Hopes and Goals

Hope

·         I hope that children and families know that attitudes of bias and discrimination are not acceptable from anyone and they should be valued regardless of their race/ethnicity and language. It is also my hope that we in the early childhood field make assertive efforts to fight to be the voice for diversity, equity and fairness for children and families that we are blessed to have in our programs.

Goal

·         Early childhood field will educate itself concerning the importance of respecting individual and cultural differences in children and families in order to establish and promote equity and social justice for all children and families.

Note of thanks

·         Colleagues, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your perspectives and insights concerning cultural diversity, equity, social justice, and sharing your stories through your discussions and blogs. I wish you goodness and blessings as you go forward in your future endeavors at Walden and beyond. I would also like to thank Dr. Tuthill for her quick responses and feedback.  Again, thank you! Hopefully we will meet again!  

Welcoming Families From Around the World

My family migrated from Vietnam.

 

 

 

 

 Ways to prepare myself to be culturally responsive in order to serve this family effectively in my early childhood setting would consist of:

1.    Becoming knowledgeable concerning the Vietnam’s history and cultural traditions.

2.       Being aware of my social identities and acquainting myself with the ecological systems that are a part of the child’s life.

3.       Respecting and validating cultural values and traditions in the program to include language.

4.       Establishing relationships with families and provide resources to provide lifelong success for both children and their families.

5.       Arranging environment and providing material and activities that reflect Vietnam’s culture and language.

      These preparations will enhance my abilities in providing high quality educational learning experiences for children and families. It is also my hope that these provisions will allow me to assist families in making necessary connections with the dominant culture to enhance their quality of life.

 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

My memory of an incident occurred in my professional career at my workplace when I was denied a position that I was more than qualified for to a Caucasian colleague who was less qualified educationally and experience wise. It came down overtly from our Caucasian administrator that my Caucasian colleague would be the better fit for the position. She offered no clear explanation; however, it was obvious that it was an issue of race and privilege and I understood very well the hidden message. The incident created neither feelings of anger, hurt and resentment for being overlooked for what should have been my position without question if it was done on merits, but I did not possess the look nor culture of the dominant culture, and thus was disqualified.

In order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity institutionalized discrimination and oppression in hiring and promotions practices in the work place has to be eradicated.  Internalized privilege and internalized oppression diminished the fairness in the incidence and robbed me of a promotion that was due based on education and years of experience.  So, instead of competitiveness there has to be a spirit of cooperation to work toward equally shared goals of promoting social justice.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

My nephew was diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorder when he was five years old. This year he entered high school and is studying all day in the classroom with typical developing children. This week he was departing the bus after school at the bus stop when he experienced microassult by a couple of the bus riders. He was deliberately called retarded and mocked by them imitating how he flapped hands. I was surprised that it had happened in the presence of his mother and me as though we were not there. I was angry to discover that it happened previously and his mother was not informed by the bus driver. It was upsetting seeing him emotional and treated like that because of his differences.

The observation helped me realize how often and how easy people are hurt and harmed intentional or unintentional on a daily basis by comments. Individuals, leaderships, and communities at large have a lot of work to do resolve discrimination, prejudice, and stereotyping. Will it really every rate as an issue of importance to seriously address in society?