Professional Hopes and Goals

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

One hope that I have when thinking about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I am able to understand the families and children that I meet, and I am able to make them feel comfortable and welcome in the learning environment.

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

Coming into this class with limited knowledge about diversity; it has taught me that early childhood professionals need to be trained in diversity, equity, and social justice. Without training, our early childhood professionals will not be prepared or aware of all the different concepts that involve diversity. In addition, this training will teach our early childhood professionals to accept differences in today's society.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

I want to take the time out to thank my colleagues for your support. I learned a lot from interacting and reading your discussions and blogs. Your comments and feedback were helpful, and I am looking forward to working again with all of you. The journey continues!

Take Care!


 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

My family’s country of origin is Puerto Rico.  The only thing I am familiar with is the name.  Doing this assignment, I learned that the people of Puerto Rico represent a cultural and racial mix. This cultural and racial mix includes Spaniards, Africans, Cubans, French, and Germans. Although English is taught from kindergarten through high school, Spanish is the dominant language. Only 20-percent of Puerto Ricans speak English fluently. Religion in Puerto Rico is predominantly Roman Catholic.  The sports played in Puerto Rico are baseball, basketball, and soccer.

Five ways in which I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family are:

1.      I would use the internet to do research the culture, religion, food, holidays, and the most popular language used.

2.      I find out information on the child which includes educational and family background.

3.      I would use an interpreter to help me establish good communication between the parents.

4.      I would create a learning environment in which all the children different cultures and pictures are presented and this will help the parents feel comfortable and feel welcome at all times.

5.      Hopefully, this will accommodate all the needs of the families and children that I will encounter on a daily basis.

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

I hope these preparations will help establish a healthy relationship between the family and me in which the family will feel comfortable and at home while adjusting to life in another country. In addition, this will bring understanding between all cultures which will bring respect and acceptance throughout the learning environment. This will help me to be more responsive to the needs of individuals and their families as they plan and make choices based on their cultural background.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

As an African American female I have experienced and witnessed many instances of bias, prejudice, and oppression. Living in a small rural town in Georgia does not help. I remember an incident of bias and prejudice in the summer which involved my nephew applying for a library assistant. Being an African American male he filled out the application filled the education part out where he put his college courses he took for business administration. He did not receive a call to come in for an interview. He learned that a white woman with no education or training got the job.

The ways the bias and prejudice diminish equity includes not calling my nephew in for an interview, hiring an uneducated white woman without training for the job, and discriminating against an African American male.

The way this incident would have to change into an opportunity for greater equity would be to call my nephew in for a job interview and provide a knowledge test for both the white woman and my nephew. The applicant that passed the knowledge test and interview should be hired for the library assistant job. This would show that the color of someone skin or gender did not have anything to do with which applicant got the job.