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 receive a non-biased, quality education equal to every other child in the classroom. The color, religion, culture shouldn't correlate with the education that they receive. I hope the parents get to have dialogue with the educator on a continuous basis so that they have full understanding of the curriculum and protocols. One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is that cultural diversity forums be scheduled at least three times a year for colleagues to confer and gain knowledge and awareness from each other. Thank you to my colleagues for your supports, comments and enlightening. I have learned so much in this course that I definitely will take from this experience. Good Luck in all your future classes. Keep striving!!!

WELCOMING FAMILIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Denmark is the name of my family's country of origin. In Denmark schools strive to provide children with academic skills, general competencies and opportunities for diverse, personal development. They also facilitate an atmosphere of equality and freedom of spirit. The world famous Lego building toys are from Denmark. If the classroom doesn't have any, I would invest in some for the classroom so that the child will have something familiar to play with. In Denmark children spend 3-4 hours per day outside tending to forests, gardens and playing. I would allow outdoor time to plant gardens. Denmark also also encourages the children to choose with what to play and with whom to play with. I would allow the children in class to have free time to do what they want for a little while. This will enforce there abilities to make choices. Denmark believes in Vygotskys's theory that social interaction fosters cognitive functions. Parents will be invited to the classroom and have one on one meetings with the educators to discuss the curriculum. Early childhood educators in Denmark value parent-child-educator interactions. I will continue to instill the importance of this vital communication. In keeping up with Denmark norms hopefully the transition to American education will be a smooth one for the child and the family...........References: www.eupedia.com/denmark/trivia.shtml www.oecd.org/education/schools/2475168.pdf pure.au.dk/ws/files/815/critical_perspectoves_on_danish_early_childhood_education_and_care_pure_.pdf

THE PERSONAL SIDE OF BIAS, PREJUDICE, AND OPPRESSION

I was 29 when I watched a movie called "Do The Right Thing" in 1989, with shock and dismay. This movie revolved around a hot summer in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, which is 90% Black. The story centered on an Italian pizzeria where all the Blacks spent their money. In this establishment, all the pictures on the wall were famous Italians. There on the walls were Frank Sinatra, Rocky Graziano and Tony Benett among others. The Blacks thought they should be represented on the walls too since they were the ones spending their money there. Sal, the owner, fought hard tooth and nail by saying no, it was his shop and that he could decorate the shop anyway he wanted to. One day all the tensions exploded. There was a brawl in which the pizza shop was destroyed by the Blacks. The owner and his sons were fighting against the Blacks also. A key player in the neighborhood and a neighborhood fixture Radio Raheem was killed in the melee by the cops. This movie diminished equity by the refusal of the owner to display any Black people on his walls. The feelings I felt went from rage to sadness that this incident could've been avoided. On one hand it was the owner's prerogative to put what he wanted on his walls. On the other hand tensions were rising and to keep the peace, one picture on the wall may have satisfied the need of acceptance by the neighborhood. The owner would have had to make the change. It was his opportunity to do the right thing. Reference:

Do The Right Thing. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097216/

PRACTICING AWARENESS OF MICROAGGRESSIONS

I experienced a microassault once in a bank. There were at least 6 people on line. When it was my turn the teller looked at the next person in line and said "How can I help you?". For a second I thought I was living in the twilight zone. I am not a small person that someone can overlook. I was in a little bit of a shock for about 30 seconds. After that period I said "Excuse me, but am I invisible? I was standing next in line!". The teller acted like she hadn't even seen me standing there. She tried to laugh off the matter. I was born and raised in New York. As a minority, being African American, we do not put up with racism too well. Some of my counterparts that may live in other regions of America may fear being outspoken but we do not. After that she acknowledged me but I am sure if I was some type of docile, introvert she would have skipped right over giving me any kind of customer service. I felt outrage, it really doesn't take much for me. I dislike inequality and unfairness, for anyone. I have spoken up for other people also when I see something being done unjustly. It didn't matter what skin color they had, if they are being treated poorly, I will bring their attention to it. James Baldwin stated in one of our articles this week that "the messages of racism teach that the lives of racialized peoples are dispensable and disposable, that the work of racialized peoples is less valuable, that the thinking of racialized people is less useful, that the concerns of racialized peoples are trivial" (Mables & Mables, 2010). In that moment the teller made me feel devalued. After a brief and to the point chat, I hope she learned a lesson that you cannot treat or mistreat people in the way that she did. Reference Margles, S., & Margles, R. M. (2010). Inverting racism's distortions. Our Schools/Our Selves, 19(3), 137--149. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database: http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=51372248&site=ehost-live&scope=site

PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY AND CULTURE

I asked three co workers about their thoughts on the definitions of diversity and culture. Friend#1 is a 42 year old male from the Dominican Republic. His definition of culture was the attitudes and behavior of a particular group. His definition of diversity was that people from different backgrounds that live in the same area or town. Participant #2 was a 44 year old Puerto Rican woman. She said to her culture meant background, heritage, and cultures. Her definition of diversity was whether you are Black or White, where your family is from, the education you have received, your neighborhood and social class. The third participant was a 45 year old woman from Colombia. She felt that culture was values , experiences, ways of cooking shared by a group of people. Diversity to her was people from different countries with different religions, co-existing with others from other countries. I discovered that no matter who you ask..no two definitions are going to be the same. In this course we have read about how children of all cultures should be able to receive a great education regardless of background. We have learned how important for children to learn about each other and also learn about how similar and how they have differences too.(Derman-Sparks). In this class we have also read about how some people identify all Asian ethnic groups as Chinese. (Ngo). Despite the way we look alike, each culture is unique and different. African Americans, African and Caribbeans all look alike. That is our similarity. Our cultures are different. It is important to accept others for who they are not for what they are.

MY FAMILY CULTURE

The three items I would take with me to my new destination that will represent my family culture would include a DVD boxed set of the "ROOTS" documentary. ROOTS was a made for television documentary made in 1977 by Alex Haley, depicting the history of Africans and their travels to America due to the kidnapping by the British in Africa. It was a harsh and at times hard to visualize but it is my story. I would also bring with me a photo album of family pictures taken at family reunions. Black family reunions are positive cultural events usually held annually or biannually by family members at different host cities. They celebrate the strengths and traditional values of the African American family. The 3rd item would be a cast iron skillet used for cooking and frying. In Africa cast iron pots would be used to cook on in open pits. Slaves also used these skillets/pots in slavery in the Southern states. Today these skillets are still a mainstay in African American homes. I would feel sad if I would have to give up two of the items upon my arrival to the island. They all have equal importance. When I first read this blog assignment hastily, I thought I had to just bring 3 items, immediately I thought IPOD, batteries and my phone. Then I reread the details, I had to give some thought to the exercise to realize what was truly a representation of myself. It was an interesting exercise which caused me to think deeper. Reference http://www.soul=food-advisor.com/Soul-Food-History.html http://www.ncnw.org/events/reunion_history

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WHEN I THINK OF RESEARCH

Insights I have gained about research from taking this course include learning so many new terms and methods used in research studies. I always thought that research was a simple process when in fact it is a very complicated process. New terms include triangulation, variable, equity, quantitative, etc. Lessons that I have learned that it takes a huge amount of methodology and step by step techniques to begin and implement a study. There are many parameters included in research. You have to choose a topic, who the participants will be, what methodology you will use, the timeframe you want to study, and the analysis interpretation that will be used. Challenges in this course were the new vocabulary used: qualitative, paradigm, positivism, etc. were a just a few of the terms used that needed full understanding before you could begin to start a research study. The funny thing is that the week we learned about triangulation, I went to the movies and saw "Captain America 2". During the film triangulation was mentioned and I smiled to myself because I had just learned about this and I was seeing it used in the movie. What a coincidence that was! My perception of early childhood professionals has been modified by discovering how much hard work goes into doing a study. It takes time and diligence to conduct a research study correctly. Informed consents and thorough analysis of data collected will result in valid results. Thank you classmates for all the support given to me in this course. Good Luck in future courses!!