Welcoming Families From Around the World

My Family's country of origin: Finland

5 ways I will be culturally responsive

1. I would learn basic communication in their language (Hi, what would you like, bye, etc.).
2. I would try and prepare foods they are familiar with: Rice, potato's salmon
3. I would try to keep it sunny and green for them, making sure they feel comfortable, since they are used to being outside a lot and being around grassy areas.
4. I would share things on our education system and allow them free range
5. I would allow them to recycle and use whatever they would like

I hope these preparations will benefit the family by allowing them to see that we here in America care about their needs and their home life. I would like this to benefit me by hoping they would be comfortable being in an unfamiliar place and not be afraid to open up.

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? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

• When I was in high school I had to take the city bus to work and in the morning it would get crowded. I was sitting in the front seats of the bus and there were people standing near or close to me. This man got on the bus and stopped in front of me and stood holding the bar next to me. I looked up at one point and saw the man starring at me, when he saw me look at him, he said," black B." I was in shock, I didn't know what to say or think, I just stayed in shock.

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

• After I came out of shock, my first thought was he didn't like that I was sitting down, black, and in the front. When the man called me a "black B" it didn't make me want to give my seat up or cry, I just shook my head in shame.

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

• I knew that racism was never over for blacks, some individuals just decided to accept blacks as equals and some did not. Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King came to my mind, I knew that the work they put in for blacks, now African Americans, was not in vain.

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

• I think the man's thoughts against black people would have to change. I'm sure he thought because he was Caucasian that he had the right to sit and I being a black girl, needed to get up and let him sit.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

When I was back in high school I had to ride the city bus to school and one day this man gets on the bus (which was crowded) he stands next to me, looks at me and says, “black B”. I don’t think anyone else heard him, but I was stuck on what I should really do. Did he really mean that or was he just upset because I was sitting down and he had to stand, those were the questions running through my mind.

I was visiting a college friend a few years ago and her husband and her were talking about a person they knew and they made a comment regarding her weight, I felt very uncomfortable being in the car with them and it made me look at them differently.

 Last year there was a 5 year old girl who attended the preschool where I worked, in her class was a 6 year old African American girl, she would make comments regarding her color. I was told this by a co-worker and I was disgusted, how could this little girl know anything about racism, except it being taught to her. I went and told the director, she talked to the mother and the mother’s reply was, “she doesn’t know where she got this from, they are not racist”. I am glad to say that the little girl stopped with the comments and started playing with her. Just think if I had not been told, that little girl could have gone through her life being racist. That little girl affected the mood of the African American a great deal; she was insecure about her skin color.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I asked three of my friends, two women and one man. Both of the women were African American and the man was from Africa. Here are their responses to their definition to culture and diversity:

 Culture

Alicia: A group and their thought feelings and emotions about life and our society.

Charles: The way people do from background; example in india their culture before getting married is to buy gold and lof of things that different from others. In Africa some people don't wear shoes the day they wed.

Theresa: A set of behaviors generally accepted by the group in which they live or a society or group of people that form from different beliefs experiences or values.

 

Diversity

Alicia: The difference or being different

Charles: The different background of people; example black man from Africa

Theresa: Differences among people or differences of anything such as different types of motorcycles, different types of flowers, different types of houses, and different types of people etc.

My reflection
Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples? Theresa mentioned the difference between objects and people and Charles mentioned how different other countries are when it came to weddings. In chapter 5 it starts out with this statement, "The word culture refers to how particular groups of people live" (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p.55). This one statement sums up what all my friends were saying. 

Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission? They didn't mention gender, relationships, or children. Chapter 5 states, "Every day, in every action, we express our particular group culture and our individual relationship to our culture; nothing is more important within a culture than how its children are raised" (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p.55).

In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics? I was surprised by their answers, these are well educated individuals, I wouldn't change my definition of culture based on theirs. I would take into consideration the different culture of India and Africa, I didn't know that about those cultures.

Reference
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

My Family culture

• A description of the three items you would choose

1) Bible
2) pictures
3) food

• How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you

1) My family is very involved in church, our faith is important to us, nothing to joke or play around with.
2) We love pictures, we take pictures all the time, having these pictures will help remind of the fun times and loved one.
3)We love to eat, everytime we get together, we are eating, whether it's a cookout or going to to restaurant.

• Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you

I would be hurt broken, but I wouldn't have a choice but to decide which one I will take with me. I would rather be able to have one item, than none.

• Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise,

No new insights were discovered during this exercise, I still believe in my beliefs and my family culture.

WK8 When I think of Research.......

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

I have learned that doing research is very demanding and confusing if your not familiar with the in's and outs of research. I also learned that there are many components to research that can be helpful and not make it so difficult.

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

I never really thought about research before this class, except I wanted to stay clear of it. Well to be honest, this course has proven to me why I don't do research.

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

I learned that planning is a very important process in research, much like an educator planning their curriculum. Designing a research takes a lot and much focus; a researcher needs to be very familiar with the parts to needed to design a research. One thing I think I could do is conduct the research; the observation and interview portion of it at least.

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

What challenges didn't I encounter should be the question, lol. No really, at first I was a little hesitant to do some of the assignments, because I knew I really didn't understand research and what it really took to understand it fully. What helped me to overcome these challenges is reading and reading over the different parts of a research.

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

I don't want to have to do another research class or research in my profession.

Research around the world

I choose the Early Childhood Australia: This is the Australian equivalent to the U.S. based NAEYC. You can access several links to early childhood research from the menu on the left side of the home page.
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

What are some of the current international research topics?

• 'Stories from the Heart' Connecting children and families with out Earth
• Respecting diversity: Articulating early childhood practice
• Nurturing the spiritual child: Compassion, connection and a sense of self
• Meaningful planning: Rethinking teaching and learning relationships
• Understanding children's feelings: Emotional literacy in early childhood
• (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/)

 What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

• Their mission statement and their values caught my eye. They are totally dedicated to their children and want to make sure they receive the best, not just in education, but in life.
• Their Every Child magazine is informative, from education to politics. A whole magazine dedicated to children's lives, with real life stories.
• They have a newletter called the voice, where it advocates for children, allowing people in the community voices be heard, that normally wouldn't be heard.
• They have been advocating and advancing children since 1938