Professional Hopes and Goals

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

My hope is that people working with young children make it a priority to think about and reflect on how their biases or microagressions may be impacting the children and families that they work with.

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

That teachers strive to provide the best possible classroom environment that is welcoming and safe for all children, while providing support to and being respectful of all families.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

I would like to thank my colleagues for taking the time to share personal experiences that I hope not only helped them to reflect, but also gave me the opportunity to learn from them as well.  I have definitely appreciated professional feedback and insight that my colleagues have provided myself and each other with for the past eight weeks.  I hope you have much success in your careers as you continue on with your courses and I hope that I “see” you in future courses.

Welcoming Families from around the World

Country of Origin: Peru

At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

After determining the new family’s language is most likely Spanish, I would take time to learn common phrases and greetings in their language to assist with making them feel welcome. Words such as “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “Thank you,” and “Bathroom” would probably go a long way towards this effort.

If I did not have a translator available, I would ensure that I had access to an electronic translator such as Google Translate or Altavista to help me with translating and understanding basic elements of the foreign language.

I would offer opportunities to play games that are popular in Peru, most notably soccer.

I would provide play materials that, as much as possible, might be familiar to the new child in the classroom. This would potentially include games, dolls, foods and clothing.

I noticed in my research that table manners are important in Peru, but are not necessarily enforced in each family. I would be aware of the child’s habits and behavior in the classroom, and I would help the child understand the expectations of proper manners during snack time if they happened to be different.

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

Learning the basics of Peruvian language, culture and activities are all ways to help make my classroom a welcoming environment for both the child and their family. By learning basic foreign language phrases and attempting to use them, I am demonstrating to them how important it is for me to communicate with them, and that I care very much about including their child into my classroom. Similarly, by making an effort to focus on games or sports that the children may have been exposed to in Peru, I am helping make the transition to American culture more seamless. Although I have researched the background of Peru and its people, those generalizations do not necessarily apply to the family I have in the classroom, so I will continue to make a concerted effort to learn the child and their family on an individual basis.

http://www.countryreports.org/country/Peru/facts.htm

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Opression

What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression?

                A recent situation had happened which mad me very upset.  My husband and I were at a restaurant and we were sitting at the bar waiting for our neighbors to arrive.  Our neighbors are a gay couple and we were saving them two seats.  There were no other people waiting to sit but when our friends arrived, the bartender told us that we could not save the seats that they were for “other people, other couples.”  I was horrified and asked him what that was supposed to mean because I did not see anyone else waiting.  He said “you know other couples.”  My husband could knew that I was upset and I was trying to make it so or friends could not hear.  My husband took my arm and told the bartender that we understood and would be taking our business elsewhere.   

•In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

                The bartender diminished equity by implying that our friends, a gay couple should not sit at the bar, that they were not worthy of sitting there.   

•What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

                I was horrified, I felt so upset and embarrassed that anyone would say that.   

•What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

                I feel like I knew what I wanted to or should have said but that I was so in shock that I just froze.  I would still not have stayed and given them our business but I wish that I would have calmly made the point that the seats at the bar are for any person or couple.  Our friends did hear what was said and I was glad that we were able to have a genuine conversation with them at a different restaurant.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time. In what context did the microaggression happen? What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggression?

The example I have is one that I was involved with but did not notice it right away.  This week I attended a meeting for a military spouse’s board that I am on.  During the meeting the treasurer informed the board that her husband had just received orders so they would be moving before the organizations 2015-16 year would be over and that we will need to find a new treasure to at least finish out the year.  Right away one of the board members said “we should see if VeeVee would like to be the treasurer, I bet she would be good at it.”  Veevee is one of the only active members who is Asian, and by the board member assuming that she would be good as the treasurer I felt like this was a racial microagression.  The board member does not know VeeVee but is assuming that she is good with numbers/math.  I did not realize this as a microaggression until later in the meeting and I did suggest another active member who might be interested in the position (the woman happened to not be Asian).  I suggested that we ask a few different people if they would be interested because we do not know any of them well enough to know if they would want the position or be good at it.  I felt upset that some of the women on the board would stereotype or make an assumption about someone we do not know.      

In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people.

This experience opened my eyes as to how often microaggressions happen and how nonchalantly they seem to be part of people’s conversations.  Even though I did not recognize it right away, I was trying to think that if I did not read about this week and was not looking for microaggressions would I have just not recognized it.  I believe that the other members did not recognize it for one of two reasons; either they, too, assume all Asians are good at math or they feel that it was actually a compliment.  I think that many people do not always recognize microaggresseions because it seems to be covered with some type of compliment.  I now know that I need to be aware of what I am saying, along with recognizing when other are using microaggressions and be willing to enlighten others as to the assumptions or stereotypes they are making.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this assignment I spoke with my husband and a few friends, all of which are at least in one way culturally different from myself.  I asked a few extra people just to make sure that I had at least three and then I couldn't decide which ones to select so I will include them all.

Definitions of Culture:

Culture is the culmination of ancestry, customs, traditions, practices and behaviors that dictates who we are and how we act.

So I went to sleep last night fleshing out what culture means to me and realized I was only capturing it from a personal stance as an afro-latina, and not the term itself, and my mind had a full out conversation covering the many ways culture is applied outside of my identity, such as with rape culture. In the end, for right now, culture has 2 definitions for me: 1) the rituals, language, art, and energy tied to one's historical practice of their ancestors. 2) the unspoken practice of habits tied to someone's environment, that individuals may or may not be an active participant of.

Culture is what we have been inculcated with based on the values of our families and community organizations (church, military, etc).

Culture is the common world view that associates you with a certain area/region/country or group. It shapes how you view the world and how the world see's you.

Definitions of Diversity:

 Diversity is the recognition of the collective uniqueness of people and the traits that make them unique or different from each other.

Diversity defies boundaries: diversity of age, sex, gender, thought, experience, etc

Diversity is best defined by the lack of similarity. In terms of social science, it is a dissimilar cultural basis

I believe that all the aspects that were mentioned in the definitions were discussed and studied. I realized that some aspects that were omitted are how culture even impacts our body language and parenting styles.  Reflecting on what other people’s definitions of culture and diversity are provided me with another example of how when asking people the same questions, the answers are going to be different due to their personal experiences.  Depending on what people consider as important to culture and diversity and impacts them, that is what they included in their definitions.

My Family Culture

A description of the three items and what each of these items means to you

A Cookbook- this particular cookbook was given to me by my father and was originally owned by my grandmother.  It has all of the traditional Swedish recipes that my grandmother would cook for us.  Although I was not a fan of some of the recipes, I enjoyed trying everything because I could see the joy in my grandmother’s and father’s face when we all were able to enjoy dishes together from when both of them were growing up.  Even though I do not cook from it often, it seems to be one of those things that I just cannot part with every time my husband and I are trying to consolidate for another move.

Ring- my wedding ring is one thing that I would want to take as it is a daily reminder of the best days in my life and a reminder of the important commitment that I made to the most important person in my life.  It also reminds me of the important job I have as a military spouse, even when we can’t be together I can glance at it and I am flooded with beautiful memories.

A Dala Horse- these are wooden horses originating in Sweden.  They are hand carved and brightly painted horses of all different sizes that children play with.  Although children still play with them they are often used as decorations.  I can remember my grandmother giving me Dala horses to play with when I was young and when I got older, before she passed away, she gave me two beautiful ones that have belonged in the family for years.  I have always imagined explaining what they were to my children someday and watching them play with the horses.  In some sense they remind me of how much I want to be a mother.

Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you

I can only imagine that this would be devastating to be forced somewhere new and then be told to give up what few possessions you have.  The whole situation would be very emotional and I would feel as if they were also taking part of my dignity. 

Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise

At first this assignment seemed very difficult to me because I like to think that material objects do not represent my family culture.  That my family culture is guided by certain beliefs and morals that run deeper than picking an item.  However, my husband was discussing this with me and asked me, what are some items that no matter where we move and it is time to consolidate and pack that I cannot part with.  This is how I thought of these three items and after reflecting on why I cannot part with these items I realized that these are the items that for me represent and celebrate my family culture.

When I Think of Research...

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

I have gained many new insights about research but becoming aware of research terminology has been the most helpful.  In the past I would skim over research/studies and not exactly have a clear understanding of it due to the complexity of the vocabulary.  Each week I was able to learn of a new concept and the vocabulary that went along with it, which was very helpful in being able to learn in sections.

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

My ideas about research have changed because I have a better understanding of the process that goes along with creating a study and the importance of showing the validity of research by many processes, including the different types of triangulation.

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

I am now aware of the many steps that go into planning, designing and conducting research.  I realize now how important it is to consider the rights of the participants and because the participants in this case are children, the family is also involved at a minimum of gaining consent. 

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

I believe that one of the most challenging weeks of the course is when we discussed ethics (Chapter 5).  I feel that this is challenging for myself and others because no one should be causing harm to a child, but in situations where a child may be dying, to what extent do you allow research to be done to try to extend their life if it may cause harm?  Another thought with ethics, if a child is put into a condition that would not be made up, for example in the story of Genie, as researchers it is important to not cause more harm to her by trying to collect data about her.  I would have to say that I learned to read more about research studies and look at each case individually evaluate if it is ethical research.

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

My perceptions have changed because I am able to read a study and make my own judgements on the validity of it.  I do not read research and believe it is valid, I have a process that involves researching about it.  Some of the steps I now take are that I see who the researchers are, I check to see who the participants of the study are, what methods are used, and what the researchers use to show the validity of the study.