Professional Hopes and Goals

          One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to make certain that I make them feel comfortable  in every way.  I will make certain that I plan my activities in my classroom to meet the needs of all of my students.  I will make sure that my classroom displays diverse families' cultures as well as non diverse families.  I will create partnerships with my diverse families so that I can learn more about their cultures and their goals for their children.

            The one goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to incorporate workshops that brings awareness on equity, diversity, and social justice in my school that will branch out to surrounding school districts.  I would like to use these workshops to teach parents and other educators how to advocate for equity and social justice.  These workshops will also be a learning tool of how to better serve our diverse students and their families. 

            I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all of my colleagues for your helpful discussions and blogs throughout this eight week course.  I have learned a variety of new things that will assist me in meeting the needs of all of my students.  I sincerely hope that you have learned the importance of social justice, diversity, and equity.  As educators remember that we can make a difference in the lives of the students that we come in contact with.  Good luck on all of your future endeavors.  I would also like to thank Dr. Davenna Williams for her support, feedback, and professionalism.  It is because of instructors like you that Walden University has such a great early childhood program.

 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

                My families' country of origin is  China.  The five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive to my family is by first learning all I can about their native language.  They will be more comfortable if I am knowledgeable about their language and I understand how they communicate.  Second I will make certain that my classroom's atmosphere has a touch of families in different countries, the various foods that they eat, and their cultural beliefs.  This will give the families a sense of belonging.   The third way in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive to my family  is to create a partnership with the family.  Parents will become more closer to you and they may even share some of the family traditions as to how they raise their children, what their goals are for their children and what they can and can't eat.  All of these practices are very important.  Fourth, I will make sure that there are  classroom's activities to meet the needs of all of my students.  Some students may not be able to participate in certain activities because of their religious beliefs.  I will make sure that I have other planned activities for these students so that they don't feel left out.  The last way that I will prepare myself to be culturally  responsive to my family is by taking the time out to communicate with the parents about what is appropriate and acceptable with regards to adult child interactions.  In some countries children are not allowed to speak unless they are recognized first.  These types of practices are also important.

                I believe that these preparations will benefit me and the family that I have chosen.  These preparations will definitely give the family a sense of belonging because they will know that you have gone out of your way to learn more about their traditions, and cultures.  The students will feel more comfortable and accepted in the classroom because they will see pictures of different cultures posted in the classroom.  Because of these preparations the family, the school, and the educator will benefit is ways that will make the families' transition to a new country much easier.

 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

            At five years old I became a target of prejudice.  I was in line at a McDonald's restaurant and there was a Caucasian boy in line with his family.  I proceeded to play with him and he responded to me by saying leave me alone nigger.  At that age I hardly knew what the word meant but I knew it was nice by the look on my parents faces.  My mother put me in line next to my father and I asked why I couldn't play with the boy.  My mother then told me that some people were not as friendly as we were and that I could not play.  The parents of the young boy never acknowledged that what he did was wrong.  Everyone was looking really funny at the family.  Now that I am older I am really proud of my parents for not acting out of their character. 

            When we received our food and sat to eat my mother explained to me what the word nigger meant and where it came from.  She explained to me that some people are still prejudice and they teach their children to be prejudice as well.  This was the day that she also told me that I should never treat anyone different because of the color of their skin, their religion, or because they don't speak English well.  Being subjected to this kind of prejudice does diminish equity because we are all created equal.  But even today this has proven to not be a true statement.  I was judged because of the color of my skin and not the content of my character. 

            After my mother explained to me what the word nigger meant I was very hurt and disappointed that someone would actually teach their child to be a racist at an early age.  The only way that I see this type of behavior changing is that the dominant culture realizes that slavery is over and that we live in a totally different world now.  Our communities are better and for the most part there is no reason for racism and prejudice to still be a part of this world that has become so full of all type races.  In order for this situation to become an opportunity for greater equity we must learn to respect each other's differences and do away with being prejudice because we all are the world.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

         I experienced racial micro aggression from another time in my life even though the act was not directed toward me.    I was in a store that was owned by a Chinese Family.  I didn't go to the store often but whenever my mother wanted to make a club sandwich she would send me to get cold cuts from the Chinese store.  This particular day I was at the counter being checked out and a young black man entered the store.  He stood to the side and just looked.  The Chinese man stopped ringing my cold cuts up and starting talking to the young man.  You don't want anything get out of my store.  You people always want something for nothing.  I was so shocked at what I had heard.  It was an insult to me but I did not respond negatively because my mother had taught me how to react to certain situations when I was five years old.
            In my mind I knew that I would not be visiting his store again because I too am African American.  After I existed the store the young man asked me what was wrong and had he done anything to justify what had occurred at the store with him.  He stated I only wanted to get a pack of cigarettes which was behind the counter where he was.  My thought was that he assumed that all young black men would harm or rob him.   I could not believe that he used racial micro aggression because most of the immigrants that come to the United States are not always respected and accepted. 

            My Observational experiences this week has affected my perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people.   I have learned that there are a great deal of people in the world that are still discriminated against every day.  I have also learned that stereotyping and insulting others can cause severe stress and harm to them, and last I have learned that what we say and how we speak to others can affect them negatively.  As educators we must choose a positive way to speak to others because this is how we expect others to speak to us.   Although we all often state  that our society is getting better with micro aggression others still experience discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotyping of some sort.