Professional Hopes & Goals

One hope that I have when working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is change.  My way of thinking and viewing children has changed.  My hope is to change into a teacher who is aware of the needs of children and their families.  Being aware will help me serve the child and help them be successful learners. 

 

 



One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to create an accepting classroom.  Children of all walks of life will recognize their similarities but will also accept and appreciate their differences.  I want them to know that we are all different and no two of us are the same. 

These past 8 weeks have been a great learning experience and I would like to thank all who contributed to my learning.  Yours discussions, posts, blogs, and comments have deepened my understanding of culture, diversity, and isms.  I look forward in working with you again.  Good luck and thank you for the bottom of my heart!  

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Our world is growing to be a very diverse setting.  In our world today, about 165 different countries exist and 150 of those are represented here in the United States of America.  Early childhood professionals will be teaching children from many diverse cultures.  It is our responsibility to be culturally responsive to the needs of the child and of the child's family.



If a family immigrated from Norway  to the United States and chose to come to our early childhood center I would to my best to make them feel comfortable, safe, and welcomed.  Unfortunately I don't know a thing about Norway or it's people.  There would be a lot of work in preparing for their visit/stay.  The center would have to be culturally responsive and sensitive.  The following would have to be completed prior to the child's visit:

• research information about Norway (i.e. various customs and belief's)
• find the language of origin and learn basic words and sayings to help with communication
• inform and prepare staff to help with an easy effective transition
• create a culturally responsive environment (books, pictures, etc.)
• conference with family to get to know the child, family dynamics/background/customs, as well as expectations
• a translator or community members that will be responsive to the child and his/her family needs.  

Children and their families must feel that the center is safe and welcoming.  When the student feels valued by their teacher they are more than likely to work harder and comply with rules.  effective teachers are also effective communicators.  Listening and communicating with the student and family increases their learning effectiveness and experience.  We must develop positive relationships and hold high expectations for all students.  Doing these will help a child from another country of origin feel wanted, safe, respected and have a smooth transition into the unknown.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression



This week the NBA finals has had basketball lovers sitting on edge with games between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat.  This past Tuesday evening when the United States sat eagerly waiting for game 3 to start we all witnessed an extremely talented young man known as "El Charro de Oro" sing the National Anthem.  Sebastien De La Cruz, a Hispanic 11 year old mariachi singer, immediately became the target to racist comments all over Twitter and Facebook.  This young man was receiving many negative racist remarks about his clothing, ethnicity and the color of his skin.  I couldn't believe the hatred in the comments I read about.  Was this really happening? Are we not in 2013?  It was very clear to me that racism is still around to show its ugly face.  What these people didn't know was that Sebastian was born and raised in San Antonio, TX.  He has been performing Mariachi ballads since he was 5 years old and has such an amazing voice that he made it to the semifinals in America's Got Talent last year.  His father Juan De La Cruz, who honorably served in the Navy, has taught his son to keep his chin up as you can read from one of his tweets.

Sebastien De La Cruz @selcharrodeoro  

Please do not pay attention to the negative people. I am an American living the American Dream. This is part of the American life.

11:54 AM - 12 Jun 2013

4,328 Retweets 2,887 favorites

What people don't realize is that Sebastien is the new generation of US citizen.  Our diverse country is reflective in the children we serve in our communities.  These racist were only looking at the color of his skin and the mariachi customary outfit he chose to wear.  They were focused primarily on his surface culture and his racial identity as a Mexican-American.  Why is it so bad to have him sing our National Anthem? Is it strictly based on the fact that he doesn't look white? 

The feelings that stirred in me as I read these ignorant posts where that of anger and hatred.  I was so upset to read these comments by different ethnic groups.  How can someone be so mean to someone so small?  I wished to face these people and let them know how they make Hispanics feel when using these racial slurs.  But my hate quickly turned into pride as I listened and read his responses to these racists.  This young man had taught me a great lesson.  Love one another no matter what.  I am PROUD to be an American and I am especially PROUD to be Hispanic! To the people who feel differently WAKE UP!  As Sebastien tweeted:

  Sebastien De La Cruz ‏@selcharrodeoro 10h

Mr. PRESIDENT, Thank you for all your support. I'm a proud Mexican-American to live in the LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE!

 

For things to change we must first start with ourselves and the people around us.  We need to teach tolerance and acceptance for all people of color, gender, age, and sexual orientation.  I need to be aware of my surroundings, actions, and language.  Once I find the change within myself I can reach out to my community and give others a different view point of cultures and differences.  The best way to reach people is with information and collaboration.  This is not Sebastiens first encounter with racism.  He has dealt with this before and through the love and encouragement of his friends, family, and community he has reached a point in his life were the color of your skin doesn't matter but what you have to offer people does. 

 

 

Awareness of Microaggressions

     Becoming aware of microaggressions is the effort I made this week.  Listening in on several conversations you can plainly see that there is plenty of microinsults happening all around us all the time.  Until this week I haven’t really noticed how much we actually say.  Many times the conversations I listened in on were humorous and didn’t seem to intentionally hurt anyone’s feelings.  As an outsider I can clearly see how things can be misinterpreted and hurtful. 

     One of my favorite movies growing up was Bambi.  I will never forget the line, “If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all”.  What a great line to live by!   

An example that will be forever burned into my memory is one from my family.  My mother, in recent years, has gained a lot of weight.  She has always been thin and has struggled with her weight for several years now.  During family gatherings we all sit together and joke around.  Many of the times it is at peoples expenses.  My grandfather, the head honcho of the family, is very sweet, funny, and is great with conversations.  This particular day as we all sat down to be served my grandfather calls out loud to my mother and says, “Here she comes North America”.  Instead of Mrs. America he said North America.  My jaw dropped and you can only imagine the look on my mother’s face when he said that.  She was very hurt and upset.  My grandfather quickly realized how his words hurt and apologized.  On a positive note, this microinsult was turned into motivation and I am happy to announce that my mother has lost 70 pounds and counting.  She will always be Mrs. America to me.