Professional Hopes and Goals

I have a deep-seated belief in the importance of justice, the dream of each child being able to achieve all he or she is capable of, and the knowledge that all human beings can make a difference.  One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that all children and families have a sense of belonging and experience affirmation of their identities and cultural ways of being and that children and adults know how to respectfully and easily live, learn, and work together in diverse and inclusive environments.

Anti-bias education has four core goals, each of which applies to children of all backgrounds and influences in every arena of our program (Derman-Sparks, 2010).  One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to implement ways to develop each of the four core anti-bias education goals in our work and to continue doing anti-bias education work until the world we live in become a place where all children have equal opportunity to become all that they can be.

 I would like to take this opportunity to show my appreciation to all of my classmates and Dr. Tuthill for the contributions each of you have made in this very important course.  The insights and personal experiences each of you shared during our discussions have been very rewarding and helped me to better understand each topic we covered.  I wish each of you much success as you continue the journey of broadening your understanding of yourself as you work with children, families and colleagues.

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).

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Imagining the scenario that I am working in an early childhood child care center and that I have received word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from the country of Turkey will join my group soon, there are at least five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family.

First, I would research and learn as much as I could about the culture of Turkey.  Although this will provide me with a lot of surface facts, it would be a good starting point to give me some familiarity because I know absolutely nothing about that country’s culture or people.

Secondly, I would locate someone in the community or nearby that speaks, translates, and writes in the Turkish language in order to ensure effective communications with the family.  I would ensure that my Center’s handbook, forms, newsletters and other ongoing written communications are translated into the family’s home language. I would even learn key words and phrases in the family’s home language myself to be able to at least greet the family, make requests for help, and to express terms of comfort and encouragement in the Turkish language.

Thirdly, I would create an inclusive family library of resources and referral materials; books, articles, and listings of support services and community advocacy organizations for all kinds of families and family circumstances.  Of course, I would make sure that these materials were in the Turkish language.

Fourthly, I would ensure that the Center’s physical environment is accessible to people with disabilities and is welcoming and inviting.  I would especially ensure that the visual and material environment, including the toys, materials, the posters, pictures, and art objects I hang on the walls are culturally consistent for the children and families represented at the center, including the Turkish family.

Fifthly, I would look forward to and initiate intake screening with the family where I would communicate personally with the family so that they can get to know me and I could get to know them.  I would find out as much as I could about the family’s culture and their expectations and desires for their child.  In addition, I would find opportunities to talk regularly with the family to share positive information about their child in my care and to hear about what the child is doing at home. 

The ways I hope that these preparations will benefit both me and the family include demonstrating that I value and respect them and the languages they speak and that I am eager to communicate with them to share information and make decisions about matters affecting their children.  I also hope that it would lead to a true partnership with the family so that the child receives the wonderful benefit of seeing both their family and early childhood program as equally welcoming, safe, and enriching places. In addition, making an effort to understand the family will open up opportunities for me to better serve the child and their family.

Resource:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010).  Anti-bias education for young children and             ourselves (p.22) Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young            Children (NAEYC).

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppression

I am proud to be a retiree because I have worked most of my life and I am proud of my achievements and experiences.  However, when economical situations caused me to get back into the job market, I found that my age has been playing a significant role in me not being hired for jobs I know that I am more than qualified for.  Despite the fact that I have a college degree and years of specialized experience, I found myself being passed over for jobs and seeing younger, less experienced and less educated people (both Black and White) get jobs I have applied for.  The only obvious reason I can see, is the fact that I am in my late 50’s.  In fact, one of my close associates had recruited me and referred me for a Training and Development Coordinator’s position.  I have many years of experience and education in this particular area.  I had a great interview; however I did not get the position.  My associate confided in me and told me that they were looking for a younger, more energetic person because the position was fast-paced.  This made me feel so angry because the interviewers assumed that I could not keep up with the pace of the job or would not be energetic because of my age.  Being an African American female who grew up in a low income community in Mississippi during the 1960’s and 1970’s, I have some very salient experiences encountering racism, classism, and ableism.  But this was the first time I have encountered being discriminated against because of my age. 

From what I have experienced and witnessed, society denies power to so many of the old for reasons having less to do with the aging of bodies and more to do with society’s construction of old age as sickness, dependence, lack of productivity, unattractiveness, and decline.  According to Robert Butler in his 1969 article in The e Gerontologist, “Ageism: Another Form of Bigotry,”  ageism is “the systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people because they are old, just as racism and sexism accomplish this with skin color and gender,” (Harris, 2011).  Society, including media and advertisements, has to change in order to turn the incident I experienced into an opportunity for greater equity.  Ads use the work place as a setting to play on the fear that looking old is a disadvantage, especially in the application process. Employers may indeed look negatively at old-aged job applicants for various reasons, many of which are myths. It is a myth, for example, that the old can’t learn new things or won’t be as productive (Harris, 2011).

 

Reference:

Harris, S. (2011, Winter). Do not let them know you are OLD. Virginia Tech "Research"      Magazine, 26--            31. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Academic Search Complete database:             http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr       ue&db=a 9h&AN=57626783&site=ehost-live&scope=site