Professional Hopes and Goals

Something I thought was interestingly put by Louise Derman-Sparks is when she commented on being white.  She said that the idea was placed on her that being in the work of helping conquer isms and diversity meant that she was constantly being watched to make sure she wasn’t racist.  If she felt like she made a mistake or said something wrong then she felt like she had failed, “I’m never going to be this clean, non-racist person.”  (Laureate Education Inc., 2010) Which led me to remember something said by Dr. Derald Wing Sue.  He said “If you want to know about racism, do you ask a white or black person?  If you want to know about homophobia do you ask a gay or a straight?” (Laureate Education Inc., 2010)  Being white meant that Louise Derman-Sparks needed to be extra careful to not be stereotyped as being racist, although she was fighting to stop those same ideas. 

One hope that I have when thinking about working with diverse children and families are that we could get over what it is that we see when we look at each other and just try to work together and understand what each other are saying.  Louise Derman-Sparks said that we all “carry the history of the groups that you’re part of.” (Laureate Education Inc., 2010) With this I mean to imply that skin colors and culture can go a long way even before words are spoken.  I hope that I will do my best and be able to take my time to fully listen to what each child and family has to teach me. 

A goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field would be that education is terrific but if arithmetic and vocabulary could bring people together they would have done it by now.  So I believe that not only teaching children their normal studies, we should also be putting emphasis on empathy, forgiveness, honor and acceptance.  These among others, and I am sure that there are better words and virtues that I could have used.  But I feel that human connecting together to do a greater good for humanity and not for a paycheck would better the world. 

I am in awe of my colleagues this term.  I have truly learned a lot from their comments and ideas.  Thank you for another great course and hope to see some if not all of you next class.  If not, good luck in your future endeavors. 

Laureate Education Inc. (2010). “Microaggressions in Everyday Life”. Retrieved from Walden University Website http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6284779&Survey=1&47=8920473&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1.

 Laureate Education Inc. (2010). "Diversity and Equity Work: Lessons Learned". Retrieved from the Walden University Website http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6284779&Survey=1&47=8920473&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1.

Welcoming Families

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin. In order to complete this assignment, first choose a country you know nothing about as this family’s country of origin.

I have decided to have my family come from Laos.  I truly know nothing about this country.

I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive to this family by researching the countries customs and holidays.  I would learn about their family dynamics and values, such as living arrangements.  I would learn about the countries class system and economic status.  I would also try to research recent events to understand what the current circumstances are.  But the most important way to be responsive would be to talk with them and learn about their expectations, their worries, and what they want to see happen with their child’s education. 

I believe these ideas would benefit the family and me by helping me to accept and learn about their culture.  I would hope that if they noticed I was trying to be respectful of them, and had a genuine interest in helping them, then this would start to build a structure of trust for us to maintain long term.   

The Personal Side of 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.

I was at a friend’s house who works, goes to school, and raises a young child all on her own throughout the week while her husband works away.  He came home one Saturday and instead of saying hello to her started asking why the dishes weren’t done, the car hadn’t been washed, and the house smelled.  She explained that she works all week and being that Saturday was her first day off she actually wanted to spend some time with her baby as well.  He said that his job was harder than her job and that he could still have the house cleaned and everything done.  She really felt low at that point.  She had just experienced oppression. 

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

She was not living under the same rules as he was because not only did she have to run a household alone most of the time, she worked, went to school and cared for a child.  Whereas he left home to work sometimes being gone for weeks at a time.  The oppression diminished equity by his comments leaving her to feel inadequate in performing her work at the home while he is away.  Then he told her that he would have done it better than her, minimizing her abilities and degrading her efforts. 

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

I felt compassionate for her and felt that she had just been mentally abused.  I did not want to come in the middle of them and did not want to embarrass her. 

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

In my personal opinion I feel that he would need to stop being so critical of her, and try understanding that they have two different lives.  He cannot expect her to be the same as he is when they are performing different tasks.  I also do not feel that he can make statements about his performance being better than hers if he hasn’t been in her shoes to perform the tasks.