Professional Hopes and Goals

The hope I have in working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I can build responsive and reciprocal relationships with the families where information and decisions are shared working together for the best interest of the children.  I hope to promote a positive sense of self in the children where they feel confident in their own abilities—this can best be accomplished by meeting their needs socially, emotionally, and academically in a caring and sensitive manner that supports their individual as well as group diversity.  I hope my interactions with all children and families are grounded in respect with trust as the cornerstone.  I hope to not only value and respect diversity of groups, but also beliefs and values different from my own.                                                         

The goal I have set as an early childhood professional related to diversity, equity, and social justice is to instill in the children I serve that diversity is an invaluable asset that contributes to society.  Although our society is made up of people with different colored skin, speaking different languages, and being of different beliefs we are all part of the larger whole—we are all human beings deserving of consideration and respect.  “One of the finest hopes we can have for our children is to give them a just world—a world that recognizes all people for the unique, fully human beings they are…” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 30).                                                                                                    

I would like to thank all my Fellow Colleagues for sharing your insights, thoughts, beliefs, and memories throughout this course of study on diversity and equity.  It has been both enlightening and reassuring to realize such dedicated professionals are working with young children hoping to bring a greater awareness and appreciation of diversity into the classroom.  I would also like to thank our instructor Dr. Snider for enlivening this course with her insightful questions that required both reflection and knowledge.  Dr. Snider encouraged a forum that was not only open but stimulated an awareness of our own beliefs and values.                                   

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

In consideration of a memory or an incident where you experience bias, prejudice or oppression there are many such memories.  Being from the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky there are various stereotypes associated with people from the Appalachian Mountains and most are negative.  I remember watching Bill O’Reilly and listening to comments about the people of Appalachia being a culture of poverty and ignorance and advised when children grow up to just move away.  These types of media representations contribute to the negative stereotypes of people from our region as uneducated, toothless, moonshiners, who intermarry.  Our area has serious issues that must be addressed with poverty, but those of the Appalachians are a proud and generous people that have love of family and traditions.                                                                                                

The dialect is definitely distinctive and easily recognizable and many words used in our area would not be understood elsewhere.  Where our dialect is different it has also established the stereotype of being inferior and people judge intelligence, manners, and values to be lacking—which is far from the truth.  The terms used are often rooted in Elizabethan English with a little Scottish and Irish “thrown in for good measure.” The isolation of the mountains has preserved the language that has been lost by the passing of time.  The dialect that is viewed to be used by ignorant backwoods people is in fact the language historically preserved.                                                                                                                                    

The ways in which these incidents of bias, prejudice, and oppression diminish equity are they reinforce negative stereotypes.  This lack of acceptance of our diversity is especially harmful to young children and has contributed to the loss of cultural pride and perpetrated shame of one’s cultural identity for adults and children alike.  I was extremely offended by these incidents and I experienced feelings of sadness, hurt, and anger that people would not only tolerate but accept stereotypes that discriminate against others in such a way.                                                                 

What would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?  Hopefully, the progress we have seen toward other marginalized groups would be extended to those from the Appalachian Mountains and the next time you see depictions and hear our dialect remember the rich cultural history and repudiate the stereotypes. 

Practicing Awareness of Microagressions

This took place a couple of months ago, we were in a store that provides cellular service and my daughter-in-law was helping me find a cell phone because I really don’t understand about choosing one.  There was a black lady and a coal miner that must have just gotten off work and he was covered with coal dust.  They were standing at a circular counter with two registers and only one sales clerk. The sales clerk was a young lady that I noticed had glanced over a few times at the lady and the coal miner that had been standing patiently for some time as she waited on other customers.  There was this gentleman that was in a suit and nicely dressed came walking in and the clerk walked over to where the gentleman was standing at the counter and asked could she help him.  We were still looking around the store and coal miner turned around and walked out and the lady said, “We have been standing in line.  I think I am next.”  The gentleman said, “She is right. She is next in line.”  We stated, “Yes, she had been standing here for a while.”  After, she had checked out we were all engaging in conversation and we overheard the checkout girl snidely say to another worker that just entered, “This coal miner came in and carried dirt all around the store.”  By this time, the lady had enough, “Sweetie, if not for the coal miners willing to go in the mines you would not have a job.  You need some training in customer service.”  My daughter-in-law and I chimed in, “AMEN! Yes, you do!”    

On observing it taking place I felt sad for the people that were being the target of the microaggression as it was obvious what the clerk was doing.   I wanted to say something—but I was unsure what to do and how to react.  She was valuing a white customer over a person of color and someone that appeared to be more affluent than the coal miner.  “Racial inequities are so deeply ingrained in American society that they are nearly invisible, and most White Americans are unaware of the advantages they enjoy in society and how their attitudes and actions unintentionally discriminate against persons of color” (Wing Sue, Capodilupo, Toringo, Bucceri, Holder, Nada, & Esquilin, 2007, p. 271).  I was pleased that almost everyone there spoke up against the microaggression and it was not left unchallenged.                                                                                                                         

I think studying about microaggressions this week and the forms that they take brings awareness to the brief everyday indignities that convey devaluing or negative racial offensives or insults. It also brought understanding to the effects and the power these although short-lived communications can have on the individual or target of the microaggressions.  Dr. D. Wing Sue (2007) states:                                                                                                                                               

“Although microaggressions may be seemingly innocuous and insignificant, their effects   can be quite dramatic.  D. W. Sue believes that this contemporary form of racism is many times over more problematic, damaging, and injurious to persons of color than overt racist acts.  It has been noted that the cumulative effects of racial microaggressions may theoretically result in diminished morality, augmented morbidity and flattened confidence” (p. 279). 

The victim of the microaggression may question many aspects of the incident such as did it actually happen, was it intentional, how do I react, etc.  These types of experiences can be very detrimental to one’s sense of reality and very frustrating where if it is not subtle it can be directly addressed.   

References

Wing Sue, D., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M. B., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007, May-June). Racial microaggressions in everyday life implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist. Retrieved from http://olc.edu/~jolson/socialwork/OnlineLibrary/microaggression%20article.pdf