Professional Hopes and Goals

When I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, one hope that I have is to create a learning environment that innovates children and families to become unique individuals beyond the differences of their physical characteristics by creating a respect, awareness,  and attitude that enhances responsiveness, positive self-esteem, and anti-bias social identities.  I believe that it is essential that we impart in the minds and attitudes of children and families with the ability and capacity to embrace our similarities and differences as a part of our natural beings before there is the opportunity to experience the micro aggressions that plague their minds, emotions, and outcomes.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that we continue to maintain a proactive approach that dispels these issues/trends in the early learning environment.

I would like to thank my colleagues and instructor for their thoughts, expertise and experiences that has provided me with enlightenment and insight as we continue our professional and educational journey through the field of early childhood care and education and Walden U. Thank you.

Welcoming Famillies from Around the World

The new family coming to my social service agency is from Nepal. The family consists of a mother, father, their three children and the mother’s mother. In order to prepare myself and my organization for their welcoming, there are several cultural responsive attitudes that I will incorporate to make their emigration a smooth transitions.

 

(1). Foster more understanding of the family and how they operate, feel, and the ways in which they live their life.

 

(2). Build collaborative relationships with other agencies and institutions that serve emigrant families and their communities.

 

(3). Effectively communicate culturally sensitive choices and their consequences and be aware of many possibilities and respond appropriately.

 

(4). Establish personalized contact with individuals and their families by developing and utilizing vocabulary of greetings and key phrases in the families’ primary language and cultivating caring, engaging relationships with the family. I will also make the environment friendly to their native country through resources, décor, and materials.

 

(5). Educate my staff as well as the other families and individuals that will communicate, interact, and engage with my new family from Nepal.

I hope that these preparations will benefit the families is ways that foster and nurture cultural responsiveness, provides a comfortable transition, and serves as a resource in become self-sufficient.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The first incidence that I experienced with able-ism was when I got my first job working at McDonalds. I was 17 years old and I worked the front cash register.  One day a young man approached the front counter to place an order.  But he stood there at the counter and didn’t say anything. So in an aggravated manner, I asked him how I could help him. So he took a napkin and wrote on it, “I’m deaf”. I was speechless. I immediately changed my tone and attitude with him, which I shouldn’t have had in the first place. Until this very day I cannot begin to explain the disappointment that I felt within myself. I felt horrible after I read what he had written on that napkin. There were so many question flowing through my mind, but one important one was “how did he feel?” Looking at him I was unable to tell that he had a challenge with hearing. This is the very reason why we should not judge individuals because of their outer appearance. 

This specific bias diminishes equity by lessening the opportunities for individuals of able-ism to receive non-bias services. It was unfair for me to be inconsiderate of him taking his time to place his order. I felt compelled to apologize to him although that wasn’t enough.  My customer service that day was horrible and I probably should have been fired.  I believe that attitude determines your aptitude. Greater equity for equity would have been provided if I would have had patient without assumptions.  From that day forward, I tried to display the best possible customer service that I could. I kept a positive attitude and patience allowing the customer to take their time because I never wanted to experience that incident again.