Professional Hopes and Goals

When I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds I hope to gain as much knowledge about their background as I can to ensure they feel comfortable in my setting.  When people are comfortable they are more prone to express themselves in positive ways.  I hope I have the necessary tools to help guide them toward success as well as an understanding that I care about their needs and want to see them grow strong not only in the new culture they are surrounded by but also where they come from as well.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to have patience, leadership qualities, and a positive attitude toward everyone I come into contact with professionally.  I expect to learn more about diversity, equity, and social justice and see within something that I have never seen to get a better understanding of the three.

           To everyone in the course, I wish you all the best of luck in your future journey.  Thanks to all the comments and posts as well as allowing me to gain knowledge of diversity, equity, social justice, and great scenarios.  This course has really opened my eyes to the world around and makes me look at how I present myself, making sure I show no signs of microaggressions.  You all have been such great support and guidance and I really appreciate the great comments.

Welcoming Families from around the world

The country of origin in which the child has come from is Nigeria.  One way I will be culturally responsive to the family is by committing to knowing the child well.  I am going to learn about the child’s culture, family, and what interest him or her.  A second way of being responsive is by building on the child’s life experiences.  I want to dig deep inside the child to see what he or she has been through so that I can understand what the child may like to do for fun or what may not be of any interest to the child.  A third way I will be culturally responsive to the child is by giving the child an opportunity to learn about my background.  A lot of times giving a person a chance to ask questions really opens that person up and makes them feel of importance.  A fourth way I would be responsive is by showing respect toward the child and their family origin.  A final way I will be culturally responsive is by understanding my own cultural identity, and its consequences.  I must rigorously examine my cultural behavior patterns and be myself, honest, caring, and my undivided attention.

I feel these preparations will benefit both me and the family because it will allow both parties to get in-depth with each other.  I love the saying “we learn something new every day” and this quote fits well in being culturally responsive with someone of a different country of origin.   We are all born, raised and surrounded in culture, and it is vital to learning.  Being culturally responsive notifies how we touch basis with one another, the way we obtain things from our source and lends a hand in outlining the thought development of families and individuals.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

   A good memory of an incident when bias or racism came into play was with my girlfriend.  She told me about a time when she was cheerleading back in high school and something that has never left her mind even until this day.  She explained it was only her and another girl the only African Americans on the squad, the rest of the girls were Caucasian.  After a cheerleading competition her team went out to eat at cracker barrel restaurant.  The restaurant was not all packed but she said they waited for about an hour before being seated with other big groups coming in around them.  No one thought anything of it so they waited patiently until finally being seated.  My girlfriend sat at the table with the other African American girl and two other Caucasian girls from the squad.  Everyone was waited except my girlfriend's table.  Again no one thought anything of it until one of the Caucasian girls from my girlfriend's table noticed everyone getting their food and their table has not even been seen.  New customers were coming in getting their order taken care of and it was getting ridiculous.  The girl who took notice went and told their coach who confronted the manager.  My girlfriend said she broke down in tears so frustrated at what was happening because she said she never encountered anything like this before.  The manager told them that he apologize and will take care of the waitress.
  This incident diminished equity by the waitress refusing to serve a table because of the color of two girl's skin.  Everyone should be treated the same no matter their race and it was just not right to pass on their table because of them being African American.  Every time I think of this incident I get a disgust feeling because I feel those days of being racist, prejudice and even bias should have never even began.  It is not right to treat people any kind of way.  I have a zero-tolerance of this kind of behavior and I am all for teaching our young generation the right ways of going about our society.  In order to change this incident into an opportunity for greater equity the world itself needs to be constructed upon.  It starts by properly educating the early childhood community to ensure they understand how to treat people with respect and value each other's culture and differences.