Professional Hopes and Goals

I have learned so much during this course regarding culture and diversity.  There have been many topics that I did not have a clear understanding of until I read the resources and watched the media segment.  Through these resources, I was able to comprehend much more about diversity, culture and how these topics relate to the field of early childhood.  One hope that I have when thinking about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I can be a model for the children and families with whom I work.  I hope to open the minds of the children and families with whom I work to accept and respect other cultures and each child's unique traits.  I would hope to use opportunities that arise in the classroom as teachable moments in order to teach tolerance and acceptance to the children.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to develop more programs to teach early childhood educators about these issues.  Early childhood educators need to have an understanding of their own personal diversity in order to understand issues related to this topic.  Programs aimed at developing a deep understanding of diversity, equity, and social justice would benefit the early childhood field by helping educators address issues related to these topics.  Deepening the children's understanding of diversity, equity, and social justice would allow them to grow up with more of an open mind when it comes to the differences of others.  This may be a step in eliminating some of the "-isms" that exist deep in the minds of people. 

I would also like to than Dr. Darragh and my colleagues for sharing all of their knowledge.  I am not currently working with early childhood aged students, I work with 5th graders, but through reading your experiences, I have benefited greatly.  I am able to develop an understanding of the early childhood field with your help.  I'm looking forward to continuing our educational journey together!

Welcoming Families from Around the World

For this assignment, I picked a country that I have absolutely no knowledge of.  My family's country of origin is Yemen. 

In order to be culturally responsive towards this family, I would first research the country to gain understanding of the location, language, and other cultural aspects.  I believe that I would need some surface knowledge of the country in order to gain a deeper understanding.  Following my initial research, I would speak with human resources at my school, such as the ELL teachers, who might have some insight into working with students and families from other countries.  When the family arrived, I would schedule a meeting with the family and possibly an interpreter, if necessary, to gain some insight into their family and culture as well as their ideas about education.  I would work to maintain an open and positive relationship with this family in an effort to make the transition into the new country easier, while working to preserve his or her cultural diversity.  I would also prepare the children and the classroom for receiving this student.  I would model some lessons about how being unique and different makes each of them special and I would include something in the classroom that reflected each child's background.  It would be important for the new child to see his or herself reflected in the new environment.  

I would hope that these preparations would benefit me by allowing me the opportunity to learn about another culture and that they would benefit the family by making them feel welcome and that their culture is valued in my classroom.  I would hope that it would be a positive experience for everyone.    

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

My husband travels frequently for his job and on occasion, I travel with him.  Several years ago, after September 11^th, he was travelling with one of his co-workers.  My husband is very representative of the dominant culture.  He is male, well educated, and Caucasian.  His co-worker however is of Indian descent and a Muslim.  When travelling through the security check, my husband was able to pass through without any difficulties, but when his co-worker went through the check, he was stopped.  The TSA agents selected him for additional security screenings, including pat-downs and looking through his luggage.   Since this time, they have travelled together on many occasions and this same situation occurred.  The security checks that were supposed to be random clearly were not.   

                It was evident that because of the man’s appearance, he was being prejudged and was immediately suspected of having ill intentions.  His equity was diminished because he was not being treated in the same way as the other passengers, including my husband.  I felt a sense of injustice for my husband’s coworker.  We knew him as a person and that he was completely safe, but because of his appearance, he was being targeted by the TSA agents.  Society would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity.  It is because of ignorance that this situation occurred.  In order to change this, society needs to become educated on differences in cultures and how to value diversity.  As a society, we need to respect and value the differences among people and stop stereotyping and prejudging people based on looks.        

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

After listening to Dr. Sue’s media segment about microaggressions, I began thinking about microaggressions that I am guilty of as well as listening for microaggressions that I heard from other people.  I heard one specific microaggression that stood out to me this week. 

As a Baltimore Ravens fan, I have been following the media coverage for my team this week, leading up to the Super Bowl.  When I was listening to the coverage of “Media Day”, I was surprised to hear San Francisco 49ers, Chris Culliver make the following comment:

Culliver was being interviewed by comedian Arte Lange on Tuesday night when Lange asked him if there were gay players in the NFL.

"I don't do the gay guys man," Culliver said. "I don't do that."

Lange asked if he thought there were any gay players currently on the 49ers.

"No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do. Can't be with that sweet stuff."

Culliver immediately came under fire and issued an apology.

"The derogatory comments I made [Tuesday] were a reflection of thoughts in my head, but they are not how I feel," Culliver said in a statement released by the 49ers. "It has taken me seeing them in print to realize that they are hurtful and ugly. Those discriminating feelings are truly not in my heart. Further, I apologize to those who I have hurt and offended, and I pledge to learn and grow from this experience." (Loumena, 2013)

This was clearly a microassult on the gay community.  Although he apologized later, Culliver made a deliberate, hurtful, and harmful attack on gay men in the NFL.  Considering the circumstance that this player finds himself in, an NFC champion, going to the Super Bowl, I was very shocked to hear his comments.  NFL players are often looked up to as role models and he made a very poor decision with the response he made in his interview. 

I realize that many people make comments that are discriminatory, stereotypical, or prejudice, often unintentionally, but these comments are very hurtful.  When these types of comments are made, it not only affects the targeted person, but unless pointed out, promotes the idea that these types of comments are acceptable.  This week had made me look at myself and have an awareness of the things I say.  I do not want to be responsible for degrading or making another person feel inferior.  I hope to spread awareness of microaggressions and be more aware of what I say.

Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Microagressions in everyday life.

Loumena, D. (2013, February 2). Chris Culliver to have sensitivity training, work with LGBT group. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

 

After asking three people about their perspective on diversity and culture, I received a variety of answers.  The perspectives of each person are below:

 

1.     This perspective is from a female in her mid-late 50’s, who is an elementary school teacher.

 

“I've had varying views about culture. My first thoughts growing up were that it connected to ethnicity where someone for example came from, their country. You know living in the area in which I grew up in the 70's wasn't diverse at all. I don't even remember diversity until I really started working at a bank in Montgomery County, Maryland. I know that I have had racial biases. My children have shown me through their lives to see things differently.

Also now being in education I've come to view it as a multitude of different things. It's the environment that someone lives in, it’s their religion, their values, their traditions, the way they dress, the foods they eat, the books they read, their political views, their race, their economic status, the way they see themselves in relation to others.

 

The kids attended a very diverse high school. I remember talking with my son one day and he said that he really liked it because you didn't have to have everyone as your best friend but you definitely learned to tolerate others that weren't "like" you. It was more representative of what the rest of the real world was like. You can't live in a bubble. You don't have to accept everyone's beliefs or cultural differences but respecting them is important. The only exception to that for me is if it's a safety or health concern. Everyone needs to be safe and feel safe.

This country was formed from a melting pot of immigrates and we are still that if not more.”

 

2.     This perspective is from a male in his early 20’s.

 

“Culture is what you are like, what group you’re in, like Black, White or Hispanic. Diversity is being different than others I guess.”

 

3.     This perspective is from a female in her mid-20’s who is also an elementary school teacher.

 

“Culture is different ethnicities, religions, races, and traditions.  Diversity is kids with those differences in the classroom.  We have to learn about their culture to help them learn best in our classroom.”    

 

I feel that the second and third perspectives are the way that most people view culture and diversity.  There is a basic idea about what it includes, but not a full comprehension of what culture truly is. I believe the first response is exactly what we have been studying in this course.  It is clear that this person has a deep understanding and appreciation for culture and diversity and has even had personal experiences related to cultural differences.  She said, “. It's the environment that someone lives in, it’s their religion, their values, their traditions, the way they dress, the foods they eat, the books they read, their political views, their race, their economic status, the way they see themselves in relation to others.”  This is what we have been learning about during this course, that culture is ingrained in us; it is how we live and function every day, it is in everything that we do.  I thought she captured this very well in her explanation.   

           

In the perspectives, diversity was explained as “being different”, which is true, but no one was able to elaborate on the concept.  The failed to identify the many different ways in which we can be diverse including, age, gender, sexual orientation, and occupation.  Diverse is seen as being different, but often times the specific ways that people can be different can be overlooked.  There is so much diversity even within the diverse groups that I mentioned above.  Diversity does include differences, but it is what makes each of us an individual.    

After reading these three responses, I feel that at the beginning of this course, I was more like the second and third perspectives.  I had a basic idea of culture and diversity, but had absolutely no idea how deep they go.  I think that the more educated one is on this topic, the more one is able to comprehend just how profound these topics are.  I certainly relate more to the first definition of culture because I have studied and learned about culture and diversity over the past three weeks.  I appreciate the knowledge that I have gained because in the education field, if I don’t understand what culture and diversity are, I will certainly have a difficult time meeting the cultural and diverse needs of children and families. 

        

        

 

My Family Culture

After considering the scenario of being transplanted to another country, the items I would take with me would be my wedding rings, my camera, and money.

I would take my wedding rings because they signify the bond between my husband and myself and hold many important memories about our relationship.  I would take my camera because it has years worth of photos that I have not printed and I would be able to continue to document the memories my family would make in our new home.  I would also take money.  With money, I would be able to exchange it for the currency of that country and buy anything else that my family would need.

If I were told that I could keep only one item, I would be disappointed, but I would keep my wedding rings.  Of all the items I would bring, they hold the greatest amount of significance and are such a symbol of the relationship I share with my husband.  I would be devastated if I did not have them.

I found it difficult to narrow down my life into three items, but based on my list, I realize that I value my family and also financial security.  Two of the three items I selected hold sentimental value to me and cannot be replaced. 

Final Blog Reflections

As this course comes to an end, I have gained so many wonderful insights from the readings and dialogue with my colleagues and instructor.  I have enjoyed learning about the early childhood field from many different perspectives including those of international early childhood professionals.  One insight that I gained was that education and the early childhood field is an area that is important to the international community as well.  One interesting article that I read was about the rebuilding of war-torn Libya.  In the article it discussed how rebuilding the education system was a priority of the country.  It was wonderful to see that this new Libya values education and aims to put it at the forefront of their reconstruction.  Another consequence of learning about the international early childhood field was the need for early childhood support in many areas.  There are so many wonderful child advocacy programs promoting the healthy development of children, including Harvard University's Global Children's Initiative.  This Initiative focuses on education people about the importance of early childhood development, encouraging decision makers to develop policy that benefits young children.  I also learned that the issues affecting the children in our country are very similar to issues internationally, for example, poverty.  Poverty is a concern in many areas of the world as well as in my own community.  I noticed that similar programs are offered in countries to combat the issue of poverty.  My goal for the early childhood field would be to work together with other professionals in the international community to share resources and ideas that would benefit all of the children of the world.  It would be wonderful to have a global commitment to the healthy and safe development of our young children.