Week 8-Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice

When I think about working with children and families from diverse backgrounds, one hope that I have is that I can always welcome and respect the differences that they bring.  As Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) pointed out, “In a society as diverse as ours, maneuvering through its multiple cultures can be complex and confusing, as well as rich and delightful” (p. 55).  

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to the issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that all early childhood professionals be exposed to the anti-bias curriculum.  Exposure to the anti-bias curriculum would ensure that professionals have the opportunity to learn about others and about themselves with regards to diversity, equity, and culture.

I would like to thank each of you for your honest and candid personal stories that you shared.  While information from the resources and videos can be very moving and pertinent to the topic, it is the personal stories of classmates that give a face to the theories, data, facts and research.   

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Welcoming Families from Around the World

The country that I chose for this assignment is the Central African Republic.  To prepare for this family’s arrival, I would learn as much as I could about the country.  Below are some basic facts about the Central African Republic

According to Wikipedia (Wikipedia, 2013), in the Central African Republic, there are over 80 ethnic groups.   I found that in this country, the main language is French with a dialect called Central African French as well as lots of indigenous languages. The language spoken by most is Sango. While French is the official language few people speak French and almost no one speaks English. There is great civil unrest in the Central African Republic, there are major human rights violations and the rates of HIV are high.  The per capita income is $300.00/year. More than 50% of the population is affiliated with a Christian religion.  Exporting food is the major source of revenue in the country.  The life expectancy for both men and women is under 50 years old.    

In order to prepare myself to be culturally responsive to the family I would take the following steps.

1.  The first thing that I would do is find out what language or languages the family might speak.  I would also try to learn something about the literacy rates in the country.  Once I had information about the language and literacy rates, I would learn a few basic words and phrases that I could use to greet the family.  I would also contact agencies that offer translation/interpretation services so that I could have someone available to assist with communicating with the family. 

2.  The second thing that I would do in order to be culturally responsive would be to learn what I could about traditions and customs in the Central African Republic.

After learning about the traditions, I would try to learn more about the beliefs and values that underlie the traditions.

3.  The third thing that I would do would be to learn something about the food that is traditionally eaten.  After learning about traditional foods, I would try to find out if there are local stores that stock the ingredients the family might need.

4.  The fourth thing that I would do is learn about the political, economic and social climate in the country.  This would help me be sensitive to possible fears or trauma that the family might have experienced.  This would also help as I gather information about resources that the families may need.

5.  The fifth thing that I would do is gather some pictures or artifacts from the Central African Republic.   I would make a small book to place in the library area, or display the photos in various places in the classroom. 

I think these steps would beneficial for the family and myself.  Gathering information about all aspects of the Central African Republic would help me be knowledgeable and would give me a deeper sense of what the family might have experienced.  Following these steps would also help me gather resources that I could share with the family about local resources, and social and religious groups that might help the family get established.  Being able to say a few words/phrases would let the family know that I was making an effort to connect with them.  It would also be necessary for me to reflect on any stereotypes or preconceived ideas that I might have about people living in very poor African countries.  As Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) point out “ongoing learning about yourself and well as about the children and families you serve, makes it possible to effectively decide what to say, what to do, when to wait, ad when to act in many different kinds of settings” (p. 21). 

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and

ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Wikipedia. (2013, August 14).  Central African Republic.  Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_African_Republic

Blog Week 6-The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

A director of a bilingual preschool shared the story of her first experiences with school with me.  Her story illustrates bias and prejudice.  She was about 8 years old when she and her family moved from Mexico to the United States.  She and her family only spoke Spanish.   She was placed in a classroom with children of the same age, where she was the only person of color.  She was placed in a desk that was at the back of the room and apart from the other children.  She was given a coloring book to keep her busy.  There were no attempts by the teacher or the other children to interact with her.  Once a day for an hour, the ESL teacher came to work with her. 

This scenario demonstrates how, as a child, this woman was marginalized.  Her place in the classroom and the lack of interaction with the other children and teacher were based on stereotypes and the perceptions of the teacher and children.  She was not given the same attention or opportunity to learn that the other children.  She was made to feel invisible because she of her ethnicity, language, appearance and culture.   I would guess that this child had feelings much like Taylor (2011) who states “And so I remember that there were pieces of feeling sort of left out or different through circumstances that weren’t my own or things that I hadn’t caused anyway”. 

This situation made me feel angry with the teacher for treating this child in such an unjust manner and with the school for letting this kind of thing occur. It also made me feel sad for the child who had to endure a year of this kind of treatment.  The most obvious changes that could have turned this incident into an opportunity would have been the use of strategies for working with English Language Learners and cultural sensitivity training for the staff. Even without these changes, there are a number of steps that could have turned this situation into one with greater equity.  Just allowing the child to sit with rather than away from the class would have been a way to help the child be an equal partner in the classroom.  Attempts by the teacher to interact with the child would have also made her visible rather than invisible and would have served as a model for the children in the classroom.  Giving the child access to the same learning materials as the other children would have also resulted in greater equity between the child and the other students on the classroom. 

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer), (2011). In her own voice:  Nadiyah Taylor.  [Video

            program]. Baltimore, MD.