Professional Hopes and Goals

• One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length)

I hope that we can all come together and show support and respect for one another because no matter what every race, culture, ethnicity and social background will always possess differences. I hope that we can all figure out who we are, and establish a healthy and positive self awareness, be open to receiving help and support from others (EC professionals) and also be willing to grow and accept constructive criticism and redirection.

• One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length)

One goal that I would like to set for early childhood field related issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to use my voice to establish relationships and alliances to be an activist that will push to assure that all children have access to the educational, medical and nutritional resources they need to thrive in regardless of race, ability, gender identity, class, socioeconomic background or culture. 

I would like to thank my professor and colleagues for reading my post over the last 8 weeks and commenting positive and helpful feedback. I hope that everyone continues to grow in research and ample knowledge as we continue on through the journey of becoming the best advocates and activist for youth and families locally as well as nationally. 

-Passion 

Welcoming Families From Around The World **

• The name of “your” family’s country of origin

The child of the family that I will be caring for is from China.

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

1. I will practice being open, intimate and engaging in warm conversation strategies with regards to the family's wishes about the needs and wishes for the child.

2.  Provide support and be very cautious about my body language and my word choices, being careful to NOT offend anyone!

3. I would prepare myself to remember proper etiquette when it comes to being respectful of the families language, cultural practices, values, traditions as well as be open to gaining knowledge about their social group. I would want the family to be as comfortable with me as possible. I would want to also know more details about the family's country history, I would read books and resources regarding China's history, languages etc. 

4. I would prepare myself to think of ways to preserve cultural continuity and honoring the the family's culture, seeing as though the family and child are now assimilating into a more dominant culture. I would want the child to have a strong sense of self-awareness and love for their family's culture and roots.

5. I would be cautious of potentially unintentional microaggressions that may cause psychological harm to the child and/or family. 

Hopefully my preparations will help me to build a strong bond with the family that will allow the child to thrive and have a strong sense of self as well as a strong awareness of his or her family roots during their transitioning into a new culture. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, & 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.

A particular time about 7 years ago I was shopping in a Vietnamese owned beauty supply store. From the time that I walked through the door until the time I approached the register to pay for my items I was followed and watched around the store. I felt insulted and disrespected that they would feel the need to follow me around the store, as if I were a thief. I am assuming I was followed because the storeowners felt as though African American people are shoplifters.  I was stereotyped, followed and watched based on the storeowners’ preconceived biases and stereotypes of African Americans. I felt insulted and very humiliated from the entire experience and I hope that since then, the storeowner has gained a more positive outlook of African American people and has learned to be more intimate with different cultural groups in order to overcome biases and stereotyping. 

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

The prejudice that I experienced diminished equity because non of what I experienced that day while in that store was fair. I was wrongly stereotyped and it made me feel inferior. I did not feel hate towards my social identity group but I did feel confused and insulted. Equity is about everything that is morally correct and humane. I made many judgements about the store owners values and respect for diversity and differences based on how I was treated.

• What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

This incident made me feel angry, upset, insulted and sort of made me develop stereotypical thoughts about some Asian store owners. According to Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) "stereotypes can keep us from seeing each person as a unique, whole person fully deserving of our respect" (p. 23). But because I have been educated about diversity and  open to learning about different social identity groups, I have not allowed one bad experience to alter my view of engaging in intimate conversations with other Asians.

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

Other people's prejudice and stereotypical behaviors have encouraged me to push for greater equity amongst "isms". We must be the change in order to promote or encourage change. As I stated earlier, the only way to push for greater equity is intimately conversing with integrated groups of people and then teaching the importance of diversity amongst children within the EC field. EC professionals have the power to encourage children to embrace differences as well as be open to diversity. 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time. In what context did the microaggression....

7 years ago I was shopping in a Vietnamese owned beauty supply store. From the time that I walked through the door until the time I approached the register to pay for my items I was followed and watched around the store. I felt insulted and disrespected that they would feel the need to follow me around the store, as if I were a thief. I am assuming I was followed because the storeowners felt as though African American people are shoplifters.  I was stereotyped, followed and watched based on the storeowners’ preconceived biases and stereotypes of African Americans. I felt insulted and very humiliated from the entire experience and I hope that since then, the storeowner has gained a more positive outlook of African American people and has learned to be more intimate with different cultural groups in order to overcome biases and stereotyping.

In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people...

During that experience seven years ago, I learned that racism, stereotypes and acts of prejudice behavior are learned behaviors that have been passed down to individuals from society and family. Most of the time the perpetrator is using forms of unintentional microaggressions to offend or insult minority or marginalized groups of people. Often times unintentional microaggressions causes psychological issues within the person in which they are being acted upon, it can be verbal or behavior acts. I personally felt insulted during my experience. I just could not believe that the store owner would feel like I would steal due to my outward appearance. I wondered had she had a personal experience where someone African American shop lifted or was this just her personal way of thinking or a bias she had simply learned and felt comfortable believing. Either way, I was disgusted and hurt.