Communication

There are a couple people at work who communicate well.  Not only are they respectful, but when you go to ask them a question or just talk to them in general, they will stop what they are doing and give their full attention.  If they do have work to do, they will stop long enough to let you know, and if it the question is work related, they will help; if not, they make it clear, nicely, that the conversation will have to wait.

One thing I can't stand, whether at work or at home, is trying to talk to someone while they are giving something else their attention.  When you are not fully engaged with the person, then you are not really listening to what they have to say.

This is something I would like to work on.  Although I have eye contact while I'm talking or listening, I know I have to really listen well, really do active listening, so I look forward to practicing that while in this class.

Hopes, Dreams and Goodbye's

One hope I have for working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I give them a sense of belonging.  I want them to feel like they are part of the group, yet they are able to still keep their social identities, which makes them special and diverse to start with.

A goal for the early childhood community in regards to diversity and equity and social justice is to continue to put children's and families needs first.  We can put children and families first without compromising our beliefs, because in the end, we need to treat everyone as Jesus would anyway.  I know this is a challenge but it is one we need to meet.

I have enjoyed working with and watching my classmates grow this semester, and I wish everyone the best of luck in their future endeavors!

My Family from Chad

I have to think of 5 ways to prepare myself to be culturally responsive to my family from Chad.  The first thing I would do is conduct some research on the internet and at the library on the country of Chad.    Since there are so many websites, I will need to be careful which ones I really pay attention to. 

Once I have found out about the country, I would then look into finding out about the culture and how families tend to work in Chad.  I would also find out how the family structure works, so when I talk to the family, I will not disrespect anyone.

Once I have educated myself, I will then put pictures up of the country in the classroom, that way the students will also be a little familiar with the country and be more open to the new student.  Once the family arrives, I will then ask to have a meeting with the family in order to get to know them.  I will have a sheet for them to fill out, and if they do not yet speak English, if I am not able to find out the words I need, I will look at getting a translator.  

Educating myself on their culture and their country, and putting pictures around the classroom and talking to the students about Chad will not only help me to feel more comfortable around the family, it will also help to hopefully show the family that I care about them, which will then in turn open more doors of communication.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107403.html

Prejudice

Of course, when I need to come up with an example, my mind goes blank.  I  know I have seen instances where someone has been prejudice against someone because of their color or background, such as Asians or the elderly driving.  I have been with people who constantly mention someone's race or ethnicity when they are telling a story, and it makes me wonder why they had to mention it, because it had nothing to do with the story.

In all these instances, equity was diminished when a situation was based off someone's race rather than just that specific person.  I have caught myself in the past judging someone's actions based off their ethnicity or age.  I am more aware of myself doing that now, especially since I have had my son, so that he doesn't get into those same "habits" of judging.  Now, whenever I hear someone mentioning someone's race or ethnicity when telling a story, instead of listening to the story, I wonder why the person's background was even important, and depending on the person, I will ask them that.

I think in order to turn incidents of this type around into an opportunity of greater equity, first we need to educate that race or ethnicity doesn't matter, and to ask people to try and really get to know somebody before judging, or to watch what they say when they are telling about an things that have happened or that they have seen.

Microaggressions

I had noticed this week at work that a couple of my co-workers, whenever he talked about people, would mention their race.  If something happened at work, they would notice that one person would be treated differently, and this was automatically because of race.  Since I didn't know either of them that well, I just listened, but it made me wonder why when we talk about people in general, why race has to be mentioned?

I wonder if for some people it is just a natural part of their conversation, to mention someone's race, as if the other person would understand what they were saying better.  Whether or not we mean to say something, or mention a person's race during a conversation, we need to keep in mind the damage this may do to somebody, especially a child.

Definitions of Culture & Diversity

Some of the definitions of culture I received:  ideas, experiences, music, art, philosophy, etc, that are important to a group of people; shared unique customs, foods, music, etc that differentiate a group from another; can cross racial, ethnic and gender lines; it is learned and helps you to fit in with/belong to a certain group of people.


Definitions of diversity:  the variables that make us all uniquely different from one another; differences among individuals that could encompass, race, gender, religious preference, culture, customs, age, economic status etc., the opposite of segregation. if a group is diverse, there is more interest as each person can bring something different to the table.


Some of the culture definitions from my friends were similar to what the book stated, such as ideas, experiences, music, art, etc.  It is hard to say exactly what was left out, because culture encompasses us as a whole person.


As for diversity, the idea that what makes us each different is what makes us diverse was right on point.  I was pleasantly surprised at the definitions my friends had given; they actually had more ideas about culture than I did when I first started!

If I had to leave the country...

If my family and I were the only survivors of a catastrophe that hit the states, and we had to move to another country, only allowed to take 3 things that would represent our culture, I would take music, books and art.  The reason for this is because all 3 of these things can represent who my son and I are.  I would take some CD's (or my iPod, I guess), because that contains a variety of music that makes us feel good, laugh, and represents our religion.  Books and journals can tell our history, which is why this would be the one thing I would keep, if I had to get rid of the other two.  Finally, art can represent so much of who we are, that which we can't express in words.

This was a hard exercise, because it is hard to really narrow it down to just a few things.  It made me realize that I may know plenty about what I like to do, but as far as history and my background, I don't know really anything, which means my son will not know anything either.