Welcoming Families From Around the World

My family is coming from Norway and there are several things I would like to do to prepare myself for their welcome. I chose this country because my great-grandparents were from Norway.

1. I would learn the spoken language and try to learn a greeting and/or key phrases in this language when being introduced to them.

2. I would find out about the family itself; parents, children, other members who might have a significant impact on the family. I would try to find out how parents and children are viewed in the family.

3.   I would try to find out if there are any common experiences that have been shared by the family and myself.

4. I would find out if possible why they are relocating to this area and their professions/jobs. I would find out if there are unusual circumstances.

5. I would find the specific foods that the family likes to eat and see if there is someone available in the community who could make the food.

It's important to know how families come to an area and how they can find the help they need to get situated. Making sure that resources are available in their language and they know where to find them is a big assistance.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

When I was in seventh grade, my “best” friend decided that she no longer wanted to be friends with me because I was not part of the cool crowd. She wanted to be more popular so she wrote me a “Dear John” letter telling me that we were no longer friends. She gave it to me at school and I remember crying while reading this letter and feeling so rejected. The cool crowd was a very mean group of girls who teased me all the time about my clothes, my hair, and my glasses, basically anything. I tried so hard to ignore them through middle school. I almost dropped out of school in eighth grade because it was so bad. As I got older, I always remembered that feeling and never wanted to hurt anyone that way. When I got to high school and we moved to a different school district, I had lots of friends in all grades. I had a group of wonderful friends in my class who were not judgmental and accepted me for who I was.

As an adult, I think I am a person who people can reach out and talk to. I have passed this on to my daughter especially because these situations do not seem to be going away. I suppose in a way, my experience was about being bullied. I did not talk to anyone about it so it so I should have stepped up and said something. I was not one who liked confrontation so I just tried to hide and not do anything to draw attention to myself.  Those middle school years were very painful and I have very few memories that are happy.  I remember how those words and actions hurt me and decided I had to move on and not let it become an excuse.

Microaggression Awareness

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

I would have to say the microaggression I experienced this week was my own at the doctor’s office. I went to see my doctor because of some pain I have been experiencing in my foot and big toe.  I had some x-rays taken and some blood drawn and the conclusion came back as I have gout. Having no clue what gout was, my doctor explained that it was due to uric acid that builds up in the blood and begins to affect the joints of areas such as the big toe, knee, or ankle. I then asked him what causes it and he said it was due to lack of exercise, weight gain, and diet in which he asked me if I was interested in losing weight. I was not offended by his suggestion, because I said I was interested. I am very sedimentary and have not exercised properly in 9 years.  Someone else may have taken this suggestion the wrong way and it could have been as a microaggression suggesting that I am overweight which I am. I need to start eating healthy and exercising because I will be 50 in October and too many people in my area have died from massive heart attacks.

This week and this class continue to make me stop and think before I speak about someone. My husband had a microaggression moment last night in regards to the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. He has expressed some very strong opinions about the person who committed the shootings. I am sure all of us at some point yesterday had those same feelings. I think I continue to make myself more aware of how I speak about someone because of my daughter. She is 17 and will be a senior this fall. I don’t want my lack of discretion and couth influencing her opinion because of something I said. There have been several times when she has had to remind me to watch what and how I talk about people, especially people she goes to school with. She does a great job and I am amazed at how she handles herself.

Perspectives on Culture and Diversity

The first person that I interviewed was a male in his late forties. He is a credit systems manager.  He and I went to high school together. His definition of culture and diversity was “the lifestyle and family values that have been instilled and passed down from generation to generation. Even though my lifestyle is different from the one I grew up with, I am still who I am and my family accepts me as I am.” He is gay and his family has never wavered at his revelation.

The second person that I interviewed was a female in her middle fifties. She retired from teaching 3 years ago and has been doing a wide variety of activities since. She defined culture and diversity as “culture is how you were raised. The people around you, your home, your beliefs, your mannerisms are all a part of your culture. We are all raised differently; some of us are raised in similar settings; some completely different. Diversity is what makes us unique, different, and special. Diversity helps us to learn and grow from others.”

The third person that I interviewed was a female in her mid-twenties. She teaches high school science classes and is about to move to a new school district. She sees culture as “my family and my family’s beliefs and values. We are distinctive and exceptional because of our past generations. Diversity is the encompassing of others and their lifestyles and meshing together as life carries on.”

With all three people, family and how they were raised seems to be a defining factor. All three, regardless of age, are all family – oriented. I feel I am close to my immediate family but feel rather disconnected from the others since we are all so far away. This all seems to be fitting into our readings and assignments.

My Family Culture

My Family Culture

The three things I would take would be:

1.       Family photo album

2.       My son’s favorite stuffed animal from his baby days

3.       My daughter’s favorite stuffed animal from kindergarten.

The family photo album contains photos from my grandma to my children and this would bring me comfort having the pictures to remember member s of my family and the memories. It would be a reminder of what our family structure was and could continue to be.  The reasoning for the stuffed animals that belonged to my children is the emotional attachment they represent. When I see these animals to this day, it reminds me of when they were small and how fast the time has gone. Both of them tell me that if there is a tornado or severe storm, I am supposed to grab those animals and save them!

If I had to give up any of these three items, it would be devastating. I would hang up on to the photo album because there are several pictures of the kids with their animals so we would have those to look at. I would try so hard to explain why those animals mean so much to me and to my children and how they represent their childhood and memories to me.

I know this situation happens. It happened a few weeks ago in the Colorado wild fires. It happens to people every day that are coming or leaving this country. I cannot imagine the agony that people feel when faced with this situation. It makes me understand how families feel when they arrive with nothing and are starting all over again. I saw this in a family a few years ago who came to our school. A simple doll represented so much to this little girl because she had no other toys while everyone else would bring Disney Princess dolls or other kinds of dolls that were expensive. She was so proud of that doll and the fact she had a toy to share.

When I Think of Research..........

Research has been an area that gives me a feeling of utter confusion.  This class was no different at the beginning because in the past when I have read research articles and tried to interpret what was studied and the terminology, I admit, I was lost! This class has helped me to understand research and the designs by filling out our charts each week and having the opportunity to reflect on the assigned chapters.

I feel I have a better understanding of the types of research designs and the pros and cons of each one. I also learned that it was important to keep your data and information organized and confidential.

I think the most challenging part of this class was our own research simulation. Finding a research question and narrowing it down to a specific topic was a test each week. It was not easy to do but with the readings each week and the explanations in our book, it was more understandable.

 There are many topics and areas of early childhood education that could be researched and studied. I have learned how to carefully read research articles and to check if the research is valid, biased, or if equity is questionable.

I have enjoyed getting to know everyone through our discussions and blog posts. Good luck and hope to see some of you again in the next class!

Research Around the World

I chose to research Early Childhood Australia. This website provided several links to various areas that deal specifically with early childhood issues, concerns, and information.
I clicked on Early Childhood News archives and read about the budget implications for young children and families in Australia. The government is investing $55.7 million dollars into a program called HIPPY (Home Interaction Program for Parent and Youngsters). This program is much like Head Start in the United States as it focuses on children and families to help them become active in their child's life and gaining the assistance they need to do this by providing activities and materials. Another $225 million dollars is being given to families who are out of work and need assistance with child care.

I also checked out several other links that included Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, Every Child magazine, Every day Learning series, and and Research in Practice. Some of the links you need to subscribe to but some provided articles about current topics in Australia. I found an interesting article about play-based learning at this link http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/every_child_magazine/every_child_index/why_play-based_learning.html.

This website could be compared to the NAEYC link as there are many of the same links. I found that Australia is on a mission to take care of all of its children as well.


Reference
Early Childhood Australia. Retrieved June 2, 2012 from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/.