Professional Hopes and Goals

Professional Hopes and Goals

A hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is best conveyed with this acrostic poem.  

D – DEMOCRACY

I – INDIGENOUS AND IMMIGRANT

V- VOX

E – EQUAL RIGHTS

R – REALITY

S – SOCIETAL NORMS

E – EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES  

I would hope that every child and family I am working with would experience democracy when they are part of my classroom family. By democracy I mean equality for everyone; indigenous and immigrant families alike. Equal rights does not always mean the same; because equality looks different for everyone. It is a reality that every individual has experienced something different in their lives when it comes to diversity so my desire would be that each individual child and family could share that reality with me, so that I can not only understand but support them on their journey. Societal Norms define appropriate behaviors for every social group. It would be my goal that when interacting with families and children from diverse backgrounds I could seamlessly introduce different aspects of every family’s culture into the classroom environment; so that instead of conforming to societal norms we would be blending our cultures to create a classroom environment that is inclusive. In conclusion, I would like to set a goal for the early childhood field that is related to diversity, equity, and social justice: That every child and family that comes from diverse backgrounds would have equitable access to education, social services, and decision making as it pertains to equality.

I would like to thank my colleagues for sharing their individual experiences with isms, diversity, and inequalities. Your personal experiences help to relate information I have learned to real life situations. I wish you all the best of luck in your studies and commend you for your continued commitment to early childhood education. 

Welcoming Families from Around The World

“One does not worship, display or teach culture; one acknowledges it as a whole way of life grounded in the past, and one necessarily lives a culture.” Houston Baker, Jr. (1990, p.1)

The name of my family’s country of origin is Syria. Five ways in which I can prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family are:

·         By being aware of my own cultural background. By knowing my own culture, beliefs, and values I will be more responsive to theirs because this will be the foundation from which I interact with them.

·         I will contact them in person prior to their child starting school; regardless of culture everyone wants to be valued as an individual not just a number.

·         I will learn greetings in their home language and practice them so I pronounce them correctly. This will help them to see I want to value a part of their culture by getting to know them better through verbal communication.

·         I will attempt to accommodate the child’s personal needs; schedule, dietary, etc.

·         In Syrian culture it is inappropriate to speak to the wife before you speak to the husband. I will address the head of household for my initial contact.

I would hope that by taking these steps to prepare myself for accepting a new student and their family from an immigrating country, that I know nothing about, I will start a positive relationship with the family that will help them to feel welcomed, comfortable and help them to feel more at home. It will help me as an early childhood educator because I will know more about where the child has come from and where they have been so that I can teach them individually and honor their culture within the classroom.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

·         What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

I would like to answer this question by referencing a movie. The movie that I watched where there were several incidences of prejudice and oppression was The Help. In the movie the black maid tells of her experience and the experiences of other women of color who are treated poorly because of the color of their skin. This movie made me angry but mostly it made me sad. The fact that people of color were considered “dirty” and the white characters in the movie could not even use the same restrooms because they may catch something outraged me.

This movie also illustrated ageism. The small child in the movie was deemed unlovable because she was not pretty enough for her mother and was abused and treated as insignificant, causing her to have internalized oppression.

·         In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

Equity was diminished in the movie because the child was dependent on others for her care; therefore she was subjected to their cruelty. Equity was diminished for the women of color because they did not get paid fair wages, they did not have access to using the restroom when they needed to, and if a white person was caught sympathizing with them they were treated poorly or even criminally.

·         What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

These sort of things are still happening today all over the world even though we are a more educated society.  I am sad that any human being was ever treated so poorly and that other human beings can be so ignorant. It makes me feel angry but also hopeful. So much has changed since that time but so much change still needs to be done. Race is part of a person’s heritage and needs to be something that illicit feelings of pride, not shame or fear.   

·         What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

All of society would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity. Children need to be taught that we are all equal from an early age. Children learn what we teach them; meaning they are not born racist.

Here is an experiment that has been conducted over generations that shows the effects of racism on impressionable children.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkpUyB2xgTM