Blog: Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that they feel welcomed in our center and that they see themselves in the classrooms. I want children and families to feel safe and comfortable. I hope that my center is well rounded and gives the feeling of acceptance for all!

Side note: I wrote a grant through my community college a few weeks ago to add diversity to our classrooms and got it! I am very excited. I have $4000.00 dollars to get our classrooms up to speed reflecting the families and community we serve. :)

The one goal I would like to set locally for my center is to be an example of diversity, equity, and social justice.

Thank you to all of my peers for sharing all their information through discussions and blogs. I appreciate everyone's willingness to express their personal thoughts and feeling on diversity, equity, and social justice along with all the other topics we discussed over the course of 8 weeks.

Josie Zbaeren

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The family I chose is from Brazil. After researching families in Brazil I found out some interesting facts.

Facts and Culturally Responsive:

1. The language of Brazilian people is Portuguese. I will learn some key words to help the children adjust to my child care center.

2. The common religion of Brazil is Roman Catholic. I would talk to the parent’s about their traditions and find out their family values. I would explain that our center respects all families. The culture of our classroom is reflective of all children and families. I would address who they asked me to on educational related topics (father, mother, or both). In many Brazilian families there is a hierarchy and I would want to know where they stand not to offend their traditional values.

3. The country is diverse in culture. The majority of the population comes from mixed races. Most people come from a mix of European, African and Indigenous ancestry (kwintessential, 2012). I will post pictures that are familiar to the family. Invite them to share photos as well so the children feel represented in the classroom.

4. There is a class order in Brazil, which is based on economic status and color of skin. I would take interest in how they feel about “class” order. I would let them know that we strive for equity in our center and everyone will have the same opportunities to explore, learn, and create as individuals. I would also explain our curriculum on cultural acceptance.

5. Brazilian families are often large and extended family is important. I would meet with the family and have an interpreter available if needed. I would ask what their goals for their children are. I would ask what their experiences with childcare are and how I can help their children feel safe and welcomed.

The ways I hope these preparations benefit both myself and the family is taking away the unknown. I believe getting to know each other’s expectations takes the fear out of joining our early learning center. I want to respect the family as individuals and their values as well. I also want them to understand our mission at my center.

Josie Zbaeren

I chose Brazil for this assignment because my sister in law, her husband, and their daughter are moving to Brazil at the first of the year for her work. They will live and work in Brazil. Chase their daughter will attend 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd grade in Brazil. They have started to learn Portuguese and they are preparing for an exciting adventure!

http://family.lovetoknow.com/family-values/brazilian-family-values

 http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/brazil-country-profile.html

Perosnal Side of Bias

I remember as a child watching the show Different Strokes. This show was about a white family (man and daughter) that adopted two black boys. A guy friend asked the daughter to a dance. He was a racist. She tested him by coloring her skin black like her brothers to see if he would still take her to the dance. He did not take her because he did not want to take a black girl.

He did not look at people of color as equal to him. At the time I did not feel much however it did bring up conversations in our family. It was a time of learning. We are equal regardless of skin color. In this incident the boy would need to change in order for equity to occur.

Josie Zbaeren

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week I have heard several micro-aggressions. I had my church friends over last night for bunco. Some ladies were signing (being silly) and the song said "gay" in it. One of the ladies mentioned that, “We can no longer use the word gay." Another person replied, "Unless you are wearing pointed shoes and flipped her hand down." I thought the comment was inappropriate and a micro-assault.

The second micro-aggression I heard was while we were changing tables at bunco. A lady said, "where did you get this card table and chairs I think they were made for Asian people they are so little?" Again the comments were insulting.

The third micro-aggression was today from a college student. She was talking about her sister’s basketball game and made the comment about the black girl on the team being really black. I called her out on it and she said, "What I was not being rude I like, it is cool."  

The words of the ladies did not make me mad but I was taken back. I know these ladies and for the most part they are kind, loving people however they are obviously greatly unaware of the effects of their words. I knew I could approach them on the subject of micro-aggressions. I pointed out how their words are a form of racism. It ended up being great conversation. I think they learned a little and I felt good telling them what I have learned. This exercise helped me and others understand how easy it is for us to ignore or unintentionally insult people different then we are

Perspectives on Diversity & Culture

Person one: “Culture is a person’s background and experiences that have made them who they are. Culture generally speaking is a person’s age, ethnicity, disabilities, abilities, family dynamics, socio-economic status, and their geographic location,” (M. Jackson).

Person one: “Diversity is the span of differences between people. Diversity is the things that make people different from each other,” (M.  Jackson).

Person 2: “Culture is your family traditions, values, and beliefs. It is how a person is raised,” (J. Bredfield).

Person two: “Diversity is embracing other cultures that I did not grow up with. It is learning about people’s differences and what they do,” (B. Bredfield).  

Person 3: “Culture is a part of how I define myself. It has numerous aspects for example I am a child of the 7o’s and that affects my thoughts and feelings. My economic status in which I was raised is part of my culture and it molded my views and beliefs,” (A. Williamson).

When I was in the middle of asking this question a white middle-aged man joined the conversation and said we don’t have a culture and were not diverse. He believes because he is not of specific race he does not have a culture at all. “We are boring white class American’s.”

Person 3: “Diversity is the combination of different cultures coming together. It is the differences in beliefs, actions, and values. It is what makes the world interesting. Diversity is accepting that we are all different and that differences are okay,” (A. Williamson).

The aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied and that have been included in the answers I received are culture and diversity are about age, ethnicity, background, where a person lives and is raised, it is about family dynamics, eras, economic status, abilities, disabilities, traditions, and beliefs.

The aspects that were omitted about culture and diversity include language, heritage, religion, education, as well as culture being part of an identity which is ever changing.  That a group of people that share similar qualities for example African-American’s  do not necessarily share all the same beliefs, they may not all like the same foods, music, and they may not even speak the same language.

Listening to others talk about culture and diversity makes me realize that people see more surface culture or diversity rather than culture or diversity as personal. I think diversity is deep and not shallow however it is hard to understand. I think it is important that early educators talk more about culture and diversity and that it looks different to everyone. It can even look different to people in the same family.

Josie Zbaeren

My Family Culture

A description of the three items you would choose:

The three items I would take include a bible, my wedding band, and a small family photo. The bible represents me and my family as Christians, the wedding ring represents my love for my husband and the importance of our marriage in our family structure, and the photo represents the unity of our family.

 How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you?

I would describe the bible as a tool on how to live my life. The bible holds valuable information and stories from the past that teaches me how to act, react, love, care, and treat others. My wedding ring is a symbol of a promise I made to my husband to love, honor and cherish him and our relationship until death do us part. My wedding band includes diamonds from my engagement ring, my mother’s wedding ring, and my grandmother’s earnings from my grandfather. My ring is symbol of forever. Every man I love is represented in my ring and every loving model of marriage I was shown as a child is represented in my ring. I love it! The family picture represents the people I love the most in the world. 

Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you.

I would feel sad, disappointed, and hurt. I would want to know why. I may even feel angry. I would give up the ring and the picture if I had to but I would not want to.

 Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise?

The insights I gained about myself is what I feel really matters. I know I want to have a bible with me now and forever. I learned it was not difficult to know what three items I would choose however very difficult to choose between the items.

Josie

When I think of Research

There are a lot of new insights I have gained from this course beginning with the process of researching in general. I loved learning how to get research started, the ethics behind research, and the responsibilities of the researchers to conduct sound bias free research.

I did not realize everything that went into research. I have a better understanding of the amount of time research takes. I also did not understand how confidentiality was guaranteed and what that looked like. I now understand that just because you work for a research firm does not mean you have access to all research projects. Each individual has access to certain parts and concealing information is crucial.

I now understand planning research is a process that is not to be taken lightly. How the research is going to be done, where, the time frame and who is participating all happen during the planning phase.

Designing the research is open to different options or choices. Designing a question for the research is also part of this phase. The researcher has to answer what and how the research is to be done. A clear topic must be defined. Conducting the research is another story. Conducting is the action of the research. It is putting the design into motion. It is collecting data as well as analyzing it.

One of the biggest challenges I encountered was early on writing the literature review. This was hard because it does not allow for a particular writing style it is the facts. I struggled but took it in stride trying to give the information with little of my  own input. I pushed through and moved on.

Through this journey I realized the importance of early childhood educators that dedicate their time to research. It is a daunting task that I could not do on a regular basis. I love learning new ideas and I love observing children and educator’s interacting however the task of formal research is not my love. I respect the work researchers do and appreciate their work.

Josie