Professional Hopes and Goals

The one hope that I have when working with children and their families who come from a diverse background is that I will accept their differences and not offend them with any microaggression that will disempower them. Also I would like to make a difference in the lives of children so that they will also make a change to accepting the differences that others bring. One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field is to advocate for the child and families so that they are given the opportunity that is merited to them without any hassles because of the color of their skin or any other differences they may have. I would like to thank all my colleagues for sharing your stories and your encouraging words. I wish you all the best in your journey. I hope to see or hear from you in future classes. Keep up the good work. I would like to thank Dr. Parrish for her patience and encouragement. Thank you for teaching me to see diversity in the true light.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

I am working in childcare center and the family would come from China. The way in which I will prepare to be culturally responsive I will learn the language, what part of the country they are from, what are their traditions, customs, and the holidays they celebrate and I would prepare the student in the class so that they can also become familiar with the new families differences. Frist I would learn some words in Chinese so that I can teach the children how to greet them and introduce myself. By learning what part of China they are from will increase my knowledge as to who the family is and show them respect. Knowing their traditions, customs, and holidays will help me to plan a curriculum that will be free from bias and will make a warm and loving environment in order to make the family feel welcomed, safe and secure.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I can recall one incident that my friend experienced a prejudice act. I have a girlfriend who is African American we raised our children together and we visit each other offend. When our sons were younger they were in basketball teams in their perspective schools. The teams had played against each other during the year with no incident. It was the championship game and the game was hosted on our home team court. The bleachers are located on one side of the gym so the opposing team would set on one side and us on the far side. My girlfriend and I sat next to each other in the middle. They were winning and of course she was cheering her son on and I was teasing her; at that point one of the parents on our side looked at me and ask “why are they even here”? The other parent did not know that we were friends so I introduced her to my girlfriend. The other parent remarked hello and left. I felt so bad and was angry my girlfriend advised me not to waist my time in being angry at foolishness. We enjoyed the rest of the game and her sons school won the championship game. Our boys showed true sportsmanship by expressing a warm welcome to the others team members and joking around. This act of prejudice diminished equity in that my girlfriends rights to be at our school was infringe upon because she is African American in a predominately white school. The attitude of the white women would have to have change in order for the situation to change and be equal for all. I admired my girlfriends out look and her mature response to the situation.