Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

Your response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families
I believe that everyone has the right to be who they are regardless or whether they are gay or straight. Being homosexual is a big part of the world today as anyone can see be the number of television shows, movies, books that include gay couples as well as the number of states that has passed the law for these couples to be married. Excluding books from these centers that depict homosexual couples will not make the issue go away, if the kids are not exposed to this type of literature at school, they are likely to come across this knowledge some other way and be given the wrong type of information. If they are guided in the wrong way or taught the wrong way they will develop bias against this group of people and as they grow older this bias could grow into hate and resentment.

How you would respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child. I would let the parent know that just because the teacher may be homosexual does not mean that they will abuse their child or that they are a pedophile. Everyone has a right to choose who they want to be with whether it is a person of the same sex or opposite. I would let them know that the teacher is well-trained, certified, great with the kids and the kids love them and that I believed in letting my teachers be who they are not who someone else want them to be. I will politely informed them that I would not be getting rid of the teacher based on this attitude, and if they didn't like it and if they so choose they could take their child someone else.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds
When I think about working with children and families from diverse backgrounds, I think about what I can do as a educator to make the world better and easier for these families. Some people in the world can be so cruel and callous and will do things to hurt others whether it is intentional or unintentional. I hope to try to do something tho make these families feel better, to bring a smile to their face, and happiness to their lives. I hope to be able to teach them as much as I can and learn as much from them as possible.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice  I would like the early childhood field to continue to do whatever is necessary to advocate for the families that are diverse, to continue to train the employees on the issues of equality and social justice an to make sure that everyone is treated fairly at all times.

To my colleagues, I would like to say thank you for all of your stories and comments and I hope that you have much success as you continue on your path of learning.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country I chose is Cambodia,situated on the Indochinese peninsula, Cambodia is bordered by Thailand and Laos on the north and Vietnam on the east and south. The Gulf of Thailand is off the western coast. The size of Missouri, the country consists chiefly of a large alluvial plain ringed by mountains with the Mekong River to the east. (factmonster.com,2014).
To be culturally responsible I would find out all I could about the government, language spoken, food eaten, climate and communication methods. I would try to find out if the resident speak any English or what language do they speak. And what is Khmer. What is their mode of dress? What kind of food do they like to eat or not eat? What is type of communication do they prefer, telephone, telegraph, email? What kind of things do they import or export? What kind of crop do they grow?
This type of preparation will help me and my family realize that their are people in the world who have very little communication skills. We will learn that other countries speak different language and dress quite differently from us, but some of the things that they grow and get into their country are the same as ours.

Reference
Countries of the World | FactMonster.com
http://www.factmonster.com/countries.html

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.

My personal experience with prejudice and bias occurred in my job. Even though I had been for at the time almost three years and had managerial experience, I was passed over for a promotion last year and they bought in a person from another race who had quit from there about a year and a half before.

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity? This diminish equality because I was not given the chance for the position or even asked did I want to try for the position. They did every thing under the table and just brought the lady back in and told us she had been given the position.


What feelings did this incident bring up for you? This incident made me realize that no matter how some people may preach about not being prejudice, they are they just don't show it openly. Prejudice is something that is buried deep in some people and no matter how much they try to pretend like it is there, it is .


What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity? In order to turn this incident, the people in charge of hiring need to realize that people of all colors can do any job as well as someone of their color. They need training on diversity hiring practices.

Microaggression can be very damaging to a person in many ways.
 There are basically three types of microaggression:

Microassult: A form of verbal attack. “Why do you need a wheelchair? I saw you walk… You can walk, right?” to a person who uses wheelchair for long distance travel. “I don’t like how dogs smell” to a blind person using a guide dog.

Microinsult: A form of verbal or silent demeaning through insensitive comments or behavior. A person may exhibit an obstinate, begrudging attitude with recalcitrant slant but say in all professionalism, that they will accommodate your needs for accessibility. The verbalization is appropriate but the tone is insulting.

Microinvalidation: Essentially degrading a person’s wholeness through making false assumptions about the other’s ability, causing a sense of invalidation. “You have a learning disability? How can you be a lawyer?” to a person with learning disability.
One day when I was at the movies, a teenager in a wheelchair came in. The kids were laughing and pointing and saying what are you doing here?" You can't even sit in one of the chairs". Make sure you don't block the aisle with your chair and make me fall." They were being very rude and I wanted to just get up slap them and tell them don't you have any respect for anything and anybody, but I knew that this this would make him feel even worse and he was already embarassed about the attention that he was getting. Some people can be so insensitive and do things without thinking sometimes. This is a major form of bullying because this child did not cause his disability and he could not defend himself and fight.


Reference

Micro-Aggression: It's Bullying. - AAPD retrieved on February 1, 2014 from
http://www.aapd.com/resources/power-grid-blog/micro-aggression-its.html



















Microaggressions in Everyday Life

: Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

The three friend I talked to all defined culture in a different way. One friend said that it was that hers "was a product of her environment." This included the language that they have acquired, the way that they act and being classed and identified in a certain way. They said that diversity is different types of people and different races and cultures who have different ways of doing things, sometimes they are in groups and sometimes they are alone.

The aspects that were included were the belief that culture is a way of life that as been adapted and that people pick up different behavior and attitudes through their culture. One friend says that a "racist learned racism from the society that they grow up in and the group that they are surrounded by." Another say that a  person may change their language according to the people they are with, they may start cussing if they are around people that cuss a lot, they may start calling people names if they are surrounded by or so-called hanging with someone who is doing that. A person may change they way of dressing if they join a certain group of people. If they have friend that dress trashy they may start to dress trashy.

Their thinking and comments made me realized that a lot of what they saying was true and that I have never really thought of it like this before. My friends gave me a lot of ideas and food for thought and made me realize that we are all from a diverse and different culture.

My Family Culture

The three items I would take would be a family bible, a small painting of African dance, and a tape of a gospel program. These things each represent my culture in different ways. The Bible has information on the birth and deaths in my family beginning with my great great grandmother and ending with my kids and brothers and sisters kids. The painting was given to me as gift from my aunt and it shows African people dancing. The third thing the gospel tape represent the type of music and singing of my religion.
If I was told that I had to give up these items I would be very upset and devastated I have just lost my home and everything else that was dear to me and now I have to give up the two of the three things that represent my culture and my past and the past of my ancestors
From this discussion so far, I have discovered that diversity is a very important thing. We all have things that are a important part of our life and our culture is one of those things that shape our personality, and the way that we see that world as a whole. Every one should make an effort to learn as much about their past as possible because it will indeed shape their future in one way or the other.