The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice & Oppression

• One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length)
  • I hope that I am able to present myself as someone who can be approached by anyone, who is willing to help, and patient with the learning curve that comes from bringing people of diverse backgrounds together. It’s such a balancing act between learning about other diverse backgrounds, being respectful of maintaining and integrating other cultures, and also introducing the new culture and as a teacher, I never want to  make someone feel like they, or the background they are coming from is not enough, or less important.
• One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length)
  • I just wish (and hope) that more educators in the field would take time to learn about how to work with diverse populations and how to create classroom settings to be welcoming to diverse populations. Leaving your familiar culture is hard enough, and being faced with educators who are not welcoming, patient, or tolerant of your language, customs or cultures can add so much extra distress to a child and their family.
• A brief note of thanks to your colleagues
  • Thank you for learning alongside with me during this course. I have enjoyed reading your discussion posts, your insights, and your comments. It has been a very difficult time for me, as I am a new mother, working full time, teaching a new grade as well as maintaining all my other responsibilities daily, and I have appreciated the chance to learn from each of you as I keep doing the best I can to gain knowledge and continue my program.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

I have had this situation happen before and not having a heads up about the incoming student is so overwhelming because you want to be welcoming but are not sure what is acceptable for that child since you are a stranger and know relatively nothing about them. Being notified of a new student entering your classroom ahead of time is so beneficial for both the teacher and the family so both sides have time to prepare for the new transition.

The country I picked is Yemen.

5 ways I would prepare in order to be culturally responsive to this family would be”

1. I would try to find a translator to be present when the family first arrives to the classroom. I would also try to have my welcome paperwork and information in english and the home language.
2. I would seek out other children in the school from the same country, or cultural background in order to visit the classroom at some point and welcome the child in their language, as well as translate is needed.
3. I would learn about the types of dress that are used in Yemen. I would try to be aware of dressing even more appropriately, and approach the family in a way that is more subtle and modest, in order to not make them uncomfortable (wearing a dress vs. pants, less jewelry, etc)
4. I would find out about mannerisms and social norms from the home country in order to respond to ways the family may interact (possibly no eye contact, no touching between unmarried men and women, etc.)
5. I would try to learn simple key phrases in their language (hello, welcome, eat, bathroom, water) to make the child feel comfortable, and perhaps know what the child is referring to if theyre verbal language is limited.
6. I would also try to create classroom labels with pictures, and the words in both english and the home langauge in order to use with the child if their verbal language is limited.
7. I would gather some information and resources in order to connect the family with others who may be from their area, or be helpful to them (local community center, language classes, etc.)
8. I would prep the students for this new students arrival and talk about things like how they may dress differently than us, eat foods that are different, or speak another language, and how they may be frightened by us, but how important it is for us to be kind to our new friend so they may feel comfortable in our classroom with us.

I would hope these preparations, and many many more that would happen along the way would make the family and the child feel welcomed, and create a relationship of respect between the family and the teacher. It is so scary to be new in school (I was the new kid once!) and coming to a new country that may be very different from your own is probably like landing on a new planet, for the whole family! Whatever can be done in order to prepare for their arrival is better than doing nothing at all.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice & Oppression

 

I once had a family member of a student say some very negative things about me to others, because she thought my interactions with her child were too friendly. She did not like that I told the child I was happy to see her after a weekend, that I said she was a great listener, and a pleasure to have in class. She referred to me as a white person, followed be a very derogatory term. Her comments are referred to my race, which ironically, I am hispanic, so referring to me as “white” was an assumption on her part, and also hugely inappropriate.

I could have been very offended over finding out about this, but the truth is that I know my behavior with my students is very developmentally appropriate, and the parents words were both very inappropriate and showed a lack of knowledge on her part, as well as making assumption about me and who I am as a person. I could have let the whole thing change the way I run my classroom, or my interactions with all families, but I chose to continue on as usual. I know that I strive to create a happy welcoming environment in my classroom and as the teacher a child has for their first school experiences, I think you have to just roll with it and be sure of yourself despite the negative actions of others. It has not always been that way for me, but I am making a conscious effort to have a thicker skin and not let things upset me or make me questions my own actions.

I have tried creating relationships with families and letting them know things about myself to create a sense of respect and team work in the care and education of their children. I think sometimes you can’t reach everyone and you have to do the best you can for the children you have while they are with you.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

 

This week I was on the bus on the way to the subway from school and a woman with a young child and a baby in a stroller got on. Strollers are supposed to be folded up and babies must be held on public buses. It was a double bus with the extension in the middle (it looks like an accordion if you’ve never seen one) and the woman entered through one of the middle doors and wheeled the stroller with the baby into the middle section where the front and the back of the bus connect. The bus driver announced that she needed to unload the baby and fold the stroller and the women continued to just stand there, so another woman (who was Caucasian with some kind of European accent) closer to her said “excuse me, he said you need to fold up the stroller and hold the baby”. The woman with the baby who was black, began yelling at the first woman that she wasn’t deaf and didn’t need her or anyone to tell her what she needed to do. The first woman apologized and said she was just trying to help, she thought she hadn’t heard the driver.

It was uncomfortable, because as a new mother, I know you can always feel judged by everyone with whatever choices you make with your child , and when its things that need to happen quickly you feel even more stressed. I can see why the mother became defensive, but at the same time I really do think the other woman was just repeating the driver because since the mother wasn’t moving as if to fold up the stroller, maybe she really thought she had not heard him.

I think an offer to help would have been more appreciated, but that could backfire as well so you never really know what to do in these situations. Someone can always feel offended, someone may not always have the best intentions, it can be a double edged sword.

This past week after discussing microaggressions, I think I have been acutely aware of perception and the way things sound when you say them. I’ve observed the way people move around each other, the way people greet each other, even the way strangers interact with each other.

Perspectives on Diversity & Culture

I surveyed the parent of a former student of mine, my brother,  my friends husband and my mother

a former parent, a teacher in her late 30’s, Trinidadian, teacher: “Culture to me is what I am surrounded by my family. They give me my culture. Diversity is being surrounded by different cultures from all races and families. My culture is Trinidadian and I have diversity as I am surrounded in New York by all kinds of people and surround myself with friends from all walks of life.”

My mother, who immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia at 15, in her 60’s, retired as a Superintendent of schools: ” Culture has to do with the arts, one’s identity, heritage, language, religious beliefs, the sense of being proud of our heritage. Diversity to me it means being unique, yet different, but the same as a human race, diversity has to do with language, ethnicity, religious beliefs, socio economics, sexual orientation, but the mixing of cultures, appreciating our uniqueness and respecting our differences makes us better human beings. ” 

My brother, first generation, in his early 30’s, a history teacher: “culture is the collective learning of particular groups as it relates to shared language, ethos, pathos, social hierarchies, the arts and education. Diversity is a blend of differing things inhabiting the same space.” 

My friend, Irish, a chef in his 30’s, : “Culture is a set of “guidelines” intrinsic to a group of people passed on through generations. Diversity is an individualistic experience where you take lessons learned throughout your life and apply them to real world experiences.”

Upon reflection after interviewing everyone:

Everyone I spoke to, related culture to the people surrounding you, things you                      learn from them and pass down through generations. It encompasses the things                      you learn from them- your language, your values , your sense of self & identity. 

            Diversity is s a blending of everything and everyone –  meeting others, learning      

             about others, and being surrounded by different people and learning from those 

             differences. 

Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission?

What I found interesting was now thinking of culture in terms of what we learned from  Janet Gonzalez- Mena and what she said  about culture being similar to an iceberg, and many people only think of what they see at the tip and what lies below water is so much more complex.  Culture is so much more than just language, music, style of clothing. Some things to consider that me be affected by culture but don’t automatically comes to mind- How one deals with different situations, having a relationship with someone of a different culture,, what kind of career field they may pursue, so many things can be related to culture. 

In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics?

I realize that many people always refer back to the “melting pot” analogy when speaking about diversity. Living in New York, people always assume we are very diverse in our day to day lives, but really there are so many areas in this country that are not very blended and exposure to other cultures is so limited.  

 

My Family Culture

The Scenario: A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

• A description of the three items you would choose
  • I’m stumped with this one! I would take a small photo album that has pictures of myself and my family growing up and then includes photos of my husband and my daughter to show the gradual progression of my life and the family memories within it, my wedding ring and my phone…is my phone even an option if the charger comes with it? Never mind, forget my phone, I’d bring a blanket.
• How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you
  • 1. The photo album- our photo albums are full of moments with my family that meant something to myself. I would share my family photo album and tell the story of each memory to show the new culture how important family and story telling is in my culture.
  • 2.  My wedding ring represents the commitment my husband and I made to each other, our family and ourselves.
  • 3. My favorite blanket because my daughters godmother knitted it for her and it could keep us warm while representing the importance of hard work, dedication and the importance of following through with tasks.

 

• Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you
  • I would keep my photo album above all else because it is far more meaningful to me than any of the other two objects. If told I could only keep one item, I would be baffled and appalled. Why would I need to give up the (non living) items that are so important to me? I would think that I could keep something small that does not take away resources from another living creature. In reality though, if we were to lose everything, in a fire or a hurricane, we would just have those memories in our minds to hold onto. Material things, even when they are very meaningful, are just things.

 

• Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise.
  • For myself, my family time is so important to me and then things i hold most valuable to myself besides my actual family are things I’ve collected with them. I think I grew up with such strong family values, that I hope to raise my own children the same way. I realize not every family is the same, but the importance I place on spending genuine, intentional time with my loved ones is something that I believe comes from my home culture and defines the person I have grown into. Having experienced losing many things we considered of value during a hurricane, at the end of the day the things that are really most valuable are your loved ones, and if I had them I could share my culture through actions and example.

Uplifting Stories

Option 1:

Share a positive example of the effects of research on children and/or families: Perhaps you can provide real-life examples of research benefits to children and/or families; maybe you are familiar with stories of people who have been positively affected by research; or you came across a published research article concerning children or families which you find exciting and would like to share with your colleagues.

 

A real life example of how research can benefit families involved myself and a few of my coworkers with a student in our school. He was very high functioning on the Autism spectrum but really struggled with social settings and frequently acted out inconsolably when he became frustrated or uncomfortable, He did so well academically, but needed social skills modeled for him. My coworker found out about the NEST program, which is an inclusion program for students with ASD within community schools in the NYC Department of Education. Has she not have been researching ways to work with this child, she would not have learned of Nest or have been able to share the information with his family. Working with Nest educators and the students family, he was able to apply and be accepted into the program which has proven to be a much more beneficial setting for him. Through that experience, we were all able to use that information last year when we met a student who we thought would be such a great fit in the program and we were able to share so much information with the family who had never heard of it.

 

Research doesn’t always have to be wordy and scary, although it may appear that way for some. It can open up new doors to so much information that seemed unreachable before.

Research Around the World

The website I chose to explore is Early Childhood Australia .  I actually chose it because I happen to follow a lot of teacher accounts on Instagram and coincidentally there are many Australian teachers who are very popular so it caught my eye. I found the website to be informative for anyone who is looking for information- educators and families alike. 

The vision for Early Childhood Australia is clearly posted and welcoming to all, ” Our Vision: Every Young Child Is Thriving and Learning”. I love this vision statement! I truly believe it is not enough to ensure a child is learning academically, but that they are developing as people socially and emotionally. I think “thriving” is an excellent word to use to express that. 

The biggest research topic that I saw of major importance was the emphasis on the benefits of investing in early childhood programs to support learning at the earliest stages. This is such a popular topic and it is worldwide. Research has proven that children are able to learn at the earliest stages and educators are working to show others how important it is to utilize that time frame to help children develop, as well as searching for funding to support these programs. 

I found it interesting that the ECA plans advocacy goals ranging over years (for example 2017-2020). Their advocacy goals touch upon so many important issues that are not only current but also always of importance.

The ECA Advocacy Goals are set to span from 2017-2020 and are as follows:

•   Priority 1: Speak up for children
  • Priority 2: Build social capital
  • Priority 3: Champion quality in early education
  • Priority 4: Lead & inspire professional learning
  • Priority 5: Position ECA for long term success

This shows so much awareness that goals and change cannot be accomplished in a day but rather over time. 

I also found it of interest that there is mention of the Aboriginal population being included and reconciled as part of the greater Australian community. I do not have any knowledge of a divide among the Australian population but I am intrigued to learn more now.  

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I would like to learn more about would be types of coping strategies for children with high functioning autism such as Asperger’s. I have been teaching for six years in my own classroom now, seven if I count the year I spent subbing. Last year, I was a co teacher in an ICT classroom and had my first experience with children with diagnosed types of  special needs. Prior to this, my experience with students with IEP’s and special needs was limited if any. In our class last year, we had children with varying needs, but the one that I found the most fascinating was the range of abilities and needs with those students with Autism. I don’t mean to make it sound like their needs were something I needed to study, but I genuinely wanted to know more, and learned so much from my co teacher on how to work with these students and meet their needs. One student in particular was very high functioning on the spectrum and we had to constantly come up with ways to support his learning not jut academically, but socially as well.

I consider myself a reader with a vast vocabulary. I’ve loved books and just words in general for as long as I can remember. I have to be honest though, research based vocabulary is not my thing. I am doing my best to read through these chapters but it is slow going. Choosing  terms I am not familiar with and explaining them in my own terms is slightly difficult mostly because I feel like even if it sounds like something I should be able to understand, it’s basically like reading another language.

If you know of any resources, organizations, or services related to autism and more information to educate others on the autism spectrum please feel free to share them with me. I am eager to learn all that I can.

Final Blog Assignment

Learning about the international early childhood field has many consequences for our professional and personal development:

• Being aware of ways international education functions in other areas of the world allows us to measure ways in which United States differs in comparison and areas that need to be improved upon.
• I recall learning about the classroom that began on a train platform in India for homeless children and grew into an early childhood program that provided such an advantage for children who attended. It brought to mind ways that thinking of learning taking place anywhere can be applied to learning in areas in need in the United States.
• Learning about the different ways education and teachers are valued in different areas of the world put into perspective the way things are in the United States. It can encourage us as educators to look beyond the data and paperwork that have taken over our classrooms and consider ways we can rejuvenate learning.
• Advocating for those in need and learning how to become involved not just within our local learning community but internationally as well is so important. Education is constantly changing and we can learn so much about cultures and language from people who experience things differently from us.

One goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations:

Keeping up to date and educated of issues and trends happening both locally and internationally is a responsibility of an educator. I would like my goal is to find a way to become active as a volunteer or advocate for an international organization, and be able to travel there to learn from them. There are so many issues constantly popping up in the education field, it is hard to pick just one to focus on, as well as work on helping issues more locally.