Professional Hopes and Goals

 

 

 

 

Professional Hopes and Goals

            This course has changed my perspective on diversity and equity because my thinking was quite narrow before taking this course.  I have now learned that diversity covers various genres such as race, disabilities, gay, lesbian, transgender, and ageism.  This course has provoked my growth personally and professionally and the information I consumed will change my life forever.  I now understand that learning about cultures is more than just recognizing holidays, food, and cultural dress.  You have to look at the deeper aspects of a culture which involves exploring the lifestyles, behaviors, and beliefs.

·       One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse background.

It is my desire to portray a welcoming spirit to diverse families and to discuss what hopes and dreams they have for their children.  I would invite the parents to be involved in the shaping of the classroom by bringing in books, music, and artifacts to represent their culture.  Children learn best when they can see themselves in the learning.

·       One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice

I would like to see the early childhood field make diversity, equity, and social justice the first priority because fair and just education cannot be rendered unless these factors are put in place.  Every teacher should have to take diversity courses and all schools should provide diversity workshops as a part of professional development.  Universities should expose pre-service teachers to diversity classes because it will help them to understand the population they may be teaching.

      I would like to take this time to thank the instructor and my colleagues in this course for inspiring my thought processes with hearty and supportive discussions.  This was a very rich class because we exchanged a wealth of information about ourselves and we are now equipped with the skills to advocate for diversity and justice for all children and families.

 





Welcoming Families From Around the World

 

 

 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

            The family I chose to welcome from around the world is from Somalia, because the people have endured two decades of war and violence which has been devastating to the families because they are poor and hungry and feel hopeless (Mohamud, 2010).  Many Somalia children have been orphaned because of terrorists and tribal violence, so a lot of them have to work full time to help the family situation instead of having the luxury of going to school these families are constantly being displaced and they live in fear.

            Most Somali’s practice the Muslim religion which involves praying five times and not consuming alcohol and pork.  The nuclear family usually lives together and they often share their meals from the same bowl by hand.  Elders in the family are given the utmost respect and adults are addressed by uncle or aunt, which is very different in the US.  Oral communication is considered the highest degree of art forms.  It is important that the male of the household is considered as the head of the household and has total control over the family and decisions.  Men usually work outside of the home while women are expected to be the caretakers of the children and home.  It is customary to exchange handshakes with people of the same sex and say “peace is with you”.  It is not proper for men and women to touch each other outside of the family. Men speak for the women in most households. Most girls in Somalia undergo some form of circumcision before their 10^th birthday and I was surprised to find out that this is also a custom that follows the girls to the US.  Some girls are sent back to Somalia to get this devastating procedure done.

            To help this family adjust to life in the US I would devise a five-part  plan to help the children to adjust to school life by providing  content integration, reducing prejudicial attitudes, equalization in learning, welcoming different cultures, and helping them to socialize in a new environment (Miranda, 2010).  Curriculum should be inclusive of various cultures because this helps children to have a global view of the world and universal acceptance.  This also helps children to view different biases and how these biases can be eradicated (Miranda, 2010).  Differentiation is the key to academic success in the classroom because teachers must recognize that not all children learn the same way but all children have the ability to learn.  I would plan monthly family meetings in the classrooms where students and parents can come together to share various family traditions and cultures and share rituals that are dear to them.  This will establish a learning platform so all parties will be able to understand the richness of a global school community.

            I feel it is very important for teachers to do the research about where families come from in order to obtain an understanding of some of the intricacies of deep culture.  In the case of the Somalia family the teacher will know to respect the male of the family to make the major decisions where children are concerned.  It is not proper to hug people of the opposite sex so the teacher should not make physical contact to children or parents of the opposite sex.  Ramadan is the religious holiday practiced for Muslim children so the holiday needs to be recognized in the classroom.  Shared and oral communication is preferred in this particular culture so the Somali child would probably enjoy cooperative learning and verbal recitations.  Knowing and understanding who you teach can be a rewarding experience for all.

 

References

Miranda, E. (2010). Going global in Arlington, Virginia. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development

            4(2), 219--226.

Mohamud, S. Somalia's Forgotten Children. One World Education, 1-2. Retrieved June 21, 2014,

            from http://www.oneworldeducation.org/somalias-forgotten-children

 



The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

 

 

 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

            My sister and I were in a store and a Hispanic mother walked in with several children and the children started running through the store in different directions.  My sister shook her head and said “look at those people, they have all those children and they can’t control them”.  She also made the comment that the Spanish people are taking all of our jobs.  She stated that African Americans are having problems finding jobs because the Hispanic people are taking over.  I honestly get chills and cringe every time I hear my sister make prejudicial comment because it is very ironic.  Several years ago the same comments were made about my own African American culture and now a new group is now being subjected to the same demeaning comments. 

It is how easy it is for one to forget about how it feels to be ridiculed and be the recipient of verbal attacks in public.  I have to remind my sister constantly of how racist her comments are and that her insensitivity is very disappointing.  She could benefit from taking a diversity class, because the valuable lessons that I have learned will never leave me.  My sister’s attitude should be to help people rather than to hurt and hinder.  Diversity is God’s gift to the world and we should welcome the gift with open arms! 



Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

 

 

 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

       I was involved in an incident of microagression this week when I pulled into a gas station to get gas.  I walked up to the booth and gave the attendant my credit card to obtain gas and a heated conversation pursued. I told the attendant who was of an African culture (my guess Ethiopian) for $15.00 dollars worth of gas.  He responded “(wan – fi)” and I said “no, $15.00 dollars worth of gas”.  His voice became louder and he shouted “Wan- fi” and I then raise my voice and said “$15.00 dollars, I can’t understand you!”  So finally he wrote down the number 15 on a piece of paper and then I replied “Yes”.   During this heated exchange I was thinking negative thoughts like why didn’t this man speak English?  There was definitely a communication disconnect and I realized that I got caught up with emotion and disregarded everything I had learned this week in my Perspective Diversity class. 

            This was clearly a case of racial microagression because I probably humiliated the gas attendant and made him feel like a stranger in his own land (Laureate Education, Inc, 2011).  I was shocked about my behavior because I have always viewed myself to be a very caring and sensitive person who cared about the feelings of others.  But emotion can make us do ugly things and exhibit behaviors out of the norm.   I am now feeling very guilty because I committed a microassault against this guy because I was challenging his intellectual ability (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  As I now self-reflect I grapple with the reality that I too possess some deep seated biases that I need to get rid of so I can truly show an understanding and respect to all cultures.

 

 

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Video file]. Retrieved

            from https://class.waldenu.edu



Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

                    I interviewed three family members to inquire about their thoughts on culture and diversity and the thoughts were rather similar.  I think that most people associate culture with the way a particular group of people live their lives as part of society.   The people I interviewed defined culture and diversity in the following ways:

Nia (age 31 / African-American/Environmental Scientist): “Culture is a lifestyle that one group of people identify with backgrounds, traditions, and morality “.  Diversity is a variety of cultures.  Ecosystems can also have diversity.

Linda (age 61/ African American/ Social Scientist):” Culture is the viewpoint, beliefs, customs, and traditions and how they exhibited amongst people in society”.  Diversity means different.

Terreta (age 43/ African American/ Director of Marketing & Communication (college): Culture is the norms and traditions that one is familiar with including family surroundings and upbringing.  Diversity is the variety of different cultures and traditions.

          Before I enrolled in this course I believed that culture was just customs, holidays, foods pertaining to a particular group of people.  I am learning so much more about deep culture which examines how people live and what things are meaningful to them.  We you learn more about different people, you gain an extra level of respect and understanding of others.  Diversity strengthens our ties to one another and makes life more interesting.  This world would be a boring place if we all looked and acted in the same manner.   I have also realized the richness of allowing students to be bi-cultural which means that they can be proud of holding on to their home culture in the classroom while also learning about a new culture.  I learned from my interviews that most people view culture from just on the surface because they are not aware that a deeper definition of culture exists. This course has changed me tremendously for the better and I am eager to find out what will come next.

 

 

My Family Culture

 

 

My Family Culture

 

          If I and my family would have to relocate to another country because of the occurrence of a major catastrophe in the US and we were allowed to take only three items, I would really have to deeply ponder about the items I would select.  The first item that I would select would be my bible because it would be a source of inspiration and the words would be written in English   I may be relocating to a non-English speaking country so it would be to my advantage to have a book written in my native language.  Secondly I would bring family pictures of my relatives that have since passed away in order to keep their memories close to my heart.  The last item that I would bring would be fruit in order to stay nourished.

            There may be a language barrier in the new country where I have to reside so I would let people know the value of these items that I brought over by drawing pictures to explain the items to others.  Upon arriving at this new place I am suddenly told that I have to narrow my choices down to one item, so I would select food because that is the key to my survival.

            Family is very important to me and I think the true gift is allowing my family to accompany me to a new land.  Some of the problems that we may encounter would be adapting to the climate, language, economic and housing system, and obtaining adequate health care.  This exercise helped me to get in touch with my feelings and belief systems.  I now realize that having a loving family is the best commodity that anyone could have.  No obstacle is too large to achieve when you have the love and company of your family



When I Think of Research...

 

 

 

Early Childhood Research

 

 

 

When I Think of Research...

            This Building Research Competency course has heightened my sense of awareness about why we do research and the various research designs that can be utilized   in the process.  I have often heard the phrase “the research says…” and have taken the research for granted without considering what methods were used or if the research process followed the ethical guidelines? I have discovered that there are many components involved in the research design and some researchers have taken advantage of impoverished people by not respecting their cultural beliefs, economic station in life, and their health and welfare.  Ethics should be the driving force of all research and the researcher must make sure that the research displays fairness and justice.

            My ideas have changed regarding doing research because before I took this course, I was more focused on conducting research from my point of view including having the power over the research and the participants.  After being enrolled in this course my focus has changed because now I am more inclusive of all participants that are involved in the study which includes the sharing of power and I have a better understanding of the qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods forms of research design.  The qualitative method focuses on human behavior, beliefs, and emotions which involve selecting an open-ended question to be researched and using various sampling methods to answer information that has not been predetermined (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).  Quantitative research involves collecting empirical data to prove a hypothesis or explain social phenomena (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).  The quantitative method also explores the relationship between variables.  Sometimes researchers have the desire to combine research data (quantitative and qualitative) which results in a mixed methods research design (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).

            I now realize how important research is to improving learning opportunities in the early childhood field and aiding to formulate effective curriculum because of the validation involving the research process.  Teachers need to be informed about what works in the classroom and research can provide the solutions to questions involving how children learn best.  The most challenging aspect for me regarding the research process is getting started and selecting a research topic and question.  I really had to ponder what research topic that I was passionate about because I believe that people perform best when they are passionate about a certain platform.  I have enjoyed the camaraderie and support of my colleagues doing this course and the insightful comments.  Some of my views have changed for the better because I opened up to others opinions which help me grow professionally and philosophically and I am grateful.

 

References

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research:

            International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-

            Hill