Communication is not always straight forward.

 

The show I watched seemed to be based on 7 people who were close, but only two males lived together. They appeared happy by the smiles on their faces, and very involved, as they all 6 sat together to play some sort of board game.

In this sitcom, there appears to be four women and three males, each have a partner, but 1. Watching the show without sound was quite nerve racing, because I had to assume the plot, however, it became really interesting when I turned the sound up.

The show was called; “The Bid Bang Theory”. Apparently all the cast members are some type of geniuses, and there are three couples. And one male who cannot seem to find love. The group is not always happy, in fact the two males living together, drive each other nuts on a daily basis.

The point of the story is that, although each of the members are different, with different talents, they all share a commonality of friendship and togetherness.

 

Professional Hopes and Goals

I have had such a wonderful journey while working in the young education field. I have met so many awesome children and families from all diversities. I have enhanced my proficiency in Spanish, and Ukrainian. I have had the pleasure to learn about each of my children and families cultural profiles, foods, traditions, and the way they celebrate special holidays.

One goal I would like for the early childhood field is to incorporate more of a multicultural curriculum that will last the duration of the year, as well as meaningful and purposeful activities that will facilitate the children’s learning, and understanding of differences and inclusive classroom communities.

I would like to thank my colleagues for the resources, suggestions, and helpful comments during our course together. I wish each and every one of you the best of luck and success in your future of educating our wonderful young children!!!

Another Day In Paradise
performed by Phil Collins
about insensitivity of people towards the problem of poverty:

"She calls out to the man on the street
'Sir, can you help me?
It's cold and I've nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?'
He walks on, doesn't look back
He pretends he can't hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there"

Welcoming Families From Around the World

For this week’s blog we are asked to choose a country we are unfamiliar with, and imagine that we have a child from that country entering our center, agency, or in home care facility.

I have chosen a group care facility ranging from infancy to pre-K. The family I will be currently working with have adopted a child from an orphanage in Guatemala.

I have learned through research and preparation upon the arrival of my new family, that a large population if children living in Guatemala are placed in orphanages due to poverty, mistreatment, and a variety of other societal challenges. 

 As an early educator in preparation for the arrival of my new family, I will:

·         Discuss with the family if they \were explained how much language this 4 year-old child has, if any.

·         I will research all information on the child based on any trends or issues related to children raised in that type of care, as I would do so in learning about all of my families’ cultural background.

·         In the event that I would learn the child understands mostly Spanish language, I would prepare my classroom environment accordingly, as well as my proficiency in Spanish.

·         I will work closely with the family to facilitate any accommodations, food modifications, extra professional support within the community and routines that are practiced within the child’s home.

·         I will provide an inclusive environment for the child and family, as well as work with the children in the classroom, to learn about, and understand this child’s cultural dynamics.

Benefits to being culturally responsive for me and the family in which I will currently be serving are:

• Collectively we will learn the culture and history of the child, and the area in which he was born.
• We will learn to adapt to the child’s traditions, and routines, that will help both home and the child’s school environment.
• We will support the child in learning about individuals that are; “different” than he is, that will eliminate fear, and exclusion.
• By working with the family, we will be able to help the child’s peers learn about growing up and learning internationally, which will support children’s abilities to accept, embrace, and eliminate judgments that promote unwanted and negative bias against others. 
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The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

For this week’s blog assignment we were asked to think of an incident we experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression.

The experience I most remember is when I first began my career in an early head start class. My room consisted of 8 children, 6 of which were Spanish speaking, and one year old.

At the time I was working with a woman that was married with two young boys, her husband was laid off, and they were forced to sell their home and rent a trailer in a predominantly Spanish speaking community.

One day while cleaning the classroom, as the children slept, she stated to me that some “wetbacks” stole her son’s bike. I looked at her and asked if she knew who stole the bikes, not realizing the definition of the term she used. She stated; “yes, those nasty little Mexicans”.

At that point, I knew the term she used was a negative connotation against Spanish speaking individuals. I responded to her in a not so nice way in the beginning, but immediately realized, getting angry was not the solution, but in fact a lesson in respect would be more helpful. To this day I can not comprehend how an educator that works in a diverse setting, where 90% of the children and families we serve are Spanish speaking, can state such an ignorant statement as she did. I immediately let her know that I was reporting her to the center manger, and that I did not feel comfortable working along side of her. The woman was reprimanded for her behavior, which did not improve, and later discharged within the next 3 weeks.

By using such a derogatory term against another race, this frames people of color as inferior and creates a wider narrative of oppression. I felt offended and ashamed to hear someone who works with children and families, from all ethnicites use such a races slur, and it appeared to me that she felt angry and hurt to be associated with anyone outside of her own race; I feel this is true for me as well.

Learning about anti-bias is not only a great learning experience in the classroom for children, but adults as well. Our goal as adults is to empower children in this diverse and ever changing world, but to do so, we as adults need to be more responsive to the diverse needs of the children and families we serve, or encounter in our daily lives. 

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.

 " It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

— Maya Angelou

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week’s assignment focused on forms of microagression, and examples of a couple I have witnessed personally, or learned about.

I have a really good friend and co-worker born Guatemala; she is fluent in English and Spanish and was raised in the U.S. Her parents still adopt their native language, although they too are fluent in English.

While at the grocery store one day, she stood inline on talking on the phone with a relative that resides in her native country, in their native language. As she placed her grocery on the conveyer belt, a man behind her taps her on the shoulders and asked was it hard for her to get her green card to come to the U.S.

The next example of microagression was an instance of gender stereotyping between to co-workers, one male who was an early educator, and a woman who was also an educator. The woman often made indirect comments about the male educator’s sexuality; she assumed he was a gay individual because he enjoyed working with young children. She also made reference to pedophilias’ enjoyment with working with young children.

These two examples of microagression not only was offensive to the individuals involved, but also to myself haven witnessed such display of micoinsults, as well as microinvalidations, indirectly assaulting one’s race, orientation, and integrity.

During this observation processed my understanding of microagressive behaviors have broadened. Although individuals may not be fully aware of how their verbal/nonverbal forms of communication affect others, even the subtle comments can come across to others that are in aim, to be offensive, and insulting, and hurtful. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

This week I had the pleasure of speaking to 3 vastly different individuals, asking them to help me define their definition of culture and diversity.
The first individual I spoke with about culture and diversity was a young woman that was originally from Botswana, West Africa. In her surface culture she mentioned her strong religion to Christianity, special dishes during weddings, family gatherings, and holidays they enjoyed together, such as;  Alloco (Fried plantain and chili dish), many dishes made with curry, special soups her mother and grandmother made to help heal colds, and repair the woman’s body after birth. Within her deep culture she mentioned how her family spoke both Setswana, after she and her family moved to the U.S, she was home schooled for the first few years, receiving help with her English language.
Values and beliefs were most important to this individual; an example was how she greets any individual older than herself as m’am or sir, even a couple of years older. She will not eat until all “elder” individuals are served. Eye contact is important, she wears beads around her waist that stands for purity, and youth, and her specific tribe. The beads are not to be removed until she is married.
The second individual I spoke with was a young white woman, living in a very rural area of Buncombe County. She mentioned to me that family togetherness, respect, and love was all part of her culture, growing up in a lower economic status made her value how she raised her own child today. She does not have religious preferences, and believes that all individuals should respect and be able to exist in the world, as long as they keep each race pure.
The third individual was a woman whose mother is white and father black.  She grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, mother has Christian faith, and her father’s practices a Baptist faith. She mentioned that she attended both services many Sundays, and her parents never forced her to choose a specific faith. Growing up, her family celebrated holidays with large family gatherings, lots of food, she lived in a home with her mother, aunts, cousins, and grandmother. She rarely visited her father, but more so individuals on her father’s side.
Our text, Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, discuss culture as one’s strong ties to their ethnicity, and how each particular groups live. During my conversation with each individual, I was not looking for a right or wrong answers, in fact it was a learning process, that helped me get to know individuals I have either worked with, or live in a community with.

 We have the ability to achieve, if we master the necessary goodwill, a common global society blessed with a shared culture of peace that is nourished by the ethnic, national and local diversities that enrich our lives.
-- Mahnaz Afkhami 

cultural differences should not separate us from each other, but rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all of humanity.
-- Robert Alan Silverstein

Reference:

·  Smidt, S. (2006). The developing child in the 21st century: A global perspective on child development. New York, NY: Routledge.

My Family Culture....

This week’s blog assignment encourages my colleagues and I to think about a devastating transition of displacement from our Native home country, as we will be placed with a host family in another country, whose culture is vastly different from our own. We will be able to bring one change of clothing, and three small items that represent our family culture.

The first item I chose to take was a family picture taken around the dinner table. This picture represents togetherness, laughter, love, and enjoying a wonderful meal prepared by each pair of hands sitting around the table.

The next item I would choose would be a small porcelain angel that represents the loss or my mother. I loss my mother after my twin girls were born. The angel represents courage, love, compassion, and strength, all identities in which my mother possessed.

My last item would include a quilted blanket of foot steps. The foot steps represent each monumental moments, and accomplishments we have made as a family.

 As we reach our destination it is a possibility that I would only be able to keep one of my precious family items, and the others would have to be given away. It would be devastating to have to give up any of my items, but the item I would hold on to would be my quilted blanket of foot steps. The reason this item was chosen is because I lost my Native home, but my immediate family is still among me. Having to start our lives in a Country and culture we may know nothing about, my family and I will always make new memories and milestones that can be added to our quilt.

 This assignment has really made me think about my families traditions, beliefs, and customs we share. I also had to think about how it would feel to be in a situation where I had to adapt to another culture, and language, and immediately I thought about how young children I have served felt coming into a classroom where majority of the children spoke a different language, or even looked "different" from themselves.  

 

The family is both the fundamental unit of society as well as the root of culture. It ... is a perpetual source of encouragement, advocacy, assurance, and emotional refueling that empowers a child to venture with confidence into the greater world and to become all that he can be.

MARIANNE E. NEIFERT