Of my many hopes and dreams, one wish that I have for every child and their family is to have their own hopes and dreams and to be supported in their quests by all who associate and work with them. It is through this support for every family that diversity will be an accepted general rule, equity will be an opportunity for everyone, and social justice will prevail.
One goal I envision for the early childhood field in relation to diversity, equity, and social justice, begins with me. I can best support diversity, equity, and social justice, by becoming a voice and advocate for anti-bias education. My first step in the direction of conquering prejudices, isms, and injustices is to put into practice steps that will lead to becoming an anti-bias individual.
In chapter three of Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards outline some key steps that can help us succeed in such a mission:
Stay focused and never stop.
Make a habit of self-reflection and self-correction.
Be aware of a road filled with complexity and disagreement which are necessary for growth.
Learn to recognize and celebrate accomplishments as they will energize our continued path (2010).
To our instructor (Johnna Darragh) and all my diverse friends/colleagues:
I thank you for your stories, expertise, wisdom, and tolerance. I want to thank those who responded to my blog and discussion posts. Your words of wisdom and affirmations made it all worthwhile.
I especially want to thank Johnna Darragh for her patience and planting the seed of knowing that I can be an inspiration to others as she has been throughout this course.
I wish you all a journey filled with diversity, equity, and social justice!
Until we meet again,
Sally Brooks
Reference:
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Friday, August 17, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Welcoming Families From Around the World
My imagined emigrant family comes from Fortaleza, Brazil.
The first thing I would do is make sure I know how to pronounce the names of each individual in the family. Dr. Eugene E. Garcia spoke about the importance of being able to enunciate children’s names when he spoke of how a teacher changed his sister’s name from Ciprianita to Elsie (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Taking time to articulate someone’s name correctly can make a first meeting less cumbersome, and shows individuals that you care about them. Enlisting help from someone who speaks the native language of Portuguese would be helpful. This could be a staff member or whoever assisted the family in filling out the enrollment form at the child care center where I work.
Secondly, I would review and become well versed in the information on the enrollment form, and then schedule an initial home visit taking someone who could translate if necessary. During the visit, I would strive to lay the foundation for a relationship to form. I would do this by listening to what the family has to say about their journey from Brazil to America, about their hopes, dreams, and fears, and what their expectations are for their children and specifically for the child who will be in my classroom.
Third, I will prepare my current students for welcoming our new friend by displaying a picture of the new student and talking about how wonderful it is that we have someone who has come all the way from Brazil to be with us.
Fourth, I would make sure that there will always be someone present who can speak the child’s native language, and I would take measures to begin learning the language myself. Regardless of the language difference, all teachers and staff will provide interaction that is emotionally and developmentally supportive as they do with all our children.
Fifth, in preparing the environment to reflect some familiarity of Brazil will make the new child feel comfortable and erase many fears. Of course, our physical environment already reflects the rich diversity of all our families. Part of the environment preparation for all families includes an open invitation to join us at any time and to contribute in ways that make them feel most comfortable.
I hope that by establishing an anti-bias community in my classroom and the child care center, the new Brazilian family will find a safe haven as they begin their journey in a new place. When we feel safe, or feel like we have connections with supportive people and organizations, a difficult trek can become much easier. As for myself, I reap the benefit of joy in seeing others succeed and a sense of accomplishment in creating an anti-bias atmosphere where all who enter feel valued and respected.
Reference:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Webcast]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
The first thing I would do is make sure I know how to pronounce the names of each individual in the family. Dr. Eugene E. Garcia spoke about the importance of being able to enunciate children’s names when he spoke of how a teacher changed his sister’s name from Ciprianita to Elsie (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Taking time to articulate someone’s name correctly can make a first meeting less cumbersome, and shows individuals that you care about them. Enlisting help from someone who speaks the native language of Portuguese would be helpful. This could be a staff member or whoever assisted the family in filling out the enrollment form at the child care center where I work.
Secondly, I would review and become well versed in the information on the enrollment form, and then schedule an initial home visit taking someone who could translate if necessary. During the visit, I would strive to lay the foundation for a relationship to form. I would do this by listening to what the family has to say about their journey from Brazil to America, about their hopes, dreams, and fears, and what their expectations are for their children and specifically for the child who will be in my classroom.
Third, I will prepare my current students for welcoming our new friend by displaying a picture of the new student and talking about how wonderful it is that we have someone who has come all the way from Brazil to be with us.
Fourth, I would make sure that there will always be someone present who can speak the child’s native language, and I would take measures to begin learning the language myself. Regardless of the language difference, all teachers and staff will provide interaction that is emotionally and developmentally supportive as they do with all our children.
Fifth, in preparing the environment to reflect some familiarity of Brazil will make the new child feel comfortable and erase many fears. Of course, our physical environment already reflects the rich diversity of all our families. Part of the environment preparation for all families includes an open invitation to join us at any time and to contribute in ways that make them feel most comfortable.
I hope that by establishing an anti-bias community in my classroom and the child care center, the new Brazilian family will find a safe haven as they begin their journey in a new place. When we feel safe, or feel like we have connections with supportive people and organizations, a difficult trek can become much easier. As for myself, I reap the benefit of joy in seeing others succeed and a sense of accomplishment in creating an anti-bias atmosphere where all who enter feel valued and respected.
Reference:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Webcast]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Friday, August 3, 2012
The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression
I have a good friend and a former co-worker who is originally from another country. He had his teaching degree from his home country and was a teacher there. Due to political unrest he and his family were forced to flee their home and come to America. Even though he had his teaching degree from his home country, he did not qualify to teach in America.
He had to rebuild his life from near to nothing. It took many years to rise up from his oppression. He began by opening a licensed family day care with his wife. From there, he and his wife became famous in their new community for the high quality of care they offered children and families. They always had a waiting list. The local CCR&R (Child Care Resource and Referral) invited him to teach a child care course. He was an awesome instructor. Every course he taught was always filled to the room’s capacity with providers who were eager to learn from someone who was successful at working with children and who was also one of their own (a child care provider). It took him several years to receive his Bachelor’s degree from an American university and he is currently working on his Master’s degree. My own assessment of him is that he is intelligent, kind, brave, generous, passionate about helping children, desires to lift people to a higher level and forthright in all of his dealings.
The inequity in this situation is that he should have been able to teach from the moment he sat foot upon American soil. His degree should have been recognized as being credible. Also, the local CCR&R took far longer than they should have before recruiting him to teach. Such situations make me feel frustrated, angry, and at times hopeless. I hate prejudices and oppressions as they keep those who have such potential down trodden.
What has to change? The traditional thoughts that many adhere to that create prejudices, stereotypical biases, and desire to keep people down who are seen as less than. As a human race, we must place a much greater value on life and find it in our hearts to respect those whose journey has been on roads less traveled.
As the individual who saw great things in his persona and thus recruited him to teach, I knew that he belonged in a sphere far beyond where he was. Because he was willing to transcend all the prejudices and oppressing situations that surrounded him, he is a far better person than I will ever be. I am glad that we became friends and that he felt comfortable enough to share his life story with me.
He had to rebuild his life from near to nothing. It took many years to rise up from his oppression. He began by opening a licensed family day care with his wife. From there, he and his wife became famous in their new community for the high quality of care they offered children and families. They always had a waiting list. The local CCR&R (Child Care Resource and Referral) invited him to teach a child care course. He was an awesome instructor. Every course he taught was always filled to the room’s capacity with providers who were eager to learn from someone who was successful at working with children and who was also one of their own (a child care provider). It took him several years to receive his Bachelor’s degree from an American university and he is currently working on his Master’s degree. My own assessment of him is that he is intelligent, kind, brave, generous, passionate about helping children, desires to lift people to a higher level and forthright in all of his dealings.
The inequity in this situation is that he should have been able to teach from the moment he sat foot upon American soil. His degree should have been recognized as being credible. Also, the local CCR&R took far longer than they should have before recruiting him to teach. Such situations make me feel frustrated, angry, and at times hopeless. I hate prejudices and oppressions as they keep those who have such potential down trodden.
What has to change? The traditional thoughts that many adhere to that create prejudices, stereotypical biases, and desire to keep people down who are seen as less than. As a human race, we must place a much greater value on life and find it in our hearts to respect those whose journey has been on roads less traveled.
As the individual who saw great things in his persona and thus recruited him to teach, I knew that he belonged in a sphere far beyond where he was. Because he was willing to transcend all the prejudices and oppressing situations that surrounded him, he is a far better person than I will ever be. I am glad that we became friends and that he felt comfortable enough to share his life story with me.
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