Professional Hopes and Goals

When I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, my ultimate hope is for myself. My hope is that I am able to effectively advocate for the children and families that I encounter. As an early childhood educator, our environment and the children/families that we serve are forever changing. It is my hope that I that am able to promote feelings of respect, security, and feelings of empowerment with each child, and their family, that I serve; regardless their race color or creed.

If I had to set a goal for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice, it would be to put forth the necessary efforts to teach young children to appreciate differences between themselves and others. It is my belief that if we use teaching moments to address stereotypes and prejudice with very small children, we will see huge differences around us. The children that we serve will be able to go out and teach lessons of acknowledging and understanding our differences without even trying. If believe that if we teach children early on, stereotypes and prejudice among adults would also be reduced dramatically.

I would like to say thank you to each and every one of my classmates within this course. I have learned, through your posts, about how people can receive one topic and have such different perceptions. It has been awesome and I appreciate each and every one of you for the role that you have played throughout this course. The best of wishes to!!! Be blessed!!

Welcoming Families from Around the World

The child joining my group has emigrated from Haiti with his family. I have heard a lot about the country of Haiti, some good and some bad. Nevertheless, I am excited to learn all that I can about the country before my new child and his family arrives. I do not have any firsthand information on the country, so I have got to do my research.

I plan to read a few articles from credible resources on the country in itself. From the article, I will be able to gather information regarding current issues in Haiti. With that information, I may be able to better understand my family, and some of the hardships they may have encountered. I will also be able to better guide my conversation with the family, because I will know which topics to steer clear of due to sensitivity. In addition, I will be able to learn about the school system in Haiti and from that information work to make the student’s transition, as well as the parents, as smooth as possible.

From the credible resources, I plan to learn about the native language, holidays, etc. where I can check out books from the local library regarding those topics specifically. By doing so, I can make direct reference to those holidays and use a few common terms from time to time. By showing the new child, and his family, that I am making an effort to learn most about their country of origin, it will help to begin the foundation for a healthy relationship.

Next, I have a few friends and church members who have traveled to Haiti on mission work. I plan to speak with those people who have visited Haiti and have firsthand experience with the country. From them I plan to gather more upfront, non-sugar coated descriptions of the parts of the country that they have witnessed. They may have picked up a song or two that they may be willing to share that I can then sing for the child. I’m sure that would truly remind him of happy times back home. It would also help to promote our relationship because he would then feel as though we have something in common.

In my spare time, I will view blogs of people that have traveled to Haiti. This process will provide even more candid information on the country and what is to be expected. I may even be able to pick up on culture and traditions that stand out, but other may have failed to mention. The more resources and different perspectives, the better.

Lastly, I’m going to be sure to read over current course materials in addition to simply implementing what I have learned in the course thus far. With the information, I will be able to strategize the best approach for making sure the child and his family are comfortable within my classroom and the center overall. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppression

**Disclaimer: This post describes a memory that is very touchy for me. In it, I may state my feelings and/or perception, but it is not, in any way, to spark debate. Due to my sensitivity on the subject matter, I stay far away from debates on the topic. I feel that I should be able to share my memory without engaging in debates of any kind, for any reason. Please respect that.

As I reflect on the past few weeks of my current course on Perspective Diversity and Equity, I realize that this course has stirred up so many real, raw emotions in me. There are times where I feel as though my timing for the course is wrong. At a time where media sources are covering so many police shootings of men who look like me and could so easily be my son, husband, father, cousin, etc; just about every topic that we’ve covered, can be related to the subject of race, police brutality, and minority groups in general in one way or another. Unfortunately for me, I have a memory, which I will carry forever, where I witnessed someone very near to me be the target of prejudice.

It’s just like it was yesterday. I had fallen asleep with no worries only to wake up with my life in shambles. “David is dead,” my cousin yelled at me as I awoke completely confused and uncertain about what I was hearing. I thought it was a dream. But, within minutes my mom had confirmed that it was true. My first cousin, the closest person I had to a biological brother had been shot and killed.

My cousin had been coming from a night at the bowling alley with friends, was stopped in what was supposed to be a routine traffic stop (“broken tail light”) and murdered as a result. “Lil David,” as our family lovingly called him had been killed and we could not understand why. His hands were up, he did not have any weapons, four other people in the car riddled with bullets including his five month old daughter, but no one on the police force could explain why. It’s been nine years now, the officer was acquitted and my family has yet to receive any answers.

After hearing and understanding the details of the case, I felt that my cousin was murdered as a result of prejudice. A young, black male, with a head of locs, riding after midnight, with more than one passenger in the ghettos of Savannah, GA, had to be up to no good. Is what I picture them saying to themselves. The tags were registered, no stolen plate, no warrants associated with the tags, there’s got to be something. His tail light! I picture them saying. He never stepped out of his car. Though he was hit multiple times, the fatal gunshot was one that passed through his wrist (that were up, as advised) and into his neck. He laid on the ground and bled out, the friends in the car unable to assist him, hug him, or even just let them know that they were there with him as his last breath left his body.

I was completely upset by the situation. I cried. I was angry. I wanted to fight. I asked why. I prayed for understanding. I prayed for him to come back. Nothing worked though, at the end of the day, he was definitely gone and never coming back. Through personal faith in the Lord, the support of my family and the love that we showed to one another, is what got us through one of the most difficult times in our lives. Nine years later, it still hurts to relive this memory, and even though the situation tears me to pieces, I continue to live life without hatred or prejudice in my heart for anyone.