Professional Hopes and Goals

    For a wrap-up for the final week of my class, I am to give one hope I have for children and families coming from diverse backgrounds with regards to early childhood education. My hope for ALL children, regardless of background, is that they receive the best possible early childhood experience, appropriate to their particular learning needs. For many children, this opportunity is not available, for a multitude of reasons.

     One goal I would personally like to set for early childhood education related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is this: I would like to see the field of early childhood fully funded and to have that funding guaranteed so it is not a political football each election year, or every time the need to make budget cuts. I would like the see early childhood teachers (and ALL teachers) treated with the respect they deserve, instead of scapegoats for the failing educational system (which is the fault of the people with no educational background who make up the rules). I would like to see the educational system run by educators, NOT politicians and corporations looking to make money. I would like to see these educational opportunities available to ALL children, from birth through college--free of charge and open to all. Without an educated populace, our country is doomed to failure.
    
     I would like to thank my classmates for their shared experiences and feedback. I wish you all well as you continue your journey. In particular I would like to thank Nikki Thomas for being my sounding board, the wall upon which I beat my head, the support I needed to get this far, and a dear and cherished friend. This is the last class we take together (sob!). I truly hope you achieve all of your life's dreams and I hope you know you can always count on me, even though we won't be in class together anymore.

     Due to a lack of funding (I have maxed out of state grants for the fiscal year), I will be taking a break from my studies. I will return this summer when the new fiscal year provides more funding. I wish you all continued success!!!

Kathy

Welcoming Families

For this hypothetical activity, I chose the country of Belize (although the country itself doesn't really matter, it's more the process than the place).

Ways in which I would prepare to be culturally responsive to the family:
     * I would read the registration paperwork completed by the family so I would get to know about them as an individual family
     *I would read about the country of Belize to learn a little about where this family is coming from--languages spoken there, type of climate, geography, etc.
     * I would schedule a "getting to know you" meeting prior to the start date, in which I could sit down with the family and become familiar with them--meet my new student and ask what I could do to make the transition easier or if there were any issues which might need to be addressed.
     * I would locate items which might make the child more comfortable and more at home in my classroom--items which represent his/her personal culture, photographs/posters, books (including favorite books of the child if the parents shared that information), etc.
     *I would speak with my students about the tings we can do to welcome this new member of our classroom
     *I would look to the community to see if there were any resources or contacts available to help  this new family in their new home.

Change is hard, and the unknown is scary. I would hope that any steps I would take in preparation would help to make this change less scary for this family. I would hope to begin to establish a relationship of mutual trust and respect. I would hope to offer this child the best possible educational experience.

Personal side of bias, oppression, and prejudice

My first job (other than babysitting) was working in a fast food restaurant, as is the case for millions or teenagers. When I was hired, I was told that my starting pay would be $2.10/hour--waitress wage--because there was the opportunity to make tips. I don't know about you, but I have never tipped anyone in a fast food establishment. As a sandwich maker, salad bar attendant, or food prep, you had virtually NO contact with the customers, and therefore no opportunities to get tips.

I found out a few weeks into the job that the male employees got $4.00/hour, because they worked the grill. However, my wages did not go up if I covered the grill, and their wages did not decrease if they covered a different area.

When I complained to the manager, I was told that it was company policy. I had zero chance of making the same wages as the boys, because their job was dangerous, and all I had to do was flirt with the customers and pull in tips. While this behavior occurs today, it was much more common in the 1980's.

I was angry that I was working just as hard--or harder--than the male employees, but making just about half the pay. When I looked for a different job, I found that many places--not only in fast food--had similar policies. The basic idea behind the policies was that males were future heads of household, while females were just killing time until they found a husband to take care of them.

Like I said, this occurred 30 years ago, but there are many companies to this day that pay employees differently depending upon their sex. The only way to insure that this will never happen is to create laws that make this practice illegal. So far, the men who hold the power do not seem all that interested in making this happen.