Professional Hopes and Goals

·        Hope

o   One hope that I have when thinking about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that people stop creating and believing stereotypes. Whether we believe them or not, we still are aware of them and that awareness can unintentionally offend someone some day. It is best to check all biases before working with children and their families. All children and their families should get the same care and education.

·         Goal

o   One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field relating to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to develop a curriculum that is inclusive for all.

·        Thanks

o   I would like to thank all of my colleagues for your posts and comments throughout this course. It has been a pleasure learning with and from each and every one of you. I wish you all much success and many blessings for the future!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Let’s say a new family from Ethiopia has moved into our community. Their two-year-old son will be joining my child care facility in two weeks. I went to school with other Ethiopian children but do not really know much about the country and their culture. How can I prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this child and his family?

 

1. I will first research the country to learn the basic “surface” facts. It is always nice to know the general information about a country.
2. Then I will research to learn more about the traditions, values, and customs of the people, particularly the region where my family is coming from.
3. I will then ask my friends who are from the country to provide me insight on their beliefs. I will ask for information relating to holidays and common family traditions.
4. I will also reach out to the new family so I can see what traditions and values are important and specific to them. I will do this so I can see how to include their traditions into the classroom. I want the child to feel welcome and comfortable because it is a new environment.
5. Lastly, I will invite the family into the classroom. I want them to become familiar with the environment as well. Maybe they would like to share with the class something about themselves so the other students can learn more about them.

 

Getting to know others is important for all parties involved. By researching the country I am showing the family that I am taking an interest in their lives. They are not just another number or family enrolled in the program. I want them to feel welcomed and important. Too often new families and children join programs and become another figure. I do not want any of my families to feel that way.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

             This week we were asked to speak on an incident when experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression. This was a difficult assignment for me because although I am sure I have experienced these at some point or another in my life, nothing really stood out for me. Maybe I am fortunate that none of the events left a permanent emotional scar.

            The one event that comes to mind took place during my senior year of undergraduate studies in college. I was diagnosed with lupus at the age of 19. At the age of 21 I suffered from multiple blood clots and had to be hospitalized. After my stay at the hospital, I needed to be on crutches for a while. My doctor suggested getting handicap license plates for my car and keeping them permanent being that the lupus could flare at any time. I agreed. Well, one morning I was running late to class and was looking for a parking space. My university is in the heart of a city so parking was very limited. I was lucky and found a handicap space in front of the building where my class was held. As I set my alarm on my car, an owner of one of the many food trucks lined up across the street, started yelling at me. He told me I should be ashamed of myself for taking that spot because I was not handicap. (I was off of the crutches by this time.)

            He said I was taking the spot away from a real handicap individual. He called me a few other unpleasant names as well. I tried to explain to him that I was handicap, but he did not believe me because I did not “look” the part. I felt horrible, embarrassed, and offended all at the same time. I brushed him off (praying he would not deface my car) and went on to class. Unfortunately, that is something I will never forget.

            Obviously, the food truck owner would have to change in this situation. Every handicap individual does not “look” handicap. I think that is a horrible stereotype that so many people have. There are plenty of reasons an individual may have handicap license plates. People need to get that stereotype of their minds and just accept people for who they are.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggressions take place every day but mostly go unnoticed by the aggressor, but not the target. Microaggressions are described as brief everyday indignities that may be verbal, behavioral, or environmental, communicated intentionally or unintentionally, and contain an insulting message (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012). I was fortunate this week not to notice any microassaults, which are intentional, overt discriminations. I am sure there were some minor microaggressions that took place; however, I am still training my brain to pick up on them. Being more mindful and observing things more closely this week has helped me notice when hidden biases come out towards others who are different than me. This week was such an eye-opener.

I can share about an experience I had during my undergraduate studies. I took a class on teaching English while at Temple University. We were studying different dialects and phrases around the United States. I answered a question correctly regarding another name for a creek, and one of my peers was shocked that I knew the answer. Her remark was, “How did you even know that?” I explained to her and the rest of the class that in Maryland, we have other names for the creeks in our area. At the time she made me feel like I was not smart enough, or capable to answer that question because no one else in the class knew. I was one of five minorities in a class of about twenty-five students. The moment was very uncomfortable, and I believe she did not intentionally mean to offend me, but she did. I brushed off the microinsult and just laughed, but I was definitely uncomfortable.

 

Reference

 Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012).Microaggressions in everyday life. [DVD]. Perspectives in Diversity & Equity. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Perspectives on Culture & Diversity

            For this assignment, we were tasked with asking at least three people their definitions of culture and diversity. I asked my Mom (age 59, a businesswoman in a university setting), my Auntie (age 81, retired USAA), and my cousin (age 21, college student). It was not surprising that I received three totally different answers. My Mom gave her answers from a personal point of view, while my Auntie gave a more general answer. My cousin’s answer was very vague and was a sad representation of today’s generation. Educating the youth and young adult population is so important, but unfortunately it is lacking.

            So far in this course, I have understood culture to be every aspect of an individual’s world. Culture is more than just a person’s race and ethnicity. My Auntie seemed to understand that as well. She defined culture as “a combination of skills and knowledge that enables a person to traverse through life and basically exist in society.” She also added that a person who lacks culture also lacks an understanding of how to get along in the world. Culture is very complex and encompasses everything that we do every day. Without it, we would probably live sheltered lives.

            From my Mom’s personal point of view, she viewed culture as being part of one’s heritage. As an African American, she believes that her culture stems from people who paved the way before her so she can be exposed to what other African Americans have done and how other races helped them to get to that point. To her, culture involves what you experience as part of your environment. Unfortunately, my cousin has a very narrow view of culture and believes it to be a person’s ethnic background. Needless to say, she received a mini-lesson on culture this evening.

            Diversity was a tricky topic for all three of my volunteers. Diversity is basically what makes us different. Auntie said it is a multitude of things, and she is right. She believes that “the more diverse a person is, the better off everyone will be.” It is important to have knowledge of the differences around you in order to live and get along with others. Being diverse enriches and enlightens people and society. On the other hand, my Mom sees the negative side of diversity. In her line of work, she believes there is no such thing. “People preach it, but you don’t actually see it.” For her, diversity means an equal opportunity for all and unfortunately, America (mainly the dominant culture) has not embraced this idea fully.

            Listening to their thoughts on culture and diversity confirmed how important it is to understand the differences around us. For the younger generation, we need to teach them to embrace differences and uniqueness and stop being afraid of the challenging topics. My cousin is a prime example of what happens when a person does not step out of their comfort zone. She is so sheltered and does not even realize it. I try to teach her new things and provide her with new experiences but I am hit with resistance because it is so different. This younger generation is our future. We need to change how we and what we teach them, consciously and unconsciously.

My Family Culture

Imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

The three items I would take with me are

1. My Bible
1. I would need my Bible because it would give me the strength and guidance to keep going. It is my solid foundation. Having to be uprooted from everything I know would be overwhelming, but being reminded daily to have faith in my Provider would give me strength.

2. My Simpsons lunchbox
1. This is where I keep all of my movie stubs, concert stubs, etc. I also keep other mementos from trips and events. I would take this because it represents my culture and what I love to do.

3. Family photo album
1. Even though my family would be with me, I would still like to keep photos from past shared experiences. I would let them know that we would somehow be able to add new experiences to our album, just like we add new experiences to my lunchbox.

 

Week 8 - When I Think of Research...

            Before this class, when I thought about research, I thought about long hours reading countless documents, conducting experiments, long hours analyzing the data from the experiments, and finally bringing it all together in a report about 10+ pages long! Whew! After eight weeks of learning about research, my previous thoughts about it were…right! However, this time, I do not look at the process as being so daunting.

            Thanks to this class, I have learned how to conduct a research study step-by-step. I have learned about the different types of research; quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method. I have learned about the different ways to collect data; surveys, interviews, observation, etc. Most importantly, in my opinion, I have learned how to keep my research valid, through a process known as triangulation. If my research is not valid, what is the point?

            Research in the early childhood field is important because there is so much we do not know about children. With the world changing daily, the behaviors and temperaments of children are changing too.  The theories that used to hold true in the past are now becoming obsolete. It is crucial that current and future researchers narrow their studies enough to find out whatever they can about children in order to help them have successful futures, because they are our future.

            I did not experience many notable challenges during this course regarding the workload or information. I did however, experience health challenges throughout the course that prevented me from completing a few assignments in a timely manner. Thankfully, our professor was very understanding.

            I would like to thank Professor Kien and the rest of my colleagues for allowing me to learn and grow with you during this course. Your posts and feedback have helped me learn more about research in the early childhood field. I wish you much success in your future classes and careers in the education field. Be blessed and continue to be a blessing to others.

~Ryan~