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?  

Awareness of Microaggressions

This week I was to observe my own and other people’s verbal interactions and detect examples of microaggression. Microaggressions are quick statements that contain insulting messages and can be based on any marginalized group. Whether it’s because I live and work around really kind people or because I don’t watch much T.V., I didn’t observe any microaggressions this week so far. Instead I did a little more reading about racial microaggressions and found this article while I was at it.

I've heard many microaggressions in my lifetime but off the top of my head I can just remember a few. There have been many times when people labeled someone who may be Asian as “Chinese” or “Japanese”. I probably made statements like that at one point or another before being more aware of stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice.Recently I heard someone describe someone as "retarted" and don't even get me started on people using the word "gay" as a synonym for dumb or stupid. I heard that far too many times when I worked with middle schoolers while I was in college. 

Sometimes microaggressions are spoken by well-intentioned individuals. It’s important to be aware of microaggressions and how they can impact the person they’re directed at. Microaggressions can make someone feel inferior, insulted and excluded. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this week’s blog assignment I was to ask three people to tell me their definition of culture and diversity. Their answer are as follows:

Person #1:

Culture: “The norms and practices of a group of people.”

Diversity: “A wide range of different kinds of things or people.”

Person #2:

Culture: “A person’s background. It shapes him and her into who they are today”

Diversity: “What sets someone apart from others.”

Person #3

Culture: “A collection of beliefs, gender, race, socio-economic status, language, values and more which guide our understanding of the world.”

Diversity: “All the ways one is unique compared to others in society.”

From what I have studied in this course, the people I have talked to touched on a number of important of aspects of these two words. Their responses about culture went beyond surface culture (artifacts, clothing, foods, holiday) and focused on deep culture.

Some additional items I could add to these definitions are as follows:

• -          Culture is learned from what’s around you. It’s a set of rules that governs what we do. Culture and gender are always connected.
• -          Some additional components to deep culture are: work, housing arrangements, religion, migration, ideas about education and many more.

This exercise was a good opportunity for me to think of my own definition of culture and diversity. I have certainly learned a lot about these two important words just from the first three weeks of this course. 

My Family Culture

EDUC 6164 Week 2

Scenario: 

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

One of items that I would bring relating to my family culture would be a DVD with a collection of home videos from when I was little. These videos include footage of some relatives who are no longer living, vacations, birthday parties and random funny clips from my sister and I as children. I would also bring a family history book that I made full of photos and stories of my maternal grandparents and their ancestors and offspring. Finally, I would bring my recipe box full of many of my mom’s recipes including a number of recipes from her grandparents. If anyone asked me about the items I brought I would explain that each of them provide many memories for me and are preserving my family history so it can be passed down to future generations.

If, upon arrival, I was told that I could only keep one personal item and have to give up the two other items I would be devastated.  To have something so terrible happen to your country and then to have your precious memories taken from you would be unbearable.

Reflecting on this scenario I have had to take the time to really think about the items that are important to me as I have weighed the value of each of them. I would have a very hard time leaving many albums and pictures behind, as those are extremely important to me. 

Final Week of 6163

Tomorrow marks my last day of the course “Building Research Competency.” Thank you to all of my colleagues for your support and suggestions as I worked on my research study simulation. I really enjoyed this course!

A few questions from this week:

1.      What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

From taking this course I now better understand ways to look for “quality” research. Some things I can do to see if a research paper is valid is look at the credentials of the researchers involved, compare research on similar topics and compare, and look to see which organizations (if any) are conducting or backing the research.

2.      In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

Before taking this course, the idea of conducting research was intimidating to me. Now that I have worked through each step through an 8 week long research simulation, I have a much better idea of what is involved in doing research. It has been very helpful to read a number of research papers along the way.

3.      What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

I learned a lot about ethical considerations to consider before designing research, especially when young children are involved. I read about informed consent, children and consent, confidentiality and privacy and cultural issues throughout this course. Decisions made when planning research studies should not be taken lightly.

4.      What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

When I first began designing my research study simulation, I found it challenging to decide if I was going to use qualitative or quantitative data for my study, because I found both methods beneficial. As I learned more about mixed-method research designed, I realized that using both methods would be the most beneficial for my study.

5.      What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

I have been reminded about how important it is to use research to back up your educational philosophies. There are so many different perspective and beliefs about what is the “right way” to do things in the field of education. If you’re ever not sure, just look at what research says to make a well balanced decision. I have a great deal of respect for people who do research in the field of early childhood education.