Professional Hopes and Goals

I hope to make a positive impact on the lives of the children and families that I come in contact with. I aspire to make children all feel equal and that they are able to reach and goal that they set their minds and determination to. I want to be the leader that they are proud and feel comfortable to call on. Making a difference and taking time to change lives is what I strive to do each day. I want to speak out against social injustices and ensure that everyone knows that they have a voice and that their voice matters. I want to thank my peers for sharing their stories throughout the weeks and for reading and responding to mine.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The name of “your” family’s country of origin
The family that I have coming in are from Haiti.

At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family

1) Have an interpreter that speaks Creole and/or French.

2)Be sure to greet with a handshake

3)Inform them about our soccer team- showing I have read about their culture and that is their primary sport

4)Be sure to ask the parents about the current educational level of the child- in Haiti, by the time that children are 7 to 8 years old, they are in the work force and not in school.

5)Ensure that the literature provided is in French or Creole until the family is accustom to English language.

A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family

I would think that these accommodations would be beneficial to the parents and student but as well as benefit me. Communication can be a huge barrier that prevents conversations from being held appropriate and being able to create dialogue. The use of an interpreter, if needed, and having material that the family is able to read. Speaking about sports and things that are important to their culture shows that I have done research about their traditions and am interested in welcoming them properly.

Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

I remember the first time that I watched the movie Roots. It brought about such a passion of disbelief and uncomforting emotions overwhelmed me. How my ancestors were treated as.... basically nothing. Tossed around like sheets of paper, sold off in markets as if they were horses or cattle, and forced to be held in oppression and bondage. To she how children were separated from their parents, babies died due to improper nutrition, how they were shackled and chained together to lay in their own vomit, and many died on the excursion to America. Women were raped by their masters and forced to have their children. It was just an overwhelming experience. All my life we had learned about slavery in history class. But what they don't tell you is that they are giving you the edited version. What was depicted in that film was nothing like anything I have ever read in my American History.

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

There was no feeling of equity at all. It was diminished completely. It was like they only could do what was told of them. No options, no questions, no negotiations, just rules and regulations. If you did not do what you were told either you were beat, tortured, sold off, or killed. Point blank. That made me feel a couple of ways. I was sad, mad, disgusted, even a bit bitter. To think that anyone, not just African Americans, would have to endure such treatment is a disgrace to mankind.

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

WE as a people have to change in order for incidents like this not to occur and for equity to be felt and present among all races. WE have to stand up and not ignore the microagressions of the world or just think that races are holding grudges for what they endured in the past. WE have to acknowledge the wrong, the hurt, the emotions that follow individuals and work TOGETHER to create a new atmosphere that shows more togetherness.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week, I have seen a tremendous amount of microaggressions openly displayed in the daily news. I am typically not a political person, but I have been very disheartened to Donald Trump's reactions to the riots in Charlotte, NC. To even make the comment , "Wow, here we go again" in response to people being outraged about the attack that they have felt in the African American community. That was not only a microaggression but also a slap in the face. People have the right to be outraged, and yes being unruly and bring about hatred will not assist in the situation, but to have an attitude of , 'just another group of black people that are mad' is just unacceptable.


At this point, race is not even the factor. This could have been any person, father, son, husband, wife, daughter, or mother of any race, but the fact of how the situation was handled lead people to believe that race is a factor on the ending results on responsibility. These perceptions of discrimination and prejudice have made my heart so heavy and filled with pain. All these years, we speak of how far we have come as a country and a nation, but have we really come as far as we think? Seems like we have not gone anywhere, but have stayed stagnate and ignored issues that now can not be overlooked.

Perspectives and Diversity on Culture

I asked three people (my coworker, my cousin, and my God mother) their definition of culture and diversity and these were their replies: My co-worker is Puerto Rican, my cousin is African American, and my God mother is biracial. Their ages range from 24-45 years old and all from various classes and walks of life.

My Co-Worker (Jammy) - "culture is traditions and food that has been passed from older generations and diversity is the differences that we all display that make us unique."

My Cousin (Kemisha) - "culture is behaviors influenced by different factors like time, race, and religion and diversity is differences."

My God mother (Jwandra) - "culture is your surroundings, environment, knowledge, morals, achievements, genetic makeup and beliefs and diversity is a blend of different people, backgrounds, cultures working together."




All of the answers include some form of the things that have been discussed with us in response to diversity and culture. I believe that we all have our differing of opinions but collaboratively they all have the same symbolic meanings. There haven't been any points of omission in my opinion among the responses that were given to me.

These answers to what culture and diversity are have just shown how uniform our opinions of the meanings are. It shows that we pretty much have a mutual understand for the words and what they mean to us individually.

My Family Culture

If a catastrophic even occurred and I could only bring three items with me, they would be:

- My family scrapbook
- The recipe to my grandfather's bar-b-que sauce
- A Bible

These three things reach so deeply into my culture and they would be the only three things that would be of value to me. The scrapbook represents memories. Every member of my family is within that book and it is so valuable that money could not buy it. It hold the laughter, tears, hopes, dreams, and fears that have been felt and lives by members of my family. It shows generations of family and how we are linked together and have lived through the years. The recipe to my grandfather's bar-b-que sauce represents food and tradition. Food is the soul of our family and always seems to be the key that can bring us together and have a great time. No matter the occasion: graduation, funeral, weddings, family reunions, etc., food is always at the center. And last, but not least, a Bible. Religion is something we cherish and all know too well. We, as a family, have all been raised in the church and hold our values of being a Christian dear to our hearts. Living the life of helping and giving is what we stand for and practice in our day to day lives.

If I had to only keep one item, it would be the scrapbook. Those are memories and photos that could never be replaced or found again if they were destroyed. They give a visual to the times and stories that I could only speak about.

Through this exercise, I have had to dig deep and realized the finest things in my culture that speak volumes and mean so much more than anything else. Often we cherish the things that shall come to pass, but the love and tradition that grows within a family brings unspeakable joy.

When I Think of Research

This course has been a tremendous eye opener for me when it comes to research. I have learned how to find the appropriate articles in relation to my study topic, and how to ensure that those articles are from reliable resources. I have been able to look at myself and ensure that my own personal biases do not interfere with the work that is being conducted, and that I am giving the best possible information to readers. My viewpoints have changed because I know that now I can not just rely on "Google" to give me the adequate information that I need. I have learned that when working with children and conducting research, I have to ensure that I have not only the consent of the parents but also of the participants. I do not think that I had any challenges other than recognizing my own personal biases and that the period of time I had to conduct research was limited. With school ending for summer vacation, I had to carefully plan to ensure that I could do my observations. I have just recognized, even more than before, how important early childhood education is and what impact early childhood can have on a child's adult life.  I have really enjoyed this course and wish everyone success in the future!

Research Around the World

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

• What are some of the current international research topics?
• What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?
• What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

This website shared that Australia needs more funding dedicated to early childhood education. They have campaigns to raise awareness, create media attention, and even have publications that share the deficit that they have in the realm of early childhood education. I think it was surprising to me that early childhood lacks the appropriate funding that it needs even internationally. This is a global shortage that is making a tremendous impact on our children. I see that we must all continue advocating for our children so that our governments will see the importance of investing into our future generations. I think it is worth noting that the website share various topics with parents for their general knowledge. This is important to always have resources available for parents in regard to best practices for their children.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

If I could personally research a topic in Early Childhood, I would chose to research the consequences associated with late diagnosis for children with disabilities. I know that this is a subject area that has previously been thoroughly assessed, but for my own personal benefit this would be the topic of choice. It is imperative that children are diagnosed by the age of 3, but if possible even earlier. That way families are able to prepare for the proper accommodations and implement the therapies and treatments associated with the disorder.



The topic of special education is a huge interest of mine. Having a brother
with autism, and literally finding out two days ago I have a sister with down syndrome, special education has become near and dear to my heart. My father just had another child 3 weeks ago, and after they concluded her testing she was diagnosed with down syndrome. I have always been intrigued by learning about various disabilities and disorders and the proper treatments and therapy that needs to be implemented.

Your Personal Research Journey

My topic for early childhood is special needs children in early childhood. I have been interested in exploring the use of inclusive practices and seeing what resources are available for parents when their child has been diagnosed with a disorder. The family needs the proper support as well as the educator needs the tools and resources to shape the education journey of the child. The best practices need to be implemented for the particular disorder that the child has in order for them to reach their maximum success. I personally have connections with this topic because I have a younger brother with autism. It is important to me to ensure that the families are surrounded by the adequate amount of people who have familiarity with the topic. It is difficult to hear that your child may be different from "typical" children and that they need extra accommodations. I found a PDF article that had some good insights to the educator of children with special needs http://www.personnelcenter.org/pdf/earlychildspec.pdf

Final Blog Assignment

Three Consequences of Learning Internationally:

1. Limited resources- Internationally there have been a lack of resources available to students in comparison to more developed countries such as the United States. These students are limited in their academic ability to advance in their education.
2. Political- Internationally the political systems differ from the United States so they have a different value on education than other countries. These countries are big on manual labor so being educationally inclined is not a requirement for those type of jobs.
3. Financial- The financial budget of other countries is lower than it is here in the United States. Internationally they have to proportion the funds evenly and ensure that no measure is left out and that is why less money is attributed to education.

A goal that I would have for international awareness is for teachers to be required to be assigned to an international contact each school term. That will help to bounce ideas off of one another and use creative techniques in the classroom. This will also increase awareness of the hardships that are present internationally.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

In the conversation this week, when we discussed the professional goals that we shared for the field of ECE, my contact shared with me that their aspiration was just to make the learning process much easier to achieve for their students. Sharon, my corresponding contact, stated that she has seen a tremendous deal of improvement compared to the treatment that education has received in earlier years in their country. It has grown a great deal and they are proud of that accomplishment, but compared to other countries their children are still receiving "the short end of the stick" when it comes to education.
I reflect personally on the way the we are here in the United States fighting for more educational advances, and there are countries that are wishing and hoping to have the opportunities that we have. Despite us thinking that we are still not achieving our maximum potential, there are children and educators that would be very grateful to be in our shoes academically.

Sharing Web Resources

I have explored all of the links on the website and they lead to an assortment of resources. How to become a member, what membership status perks are available, advocacy, programs and events that are coming up in the upcoming months and nearby areas, and publication access.
I had the opportunity to explore various publications that were not restricted to member only usage. I also got the chance to look at the research that is available and what is proactively being looked at in the early childhood sector internationally. They spoke heavily on inequality in early childhood and that speaks volumes to our discussions of equity in our class.

Analyses on the Inequality of Well-being

The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has released the 2016 World Happiness Report in two volumes--the 2016 Update and the Special Rome Edition, including an update on national rankings and new analyses. A key focus this year is on the inequality of happiness within and among countries around the world. The Report argues that inequality of well-being provides a broader measure of equality than is provided by measures of inequality in the distribution of income and wealth.

- See more at: http://acei.org/news/analyses-on-the-inequality-of-well-being#sthash.0RDUcY7a.dpuf

Getting to know your international contacts -part 2

My contacts did not even have to share with me the inequity that they experience with their children. The children in their schools do not have the resources needed to make education as successful as possible. Limited supplies, academic books, and even technological supports inhibit these communities from accessing the needed tools to make learning creative and interesting for their students. Nigeria is still trying to repair their government from the past demolition that was done to it from the past leaders. The students do not start their education until they are 6 years of age and often times are hindered from being able to get an education at that point. They are forced to stay at home or obtain jobs to help their families provide for each other. In Rwanda, they are opposite in a few ways compared to Nigeria. They are expanding their agricultural aspects and creating work opportunities to embrace economic gain for their residents. The students education is geared more towards labor education, but it is better than them being deprived of an education at all.

Sharing Web Resources

The Association for Childhood Education International    http://acei.org/

The section of the website that is most impactful to my professional development is advocacy. This segment, respectfully, goes into detail about the aspects of education that need to be uniform globally, and seek to increase the awareness of differences that appear in education. As an instructor the ultimate goal is to eduacate and strive to have students to reach the same academic platform of success.  A subject on the website that heightened my attention and made me seek to explore more was the recent development of the International Code of Ethics for Educators. This was a very important implement to me being that children around the world tend to be at different levels academically, even thought they may be in the same age bracket.

"The ICOEE will be designed as a universal instrument that reflects internationally accepted humanitarian values, United Nations treaties, and other international agreements. It may be adapted and applied by educators around the world as a tool for critical reflection and professional aspirations. As it is meant to be a living document, the code will be reviewed and adapted to respond to changing global circumstances (ACEI, 2014)."

This leads me to know that politicians and ecomonist are looking at the education sector around the world and not just in America. They are pushing to invest in the futures of all children and not just here in the United States.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

I have had one response from each of the countries that I chose to communicate with. I was able to formally introduce myself as well as they did the same. They both spoke on the same issues and what they wanted to address in their countries, improving education. They want the children in their countries to have the opportunity to learn without being in fear or without limiting themselves due to race. In my initial email, I spoke on how in America, children are still faced with adversities despite being in a country where education is embraced. The children here are faced with economic issues in the home that carry over into their academic achievements. I have not received a response to my latest email, but I am excited to get into a depth conversation about the educational aspects that are prevalent in other countries. From the discussion and application this week, I see that poverty is prevalent among other countries and is not a just an epidemic that is here in the United States.  Children as a whole are entitled to educational gain and long-term successes. We, globally, must band together and make it possible for our children to thrive.

Sharing Web Resources

ACEI    http://www.acei.org/

The Association for Childhood Education International is an organization that is geared towards implementing works globally for students and educators. This program is geared towards promoting the best optimal education to children across the world. All children are deserving of a quality education, even if resources are limited. This group seeks to provide educators with the necessary materials needed to make an educational leap with their students. "ACEI's tagline is "Bright futures for every child, every nation," which highlights ACEI's commitment to support and advocate for access to education, equity in educational settings, quality educational content, and the child's right to education. (- See more at: http://acei.org/about-acei#sthash.cmAsdGfN.dpuf) Despite living conditions, economical downfalls, or even cultural variations, this program fights to ensure that education is top priority along with social change.

A recent issue that has been discussed by this organization is gender disparity in education. The countries that display the highest prevalence of these disparities are in the Arab States, South and West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. It is said that twice as many girls as boys will never attend primary school. Due to cultural norms and fear of violence or retaliation, most girls often shy away from education for safety. If girls would be afforded the same educational opportunities, the impact and socio-economical changes would drastically move in a positive direction.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nigeria.html

ABUJA Country Office	Mail address		United Nations Children's Fund UN House, Plot 617/618 Central Area District, Diplomatic Zone PMB 2851, Garki, Abuja FCT, Nigeria
	Visitors' address		See Mail Address
	Telephone		Country code	234
			City code	9
				461.8600 461.8505
	Facsimile		461.8578
	Email		abuja@unicef.org

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/rwanda.html

KIGALI Country Office	Mail address		UNICEF B.P. 381 Kigali, Rwanda
	Visitors' address		UNICEF Immeuble EBENIZER Boulevard de l'Umuganda, Kacyiru Kigali, Rwanda
	Telephone		Country code	250
			City code	-
				78816 2700 - Switchboard
	Facsimile		+250788162810
	Email		kigali@unicef.org

I have decided to make my two international contacts in Nigeria and Rwanda. I am excited to see how these two countries embrace early childhood education and what methods they use to progress in the field. I am excited to establish a relationship with the individuals in these regions of the world and make connections to open them up to our methods of teaching. I plan to correspond with these countries via email and learn as much as possible.

http://acei.org/

Association for Childhood Education International is the site that I am going to explore through the duration of this course. I have joined their email list to be able to receive the most current updates about what they have going on in their organization.

My Supports

The greatest supports that I have are my friends and family. These people assist me when I am hurt, sad, confused, seeking answers, or just in need of conversation. My family includes my husband, mother, father, grandfather, daughter, aunts, and cousins. They are the primary people in my life and contribute greatly to the person that I am today. These supports are compassionate and just provide an always listening ear. If I had to go through my life without them, I really do not know what I would do. I need them and look to them for encouragement and they make life a lot easier. If I am sick, they cater to me, and even if I find a particular task too challenging they are there to coach me through it. My life is centered around my family and friends because they are all I have. Jobs may change, addresses change, and even personal interests change but one thing that is always consistent is family and good friends.

I currently do not have a challenge with parenting and caring for my daughter. In the event that I fell ill or was injured in an accident that placed me in an disabled condition, the use of supports would be tremendous. I would need my husband to assist me with physical aspects and help with providing for my daughter. Since he would still have to work, I would also require the support of my family. I would need them to assist me with getting to appointments, help me with my daughter when my husband is working, and also to assist me with emotional effects of the drastic change in my life. The benefits of my supports would be enormous and provide me with a great deal of comfort.

My Connections to Play

Those two quotes are representations of what play meant to me during childhood. I was primarily outside and did not consider play an "in house" activity. I was always disappointed when it was a rainy day and I could not go outside. Technology was not as advanced as it is now and the activities that I participated in are very different from what children now engage in.
As a child, these were my favorite toys: easy bake oven, bop it, and skip it.



My family supported healthy play heavily as I was a child because they encouraged outdoor activity and did not promote watching television all day. We were allow to go outside and explore by riding our bikes, or playing hide and seek, and me and my cousins would constantly take trips to the park. We constantly participated in sports such as basketball, baton twirling, softball, etc. Those sports also promoted play because they helped to build relationships with other peers and engage in an active activity.

Play is definitely different now than it was when I was growing up. Children are now so consumed with video games, watching television, and computers, and could care less about getting fresh air. There are only brief moments now that children actually get to actually go outside and be a kid. Play was an essential role in my life and helped me with socialization, emotional regulation, and engaging with other children. I know that these developments were not only healthy in my childhood but also promotes the same engagements for children in this generation.