Professional Hopes and Goals: 

Regardless of the child’s race, gender, sexual orientation, economic class, ethnic group or any other culture traits, he or she is still our future.  I hear the statement all the time “Children are our future,” but do we ever really take the time to think about what those words mean to us?  I know that my ancestors did not want me to grow up in a segregated environment and made to feel inferior and though we have come a long way from slavery, we still have a long journey ahead of us.   Martin Luther King Jr’s. dream was that one day black girls and boys will be able to hold hands with white girls and boys in brotherhood.  My hope is that not just blacks and whites, but all children regardless of the color of their skin are able to come together in unity and have equal access and opportunities to be successful. 

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to equip all of our early childhood professionals with the necessary tools needed to work with diverse families in order to break the barrier of discriminatory practices in our schools.  This form of training should be mandatory for all professionals working within the early childhood field as a condition of employment.  The goals is to promote acceptance and respect by embracing diversity within our communities; thus, empowering equality and social justice for all.

First of all I would like to say a very special “Thank you” to Dr. Kien for her unyielding knowledge and guidance.  I appreciate your thoroughness and clarity of informing the class of your expectations.  Your promptness in grading and returning our assignments in order to empower our writing has truly been rewarding.  You are an awesome teacher and I hope that I am able to share some of the same qualities with my students that you have passed on to me.  

To my colleagues; you all have been my rock.  I have enjoyed reading your blogs and discussion questions, comments and post.  It is great to get feedback from such a diverse group and know that we are all working towards some of the same goals.  Whenever, I felt unsure about a topic or questioned if I should have written that, I read your comments that encouraged my writing.  I wish you all the best through your journey to success as I look forward to hearing from you in our next class.  Enjoy your two-week vacation!!

~ Brenda                                   

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Zimbabwe is my country of origin                    

As soon as I found out that I was gaining a family from Zimbabwe, I would research the area in which the family was coming from and learn as much as possible about their culture.  I would begin learning about the child’s access to education and health care opportunities so that I can have some form of foundation to build from.   I would advocate for help and support from community resources that can help the family in any way possible to include health, education, housing and other resources available to them.   I would begin to learn about their language and culture traditions so that I am able to incorporate some of them within the environment before they arrive.   Once I collect my data, I would share with the children during group time about our new family while teaching them about Zimbabwe and their language.   I would add pictures of Zimbabwe on the walls in the classroom along with labels written in the Zimbabwe language if other than English. 

My hope is that by being proactive in preparing for the family’s arrival, I am able to eliminate some of the distress the family may encounter due to their transitioning to a new country, with new values, rules and traditions.  I would prepare the children and their families in hopes that they will welcome the family as well.  I want the family to feel included and respected upon their arrival.  I hope that having resources available to them will better equip them with the tools needed to experience a positive outcome living in the United States.   By building this alliance between the family from Zimbabwe and the community at large, we can put a stop to inequitable treatment of this family before it begins; thus, benefiting everyone involved. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I was a witness to our waiter being a target of bias and prejudices remarks and attitudes.  My husband is a Realtor during the summer months while school is out.  He and I took one of his clients out for lunch at Olive Garden.  As our waiter, a young Hispanic male, came over to take our order, the client all of a sudden became very rude to him as if he was superior.  The client asked the waiter if he could have a sweet tea, the waiter responded with they did not serve sweet tea, but that they had raspberry tea instead.   The client told the waiter that he would try it, but that it better be good.  I immediately told him that if he does not like it, I’m sure the waiter would be more than happy to bring him something different.   As the waiter was walking away, the client said “I wonder if he got his “Green Card.”  After that, each time the waiter left our table, the client made snide remarks about him having a green card.  The waiter remained professional the entire time.  I must say I was very impressed with the waiter’s ability to remain calm and not show an attitude because if I was his waitress, I do not think I would be as understanding.  However, the waiter may not have been able to afford to lose his job. 

The client exhibited microassault microaggression in that he intentionally degraded the waiter’s race with the intent to cause harm.   He made the waiter feel like an outsider living in “his” country without legal rights.   The client may have even thought that the waiter’s position was beneath him as well since he was the server instead of being served.   The client was intentionally rude to the waiter.   His behavior made me feel very uncomfortable.   I felt bad that the waiter had to experience such humiliating treatment, especially since this was a man of color who should have known how this type of treatment has made him felt in the past.  I guess in order for some people to feel important or superior, they have to degrade others by put others down.   My husband and I tried to make up for some of the discomfort the waiter had to endure by thanking him each time he came to the table as well as leaving him a nice tip when we left.  After talking to my husband about how uncomfortable I felt about his client’s behavior, I found out he felt the same way.  Needless to say, we will not be going out with this individual again.   At least not until he become aware of his biases and prejudices; thus change his negative behavior and attitude towards diverse culture. 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Throughout this past week I have been observing and listening for verbal microaggressions on television and in person.   I’ve detected more microaggressional conversations taking place on television than in person. 

Fred Sanford is always using the microassult form of microaggression when speaking to Julio, because he is Puerto Rican or Rollo, because he is an African American who Fred referred to as a convict on the sitcom Sanford and Son.   Fred is constantly making derogatory remarks about their culture.  

In the movie White Men Can’t Jump, Wesley Snipes basically tells Woody Harrelson that he can’t slam-dunk a basketball because he is not black.  This was an example of racial microaggression. 

On the sitcom A Different World, Ron Johnson who is an African American college student, was taking bets on a football game from a couple of Caucasian rivalries.    Ron’s team won and his rivalries got upset and called him a Niger.  This was definitely a form of Microassult in that it was an overt, hostile act intended to humiliate and belittle Ron’s character.  


Another sitcom that encourages or depicts microaggressions is All in the Family; Archie Bunker plays a prejudice Caucasian who treats anyone outside of his race as though they are inferior to him.   His behavior is the result of microinsults in that he belittles minority’s racial heritage.  

Even though all of these are individuals acting out various scenarios to make the audience laugh, it sends the public the wrong message and that is that it is okay to treat people this way and that one person is superior to others.   All of my examples above are from television shows or a movie, but what happens in real life situations.  This week, I was speaking with my supervisor concerning the program’s policy of taking food back to the kitchen.    My supervisor implied that it was okay to take the food back to the kitchen to be thrown out, but I informed her that it is unsanitary practice to take the food back to the kitchen and that it should be disposed of in the trashcan in the classrooms.   My supervisor said “You people” then she looked at the expression on my face and stopped and said “when I say you people, I don’t mean you specifically, I mean the base as a whole, do things differently here.”  I told her about my assignment for this week and that I was going to share her comment with the class.  I told her that she had just demonstrated an act of microinvalidation in that her comment made me feel marginalized, even though she didn’t intentionally mean to insult or hurt me (Laureate Education, Inc,).   I felt that she grouped me with others rather than respecting my view as an individual with valid reasoning capabilities.

This remark of “You people” reminded me of the scenario in our discussion question.  It seems so easy to lose one’s identity and become viewed as a group because of society’s norms.   I felt that my supervisor felt that her way was the right way regardless of the policy and that my way was wrong.  I didn’t feel inferior because of the knowledge I had gained through my assignments and readings this week, but I did feel that she thought she was superior.   I do realize that she spoke without thinking and as a result of her unintentional act; I was able to see a glimpse of one of her hidden biases.  I hope that after sharing my assignment with her it will make her more aware of those hidden biases.   Regardless if they are intentional or unintentional, microaggressions can be detrimental to the person on the receiving end.  We all have hidden biases and prejudices that we need to acknowledge so that we can take steps to minimize them.    We must first begin by getting to know each other as individuals and learn to accept and appreciate other’s culture by integrating them within our classrooms.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Microaggressions in Everyday Life (2011) [DVD] Perspectives on Diversity and Equity. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture:

Shannon, 21 year old, African American

Culture – That’s where your moral beliefs, values and even fashion come from.  It’s your way of life.  It’s a reflection of where you live and where you are from.

Diversity – It’s an individual difference as well as a group difference. Diversity brings about a new era or a new form of culture.

Tommy, 47 year old, African American

Culture – The environment that we were raised in or became a part of.  It’s our history.  We can be in a place with many cultures and sometimes other cultures can influence our behavior and actions. We shouldn’t stereotype because of our culture.

Diversity – Is many, but different group with diverse culture. Be of acceptance that everyone has something to offer.   

Catherine, 54 year old, African American

Culture – Your family traditions.  Is the things that are important to you such as food, attending church, how you relate to the world.  How you are based on your family’s upbringing. Culture belief encompass your ethnicity, we’ve adapted to so many cultures because we were separated from our families.

Diversity – Is a melting pot; a little bit of everyone.  We embrace everyone, as a people and as a whole.  When we marry we embrace.  We embrace them all, but we ourselves are diversity.  We’ve learned to adapt to their rules.

The definitions of culture and diversity given by my family and colleagues are all embedded in the information I’ve gained in this course.   As they stated in their definitions, culture is our moral beliefs; religion, family values; integrity,  family traditions; holidays we celebrate, ancestry; race, how we relate to each other and so on.  Culture encompasses everything we do. According to Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) “The word culture refers to how particular groups of people live” (p. 55). 

My family and colleague’s definition of diversity is on point with what I have learned this far in that diversity is individual differences as well as group differences.   It is a melting pot in which we all contribute something different and unique; therefore, we need to embrace each other and accept that everyone has something to offer. Ramsey (2004) states “Likewise, language, traditions, and values of specific ethnic groups evolve as their members absorb and/or resist the influence of other cultures” (p. 4).

As a whole, I don’t think that anything was omitted in their culture definitions.  However, I think that their definition of diversity could have been expanded in that diversity encompasses all the aspects of our culture because that is the foundation in which our individual identities are formed.  Our culture and diversity intertwine in that our culture traits is what makes us unique and that uniqueness is brought to the forefront when we engage and interact with others.  Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) states “But when we find ourselves in the midst of another culture, or when we must interact with someone from a different culture, we discover that the way we do things not the only way” (p.55).

I must say I found it to be very intriguing how everyone used different ways to articulate their definitions of culture and diversity, but came up with similar meanings.  As they began to tell me what these terms meant to them, the conversation became personal and deep rooted for them.  We began discussing their ancestors and how one of the families was owned by a Chinese family.   I can’t recall ever having such an intense conversation such as this with my colleagues before this.  We made such a connection all I could think about afterwards was the possibility of everyone making a connection as powerful as this, if they would just take the time to learn about the ancestry of each other.

References:

Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.

            Washington, DC: NAEYC

Ramsey, P. G. (2004). Teaching and learning in a diverse world (pp. 3–6). New York, NY: Teachers

College Press

My Family Culture:

If I had to evacuate to a foreign country and was only able to take one change of clothes and three small additional items, I would take my:

 Family Photo Album

                                                         Letters

                                            

                                                  and Family BIBLE

                                     

I would first try to communicate with the natives by learning their language.  I would also attempt to teach them my native language, by pointing to pictures and items while pronouncing the word of the item that I am referring to in English.   I would encourage them to repeat the word to me and then ask them to teach me how to say it in their language.  After we've had a chance to learn each other's language, I would  explain to them the significance of the photo album and how it represent family and friends celebrating different ceremonies in my country.  I would read my family letters to them so that they can hear the passion in tone of the writer.  I would then explain how my family live by the guidance of the Holy Bible that teaches us what's right and what's wrong.  If allowed, I will share my culture while learning theirs: in hopes of preserving my identity as well as my culture.

It would be very difficult for me to give up any of the items that I was allowed to bring, because they are very dear to my heart.  If upon my arrival I was told that I had to give up two of the items, I would fill lost and alone.  I think I would fill very much out of place.

I gained great insight in identifying what are the most important items I would not want to leave behind.   These items are of great significant in my culture, I didn’t realize just how much until now.  Just as we want to  feel respected and accepted, so do the children and their families we serve.  This assignment made me reflect on the importance of individual cultures and it's inclusion within the classroom community. 



When I think of research…

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

I gained many insights about research, though all insights gained are important, some stood out more than others. For starters, one insight I was delighted to gain is that a Code of Ethics guideline is in place to help minimize unethical practices in research.   It defines the core values of the field and is designed to protect the rights and wellbeing of children and adults.  Another insight I gained is that not all research seeks to show differences, some actually seeks to describe and explain a phenomenon.  I also gained insight of how to identify authentic research by studying Dr. Lepuschitz’s article, "A Practical Guide to Reading Research Articles" (Lepuschitz, 2011),through this course.

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

After taking this course, I have a greater understanding of the complexities researchers endure during the process of a study.  I must say I have a greater level of respect for the research profession.  It is very important to take into account all aspects of the study during the designing process in order to minimize unexpected delays and unethical practices.

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

I’ve learned that from the beginning to the end of the process each child is to be treated equitably regardless of their individual differences.  The researcher must refrain from personal biases while employ participation from children.  Children should be given the opportunity to give consent to participate in the study.   All researchers should follow the Code of Ethics guidelines to ensure the children’s best interest is always a priority.

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

One of the challenges I encountered was developing three sub-topics.  As I continued to work on the various assignments over the weeks, I was finally able to accomplish this.  Another challenge for me was to define some of the key terms in my own words.  I still haven’t totally mastered this skill, but I continue to try.  It was also difficult to understand some of the researcher verbiage

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

My perception of an early childhood professional has been modified by understanding the importance of research. It is essential in today’s society that any and all Early Childhood Professionals should stay informed of the various trends taking place in early childhood.  This can be accomplished by reading research articles, journals etc., networking and advocating for the betterment of children everywhere.  Research can promote successful outcomes for children, families, and society as a whole by giving them the opportunities to a good education.   


A personal "Thank you"  to each of you for sharing your knowledge and insight on research.  I've enjoyed reading your blogs and discussion questions.  Best wishes as you continue your journey in Early Childhood.

Reference

Lepuschitz, J.K. (2011). A practical guide to reading research articles.  Laureate Education Inc., Baltimore, MD