Welcoming Families From Around the World

Scenario

My name is Tracy Halverson and I am working as a preschool teacher in my community of Salt Lake City, Utah.  I have just been informed that a young child who has emigrated from Sweden will be enrolling into my classroom.

There are many things to prepare for before the child enters the classroom.

I think that I would do a little research about the culture of Sweden so that I would know a little if and when this family decides to share information

I need to create a relationship with the family so that they can trust me to share information that is needed.  This doesn’t mean drilling a million questions.  I feel that treating these people how I would like to be treated would be a great way to get to know the family

I would need to find out if the child has sensitivity to any foods or medicines.

I would need to find out how old and how many bothers and sisters if any.  Who is the caretaker (s). 

Does the family have a home language or do they speak English

One last thing to get started is to educated the family in what the culture is where they are entering.

I feel that exchanging this information will make for a smooth transition.

Preparing and knowing a little information before you meet the family will help you understand a bit more of where the family is coming from.  However, everyone will be different.  Preparing to create relationship naturally is a positive way to welcome any one into a new classroom.  It will take more than one meeting, however, all of these preparations will make for a smooth entry.  It will be most interesting to find out where this child is from so that we can all learn from him as well

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression?

I have a couple of incidences that come to my mind. One of the first one that was a target of bias or oppression or even prejudice was a young child in the same grade as me.  He had dark skin and was kind of chubby and did not dress like others.  I remember he was always leaving when we said the pledge of allegiance.  I always wondered why.  Back in my day sometimes it was not smart to ask questions, especially of this type.  I noticed through the year(s), he was excluded from the celebrations and he had to go the library or sit tin the hall and do some sort of worksheet. I finally got brave and asked, (it took until sixth grade), that it was because of his religion.

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

I really thing that there was no equity at all.  He was singled out of the whole school.  This child was the only one who was singled out this way.  There was not one way that he could participate.  There were not previsions made to meet his needs. I remember the teachers saying, “well it is his choice, we cannot do anything about it!” I know that by the time this child was 16 years old he was robbing and using drugs.  I believe that he was in prison as well.

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

There is much that comes up for me.  It comes down to that we will never make everyone happy. However, in the 21sr century we should be more educated on what to do.  I know that it bothers me in my program that we cannot celebrate holidays and we cannot learn the pledge of allegiance among many other cultural events. 

What do we do with a situation like this little boy?  He has really known idea other than what his parent taught him.  I know it made me feel bad. I felt powerless myself because of some of the things that happened to me. Plus I those days you did not ask questions.

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

Well definitely I feel that the teacher, actually the whole school administration. By getting to know there students they would have known that this young person was not able to participate in all these activities and maybe planned something different for the day. I feel that the individual teachers can be sensitive to this belief. As for the pledge of allegiance, I am not sure.  I feel that I am being prejudiced against because I cannot share this simple poem that was written for the flag and our country.

As educators we have to be aware of everyone’s special need.  Early childhood is an essential. Habits, feelings and outlook are structured in these early years. Once again I believe we need to form the relationship with the parent and find out what their needs and wants are and really work around what they tell us.  Therefore, it seems that there would be a win/win.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

After reading all the materials this week and reading the different posts in the discussion forum this week has brought a higher awareness for me.  I really thought that I was more aware of prejudice, discrimination, and /or stereotypes with people.

As I went through the week reflecting and observing other’s along with myself, I have come to the conclusion that a the human race most of us do not think before we talk and laugh at things that shouldn’t be laughed out.  I found that some just shrug words and actions off.  Deep inside I know that they are hurt and scared. 

It is important that I look at the person as a person first and as I create the relationship, learn about their culture and race and/or ethnicity. I feel that this is going to make me aware of not discriminating and stereotyping.  These Microaggressions are so prominent around me. 

Working in the restaurant industry as a server there is much microaggression happing.  I am so much more aware of it after this week.  As humans, it seems that we just go along with everything without thinking if it doesn’t affect us. 

Working as a teacher in Headstart there is much diversity.  I came across several microagressions this week and am ashamed to say that this was my aide in my class.  We were on home visits and visited a home that was of Brazilian decent.  We had a nice visit with Mom and Child.  She was speaking clear English and we were communicating about what was happening with her child.  When we left we were going out to the car and my aide began to speak about, “Well those people think that they are entitled to everything.  They get their Headstart for free and all the services and they do not even appreciate what they get!”  I said, “Why would you say that”?  She just answered, “Well it is true!”  This really made me start to think how I can talk to her about this.  It is not all right to treat people this way.

I was on Facebook the other day and I saw a demonstration about how bullying and words and different actions can scar a person forever. The demonstration went something like this:  Have children or adults crumple up a piece of paper.  Then have them try to smooth it out. They will find that it will never smooth out, they will see that there will be creases and wrinkles forever.  This works with people as well.  Think before we talk.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Speak with at least three friends, family members, acquaintances, and/or colleagues. Ask each person to share:

• Their definition of culture
• Their definition of diversity

When I talked to my people about these questions their answers were all very similar. 

The response to the question of what is culture was described, as what a person wore, the way that they were raised and that there are different traditions that they practiced. All three mentioned that language and dialect of the language has much to do with the culture that a person is from. Some mentioned the different foods and ways that prayer was an important part of their culture.

The response to the question of what they thought diversity was, most answered with the same answer as inclusion of all. That all should accept and respect each other for what they believe and their opinions and feedback.

From what I have studied so far in this class I can see that most people think the same way.  For example, language is a huge cultural action.  How they are raised, the parenting skills are very different and they way we eat.

I really do not see much omission in these statements. Culture and Diversity can go so deep. 

What I have learned from talking to these other people and finding out what they think about these two words, has me thinking that there is so much to learn in order to understand people and why they do things.  I know that in my class we had some differences.  We try to teach independence and let the children do things themselves.  There are several groups of families that were enabling their children.  I talked to my family advocate and she explained to me why they do it and it was part of the culture.  So we brainstormed so that we could create a balance and a win/win for all.

So talking and knowing is going to make me have a better understanding of what all involved are thinking and where they came from as not to judge or single out.

My Family Culture

January 20, 2013

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.

The three items that I would take that are dear to me would be my picture albums and the hard drive that has all my pictures and documents on them.  There are pictures of my biological parents, my family as I was growing up and of my children and family. Along with this I would grab my computer.  I would also grab the American flag that was on my dad’s casket.

There is much information and stories on this hard drive and in the photo album that I would bring. I would share the experiences that are important to me and how that created the culture and traditions in my life that I have learned and lived.  The documents that are on the hard drive are stories and facts that would educate others of how I lived in my life and important information that might be helpful to others.

It would be a very hard choice if I had to give something up.  Especially just having the three items. I would keep the photo albums.  In these albums there are many stories and facts that I could share forever.  It would also keep me sane as to allowing me to remind me of where I came from and who I am. 

What I have learned from this exercise is that I take advantage of life and how I live it. It seem that I just want people to know who I am and my identity that I am an individual. I have done some deep thinking lately of how I think and pre judge people.  We are all made of different traditions, cultures, color and personality.  If I do not understand I should not judge.  I really thought about this and to tell you the truth I think that I would be very scared at first if this scenario happened.  As I see in today’s world here in the United States and in my community, most really do not want to know or their ignorance causes pre judgment and then the stereotyping begins.  I am going to try and find out before I judge.  We are all of one, just with different upbringings, which we all need to respect. After all there is so much that can be learned from each other and if we all combine our cultures and beliefs in a positive way we can have and create a win/win experience in life.

Perspectives on Diversity and Equity EDUC - 6164

Hello Friends and Colleagues,
I am excited to hear about your knowledge and expereinces with this class.  I use tabs to post in my blog.  So each week there will be a different tab with my posts. Please look into the tabs and share your knowledge. I am looking forward to reading and sharing all the  great information among all of us.  I am looking forward to hearing from all of you.

Week 8 Building Research Compentency

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

I really enjoy research.  I have been in market research my whole life.  My mother owned and operated her own market research company.  This research that we did in this class was very challenging.  Learning how to read studies was a huge discovery for me.  Research is very important and learning that there are specific ways to reach the outcome was very interesting. I know that research is a very needed part of developing theories, especially for the early childhood field.

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

There are many technical terms in doing research.  There has to be precise accuracy to reach the ultimate goal. I found that most of the designing is not as hard as it is to read.  I know that I had to break the different designs down into little pieces for me to understand.

What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

This subject has been very challenging to me.  There were many words that I could not pronounce and understanding the meanings were a challenge as well.  I used the internet and the book, Doing Early Childhood Research as a reference with everything. Comprehending the complicated reading was a huge challenge for me.  After breaking many of the readings down into several different parts, I think I am starting t understand it more.

I know that if I get involved in the research aspect of this, I will be the idealist and I will have to have another person on the team to help decode and design the project. I think research is not a strong strength of mine. 

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

I think that the only perception that I have is that I want to learn more.  Reading everyone’s posts and what they were researching and their interests, I will continue to research and teach myself how to the best I can to get the results that I am looking for so that I can be the best leader in the field of Early Childhood! 

Thank you everyone for all your wisdom.  Thank you Dr. Davis for your knowledge.