Professional Hopes & Goals

My Hope

My hope for children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that they feel respected, accepted, and valued especially when they enter their early childhood program.

"At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time."

-Friedrich Nietzsche

My Goal

My goal for the early childhood field is that all EC professionals are trained in anti-bias education and that they pass this knowledge on to the children, families, and other staff.

"If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity."

-John F. Kennedy

"It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength."

-Maya Angelou

My Thanks

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."

-William Arthur Ward

Thank you to all of my colleagues in this course for inspiring me!!!!!!!!!!!



Welcoming Families From Around The World

My Family's Country of Origin: Lithuania



I have never had the experience of welcoming a family from another country into my early childhood program. However, based on the knowledge I have gained from the course I would prepare for the family in the following ways:

1. Gain general knowledge about Lithuania (I believe that by having some knowledge about the country such as its location, national language, religion, holidays and other surface culture, I will be able to have some background information about the family's life in Lithuania.)

2. Find and Join a community group or organization with Lithuanian members (Reading about Lithuania is a great way to gain general knowledge about the culture, but being able to talk to someone who lived there and has a special connection to the country will give me further insight into the family's culture. I could even make a contact that could act as a host for the family and translator if needed.)

3. Learn common words and phrases (It would be helpful for me and the family if I learned some of their home language so that I can communicate with them. Hopefully, it would help them to feel more welcome and ease some of the anxiety associated with being in a new place.)

4. Gather visual aids to assist with communication (I believe that visual aids will help the child most in the classroom to communicate with me and the rest of the class. For example, if the child has to go to the restroom he/she could show the picture to let me know.)

5.  Talk to the students in the classroom before the family arrives (I think that is important to keep the students informed of major changes that will affect them. The students will have a tremendous influence on the child's feelings about the program. I plan to educate the students about the family's country of origin and how to make the child feel welcome in the classroom.)

All of these preparations are basic steps that will help me in making the family feel like they belong in the program. But, I do realize that being culturally responsive to this family will take some time. Gaining knowledge about their deep culture will definitely take several discussions. Learning about the overall culture of the country will be a great first step in getting to know the family and making them feel comfortable.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

When I was in high school, I was saddened to see a group of students who were the target of bias, prejudice, and oppression. There was a group of students who received additional services from the special school district. These students were noticeable because they spent a small amount of time with the general population, and they were also accompanied by a teacher's assistant. Lunch was one of the few times where they were allowed to be around peers and this is where the unfair treatment would take place. Other students would yell hurtful names at them such as retarded, stupid, and dumb. Along with the name calling, they would have to endure being pushed in line and having their trays knocked to the floor. When they finally did get to their table, they would eat together and leave the cafeteria early. Just because of their abilities, this group of students was not treated fairly. Their equity was diminished because they did not get to enjoy their lunch like the other high-schoolers. All high-schoolers feel like lunch is the only enjoyable time during the school day. The students who received special education services did not get to have this same experience. For them, lunch was a time of physical and emotional pain.

This incident brings up feeling of hurt and anger for me. I am hurt because I understand how it feels to be treated unfairly due to one or more of your identities. I feel anger because I hate the isolation that results from bias, prejudice, and oppression. Just like the students in the incident above, people who are targets of unfair treatment often isolate themselves from others to avoid discrimination. Isolation is not beneficial to either group because we can all share, learn, and grow from the knowledge provided by people from different groups.

In order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity, educational institutions must change the way in which they include special education students in the classroom and other school settings. It starts with early childhood programs and classrooms educating young children about all children and including children with differing abilities in their curriculum and other aspects of the classroom. Hopefully, by educating young children early they will have accurate knowledge about this group of children, which will alter the negative messages they receive from the dominant culture. Additionally, schools need to establish a policy that indicates there is no tolerance for bullying and the consequences for such behavior. During the times these students were bullied, I wondered why there were no adults who stepped in and stopped the behavior. The adults must share in the responsibility for making sure the policy is implemented and setting standards that result in the equitable treatment of all students.