Professional hopes and goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I apply the information I have gained from this course to my interactions with these families and to share with my colleagues the importance of being sensitive to families different beliefs and parenting styles. One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that our classrooms become more inclusive and sensitive to the needs of the child and their family culture. I would like to thank all my colleagues, it has been a pleasure to read your post and gain from your insights over the last eight weeks.

Finland

The country I choose is Finland.  This is one country I know the name of but that is about it so I was excited to learn more! What I learned is that people from Finland are punctual and very well mannered. Words are very important to them and they hole people to what they say. They find it extremely rude when someone interrupts a person speaking so I will be conscious not to do so when meeting with a family from Finland. Greeting a person from Finland it is important to make eye contact and shake their hand firmly. Something that is very big in Finland custom is a sauna. These are very visible in Finland and one of their favorite things to talk about. I feel all of these pieces of their culture are very important to know before meeting with a family from Finland so I do not come across disrespectful or rude. I also hope knowing this information will help the family feel more comfortable.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

Being a young professional I experience bias and prejudice often. Usually it is in comments or initial responses when people meet me, such as ‘you are so young’ or ‘you are the director?’ in a tone that is demeaning and suggests I am incapable. In this incident diminishes equality because they look at my age as a factor that I am incapable to assist them. These incidents make me feel discouraged in the work I am doing and I feel like I am a kid again and my brother told me I could not play with his friends because I was too little. This probably sounds silly but it makes me feel like I am playing pretend and I should not be where I am in my career. I feel older adults need to change their mind set that if someone is younger than you does not mean they are not incapable or knowledgeable. I feel like everything else this will be an ongoing work in progress for many years to come.

Awareness of Microaggressions

Reflecting on this past week it is difficult to detect what micro aggressions I may observe. I feel micro aggressions have become part of society and until I learned more about it is then I realized little things and small comments people make that now I realize have a bigger impact. A micro aggression I face a lot has to do with my age; being in a supervisor position at a young age I tend to get little remarks from colleagues such as “ before your time” or “ in 20 years I’ve been doing this” to in a way put me down and lose confidence in decisions. When people makes these comments it upsets me and makes me feel I need to do something to counteract the fact that I am young. This observation helped me to understand that discrimination happens in all sizes and that there is a stereotype that a young person does not know more than someone older than them. I feel that even people the same age know different thing through their experiences and it does not mean one person knows more than the other and I feel that is the same with age. We all bring something to the table and should not put each other down for it.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

        For this week's assignment I interviewed three of my colleagues, a woman from India,  a Hispanic woman,  and an older gentleman. I learned many things from my conversations with my colleagues how different cultures focus on certain aspects to of what we define as culture. When I asked the woman from India what was her definition of culture she started discussing traditions, foods, rituals and language. She described here cultures' many different traditions such as their various festivals and how this week they were celebrating many different festivals and brought in some  left over food! When I asked the Hispanic woman what her definition of culture was she discussed more about relationships and respect for your elders, she also mentioned religion playing a large role in culture.  When talking with the older gentleman he described culture as a mixture of past and present; meaning the mixture of old and new traditions.
         I feel many people at first think of their own surface culture when asked about culture and then eventually get into deeper aspects of their culture. Talking with three different people about culture I have learned that everyone has their own view of culture and what characteristics are more important than others to influence their own individual culture.

My Family Culture

             If a catastrophe occurred in my country my first priority would to bring my family where ever I was going. When thinking of three items that I would bring with me that represents my family culture is hard because many of our traditions are actions that are surrounded by family.  
              One item I would make sure I would be able to take is my engagement ring.  I would want my engagement ring because it is a family heirloom that has been passed down to the woman in my family that I would like to  continue. The second item I would bring is my bible. Throughout my life I have been able to turn to prayer and focus my energy on my faith. The last item I would bring with me is a picture of my grandparents in front of our family store. That store has so many  memories and encompasses my family's culture that leaving it behind will be devastating. 
         If I could only choose one item it would be the picture of my grandparents and the store because it has so much meaning behind it the hard work and love that went into it and the sacrifices my family has taken.
            It is always hard to leave any of your  possessions behind but  it is good in case of a crisis you know what you would like to save.

When I think of Research

           I have gained so much knowledge from this course. My perspective on research has changed for the better. I no longer stress when I think about research but have a better perspective on the process and the different kinds of studies. I have gained insight about the purpose of research is not to necessarily prove your hypothesis right but find out what the information gathered tells you. I learned that the critical parts of research are planning and designing the study and being clear about what the expectations and how the study will be executed. Some challenges when doing when doing research in early childhood is confidentiality when doing a sensitive topic that may expose saddening information; a way I met this challenge was by outlining in the informed consent the legal limitations regarding confidentiality.  My perception of an early childhood professional has changed into the idea that we are al researchers and that any one of us is capable of doing or own research.  I am very pleased with how this course turned out and any preconceptions I had diminished.

Research Around the World

               The Early Childhood Australia looks to be working towards similar goals as the U.S. when it comes to advances in early childhood education. As I look through their website I found one of their organizations called KidsMatter Early Childhood that works on behalf of young children and their families to provide support and care to families affected my mental health. KidsMatter points out the research that states that early experiences affect long-term mental-health, relationships, and learning. Something I learned from this website is their method to language development called the Code; the Code is a computer program children use to help with language development. It was interesting to look at this website and see similar initiative surrounding Early Childhood Education as ones in the U.S. It is refreshing to see that we are not alone in the things that we advocate for children.

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/