My professional hopes and goals

When I think of working with children and families from diverse backgrounds, my hope is that I will be able to make each and every family and child I work with feel valued, respected and recognized for their uniqueness. I realize that to be able to do so effectively requires that I evaluate my own personal attitudes and views of others and change my attitudes where needed and I hope that by engaging in an ongoing process of self-reflection and learning I will be able to ensure that I am accepting and respectful of all. 

My goal for the field of early childhood with regards to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is to bring more awareness of these issues to the field as a whole. This includes educating and equipping teachers on how to create inclusive classrooms, effectively discuss and address diversity related issues among children and become advocates for children and families, and making other early childhood stakeholders aware of the importance of addressing issues of equity and social justice and taking measures to address those issues. I believe that by drawing more attention to these issues will be a first step in addressing them effectively to ensure equity for all children and families. 

            The past eight weeks have been an incredible learning experience for me that has left me with much to think about. I am very grateful to all my colleagues in this course for their willingness to collaborate, engage in lively discussion and offer constructive feedback and support. I have learned much from the personal experiences you all shared. Thank you for your continued support and I wish you all the best as you continue your educational journey and as you continue to work with children and families. Thank You!  

Welcoming families from around the World

I chose to imagine that I will be welcoming a child from Indonesia into my early childhood program. I thought of several ways I could prepare myself to welcome the child and their family into the program.

• First of all, I would learn some basic facts about Indonesia. Being aware of the fact that Indonesia is made up of more than 17,500 islands, is home to more than 300 ethnic groups and that the culture of the people vary depending on which part of the country they are from, will ensure that I don’t make assumptions or generalizations about the family based just on what I have predominantly heard about the country.  

• Being able to communicate with the child and the family effectively is essential. Since Indonesia has 742 languages and dialects, I would find out the language that the family speaks and whether or not they are able to communicate in English. If the family is unable to communicate in English I would ensure that an interpreter is available. I would also make myself aware of the proper etiquette in communicating such as the correct way to greet individuals, body language implications etc. to ensure I am being respectful in all my communications with them.

• While Indonesia is known to be a predominantly Muslim country, there are several other religions practiced in Indonesia each with their own beliefs, values and practices. Therefore I would find out about the family’s religious beliefs and practices to ensure that the practices within the center and classrooms are respectful of their beliefs and make any accommodations if necessary.

• Since it is important for both the child and family to be comfortable in the school environment, I would take measures to ensure that the classroom environment reflects their culture. I will make sure that there are photos, pictures, books, and materials that represent this child and his family on their first day in the program so that they feel valued within the program. I would also take any dietary restrictions the child may have into consideration and try include familiar food on the class snack and lunch menus. I would take the time to talk to the rest of the class about the incoming child and their family so that they too can help the child feel welcomed. Once the family settles into the program, I will invite them to share music, stories, and other important aspects of their culture in the classroom.

• It is important to build respectful relationships with families and be aware of the individual needs of families. Therefore, I would take the time to meet with the family to build a relationship with them and find out more about their family culture. I would find out more about their values and beliefs, their family structure, their expectations of the program and their educational goals for their child, the best ways to communicate with them and any other information that they think might assist the program in ensuring that the family has a positive experience.

I believe that these preparations will be helpful in making the child and their family feel welcomed into the program and feel that they are valued. The knowledge that their family’s culture is important to the program and is reflected within the program will help them feel more at ease since they will see that they are not just being expected to just conform to the dominant American culture. In addition, these preparations will help me feel more confident and competent in welcoming this family and building a positive relationship with them and allow me to be more sensitive and responsive to the needs of this family. 

The Personal side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppression

Throughout my life, I have been very conscious of my race and ethnicity. I became more aware it of when I left Sri Lanka to venture out into what I found to be an extremely diverse world. I immediately became aware of the physical differences among myself and those I came into contact with especially in Europe where I came into contact with predominantly white populations. I recall one incident in particular when I felt my race was brought to attention and that I was being treated indifferently because of my race. My husband and I had been visiting my parents in Austria and were on a flight to the United States when we our flight was routed back to Austria due to some mechanical difficulties with the aircraft. As a result many of the passengers including us, missed their connecting flights. Passengers were frustrated at the inconvenience and eager to be on their way while airline workers were becoming frustrated trying to accommodate the needs of a large number of passengers and answering an endless stream of questions. My husband and I knew something was not quite right about our new flight arrangements and approached an Austrian airline worker about our concerns. She responded in exasperation “Oh! You people…..!” We were shocked and offended by her response. We immediately became conscious of the fact that she was implying that we were being troublesome and that the ‘troublesome behavior’ was somehow connected to our race. We were merely concerned like every other passenger about being able to reach our destination safely. She was clearly racially biased and it manifested itself in how she was treating individual passengers.  

This particular incident and events following it clearly showed that the airline worker was biased towards particular groups of people. This was evident in her level of responsiveness towards individual passengers; being more attentive and responsive to some more than others which resulted in a diminished sense of equity for some passengers such as myself and my husband who were left wondering whether the reason no one was making the effort to address our issues was because we were Asian. I think if the airline worker was open to accepting all passengers regardless of where they are from and what they look like and prioritized and responded to the needs of all passengers equally, this situation would have been more equitable for all.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microagressions was not a concept I had been aware of prior to this week’s readings and learning. I now realize that I have previously been a target of microagressions. I also realize that in my ignorance that I may have made comments to others that can be considered as microagressions as well. 

While reflecting on this concept, I remembered instances when microagressions were directed at me. As an Asian, over the years I have had many people show surprise at how fluent I am in both speaking and writing English. It is likely that their initial assumption on meeting me is that as an immigrant I will not have a good grasp on English. On the contrary, growing up in Sri Lanka I received a bilingual education and was taught ‘proper’ British English. Just this past week, my colleague and I were waiting in line to order lunch and trying to decide to what to order. When I told my colleague what I had selected she jokingly said “What? You are not getting the curry chicken? In each of these instances, I was not offended but annoyed nevertheless that people make assumptions and make comments without being fully aware. 

I recall another time in which I made a comment to a co-worker that I now realize can be perceived as a microaggression. My co-worker was describing how her Ipad was stolen from her bag while at a coffee shop and how she ran behind the man who stole it. She was able to retrieve it eventually. She was surprised that someone would dare to do so in a crowded place during the day to which I commented that he might not have expected her to give chase like she did. Being in 60’s my co-worker clearly took offense that I implied she was targeted because of her age. I realized my mistake soon after I made the comment but it was a little too late since my comment had already offended my co-worker. 

During the past week, I was fortunate to have been able to attend the NAEYC conference in Washington D.C with my colleagues. The conference was attended by an incredibly diverse group of early childhood professionals. Several of my colleagues and I were trying to decide which restaurant to have lunch at when a Caucasian colleague talked about how a friend of hers confused Korean cuisine with Chinese cuisine to which one my Asian colleagues commented “Oh! It’s just a white people thing!” My colleagues and I are very close and these comments were made in good fun to which no one to offence to. However, under different circumstances the person at the receiving end may have ended up feeling rather uncomfortable. 

Reflecting on these instances in which microaggressions were displayed, I realized how easily our words can cause hurt or damage to another although that may have been far from our intentions. I realize how important it is choose our words carefully when speaking to others to ensure that our words will not unintentionally offend them or harm them in any way.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

This week I asked two of my colleagues and my husband to share with me how they define culture and diversity. The people I spoke to varied in gender, sexual orientation, religious background and ethnicity. 

The first colleague I spoke to is a heterosexual female raised in the Jewish tradition. She defined culture as ‘The environmental and social interactions that a human being experiences that gives the individual a sense of self and belonging. According to her, ‘Diversity in the social context is a blend of different cultures within a community’. The second colleague I spoke to is an African American homosexual female. She defined culture as the way a group has been taught to live and diversity as many different cultures. The last person I spoke to is my husband who is Sri Lankan and a Christian. In his view, culture is a set of unwritten rules and ways of behaving within a certain community that is practiced and cherished. He elaborated on what he meant by unwritten rules and behaviors by providing the following examples. Within the Sri Lankan culture it is understood that unmarried women do not live alone as is the practice that the youngest son in the family is heir to the ancestral home. He described diversity as a set of attributes that differentiates one community/individual from others in a unique way.

            All three individuals I spoke to provided rather broad definitions of culture. However, I think in their own way each touched on aspects of surface culture and deep culture. My colleague’s definition of culture as the way a group has been taught to live encompasses aspects of surface culture such as traditions, food and clothing, as well as aspects of deep culture such as values and beliefs particular to a group. The examples my husband provided reflected the deep culture among Sri Lankans in how they view the role of women, family structure and roles within a family. In addition they all mentioned how culture influences or helps shape an individual’s identity. All three of them had similar views with regards to diversity. They focused on diversity as aspects that make individuals or communities different from each other, yet unique. While all three of them talked about aspects of culture and diversity we have discussed thus far in this class, none of them mentioned the concept of family culture although they referred to group culture. 

            Reflecting on the answers I received, I realized that culture means different things to different people. It made me realize how important it is for me to make myself aware of what culture means to those around me as it may differ from my own views. In addition, with regards to diversity I realized how important it is to only consider differences that make a particular group unique, but consider differences among individuals within a group as well.