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These questions always stymie me, in every place I'm asked them. My children are at least 50% or more Hispanic; my dh and I are both of European origin, several countries each. BUT we are all Caucasian, as Hispanic is an ethnic group as part of Caucasian from what I've read. Yes, I can report their ACTUAL ethnic background, down to the percents, but there's so much more to the picture if I try to get my brain around it. As soon as we add, "how are our children being raised?", the picture changes. They are being raised in a predominantly Caucasian environment and even though they know their full story and visit with birthfamilies, they don't think of themselves as Hispanic -- even though our family has a deeper understanding of Hispanic culture/history/foods/etc. than their birthfamilies. I figure it's my children's choices as they grow up to decide how they want to identify. It's their information to select. I suppose at the crux of it for me is why do I need to define my children's multi-ethnic origin for the census? How does that assist any program that we'll never have a need for based on their ethnicity or race? I work with multi-ethnic and multi-racial students at a university daily and those students have all taught me that their ethnicity and race is their information to choose when they share it -- and how they celebrate it all. Then, I have to mark one or two little boxes on a form -- My pen hovered over those boxes, left the room, came back. It really isn't rocket science but for an adoptive mom, it drives me crazy! susan
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Oh I remember that from last time.With 16 bodies it gets interesting. Anna
mevertin
I discovered if you have more than 6 people in your family #7 and on are "other people in the household" and you don't even fill in the "race/ethnicity" question. Mary mom to Bobby 12, Bridget 11, Angela 9, Eddie 5 (home 2005) and Naldo 2 (home Feb. 08)
It's their information to select. I suppose at the crux of it for me is why do I need to define my children's multi-ethnic origin for the census? How does that assist any program that we'll never have a need for based on their ethnicity or race? I work with multi-ethnic and multi-racial students at a university daily and those students have all taught me that their ethnicity and race is their information to choose when they share it -- and how they celebrate it all.