Professional Hopes and Goals

My hope for families of diverse cultures and backgrounds is that when they join our educational system that they feel welcome, and that their needs be met.  I want those of different cultures to be able to express their cultures in our classrooms for other children to learn from them. I want these families to feel like they are no different from anyone else. My professional goal is to continue to educate teachers and other individuals about diversity and creating equity in the classrooms. As this course comes to an end I want to thank my colleagues for sharing their experiences and knowledge with me. This has been one of the best courses I have taken here at Walden. Good Luck to you all in your future endeavors.

Welcoming Families Around The World

The family enrolling in my center would be from Singapore.
To prepare for this family I would research some cultures and traditions of the people from Singapore. I would also makes sure the classroom reflects cultural diversity by placing diverse pictures, and books around the room. I would also look at our menu options in order to be prepared to offer the family a list of options that we can provide for their child.  I would inform the staff that we are having a family from Singapore joining the center, and prepare that child's teacher by sharing the information I would found about Singaporeans culture.  I would also ensure the classroom looks welcoming by making sure the colors around the room are bright.  By being proactive and preparing for this family I hope that the family will see that we value them as part of our center.  Also that we respect their culture and their beliefs enough to make changes in the menu and other areas to accommodate to their needs.  For the center and staff  I would hope that being prepared for a family shows the pride we take in the profession and how we want to meet the needs of children and families.

Personal Side of bias, prejudice, and oppresion

In my personal life I have experienced biases or prejudices. When I was in high school we had new coaches come to our school. One day I was in the hallway and the coach who was an African American female and told me it was good that i was on the cheerleading team, because I was the only black girl on the team. The statement really upset me because in someway she meant to be a good statement but for me it was why shouldn't I be on the team. Though I did not like the comment I continued to cheer on the team, and members of the team became my best friends. In this situation the coach could have taken the time to get to know me better personally and see that I was not the type of person who felt uncomfortable on the team but actually liked to be in a diverse crowd.

Microaggression

I can remember observing an occasion that classifies as a microaggression.  I witnessed a director speaking with a parent who was fluent in spanish and spoke very little English. The parent was speaking little a mix of English and Spanish, the director was saying I do not understand with clear frustration.  The parent had a look of defeat and confusion with trying to explain. The parent walked away from the conversation.  As I watched this situation I felt bad for the parent because she clearly felt degraded for not being able to speak English as well.  The director had power over her in this situation. This is a clear example of bias and discrimination. The director feels that because this is America the parent should be fluent in English.  Discrimination is very evident in our everyday life.