Professional Hopes and Goals

It is my professional desire to ensure that all children and families have an equitable and just learning experience when engaging in early childhood settings.

One goal that I would like to set for the Early Childhood Profession regarding issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is for national standards that support these issues and that can be implemented in every child care program and school setting. Having standards that will support and promote culture, diversity, equity, and social justice will help bring more notoriety within our profession and begin the process of eradicating these social issues.

I would like to thank each of you all for your support in this course, and sharing your personal and professional work experiences. You all have enhanced the overall learning experience and it has been pleasure learning with you in this course. I wish you all the best, and trust that you will apply our collective experiences to the work you do with children and families.

Embracing Diversity~

Country of Orgin: Ghana, South Africa

Ways to prepare to be culturally sensitive:

1. Maintain an open mind, and remove personal biases.
2. Establish open lines of communication for parents and or caregivers
3. Educate staff with the cultural aspects of Ghana, and cultural expectations of young children and their role in society based on research and parent interviews and home visits with the family.
4. Conduct cultural sensitivity training with staff.
5. Embrace the child, the family, and their culture.

These preparations will eliminate potential biases from the staff that serves the family in addition to ease any trepidation or fears the family may have about leaving their child with strangers and fear of losing cultural components that are dear to them . Also by interviewing the family we can further establish a line of communication with them in hopes of making them feel more comfortable with sharing any pertinent information that will aide us in serving their young child. The preparation methods will help us to collectively work together as a support unit to offer the best care and educational experience that is culturally sensitive and which supports all children within the confines of the environment.

The Help

In the scene of the HELP, Mini experiences prejudice as an African American in the south while serving as a waiter to a Caucasian family who deeply resent African Americans and who feel they should stay in their place in society. In the scene the Mrs. Hilly diminishes equity as she speaks negatively to Mini in a very demeaning attitude and tone. She is quite upset with Mini for disrespecting her by breaking the rule of using the inside bathroom that is designated for the family members of the home. This particular scene shows how many African Americans felt about their Boss’s and how they wanted to pay them pack for all of the disrespect and inequity they experienced. In order for this incident to turn into an opportunity for greater equity Mrs. Hilly would have to self evaluate her personal biases toward African Americans.

During the interview about diversity and culture I discovered some similarities regarding what we are learning in the course some examples include:

Definition of culture:
Who you are
What you do
Habits and beliefs
The sum of who you are.

Definition of diversity:
Open to embrace all.
Tolerance
Appreciation for all cultures.

Although the response I received was general, there are some similarities that correlate with what we have learned thus far in the course. For me what resonated so strongly in my mind is the concept of ‘deep culture’. Most individuals simply focus on surface culture such as artifacts, food, Holidays, and garments those are material tangible representations of the deep culture which exist in each individual. Another intriguing aspect is historical events that help shape our individual culture and define who we are as social beings. The exploration of culture and diversity is challenging me personally, and hearing others views about it helps to further define my beliefs about the topic. I am looking forward to learning more throughout the course.

My Family Culture

The three items that I would take with my as we evacuated would be a Bible, Photo Album, and an I pad 2. All of these items are significant to me because they represent a part of who I am as an individual, who I am as a family member, and who I am to the world. The bible has been a source of strength, and comfort for our family for many generations. The photo album visually represents who we are as family members and contains a collection of past and present members. The photo album also collectively represents our family history as a people our traditions and rich heritage. This might serve as a shocker but the I pad 2 allows me to connect to the world globally and I believe this would be imperative to communicate and research through social medias to stay abreast to current events and the like.This item is a representation of my generation, and apart of pop culutre. Upon my arrival if I were told that I could NOT bring all of the items I would be disappointed but I would take what I was permitted to bring and make the most of it. The item that I would bring would be the I Pad 2. This would hold all photos, as well as a bible. My only concern would be power sources, and considering that I would probably bring a photo album. As I completed this assignment I asked my mother what she would bring and her results were reflective of her age as well as the culture of her time as a young child. When I shared with her that I would bring an Ipad2 she thought that was the most ridiculous idea ever. Today’s culture has changed and evolved with current trends and what I value and deem as important someone from a different generation but the same culture may not value the same things I do. This assignment caused me to reflect upon what is really dear to me, and how diverse we are within specific cultures.

When I think of Reseach...

I have gained so many new insights regarding structuring research topics. I have learned that research is a process and has to be done in stages, with revisions in order to get to the core of your point. My ideas about research have changed as a result of gaining an understanding of research as a process, and that process can be a fun one, and insightful. Developing a time line designing and conducting research can be a tedious process however to get the most useful data that is valid it is a necessary process. Some of the challenges that I incurred were reading so much information that it hindered me from getting to main points. Dr. Terry gave wonderful advice when she suggested that you read the abstracts and or summaries and study the flow of the article to identify where you can retrieve the substantive information for your research. I have always respected researchers; I live in a state that is world renowned for its research contributions to the profession of early childhood. To this end, my respect and appreciation for those who commit their professional careers to conducting research so that we might benefit from their findings has increased. My perspective of research has more of a scientific view than before, truly it is a science designing, and being strategic about concepts and data.

Reasearch Around the World

I have chosen to review the following website:
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/index.php
Some of the current international research topics include:
Bullying
Nurturing the Spirited Child
Code of Ethics: A guide for everyday practice
Active Children
Diversity
Engaging Families
The new and surprising insights that I have gained while perusing the website include the fact that they struggle with the same issues that we do in regards to getting policy makers and legislatures on board to support initiatives that will further enhance and strengthen and enhance our profession. "We are calling on commitments from both sides of politics to implement the national quality reform agenda endorsed by COAG last year.

Noteworthy Info:
As an activist organization—ECA supports the key role of parents in their children’s wellbeing and early learning

Early Childhood Australia:

Spoke out in support of paid parental leave
Applauded the paid maternity leave decision as an important first step
Participated in paid maternity leave implementation consultations
Recognized the importance of secure, stable and reciprocal relationships to children’s wellbeing in its advocacy generally, and including in its publications program.