Professional Hopes and Goals

             I think that I would be very fortunate to work with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds.  I feel that it is very rare to have a true mixture of economic, ability, and race within one classroom.  In my classroom experiences, I have worked with either all wealthy white children, or all low-income black families, with the exception of one or two families within each program.  I would love to work in a school that truly allowed the blending of class and race to create a genuine diverse atmosphere.  I hope to one day be the director of such a preschool; one that draws in families that are interested in having an environment of diversity and getting to know other families that may otherwise be outside of their comfort zone.  I want to present a situation to families in which they can challenge their biases and raise their children to challenge the stereotypes that the world has presented. 

                Another hope I have when it comes to working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I am able to take each child and family as an opportunity to learn, to expand my knowledge about other cultures and use it to make every child feel comfortable and welcome in my school and/or classroom.  Every child is unique and has different things to offer a classroom, as well as to my experience as an educator, and to my life.  I hope to take the time to get to know every child and their family.  I feel that it is my responsibility to make each child and teacher feel valued and important, and to be sure that their family culture and cultural heritage is reflected and respected within my classroom, by myself and the community. 

                I feel that there are many goals that should be set in the early childhood field in regard to diversity, equity, and social justice.  I believe that we, as educators, consistently focus on our students and making them feel comfortable and loved, but sometimes their families may go to the wayside.  There are so many different types of families; nuclear, foster, adoptive, interracial, gay/lesbian, single-parent, divorced; the list goes on.  I feel that we need to begin to focus on bringing families together.  Children will learn the majority of their biases and stereotypes from their parents.  If we work hard to bring diverse families together, or to educate our families on how others may be raised, we are likely to spread tolerance and respect.  If families are more respectful of one another, and learn more about each other’s family culture, children will be more likely to continue such habits into their adult life. 

                Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues for their contributions to this course.  We, ourselves, are a diverse population.  We come from various backgrounds and experiences.  We represent different cultures and careers, and yet we all have come together to create a community with the same goal; to better the lives of young children.  I am both honored and privileged to have shared such a life-changing class with a group of intelligent, articulate, and kind-hearted individuals.  This has been my favorite community to work with and I have had many thought-provoking moments with many of you.  In addition, I want to thank you all for voting for my blog!  I was so excited to have been recognized by my peers for my efforts, and have really enjoyed the feedback I’ve received throughout this program.  I hope that you will continue to follow my blog and that we can all keep supporting one another throughout our degree program.  Thank you again for all of your insight and wisdom you have bestowed upon me during this course.  I wish you all the best on your journey!  Happy teaching!

Much love,

Raina

Welcoming families from around the world!

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

                The family that is going to be joining my preschool is from Afghanistan.  In order to be culturally responsive toward this new family, I feel that there are several steps I will need to take to make them feel comfortable and welcome. 

                I will begin by researching Afghanistan’s dominant family culture; keeping in mind that just because this is the dominant culture, does not mean that my new family will mirror this image.  I would do this so that I could become familiar with gender roles in their society, so as not to intimidate or step out of line.  I would also want to know what the role of the child is and how they are expected to behave socially and perform academically.  For example, according to a web resource, Afghanistan men are considered to be the heads of the family.  Many families live amongst their extended family in a large building or a community of several houses.  The patriarch makes all the decisions, and his word is final.  This would be an adjustment for me culturally, because I usually refer to the mother with any issues I am having with a given student.  I would want to learn basic social cues from the culture, so that I may greet them appropriately, and in a way in which they are comfortable. 

                After conducting general research, I would send a letter and form to the family stating that we would like to get to know them better before they come and join our community.  I would ask questions about their family culture and what they enjoy doing together as a group.  I would ask for the child’s favorite book titles and toys, and about his friends from home.  I would inquire about snacks and food preference so as not to force the child into a situation where he or she would be eating something culturally inappropriate.  For example, Afghanistan families tend to maintain a diet of healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, nan (a type of bread), and yogurt.  Many snacks that families may bring into a preschool would be unappealing or unaccepted by a child from Afghanistan. 

                In order to prepare my classroom, I would be sure to include some of the toys and food that the child enjoys, as specified by their parent’s responses to my inquiries.  I feel that it would be an important transition tool for the child to feel represented in their new classroom.  I would also set up an at home meeting with the family, so that I could meet them in their comfort zone and gain a better idea of who they are and what they wish to gain from the program for their child. 

In addition to preparing my classroom, I would also like to prepare my students and families for our new arrival.  I would show the students where Afghanistan is located on a map and ask if they’ve ever heard of the country.  We could talk about our biases and open conversation to what it must be like to enter a new country and a new school at such a young age.  We could discuss how we may feel if it were us, and ways in which we can make our new friend feel welcome and happy. 

                Lastly, due to cultural biases that come along with Afghanistan at this time, I feel that I would need to prepare my families for their arrival.  I would send home a notification that a new family would be joining us with information and a picture, (if permitted by the family).  I would refer them to me if there were any questions and encourage them to get to know the new family and set up play dates for the children.    

                I feel that all of these preparations would be beneficial to all parties involved.  It would help me to gain knowledge about a new culture that I know nothing about, and they will help the family feel wanted and respected.  In addition, it will also help my current families feel as though they are a part of the welcoming wagon and that they have an outlet for information if there are any personal concerns.  These preparations will allow me to continue building a happy, safe school environment in which every student, teacher and parent feels welcomed and empowered. 

References:

 http://www.afghanistans.com/information/people/wayoflife.htm

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

                As a woman, I have experienced many incidents of prejudice, bias, and oppression in my life.  This mostly began once I started college in 2001.  As a freshman, I was excited to begin my life away from my family, friends, and hometown for the first time.  Growing up in a small town had left me completely unprepared for the hardships that I would face elsewhere.  In my town, my family was well known and respected.  I was Bob and Marilyn’s daughter; Shauna’s sister; a well-loved girl in a small community.  I had been relatively well-behaved and had never really gotten into trouble.  I was in many clubs and the Captain of my soccer team.  Going to college was going to be a new beginning for me; one I had been extremely excited about but relatively unprepared for. 

                Three weeks into my freshman year, I was sexually assaulted by a 19 year old fraternity brother.  In my opinion, rape is the greatest form of oppression a young woman can suffer.  It is an example of men literally forcing themselves on women and taking from them the one thing we all have the most control over; our body.  Suffering through this tragedy changed me in ways that I never thought anything could.  I began subjecting myself to situations that I previously would have never been a part of.  I was partying too much, and cutting my family out of my life.  I was ashamed of myself and my body and felt that because of what happened to me, I was unworthy of respect and love.  I began to let my appearance change; I darkened my hair and began dressing more provocatively.  I spent my time with people who were unhealthy and brought me to places that were scary and unsafe.  I no longer had any regard for my own well-being and felt that I was used up and dirty.          

                This boy took something away from me that I still have not fully regained ten years later.  This situation has diminished equity because it took away my ability to have a say in what goes on with my own body and who I choose to allow entrance.  In addition, it caused me years of suffering and has impacted every relationship in my life that I had then, and since.  Thinking about this incident brings up many emotions for me.  Even after ten years have gone by, I continue to feel stunted by this event.  I have yet to involve myself in a healthy relationship that is nurturing and have spent time with many men who have been unworthy of my affections. 

                In order to change this situation to bring about greater equity, I decided to speak out.  I began by attending Take Back the Night and spoke to over two hundred college students about what I had been through.  This sparked something inside of me; if I help other women who may be going through the same thing I did, what I went through would not have been for nothing.  I joined a Women’s Center through my college and involved myself in counseling young women that had suffered the tragedy of sexual assault.  After finally leaving Oswego, I was encouraged to begin telling my story to high school students in my hometown, which eventually led to me speaking out in surrounding towns.  Currently, I serve as an advocate for girls in my school who have been sexually assaulted.  I feel that by using this situation for good, I am giving back to the female community and helping to reclaim equity.  I want to encourage more women to speak up about the injustices and oppression they suffer so that our voices are heard and our pain is seen.  When recently speaking with a young girl who has just been raped I told her, “As hard as it is, the more you tell your story, the less it will own you.”