Professional Hopes and Goals

   One hope I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to get to know my students well and to also learn about their backgrounds. For example, if I had a student who is deaf or hard of hearing I would take Sign Language and teach the class how to sign simple words and phrases in order to make the student feel more comfortable. I feel that is important for all children to feel comfortable in the classroom and that each child is treated equally.
  One goal I would love to set for early childhood field that relates to the issues of diversity, equity, and social justices is that I want to teach my students about other cultures and other ethnic backgrounds. Even in the year 2011 Racism is a big issue and I feel that in order to have a better control of racism we need to teach childen how to love one another and how to not judge people by what they look like or by the color of their skin. We need to teach our children how to get along and that it is acceptable to be different because that is what makes us unique. We need to treat each other as equals intead of thinking that one race or one gender is superior.

   Thank You Letter:

Dear Friends,
  I want to take a few minutes to thank each and every one of you for contributing to my blog each week. I had learned so much from all of you. I feel that my educational experience has grown because of the things I have learned from my friends. I want to wish all of you the best of luck and I know that each and everyone of you will be great teachers and advocates for children.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

   The name of the family I have chosen to work with is from the country of India. The family has been in the United States for a month and even though they were taught English at the University they do not practice their English skills a lot.
   The five ways that I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive to the family are:
1. Do research about the country of India to see what their education system is like so I can find out if the child is behind the rest of the class, ahead of the class or right on schedule with the rest of the class.
2. I want to learn about the culture as well as places to see in India. I feel it is important to know about all my students and to teach my students about other cultures so they have a chance to be friends with each other and accept each other for who they are.
3. I want to learn a few simple words such as hello, good bye and door and teach these words to my students. Communication is very important in education. I remember a friend of mine who taught special education knew that she was going to have a deaf child in her classroom and had studied sign language during the summer so she would be prepared to teach her students simple signs such as door, hello, goodbye and lunch.
4. I want the parents to be involved in the school and to volunteer as much time as they can in the classroom. If possible I would like the mother and father to be able to practice their English skills so they can seek employment. I feel it is important for the parents to feel comfortable in the United States as well as their daughter.
5. I want to learn about the Hindi religion and the traditional holidays they celebrate. I also want the parents to know that if they would feel more comfortable with their daughter taking her religious holidays off from school that she will be permitted to. I feel that all religions need to be celebrated and that all children should be involved in class activities. It is not fair to mistreat any of your students nor is it fair to leave them out.

The way I hope that these preparations will benefit both me and the family is that I will learn something new about another culture and be able to pass this knowledge on to the rest of my students. I feel that interacting with my students and the parents is important because both myself and the parents are the teachers in their child's life and the things that the children learn in school needs to be reinforced at home.

The Personal Side of Oppression

I remember working with college students who had disabilities. One student that comes to mind is a former student and friend Ceasar. Ceasar is a very bright student who has sight in his left eye and very limited sight in his right eye.  In spite of not having the best vision in his eyes, he had a strong vision in his mind to prove to himself that he could take the hardest classes and get A’s in all of them. This was a high goal he had sent for himself. He had gone to the Counseling Office and told the counselor to sign him up for Chemistry, Calculus, Second Year Italian and First Year Japanese. The Counselor told him that these were hard classes and since you have a disability there was no way possible you could pass these courses. Ceasar told the counselor I know I can do it if I believe in myself and if I do fail in the process, it will be a learning experience. Not only did Ceasar complete all his courses but he did get straight A’s. After he received his report card he went back to the counselor and said, remember me, I am the student who was told by you that I would never pass my courses. Take a look at my report card and see what grades I have received.  Ceasar left the office by saying, never tell me again I cannot do something because I will always prove you wrong.

                The way that this had diminished equity was that the counselor had assumed that just because Ceasar had a disability that Ceasar could not handle a hard work load and that people with disabilities are sometimes seen as being lazy. Ceasar proved that just because someone has a disability, it does not mean that they cannot accomplish anything. All a disability is an obstacle that someone has to jump over in order to become successful.  Ceasar took the words that the counselor told him and set a goal to do well and he did exactly what he set out to do.

                When Ceasar told me what the counselor had said that those were hard classes and that Ceasar would have a hard time passing them I was upset. I could not believe that a counselor who is supposed to guide students and help them achieve their goals would be heartless and tell Ceasar in essence that he could not pass these courses. Ceasar is a smart person and he knows his own limitations. I was proud of Ceasar because he listened to his own mind and his heart. I was also proud that he had done so well in his courses. I loved seeing the counselor’s face drop when Ceasar presented him with the report card with straight A’s.

                I feel that if anybody should change it should be the counselor. The counselor should not have assumed that just because Ceasar had a disability that Ceasar did not know what he was doing. Ceasar knows his limitations and he loves a challenge. Ceasar is not the type of person who backs down on a challenge and he is not a quitter.  The counselor needs to do a better job of supporting his students and believe in his students if he expects his students to succeed.