Demonstrating Competent Communication

Although, I never depict myself to model a person, since I am big on being a unique individual. With that said, there are some individuals that are admirable to me and one of them is Oprah Winfrey. One of things that I enjoy about watching Oprah is she always displays effective communication. She demonstrates eloquence when she speaks, respect towards others and their views, and she gives a sense of comfort when she is conversing with others. Oprah has interviewed many individuals in her lifetime, from celebrities to pedophiles. Throughout all her interviews she remains respectable and at times she may not agree with the person; however she still allows them to tell their story. The behavior she exhibits as a communicator is something I would definitely implement into my own life personally and professionally. Sometimes when you are communicating with someone, you may not agree with their opinion but it is important to listen to the person’s views without bias, this something Oprah is able to do.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I leave them with a sense of belonging and acceptance. It is important that when I work with children I  impact them in such a way that they are prideful of who they are in this world and willing to accept others for who they are. I want children to know that their differences are what makes them unique and exploring those who are different from them, can be a great learning experience.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to empower children to love who they are and to learn that no one person is better than the other. I would love to create a workshop for children where they can learn about themselves and share their differences with one another. Learning these lessons early in life is essential for our society to change in regards to issues of diversity.

I truly enjoyed this course, it left me feeling empowered, I learned so much about my own identity, and I have a greater respect for the differences we share in this society. I love learning about my colleague’s journey through self discovery, their childhoods, culture, and views on diversity. I Hope that everyone took something from this class that they can use personally and professionally.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

If I was working in a child care center and was told a child of a family from Russia would be emigrated into my program, in order to be culturally prepared for this family there are five ways that would help me to be more responsive to the needs of the child and their family. Being that the child is from Russia I would research the culture, religion, and traditions in Russia, as well as investigate how their school systems are set up. The second thing I would do is try to meet with the family to get more in depth back ground of the family’s culture and their beliefs. The third thing I would do is make sure that the family is involved with providing the classroom with things the child may be comfortable with from their own culture. The fourth thing I would do is encourage the child to embrace their own language and culture. Last but not least, I would allow myself to be open and honest towards the new child as well as the children who were in the center previously, by answering or addressing any questions or uncertainty the children may encounter about themselves and others

 As a professional it is important to research and learn about the children and families you work with, this would give professionals a better idea of the family’s country of origin. Letting families know that you have some knowledge of where they are from, will allow the family to have comfort in feeling accepted. Making efforts to meet with the family  prior to the child attending the program opens up dialect between the professional and the family so that they are able to express what they want for their child, questions from both sides could be answered, and you can go beyond the surface layers of the child and their family. Talking with a child and their family about things they could bring to the classroom that can represent who they are would allow the child to have things that they are familiarize with while exposing the other children to different cultures. Being open and honest with children when they are curious about the identity of themselves and others is important because this can lead to an opportunity to show that child that there are differences in themselves as well as others.

Boutte, G. (2008). Beyond the illusion of diversity: How early childhood teachers can promote social justice. Social Studies, 99(4), 165--173.https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201340_04/MS_MECS/EDUC_6164/Week%207/Resources/Resources/embedded/Boutte2008.pdf

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I recently watch an episode of the television show” Good Times”. Good Times is a television show that was created in the 1970’s about a black family living in Chicago’s impoverished area. The 1970’s is a time where blacks were seen as an inferior race and was targets of oppression, racial bias, and prejudices. Thus, most of the episodes had some lesson on society institution, the isms, marginalization, culture, privileges, and family culture.

            There were many episodes that focus on these issues but one episode that I recently watch was Thelma a character who is the family only daughter is going to college for theater and dance. Thelma is very passionate about her career in theater and has written a play about a strong woman in her quest for a better life. The director of the theater department has found interest in Thelma’s play and wants to do a production. The theater director is a white male who sends his assistant to review and edit the play with Thelma.  As they are editing the play, the assistant often mentions that the director will like to omit or edit certain parts of the play. Most of the things he was omitting or editing were things pertaining to the black culture for example; he wanted the character’s name to change because it sounded like a black name and his audience would not identify with that name.

            As Thelma’s play began to lose its depth and meaning, she began to feel marginalization, bias, prejudice and discrimination. As a result, she told the assistant that she didn’t mind making changes to her play but she was not going to compromise the play to fit into the norm of society. She states “compromising can sometimes mean to surrender” and that although the woman in the play is black, the play is not about being black, it is about a woman who happens to be black. This statement really rings in my ears that sometimes society forgets the underlining meaning of things and makes a person’s race, sexual orientation, gender, etc more of an issue rather than viewing things for what they truly are. One of the things that would have to change to turn incidents like this from happening, is society’s mind set would have to change. This view of what is considered to being the norm would have to change. The norms in society, results in issues of prejudice and oppression.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggression is considered to be subtle insults made towards someone’s race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion (Laureate, Inc). Microaggression sometimes occurs as an unintentional compliment. However, the person on the receiving end may interpret the compliment as offensive or insulting. I myself have experienced some form of microaggression. For example, I remember standing in line at the grocery store waiting my turn to pay for my items. There were three people ahead of me in line. The three people happen to be two white males and one white lady. As I stood in line patiently, I observed the cashier greeting each customer nicely and handing their change in their hands. As I approached the register, I noticed the cashier demeanor change and she did not greet me as she did her other customers. I paid for my items, and was due cash back. Instead of the cashier handing me my money in my hand she placed the money on the counter with my receipt and didn’t even give me a thank you. This experienced left me feeling furious and belittled. I thought the cashier’s behavior was so rude. Although she checked my items out and gave me back my change, she clearly had an issue with dealing with someone who was black. Although she didn’t say anything to me that was rude, her behavior implied she was behaving racially biased.

It saddens me that people continue to still experience discrimination and prejudices. It confirms to me that although as a society we have over come many obstacles in regards to discrimination and prejudices the reality is, it still occurs. Honestly, I don’t think that we as a society will totally be free of discrimination, prejudices, and stereotypes. As early childhood professionals it is our duty to at least make efforts to change the mindset of biases against others in the children we work with.

Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d). A Conversation About Child Development [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2651039_1%26url%3D

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I asked three different people what was their definition about culture and diversity. The first person I asked was my aunt Deanna. She described culture as an appreciation for good literature, music, art, and food. Aunt Deanna expressed that culture is a learned life where people learn to do things based on the life they have seen growing up. In other words, culture is a learned behavior pattern. Diversity to my aunt Deana means a wide range of people and different things. She goes on to say that diversity is not just about color it’s also about having difference of opinion and being able to understand another person’s point of view.

The second person I spoke to was my cousin Yvette. Yvette describes culture as a way certain races communicate, interact and take care of social or personal situations in a certain way. She describes diversity as a composition of various elements for example, culture, ethnicity, and race.

The third person I asked was my friend Randy. Randy describes culture as the way you dressed, act, religious beliefs, the foods you eat, and political views. She describes diversity as people who are of different race, ethnicity, nationality, and religion. Randy expressed that diversity is to understand and accept that people are different and do things differently depending upon their culture.

After examining the answers I received, it allowed me to learn that culture and diversity have different meanings for people. Most of the answers that were included touch on the surface layers of culture, the things that are notice most in someone’s culture. For example, my aunt Deanna described culture as good food, art, and music. These are characteristics that are most commonly used when describing culture. The answers I received did not include the core of culture. For instance, no one spoke about specific characteristics of their culture, like mannerisms or specific behavioral patterns. Prior to taking this course, if I was to ask myself what would be my definition of culture and diversity, my answers would likely only consists of the surface layers of culture and diversity. I feel fortunate to be able to find deeper meaning and understanding in culture and diversity.

My Family Culture

If there was a major catastrophe that has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of my country and I was told that my family and I had to evacuate to another country but I could only take three small items with me, the three items I would take is my mother’s ring, a picture of my mother, and my iPod with Spanish music. The reason for bringing a picture of my mother and her ring is because my mother is deceased and she represents a large part of my family culture. My mother is one of the main people in my life who taught me about my own culture. Having a picture and ring is a symbol that I could hold dear to me and it would give me comfort in the new country. The third object that I would bring is Spanish music. I am from Panama a Spanish speaking country and Spanish music represents part of my culture. Listening to Spanish music wherever I am, I would be able to reminisce about my own culture while still enjoying a part of who I am. If upon arrival to the new country I was told that I was only allowed to keep one of the items that I brought, the item I would choose is my mother’s ring. Although all three items mean a lot to me, I chose the ring because it a symbol of my culture and heritage that I can carry on me wherever I go.

I enjoyed this exercise because it allowed me to dig deep into myself and who I am. When I think of my family, I just know that these are the people that are dear to me and that I love with all my heart. However, this exercise taught me that my family has more meaning and that the simple things that we take for granted, like learning to tie our shoes, how we speak, how we dress all makes up our culture and is the true meaning of family culture.