After finishing this course I feel like I am more prepared for working with diverse families. I want to have the opportunity to grow and learn as an early childhood professional through working with families and children of different backgrounds than my own. I hope that families see me as a comforting person in their children's life. I hope they also can come to me with concerns and see me as someone who is there for them, and not just doing my job but actually taking an interest in their life.

                          I hope that in the future early childcare industries train their staff to work with diversity. I think one of the things we are lacking in most of our facilities is the lack of training in diversity, equity and social justice. I think by improving this area we will improve the quality in our centers.

                         I want to thank everyone who has read my blog and left comments. I also want to thank everyone for allowing me to be a part of your life and read your blogs. I learned so much about everyone through these personal blog assignments. Thank you and good luck in your future courses! 

The name of “your” family’s country of origin

At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family

A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family

I just recently received a child whose family originates from Russia. The child knows little to no English, and Russian is their first language. I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family by having a translator with me in case the family and I have trouble communicating. I will also take the time to learn what part of Russia they are from, and ask them to give me some information on their family in relation to favorite foods and activities. I will also take the time to label my classroom in both Russian and English, to help the child transition better. I hope that by being prepared it will help me form a bond with the child and the parents. I think the most important thing is having a good bond with the family and let them know that you are truly interested in their culture. I hope that by asking about their favorite foods, and activities that it will help lighten up the atmosphere and create some common interests to discuss.

The Help

Well I am in the middle of reading a great book, so I am going to take this opportunity to talk about it. I am reading The  Help, and if I didn't know about prejudice before I sure do now. This book shows what it was like to be a African American maid in the 1960's, right in the heart of it all, Mississippi. The civil rights movement is also going on doing this time. One of the most prejudice moments in the book is over having a separate bathroom outside for the maids to use. This is a big controversy in the book because some think it is the right thing to do (because they believed that African Americans carried diseases), others thought it was wrong. I have learned through reading this book, that not to long ago, we were cruel evil people who are human, just like everyone else.  Back when I was an undergrad I took a class that was dedicated to the civil rights movement, one of the best classes I have ever taken. I was one of the only white students in the class, but I felt empowered by the class and so did many of the other students. Some days we were angry, others we were sad, and then there were the days where we thought justice was finally on its way.


If anyone is looking for a good read, I do highly recommend The Help! Once you open it, it is hard to put down.

Microaggression

My experiences with microaggression mostly come from ignorant people, who have made remarks about my skin color.  I experienced microaggression when I was working in a daycare and I noticed a father looking at the tattoo on my leg, finally I gave him a long stare basically saying “what are you looking at buddy?”, he looked up at me and said “You have pretty dark skin, and that tattoo, is different, are you from Egypt or something?”. I was little taken back by this, the tattoo on my leg was of my Zodiac sign, Capricorn. I was kind of offended not because he thought I was Egyptian but because of the way he went about asking me. He was very straight forward, but not in a good way. I thought it was rude and it made me upset. From that point on I did not want to be around him, I felt like he was ignorant and thought he was better than me.

Interviews

Interviews

The first interview is with my Mother, here is her definition of diversity and culture:

My definition of culture is what we do as a family. Our home life, what we eat, what we wear and how we act.

My definition of diversity would be what makes everyone different.

Interview II
 The next interview is with my friend Lisa, who is Jewish:

I think that culture is what makes us who we are. My culture is deep and has a lot of meaning to me, it is my family, their origin, why we are here. And the customs and traditions that brought us here.

Diversity in it's simplest form is difference. Why I am different from you, and what makes us that way. Everyone is diverse, and different from one another.

Interview III
This is an interview with my sister-in-law Sara:

Culture is different to each and everyone person and their family. I think that culture is what makes you who you are. Our culture is similar because we live in the same house, we both have a similar culture. I think that before I move in with your family my culture was a little different so I believe that culture can change, grow and expand.


My definition of diversity would be, how we are different from one another. And also how we should respect and appreciate difference.

I think that all of the individuals I interviewed had some idea of what culture and diversity is, and represented it well. We talked about diversity being and meaning difference, and everyone expressed that in their answer. I also think that everyone viewed culture in similar but different ways, my Mother described  diversity as what we do at home, which is very true. My friend Lisa and Sara both went into a little more detail when describing diversity.

Thinking about my family and friends culture has made me see how even though we are different we have the similar beliefs and values on culture and diversity.

My Family Culture...

It is hard to pick out three items that represent my culture that I would want to take with me in the event of a catastrophe. Moving to an environment that is completely different from the way of life that I am used to and experiencing a new culture would be difficult, so the three items I am choosing have a lot of sentimental value.
The first item I would bring is my grandmothers  recipe box. I would want to still experience the taste of home through familiar cooking. This box is significant because it has been passed down through generations and will one day be mine. The next item I would bring with me is, pictures of my family. This is important to me because I want to remember certain events and milestones through old photos. The last item that I would bring is, garlic and basil. The last item may seem strange to some but that is the smell of Sunday dinner, it reminds me of home. I love the smell of Italian cooking, and when I think of home I think of garlic, basil and pasta...these smells remind me of family, fun times, and endless stories.

If I had to give up two of these items I would be devastated...I each one of these items has a special place in my heart, and all of these bring out a different emotion in me. I love the photos because I can see my family and the good times we shared, I love the recipes because I can create what I grew up eating, and  I love the garlic and basil because these smells ignite memories.

This exercise has helped me realize what matters in my life...and I actually had to think for a while before I typed any old thing. I like the three items that I chose and I believe that these are the items I would take with me if the event of a catastrophe. This was a fun blog assignment.

goodbye

As an undergrad I took a lot of research classes because my major was psychology. I did not like them at all! I even had to take one of them over again, so my love for research was just demolished right there. I really struggled with the concepts and how to apply them. I think that one of the reasons why I struggled so much is because the research classes I took were in huge lecture halls with 200+ under graduates, and the information was simply told to you with no explanation. What I like about this course is the fact that we have been able to apply our learning throughout the entire course, all leading up to the final research stimulation. By applying what we learn each week it has given me a greater understanding of research methods, and I feel like I have gained more knowledge about this subject in the last 8 weeks then in any of the classes I have previously taken. Through the research stimulation I have come to an understanding that conducting a research experiment is hard! There is so much that goes into it, and I give the people that do it a lot of credit. I am happy that I have learned more about this area because now I can take what I have learned and  carry it with me for life. I want to stay current with the research that is being conducted about early childhood, because I feel like so much can be applied to the classroom, and to how we as ECE professionals teach and help the children grow. I want to operate a center where my staff is encouraged to learn about research and for me as a director to provide them with research findings that can help them improve as teachers, and help their children grow as well. I think that as an early childhood professional we have to encourage the use of research more, and more childcare facilities should offer a training about research, and how it applies to ECE. Without research we wouldn't know half of the things we know now about children and learning.