Professional Hopes and Goals

•One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length)

One hope that I have about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I can meet their needs.  I hope that I will be able to make them as comfortable as possible to ensure that they have the best experience while their child is in my classroom and never feel left out because of their background.

•One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length)

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that every child will be treated equally regardless of their background.  Everyone is entitled to their education and has the ability to learn.  It is our goal as educators to help them any way possible.            

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues who took the time to read my blogs and comment.  We sometimes learn best when I see our own perspectives through someone else’s eyes.

Welcoming Families Around the World

•The name of “your” family’s country of origin

The country that I chose is Korea since I do not know a great deal about it.

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

1.       Find out any traditions or habits the culture has to ensure that I do not offend them.  If they do not make eye contact, I will make sure I follow their country’s traditions.

2.       Include various stories in the classroom library about the Korean culture and one’s that were written by people from there.

3.       Place a world map up in the classroom with emphasis on the countries of where the children are from.  Include pictures of the country along with brief information about what is shown.

4.       Research the country and become familiar with their holidays to incorporate them into lessons about diversity and culture.

5.       Find ways to invite the parent’s into the classroom and discuss their home lives.

6.       Learn key phrases such as wash your hands and do you need to use the bathroom in their native language to help them understand and feel comfortable.

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

In preparing for the family, I hope that the steps listed above will help make the family more comfortable in the new setting.  The child will walk in and see that they are respected as well as their heritage in school and should not be ashamed or embarrassed.  The family will feel more at ease knowing the steps were taken to ensure that both them and their child understood what was occurring and that someone cared enough to research their home land.  Hopefully the family would be willing to work with me and come in to share some of their traditions with the other students once they felt more comfortable speaking English.

The Personal Side of Bias,Prejudice, and Oppression

•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? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

One incident that happened  where I witnessed people being bias towards someone of a different religion happens almost on a daily basis on a forum that I frequent about the current events occurring in my town.  Many people in the town are Orthodox Jews and have very strict and firm religious beliefs.  When they post references on the site about the town, many people, often those who are not from here will say remarks about their religion and how the town has been overcome.  The people have to constantly stand up for their religion and defend their right to live in the town as much as anyone else.  It truly is sad to see how one group of people is constantly being talked about in a negative manner.

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

The bias about the group diminishes equity by not allowing the town to come together as one and bond.  They stay with their own group of people due to the hateful words they hear and sometimes even the hate crimes that occur.  They feel safer being amongst their own and know they will not hear those words when they stay together.

•What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

The incident brings a mixture of feelings.  I feel sorry for both the Orthodox Jewish people as well as the one’s making the hurtful crimes.  The Orthodox Jews are trying to feel comfortable and practice their freedom of speech and are being treated poorly as a result.  The one’s committing the hate crimes are unaware of what feelings they are causing amongst the other group as well as allowing their own judgment cloud their thinking about others.  I also feel sad that a town cannot work together as a whole for the sake of the children who are hearing and witnessing all the hurtful words being thrown around.

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

The biggest thing that would have to change is the people who are saying the hurtful words.  They need to be more aware of what they are saying and doing.  The best thing for them to do is to place themselves in the others shoes and see how they would like to be treated.