The End of Class

I would like to thank everyone who posted on my blog and discussion posts.  This has been a great experience.  I hope to see you all in my next class.  It seems that we are a long distance family that is there for one another.  I pray that you all have a great future.  I hope we can get in touch so we can continue to help one another.

Conflict Resolution

I recently had a disagreement with a colleague who just started teaching PreK for the first time this year. She allowing one of her parents still to come in her classroom and just sit around until they get ready to leave. I told her there is nothing wrong with the parents walking their child to the classroom but they do not need to sit around every morning because it makes it hard on the child. When the parents do leave you hear the child crying in my classroom. This has been happening since August. She said she sees that it is becoming a problem but she is afraid to tell the parent. I told her just to be nice about it and show her that it is affecting her child in the long run. I also told her that I would sit in the conference just to be the mediator. Well, she had the conference and it was a win-win result. The parent thought that it was making the transition easy for her child but after the teacher told her what the child was doing when she left. It made the parent feel bad. I stepped in and told her it was okay and I understood because I did the same thing with my first child.

Similarities and Differences

There were some similarities and differences in the evaluation of myself as a communicator. The two people that I had evaluated me were my aunt and my best friend. The only profile that came up in the same category was the one that dealt with listening. The other two we were off by a section. I thought of myself higher than they did. The one that shocked me the most was the verbal aggression profile. I did not think my aggression was visible or that bad.

I also learned that there are some things that I need to work on to make my communication better. I need to work on talking more in public and being confident when I talk. I also need to work on not attacking people about their opinions and attack the what they said.

My Communication Hero

The person that comes to my mind when I think of someone who shows great communication skills is my uncle and Pastor Buckner.  He speaks clearly so that you can understand what he is saying.  He is constantly reading so he uses words that you may not know or understand what it means but he will give you the spelling and define it for you.  I enjoy hearing him talk because he gives examples so that it becomes real to you.  He was not always a great communicator but after working on it for years he has grown a lot in communicating.  As a grown person I enjoy hearing him but when children enjoy him it is taken to another level. 

I would love to communicate like him because he shows confidence when he speaks.  He looks at you like you are the only person he is talking to.  He walks around and not just stands in one place.  His tone of voice is very appealing and it stands out.  He pronounces his words in a great manner.  I could listen to him communicate all day because his communication skills are just that great!

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have about working with children and their families is that I will make them feel loved and respected when they walk into my classroom. I want everyone who walks through my door to feel important and to know that I am there for them and their child. I want them to know that our differences is what makes us unique. We all have something that we can learn and appreciate about each other.

One goal that I have for the field of early childhood is that we treat children and their families the way we want to be treated. It is important to know that we all have our roles to play in society. When children see that we are treating people differently because of their culture they are going to start doing the same thing. This is a cycle that needs to be stopped for good. It is important as educators to display a positive behavior because children first learn from their parents and then we fall next in line.

I would like to say a special thanks to my professor and colleagues for all of posts and comments that assisted me in my learning in this course. With your help, I learned a lot of information that will help me with my future endeavors. May your futures be filled with much love and respect. Know that we are all unique and deserve our spotlight in this diverse world.

　
　

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country I chose is Japan.

5 ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards the family.

• I would have my classroom set up with pictures, books, and different things from their country to make them feel welcome when they walk into the room.
• I would prepare my children for the new child by doing a presentation on the Smart board about Japan.
• I would do some research of things that are important to them so that I want offend them with my gestures or things I say.
• I would find someone that is Japanese that I could talk with to find out first hand about the Japanese culture.
• I would dress like a Japanese person and may have the children dress up also to make the child and his/her family feel at home.

I hope that my five ways to be culturally prepared for a family from another culture will make the child and the family feel welcome when they walk into the classroom. I want them to know that they are a part of our family and that they are special. The family will see that we do care and love them even though they are different but what makes us unique is that we are all different in some way or another. I will get the knowledge first hand of having a Japanese child in my class. I will learn a lot about their culture and things that are important to them.

The 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 can remember when my parents and I took my brother off to visit a college in the upper part of SC and we went to eat at this restaurant. They set all the white people before they set us. We had to eat because we were staying the night there and it was the only restaurant that was close. The other restaurants were about a hour away and we were to tired to drive. After they seated us, it took over 10 minutes for them to take our drink order. Then, when they brought us our food it was burnt. We were to afraid to send it back because we did not know what they might do to it. When we paid for our food they placed my dad’s change on the table instead of in his hand.

　

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

Prejudice was present in this incident. The people in the restaurant need to see and understand that we are all human beings. We should treat people with respect regardless to how they look, smell, or act.

　

　

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

This incident made me feel like we where back in days when my parents were children. I felt like I was not important and that they did not value us as people because our skin color was different than theirs.

　

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

The mind set of the people in that town need to change. They need to stop looking at people for their skin color and start see them as human beings. Yes, our skin color maybe different but we are all God’s children.