Professional Hopes and Goals

The hope I have for diverse families and children is that they are welcome into a system that is prepared to serve their needs.  I believe every child no matter the background deserves the same home extension of their culture.  We are the foundation for setting the standards of children’s learning and I believe it is critical to develop a sense of self worthy especially in acknowledging their culture.    

The goal I have for early childhood is to mandate that diversity and equity be a yearly training in all centers and programs.  It is so easy to fall into the surface culture that we often forget the extension of the children and their family’s home.  We must be informative in our calling to meet the needs of cultural backgrounds and it needs to begin with certified training on a yearly basis.  Like CPR we must stay abreast on the latest information to save lives.

I would like to thank everyone for their comments and feedback!  I have learned a lot from everyone in the last eight weeks.  Good Luck to all of you and may continued success follow you with the lives you touch in teaching and caring for children.  Happy Holidays!!!!!

Welcoming Families from around the World

The country I chose was Italy for my family of origin.  I chose this country because I have always been curious about the lifestyle and the family culture.  The five ways in which I would prepare for my family and be responsive to their needs is the following:

Is doing some basic research on the culture in which I learn the family structure and that Italians are very intense and do a lot of arm touching and want eye contact at all times.  (So when I do speak with them face to face I will understand their demeanor and the hierarchy of the family).  I will have a translator at the initial meeting and all forth coming meetings.

Another way I would prepare is understanding some basic Italian language and finding out where they are from in Italy because there is different dialect depending on where you live in the country. This will be helpful in paperwork also as I prepare it in their native language to make it easier for them comprehend as well as feel more comfortable. 

The third way I would prepare is incorporating books and music in their native language as well as a lending library in which the parents can read to their child in the native language.  I would continue to encourage the native language with the parents and child.

The fourth way is to visit an authentic Italian restaurant and become familiar with the foods and customs of the culture.  Educate myself through experiences and become aware of the differences.

The last way I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive is understanding their religion and celebrations of holidays.  I want to make sure that I am responsive to their customs and use them to educate others in the classroom as well as give the family an opportunity to come in as guest speakers. 

I believe the items or extension of the family’s culture into the classroom will ease the possible tension of the family and make them as well as the child comfortable in the environment.  I want the family to know they are the child’s first educator and that my classroom is an extension of his or her learning from home.  All of these incorporations will help make a solid connection with the family and child and build trust.   After all, trust and a solid foundation are the essence to building a true educational experience, because we all know that early childhood sets the foundation to a positive learning experience for children and their families.   

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejuidice, and Oppression

This past Sunday I watched Mississippi Burning a movie I would not normally watch in my house but one my husband said “Come on it’s a really good movie”. Well for once he was right.  If you have never seen the movie it takes place in the 60’s during the time of Martin Luther King and his peaceful protest and three boys go missing.  Now Mississippi is one of the last states that wanted integration and it espicially shown in this small town.  I am not sure I would have survived in this town or this era when segregation was such a huge demise of our country.  The depiction of how African Americans were treated was just appalling.  Houses burning down, lynching, and even just mutilating a person, it was horrid to watch the cruelty that another person had to endure because they did not have the right skin color.  There was no equity for African Americans in this movie they were treated as less than second class citizens and had no rights to vote.  They were inferior to white people and were treated as animals. 

I could never in my life imagine living in a time in which I could not be friends or even speak to African Americans because of their skin color.  It brings me back to my visit of the Holocaust in DC and the overwhelming sickness of hatred a person could feel for another.  It was horrid to be quite frank and something I never want anyone to endure.  It was almost like walking through the halls of the Holocaust museum in silence because there were no words to express the dehumanizing of an individual.

In the end, though the two FBI agents were able to figure out who killed the three boys and had each of them arrested and sentenced to prison for 7 to 10 years and although that is not enough time for human life it was the turning point for this town which was suffering.  The town got a new start because these men got locked up and people were able to live again.  In the real world we know that scenarios such as these were great attributions to the fight of equity as African Americans have the right to vote, segregation is over, and people no matter what their skin color are all have equal opportunities protected by civil right laws in the United States.  However, I would have wished for less violence, more open minds, and peace to solve the discrimination and prejudice of the world.