Communication

 

My best friend is a wonderful communicator.  Our conversation are honest and I know she will tell me the truth even if I do not want to hear it.  I trust her with my feelings and I know she will respect my point of view even if she does not agree.  We are free to communicate how we feel about diversity and equity.  We help each other maintain healthy mental health to better serve our families.  I know she cares about me and I care about her.  We have a mutual understanding of our unique needs for our families.  We constantly are collaborating about how society needs to strive for equity.  We can talk about what we need to do to serve our families better with breaching the confidence of our families.

 

We do model communication styles after one another.  The main attribute is honesty.  Families need to be able to trust me and being honest is a main characteristic which leads to trust.  In my relationship, I know that since she will not lie to me that the suggestions or advice she may give is because she genuinely cares for me without having an alternative motive.  Families are giving us their most precious gifts, their children.  In order to be able to serve the families and work together to form a team, trust is a must.  If we do not have trust, we will be unable to work as a team in order for their child to reach their full potential.

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Professional Hopes and Goals

 My hope is that the children and families I work with feel comfortable with who they are where they can share different aspects of their background no matter their culture.  Children need to feel that it is okay to be themselves without being ridiculed.  Families need to feel their children are able to express the culture in a safe environment.  By having a diverse classroom presents the opportunity for the children to learn about different ideas around the world.  In turn, our children would be more of a well-rounded thinker in order to contribute additional ideas to an evolving society.

 

My goal is to become a socially diverse individual.  I need to experience more activities of different cultures and inquire about the reason the people participate in the activity.  I would like to get a deeper understanding of why different cultures eat the types of food they do.  I believe that will give me a better understanding of how those families lived and what they needed to do to survive.  I would also like to understand why the culture wears the type of garb I see.  It will give me a better understanding of the type of climate they are accustomed.  I plan on taking the information to become less judgemental.  When I see a child that does not have an appropriate coat for the "cold snap" does not necessarily mean they do not have the financial resources.  It may mean they are not familiar with the climate in our community.  It will help me see each family uniquely instead of being judgemental.

 

Thank you colleagues and Professor Tammy for all of your encouraging words and support.  I look forward to the continued opportunity to grow together professionally.  Thank you for sharing your personal experiences.  It helped me realize I am not the only one finding my way in a society which is not always supportive of our cause.

 

 

Thank you again & Good fortune in all you do!



 

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Welcoming Families From Around the World

 

We are welcoming our new family to our child care facility from the Cote d'Ivoire.

I have learned that the background of the Cote d'Ivoire is French and Portuguese.  They are referred to as Ivorians.  Ivorians wash their hands in basins before their meals.  The climate is very warm all year long.  Many of the families participate in agriculture where the children tend not to complete school to work on the farm.  They are experiencing war and conflict which makes it tough to enjoy the beauty of the country.

 

www.our-africa.org/ivory-coast

 

 

These preparations will help me understand my new family for who they are on the inside and the outside.  The Cote d'Ivoire is know for tropical fruit, coffee beans and cocoa.  I could find decorations of tropical fruit and ask them to bring in items which would represent their family.  The information I gathered will help me establish a common educational goal with the family.  I would be able to use French to communicate with he family or providing some words in their country's language.  I would also put words in Portuguese around the classroom.

 

I believe this will help develop a positive relationship with the family.  I would hope that the family would be able to identity with the items in the classroom.  The main goal is to reach a common ground in what is best for their child educationally.  Parents need to feel their child's identity will not be compromised.  I am hoping when the family identifies their culture being represented in the classroom that they will feel more comfortable sharing the part of their culture which cannot be seen.



"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

 

When affirmative action was created for African Americans to have an equal chance to gain employment as their European American counterparts.  It applied to college entrance also.  Many European Americans were upset and felt African Americans were given a free ride where they did not have to work hard in order to earn the slot or position.  Affirmative action intentions were to make a level playing field.  Bias were formed when standards were lowered for African Americans to meet the mark in order to get into institutions of higher learning and for employment.

 

Affirmative action diminished equity by adjusting the standards for African Americans.  African Americans did not have the same opportunities in education as their European American counterparts.  Historically, African American families were denied the right to education for many years.  African American families were already at a disadvantage.  Even though affirmative action was suppose to empower African American families, it created a bias in making African Americans seem to have less intelligence than their European American counterparts.

 

The feelings which were brought out of me was disappointment.  African Americans were already at a disadvantage.  Historically, education was a privilege that European American males were privy to.  Since African Americans did not have the same resources or opportunities as the European Americans have had in education, it will take longer for African Americans to discover the necessary resources to help their children ultimately succeed in education.

 

Affirmative action can be an equity experience.  Now, affirmative action has been expanded to women and minority cultures.  Employers need to state general requirements for jobs and make sure the applicant is qualified despite their culture background or ethnicity.  The focus needs to be on the personality and willingness to work as a team player of the applicant.  I believe it provides a more level playing field for all applicants no matter their privileges.

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

 

I was in the nail salon and my son, who is within the autism spectrum, dropped a piece of paper on the floor from his lollipop.  An European American woman looked at me and said in a condescending way that there was paper on the floor.  I asked my oldest child for help to pick up the paper.  While the woman was leaving, she made another comment about the paper on the floor.

 

When my four African American children entered the nail salon, the European American woman did not have a pleasing expression on her face.  She behaved as though my children were automatically going to disrespect the nail salon by leaving trash everywhere.  Her tone and words were very condescending.  Since my son, which is within the autism spectrum does not look like he has unique needs, it is easy to misunderstand what he says and how he behaves.  At times, he will behave like he is a younger child.

 

The European American woman made me very angry.  Her demeanor was as if African American children do not understand how to behave in public places and do not clean up after themselves.  My children were viewed as if they were going to disrespect the nail salon property due to the size of the family and ethnic background.  The European American was so concerned that my children would disrespect the property, that she disrespected my family with her degrading comment.

 

 

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I have received definitions people in their 60's and 30's both male and female. 
The first person shared with me that their definition of culture is the beliefs and historical views as to how to live.  It is how you choose to live with your family.  It consists of family customs and values.  Their definition of diversity is all inclusive which encompasses everyone and everybody.

The next person I spoke to defined culture as habits, beliefs and lifestyle of people.  They defined diversity as difference among the group and a large group of people that have differences.

The last person I asked about their definition of culture is family values, ancestry, traditions, families doing things for each other.  It also deals with food and living life everyday.  It deals with how you worship/religion and passing down traditions from one generation to the next.  Diversity was defined as mixture of people and different ethnic backgrounds.  It deals with a mixture of people with various background which are not in the same family or culture.

Many of the answers I received for the definition of culture explained how they are unconscious rules that govern everything we do.  None of the people I spoke to referred to the way men and women fit in culture (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008).  The definitions did include how culture relates everything we do.  I did not recall anyone mentioning parenting patterns in their definition of culture.  All the definitions explain how complex culture is to define (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007).

When speaking about diversity, it was agreed upon that it means difference and even difference within the same culture.  They did not imply prejudice or inferior ways of thinking when speaking on diversity.  The definitions of diversity explained to me a positive way of accepting no one is the same (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007).
 
After listening to the definition received from the persons I interviewed, I realized that culture is seen as a part of who you are and what you do everyday.  I was excited to hear no negativity within their definitions.  I have learned that some members of society may see culture in a negative light.  It was nice to experience generation variance and gender differences explain culture and diversity.  It helped me re-examine how society views culture and diversity in order to determine where society stands in these areas.

References

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008). Diversity in Early Care and Education. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2007). [DVD]. Family Cultures, Dynamics Interactions. Baltimore, MD:  Author.



"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

My Family Culture

The three items I would bring with me are my wedding album, my beanie baby which has "mom" sewn on it and a framed picture of my family.

 

 

I would bring my wedding album which has pictures of my side of the family and my husband's side of the family.  My kids would be able to see their family: aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents.

The beanie baby is the first item I received from my mom when I brought my oldest son home from the hospital.

The framed picture of my family is important to me.  When I look at the picture, it reminds me of all the things we made it through as a family.  It is amazing how fast children grow and how the picture captures the most special moment in my life.

I would be extremely hurt and angry if I found out I could only keep one item.  It was tough enough leaving my home and everything behind except three items.  It took time to decide which items would come with me.  Now, I no longer can keep my three items which I chose in order to help my children stay connected with their family.  The wedding album reflects my celebration of love with my family and friends.  The beanie baby with "mom" sewn on it is very special due to the fact my mother gave it to me where I first became a mother.  The day I brought my son home from the hospital, the baby room was made up and the beanie baby bear was waiting for me in my room.  The framed picture of my family reminds me of the happy times we shared.  It would give my family hope that better times are in our future.  It would feel like the hope and promise for happier times are taken away when I am forced to keep one of three special items I chose.

I have learned that if a person is forced to let go of their culture, they are not happy.  The person may not reach their full potential due being made to feel it is wrong to be who they are.  Culture is a part of the person.  It can not be separated.  It is not possible to leave your culture behind due to the fact it is a part of you.  I found it very difficult to chose three items from my culture to be immersed in a culture which is completely opposite of mine.  It is difficult to think about how I would make sure my children understood their background and knew their family.

It must be very difficult to let go of your culture in order to submerge yourself in another culture which is completely opposite of your culture.  I would feel lost and very sad.  I would feel like I could do nothing right and who I am is a mistake which needs to change.



"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-