Professional Hopes and Goals

When I think about working with children and families from diverse backgrounds, I hope to touch each family on a personal level.  This course has really helped me to dig deep within myself and now I realize how much I need to work on "me".  I will deter from using microagressions and I hope to educate others on the negative effects of using microagressions regardless of an individuals race, sexual orientation, gender, etc.  My whole perspective of connecting with my families has changed.  I can feel the difference when I communicate with them.  I hope to learn Spanish as a second language to increase my capability of communicating with families that would otherwise pose a language barrier.  

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to educate my colleagues that we must conform to our surroundings.  The minority will be the majority, and we must do what is required to ensure that we are on the cutting edge of research.  I will continue to increase my knowledge in regards to diversity, equity, and social justice.  I will take a stance for the children and families enrolled in my facility to protect them from being victims.  

I would like to send out a huge thank you to all of you for sharing your personal experiences throughout this course. This course did dig up some deep feelings and I applaud each of you for enlightening us on what you have been through.  I wish each of you good luck in your future endeavors and I hope to have you in my next course!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

I am working in a child care center, and I am so excited that I will soon have a family from Egypt to join my group. In order to ensure that I  am culturally responsive and welcoming to the child and her family, I must make some preparations.  

After researching the culture of the Egypt origin I have decided to do the following:

1).  I will get a better understanding of the main religion in the country of Egypt.  90% of Egypt's population is Muslim.  I will also learn about Coptic Christian which makes up the other 9% of the population.

2).  I will study about the Egyptian cuisine and work with my kitchen manager to incorporate some familiar foods into the menu for this family. 

3).  I will learn some useful, basic Arabic words to assist with communicating effectively with this family.

4). I will learn about their public holidays such as Victory Day, Eid El-Adha (sacrifice feast), Eid El-Fitr (breakfast feast), and the list goes on.

5).  Overall, research until I have somewhat of a well rounded understanding of the Egyptian culture.  

I hope all of these preparations will benefit the family by making them feel comfortable relocating to a whole new world that they have never been exposed to.  I also hope that these preparations will give me a better understanding of individuals from a country outside of my own.  I can also educate my teachers to make them more comfortable with the new family and their culture. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

One memory that I have in my mind involving prejudice and bias would be when President Obama won the Presidential Election in November.  I remember posting how happy I was that our President was elected once again, and how this was indeed another historical moment in time.  What I stated was indeed a fact.  President Obama being the first African American president was definitely history.  I was actually posting on my Facebook status and one of my former co-workers decided that she needed to voice her opinion about MY post on MY page.  This particular individual proceeded to state that you can not give a black person power because they are not used to power and would not know what to do with it.  I, of course am African American, and she is Caucasian.  I could not believe that she had the audacity to say those words, but more than that, post it on my page as a comment.  She stated that she likes some black people, but we as blacks should not have money and power.  Needless to say, she was ripped inside out by others that read her comment.  I chose not to entertain her ignorance, and deleted her as a friend.  I was very surprised to learn that she felt this way and it really helped me put some things into perspective.  You never really know a person, that's for sure!

This individual made it very clear that there was no equity when it came to people of color having the same level of wealth and power as Caucasians.  Well, this was her sick opinion.  I was embarrassed for this woman, and also embarrassed that I ever learned of her true feelings about African Americans.  She sent me a message later apologizing for how she voiced her opinion, but not "what" she said.  She said this is how she really feels and she couldn't apologize for that.  I never responded because I had no idea what to say to her. I was baffled!  It was very clear that there was no changing for this person, she is who she is!

Awareness of Microaggressions

      I have always had experiences with microaggressions throughout my lifetime, but never knew what that it had a title.  I just always felt that I was being made fun of or discriminated against.  I had not ever heard of the word microaggression until taking this course.  An example of microaggression that I remember vividly was a comment that was made by a co-worker of mine.  I recall a co-worker that was a Caucasian woman saying to me, “I hate my big ole’ butt. I have a butt like a black girl, like yours!”  I’m thinking to myself…”Ummm, I’m black.”  I do not feel she meant the statement in an offensive way, but it was offensive.  I said to her, “All races are blessed to have nice backsides, depending on the individual, not the color of their skin.”  I have always been very confident in myself and with my physical appearance.  I was indeed very shocked for my co-worker to make the comment that she made.  Once she read my facial expression, she said that she was not trying to be disrespectful.  I just continued to look at her and shake my head.  I have heard other individuals speak on women having "butts like black women".  I am still trying to understand the logic behind it all.  It is so unfair to be so stereotypical.  The crazy part is....  I have also heard black women say it about women of other races.  I have seen women of all races that have very nice physical physiques.  

            I do feel as if you do not have to be a minority to experience racial microaggression.  There are some racist minorities also that are prejudice against Caucasians.  Honestly, I feel sometimes that my own race is worst critic.  As sad as it sounds, it’s true from my own personal experiences.  Even today, there are parents that come to tour my school, both African American and Caucasian families, that will walk past me and go straight to my office manager.  We have a door bell and I usually answer the door.  Before I can even say, “How can I help you, they walk past me to ask my Caucasian office manager if she is the director or is her director here?  She will then point them back to my direction where I am still standing in the foyer with a smile on my face.  The comment is always that I look so young, but I know that is not the case.  I am about to be thirty nine years old next month and no one looks “that young!” 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I spoke with one of my best friends, one colleague, and an uncle that has been incarcerated for the last 22 years on their views of culture and diversity.  

My best friend is Caucasian, married to an African American man with two bi-racial children.  When asked about her definition of culture, her response was, "It's a way of life."  She went on to share with me how she and her husband had to adapt to each other's culture from food to discipline methods in regards to their children.  Her definition of diversity was, "MY OWN FAMILY!" She laughed and said "We are very diverse, meaning different." 

My colleague is from India, and has a difficult time understanding English if you speak to "fast".  Her definition of culture was, "My beliefs, my own life practices.  When I asked her about diversity, she said she really wasn't sure what I was saying.  I didn't want to frustrate her, she tells me all the time that she doesn't understand me all the time because I talk to fast!

My uncle has recently converted to Muslim since he has been studying books in prison.  I do not speak with him very often, but he happened to call collect last night, so I took advantage of his new belief as far as religion is concerned.  He even changed his birth name.  He actually told me that was part of what makes him diverse.  He feels as if culture is the way he was raised, morals that were instilled in him.  He said that even though he chose a different path in life, he will never forget where he came from and what my grandparents drilled into him to be a good man.  He said he wishes that he would have taken life and his upbringing more seriously and he may not have ended up spending his entire life in prison away from family.

The responses to the definition of culture are pretty comparable to the definitions from the media segment and readings in this course. I mostly agree with my best friend's definition being "a way of life".  

I think dominant culture was omitted and I do believe that my colleague from India is part of a dominant culture.  She consults with her husband for everything.  She does not drive or make decisions for herself.  She has to consult with him before she agrees on anything.  I have observed this behavior myself.

I would really like to revisit the definition of diversity with my colleague and help her understand the meaning because I feel it is important to know what diversity consists of.  I will even talk "slow" so she can understand me!

My Family Culture

If a major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of my country....I have been told that I have to relocate to another country and I am only able to take three small items with me that represent my family culture and that are dear to me ......

The three small items that I would take with me would be my son's baby book, a Ziploc baggie of obituaries from close family members that have passed away, and photos from when I was a young child and teenager.

I would explain to others that my son's baby book is very sentimental to me.  I waited until I was 37 to give birth to him after being told repeatedly that 
I may never be a mother.  His footprints are in there and many things that will remind me of his birth and my pregnancy including all his sonogram pictures.  

I would explain that the Ziploc baggie of obituaries are dear to me because it is all I have left to remember my loved ones including my grandfather, grandmother, great- grandmother, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I have collected them throughout the years of experiencing many deaths in our family.

I would then explain that photos are just special in general and carry many fond memories of my childhood.  

The insight that I gained from this exercise is that I never really thought about what things are really important to me.  I say this to say that, now that we've completed this exercise I want to keep these three things in a safe place together just in case!  I now know that the material things are not as important as the sentimental things that are dear to my heart that are not replaceable!

When I Think of Research

I have gained many insights about research from this course such as:  learning different terminology and definitions.  I enjoyed learning the difference between quantitative and qualitative design.  The website resources were helpful in gaining a more concrete definition of variables and their role in research, and ensuring that a hypotheses is not confused with an actual research question.  I realize that conducting research is very time consuming and requires a tremendous of amount of attention to detail.

My ideas about the nature of doing research has changed in ways such as I didn't realize that some internet articles have to be thoroughly researched in order to come to the conclusion of whether or not the resource is credible.  There are many articles that are not valid and would not enhance a research study.

The one most important lesson about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood I learned is that time and patience is definitely required in order to accomplish a successful research study.  Understanding the ethical challenges that I may be faced with is also key in planning, designing, and conducting research.

Some of the challenges I encountered during this course were understanding the terminology of research.  I had to review the definitions numerous times in order to grasp the differences of research terms....the ways that I met them was to continue to read, read, read, and review!  I even started reading out loud!

My perception of an early childhood professional has been modified as a result of this course for the better.  The charts were extremely helpful in preparing for the assignments each week, and these charts will also assist in the development of my resources in the early childhood profession.  I initially entered this course extremely afraid, and now upon the completion of this course, I have realized that it was not intimidating by any means and now I know the steps to take for a successful research study.