Professional Hopes and Goals

Once again we've reached that point, the end of our journey together, and as always it is again, Bittersweet.  And now as we reached this apparent end, it would not be complete without first taking the time to say thank-you.  Thank-you to Dr. Shephard, as well as to you, my distinguished and dedicated colleagues.  For some of you it has been a pleasure getting the opportunity to know you for the first time, and for the others we've once again reached the end of another rich-filled journey with many rewarding and positive experiences.  And as always I have once again gained many passion filled insights both, personally and professionally.  

And it is one of these powerful and professional insights that now leads me to only hope that when it comes to the diversity of children and families, we will all continue that quest for not only excellence, but also for that goal of universal respect.  The kind of respect that all children and families should receive, especially when it comes to the issues of diversity, equity, and the achievement of social justice.  And for me the best way to show this much deserved respect, especially as educators and teachers in the classroom, is by first taking that first initial step of getting to know all your children and families, which also includes their various beliefs and cultures. 

And now as I close this door, and get ready to open the next one, I have but one future goal to hope for when it comes our field of early childhood, and the issues of diversity, equity, and social justice.  And that goal would be for unity, as well as the hope that there would one day only be one equally, fair and just world.  A world where everyone is free to be who they are, belief in what they want, and most importantly never ever again be forced to have to sacrifice their own culture and identity, in order to be part of the popular or dominant culture.  We can only hope.......

Welcoming Families From Around the World

As a Supervisor of a Head-start Pre-school Center I have actually been faced with this very situation myself many times.  I have been very fortunate in the past to have children and families come to our center from various diverse countries from all around the world.  I have had children in our center that were from Africa, China, India, and even Brazil.  And in anticipation for these new arrivals, I have  always tried to take the necessary steps to be culturally responsive  to each of the families.  But if I had to choose one country that I  would be very interested in learning about, and also to be fortunate  enough to have a recently emigrated child and family from it would  

 most likely have to be Russia.

                                                         

 

                                                            
And in preparation for the arrival of this child and her family, I would first learn all I can about the country of Russia, including the various customs and beliefs.  I would also include my staff in this research, especially the teachers, since they are the ones who will be working in the classroom with the child on a regular basis.  I will then take the take the necessary steps to help the teachers incorporate all the information and knowledge we have learned so we then can implement it into the weekly lesson plans.  And finally I will then meet with the parents and or family members prior to the child's first day, if possible.  So I can have the opportunity to talk to the family, get to know them, and if possible, find out about the child from their own perspective, as the parents.

In conclusion I will definitely hope all these prior preparations and planning steps will be successful, as well as beneficial, and not only to myself as Supervisor, but more importantly to the child and her family.  Especially since it is them who are arriving to a foreign country where they are no longer part of the dominant culture, but instead foreigners, who are now also subject to ridicule and discrimination.  But as educators and teachers it is our responsibility to help them assimilate to our country, which also includes respectively allowing them to not only continue their beliefs and customs, but also the opportunities to celebrate their own unique culture.

                                                              

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I previously shared an experience I had as a victim of Microaggressions by an unknowingly, but very naive woman.  Of course this was not the only time I have experienced bias, or been a victim of another persons prejudices or discrimination's.  Unfortunately in the past I have also experienced discrimination from certain individuals that actually did in fact come from my own race.

I had one particular experience with an older Hispanic woman I met through my job at the time, almost  twenty years ago.  And I think this encounter with this woman, has remained with me so long because this was the first time I can remember that I had been so boldly offended by someone of not only my own gender, but also of my own race.   At the time I had been dating a Caucasian young man, and to my dismay she was one of those people that found our relationship to be very wrong, especially since I was an Hispanic woman.  In her eyes it was never acceptable to date or even marry someone who was not of the same nationality or race.  And besides her racial issues, she also had a big problem with people such as myself, who were of Hispanic or Spanish decent, and for whatever reason didn't know or speak their native language, which she found to be very offensive.  And right form the start, I really felt that I offended her, First by the way I looked, and secondly because even though I could fully comprehend Spanish, I still was not able to communicate it correctly or effectively.

So it was on this particular day. I was totally shocked by her boldness, when she proceeded to tell me that I should be ashamed of myself by being with someone like him, and denying my own race, as well as by being disrespectful to myself and to my family, by not also speaking Spanish.  Of course upon hearing this, as well as being very young at the time, you could only imagine how angry I was by hearing her discriminating words.  But always being taught to respect my elders, I actually maintained my composure, and our encounter thankfully never escalated nor turned violent.  But still being the person I am, I did take the time to try and educate her not only on my own personal background, but also on our very diverse and multicultural society.  A society that we should completely embrace, instead of reject and discriminate on strictly based on another persons differences.

So in conclusion I would definitely have to say that it is because of this particular experience, that I now realize just how imperative it is especially as educators to teach our children the importance of respecting another persons diversities.  "Early childhood educators care deeply about what happens to children.  Working to make the world that children live in a place where every one can flourish is an extension of that caring" (Sparks, 2010).  Especially since it is these unique and diverse differences that definitely make us the people we are, both inside and out.  And I'm also positive that this particular woman that offended me at the time wasn't just born that way, these were definitely traits she first learned at home, and then eventually grew into her own set of bias and stereo-typical prejudices.  "No one escapes learning stereotypes and misconceptions about various aspects of human diversity.  These lessons begin when we are very young, taught initially and most powerful by our family and then by the larger world around us" (Sparks, 2010).  But never the less as adults especially we need to be more aware of our own bias and prejudices, and realize that these kinds of comments and stereo-types can be extremely hurtful, as well as be very damaging to another person.

References:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).