The person I am choosing to recognize this week is my director at the school I currently work at she.  She is always polite and over all nice.  She speaks to her staff as if they are equals.  She never acts like she is better than us because she is the “boss”.  She listens to what we have to say and answers in an honest yet caring way.  There were times where she has had to correct us for various things but she kindly states why we need to change something.  How she speaks to parents is also something that I learn from.  If she does not know the answer to something she says, “I will figure it out and get back to you as soon as possible”.  Her demeanor is welcoming and friendly.  I definitely would like to model her friendliness and open communication skills.

        One hope I have is that I will get completely over any biases that I have about backgrounds that are different than mine.  I am extremely open-minded and welcoming but I would be lying if I said I ALWAYS accepted everything about everyone I encounter.  I hope I can teach my colleagues to also have an open mind and embrace any culture/background that they work with.  The individuality of others is absolutely amazing and every day I learn something about one of my children or families that I work with.  I learn so much just by speaking with parents and getting to know them and their children.  Others offer different insights and experiences that make me a better and well-rounded teacher. 

          I want to thank my colleagues for respnding to my posts and offering their advice and sharing their experiences.  We all have beautiful hearts for doing what we do every day.  Sometimes it goes unnoticed by others, but for me seeing the happiness of my children and their families is all I need to get me through the day  J

Welcoming Families From Around the World

 

My “family” will be attending the child care I work at.  They just moved here from Italy.  Getting to know about their culture, beliefs, traditions and family life will help them make the transition for their child easier.  They need to feel comfortable in their surroundings and feel welcome.

1.       I will make sure to have things that are part of their culture in the classroom so they fell comfortable and welcome.  It will help to have things that are familiar to them.

2.       I will either speak to or met the family before their child starts at my center.  I want them to know I care about them and want to make it an easier transition for them. 

3.       I will educate myself on their culture and learn about their differences from my culture. 

4.       I would let everyone else in the center know about our new family that is starting.  This will give them some time to forget about any bias or stereotype they may have with this family.  They can also be a part of welcoming the family. 

5.       I would try to learn a little bit of their language.  I know how difficult this would be for me but I would like to know some basic words or phrases I could use with the child in order to try and communicate. 

Blog: The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

                I am currently the teacher in a Waddler classroom (my kids are about 9 months-15 months).  I wanted to do something special for the children to give to their parents for Valentine’s Day.  We made a very cute picture that had the children’s footprints on a heart with the saying around it “I love you from the very bottom of my heart to the tips of my toes”.  There is a little girl in the class that is from a Japanese culture.  I was in the room when her father picked her up and took the gift out of her mailbox.  He kind of looked at it and then looked back at us and said “bye” on his way out the door.  I looked at my aid and said, “Do you think he was upset?  He didn’t have an expression and all of the other parents were very excited about the gift.  Do you think that in their culture they don’t do anything with Valentine’s Day?  I really hope he wasn’t offended.”  She responded that she thought he was surprised that his daughter had made something for him and that we had taken the time to do something.  I thought that maybe I should take time to learn about their culture so I do not run into this same type of problem again.    

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

            One microaggression that stood out to me this week was from the scenario about the woman who had a male friend that was gay.  She assumed that he would be good at helping her decorate.  I guess her thoughts about gay men are that they are fabulous at decorating. 

Another microagression that comes to mind is one that happened to myself.  This is something pretty personal that I don’t like to bring up.  I guess some would think my nose is a little larger than it should be.  One night I was at dinner with my friends and a stranger said something about me being Jewish.  I am by no means Jewish at all.  I am Catholic.  His stereotype of Jewish people was that they have big noses.  I found this very offensive and hurtful.  This experience made me realize that stereotypes are not always correct and it is hurtful to assume things about others. 

 

 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Person 1:

Culture:  Your beliefs and values.

Diversity: Many cultures in one area.

Person 2:

Culture: A variety of beliefs from different types of people.

Diversity:  How we all respect those beliefs in how we act and treat people.

Person 3:

Culture:  A person's beliefs, ethnicity, race and language.

Diversity:  The differences in those around us.

                The responses I got were pretty vague.  They do describe the basic ideas between culture and diversity, showing me that they are able to see the differences in other.  But, I do have to take into consideration that the three people I chose do not work with a diversity of children with different cultural backgrounds as I do on a daily basis.  These definitions describe surface culture.  They don’t go into detail about class, Religion, family relationships, work ethic or the role of children. 

My Family Culture

           

 

               There are many things about my family and my culture that I love.  I would never want to forget anything about my family and my past.  The first thing I would bring is definitely a family album.  Every year for Christmas my parents make us a family album from the previous year.  In the album shows the love and bond that my family holds with each other.  The second thing I would bring is my cross necklace.  Being Catholic is a big part of my life and my family culture.  Being able to hold onto that cross will remind me that God is with me and will forever be a significant part of my life.  Everyone around me will be able to see the attachment that I have.  The third item I would take is my Mother’s ring.  It has my birthstone and my son’s birthstone.  He was not planned and got brought into a world that his father was abusive and not part of.  Although he was not planned, I would not change one thing about the fact that I have him.  He has made me the happiest, strongest mother I have ever known.  He is the reason I am where I am today.  Without him I would not have gotten my Bachelor’s degree and be in this current program.    

                Having to give up two of my personal items would be devastating to me.  But, the one thing that I would keep is my family picture album.  That album holds memories and significant times in my family’s life that were very important.  In the pictures show different family traditions.  It would be very difficult for me to not be able to keep the other two items.  But having my immediate family by side will give me the strength to get through anything else life throws at me/1   

                This blog made me think about all of the important things in my life and not to take them for granted.  I also am starting to think that I don’t have enough tangible belongings that express and describe who I am and where I come from.