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Race, Ethnicity, Religion, Class, Sexual Orientation, Ability, And Gender

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TISS #1 Race, ethnicity, religion, class, sexual orientation, ability, and gender have all impacted my life in ways beyond my total comprehension. However, I can begin to identify some of the notable interactions and effects and discuss the ways in which they might present themselves in my teaching practices. I am a White, European American, Christian, and heterosexual female without a medically ascribed disability. I can say that ultimately (and unfortunately) my cultural and physical identity is considered normative within the United States and has placed me on a path of privilege and power. Throughout my life, though, I have been fortunate to encounter other cultural groups in very meaningful ways. My international, religious, and family experiences have shaped my worldview most notably. Right before I turned four, my parents moved our family to Ghana, West Africa. My father went to medical school with a Ghanaian who asked him to help start a hospital. We lived in a fishing village near Accra. While living there, I encountered a wide variety of Ghanaian people groups but interacted primarily with an Ashanti community. The Ghanaian culture I experienced was vibrant, closely knit and community oriented. I remember once leaving my shoes at home when walking up the street to buy snacks. The shop owner knew me and my family well. He walked me home promptly and informed my mother that it was not proper for me to leave home barefoot. I remember that exchange because in that

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