Welcoming Families From Around The World

In my scenario this week, my family will hail from Sao Tome, which is a located near the Equator. 

5 ways that I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

1. Research the different languages that are spoken in Sao Tome and try to learn a few introductory words or phrases.  Also try to find someone that speaks the language and who may be able to help me communicate with the family.
2. Learn about the economic conditions of the country and the area of the country that my family is from.  Try to find out what type of work the family was involved in before they left Sao Tome and offer support as they transition to the job climate in America.  It will be important to learn how they view work and the different family responsibilities as related to work.
3. Research the education system and determine if the family has been involved in any type of early childhood education program prior to immigrating to America.  When meeting with the family discuss their educational experiences and expectations and how I can best support their ideals and goals for their child and family.
4. Talk with them about their family relationships and how their family relationships work.  I would ask about intergenerational relationships as well as the role of children in their culture.
5. I would reflect on any biases that I might have that would hinder my relationship with the family and work on ways to overcome the biases.

By trying to have a deeper understanding of the family’s culture and finding ways to communicate with them and learn about their goals, values, and ideals, I believe that I would be able to convey to them that I want to serve their child and family in the best way possible.  I think that I would be able to help them become more comfortable with our culture and they would be able to teach me a lot about their culture.  Win! Win!

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I want to share a story of prejudice that still breaks my heart when I think of it.  When a young man that I know was 16 he started dating a young woman from his class.  I was not surprised when they started dating because they had been friends for several years.  During the second month that they were dating he came to talk to me and was very upset.  Her family had found out they were dating and were very upset.  They stated that they liked the young man but did not want their daughter to date him; he was white and she was black and they did not allow her to date outside of her race.  He was very upset and did not understand why they had always been fine with them being friends but were upset about the dating relationship.  He honored their wishes and stopped dating their daughter but he was very heartbroken.  The two went off to college and eventually found others to love.  He has often told me that he still regrets not continuing their relationship and that he has never loved anyone in quite the same way.

I believe that this particular instance of bias diminished equity because it told two young people that they could not be involved because they were not of the same race.  I did not matter that they were both good students, never got in any trouble, and had been friends for years.  I still do not understand why a parent would not want their child to date someone who they liked and knew was a good person, just because of the color of their skin.  I was very upset when this situation occurred and I was glad that the young man felt he could talk to me but I didn't really know how to help him.  He talked to her parents several times, but to no avail.

I think that in order for this incident to turn into an opportunity for greater equity, the young man and woman involved would need to stop the cycle of racism.  I think this could be accomplished by making sure that as they raise their own families that they encourage their children to accept people for who they are and to support their dating choices based on merit, not race.

What do you think?

Thanks for reading!
Monette

Practicing Awareness of Microagressions

This week's topic and materials has been a real eye-opener for me.  I have been amazed at the amount of microaggressions that are in my environment!  I wanted to find out if the children in my environment were experiencing as much microaggression as the adults seemed to be so I observed the school-age summer camp program at my center.

Sadly, it seems our children are experiencing microaggression and I don't think the children that are being offensive realize what they are saying.  I watched a friendly dodge ball game between 6 children in the summer camp at my center.  The group consisted of 4 girls and 2 boys with 2 girls and 1 boy being on each team.  Every time that one little girl in group 1 would hit someone with the ball and score, the boy on her team would say, "Alright, not too bad for a girl!"  He said this EVERY time.  At first the little girl did not say anything, but she would roll her eyes, frown, shake her head, etc.  After about the sixth time of him yelling this she turned and said, "At least God made me a girl, not just a boy who wears purple!"  I almost fell down I was so shocked at her comment.  I was saddened by the insults from both children.  The teacher repeatedly said things like, "OK, that is not nice", "if you can't say something nice...", etc. but never really addressed the behavior and microaggressions from either child.  At the end of the day I talked with the teacher and we decided that we really need to design some lessons and activities to help these children understand that their remarks and behavior are not acceptable and hurtful.

I have always known that adults can be bias and hurtful but I did not realize how much of this behavior is being absorbed and learned by children.  I have always tried to make my center a safe place and a place where all people are accepted.  I was shocked and outraged by this behavior and the lack of skills that my summer camp leader had to deal with the situation.  I realize that even thought we do a lot of training for our staff that it must not be effective and I need to re-think how to help all our staff recognize bias behavior and effectively handle situations like the one I observed.

Thanks for reading!
Monette

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I really enjoyed this assignment as I love to talk with people and find out more about their ideas and views.  My conversations are summarized below.

Person 1:  She is a new teacher at my center and she is has only been in our country for 2 years.  She believes that culture is the way you dress, talk, treat your family, and includes your religious beliefs and family values.  She believes that diversity is when others accept you for who you are and you accept them for who they are.

Person 2:  He is a father in our program who recently got out of prison.  He believes that culture means what race you are, how much money you have, where you live, the people you hang out with, what holidays you celebrate, and how your family is seen by others.  I am not sure that he understood when I asked him about diversity but after a brief conversation he stated that everyone is different and that's okay because we are not supposed to all be the same.

Person 3:  She is a fourteen-year old girl who is the daughter of a close friend.  She stated that culture is everything about us.  It can mean the food we eat, where we live, who we marry, how much money we have, if we go to church, and if we go to college.  She stated that diversity is how people learn to get along even though we are all different.  She also stated that at her school most people are not the same so she doesn't see what the big deal is about people being different and why adults have a hard time getting along.

I found it interesting that I got so many different answers.  Some of the responses alluded to surface culture, such as food and holidays, but most of the answers were related to deep culture, such as values, education, religion, and living arrangements.  I most enjoyed talking with the fourteen-year old and am excited that she has such an openness to others and recognizes that adults sometimes have a hard time accepting people that are of a different culture.  I believe that awareness of these differences is a very important key to learning to accept others.

Reflecting on my conversations with these 3 people about culture and diversity I have realized that my definition of culture and diversity is steadily growing.  I am finding myself thinking more about deep culture issues and how they affect my relationships with others and how my previous definition of culture and diversity was definitely superficial.

My Family Culture

Hello Everyone!

It has taken me a very long time to write this blog because I just could not decide what 3 things to take with me in the case of a catastrophic event.  Finally, I narrowed it down!

The first thing that I would take would be my guitar.  It's not really small, but maybe it would be allowed.  Music has always been a huge part of my family's culture and I cannot imagine being without my guitar.  I would take my acoustic guitar because it is really special to me.  When my sons were teenagers, I had to sell my guitar to basically eat while going through my divorce.  I had owned the guitar since I was 12 and it was a gift from my father, but you do what you have to do to feed your kids.  I never told talked to my boys about why I sold the guitar and they never asked me about it.  Well, 6 years ago, the boys surprised me with a brand new acoustic guitar for Christmas and it is one of my most prized possessions.  All of my boys are musicians too and it has long been our custom to have Sunday supper together and then play some tunes.  We also regularly sing together in church.  When we take family vacations, there are always guitars on board.  If my family had to be relocated I would want to keep this custom alive for it has brought me much joy and happiness and facilitates a closeness with my sons that is irreplaceable.

The second thing that I would take would be my family scrapbook.  I would want to be able to look back on past pictures and family events and try to keep the memories of our family alive. In 1998 I lost everything that I owned in a fire (except my guitar, which was in my car, and 2 pairs of running shoes which were in my office at work) and the thing that I missed the most were my pictures.  My sisters were awesome and actually called all of my family and friends and gathered as many family pictures and other memorabilia as possible and made me a family scrapbook.  It is one of the most precious gifts I have ever received, especially the pictures of me and my Daddy who passed away in 1996.

The third thing that I would take would be my Bible.  I would want to be able to continue to read and study God's word daily and a lot of areas of the world do not allow Bibles or they are not readily available.  My faith is a huge part of my life and I would want to be able to share it with my family and with others if at all possible.

If I could only bring one thing I think it would have to be my guitar.  I have God's word in my heart and I hope that He would provide with another Bible in the new place.  I would miss my scrapbook terribly but my guitar would help me keep my sanity, keep me connected to my family, and provide much needed stress relief!

The insight that I have gained through this exercise is that all of my favorite things are related to family relationships in some way.  It's not the "things" that mean so much to me, but the way that they are used within my family.  I really enjoyed this exercise and look forward to learning more about my classmates as I read about their 3 items.

Thanks for reading!
Monette

When I Think of Research

When I Think of Research......




Taking this course has given me a totally new and unexpected insight on research. When I started the course I was very quick to believe that research was not only boring but something that I could not easily understand. It only took 2 assignments before I realized that research is anything but boring and that with some practice, ok, a lot of practice, even I could understand how to read and interpret scholarly research!




I used to think that research was completed only by professional researchers and that the rest of us were left to try and figure out what they were talking about and how to use the research in our daily lives. Now I understand that anyone can be do a research. You just need to have a question that you are passionate about and design a way to get answers to the question. I have also discovered that research is done for many reasons and that the early childhood field is ripe with both proven research and many more topics that need further research.




One of the most interesting things that I learned in this course was how to plan, design, and conduct research. The assignments that were set-up to help me break the process down step by step were invaluable in helping me focus on the process and understand the parameters of each step. I really enjoyed designing my own research simulation project and I am going to take it one step further and actually implement the project during the next school year at my childcare center. I can’t wait to actually use something that I designed!




Even though I enjoyed this course and all that I learned, it was not without challenges. I often found it hard to think like a researcher and grasp some of the technical terms. Thankfully, the use of my research chart helped me narrow down some of the terms and topics that were causing me the most difficulty. One of the biggest challenges that I faced was narrowing down my research simulation topic. I think I changed it at least 5 times before I settled on literacy.




Overall, this course has helped me realize the intrinsic value of research and how important it is to the early childhood field. As an early childhood professional I want to make sure that I am always abreast of the most current research and that I use research as I design and implement programs for the young children at my center. All in all, I had a good experience in this course and I look forward to using the knowledge that I have gained.

Research Around the World

Research Around the World

The website that I chose to review this week is:

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this site.  It was extremely easy to read and was full of information.  

Some of the current research topics on the site are: inclusion, ethics, quality standards, working together in early childhood settings, bullying, diversity, and my favorite, learning and teaching through play.  All of these research articles and many, many more can be accessed by clicking on the “research in practice” tab on the left hand side of the home page.

One of the most interesting things that I learned from this site is that Australia’s research topics are very similar to ours.  I don’t know why that surprises me, but it does.   One of my favorite areas of this site was the “supporting best practice” tab.  I was very excited to see all of the information about how to help support best practices.  In our own country I have read tons of information about best practice but this site has given me some new ideas about how to support best practice in the classrooms at my center.  

Another favorite of mine on the site is all of the information about the importance of play.  Almost every tab included useful information on the importance of play.  I plan on using some of the information with the teachers and parents at my center as well as during a couple of workshops and classes that I will be teaching this fall. 

If you have not explored this site, please try to find time to click on and find out for yourself how much information is available.  Happy clicking!

Monette