Professional Hopes and Goals

First of all I will say a big thank you to Dr. Parrish for her understanding and support through out this course. I appreciate that she took time in responding to everyone's discussion post, which was one of my motivating factors in this class. And to my classmates--you all rock! Your posts and experiences you shared in the discussion board opened my eyes to so many things, and showed how differently we all are, despite we share a common class. I pray God's guidance and support for everyone of us.

Taking this course on diversity and social justice has given me the opportunity to reconsider my thinking and attitude towards people. Now, I long to work with families, colleagues and children who are different from me because I think I have the 'technical know-how'. Above all, I long to see unity in diversity in Early Childhood Field, where teachers look beyond skin colour, class, ableism and give their best to every child concerned.

One of my goals is to improve on my communication skill with people of different culture while still retaining my personal identities.

Welcoming Families From Malta

The name of the country I chose is Malta. Assuming I work in a child care centre; First, I will do a thorough research on my own about the country--its location, population size, cultures, schooling habits, languages, etc.
I will ask people around for any special character traits of people from Malta..
I will send home a detailed questionnaire to know about the family culture
I will invite any of the parents to class to tell the class about Malta
I will suggest the parents come with an item of cultural value.
I will learn to pronounce the child and family name correctly
I will display the country flag and greetings on the classroom wall
At least two toys in the classroom will be associated with Malta
The reading corner will have some books about Malta.
I will make arrange for an interpreter if they are ELL
I will learn some major words in the family's first language

All of these preparations I believe will make a family feel at home and will be easy for such family to blend into the school system. Learning their family culture will give me an access into a child's emotional and cognitive development. For instance, if a family is so concerned about their children's school work, then, learning will be made easy for such children and vice versa.
Learning to pronounce correctly a child's name will give him/her a sense of belonging and may in turn build self-esteem.

Prejudice

 Back home in Nigeria, I remember there are schools for the rich and schools for the poor. If a family is poor, it might be impossible for their children to attend schools with rich children. Most privately owned schools are dominated by rich families.

There is this particular school that is known for affluence because, of the category of people in attendance. During a discussion amongst some mothers, a middle class mother asked what the performance of the school is, in order to enrol her son. In that process, another mother asked, ''are you sure you will be able to pay the school fees?'' This came to mind as I meditated on classism. The woman who asked this question already has prejudice against the other because, she felt her friend will not be able to pay the school fees. The school in question has consciously or unconsciously built a class for herself. It simply means poor children cannot attend such schools as they are not affordable.

If I were given the opportunity to be a policy maker in Nigeria, I will make sure school fees are well-regulated, and scholarships are provided for the very poor children.

Practicing Awareness in Microaggressions

Several times people have told me I don't look or talk like the tribe I come from In Nigeria. Probably because I am fair and speak good English. Though unintended on their part, yet I never saw it as an insult until I listened to Dr. Sue (Laureate, 2014).


Just 2weeks ago, My 4-year-old daughter came back from school to say Julie's mum had a baby girl. I asked who told her and she said, ''Julie told me''. Julie and my daughter are friends. I immediately sent a congratulatory message to Michelle, Julie's mum. I am yet to get a response. Michelle is Hebrew who migrated to the US and we presently live in France


As I dropped off my daughter in her class, I overheard a conversation between one of her taechers and a Parent. The Parent said she was not informed of an event which was to take place the next day. In response to this, the assistant teacher told her the notice has been on the door. And then quickly turned to other parents to say, ''don't mind her she(the parent) doesn't read''. I felt cold but couldn't react in the parent's place. The Parent is Black and the Assistant taeacher is French.


I am begining to be meticulous about people's comments and actions. But, what I have observed is that though Sue (Laureate, 2014) said most microagressions are unintended, the intended microagressions are usually obvious and easy to discern through the voice tone of the 'attacker'.






Reference
Laureate Education. (2014). Microagressions in Everyday Life. [Course Media]. Retrieved from Walden University Early Childhood Studies Portal

Perspectives on Diversity and cuture

I asked my daughter's teacher (who is Scottish) what culture and diversity is and, she hit the nail on its head. She said adults modelling  good examples for children to imitate is one way to teach respect for diversity. Also she noted that children who are ELL may be given opportunities to speak vernacular in class as a way of celebrating their culture.
My French teacher said culture is the opposite of nature. She made an interesting point that we are not born with culture but learn culture. Secondly she said culture is what brings unity amongst a group of people.
My husband rightly said culture is what makes a particular group of people what they are.

All of these definitions tell me there is diversity even in the way culture is defined. Hence, culture might be too broad to give a definition as Taylor said. (Laureate, 2014)
One of the aspects we have discussed in class is that of letting children know and respect differences in culture or diversity
Also, I will agree with my French teacher who said we learn culture. Ngo (2008) also mentioned this, this week.
Emphasis is being made in class on unity in diversity so she is right to have said culture brings unity amongst people. All of these we have discussed in class.
My interviewees all defined diversity as differences amongst people.
I come to see now that culture encompasses everything about human beings since there are various and multiple definitions of culture.

References
Laureate Education. (2014). [Video] "Culture and Diversity". Retrieved from Walden University Early Childhood Studies  Portal

Ngo, B. (2008). Beyond "culture clash": Understanding of immigrant experiences. Theory into Practice, 47(1), 4–11.
Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.

My Family Culture

This blog assignment is interesting and thought provoking! First, I will go with my Bible, my ipad, and hair accessories.
I and my husband are Christians and we are trying our best to bring up our kids in the same manner. Although, my ipad could contain various versions of the Bible, the hard-copy Bible symbolizes our religion. I see it that a hard copy Bible will give our kids a true sense/representation of our religion and belief in God.


I will go with my ipad because I am a lover of information and academics. With my ipad, I could gain access to what is happening around me, and continue home-study with my kids.
Going with my hair accessories might sound a bit out of place to someone, but I am learning that the human hair is one of the first factors of identity. As an African, I this our hair defines us more and quicker than our skin color. Hence, to maintain my identity, I will go with materials to tidy my hair and my daughter's.


If I were asked to drop two items, I will drop my ipad and hair accessories and then keep praying for freedom from such a lifestyle.


I better agree now than before that culture indeed is the totality of an individual which involves everything one does. Culture most times are influenced by family upbringing, which places so much importance on the role of a family.

When I think of Research

Sincerely, I did not find this research course easy as I could not spend enough time to read in order to grasp the whole concept. But, it was worth the experience and lessons I learnt from the discussion posts.


I understand better now (than when we started) the processes and procedures involved in research, and I was able to garner that ethics are very important in research studies in Early Childhood Education. Also, that the research methods to use depend on the nature of a research topic and that it is best to use mixed methods so as to understand the depth and breadth of a research study and for reliable results and conclusions. A feasibility test will help to know what risks are obtainable in the course of the study, therefore, it is advised that such test be carried out.


Like I mentioned earlier, this course was quite challenging maybe because it is my first research course and I did not have adequate time to study due to some personal reasons. Arriving at a topic was the first challenge and then in the application of quantitative and qualitative designs to my research topic. Nonetheless, I believe that what I have learnt during this course will come handy for me some day.


Thanks, Dr. Darragh for your patience in explaining and making corrections of my simulation. And to all my Group 2 classmates, thanks for sharing your ideas and insights about research studies.
Wish everyone the best now, and in the future.