What Is Communication?

As a director I take on many different styles of communication.  I have to communicate with children, teachers, parents, other directors, and the list could go on and on.  I communicate with each differently, but with respect for each.  Part of effective communicating for me also means listening. 

Public speaking has always been a challenge for me.  The person that I think of that communicates competently is my District Manager.  She has to speak to us in many different forums.  We have conference calls, 1:1 meetings, and director meetings where all of us gather together.  On each occasion she is confident, her agenda is well planned and clear to all, she is articulate and motivating as well.  I would like to gain the same confidence that she exhibits.   

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds …

                It’s difficult to think of just one hope but my hope embraces UNDERSTANDING:

I hope that families will always feel welcome and the environment in which we create encourages families to celebrate their differences.  I hope that I am understanding and able to always give my best to each family.  I hope that I can recognize when a personal bias may interfere with decisions and I am able to set aside my differences and make a decision that will be in the best interest of the families.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice

A goal that I would like to set would be to make sure that I always challenge my teachers to provide opportunities for families to share their culture so that diversity can be a positive learning experience.

As we wrap up this course I would just like to thank everyone for sharing some very personal life experiences with us.  What may have seemed like differences have really brought about connections.  I wish you all the best as we move on to our next course.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

TRINIDAD

It is interesting that this assignment hits the same week that I have a family from Trinidad that will be starting at my Preschool with the first of the New Year.  Knowing that I have a few weeks to prepare I will be doing the following things so that both myself and my teachers will be able to provide that best possible care to this new infant and her family.  Not knowing too much about Trinidad and its culture it would be beneficial for me to do some research on the country.  As with any family that enrolls at my school we sit and talk before their first day of school.  The family does speak English but with a thick native accent.  With the first meeting I saw that language will be somewhat of a barrier.  When I spoke with mom she was very concerned with understanding everything so that she could go home and share everything with her husband. She stopped me a few times to repeat what I had said to make sure that she understood.  She was conscious of this and apologized.  I will share this information with the teachers so they know that she would like for them to speak clearly when communicating with her.   We have asked about food preferences and likes and dislikes of the baby.  Mom has shared that she loves to sing and will eat most everything.  To make this little on comfortable in her new setting we have asked mom to bring some music that Mercy likes to sing and dance to so that she can hear something familiar in her new setting. We have also requested photos of family to be able to put up in the room so that she can see familiar faces throughout the day also.

I think that a nice way to bring everyone together after the holidays will be to welcome in the New Year with a family potluck.  I would like to invite each family to bring a dish that is a favorite in their home.  I believe that food is such a great conversation starter.   This will be a great way to welcome our new families and allow them the opportunity to introduce themselves and feel a part of the group.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The enrollment at the school that I work at is predominantly African American.  I can recall many occasions in which I was having a conversation with a teacher or parent in regards to food, music, clothing, or names and comments in regards to me or my race were made. 

Such comments include:

 “Oh that is a typical “white” name” or “that is a white person’s outfit for sure”

Or “you like to eat that?”

 Usually when such remarks are made I just casually laugh them off as not to make it a big deal.  However, internal thoughts are usually first disbelief that such remarks are so causally thrown out there. Secondly, if the conversation was the other way around and I had said something like that what would have happened?  Thirdly, I feel that some things are not just because of race but also because of where one grew up.  For example, my mom and grandmother cooked a lot of southern foods growing up but also there were a lot of Italian and northern dishes as well.  Foods we eat, the names we choose, and the clothes we wear are not only because of race but also because of the areas in which we live or have lived.

I think that as with many circumstances education can turn many situations around.

Microaggression Awareness

As I read this week’s assignments I was not really convinced that I would actually observe an example to write about…

As I was talking with one of the teachers at my children’s before and after school program she started to tell me about what her and her family were doing for Thanksgiving.  She said

“We are having Thanksgiving dinner at my parent’s house and my Aunt is bringing

 some friends with them.  They are from Japan so they probably don’t even speak English.”

She spoke about how it may be awkward and then continued on with her plans for Thanksgiving.  I immediately thought about this assignment during the conversation.  I guess I was somewhat surprised when I heard her make the comment.  She is a younger teacher and I guess because of her own personal circumstances I just thought that she would be more open to diversity.  I certainly do not think that she had meant to marginalize that family’s heritage but I also do not believe that if she was to take a step back and hear herself make that comment she would truly understand what she had said either.

From what I have learned this week this would be an example of a microinsult in which the statement is unintentional but demeans a person’s racial heritage (Laureate, 2011).  I think that is what is so hard to swallow about microaggressions.  They can be unintentional but can hurt to the core of one’s being and can be so damaging.  It is our job to empower children to be open about their differences whether it be cultural, religious, of sexual orientation, etc. and be proud of who they are.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011).  Microaggressions in Everyday Life.   Video retrieved from    http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn? CourseID=6060903&Survey=1&47=7539640&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

This week we were asked to reach out to at least three  individuals and ask them their definitions of CULTURE and DIVERSITY.  I decided to post this question on Facebook to see what type of response I would get.  I have not gotten too much feedback yet but did get the following replies:

My cousin Christopher  is currently living in South Korea. He is 24 years old and  teaches english to elementary school aged children. 

Culture: what defines a particular people or society as a whole by unique ways that both separates them from other peoples but brings those who share in the same experiences together.

Diversity: having many different people from different cultural backgrounds together in one place.

My older brother Bob (38), a father to four wonderful children and Lt. Colonel in the Air Force.  He adds: "what defines" equates to one's beliefs and values.

My husband’s cousin Kelly is a Special Education Teacher and her response to this post was:

I hear diversity and I think about the different ways that kids learn...visual learners, auditory learners. I think about how you have to diversify instruction to reach all children.

Each of the responses in some way touched on aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied thus far in this course.  For example, unique ways that separates but brings some together, beliefs and values, ways in which children learn.

Some aspects that were omitted from the definitions were those “surface” examples that I thought most thought of immediately like race, gender, etc.

This week’s assignments has challenged me to dig a little deeper and think deeper when it comes to focusing on diversity and culture. There is so much more to someone that what we see on the outside.  I believe if we start teaching children at a young age to accept these difference and we can help them to approach the world with open minds and hearts.



My Family Culture

YOU NEED TO EVACUATE...

Imagine the following:

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.

As I sit here thinking about the three things I would bring my thought process goes from first not knowing where to begin and then quickly realizing that I have to narrow down my choices because I can only bring THREE items.   My three items that I would want to take with me are:

1.       My wedding ring – This is a strong representation of both faith and family…two of the most important things in my life.

2.       Family photo album that would have pictures of our wedding, the birth of our children, family holidays and traditions captured, and numerous other pictures.

3.       Documents – I would make sure that I had all of our birth certificates and social security cards to prove who we are and may need if we were to return to our country again.

Upon arrival to this new destination I am told that I can only keep one of these items.  I would imagine that I would be devastated to have to leave behind even more of who I am, but I think I would choose to keep the photo album.  Growing up I can remember spending many hours with both of my grandparents flipping through photo albums and listening to stories.  I believe that so much can be learned about someone and their family culture through pictures.  For me this family album would capture all those moments that could describe all those memories and family values that I could not replace.

Doing this assignment reaffirms the importance of both faith and family to me.  My memories of sitting with family and looking at pictures and listening stories are ones that I will never forget.   I hope to be able to one day sit with my children and their new families that they have started and flip through family photo albums and share stories that they can pass along too.