When I think about working with children and
families who come from diverse backgrounds, my hope is that ALL children feel confident
about who they are and what makes them so special and unique. I hope that they
don’t have to experience the resistance that diversity can bring, so that every
child and family can experience the same privileges and never have to
experience or witness discrimination or prejudice. My hope is for all children
to be able to embrace their diversity and cherish you they are!
One goal that I would like to set for the early
childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is
for educators to continue on the path towards being better prepared to work
with diversity. I want educators to feel comfortable working in diverse
programs so ALL children feel included and where each child’s individual needs
are being met. My goal is for educators to think about how they would answer
this question from Louise Derman-Sparks,
“Do I recognize, understand, acknowledge, and
respect each child’s individual cultural and learning styles?”
My goal is to get educators to
think about this question and think about how they will then turn it into an
action statement!!
I would like to take a moment to thank everyone
for sharing your thoughts, knowledge, and experiences with diversity and
culture. The discussion boards and Blogs gave me the opportunity to learn
through the experiences you shared each week. It is wonderful to know that
there are amazing people like all of you who share this passion for equity and
social justice for children and families. The children and families that you
work with are very lucky that you care the way you do! J Dr.
Parrish, thank you once again for your constant support, encouragement, and
feedback. The questions you pose and the "food for thought" comments that you posed challenged me to think deeper and reflect even more! When I first began my journey, my specialization courses were going
to be “teaching adults” but for some reason I changed my mind. After taking
this course, I am so happy that I chose diversity instead. As I head towards my
specialized courses in January, I know I made the right decision! I wish all of
you continued success with your studies!!
Take care,
Stephanie
Stephanie
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteLearning all these cultures has been very overwhelming. I feel as though all children education and needs should be met. Thanks for sharing your blogs and good luck with future courses.
Hi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI believe more educators need to be more knowledgable in dealing with people of diverse backgrounds. When I say people, I am talking about both children and adults. There are too many cases where families feel excluded and are unable to participate in their child's education, due to language barrier or just simply because they are misinformed and do not know. Like you mention, it is important that we continue to strive to stay up to date and continue our education in diversity and equity, so we can better prepare ourselves for any situation that may arise.
I want to thank your for sharing all of your blog and discussion entries, as well as making comments on my blog and discussions. Thank you for being a team player, and hope to have you in a future class:)