understanding of diversity is more broad. I feel like when most people think about diversity they
think of the differences between white, African American, Mexican and Asian cultures. However,
I have learned that diversity comes in many other categories besides race. Diversity is in the
class system, the education system, the grocery store, neighborhoods, transportation. Everywhere
we look there is a diverse group of people with different needs that have not been met. This
knowledge will be beneficial in my future career as a physician assistant (PA). The PA profession
was born out of a need to fill a gap in the healthcare system that was excluding underprivileged
individuals and rural communities. Learning what I have in this course will give me a new
perspective on the backgrounds of my future patients and help me to be a better servant of my
community.
In my original reflection post I stated that my biggest hurdle in my college career thus far
has been time management. I am a wife, full time worker and a mother to a toddler with another
baby on the way. Time is very valuable around my house. One thing that I did to utilize my time
more efficiently was wake up earlier to get school work done. I also had my husband pick up our
daughter from daycare so I had a quiet hour at home after work to study. Doing these two things
allowed me more margin in my day to feel less rushed and I was able to stay on top of my school
and house work responsibilities.