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.

Culture & Diversity

Alicia (White Female)

Culture to me means tradition, the way do things. Such as our dress code, or family functions.

Diversity means the different backgrounds we come from

Anthony (Black Male)

Culture means the way we do things that makes us different. What we developed from our past ancestors and family history.

Diversity means what we believe in

Jordyn (Black Female)

Culture is what we believe in, our customs and our patterns.

Diversity means what makes us different from one another such as our backgrounds and ethnicities.  

 

The aspects of culture and diversity are included in relations to the course such as culture being a tradition of how we do things and diversity as distinguishing us apart based on our ethnicities.

I do not believe that anything was omitted.

I also do not believe that anyone can influence my definitions of culture and diversity based on what they think. To me these two words can be explained from a person’s experience or their opinions.    

Family Culture

To choose three different items for me would be difficult because I cherish everything that I have. There are so many things that are important to me but the three I would most likely take would be my laptop, wedding dvd, and cards. To be placed in a different environment where the culture is completely different from yours would be a huge adjustment.

I would bring my laptop because it holds so many memories such as my favorite songs and pictures of my family and friends. Having this would probably help to ease some of my pain. My wedding dvd would express the love, fun and laughter we shared on the day I became one with my husband. Each of our family and friends showed great support towards us. My video shows the different things we like to do in my culture such as jumping the broom at the wedding, lighting unity candles, doing line dances such as the electric slide and the cha-cha at the reception, and watching the groom remove the garter from the bride and much more. The last I chose was greeting cards. I chose this because cards are very meaningful to me. I collect every card anyone gives me. From time to time I like to go back and read the sweet words on my cards, especially the cards where my husband and I first started dating or my first mother’s day cards.

To be loved by so many friends and family is a treasure that no one can take away. So if I had to give up two things and be left with one I would choose my wedding dvd. The dvd to me holds the most sentimental and important moments in life.

This lesson has taught me to be more appreciative to my family and friends. To cherish my culture and to never forget my background and what makes me.

Thank You

To all my classmates I thank each of you for your support and constructive critisim and positive words throughout the course. Many of you have shown me how to look at things differntly, you have helped me to grow and I thank you for that. This was a fun course and I'm glad that I got to share it with wonderful classmates like you. I continue to wish you all the best as you complete the program!
Thank you again...

Adjourning

Saying good-bye to a group of people where you became closely related to can be a sad moment. During my college years I was able to bond with my colleagues learning about them and their personal lives. When graduation came, it was a bit sad knowing that some of us would never meet again. Many of us moved to other states, many found jobs in our field while the other half didn’t. We all were happy that our courses were now complete.

Another experience for me, was leaving my baby alone in the hospital without her parents. Although it was not a complete good-bye, it was still a bitter moment. For a month straight, there were doctors who cared for my daughter in the NICU when I couldn’t do a thing for her. I was glad to see my baby leave the hospital but I was going to miss the nurses who cared for her. I remember taking my daughter to meet the nurses who cared after her for me. I wanted her to meet the wonderful team who cared so much for her.

Both of these experiences were big milestones in my life where I was glad to see them coming, but I was sad to see them leave as well.