Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that they feel comfortable around other diverse  individuals. I understand that coming from another country can be hard especially if it is your first time in that country. I would want them to not be scared of a new environment but instead embrace it as their second home.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to have professional accept children and families for who they are and not produce microaggressions. Teachers and professional tend to judge parents based on how they talk, walk, look, or even dress especially families of different cultures and backgrounds. We should make these families feel comfortable and welcomed in the early childhood field. We are educators not judges. Our children deserve the best and we should honor and give them what they deserve.

Since the class is coming to an end, I would like to thank my colleagues for reading and commenting on my blog as well as discussion board post. I have enjoyed commenting on you all posts as well as interacting with you all  through discussion board. You all have educated me on various topics such as culture, diversity, microaggressions, and isms. I want to wish you all the best luck in your careers.

FAmily Country of Origin: Japan

My Family Country of Origin: Japan

Five Ways to prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family
*Research on Japanese cultures including what could be or not be offensive.
*Learn about their popular foods and beverages that families love to eat.
*Take classes on how to speak the language so it can prepare me to communicate with the family.
* Visit families in my local area to gain information on the culture.
*Obtain the family history of the family I am welcoming so I will have some insight on them.

My Statement: As an educator, I like to prepare myself when meeting families for the first time, especially families from other countries. I decided to that my family of choice will come from Japan. I chose Japan because not many early childhood education program have their natives in attendance. Because I am not familiar with the Japanese culture, I would do some research on the country, learn about the culture in regards to what offense them and what they love to see from other countries, learn about their popular food and drinks, take additional courses regarding language development in Japan, visit local families in my area to gain additional information on the culture, and review the family history of the family I will be welcoming. I hope that prepping for the family will benefit both me and the family in the sense of courageous, value, and honor. Courageous for having the courage to step out and learn about the country and  family, the value that I have for the family background, and the honor to know that a individual cares about your family and culture.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

   When I lived in Pooler, GA, a small town outside of Savannah, GA, I remember living in an all white neighborhood. I loved it to a certain extent, but I hated being the only African American student in the neighborhood. I remember one night, a group of Caucasian males set a tree on fire across the street from my house and sent the fire department to my house. If it wasn't for my aunt and uncle being home, proving that I was in the house, I would have been charged with arson and taking into juvenile detention. Another incident I remember was riding the bus to school and being the only African American on the bus. My bus driver put my seat all the way in the back of the bus and I truly got offended. I took that as an insult because they way she did it bring me back to segregation days. I remember my guardians storming into the school wanting answers on why I was being mistreated on the bus due to my race. My aunt received her answers and the school no longer bothered me for the rest of the year.

    The prejudice I went through throughout my eighth grade year diminish equity in the sense of freedom of speech, because every time I tried to tell the bus driver my feelings she would tell me to shut up and sit down, the fact that the fire department though I set the tree on fire due to my race, and the type of prejudice the down showed towards African American people. There were not too many African American people living in the down due to prejudice type of town it was. Many people would rather live outside that town then inside that town.

 This incident brought hurt, anger, hatred to my heart against white Americans. I hated talking to Caucasian people, I did not like them looking at me, and I ended up hating the school I attended. It took for me to change my heart in my older years to not have hatred in my heart because all Caucasians are not that way. I had to learn how to forgive those who hurt me and let the lord handle my battles. I am more happier today because I no longer have that grudge in my heart against different race because of what one person did to me. In order to change this incident into an opportunity for greater equity, the bus driver and Caucasian children would have had to change their ways . They were the cause of the hurt and pain and if they wouldn't have done what they did, the opportunity for greater equity would have still been there.