One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I can make each family as comfortable as possible by integrating their culture into ours. Whether it be asking the parents to come in to volunteer time, or including their cultural dishes in a family potluck. In addition I would love to incorporate a cultural day at our school where all families come out and we celebrate together the diversity.
One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field as it relates to diversity, equity and social justice is to add a requirement to those educators teaching in the classroom or who come into contact with children to undergo a yearly training about diversity. I think this class has been such an eye opening experience for me and in turn beneficial to my students. I believe educators would benefit highly from taking a training that would provide them with tools on how to deal with diverse families and how to teach children about diversity.
As we all move on to our specializations I thank you all for the great discussions we have shared, the suggestions and feedback you provided and dialogue on diversity we have shared. I wish you all nothing but the best! Good Luck!
Shayla,
ReplyDeleteI like that your hopes include yourself and making changes within our own line of work. I think this is a great place to start. I also learned more about how my own biases affect me in my daily interactions and have started to take steps to avoid marginalization. I also like that you state that early childhood educators should undergo training on a regular basis. I agree with you that receiving more training is the best way to make a difference.
Hi Shayla my friend,
ReplyDeleteI love the idea about teachers taking a course in diversity. I am not sure why most schools do not require this course nor why some schools do not teach this course because it is so important to learn about other cultures. I remember when I was in high school I belonged to a club called Cross Colors Cultural Club where we talked about other cultures and every month we celebrated a culture. For example, for Cinco de Mayo we had a pot luck lunch and we all had to bring in a Mexican dish. I want to teach my students about other cultures and have books and foods from other countries. I feel that it is important to teach students about other cultures.
I love the idea of the potluck where people bring a dish from their native country. I remember doing this when I was in second grade and we also had to include the receipe so others could make it at home.
Hi Shayla,
ReplyDeleteI also feel strongly that educators need to take diversity/anti-bias classes. Our district had one last year that was well received. I couldn't beleive how little some of the teachers knew. I felt good because of what I learned in earlier classes in this program. Enjoy the rest of the summer!
Shayla I have enjoyed reading your blogs each week and I feel your passion for working with young children. I agree totally with you that teachers should attend diversity training each year. This course has given us so much information about working with various diversity groups and how to make sure that equity and social justice is fair and equal for all children and their families. Best of luck to you as well as you continue in your pursuit of your degree.
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