Working with diverse children

This class has been good and has opened my eyes to what many children have to face, such as poverty, war, and parents who are incarcerated.  Not only that, it has opened my eyes to my own biases and what I am willing and not willing to do to change these.  While there are some things I am willing to work on, some things go against my beliefs, but I hope that this will not impact my work with children.

I hope that when I work with children and families coming from diverse backgrounds I am able to make a difference.  I hope that I can show that families need to stick together, and regardless of your circumstances, you can still love and support your children.

A goal I have for the early childhood field is to try and focus more on those families that are having a hard start.  I have a friend with two children who just cannot seem to get a break.  I realize that it varies from state to state as far as what is offered, but it seems she can't get the help she needs.  And she just needs that boost to help her get on her feet and get on her own.  I would like to see more programs designed for these types of families.

Thank you so much-to the class-for your comments and support and I wish you the best of luck in your future classes and your work with families.

Why does that guy look like a lady??

I know my son has asked me questions where I have had to explain why he couldn't ask, at least not out loud like that.  Of course, because I had to think of an example for this, none came to mind!  So I asked a friend of mine if her nephew had said anything, and this is what she told me.

He had asked why that guy looked like a lady.  I asked what her response was, and she said she didn't say anything out of fear, because the lady looked "hard."

By not responding, or at least explaining later, it might have just left more questions for her nephew to answer.  Also, depending on her nonverbal language, if her face showed any fear, it might have stopped him from asking questions in the future, and instead just form his own opinions and biases.

In a classroom setting, a teacher could have explained that some people just look different, and we shouldn't judge others off of how they look masculine or feminine.