Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope I have when working with a diverse population is to always find that human connection needed between me and the family in order to make them feel I care enough for them....... this includes giving them the repect and empowerement they need to become the whole person they have the potential to be. .

Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly as though you were working for your real master and not merely for humans…… translation from Colossians 3:23

One goal I would like to set for the Early Childhood field related to social justice and equity is that every educator, administrator, parent, and anyone around the child is aware that there is not one “bad “ , “unworthy”, or “unclean” child out there . When a child is born it is a blessing that comes pure to us like blank pages in a book. it is up to us what we write in those pages and what memories we create in that child’s mind to retain for the rest of their lives.

I want to thank all of my colleagues for their comments and for being part of my intellectual growth through the sharing of your personal stories, experiences, opinions, and knowledge.  I wish you all many blessings in both your professional and personal endeavors you might embark on in the future!

Welcoming Families From Around theWorld

The fictitious family I chose is from China.

Five ways in which I can help them directly is to;

1.     Empower the parents and the student. I will make sure I recognize the strengths and focus on the strengths to combat the weaknesses.

2.     Link them to available resources. This is important because many parents feel totally lost when they are in a country that is not their country of origin. As an educator, I can build a database that will allow me to share resources of people I have networked in the past with which that can help these parents.

3.     Respect their culture and customs. To achieve this I will incorporate materials into the class that reflects such customs and observes them.

4.     Become better versed and informed about their traditions. To do this I must read, research, and interact and ask the family questions. I can also do this in the form of questionnaires.

5.     Create an environment where they feel welcome and there is no place for oppression and marginalization. These preparations will benefit me and the family because we will both learn new things about each other and we will have collaborative communication where we both feel at ease. I can increase my knowledge by keeping up with up to date information of what is going on in their country.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The memory that I experienced as a child feeling oppressed was when a teacher in summer school would not want me in the swim team. After many try outs, another mother told my mother that she did not want me because I did not have blonde hair and my complexion was not as white like the other five girls so I would stand out. As a 12 year old child, this made me think my hair color was ugly. Although I felt this oppression, this also gave me the determination to keep trying until the coach eventually recognized my talent and allowed me to be part of the team. Incidents such as these during my childhood allowed me to become the resilient person that I am now. I never felt sorry for myself but instead I always felt like I had to prove to the world that I was better than how they perceived me. This fostered in me leadership skills and helped me endure a world of discrimination and prejudice. My main protection factor was my family’s love around me all the time this was going on. I never felt ashamed of who I was or felt inferior to anyone, like I had mentioned in the past, I was not aware I was poor because in my mind I was always rich with a beautiful family and a childhood full of laughter.