Professional Hopes and Goals

My hopes and goals are to be able to identify diversity by exploring culture, language, economic status, learning styles, gender, race, gender, race, and ethnicity.  I want to learn and identify the individual self concept. Next Iwant to acknowledge diversity by accept and sharing our differences.  Finally, accept diversity by respecting our individuality and uniqueness and establishing strategies to accept people for who they are.  Changes in myself is to remove any personal biases the will hinder me of identifying, acknowledging, and accepting diversity and not be judgmental because we all have uniqueness. Children should have the joy of learning in a safe, trusting, and nonbiased environment.

I would like to thank my colleagues for your support and dedication as I make this journey in early childhood education. Thank you for your feedback and contribution to my goals and aspirations.  I also want to thank my professors and mentor for their inspirations and advice.  I look forward from hearing from you all as I continue my transition.  

 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

I have a young boy from Honduras who has moved to the US with his sister, mother, and father.   I tell my students in the classroom that the young boy is from another country and we want to welcome him and make him feel at home.  My students began to work on activities to welcome the new child by creating drawings and posters of his native country that is tropical and rich in colors.  The young boy is bi-lingual in Spanish and English.  I choose a book to read to the class that reads in Spanish but interprets in English to welcome him and learn his language.  Tortilla with beans and meat are the popular food in Honduras, this will be the selected lunch for the day so that the new student can feel more welcome.  The young boy parents are also welcome to his first day of class so that the students and I can learn more about his home culture and traditions as well. Preparing this day for the new student from Honduras will make him feel comfortable seeing his homeland has been incorporated into the classroom and the other students participating.  This will also help him make friends with the other students, learn about each other and get rid of any biases or prejudices. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I can recall about 2-3 years ago having a discussion on Fox News page on Facebook regarding who should run against President Obama in the 2012 election.  Well most of the supporters on this site were all for former Governor Sarah Palin.  You can imagine the conversations going on.  I made a statement about Palin resigning as Governor in the middle of her term and questioned do we really want someone like her to run our country.  I white male with a profile picture dressed in a service uniform with medals hanging from his collar responded to me saying,  “ Carla, stay out of this conversation and leave it to the professionals and get back in line to get your government cheese.”  Well you can imagine how I felt, shocked.  Of course I let him know not only did I have a MBA, but I’m employed and do not receive government assistance.  I then received an in box message from a lady who read both of our commits.  She not only apologized for this man’s rude behavior towards me but said I handle myself well.   What made him believe I had no voice?  Was it my skin color?  What made him believe I was not professional?  Was it my skin color?  What made him believe I was receiving welfare?  Was it m skin color?  My profile on Facebook also states my education and employment.  Not being part of the dominate culture; he assumed I had no knowledge of current social and political issues.  This incident showed me that oppression and prejudice is alive and well today.  Because of its history, I don’t know if it will ever be eliminated but we must do as much to reduce it.  It should be replace with understanding that we all come from different cultures, values and backgrounds and we all need to remove these hidden bias.  When responding to this gentleman, I believe I handled the situation well with great pride to let him know I was nothing what he recalled of me.  Maybe years before I received these accomplishments the outcome of how I handle this situation may have been pretty ugly.  However, this gentleman never responded back to me after I corrected him.  Maybe he got my point to never assume my skin color places me in a lower class.