Welcoming Families from around the World

Welcoming Families from around the World


My scenario as a early childhood teacher in a center:

I am a teacher at a child care center and I have a new student coming in from India with his family. To make his family feel safe and to fit in with our school community I will do five things:

• I will include the India culture in the curriculum.
• I will include the culture in meals and play materials throughout the center including books and toys.
• I would have a weekly show and tell day where each family present their culture to the class entailing food, clothing and anything else that they would like to share about their culture.
• I would post pictures of families representing the culture throughout the center and also have personal family photos at the child’s locker, cubicle or desk.
• I would make sure that the students have learning projects that is designed to teach them to trust and care for each other, no matter your skin tone.
• I would form a committee of staff and parents to bring cultural diversity to the school community on a regular basis by having cultural development classes for the staff and families, family activities on and off school grounds, a car pool, and total parent involvement in the classroom. The purpose of this is to have parents and children constantly involved with each other in and out of school. They will be immersed in each other’s culture and life. They will know each other well and therefore know the culture.

This will help develop and foster respect and care for cultures around the world and within the school community. Hopefully these things will send the message that all children should be accepted and treated nicely.

When I first started this reflective journal six weeks ago I only went surface deep to define diversity. Now I understand that diversity is much deeper. Diversity is peoples’ identity. It defines who you are, where you have been and where you are going to. It shapes you through experiences and knowledge. It is colorful, lighthearted, joyous, passionate, painful and arduous. It takes on a personality all on its own.

The personal side of bias, prejudice and oppression

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppression

The movie 'When They See Us' is a prime example of African American and Latino boys being the target of bias, prejudice and oppression in this country. This documentary was heart wrenching and very hard to watch as it told the story of  five children of color who were accused of the beating and raping a white female jogger in New York City's Central Park in 1989. Although there was no physical evidence connecting the boys to this crime (i.e. no DNA) they were still accused, charged and convicted. They were also coerced into confessing under interrogation. They served long prison sentences before the real murder and serial rapist, Matias Reyes confessed to the crime as being the lone perpetrator. The were awarded a settlement by the state but nothing could reverse the damage that these men suffered.

The Bias, Prejudice and Oppression was massive. They were called animals from the very beginning of the investigation. They were questioned without there parents and were beaten. The cops even threatened one dad and brought up his police record to get his son to confess, or else he would loose his job. The boys were 14, 15 and 16. It was sickening and I cried. In order to turn this opportunity into an equitable situation the police and the prosecutor needed to be reprimanded for the treatment of the boys and the handling of this case. It should have never been brought to trial. Police officers should have lost their jobs as a message for equal right treatment of civilians no mater their color. Even today the prosecutor and police officers are still saying that these men were guilty after they have been exonerated of all charges and awarded 41 million dollars by the state. White privilege and pride is an ugly beast!

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

The microaggression I experienced is when my sister, grandson and I were dining at Olive Garden. I like to play word games with my grandchildren often because I am passionate about strengthening their vocabulary.  My grandson was eight years old at the time, and as the waitress came to the table my grandson was giving me the definition of serendipity, which happens to be one of my favorite words. My sister and I gave our orders and I let my grandson give his own order. When we finished giving our orders the waitress asked how old my grandson was and then she went on to say he spoke very well and that she was very impressed.  What she said angered me because I felt that because my grandson is an African American boy she didn’t expect him to speak well, and is never impressed when she encounters African American children.  I wanted to protect him from this woman who obviously was unaware of her racial bias. My grandson, not knowing about microaggressions, took it as a compliment.

In my observation this week I heard a lot of conversations where my Caucasian colleagues were using the term “you people or those people”. That is offensive because it is like I am a foreigner in my own country. That I don’t have enough value to be addressed by my name or race. That somehow, we are a different species than all other ethnicities. When I hear that term I always address it. I would say, “Exactly what people are you referring to when you say, ‘those people’”?

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

                Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Ama is Ghanaian and she believes that culture entails people who have a set of shared values and customs. Her Ghanaian culture involves good food, Kente cloth worn for special occasions, music, dancing and being hospitable. One of the traditions in her culture is what they call a “Naming Ceremony”. This is where parents who have had a child present this child to family and friends on the 7^th day after birth and they name the baby and have a grand celebration as well. Ama believes that diversity is like a big bag of skittles; different groups of people, involving race, disabilities, sexual orientation, religion, economic backgrounds and education.

Leticia is Puerto Rican and she believes that culture entails her roots; where she comes from, who she is and her beliefs ….is her identity. Leticia says that Puerto Ricans are noble and humble people, hard workers, transparent, easily embrace other cultures and prideful when representing their culture. This is what makes up her culture. Leticia believes diversity is different personalities, mindsets and different ways of seeing things.

Tequia is African American and she believes that culture is a set of values, belief systems of a group and their environment. Her African American culture is family oriented, loves traditions (e.g., having Sunday dinners with the entire family). Also, having family celebrations on different occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, graduations etc. Tequia believes that diversity is different ideas, perspectives and different makeup of groups.

As I am looking over my interviews I realize that Ama and Tequia gave very conscious or surface answers about culture, but Leticia gave unconscious or deeper answers about her culture. I couldn’t look at a Puerto Rican and know that they are humble or noble. This was great information to gain and I look at each culture’s differences as sources of strength. The aspects of culture that I think were omitted in the interviews was the mention of cultural pluralism; something we all deal with today in our society. Everyone must fight to bring their individual culture to surface and it be accepted and even encouraged in general society. This has influenced my own thinking about culture. There is very little mutual respect in society of individual culture and we often advocate for it in our workplace, neighborhood, and churches, just to mention a few. Everything we do is related to culture and it is learned from the people around you. Diversity is a bonus and should be added to our lives as a richness on top of our own culture. We should not have to suppress our own culture to fit in or to impress people. Our culture matter!

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Culture and diversity [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008). Diversity in Early Care and Education (5th ed., pp. 8–13). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.