My Professional Hopes and Goals

When working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, I have the hope of helping everyone succeed by creating an inclusive environment that allows everyone the satisfaction of being appreciated by others.

One of my goals for the early childhood field is making sure that all families have the resources they need to fully nurture their children. This is important because the parent/family/caregiver is the child’s first teacher and can make the largest impact on the child’s decisions.

I would like to thank my wonderful colleagues for sharing their experiences, ideas and insights related to equity, diversity and social justice. My colleagues have deepened my understanding of a variety of topics in the early childhood field!

Blog: Welcoming Families From Around the World

I am working at Little Leaders Child Development Center. The staff is welcoming a 5 year old girl named Phongpip  from Thailand. This is the first family that I’ve met emigrating from Thailand. There are several ways that I can be culturally responsive to this family!

1.      I’ve learned that this family speaks the primary language of Thai. As an early childhood professional, it is essential that I support the family’s native language. I will have lots of fun learning basic Thai greetings such as

Hello/Good Morning: sawasdee krup(male) Kaa(female)

Goodbye: la gon

Thank You: Kop Koon (krup/kaa).

2.      I’ve learned that the family loves serving spicy food to their children and we will be providing meals such as rice and stews called curries.

3.      I was informed that the family likes playing a popular sport called Takrow. The early childhood professionals will introduce this sport to all of the students. This is how we will play: the players will try to keep a ball made of ratton (woven palm stems) in the air by using their heads, legs, and feet.

4.      Phongpip’s parents wanted everyone in the child development center to know that her favorite song is the Bollywood Dance. We will celebrate Thailand’s culture by playing this song once each week.

5.      As an early childhood professional, I will allow Phongpip’s parents and family to do additional  projects sharing their family history, culture and values with others.

These preparations will help build strong teacher-parent partnerships and will allow the early childhood professional to learn more about the family’s deep culture. It is essential for me to support this family and other diverse families so that I can enrich the quality of education for all!

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I was watching a movie called "Why Did I Get Married?." Four black women entered a clothing boutique and were having a disagreement with each other about how the clothing would fit. One of the store employees who happened to be a white woman calmly interrupted the conversation and stated "We do not keep cash in the store." Although the movie is a family oriented comedy, my persoanl opinion was that this was a racial microaggression. The store employee did not know anything about the customers who were shopping in the store. I kept asking myself "Why would she bother to make such a degrading comment?" Was it because they were women of color? Was it because they were arguing? Or perhaps----Was it something else? If I were the target of such a bias or prejudice, I would feel like others perceive me as a threat, a criminal, or bad person. This incident diminishes equity because the customers were not being treated fairly. The store employee assumed that they had an intent to rob or steal from the clothing boutique. They were being treated as criminals instead of customers. In order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity, I would have to increase awareness that this behavior towards customers and diverse groups of people is clearly unacceptable by going public and speaking out about sensitive issues.

Week 4: Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

It is a life-changing experience to learn about microaggressions and the impact they have on diverse individuals. My neighbor Teddy, who is only 14 years old, recently had an argument with his uncle about some gloves that went missing in the house. As I am standing on my porch, I witnessed the uncle making a very nasty remark saying “GO LIVE WITH YOUR MOM….YOU FAGGOT.” This is an example of sexual microaggression that was intentionally directed at Teddy.  I was shocked that he would say something like this to his own nephew or anyone else. I wanted to believe that he was just angry and thought his nephew  had somehow stolen the pair of gloves. A few days later, Teddy was still upset and embarrassed as he spoke to me about the details of this experience.  He knew that I witnessed this incident because I was standing on my front porch.  He also wanted to know what I was thinking and I told him that I wasn’t judging him in any way. He has secretly explained to me that he has an interest in boys his age, but didn’t plan to ever reveal this to his family. It is a bit disturbing to see someone hurt because of another person’s prejudices. This experience has taught me that microaggressions are committed more often than I realize. I’ve also gained an insight to be accepting, supportive and understanding of the individual differences that people have!

Week 3 Blog Assignment: Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

When learning about culture and diversity, it is always an advantage to understand the varying perspectives and how they differ from your own. On my journey of learning about culture and diversity, I talked with 3 individuals about their definition of culture and diversity. I spoke with a Preschool Teacher, a Neighbor and a Relative.

Ms. Jennings  is a preschool teacher. She explained that Diversity is extremely important in school because it really benefits the students that attend the school. Students need to see the importance of other cultures. She went on to explain that diversity is important because it provides more than just one look at a particular issue, world or idea. Diversity helps to create the changes needed, to benefit our country and the world. Ms. Jennings also stated that Culture is a more specific form of diversity that describes the lifestyle of a group of people.

Ms. Alizonda is my neighbor who lives across the street.  She felt that Diversity is important because it promotes unity in a group or an organization. She stated that there will be lots of unique generation of ideas and use of varying skills and talents to help attain goals. Ms. Alizonda explained that she is from India and that she must be submissive to her husband. She does what her husband asks of her. I also learned that she does not use toilet paper in her culture. She stated that this rule is a part of her culture that defines her role as a woman.

Kimberly is my cousin. She explained that diversity is important because it allows people to work together with different kinds of people. It allows for a better understanding of other cultures and ideas. She wants people to understand that culture should be recognized in every country, workplace and school. They include persons of various ethnic groups and interests. She explained that she completed cultural diversity training and this helped her to dispel negative stereotypes about other people.

There was at least 1 aspect of culture and diversity that I studied in this course that is included in the answers I received. Recently, I read the article written by Janet Gonzalez-Mena (Diversity in Early Care and Education).  The article explains how early childhood professionals should be culturally responsive to diverse families.  Ms. Jennings has helped me to understand this by explaining her definition of culture and diversity.

One aspect of culture and diversity that was omitted was food and music. I really wanted more elaboration on the types of food and music that was experienced in each culture.

Hearing other people’s perspectives on diversity and culture has inspired me to do a research activity on cultures around the world. I want to explore cultures that I didn’t know existed before studying topics in this course.

(Week 2) Blog: My Family Culture

It is one of the biggest life-changing  moments for me to say goodbye to my hometown of Richmond, Virginia. I have to live 1 day at a time and continue my identity formation in Mexico.  I will be taking 3 valuable items that represent my family culture. They include a photo of my immediate family: My father, mother, sister, brother and myself. This photo was taken in front of our 3 bedroom home. The other two items include a blanket that was knitted by my grandfather. This blanket has the American flag colored into the cloth material. The other item that I will carry is the Holy Bible. I have read every chapter and verse in the Bible. The Bible gives me guidance in how to make good decisions and treat others in any situation.

I would explain to the residents in Mexico that my family photo is a representation of how close and inseparable my family was before and after the catastrophic event. I would tell the Mexico residents that my blanket is a constant reminder of the freedoms and opportunities that Americans have in the United States of America. This includes the options for everyone to get an education, start a business and vote. I would explain to the Mexico residents that my Bible is my sanctuary, guide and reference to peace. The people in the Mexican culture will know that My Bible is a way for me to learn how to serve God!

If I was told that I could only  keep 1 item, I would keep my Bible because it gives me inspiration to live each day as if it were my last. When I am feeling depressed, I can always refer to my Bible  for healing and spiritual guidance. I would feel overwhelmed to have to give away the other 2 items because they shape who I am as a family member and citizen.

As a result of this exercise, I am very excited to learn the languages that Mexican residents speak, the favorite foods that we share in common and their religious practices. This journey of diversity will be life-changing, inspiring and educational!

Week 8: When I think of Research....

I have gained some valuable insights about research while studying this course. Starting off in research was an intimidating experience for me. I once thought of research as simply locating information on any topic. It's not that simple! However, conducting good research involves planning, accessing and using available (reliable) resources, detecting biases and using mixed methods approaches to increase the validity of a research study. I now view research as an effective tool that is used to understand, explain and make sense of life experiences. I've learned some important things about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood. I've learned that all research designs don't use the same data collection methods. Following the Code of Ethics in research is a huge responsibility of the researcher. Some weeks were easier than others. I faced several challenges in this course. The biggest challenge for me was being specific enough when stating my hypothesis. Another challenge for me was that this was the 1st major research study that I conducted. I was able to overcome these challenges by accepting any feedback provided by my professor. The textbook served as an essential guide to doing a successful research study. I also appreciate the support and encouragement from my lovely colleagues. I don't know where I'd be without them! Although this is my 1st research course, my perceptions of being an early childhood professional have changed. Research is such a huge part of the early childhood field. As a result of conducting studies, EC Professionals are able to gain new understandings and make life-changing decisions that will make early childhood programs and learning more successful. I hope to be a more critical consumer of early childhood research!