Professional Hopes and Goals

This is the last week of the course Perspectives on Diversity and Equity. When I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds my hope is that more and more educators take time to evaluate their own biases and work to create positive relationships with the children and families they serve. A goal that I have for the early childhood field is to continue working toward creating high quality, affordable and accessible learning communities for our families.

Thank you for all of my colleagues for sharing your personal stories and giving me feedback during this course. I’m looking forward to beginning my 7^th course in this program next week!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

In this week’s scenario I am to imagine that a child is enrolling in my program who has recently emigrated from a country I know very little about. This country would be Nicaragua. How would I prepare myself to welcome the child and his/her family?

In order to be culturally responsive toward this family I could first research what it’s like to live in the area of Nicaragua that they’re from. I would want to learn what the weather is like and about school systems, languages, economy, attractions and more. I would talk to my dad who has traveled to nearby Honduras and a friend who is doing mission work in Nicaragua.

When the family enrolls I would schedule a time to briefly meet with them. This is when I could really learn about their family culture by asking them questions and learning about their experiences. During our conversation I could use a bit of my recent knowledge about Nicaragua. During this meeting I would like to know about the child’s interests and feelings about living in a new country.

Once the child begins school I would want him/her to feel a little at home. In the classrooms I could bring in books from the library about Nicaragua, play music from the area and post pictures of his/her family in the classroom. I would invite the family to come in to cook food, teach games, share photos or just spend time in the classroom. My hope would be that these preparations would benefit the child’s school success and the relationship between the school and this family. We would want to do all that we could to support and welcome a new family. 

Bias, Prejudice and Oppression on TV

When I think of incidents of prejudice, oppression or bias in a T.V. context I immediately think of Michael Scott from The Office. In the show Michael Scott is a manager of a paper company. He is known to make inappropriate and offensive comments to the employees in the office. 

The episode “Diversity Day” is a classic example of his offensive ways. It is very obvious that the comments that he says makes those around him feel uncomfortable as he stereotypes minority groups. Michael’s ignorance is evident to everyone around him. Watching this episode or any of the episodes you realize how ridiculous it looks and sounds to use microagressions (Michael's aren’t so micro). It’s a good reminder that offensive comments are never acceptable.

Has anyone seen this episode? What are your thoughts?