Welcoming Families From Around the World

In order to create a comfortable and accepting transition for the family from Mexico, I would ensure the following:

• Add accents to my home that would remind the family of their home culture such as books, music, popular food/snacks, etc.
• If possible, I would have a translator present just incase the family does not speak English and to provide them with a relatable person to ask questions and provide information.
• If there are small children that would attend my childcare center, I would prepare any documentation and registration information to go over with the family and translator once they arrive.
• I would learn simple Spanish phrases and words to help the family realize that I am open and willing to learn about their culture as well. 

I transition such as this is already difficult enough. My hope is to ease the minds and spirits of this family and these accommodations would demonstrate how hard I would try to embrace their culture within our shared home.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

A memory of when I experienced prejudice personally came when I first started working in corporate America. I was always told that my name would make it hard for me to obtain jobs in a white-washed corporate setting, but I was determined to prove everyone wrong. I was on a panel of interviewers at a company job fair. Amongst the panel was the president of human resources. We'd never met nor conversed, so she was not aware of who I was nor my position within the company. She read over a list of what she thought was the list of interviewee's, but instead she was reading the list of interviewers. She went through the list out loud and when she got to my name she struggled to pronounce it (as most people do). After butchering it several times, she laughed and jokingly stated "wow I would never hire someone with a name like that". I looked down the table, pointed to my name tag, and stated "you already did".

She apologized over and over and said she did not mean to offend me, and I told her it was okay. I did feel a little embarrassed, as I knew that this was more than likely her thought process for most interview candidates. However, I am glad to have been sitting there when she made the comment and hopefully she will never make those types of judgements again.

The president of HR would have to change her mindset if she was going to learn anything from the incident. There is no telling at all just how many people have been denied jobs from that company based on something they themselves had no control over. I truthfully and whole-heartedly believed that she learned her lesson that day, one that will hopefully stick with her for the rest of her life.

Microaggressions

Throughout my studies this week my eyes have definitely opened to microaggressions that I have either experienced or witnessed throughout my lifetime. One in particular that still bothers me to this day was an experience with a former Hispanic parent during my tenure as a Parent Liaison. The parent was excluded from running for a PTA officer position just because she did not speak English fluently. The administration felt that she would have a hard time communicating with others and immediately diminished her from running. She felt sad and embarrassed, even expressing to me that she frequently felt discounted or less intelligent because of her English. I felt so bad for the parent that I ended up collaborating with her to create a group for Hispanic parents within the PTA. These parents served other Hispanics throughout the school and community to assist with inclusion efforts and expanding cultural partnerships in the school. The parents had awesome ideas for events and workshops for Hispanic parents and families. They worked closely with the PTA for every event and provided translators. In the end, the administration supported these efforts and eventually became more welcoming to Hispanics and their families. This was important because the school population was composed of mostly Hispanics.

With the information I have retained this week, I now know that microaggressions are their own sector of prejudice and can be either intentional or unintentional. In the end, hate is hate, and causing anyone to feel uncomfortable because of who they are is unjust and inhumane.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Friend Perspective...

What is culture?
Culture is, in essence, who you are. Its the language you speak, clothes you wear, religion you practice, and so forth. Some people can't really explain what their culture is or a group they belong to, but I think that's because they are not in touch with who they are just yet.

What is diversity?
Diversity to me is what makes us different. I'm mixed but you're fully black, therefore we're diverse in that sense.

Co-Worker Perspective...

What is culture?
Its a combination of your heritage and morals. A balance between what you think is right and what you've been taught is right.

What is diversity?
The differences in people, which could be anything. We all are different in some way, and that's what makes us unique.

Parent Perspective...

What is Culture?
Culture can be anything that has an influence on your life...and it's different for all people. So, i'm Jewish and I consider that to be apart of my culture. Whereas someone else may not let their religion define who they are, so that wouldn't be considered apart of their culture. It varies from person to person.

What is diversity?
The differences between groups of people, that set us apart from one another.

I have learned that the definition of culture and diversity vary from person to person. This is because every person has different ideas and opinions on what makes them unique or "who they are" as a person. Ultimately, culture is the unspoken set of rules that govern our lives, which I learned this week. My parent here at the center has deepened my understanding of culture and diversity. Her notion that people may not credit certain parts of them to their culture helps me to understand why everyone's perspectives are so different.

My Family Culture

The three items I would take with me are family photos, my grandmother's purse, and my nameplate necklace. Family photos are very important to me and I know that wherever life takes me I can always look back on those photos as a reminder of who I am. My grandmother's purse has been kept in my family for years after her passing. We tend to keep important family heirlooms and documents in this purse, and we consider it to be a very important piece of her memory in our family. This would help me remember how my mother kept up with the bag for so long and how much it meant to us. Lastly, my nameplate necklace was given to me by my mother a few Christmases ago. It symbolizes that not only did she give me an important piece of jewelery, she also gave me my name, which is a huge part of my culture and who I am as a person.

If I were to have to give up two of the items, I would feel very sad and would want to keep all of these items as close to me as possible. However, I feel that I could live with just keeping my grandmother's purse with me upon arrival.

I have learned that I have much more value over myself and my culture than I thought. Also, I now know that much of who I am today stems from my family and how loving they are. They have shaped me into the loving, compassionate, and caring person that I am today!

Looking Back...

The information collected in this course has opened my eyes to the reality of the importance of research to the field of early childhood education. My research topic focused on the effects of inequities on the development of young children. This type of research would be helpful to this field due to the fact that inequities such as poverty, homelessness, and immigration are becoming more and more prevalent in the lives of young children and families throughout the entire world. Because of their growing relevance new ideas, techniques, and comprehension of these issues would be vital to the continued growth and development of young children. If this research proposal were to be followed through, this could benefit the lives of so many families, educators, and public agencies fighting against inequities each day.

As a result of this course, my ideas of the importance of research have definitely changed. Research is critical to the growth and development of the entire world around us. Thus, ECE outlets must invest more time, energy, and funding into research in order to keep up with the constant change. I value all of the information that was offered to me in this course and can definitely see myself passing this knowledge along to other ECE professionals and families that I come into contact with along the way.

European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA)

Upon exploration of the the EECERA website, I discovered that many of the same issues in early childhood education here in the US are prevalent all over the world. Professionalism, parent communication, transitions, and other prominent topics that I experience on an everyday basis were presented on the EECERA website.

I also stumbled upon an article entitled "Parents' Play Beliefs and Engagement in Young Children's Play at Home". I have always been interested in the role of play in the development of young children, so this article immediately struck my interest. The authors discussed their study of the effects of the level of parent engagement in play at home in the development of their young children. The study concluded that most parents participate in play with their children more so as teachers rather than playmates. I never really considered this to be true, so this was an eye opener for me when looking at play engagement from adults as a whole. 

You can access the article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1350293X.2018.1441979?journalCode=recr20