Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country that I have chosen as my "family's" country of origin is the country of Chad.  The only thing that I know about Chad is that it is in Africa.  I do not know anything about it.  I would prepare myself by learning all that I can about this country.  The five ways that I would prepare myself would be:

1.  Do Internet research.  I would Google Chad and read everything that I can about the country, the language, religion, and the people of the country. 

2.  I would do a search to see if I could find and connect with someone from that country.  I would try to communicate with them to learn more about the culture. 

3.  I would talk to my co-workers to see what they know about the country or if they have ever had any experiences with families from there.

4.  I would find materials that go along with their culture and put out in my classroom to try to make the child feel comfortable being there.  I would put up posters or other materials that I can find.

5.  I would educate myself about the culture and try to educate the other students in the room.  I would take the time to explain to them about our new friend and explain what I knew about where she came from.  I would explain about accepting her and making her feel welcome in our classroom. 

I would hope that all of these preparations would benefit both me and the family.  It would benefit me because I would become more knowledgeable about this child's culture and diverse background.  I would be better prepared to accept this child and, hopefully, make the family feel comfortable entrusting me with their child.  I hope that it would benefit the family because they would see that I care about their culture and want to make them feel welcome and that I accept them.  I am not judging them or holding any personal biases against them.  I would hope that it would be a positive experience for all involved.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I remember an incident from when I was around 9-years-old.  I was at the playground and there was another little girl playing by herself.  She was black.  I went up to her and we started talking and playing together.  We were having a lot of fun until another group of children came over.  They were a few years older than us and they started saying means things about my new friend.  They were teasing her because she was black and saying that I should not be playing with her because she was different.  Her mother was nearby and when she heard what was happening, she took her daughter and left.  The older kids laughed and then walked off, leaving me to play by myself again.  I remember feeling confused and not sure what had just happened.  I knew there were not a lot of black children in my neighborhood but that still did not me from wanting to play with her.  I didn't think of her as being different. 

I feel that this girl's equal rights had been diminished by this group of kids using their own prejudice and biases against her.  I am sure that they were just doing what they had been taught from parents or close family members.  She was not treated fairly.  They were making fun of her because of her skin color.  They made her feel like she had no business being at the playground or playing with other children, especially a white child.  They did not know this young girl, but made an opinion about her based on skin color. 

This brought up a lot of mixed feelings for me.  I was really too young to understand the history between whites and blacks and why these children had such hatred for someone they didn't even know, especially a child.  I was confused.  I wanted to play with the girl and wanted the other group of kids to leave us alone.  We were not bothering them or hurting anyone.  It made me angry that someone could say such hurtful things to someone else and believe that it was the right thing to do.

I believe that the way people judge others needs to change.  The media is to blame for a lot of these problems.  The ways that news is received and broadcast needs to change.  People have learned false information that causes them to judge and use their own personal biases against others.  Getting to know others that are different than themselves would be a great opportunity for a person to change.  Everyone deserves respect.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

An experience that I had this previous school year was with one of my students at Head Start.  The little boy was 3-years-old and he was being raised by his mother.  The little boy loved the color pink, loved playing with the girls, and loved putting on dress-up clothes, including the dresses.  I didn't think much about this as my own son (4) likes the color pink and has a girl as his best friend.  However, my assistant thought it was very odd behavior.  She would make comments all the time saying, "I can't wait to see him in 10 years."  One day he was playing in the art center and he begged a little girl to color his fingernails with markers.  Again, my assistant made comments about him turning gay in the future.  We did a parent-teacher conference and the mother brought up the fact that this child likes her to paint his nails.  She said she just went with it and if he turns out gay in the future it would be ok.  I hadn't really thought much about this but after learning about microaggressions I have thought of this child and my teacher assistant.  I'm sure she didn't mean anything by her comments but her subtle comments implied that this child was going to be gay when he got older.  She was using microinsults, microgender, and stereotyping him because he liked pink, dressing up, and painting his nails.  It made me feel bad because my own child likes the color pink.  I felt like by her assuming that this student will be gay then she was assuming my own son would be as well.  I also felt worried because my son went to a preschool program and I was worried about what his teachers thought of him liking the color pink.  It made me feel sad. 

I have really learned a lot this week about hidden messages on things we say or how it affects other people, even if we don't mean anything by it.  Words hurt.  I am going to be more careful with my words and make sure that I try my best not to use microaggressions on anyone.  This observation made me realize how quickly we can judge someone and we shouldn't.  This boy was judged because he liked some things that girls like.  We do not judge girls if they like the color blue or like playing with cars or trucks.  We have to be careful about our actions.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I asked 3 different people to tell me their definition of culture and diversity.  The first person that I spoke with is a former co-worker, Kimberly.  Kimberly told me that she thinks of culture as the background one grows up in, where the person lives, their way of life, values, and traditions.  She thinks of diversity as people from other cultures that have different beliefs, values, and customs.  I believe what she says touches on some of the things that we have learned the past three weeks in this course.  However, I think more of her definitions touch on the surface culture instead of deep culture.

Another person that I spoke with is a family friend.  Her name is Rosa and her family moved here from Mexico when she was a baby.  Her definition of culture and diversity goes along with what we have learned.  She believes that culture is everywhere and in everything we do.  Her belief is that the way that we do things, such as our customs, stems from our culture.  Her family still has the values they brought with them from Mexico, although they have added American culture as well.

Another person that I spoke with is the parent of a child in my classroom.  His definition of culture and diversity is the things we do, where we come from, and how we do things.  He believes culture is a group of people that come from the same place and share the same beliefs.

I was pleased to see that a lot of their answers are some of the same things that we have learned in this class so far.  I was able to have a conversation with each of them and explain what I had learned about diversity and culture.  It was a very good experience to be able to share these things with others. 

My Family Culture

There are many items that mean a lot to me and only picking three would be difficult.  The three items that I would choose to bring me to another country to represent my culture would be my bible, my family scrapbook, and mine and my family's birth certificates.  I would bring the scrapbook because it has pictures of all our family members and different events, celebrations, and vacations that we did together as a family.  It represents the importance of family and togetherness.  The bible represents our christian views and our religion.  It is based on our faith in God and his word to inspire us.  This is a part of my culture that I would not give up.  I would bring the birth certificats as part of our cultural identity.  It shows where we came from and is a part of us. 

On arriving and being told that I had to give up 2 of the items, I would feel very sad and powerless.  I would not want to give up any of the items that I brought it.  I would feel like I was losing a part of myself and a part of culture by giving up those things that I hold dear to my heart.  It would be hard deciding which items to give up.

This was somewhat difficult for me and I had to give it a lot of thought.  I learned that some things that I wouldn't think of as being part of my culture are a part of my culture.  These are things that I have taken for granted and just assumed would always be here.  It must be difficult for others coming to a new country to keep up with their own cultures when they are emerged in ours.  I need to make sure that in the classroom I am doing everything that I can to make sure these children and their families do not feel like they have to give up things from their culture to fit into ours.

When I think of research...

This class has been a challenge at times and a lot of work.  I have gained new knowledge, however, and found that research isn't as bad as I had initally thought.  I learned that there is a process to research and it takes a lot of work to get started.  Research can be as detailed or as broad as you would like.  I also learned a lot about ethics and how it plays a role in research. 

I have enjoyed this class and everything that I have learned.  I enjoyed reading my classmates posts and blogs each week.  I learned a lot from each of them and gained new perspectives.  One of the challenges that I encountered was not knowing much about research.  I had to overcome this by studying and reading the topics.  Sometimes I would have to read the chapter several times before I understood it.  It was very difficult at times.

Week 5

The website that I decided to look at was http://www.ecdvu.org in Africa.  You always hear things about Africa and how poor of a country it is so that me curious and wanting to explore early childhood education there. 

It shocked me to learn that they have some of the same research topics as we do in America.  Some of their research topics include quality childcare for their children, quality childcare services, parent collaboration, school readiness, and developmentally appropriate practices. 

Something that caught my eye was grandparents caring for young children affected by HIV/AIDS.  That is something that we do not have to worry too much about in the United States.  However, it is still of concern because it involves children. 

Week 3

I decided to conduct my research on how child abuse affects the social and emotional development of teenagers.  The teen years are so important socially with peers.  My personal experience with this area is my cousin.  She was an only child and her dad was abusive towards her when she was younger.  From ages 10-13, she was emotionally and physically abused by her dad and watched him abuse her mom as well.  Her mom finally got her out of the situation, but the effects were long-lasting.  I watched her suffer through her teenage years as she struggled to deal with the emotional and social issues.  She would not let herself get close to anyone, did not have many friends, refused to date and just do normal teenage things like hanging out with friends and going places.  She withdrew socially and her grades suffered.  She barely finished high school.  It was sad to watch her go through all of that.  I want to learn more about how to help teenagers like my cousin.  It makes me sad that physical abuse affects their social and emotional development like it does.  If anyone can offer advice or research materials to help me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Research Simulation

For my research simulation project, I decided to research child abuse and neglect.  The topic that I want to focus on within this area is how child abuse and neglect affects children's social-emotional development.  Healthy Social-Emotional development is so important for children and abuse plays a major role in this developmental milestone for children.  I plan to read articles and journals, as well as take feedback from classmates, to get a better understanding of how their development is affected by abuse. 

The reasont that I picked child abuse is because I work closely with young children and I must be aware of the all of the signs of abuse and be prepared for it.  By law, I must report anything that I suspect as being abuse or neglect.  I want to become more familiar with these signs.  As a teacher, I want to know how the abuse will affect my student's behavior and academic success. 

I am finding it easier to fill in the research charts.  I think that will be a big help to me.  I am still a little nervous about doing a research project, but I feel a little more comfortable now than when I first started.  I hope my classmates can share advice to help me along the way and I hope that I can help them whenever they need some help. 

Consquences of Internation contacts

There are so many things that I can take away from having an international contact.  I have really enjoyed learning about the education in another country.  I would love to visit Romania one day and experience it for myself, but I know that will never happen anytime soon, so I have to reply on others to learn about it. 

The top 3 conquences of learning about the international early childhood field are:

1.  I have a broader understanding of early childhood education from other parts of the world.  I can compare how we do things to how they do things and see what works and what doesn't work.  I feel this gives me a huge advantage while teaching.

2.  I learned that people from around the world share some of the same hopes and dreams for young children as I do.  My international contact wants all children to recieve a quality education and have the same advantages.  I want that for this country as well.

3.  I learned that change takes time.  Our educational system has undergone a lot of change in the last few years and it has been slow to take place.  Some teachers are on board and some are not.  The same is true in Romania.  Their educational system has recently been through a lot of change, but a lot of their teachers are still doing things the old way.

My goal is for an organization worldwide where educators from all over the world can come together to share ideas, insights, professional development, and discuss current issues and trends.  I believe this would be a benefit to every educator in every country.  It would be a way to discuss things that work, things that don't work, and get new ideas to share and try. 

I want to wish all of my classmates good luck for the future and hope success comes to all of you!