One hope that I have for working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I will embrace the differences without hesitation. When I think about diverse backgrounds, I now think of all families that I work with as each family has a unique background that makes it special and different from every other family. My hope is that I will embrace the unique qualities of every family and make them feel welcome and loved in our classroom.
One goal that I would have for the field of early childhood education related to diversity and equity is that our standards would continue to show a value placed on the unique abilities and culture of every student. With the push from NAEYC, the early childhood field is moving in the right direction towards a level of tolerance, understanding, and equity for all children. If we can continue moving the field of early childhood education towards an attitude of acceptance, there is a hope that the acceptance will be ingrained in the children as they grow and will perhaps spread to the elementary schools then to the high schools, and on to the greater society. There can be a world of change that begins with our children.
Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback throughout this course and allowed me to voice some very controversial feelings and thoughts as I explored my religious and cultural values during this last eight weeks. Although my feelings were not embraced by all, there was never an attitude of irritation or ignorance and I was encouraged to continue to explore this internal battle. I appreciate the understanding and the support from everyone!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Welcoming Families from Around the World
For this week's scenario, I will use my current setting as a kindergarten teacher in a Christian school. I just found out that a child and her family from Iran will be joining my classroom in a few weeks.
The five ways I would prepare myself, my current students, and their families to be culturally responsive to this family would be:
1. To invite this family into my classroom for an observation day prior to the first day that she will be in our classroom. This will allow the child and her family to see what our school day is all about, the activities that we will be doing, what we believe in, and the culture of our classroom.
2. After their visit, I would take the opportunity to sit down with the family to gain specific information regarding their overall culture, family culture, what their expectations are from our classroom and school, and to answer any questions.
3. Knowing that their involvement in our school may be controversial with parents of children who are enrolled, I would try to plan a family culture night fairly close to the time that she starts to encourage the families to meet and greet each other and share a little more about what makes each family unique.
4. I would use the new student in the "Star of the Week" within the first two to three weeks of her arrival so that she would feel comfortable sharing more about herself and her family and to allow the other children to get to know her better.
5. I would address any insecurities or biases right away in order to ensure that misinformation is not passed on and so that our classroom culture of tolerance and acceptance is felt by her and her family.
My hope would be that using these preparations, the student and her family would feel a sense of welcoming and understanding within our classroom. Being prepared is one way that we can encourage the meshing of different cultures in our classroom and be sure that the uniqueness of each family is valued.
The five ways I would prepare myself, my current students, and their families to be culturally responsive to this family would be:
1. To invite this family into my classroom for an observation day prior to the first day that she will be in our classroom. This will allow the child and her family to see what our school day is all about, the activities that we will be doing, what we believe in, and the culture of our classroom.
2. After their visit, I would take the opportunity to sit down with the family to gain specific information regarding their overall culture, family culture, what their expectations are from our classroom and school, and to answer any questions.
3. Knowing that their involvement in our school may be controversial with parents of children who are enrolled, I would try to plan a family culture night fairly close to the time that she starts to encourage the families to meet and greet each other and share a little more about what makes each family unique.
4. I would use the new student in the "Star of the Week" within the first two to three weeks of her arrival so that she would feel comfortable sharing more about herself and her family and to allow the other children to get to know her better.
5. I would address any insecurities or biases right away in order to ensure that misinformation is not passed on and so that our classroom culture of tolerance and acceptance is felt by her and her family.
My hope would be that using these preparations, the student and her family would feel a sense of welcoming and understanding within our classroom. Being prepared is one way that we can encourage the meshing of different cultures in our classroom and be sure that the uniqueness of each family is valued.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
The Personal Side of Prejudice
One incident that comes to mind this week of oppression, prejudice, and bias is the Chick-fil-A controversy that has taken over the headlines. Regardless of your stand on gay marriage, the events of this week are confusing, misleading, and full of prejudice and bias from both sides of the event. For the gay community who were offended by the comments of the CEO to the Christians who were taking a stand against the hatred that was then spoken against the CEO, both sides are dealing with and dishing out prejudice and bias against each other. The gay community has the right to be offended by the comments, but on the other hand the CEO also has a right to his beliefs and free speech to discuss those beliefs when asked for his input. However, the events that proceeded showed nothing but disrespect for both sides, and were full of prejudice and bias, and diminished equity by not showing respect for a difference of opinions.
My feelings about this situation center around the ideas that the CEO is certainly entitled to his feelings and when asked for his personal opinion on gay marriage he took the Christian stand that centers around his beliefs. As a devout Christian myself, I would hope that I would be comfortable in taking a stand given the same position that the CEO was in. Then a backlash of hatred was directed towards the CEO and Chick-fil-A, which promotes prejudice against his beliefs and the right of free speech. However, the day when Christians flocked to Chick-fil-A to show their support also showed a level of disrespect for those in our gay community, who by God's standards we are called to love. The event showed no love or tolerance towards the gay community, and showed Christians in a very shallow light. Being called a Christian now lumps me into this "movement" that showed disrespect and prejudice towards those living a gay lifestyle, and quite honestly shames me to think that those who are called to "love our neighbors" are showing such great disrespect.
I believe that in order for this incident to create a future opportunity for equity, the CEO's comments should have been linked to his personal beliefs and not to his company. Then the comments would have simply been someone asking his opinion and not a countrywide opportunity for prejudice to begin!
My feelings about this situation center around the ideas that the CEO is certainly entitled to his feelings and when asked for his personal opinion on gay marriage he took the Christian stand that centers around his beliefs. As a devout Christian myself, I would hope that I would be comfortable in taking a stand given the same position that the CEO was in. Then a backlash of hatred was directed towards the CEO and Chick-fil-A, which promotes prejudice against his beliefs and the right of free speech. However, the day when Christians flocked to Chick-fil-A to show their support also showed a level of disrespect for those in our gay community, who by God's standards we are called to love. The event showed no love or tolerance towards the gay community, and showed Christians in a very shallow light. Being called a Christian now lumps me into this "movement" that showed disrespect and prejudice towards those living a gay lifestyle, and quite honestly shames me to think that those who are called to "love our neighbors" are showing such great disrespect.
I believe that in order for this incident to create a future opportunity for equity, the CEO's comments should have been linked to his personal beliefs and not to his company. Then the comments would have simply been someone asking his opinion and not a countrywide opportunity for prejudice to begin!
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