Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country that I chose was China.

I would prepare myself by reading books about their country. Reading would probably inform me of small things they do in their culture.

I would try to find a person that lives in the United States that’s from their country to discover the amazing facts about them such as things they do for fun, how to count and etc.

I would research how their schools are funded and what special programs they have to offer families.

I would learn what gestures are considered to be offensive, and learn how they greet and say good-bye.

I hope these preparations will help me to be comfortable and confident around the family. I also hope that I would know how to not offend them. This will show that I’m prepared to work with children in diverse backgrounds.    

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

One memory I have is this one incident where a group of my coworkers and I were socializing, and someone burst out asking why do black people love fried chicken. I found that to be very disurbing. I angrily replied that all blacks don’t like chicken. My grandfather for example is one. I have never seen him eat a piece of chicken.

I was a bit upset because I felt attacked out of the entire group. She made an assumption on what  she thought blacks liked. Once I gained control of my feelings I realized that she didn’t mean any harm. She was curious to know what was so special about friend chicken.

Microaggressions

I remember this one time I worked at a headstart and this little girl was very active but unique. She did unusual things that none of the teachers understood. I recall this younger teacher asking was something wrong with the child. She use to laugh at her behavior and call her slow. Many of the teachers observed her behavior and discovered that she had similarities of autism.  The teacher of the child, got with her mom and discovered that mom had some questions about her child's behavior also. The mom finally got the child tested and discovered that the child was autistic.
Comparing this situation to the lesson it displayed ableism. The young teacher made fun of a child's behavior and later discovered that the child actually had a disability.

As an adult, I think that was inappropriate. As a teacher we will see alot of things. Its not our place to judge or assume. Our goal is to motivate and develop a child's learning growth.

As I learned in this case when we stereotype something or someone before we know the fullness of the situation we may be misjudging.