Professional Hopes and Goals

 

 

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I will be able to embrace all children and families with respect and love.

 

 

 

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that all early childhood professionals will work diligently to overcome personal biases in an effort to fully embrace children and families from diverse backgrounds.

 

 

 

I would like to sincerely thank all of my colleagues for the discussion posts, responses, and blog assignments. I have learned so much from all of you in regards to the issues of diversity, equity, and social justice. I think we all desire to positively change the early childhood field so that all children and families are treated equally. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of you through the stories that you have shared. We all have a story to tell. I wish you all continued success throughout your educational and professional journeys. Be blessed!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Nicaragua is a country in Central America. It has coastlines on both the Caribbean Sea, in the east, and the North Pacific Ocean, in the west, and has Costa Rica to the southeast and Honduras to the northwest.
Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km² and contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua (Lake Nicaragua) or Cocibolca.

There are about 5.6 million Nicaragüenses in Nicaragua. The majority of the population is mestizo and white. Nicaraguan culture has strong folklore, music and religious traditions, deeply influenced by European culture but enriched with Amerindian sounds and flavors. The main language is Spanish, which is spoken by about 90% of the population.

I would do the following things in preparation for my new Nicaraguan student:

1) I would familiarize myself with the Spanish language in an effort to communicate with my student and the family.

2) I would ask the family to tell me about their family culture so that I can relate to the child.

3) I would familiarize myself with traditions in the Nicaraguan culture.

4) I would have pictures of things in the Nicaraguan culture displayed in the classroom.

5) I would give the student the opportunity to tell me about himself/herself.


I would hope that these preparations would give me the opportunity to get to know the child as well as become familiarized with his or her culture. Becoming familiarized with the culture and getting to know the child will help me to better serve the child and his or her family. Becoming familiar with the language will help me be able to communicate with the child and the family. I would hope that these preparations would be helpful in educating and serving the child and the family.

Resource

 

www.wikitravel.org

When I think about bias, prejudice, and oppression, I think about one of my favorite movies, A Time to Kill. This movie was filmed here in my hometown, Canton, MS. The character Carl Lee Hailey, played by Samuel L. Jackson, experienced bias, prejudice , and oppression. He killed to two men who raped his young daughter. However, he was Black, and they were White. There was no way that he was going to receive a fair trial in MS. At the end of the movie, Hailey's attorney, Jake Brigance, came to visit him at the jail. He basically told Carl Lee Hailey that he didn't have anymore to offer. He felt that they were going to lose the case. After talking with Hailey, Brigance gave a great closing argument the following day. He told the story of how the little girl was raped. There wasn't a dry eye in the courtroom. He ended by telling the jurors to imagine that the little girl was White. As a result, carl Lee Hailey was acquitted.

I was eleven years old when this movie was released. I remember going to the watch the movie being filmed almost every night. It was a big time for my hometown. However, I really didn't know what the movie was about. Therefore, I was stunned when I went to see it at the movies. At that moment, I felt that the color of my skin would make my life harder. I was young, but I left the theater feeling as though I was not good enough. Now that I am an adult with children of my own, I realize that I am not inferior. When I became more educated and knowledgeable, my mindset changed. I'm grateful for growth. A Time to Kill is still one of my favorite movies.

 

 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

 

 

 

While visiting with my uncle from Florida this weekend, he told me a story about his days of working as a mechanic. My uncle was a skilled worker who had been highly trained to do his job. However, he was often looked down on because he was black. The other men who were all white would often tell him to pick up heavy boxes or fix different things around the shop. They never took the time to find out what his job title was or what his job description entailed. They simply ordered him to do these things because they assumed that he was incapable of doing their job because he was black. Of course, they never said that they were asking him to move heavy boxes because he was black, One day the manager called a meeting and informed the other employees that my uncle was a skilled worker just like everyone else. He said that he never had anymore problems after that day.  I wasn't really shocked by the story that my uncle told me, but I was thankful that his boss cared enough to address the issue. Sometimes people are guilty of doing and saying harmful things because they are  unaware that they are doing and saying those things.

 

The observations this week helped me to realize that we are all capable of having certain biases and prejudices against others. We have to make a conscious effort to overcome these biases and prejudices so that we are treating al people with dignity and respect. Everyone wants to be loved and accepted. I know that I am going to do a better job of being respectful towards other people. It's something that I try to do anyway, but this week's discussion makes me want to do it even more!

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

 

 

The answers that I received about culture included elements such as religion, race, food, clothes, beliefs, and language. These are all things that we have been discussing and learning about.

 

 

Some of the things that were omitted in the answers that I received were family expectations and rules, our way of thinking, goals, gender and child roles, health care, and work.

 

 

After studying diversity and culture and asking people about their perspectives, I think that I have a better understanding. I realized that culture and diversity encompasses way more than just the things on the surface. Just about everything we do is based on our culture and diversity. I am now more conscious about my culture, and I realize that my culture has made me who I am. I have never thought much about how culture affected me before now.

 

 



My Family Culture

 

 

The three items that I would take with me to this foreign country would be my Bible, my mother's picture, and my grandmother's picture.

 

 

The Bible is representative of my family's faith. I grew up in a very religious household. having the Bible with me would remind me to remain faithful that one day I would be able to return to my home.

 

My mother is such a spiritual woman. I love her so much for the things that she has taught me, and the things that she has done for me. Having her picture with me would remind me to stay strong and not give up.

 

My grandmother was the matriarch of our family. She taught me many things, and I am grateful for that. She is no longer with me physically, but her spirit lives on inside of me. She is my guardian angel.

 

If I was told that I could only keep one item, I would completely devastated. It would be hard for me to choose, but I would choose the Bible because my grandmother and mother are always with me. They are a part of who I am.

 

This exercise has taught me that life presents us with difficult choices. We have to be willing to accept that and realize that we can survive. I also realize that our family culture will always be a part of us and it should be. We can embrace the good things and move on from the bad ones. 

When I Think of Research....

 

 

One of the insights that I gained is that selecting topic is a very important step in the research process. One must choose a topic that is of interest. I think that I was so leery about the research process because I often felt like I was being  forced to conduct research on topics that were given to me. Being able to actually choose my own topic helped my the process easier. Another insight that I gained is about experimental designs. I learned that experimental designs will typically have two groups. There is a treatment group and a control group. The treatment group receives the independent variable or the treatment. The control group does not receive the treatment. Like most things in life, the research process presents many challenges that we must be willing to overcome. One of the many challenges in conducting early childhood research is being sure to protect the rights of children and their families. We never want to do anything to jeopardize the safety of young children.

 

 

Eight weeks ago, I was a nervous wreck about starting this class. I had not had the best experiences with research in the past. I got afraid just from hearing the word. However, my whole attitude about research has changed. The process was broken down in a way that I was better able to understand the necessary steps. I also realized that many of my colleagues felt the same way that I did. This helped me overcome my fear because I knew that I was not alone. Each week, we were introduced to a new step in the research process. It was broken down in a w ay that was easier for me to understand. I now know that I have the necessary tools and information to be able to conduct research. I am grateful to Dr. Pickens and my colleagues for helping me be able to overcome my fear, one week at a time.

 

One of the challenges that I faced in the class was the fact that some unexpected things occurred in my personal life. I got a little behind. I also have a very stressful life at times. I just had to realize that we all go through things and face challenges in life. I decided to keep pushing forward and not give up.  I often wondered how I would have the time to conduct the research. I know that I have to learn how to use my time more wisely.  My research topic question was if placing children diagnosed with ASD in structured environments would improve their ability to talk. I wondered if I would have a large enough study group. 

 

I did not really consider myself to be an early childhood professional when I first started this program because I was not working in the field. I even changed my mind about which aspect of the field I wanted to engage in. I realized that I wanted to be an early childhood advocate, especially for those children and families living with disabilities. One day it hit me that I was already an advocate. As a result of this course, I have learned that we are all researchers whether we know it or not. We are always trying to provide answers to the many questions that exist. As early childhood professionals, it is our responsibility to conduct research in an effort to improve the lives of young children and their families.