Communication

When I think of communication and a good communicator the first person I think of is my mother. She recently died of cancer, and in part it has made me realize how much I miss the communication we had and just how good she was at listening and also giving advice. She was an elementary school counselor and used communication skills as part of her job on a daily basis. When I moved away to go to college most of our communication happened over the phone. I did see her quite often since the city I moved to was only three hours away, but we probably talked three or four times every day. I always felt comfortable bouncing all my ideas or problems off her and really appreciated her advice. I never felt judged and when I needed someone to talk to she was there to give advice and listen. I really noticed how much I cherished the relationship when I had two daughters of my own. She always listened to me talk about parenting in good times and times which were very difficult. I knew she loved them as much as I did and she collaborated with me about many issues which arose. I definitely want to model my communication behaviors after my mother. She was a very active listener and took the time to make me feel like any issue I had mattered big or small. The biggest attribute I want to model after my mother is I always felt comfortable talking to her and never felt guarded. If I can make the families I work with feel comfortable talking to me and know I do not put judgment forward, then I feel I am on the right path to making a difference.

Professional Hopes and Goals

I love this quote and wanted to share it...

"Teachers cannot hope to begin to understand who sits before them unless they can connect with the families and communities from which their children come. To do that it is vital that teachers and teacher educators explore their own beliefs and attitudes about non-white and non-middle-class people."
—Lisa Delpit
Other People’s Children

I work with children and families from diverse backgrounds teaching in Head Start. I have come to realize through this course how it is even more important to embrace all the cultures we come in contact with. My goal is to rethink different assumptions through the eyes of all the people who come from that cultural background. I also want to go the extra mile and make my classroom full of different items which represent the childrens culture.

My goal as an early childhood educator in regard to social justice and equity is to keep working in programs like Head Start which target low income populations. Many of these children are ELL, EI children, and are lacking in social emotional development. With these type of early childhood programs the children do have the chance to get ready for kindergarten and have a jumpstart on education. These programs are needed for equity and to give all children the chance they deserve.

Thank you for all your support and interaction through this course. I have appreciated learning with you and hope to see you in future classes!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

I have a child in my Head Start class who is from Ethiopia. She is just 3 years old. She does not know any English and has never been to school before. I would love to have been able to prepare myself for her first days at school, as they were very difficult. If I could have gone back and prepared myself………

I chose the country of Ethiopia.

5 ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive is:

1. Have some of their language available to use with key words to communicate to the child. I could ask the parents for their help so they could give me some words to aid in communication. I also would have my picture cards available so I can use them instead of words to get my point across to the child.

2. I believe it is also very important to learn about their religious beliefs. As with the child in my class she is unable to eat pork because of religious reasons. Since I will be having breakfast and lunch with this child I would want to make sure everything is set up and in place for food substitutions.

3. I would want to educate myself on how English proficient the family is as a whole. If one parent speaks English well then they can translate between me, the school and the other parent. If neither of the parents speaks English I would need to have translation services in place. I feel this is extremely important because the parents are the first educator and they must understand what is happening with their child’s education.

4. One reason I love working for Head Start is because we have our first visit of the year in the home. This gives you the chance to have one on one conversation with the parent in private about the child where they are comfortable. I would take the time to answer all of the parent’s questions and make them feel good about sending their child to school. I would do whatever to make the parents and the child feel comfortable.

5. I would create an inviting classroom with culturally responsive materials. It is important to put up real pictures of similar children and families which portray their culture. Books would display the same cultural awareness. Materials sent home could be translated into their home language.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The first memory I have about racism which really affected me was when I read To Kill a Mockingbird in the fifth grade. This story was so influential at this time in my life. It made me look at racial issues completely different. The book was about a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice.
The story deals with race and gender inequality. Scout Finch is very independent in a town and a culture that places some pretty demanding gender expectations on women. Scout is told to be a lady and reminded of what that entails. I want to share one of my favorite quotes from the book:
Scout," said Atticus, "nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything – like snot-nose. It's hard to explain – ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody."

"You aren't really a nigger-lover, then, are you?"

"I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put, sometimes – baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you.

I love this quote because in these times in the Deep South this was a reality. The characters in the book Scout and Atticus are progressive with their thoughts and are role models for equality. It really made me realize how we need to stand up for the rights of others as well as stay strong with our own beliefs. More that anything it is education and equal rights which are needed in this situation. People need to be informed and ready to accept all.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Last week I witnessed a verbal racial microaggression at on of my enrollment Home Visits for Head Start. It was a microinsult against race and also occupation and environment. We went to the house to fill out all the paperwork for the child to start school. The parent had older children who were involved in Head Start years ago. The family was Caucasian and the home language was English. The mother told us her older child did not do well and fought a lot when he was in Head Start. She said it was because they only spoke Spanish in the class and did not speak any English. She said it was horrible and they were very frustrated, because she did not want her child to speak that language. I explained that is not how we function at our Head Start and we speak and teach in English and only use Spanish when needed.

I felt defensive when this microaggression was happening. I felt defensive because of my Spanish speaking population in the class and also the teachers. I also felt very defensive and upset because I work in a high quality Head Start program and I felt the mother put down our organization and I feel very proud of the work we do. I also felt saddened that this was her perception and she had these preconceived ideas about her daughters schooling experience.

My experiences this week made me think about the small microaggressions which are made without intent. Words are very powerful and can make an impact on people which scars. Many racial microaggressions are so subtle that neither target nor perpetrator may entirely understand what is happening. This is why it is so important to choose your words wisely without implication and be conscious about different cultures history and stereotypes.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

The first person I asked is one of my coworkers at Head Start. My family services teacher is a Hispanic woman who speaks both English and Spanish. She is 50 years old. We had a discussion about her definition of culture and diversity. She said culture is your background and diversity is what makes you different from one another.

I called my step-father who is male and 65 years old. I asked his definition of diversity and culture. He said culture is features shared by certain groups of people and diversity is how people are different.

I then asked my daughter Harley who is 11 her definitions of culture and diversity. She said culture is like your skin color and and diversity is differences.

The definitions of culture were mostly looking at the topic from a broad overview. surface culture such as foods, holidays, and traditions were not mentioned.

When I read over the definitions of culture and diversity I think the different people I interviewed touched on the deep meaning of both. It made me want to educate others on the many different aspects of both topics and how they influence our lives.

My Family Culture

Imagine the following:

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 first item I would choose to take with me holds great significance. My mother passed away from cancer two years ago. My brother took some of her ashes and had them blown into a glass orb with speckles of gold all through it. Looking at it reminds me of the ocean and all the trips we took together to beautiful places where we could swim in the warm water. I hold this very dear and would want to bring it with me.
The second item is a drawing my husband did for me before we were married and was the first present he had ever given me. He is a wonderful artist and since then has painted and given me many more of his pieces. This one is especially dear because he did the whole drawing in black colored pen and it is in Day Of The Dead style. It makes me think back to all the great times we have had and how I felt when I was given the picture.

The third item I would take with me is a small glass cube which my daughters picture was etched into when they were the ages of 2 and 4. I love it because it reminds me of them at that age and how quickly time flies. It would be a way to bring a picture with me and to always have a memory of my younger children.

If I was told I could only keep one of the items upon arrival I would feel worse than if I never took them at all. I already had in my mind I got to keep the items and have them to remind me of my past. It also would be a very difficult decision on which two items to get rid of, and I would feel horrible throwing away things which mean so much.

I have learned about what type of things are important to me as a person. The small things I would take are connected to memories and a certain time. The orb with my mother’s ashes connects me to all the memories surrounding her. Most of all it made me reflect about the important people in my life and the time with them.