A Great Communicator

A person who comes to mind when talking about great communication skills is my Aunt who is a professional early childhood teacher.  She always presents herself in a great manner and prides herself on being respectful and knowledgeable to make herself a better communicator.  She possess great confidence when speaking, head always held high and speaks with no stutter as well as with a strong voice.  It always seems as if she knows everything because her words are never blank.  I love that she always looks a person in the eyes when speaking, making sure that person is grasping every knowledgeable detail she has to offer.  I personally model every communication skill I can from her because she goes about her business in a professional manner.  It seems as if everyone looks up to her and she does not shy away from the center of attention.  She is the epitome of a great leader and who I would love to be like in the means of being a great leader and communicator to others.

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.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

One example of microaggression I detected this week is from Dr. Sue.  A lady asked him where he was born.  Dr. Sue replied that he was born in Portland, Oregon.  The lady responded by saying “No, no, no, where were you born?”  Dr. Sue, with a confused look on his face replied that he was born in Portland, Oregon, almost doubting himself.  The lady persisted then asking what country was Dr. Sue born in of course his reply being that he was born in the United States.  The lady then left with a confused look on her face, in my assumptions, not believing Dr. Sue could possibly be born and raised in the United States.  The type of microaggresssion in this case is microinvalidation.  This lady had no idea she was engaged in such an interaction of microaggression as most wrongdoers do not.  The microaggression happened when the lady re-asked Dr. Sue the question of where he was born after he had told her several times.  In this situation I felt like the lady was being stereotypical.

 
         This week I have learned the importance of how to approach people in a cultural way.  Most people who engage in microaggressions are not even aware of doing so.  This week has helped me realize how stereotyping can be very disturbing for people on the other side of the words.  I am a person who believes everyone should be treated the same and stereotyping has never been a part of me.  From learning about microaggressions has helped me to see perspectives from both ends of the deal and to think more in-depth from both situations. 

Perspectives of Diversity and Culture

The first person I asked their definition of culture and diversity is a teacher who works at the same facility as I do.  She is from Thailand and definitely has different cultural beliefs than myself.  She believes culture to be the existing appearance of a specific society’s established beliefs.  Basically peoples way of life and how they do things.  She explains diversity of knowing every person is distinctive, and identifying our individual dissimilarities.

The second person I asked a definition of culture and diversity is my Aunt who is also a teacher.  She believes culture is the features of a certain cluster of individuals, clarified through many things such as: Language, religion, habits, and etc.  Her definition of diversity is in a nutshell the inclusion of cultural and individual differences of others.

The third individual I asked to define culture and diversity was my good friend and old college professor.  He sees culture as a shared inheritance passed on from one generation to another and shared, composed of skills, beliefs, knowledge and products that are generally joint by tons of individuals and transferred to children.  His definition of diversity is the differences in racial and ethnic, socioeconomic, environmental, and educational backgrounds.  Diversity in his mind is basically the openness to differences among people, cultures and viewpoints.

From talking with my friends and relatives I was able to grasp a comparison of what I have learned in the course so far on culture and diversity.  The word culture refers to how particular groups of people live (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  The idea of culture alone is commonly measured as many noticeable actions like the food people eat, music listened to, celebrations, holidays, dance, and even dress attire.  Each of the individuals I talked with basically defined culture in this term of thought.  Society is a structured group of people.  It involves individuals who hold a different and constant living style.  From what I have learned about diversity it is all about including other cultures and accepting the difference of other people.  Everyone is different in their own unique way.  “We must respect the dignity and preferences of each family and to make an effort to learn about its structure, culture, language, customs, and beliefs” (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008, pg. 12).

As far as the three people I talked to definition of culture and diversity nothing really changed of my thoughts and views because it is how I see the two as well.  Both definitions are so broad that many different things can be put into them that are correct.  Just looking at diversity, I believe it combines people from many circumstances that hold essential skills that simulate organizational competitiveness and growth within society.   

References

Gonzalez-Mena, J.  (2008).  Diversity in Early Care and Education (5^th ed., pp. 8-13).  Boston,

            MA:  McGraw Hill.

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards O. J.  (2010).  Anti-Bias Education for young children and

            Ourselves.  Chapter 5, “Learning About Culture, Language, & Fairness” (p. 55-60).

My Family Culture

If I had to choose 3 small items that represent my family culture it would start with grabbing my family picture book.  Before I was even born every family reunion, pictures would be snapped and added into the book, from funny and silly photos to generational pictures.  A second item I would bring would be my Ipad.  It has music, pictures, and tons of games I love.  This would definitely keep me entertained, especially being that I love music.  A third item I would choose is my old dusty Florida State Seminoles ball cap.  My Great-Grandmother gave it to me and I have always kept it around sitting on my desk in memory of her.  She use to keep me all the time and was such a special person in my life.

I am a person who sticks to myself a great bit so my mind wonders a lot.  From the present to the future and even the past have me thinking just how great life is and was even back in the good ole days.  These 3 items mean a lot to me and I have learned from my Great-Grandmother to always cherish what I have because everything is not promised.  Holding on to things gives us a chance to think back, for example, my hat.  I can remember this like it was yesterday.  I had just received my hat and my Great-Grandmother told me not to take it to school in which I did and got it taken up.  I had to wait a whole two weeks to get it back for being so hard headed.

If upon arrival, I were told that I could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two, I would feel pretty upset because these items are mine and great memories of my life.  Having someone give an option of this magnitude is tough but it is life and things happen.  There is one thing for certain and that is they can retrieve the hard copy of items but can never take my memories away.