One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come fromw diverse backgrounds is that I make them feel comfortable. I don't ever want them to feel that I don;t like them or care about them because of their ethnicity, race, etc.
The goal I would like to set for the early childhood field is to be able to have enough respect, and consideration for a person's diversity to stand up for them even if I am the only one.
Thanks to all my colleagues who have shared their personal thoughts, experiences, trials, and stories as I have benefited so much from their real life instances. It truly has been wonderful and life changing taking this course. May you continue to better our profession by being so willing to share such personal and heartfelt experiences.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Opression
The memory I have of an incident when I experienced prejudice was when my youngest brother was dating a white girl from a nearby area. We are Native American and his parents weren't going for her dating anyone other than white. I remember her parents coming to our house and telling her that she had to leave. They told her that she wasn't dating any "so called Indians" They were very rude and it hurt my feelings. I was justa little girl maybe about 10 or 11 years old and I felt like we were dirt. I felt like we weren't really Native American! I doubted who I was. My parents werent home and my brother was about 20 or 21 years old at the time. He didn't argue with them because my parents taught us to be respectful of older adults. I cried and he told me don't worry it would be ok. He said they will never come back and we will be ok. My parents were angry that they treated us like that but they let it go. They didn't want to stir anything up. I still feel that feeling as I talk about it. It definitely had a lasting effect.
This prejudice made me doubt who I was. It diminished equity because it made me wonder if I was truly a Native American. It made me think that I wouldn't really be a Native American if they said I wasn't. I was just a child so I didn't know they couldn't take that away from me.
This incident brought feelings of self-doubt, fear, and was demeaning. Just talking of it again and thinking back to that day has really made me feel funny inside. I never want to make anyone feel like that or scar them for life as this incident has done me.
In order for this incident to change for greater equity, people would have to stand up and recognize Natives for who we are. These people who treated us so badly need to realize that all people are equal and no one should be subject to demeaning remarks. Those people should realize that we are human too. It didn't make us any less of human being because we are Native and as long as my brother wasn't mistreating her they should have left them alone. Their remarks to us and their tone of voice used with us would have to change.
This prejudice made me doubt who I was. It diminished equity because it made me wonder if I was truly a Native American. It made me think that I wouldn't really be a Native American if they said I wasn't. I was just a child so I didn't know they couldn't take that away from me.
This incident brought feelings of self-doubt, fear, and was demeaning. Just talking of it again and thinking back to that day has really made me feel funny inside. I never want to make anyone feel like that or scar them for life as this incident has done me.
In order for this incident to change for greater equity, people would have to stand up and recognize Natives for who we are. These people who treated us so badly need to realize that all people are equal and no one should be subject to demeaning remarks. Those people should realize that we are human too. It didn't make us any less of human being because we are Native and as long as my brother wasn't mistreating her they should have left them alone. Their remarks to us and their tone of voice used with us would have to change.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
microagressions
One example of microagression that I experienced was this week was our Head Start program has hired a new director. When discussing with a member of management (The whole management team is white and our previous director was white)what the new director was like, This is how she decribed her. Well its a woman and she worked in northern Virginia with a non-profit. She was the director there and had been there for a good while and she is black. What difference does that make in how she will perform her duties with us? I am not black but my husband is and I took offense to that. She may not have meant anything by it, but when discussing her as a person and professional why did she mention her race?
This observation made me take a second look at my own actions. I have been really aware of how I am saying things when talking too family and friends since this happened. I keep asking myself, "Do I do that?" It has made me want to scrutinize my language and actions when talking about people. Even if the person is my same race and don't intentionally offend them, I still want to make sure I think about it before I say it. This observation has made me look at everything I say and the way I say it. I don't want to belittle or offend anyone. Whether it is unintentional or intentional I don't want it to happen.
This observation made me take a second look at my own actions. I have been really aware of how I am saying things when talking too family and friends since this happened. I keep asking myself, "Do I do that?" It has made me want to scrutinize my language and actions when talking about people. Even if the person is my same race and don't intentionally offend them, I still want to make sure I think about it before I say it. This observation has made me look at everything I say and the way I say it. I don't want to belittle or offend anyone. Whether it is unintentional or intentional I don't want it to happen.
Friday, July 8, 2011
My Family Culture
I would take with me 1. Bible 2. picture of my family 3. my wedding ring
i would let people know that the most important things were with me. The Bible would be the most important thing then the picture of my family and then the wedding ring. My family is what means alot to me and God is the most important. If I had to choose between the three and only keep the one it would really hurt but I would have to choose my Bible over all because God is my everything and his word is whats important in my life and essential for my survival.
This assignment has made me really think about who I really am. It also had made me really see that it isn't the material things that are most important to me but my creator is my everything. This is a part of my culture and my family culture because this has been passed from generation to generation in my family.
i would let people know that the most important things were with me. The Bible would be the most important thing then the picture of my family and then the wedding ring. My family is what means alot to me and God is the most important. If I had to choose between the three and only keep the one it would really hurt but I would have to choose my Bible over all because God is my everything and his word is whats important in my life and essential for my survival.
This assignment has made me really think about who I really am. It also had made me really see that it isn't the material things that are most important to me but my creator is my everything. This is a part of my culture and my family culture because this has been passed from generation to generation in my family.
Monday, June 20, 2011
When I Think of Research
The insights I have gained about research from taking this course are the facts of importance of validity, having an independent and dependent variable, and having equity in research.
My ideas have changed about the nature of doing research by me learning the steps to take for conducting research. I always thought you just went out and collected data. I didn't realize that you needed an outline or a timetable for research. This was a new idea for me.
The lesson I learned are basically as I said in the previous statement. I learned that it was important to plan an outline and design how you will gather data, how you will select participants, who will participate, etc. This was all new for me. I just thought it was an issue to research and you went out and did what you had to do to find it. The timetable thing makes sense because if you drag it on a long time, it could change results.
Some of the challenges I encountered were the aspect of remaining neutral and putting aside biases. WHen you come into a research topic, you kind of start thinking about how you feel about the subject or what your take is on it. I faced these challenges by reminding myself the research hadn;t been conducted yet so I needed to put the opinions to the back of my head and concentrate on the facts that I gather. This is easier said than done. Way easier said than done!
My perceptions of an EC professional have been modified by raising the awareness of the importance of our profession to children. It also raised awareness of the importance of our future. We have an amazing task ahead of us that requires us to be dedicated to the children of today, tomorrow as they are our future. Research is something that is really needed to ensure that we offer our children the best opprtunities possible. Research is also important to the fact that we need to offer those opportinites in the best way available.
My ideas have changed about the nature of doing research by me learning the steps to take for conducting research. I always thought you just went out and collected data. I didn't realize that you needed an outline or a timetable for research. This was a new idea for me.
The lesson I learned are basically as I said in the previous statement. I learned that it was important to plan an outline and design how you will gather data, how you will select participants, who will participate, etc. This was all new for me. I just thought it was an issue to research and you went out and did what you had to do to find it. The timetable thing makes sense because if you drag it on a long time, it could change results.
Some of the challenges I encountered were the aspect of remaining neutral and putting aside biases. WHen you come into a research topic, you kind of start thinking about how you feel about the subject or what your take is on it. I faced these challenges by reminding myself the research hadn;t been conducted yet so I needed to put the opinions to the back of my head and concentrate on the facts that I gather. This is easier said than done. Way easier said than done!
My perceptions of an EC professional have been modified by raising the awareness of the importance of our profession to children. It also raised awareness of the importance of our future. We have an amazing task ahead of us that requires us to be dedicated to the children of today, tomorrow as they are our future. Research is something that is really needed to ensure that we offer our children the best opprtunities possible. Research is also important to the fact that we need to offer those opportinites in the best way available.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Research Around the World
Early Childhood Australia:
* What are some of the current international research topics?
1. Play based learning
2. Is discussion relating to sexuality in Early Childhood dangerous business?
3. Researching with/for whom? Stepping in and out of practitioner research.
* What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?
I saw something that said Long Day care. I fond out that it is basically the same as our daycare here in the United States. It is daycare for children of working families. It can also be care before and after school.
* What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?
I saw things on the site that are very similar to what we have here in the United states. They are selling scarves and different toys for children. It was neat to see that they do some of the same things we do to educate our young children. There was a whole list of books and different teaching aids available for purchase. The website was real interesting and I saved it in my favorites so I can refer to it from time to time.
* What are some of the current international research topics?
1. Play based learning
2. Is discussion relating to sexuality in Early Childhood dangerous business?
3. Researching with/for whom? Stepping in and out of practitioner research.
* What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?
I saw something that said Long Day care. I fond out that it is basically the same as our daycare here in the United States. It is daycare for children of working families. It can also be care before and after school.
* What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?
I saw things on the site that are very similar to what we have here in the United states. They are selling scarves and different toys for children. It was neat to see that they do some of the same things we do to educate our young children. There was a whole list of books and different teaching aids available for purchase. The website was real interesting and I saved it in my favorites so I can refer to it from time to time.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Uplifting Stories
The story that came to mind of me is our Conscious Discipline that we have been studying with Becky Bailey. This is an alternative form of discipline that has been researched and it is making positive impact on children. This form of discipline puts the focus on the child and the child's feelings. One of our children was a real problem in the classroom. He was real defiant and violent. We began implementing this Conscious Discipline at the beginning of the school year. The teacher and assistant are using all the techniques and even shared them with his mom so she could implement them as well at home. This boy has made a complete turn around! This is almost the end of the school year and it has made a difference in his life. This is one positive effect that I can see from their research. I am not as involved in the Conscious Discipline as the teaching staff is, but I am eager to get more familiar with it. Has anyone ever heard of it before? Does anyone live in Florida, because I believe that is where it is based?
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