A World of Senses: A Navy Spouse on Teaching Cultural Diversity

The military community is a melting pot of so many different cultures, giving families an opportunity to learn and celebrate with cultures other than their own.

Family spoke with Navy spouse, Ashley Owings, who is married to Petty Officer First Class (E6) Jeremy Owings. They are stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes and have a 4-year-old son.

Why do you believe it’s important to teach children about different cultures?

In middle school, my family moved to Louisville, Kentucky. Across from my school was the Americana Apartments and Cultural Center, where many different races, cultures, and religions lived when they first came to America. Most of my best friends were from Bosnia, Vietnam, Iraq, Liberia, and Cambodia. After school, we would eat foods their parents left out for us and learn some of their languages and traditions.

My time in the People to People Student Ambassador Program and my service in the Army and Navy also helped me to enhance my strong bonds with different cultures and communities.

What are some ways you and your family do this?

My husband is a military brat and traveled all over the world. He loved trying to replicate recipes as authentically as possible back home. Now, we host cookouts where everyone showcases their favorite recipes. We all share a little history behind the dishes, especially during the holidays when some can’t go home because of military obligations.

What are some of the things your son has learned from this?

My son is autistic nonverbal and has been in various therapies since he was 8 months old. One of my favorite ways to bring new cultures into his learning is through his therapies. I love to find programs that embrace learning about new customs. He was in a German music learning class and has embraced music so much. His favorite speech therapist was Jamaican and loved to teach him about her homeland.

He loves to dance, and we love to embrace and learn different cultural dance styles during his play therapy.

Since he does not eat regular foods, we love to help him understand new cultures through his senses: to smell, to touch, to hear, to see, and occasionally, to taste.