Professional Hopes and Goals

After diving into diversity and equity throughout this course, a hope that I now have in regard to working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I will have the mental understanding of what I can do to make these families feel like they belong.  I want to be able to use the knowledge that I have gained to ensure that the families I work with feel comfortable with who they are and that they know they can come to me with any concerns they have.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field that is related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that professionals will be encouraging of diversity and look for ways to teach children that we should be accepting of everyone around them.  We have the power to share with children that everyone is special and that it is alright to be different.

To my colleagues: I have really enjoyed getting to know each of you better throughout the last 8 weeks.  Each of you have taught me something and have given me more insight on diversity and equity and I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to be in this class with each of you.  Thank you for helping me on this journey and I hope that all of your future classes go well!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country that I chose to explore as the country of origin that "my" family moved from is Thailand. I was able to learn a lot of facts about Thailand that I had no clue existed.  I learned five ways that I can be culturally responsive to this family.

1. Taking off my shoes when I go to their home for a home visit (The Thailand Life, 2016). 
2. Ensure that I don't point when talking to them or giving them a tour of the school (The Thailand Life, 2016). 
3. Calling all of the adults by their first name with the title Khun because they are not used to their last name being used (Kwintessential, 2016).
4. When greeting the Thai family I will use the "wai"gesture rather than shaking hands (Kwintessential, 2016). 
5. I will make sure to never pat the child on their head because they believe that it can be dangerous to their well-being (Everyday Culture, 2016). 

I feel that these preparations would help me know how to make a family from Thailand feel more comfortable and respected coming to America. I know that if I moved to a new country I would feel pleased and grateful in knowing that someone took the time to find out about my culture and do things that would make me feel comfortable in my new environment.  

References

Countries and Their Cultures (2016). Thailand. [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Thailand.html

Kwintessential. (2016). Thailand-Thai language, culture, customs, and etiquette. [Data file]. Retrieved from 

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/thailand-country-profile.html

The Thailand Life. (2016). 10 Things you didn't know about Thai culture [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.thethailandlife.com/10-facts-thai-culture-and-customs 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

In the movie 42, Jackie Robinson's story is shown of how he made it to major league baseball.  It was incredibly difficult for Jackie Robinson to become a professional baseball player, not because he lacked the skills, but because of the prejudice that existed during that time.  There had never been a black baseball player in major league baseball and people were not ready to accept that, but he continued to work hard and when a white man was determined to bring him on his team, Jackie had to work harder than everyone else because of the way people treated him.  His teammates treated him terribly, the fans were extremely rude to him, and besides his own racial community and coach he had no one on his side.  This experience completely diminished equity because he was treated this way because of his race.  It was not fair that a black man couldn't play baseball, but he had to be the first to make the change and show that it was not just a white person's sport.

While watching this movie, I was devastated by what Jackie and his family had to go through.  The way people treated him was awful and unnecessary.  There were many times throughout the movie that I felt uncomfortable watching because of the trials that Jackie had to face because of his race. When I see things like this, I continuously wonder why anyone would treat someone so harshly. Because of what Jackie went through, he was able to make the change for black people to be able to play baseball and overcome the hardships that came from people against it.