Professional Hopes and Goals

I hope that when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that they reach for their dreams and know that whatever they want to accomplish in life is possible. I want them to feel loved and never experienced the pain of  rejection or exclusion, but the reality is that we do live in a world in which racism and other forms of bias continue to affect us.

A goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that professional knowledge and experience are important, but we must never forget how much we can learn from the families we work with.

I want to thank my colleagues for their personal beliefs, ideas, opinions, and stories that you all shared. I will take all of this new information and knowledge and use it for future purposes. I want to wish you all the best on your educational and personal journey in life.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The name of my family's country of origin is India.

One way in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family would be to do research on the country first in order to understand and access information. Next, I would explore personal and family histories. This process can lead to interviews of family members like the parents and grandparents about their beliefs and experiences regarding different groups in society. A third preparation will be to focus on building skills that enhance communication such as listening and observational skills which is essential. The fourth preparation would consist of me building relationships by communicating with the family about what I am teaching and how they can be involved, I will help them to meet and get to know other people in the community, and I will use multiple avenues to include families in what is done in school. Finally, I would invite family and community members to speak to the class or share a special skill.

I hope that these preparations will benefit both the family and I by gaining each others trust and participation while learning to comprehend new information easily.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

My memory comes from when my mother was at Kroger's and witnessed these white people put their money in the soda machine and they lost their money. The white people went inside to tell the cashier  that they lost their money in the machine and they went right on and gave them their money back. When it was my mother's turn to get her money back, the cashier halted and hesitated as if my mother was lying about loosing her money like she was trying to still some money back from them that did not belong to her. She finally got her money back and stated to them that when white people steal it's called embezzlement and when black people steal it's called stealing in which it means the same thing, but embezzlement is a prettier name.

The specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity because the cashier gave my mother a problem with giving her money back, but it was not a problem with giving the white people their money back. My mother diminish equity because she did not have to make that statement towards the cashier even though she did her wrong first. I like the old saying that says two wrongs do not make it right. The feelings that this incident brought up to me was that the cashier treated the white people as though they were more important than my mother. Also, I felt as though the cashier believed the white people, but did not believe my mother because she was black and people always assuming that black people are known to lie and white people are truthful. My mother should have ignored them, prayed for them, turned the other cheek, and walked away in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity or the cashier could have just told my mother that I am going to give your money back and now I will go put a sign on the machine that said out of order so that this would not be a problem anymore.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

One example of a microaggression which I detected this week was microassault to my mother when she was in the hospital at The University Medical Center in Jackson, MS for her interventional radiology (surgery). We were the first ones to arrive in the surgery waiting area and my mother was nauseated and asked the nurse could she give her some medicine for it. The nurse said hold and let me go check with the radiologist. Meantime, my mother was being frigged and was giving them trouble by wanting to sit up on the side of the bed in which they could not let her do because she had been medication. Well, this white lady kept saying you can not sit up on the side of the bed, but I can let you sit up in the bed. My mother kept telling her I feel nauseated and I want to sit up on the side of the bed. She came over and lifted her head up in the bed and then she left to take another patient back to surgery. By that time the nurse came back and gave my mother her medicine for being nausea. We were sitting in there for about an hour or two and I noticed that two or three people was being taken back for surgery and I was getting impatience. After my mother could not get comfortable, she asked the nurse can she help her to turn over in the bed and the nurse said I can not, but you can pull on me and my mother said why not and the nurse said cause she is pregnant. My mother said well I do not want to to be strain on you and hurt the baby. So, the nurse said I will get some help and by that time her other teammate showed up and she asked him to help. He helped my father to turn my mother over in the bed. Meantime, while they were trying get my mother situated in the bed, the white lady from earlier came in and the nurse said they trying to get her in bed and she was telling the white lady how my mother was acting up, but the white lady humped her shoulders as if she did not care, but she was unaware that I was watching them the whole time why they were discussing my mother and when she seen me look her in the face, she tried to play it off by winking her eye at the nurse as though she was playing. I know she was not playing and was very inconsiderate about what was going on with my mother. I think the white lady was being races towards my mother because she was giving them trouble, but she was not intentionally doing it on purpose. My mother was just nervous and scared about her procedure because she did not know what to expect. When I observed the microaggression, I was getting mad and irritated because she should have handle the situation in a more professional manner.

My observation experience this week affected my perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people. I see that all three of them still exist today. It taught me that people can discriminate or be prejudice towards you absolutely for no reason at all even if you are sick. It made me realize that a person's expression can portray to be different from what you thought original. Also, it can reveal who they truly are when it comes to them interacting with others. Since I been at this hospital I have come in contact with a many of rude and stereotype people who do not mind showing how they feel towards you even on their jobs. They are so unprofessional and do not really care.  

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

The first person was a female and my family member. Her response to culture and diversity. She state everything is culture such as beliefs, family, morals, values, and your environment/surroundings all the way down to the foods that we eat. She said that diversity is a broad topic, but it is different religions and beliefs systems. For example, Baptist, Buddhism, Catholic, Hinduism, and etc., all of them believe and practiced differently.

The second person was a male and an acquaintance. His response to culture and diversity. He stated that culture is based on your environment, what you learn/learned, and what you see/seen. He said that diversity is two words; di is a prefix meaning split or more than one and versity is harmony. A person is diverse and not contained or restricted to a specific ideological.

The third person was a female and my former instructor. Her response to culture and diversity. She stated that when she think of culture, she think of learned behavior and norms. She said that when she think of diversity, she think of multiculturalism. 

I know that some aspects of culture and diversity were included in the answers that I received. One person mentioned surface culture, but all three of them basically touched on deep culture. From the answers that were provided, I feel as though they are knowledgeable and understanding about culture and diversity. I noticed that each person provided different definitions of these words, but they were still connected to one another. I like the way the second person broke down diversity, and then explained it.

The aspects of things that we can't see have been omitted. For example, the oxygen that we breath everyday. 

Thinking about other people's definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics because I understand that not everyone is alike and they don't think the same way either. I think that people's experiences is what brings us together so that we can help each other to learn. 

My Family Culture

The three items that I hold dear and that represent my family culture:

The three items I would choose that hold dear and represent my family culture would be a radio, my Bible, and my cellphone. I would use a radio to help me listen to music and the weather. Also, it can keep me updated with news on the country and the surrounding areas.

The second item I would choose to take would be my Bible because I must continue to practice our beliefs, morals, and values in God. I must have faith and trust in him that he will supply all my needs and wants. The Bible would be a source of spiritual nutrition. Therefore, the food from God's word will help me ti live his life day by day. Also, God's words will be essential for my spiritual growth.

My third item to take with me would be my cellphone. It will be my source of communication to get acquainted with new people in order to establish friendships. I would have photos of my family in my cellphone as memories. I could connect to WiFi to get internet access so that I can social network on sites such as Facebook, OoVoo, and Skype, playing games, and listening to music.

Upon arrival, if I was told that I could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items that I brought with me, then I would keep my Bible. The Bible will prove that my faith in God will not waver. It shows that he is very important in my life. I would be able to read his word and it provide me with encouraging and motivating scriptures that will help me through the day. Also, it will help me through my trials-and-tribulations of life. I will be willing to ministered his word to people and hopefully I can save sinners soul even if I save at least one.

I feel like this exercise made me realize that we never imagine a major catastrophic event and what special items we would take with us until it happens to other or someone close to us. Afterwards, we might prepare our family just in case it happens again. I feel as though we take events, life, situations, and things for granted. Most of us are selfish because we are beyond blessed compared to other countries.

When I Think of Research...

1. What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
The insights that I have gained about research throughout this course is to make sure that your information and resources is credible, reliable, and valid. It will most definitely help you in the long run when it comes to all the steps of the research process and actually writing a research report/project. In the beginning of the research, I was not familiar with many of the terms and the analysis and designs(quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods). Now, I am more knowledgeable thanks to this course and Dr. Dartt.

2. In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?
My ideas have changed about the nature of doing research because I found out that it can be complicated, confusing, and frustrating. Research is a process that is very time consuming and takes a bunch of patience.

3. What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?
I learned that all three of them are important in early childhood. The planning is the foundation that will lead to the designing and conducting of the research in which you will be studying as a researcher.


4. What were some of the challenges you encountered-and in what ways did you meet them?
One of my challenges that I encountered was when it came to the quantitative and qualitative designs and analysis. I was so confused, lost, and frustrated to where I developed a headache. I met this challenge by calling Dr. Dartt and she explained how both of the designs is used in research. She provided me with examples and scenarios to help me understand better. Even after learning about the research process, I still do not like the quantitative design because it seems like it has more work than the qualitative design. Another challenge that I encountered was the vocabulary. In order to meet this challenge, I kept flipping back and forth from the definition in the chapter to the glossary and then I would sit there and meditate on it for a while. I had to reread the text a numerous of times before I decided to research on the internet to see what others have written.

5. What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?
My perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course because participants may be harmed as a result of their involvement. Secondly, professional relationships and knowledge base may be damaged. Finally, problems for the community or society may be a result.

To My Colleagues:
Thank you all for the support in which was provided to me throughout this course. Thanks for sharing your ideas, opinions, and the resources which will help me in the near future. I wish the best for you all on this academic journey and life.