I wish you well!!

To all of my Walden University Colleagues, I would like to say how much I have learned with you all throughout our journey of continuing education.  I will be transferring to the tempo learning program at Walden and will miss those of you whom I have worked with in the past.  Thank you for sharing your experiences with me.  I hope that we will be able to keep in touch. 

And for those who would like to finish early talk to the tempo learning people at Walden if you are in the Early Childhood Studies Masters Degree Program.

Thanks! Kim

Professional Hopes and Goals

The one hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that each person can be recognized and respected for their individual worth and importance.  All people need to understand that where they come from, their circumstances, and all of their social characteristics is what makes them special - no one person or group is more special or deserving than any other person or group.

The goal I would like to see set for the field of early childhood education is for all programs to be trained and embrace the topic of diversity and equity for all families.  To further this worthwhile area of knowledge education and mentoring is a huge stepping stone to achieving this goal.

I would like to thank my colleagues and Dr. Parrish for making this class easier than I thought it would be.  I have enjoyed reading so much about each of you and your experiences.  I will take with me those experiences as examples to further my knowledge of diversity and equity.  I hope that I have been an influence to you all as you have been for me.

Welcoming Families from Around the World

We will have a new family joining our program soon.  The family is leaving Ethiopia migrating here to the U.S.  There are some things we will need to do to help them feel comfortable:

1.      Since English is the second-most spoken language in Ethiopia, they will most likely understand if not speak it.  However, we want to learn some words to make communication easier between us.  We will most likely have a translator from the University here on the family’s first day to help with policies and procedures so there will be no misinformation or miscommunication.

2.      We will learn what part of Ethiopia they are from.   Amharic, the most widely used native language, is spoken in the regions of the north-west and central parts of Ethiopia.  In other regions, are 11 other languages spoken.

3.      We will need to find pictures of Ethiopia – its people, food, buildings, homes, flag, etc.  These need to be incorporated onto our walls and books so the child will be able to identify common markers from his country.  We should ask the family if there is anything that will be recognizable for the child that we could have we he returns to school.

4.      We will need to have some music and musical instruments that the child may recognize from his former country – a krar is a type of lyre.  We will also have to incorporate Ethiopia into our learning centers and curriculum so our new family will know they are important and they matter to us.

5.      We definitely will have to be aware that in Ethiopia they use their hands to eat instead of utensils.  They use unleavened bread with each meal to pick up the chunks of prepared food.

6.       Most importantly, we need to try to communicate with these parents and children so they will be comfortable.  They have left or lost everything and have come to a completely different way of life.  If they need some direction on finding places or things they may need, we will be that source of help to them. 

7.      We will put out a note to our other families.  Some might like to get to know them, show them around, and/or be a resource for them.

Above all else, we have to respect all of our families.  We have to go out of our way to see they feel safe within our program and in their new lives.  As culturally responsible early childhood providers, we are the next step and possibly the best step to see how they should be treated.  We need to make a positive connection with them to show support, kindness, respect, and to help them feel comfortable.

 http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Ethiopia.html

http://www.selamta.net/culture.htm

http://www.africaguide.com/country/ethiopia/culture.htm

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I had an experience just today that really broke my heart.  I will start at the beginning.  I have been looking for a full-time teacher and 2 part-time caregivers for a several weeks.  I have received little to no applicants.  But today, a lady came in to apply for anything I could give her.  She wants to work with kids – a lot.  As she was filling out her application, we were talking about things – getting to know each other.  She was telling me that all her kids were grown and out of the house, her husband worked and she wanted to do something.  She has always wanted to work with kids.  While we were talking I knew she would be perfect to help out with our toddler classes.

However, when I started reviewing her app, I noticed that she did not mark if she had a diploma or GED.  I questioned her and she hung her head and said no she did not have.  She said that she had applied for several jobs lately and not gotten them because of the same reason.  I told her that State regulations required a diploma or GED, but I gave her information on how to get one if she were interested.  Other times at this point, I would have concluded the interview and closed the book on her.  But this class has really made me look into myself and want to know more about other people.

She began telling me her reasons for leaving school and I was so sad for her.  She said her mom had four kids and worked three jobs.  Her being the oldest at 7 had to get the kids up and dressed, fed and on the bus.  She said that her grades and trouble at school began at 9.  She just was so tired that she started not caring about school because she had to care about her siblings.  Her mother would tell her that she had to go to school and spank her when she would go back to sleep and miss the bus.  She quit school at age 11 in the 5^th grade because she had to do more and more to help her mother. 

 

I wanted to give her the job anyway.  I wanted to help her get the GED so she could fulfill the dream she has had for so long – to work with kids.  I made a deal with her.  She register for GED classes and prove to me that she was going and I would bring her on part-time with stipulations that she continue her classes and take her tests.  She called me an hour later – the place I told her to go did not do classes anymore, but the local community college could sign her up Wednesday afternoon.  Then she asked if she brought the registration could she start Thursday.  Then she called me back a couple of hours later.  Her neighbor had agreed to help her and they were signing her up for online classes today.  Her neighbor was going to help her with the math part.  I told her to get signed up and call me Monday with all of the particulars so we could work something out.  I told her that I would find her a spot as soon as she was done.

Her situation was oppression by poverty and condition.  She had no equity because she was forgotten and she fell through the cracks at school.  Why did her teachers never question where she was?  Her equity situation changed as she got older – she is now 52.  She married and had children.  However, who knows what might have been or what she may have been able to do and accomplish with an education.  She made me feel privileged to have an education.  I hope that I was able to give her the encouragement to get her GED because this is what she says she has always wanted to do and I would love to have her at my center.  I believe that she would be a great teacher.  When we were talking about the GED, I mentioned the CDA once she finished the GED.  Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.  “Do you really think I could do that?” she was more excited than I had seen someone in a long time. 

Even though I cannot hire her for a while, I invited her to a childcare conference (the center's treat) my organization is putting on next week.  We will have lots of child development, classroom management, art, vocabulary, how to pick appropriate toys for your age child, discipline, movement, etc.  She will get a healthy dose of what we do and have fun learning.  I think this will encourage her even more to continue.  She will also be volunteering for a few hours during the weeks prior to her taking her tests.

Micro Aggressions

Micro Aggressions were the topic this week.  These are comments that are tossed about to friends, co-workers, acquaintances, even family.  Most of the time we do not even realize the things we have said possibly hurt the feelings of the other person, maybe even damaged the relationship.  However, the comments reveal the true bias and prejudice of the person speaking.  These comments, also, damage the self-esteem and the integrity of the person receiving the comment.  It will even invalidate that person’s presence and importance.

I have been sick the last two weeks and have not gotten out in the public forum, so I did not observe any micro aggressions this week.  I did think back to some friends and their situations though and recognized micro aggressions toward them.

A friend’s daughter developed epilepsy (now age 5) after finishing chemo from a rare form of cancer.  She said that she now rarely goes to town with Anna because of all of the stares and comments.  She gets “gah, she’s so skinny.” “what is wrong with her?” and “how do you do it?”  She does it because she loves her child and wants what is best for her.  But the micro insults and micro invalidations she receives while in town really bring her down and get her discouraged.  We hope that Anna will get better, but truthfully we don’t know how much longer she will be with us.  Her mother cannot afford to be discouraged; she needs to be built up and encouraged for Anna and the 3 other children along with her husband.

Another friend and her husband decided to adopt.  They really felt led by God to adopt children from other races and ethnicities.  The first beautiful baby is a black child from the same state.  The second boy (age 8) is from Ethiopia.  She says they get snide comments and stares wherever they go.  People don’t understand.  Some people even say don’t you think they belong with their own kind.  She says “We are all the same in God’s eyes.”  The children are thriving, like we knew they would.  The parents are great and have lots of love to share and God is making their way.

I have learned that no one is immune to micro aggressions.  Everyone is guilty of them also.  I am now realizing each and every one of us has to be aware of our biases and aware of our thoughts.  Eventually the true thoughts and nature are going to come out even if we do not mean to hurt someone.  Our subconscious will always find a way to get out.  We have to find a way to dispel our biases so we can get about the business of caring for each individual no matter who they are.

 

Culture & Diversity

To fulfill our assignment this week, I took it to Facebook.  I asked my friends about their definitions of culture and diversity.  The answers themselves were as diverse as each person.  Ten people gave me responses.  Out of the ten:  one has a special needs son; one has a Hispanic husband that speaks no Spanish; one is from a country other than mine; another is a psychologist working with high risk teens; one is an owner of a childhood fitness program that works within childcare to teach children about nutrition and exercise; three work for the State of MS as trainers within childcare centers; one is an early childhood professional, and one is a regular middle-class white female.

#1 Business Owner:  Culture:  similarities in traditions, language, food, beliefs, ethics, and behavior within a group. (i. e. geographic location or within a group).  Diversity: A population containing people from different cultures

#2 Psychologist:  To me, culture is a way of life or belief system for a particular society or group of people.  Diversity is encompassing the differences of others within a culture. (E.g., religion, gender, socioeconomic status, physical or mental abilities or limitations, race.) Personally, I believe they go hand-in-hand since there are many diversities within cultures

#3 Lives in Different Country:  Culture: are all those things you do within a particular group you belong to. (beliefs, celebrations, food, music, rituals, etc.)  Diversity: is a mixture of different kinds of cultures.

#4 Hispanic Husband:    I made the assumption when meeting my husband that he was Hispanic and Spanish was his 1st language...he is 1 of 5 children, grew up in Ohio with wonderful parents who, @ that time thought it best to only speak English-no Spanish. Subconsciously, I believe his parents wanted them to grow up breaking culture diversity. With changes today culturally, Rich wishes he was fluent in Spanish. It has been @ times embarrassing

#5 Special Needs Son:  I have a child with CMV. There are those who believe that he should have been institutionalized.  He has had many surgeries, ports, wheel chairs, accommodations made, serious illnesses (where we almost lost him), and friends with the same disease pass away.  They would rather have had him put into a hospital, one in which I would only have been able to frequent occasionally, than to raise my own child.  Mothers know their children and are their children’s best teacher.  He is 22 years old now, has graduated from high school and is thriving in a world he was not supposed to be in.

#6 Friend with Same Culture:  Culture seems to be based on nurture. Your parents’ traditions and basic thought processes, your husbands’ family traditions and basic thought processes, how and where you live and work, and what is important to your family and you.  Diversity is when you expand from nurture. More open-minded. Accepting of differences in your core beliefs and expanding your mindset.

#7 Dr. (Trainer with State of MS):   Culture is the norms or expectations of a society or community. Diversity is the inclusiveness of different cultures, perspectives, histories, languages, etc.

#8 Trainer with State of MS:  Culture is a broad and narrow term. When thinking about culture, one must look no further than their only family unit. Culture is broad as it relates to different countries, people groups, and religions. However, culture is also narrow and can be found within regions or states of a country and within different sectors of a family group. Culture is what makes each family unit unique and a part of society. Culture is the customs, beliefs, and practices of others that one can embrace and learn.

Diversity is so much more than the color of one's skin. Each person has the capability to step out of his or her own box and experience the world as others experience it. Diversity requires an open mind to new things, a broad spectrum of how others live, function, and contribute to society. Diversity is being accepting of others for who they are, where they are and how they are without the need to inflict another's opinion on said person. Diversity requires an open mind and a non-judgmental attitude.

#9 Trainer with State of MS: Culture is what you are born into, for example, how holidays are celebrated, special celebrations, & etc. Diversity is how the environment interacts with your culture.

#10 Childcare Professional:  culture is the world around you, community, society, and family – the way you were raised.  Diversity is the differences within culture.  Diversity is usually used as racially-based term but it is so much more.  No two people are the exact same.  Beliefs are different, life morals may be different, etc.  To me, what this says is that we, as Christians, serve a very creative and colorful God.  He gives people the choice to choose him no matter what lifestyle you choose, where you live, what race you are, etc.  Culture and diversity is how you see an individual and accept them for who they are ant not what you think they should be.

This week alone we have looked as invisibility, discontinuity, and deep culture.  There are examples of each in these definitions from my friends.

              I believe that #5’s experiences show cultural invisibility.  Others were very uncomfortable with her special needs child.  They tried to get her to give up on him (or not acknowledge him), instead of supporting her whole family.

              Discontinuity is shown in #4’s experiences with her husband.  His parents felt it best to discontinue and forget about their own culture when immigrating to the U.S. to have their children “fit” in.

              My friend #6 has no early childhood education or specialized training.  However, I thought she had the best definition of “deep culture” of everyone including the educators.  Nurture has not been said but makes sense because we are getting our culture from those around us who are caring for us – parents, family, community, schools, etc.

After reading ALL of these definitions, I fully believe diversity was thoroughly defined.  I liked many of the words used to describe diversity – accept them for who they are and not who you think they should be; open and non-judgmental attitude, inclusiveness, how the environment interacts with culture- they spoke volumes and gave specific attributes for diversity. 

My favorite definition was from #6: “Diversity is when you expand from nurture. More open-minded. Accepting of differences in your core beliefs and expanding your mindset.”  We have to be willing to admit that what we believe is not the only thing out there or not the only "right" thing.  If we can add to, tweak, and expand our differences and what we believe, we will be able to achieve true cultural responsiveness and responsibility to our families and children.

My Family Culture

The assignment is to pick three things that I would take with me if I had to move to another country involuntarily.   I have no input of where I am going, just that their culture is completely different from mine.  Other than one change of clothes, I must take only three small things to represent my family culture.

The three things I would take are my Bible, a charm necklace with charms representing things that I love most about my life, and family pictures.

My Bible means the most to me.  It gives me a sense of security when I read and get lost in the scripture, I know that God is with me.  He has his hand on me and will get me through anything that the world can throw at me.  He is my comfort and my shield.  Isaiah 41:10 says “Fear not, for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My right hand of rightness and justice.”

My charm necklace has very tiny charms inside the circle.  The plate inside says “Inspire,” I try very hard to set a good example and be a light for other people, even when things are not going well with me.  I have a small boy with my son’s birthstone (topaz), a sea turtle (because we love watching them when we go out fishing in Florida), a sand dollar (because we love looking for sea shells), a microphone (I love to sing at church), a wedding ring (for my husband), a dog paw (for our two girls), a beautiful red heart with mom inside (my son, Max, picked it out), a swimmer (love it!), an orange stone (my favorite color), and a small plaque with faith inside (reminding me to never give up).

Family pictures are very important to every family.  They remind us of those we lost and where we came from.  They remind us of good times past and how skinny we used to be.  We have our memories and our feelings, but pictures can trigger more of what we have forgotten and remind us of great and not so great beginnings and ending.

I cannot begin to imagine my feelings of having to give any one of these things up.  I believe that I would feel devastated.  To have to give up everything you own, even your home would be unimaginable.  Any yet, I would think that so many people must do that every day in war torn countries.

I have realized that I am not as materialistic as I thought I was.  I know that our family is extremely close knit and my son means the world to me.  It would be harder to be asked to give him up than any personal item representing my family culture.