Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds.
 
I hope that by working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds I will learn about different cultures and languages. I hope to learn new traditions and customs. I also hope I can learn how different group function in a society where they are not seen as the norms and ways to help meet the needs of such diverse groups.

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

One goal that I would set for early childhood field would be to incorporate a lesson or activities into the curriculum that promotes diversity, equity, and social justice. I feel that  we an stop discrimination and oppression by teaching equity to our younger generation.

Now that we are at the end of yet another class, I would like to thank those who have been on this journey with me. Though the journey is not over and it probably wont be the last time some of us cross paths, I just want to thank everyone for their comments, stories, an opinions throughout the course. You have added to my understanding of diversity, equity, and social justice. Again thanks and good luck.

Thank You

 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Scenario
You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

The name of “your” family’s country of origin: Indonesia
At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family

1. I will first learn about the language. I would try and learn some simple phrases that would help break the ice between me and the family. 
2. I would learn about their customs (i.e. how the communicate, dress, family roles, and etc.)
3. I would research the schools there. What the children learn and in what way?
4. I would learn about their food.
5. I would think of ways I can include their culture into my classroom. How can I make the learning environment welcoming. 

A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family

I hope that these preparations would help my new family feel welcomed and at home. I think it will show my parents that different cultures are embraced and treated as equal. For me it would help me understand my family a little more before meeting them. It would give me an idea of their culture and how to communicate effectively with my new family.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I haven't had many experiences dealing with bias, prejudice, and oppression. In thinking about incidents that I have accrued in my life I can think of one that could be looked at as gender bias. My last relationship was a tough one for me. We were together for a year and in that time I felt unappreciated and in a way used. For those that know me, know that I am very hard working and try to maintain a balance between working two jobs, school, and my personal life. I guess he didn't see it that way. My ex would get upset because apparently I was not doing enough around the house. He expected me to come home (after working both jobs), cook dinner and clean the house. He would say that I was making excuses when I would say I didn't have time or I was tired. On top of my already busy days, I would have to come home and do homework. In my head I was thinking, he only works one job and spends most of his day at home, so why couldn't he just help me out around the house. He tried to make me feel as if I was this unclean selfish person. Needless to say that was one of the many issues we had and I refused to stay around someone who could not support me bettering myself.

During my incident he made me feel as if we I wasn't thinking about the household. Though I was providing for us due to him not being able to keep a job. He made me feel like his views on the role of a women was misconstrued. I think because his mom was a single parent and she did that for him, he thinks that all women are suppose to cater to him. Boy was he sadly mistaken. He just made me feel like nothing I did was enough and it hurt because this was someone that I have known since the 7th grade. Though I tried to explain to him how tiring and long my days were nothing seemed to matter because things weren't getting done when he wanted. The best thing I could do was remove myself from the situation and I did. And I must say, I'm a lot happier and I continue to work hard to accomplish my goals.