Week 1

My brother is a very effective communicator in daily life. He is always very at ease in any situation and with any person. He is able to talk to anyone he meets. His profession is a salesman so this ability helps him. I would like to model some of my own communication behaviors after him because I am a naturally shy person and I do not always feel comfortable talking to new people. It is sometimes hard when meeting new families building that relationship because I struggle to communicate and connect. I wish I had more of his confidence and ability to strike up conversations with everyone. 

Professional Hopes and Goals

I hope that I am able to be an example for colleagues as I work with children and families from diverse backgrounds and also to the children and families themselves. This class has given me so much information and knowledge and so many new perspectives to issues that I can hopefully pass on. I hope to use this information to provide a more respectful and culturally rich learning environment for children.

One goal for the early childhood field would be to require more diversity training for staff members. I do not think I have ever had diversity training before or at least not more than a brief hour at the beginning of the school year. Yet, in this class there were so many concepts such as microaggressions and the many different -isms that I had never heard about before that have a major impact on working with children and families from diverse backgrounds. These can also impact relationships with coworkers. I think training is very important for the staff members to provide the best anti-bias and respectful environment for children.

I want to thank all my classmates for sharing each week discussions and blog posts. This class showed me how diverse we all are and no matter if we are the same gender or race we are still culturally diverse and unique in our experiences and perspectives. Each week I have been able to think about each topic from different angles due to the fact that everyone has been so willing to be open and share. It has really helped enhance the topics and I am so grateful for everything I have learned. 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

I am working in an early childcare center and just received word that a young girl will be joining my class who just emigrated from Somalia. There are many ways our country differs from Somalia so I will need to prepare myself and my classroom for the arrival.

• The majority of people in Somalia are Muslim. We will need to add in celebrations for Muslim holidays and also ensure we do not focus only on Christian holidays.
• Muslims do not eat pork so we will have to ensure the cook is aware and make accommodations if any meal has pork in it. They may also be issues with the fact that the food prepared will not be halal so we will have to discuss this issue with the family prior. The type of food and seasonings we use will differ greatly so we will have to remember she may not eat that much at school. We can discuss with the families popular meals they had in Somalia to see if we could add a few into the menu at school.
• The mother will probably wear a Hijab and there is a possibility that little girl will as well so I will talk to the other children in the class to explain to them what it is and why she will wear it beforehand.
• I will have to remember to not initiate shaking hands with the father as contact between the opposite sex is considered obscene.
• We will need to check with the family to see if we are allowed to take pictures of the little girl.
• I will add their language to labels in the classroom and make flashcards with common phrases to better communicate with the parents and the child. 

It was very interesting to learn about another country. Once I learned about the country, I then had to also learn about religious customs as most people from that country are a different religion than I am. Hopefully, with all this information I can ensure the family feels respected. I also want the child to get a good impression of school that will hopefully stay with her. This preparation showed me that there is a lot of information out there about Somalia and Muslim culture and beliefs, but there is no way to learn it all and it may depend on the family's preference. It will be important to discuss with the family any concerns or issues they may have and develop a good relationship so they feel comfortable coming to me in the event something comes up throughout the year.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Somalia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Somalia

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The situation that came to mind is not a specific one-time incident, but one that has played out through several conversations and over a period of time. My husband's parents divorced around two years ago and within a few months, they were both dating other people seriously. Both people are actually the same age and are only two years older than my husband. Family members have had very interesting opinions on the fact that both my mother-in-law and father-in-law are dating people 12-14 years younger than them and the opinions have been very sexist and definitely not equal. They call my father-in-law's girlfriend a golddigger, even though she does have her own job, but they congratulate him for getting a younger woman. They call my mother-in-law a cougar and make fun of the fact that her boyfriend is so much younger. Even though her boyfriend does not have a job and is completely supported by my mother-in-law, they do not call him a golddigger.

My and I both feel uncomfortable around both of them mainly because they are so close in age to us. It just seems weird to date someone with such a huge age gap. However, we are both of the opinion that it is not our life so not our choice. Saying this and actually feeling it are two different things, but I am a little more understanding after this class. I think my feelings are based more on my personal opinion of what is an appropriate age gap especially for those who are older. 

I see now how my opinions and family members' reactions are related to sexism and even ageism. It seems it is ok for an older man to date a much younger women, but the woman is probably in it for financial reasons and it is not ok for a woman to date a much younger man. These opinions do have an impact on family members' interactions with each of their significant. It does make me wonder why we have these differences in wording for men and women who date someone much younger. I think in this situation for there to be greater equity, society would have to change the negative views on women dating much older men and women dating much younger men. Everyone needs to be more accepting and less apt to jump to assumptions about why two people are together.  

EDUC-6164 Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

There was one instance when I was the target of a microaggression that stands out to me. I was at Wal-Mart and used my credit card to pay. We live in a major military area so most people get paid at the same time. The cashier said to me "it is amazing how many more people use their credit cards the further we get away from pay day". It took me a minute to understand exactly what she was trying to imply and then I felt humiliated because I felt I was being judged about how I was paying. The cashier was insinuating that I had to use my credit cards because I did not have money in checking to pay. There were two other people in line behind me who heard. I was shocked that someone would say that. Though I dismissed it from my mind a few days later, thinking about it again brought up the feelings of being annoyed and ashamed. 

Unfortunately between my kids and myself we have been sick with colds all week so we have not left the house.While I was not able to do any observations this week, I thought about times when I have seen people make facial expressions towards others at stores or you see them make comments under their breath. The causes of these are varied from someone's appearance, behavior of kids, and even abilities. I always feel bad when people make sighing noises as they try to rush around an elderly person or glare at the parent with the screaming kid. Though when I honestly think about, I do not believe the cashier meant to be insulting. I think this is one of those times that a comment comes out differently than we intended or even just not realizing how someone else could take it. I also do not think many people consciously make these facial expressions and noises and really understand the affect it can have on the person. I think before we can get mad at someone else for these microaggressions we must also take responsibility for our responses. Without this class I would not have the understanding about microaggressions that I do now so it is safe to assume most people do not either. Maybe the next time we hear or see someone we need to explain to them how their actions are hurtful and help educate others.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture- EDUC 6164

I talked to my sister, Jessica, who is a high school English teacher in Columbus, Ohio. She has worked at the school for ten years and when she started there was very little diversity and most of the kids were white and lived in the country. However, through the years as the district has changed they have gotten more kids of different races and they now have kids from over 50 different countries. She said in the beginning there was a lot of tension and fighting, but now the kids have adjusted and are more accepting. So her definition of diversity is her school. It is all different races and religion and values all being together and accepting of one another. Her definition of culture is everything that makes up a person.

I talked to a friend, Katie, who seven years ago adopted four children from Mexico. They are a white couple who already had two kids and adopted three girls and a boy ranging in age from 6 to 16. She said her definition of culture is what you decide it is. The older kids have more memories of Mexico and have chosen to keep some traditions, but have let others go. The younger two have said that is not their home anymore so why would they keep doing what they did there. She thinks each kid will continue to choose exactly what their culture will be. Her definition of diversity was knowing each person is different, but not having to verbalize it. There have been many times people have said "you must have adopted them" or "those can't be your kids, they are Mexican". She said these are very hurtful statements and she doesn't know why people have to state the obvious. 

I talked to a previous coworker, Lisa, whose ethnic background is Jamaican however she is very light skinned. She said she has been mistaken for Mexican or ask how she can be black when she is so white. She grew up in inner city Philadelphia and most of her school was African-American, but she said she never felt like she fit with any group. She said her definition of culture is our traditions. To her diversity is being aware that people come from all different backgrounds. Don't assume that the black person is from Africa or various stereotypes about different countries.   

Each person included parts about the definition of culture that we have learned in this class. Culture is everything about us. It is influenced by our childhood and our ethnic background and gender, but it is also influenced by our current experiences. Katie said culture is what we decide. She has seen her adopted children choose parts of their Mexican culture to keep, but also are integrating into the American culture. What was not included was how culture is also our lifestyle and gestures and parenting styles. When talking to other people about their definitions I realized how much our own experiences shapes our thinking and our definitions. 

My family culture-EDUC 6164

• The first thing I would take is my memory book of my Mom. My sister made it for us last year for Christmas and it is a picture book of all the pictures we used on the slideshow at her funeral. It has pictures through the years of my mom and many family pictures. This is important to me to be able to remember my mom and also other family members.
• I would take my recipe box. It has all my favorite recipes that I cook frequently including many that I have found on pinterest. It also has the recipes that have been passed down from my grandma and my mom and recipes that were given to me by other family members at my bridal shower. This is important to me because these are family recipes. There are a few that any time my siblings and I get together we still always have to make. These are also things that represent my culture and the type of food we enjoy.
• I would also take my camera. I love taking pictures and catching moments in time. I want my kids to be able to have pictures to look back on to remember.

If I had to give up two after arriving it would be very difficult, yet I would choose my memory book. The recipes I can always attempt and hopefully write down from memory a few and the camera I can hopefully get another, but I can never replace the pictures. 

This was actually pretty hard to decide. I walked around my house a few times because there are so many things that are meaningful to me, yet I also was trying to think of things that would represent my culture. I think these three do because the pictures show some past history especially in some with clothing and even some technology (there is a picture of my mom on a computer in the early 90s-it is huge). The recipes are an example of the types of food we eat because not every country eats the same food or cooks the same as we do. The camera represents the importance of pictures and I wonder how many other countries do not have access to cameras. 

I am excited to read other people's items and what they choose to represent their culture. I think there is going to be so much diversity because just like our social identities are different what we value enough to choose will also be different.