The past eight weeks have been a journey discovering and exploring new paths, and acquiring knowledge. When I began my course EDUC 6164 my understanding of diversity was different race, different color, different language, different culture, different nationality and different abilities. But now I have realized that diversity extends beyond what you see on the surface. Our emotions, our behavior, our gestures, the way we perceive, parenting styles can also define diversity. Therefore one goal I have in relation with my work with early childhood is to be culturally responsive, overcome my biases and understand each family, build a supporting relationship with the families, partner with them in order to support the learning and development of every child.
My hope is that the society would realize the human interconnectedness and be cooperative rather than competitive, gain deeper understanding of the unique needs of young children and their families.
I would like to thank each and every colleague who has been very supportive to me these past eight weeks. In our anti-bias journey, as we continue to grow and learn, let us keep going, keep moving and keep being committed.
Being in United Arab Emirates, where majority of the population here are people from different parts of the world, I as an early childhood educator encounter children from diverse backgrounds. Until this course on diversity I had not realized the need for a background study on the child’s country of origin. As a model practice for my future class, I am to imagine a child whose family has recently immigrated is going to join my group. I am supposing the child is from Croatia, a country I know nothing about.
As my effort to welcome this child, I would
Search the internet on the country to acquire basic information that I would need.
Get help to translate our program’s forms and other written communication, as well as our monthly procedures and activities into the child’s home language.
Learn a few key words and phrases (greetings, requests for help, terms of comfort and encouragement, etc.) in the child’s home language ‘Croatian language’ to be able to communicate with the child and build continuity between home and early childhood center. I would also print out pictures and signs to use in situations where non verbal communication would be necessary.
In order to build a personal relationship with the child and the family, and support the needs of the child better, I would discuss with the family regarding their family routines, religious practices, music, household customs and diet.
Borrow photographs of the family members to display and also partner with families, giving them a voice in decision making.
As “building effective partnership with every family is essential in promoting the development of the whole child”, (Lopez, 2010), it would be necessary for me as an educator to explore the many cultural differences and similarities represented among the families and staff in order to bridge the gap between the home culture and the dominant culture.
Lopez, M. (2010). Valuing families as partners. Retrieved from http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/valuing-families-as-partners
All of us have multiple social identities which create in us internalized privilege and internalized oppression in our everyday life based on the institutional isms. Whether the form of ism is direct or indirect, explicit or subtle, spelled out or hidden, the outcomes create advantages for some and disadvantages for others.
For this week’s post, I would like to share a scene from a recent Indian movie that depicts the oppression, prejudice and bias against a person because of her identity. True! English is an International language. But not everyone has the opportunity to master it. Here is a middle class Indian woman, a house wife and a mother used to being only at home and serving her family. She has never gone abroad or experienced the world around her. For the first time she gets an opportunity to come to US. In a strange new place she is sensitive, feeling vulnerable, insecure and conscious of the lack of privilege she is susceptible to because of her identity.
This is not one stand alone incident. All of the non native English people go through these micro aggressions. I remember my father (who is no more) feeling discriminated when he landed on the US soil first. He worked here in Abu Dhabi for 32 years dealing with different nationalities- Arabs, French, English, Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos, Thai’s and others. They never had a problem in communicating with him and neither did he feel less privileged. Maybe it has also to do with the fact that UAE being a diverse country everyone is more understanding especially in issues with language. But when he migrated to the US he was suddenly feeling prejudiced. He felt hurt when people asked him to repeat what he was saying. It was not that he had bad English only that he did not speak with the American accent. This was 13 years back when my parents migrated to the US. Though after a couple of years things looked more positive, the initial phase was difficult and diminished equity.
Only change in behavior can modify beliefs and attitudes, because, ‘equality matters!’
