REFLECTING ON LEARNING

This class has truly enlightened me on the wealth of information we have received about biases and stereotypes. This has given me information on how things are perceived and how we can help to make things easier for the children. I have learned that things I can do to help with the different questions students may have about a different race of people or culture and also how to teach children about others with disabilities. This information will help me learn what things I need to put in place to allow all students of every culture a chance to express themselves and ways I can bring the families together to help them better understand the differences we all have and how we can be an asset to each other. 

I want to work more to find out as much information as I can and will begin to work on examples of how I can relay to children the need to not criticize something they do not understand. It is so easy to offend without knowing and I want to be able to break the bonds that have been in place that allow students to feel comfortable criticizing others. I want to be an example of love and compassion to all students and want to help families distill the notion that one race or gender is greater than another.

I wish all of my colleagues well in all that they endeavor to do in their lives and appreciate all of the information each of them have shared to help me get to this part of my journey.  May God bless each of you and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Now let's go out and change the world. 

BLOG ASSIGNMENT: IMPACT ON EARLY EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

For this assignment, I chose the Middle East and North African Regions.  I chose these regions because I wanted to get more information on how the people of my four fathers are living and being educated and the effects different things have on their education and learning. UNICEF works with all over the world to help children and their families deal with challenges they face daily.

In this region there are several things that would have an adverse affect on a child's learning and things that would be challenges for children.  These things include An End violence initiative. This advocacy motto or theme is to help all children live free without the threat of violence. They believe all children have a right to be free of violence which harms their physical and mental growth.  They believe for too many years people have turned a blind eye to the violence in this country and believe once everyone is aware and we work together to end the violence, the children will be protected. 

Another challenge is HIV and AIDS. This disease is widespread all over the country. Statistics show "as of 2011, roughly 17.3 million children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, and millions more have been affected, with a vastly increased risk of poverty, homelessness, school dropout, discrimination and loss of life opportunities. These hardships include illness and death. Of the estimated 1.7 million [1.5 million–1.9 million] people who died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2011, 230,000 [200,000–270,000] of them were children under 15 years of age."  UNICEF is one organization that has worked hard to lessen this normal and has worked to help mothers get assistance with medications. 

Another challenge they have is nutrition.  It is said that with the proper nutrition, children are more productive, healthy and able to learn. "Stunting - or low height for age - traps people into a lifelong cycle of poor nutrition, illness, poverty and inequity. The damage to physical and cognitive development, especially during the first two years of a child’s life, is largely irreversible."  

All of these things have adverse effects on children's emotional well being and development.  It is very hard to learn when they have so many things fighting against them. If we can work to change these things along with UNICEF, we can help these children become bright, educated, healthy students. These are so many things that students in these countries have to deal with and it takes a village to help these children. Although things such as the many children with HIV/AIDS and the type of violence that some of these children incur may not be to that widespread in the United States, we do have these things here and must work hard not only for our children but also for the children in other countries. 

As an educator, I have come in contact with students who have problems in their homes with poverty, gang violence, and also having parents who are incarcerated and these things have an affect on their learning.  Some of them act out and others appear saddened as if the weight of the world is on their shoulders.  We have to go the extra mile to work on the personal things in the homes and communities that prevent children from being the best they can possibly be. No child should be in the classroom worrying about whether he or she will have food to eat, electricity in the home or whether they will have to run through gunshots in the community to get home.  It is up to us to make a difference.

I was enlightened to see how UNICEF has gone up and beyond to lighten the loads of millions of children and their families by helping become more aware of what is going on and raising the funds to make a difference. 

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html.
All children have the right to live free from violence. Violence which harms their physical and

Blog Assignment: The Sexualization of Early Childhood

"Many industries make an obscene amount of money using sex and violence to market their products to children. Whatever their race, ethnic group, economic status, or gender, and whether they can afford to buy a lot or very few of these products, children are deeply affected" (Levin & Kilbourne (2009).  This was a very interesting article.  It is true that society such as the media has increased the awareness of sex.  This has definitely had an affect on how our children view sex.  Children should not be in elementary school worrying about their size or worrying about whether they are compatible to someone of the opposite sex. I do not feel at that early age that they are aware of their own bodies or are able to handle things such as relationships. Some of the information is shocking to hear about how society has changed since I was a child. 

I have several nieces and nephews and was certain I wanted to spend my life as a teacher in middle school.  While attending a track meet at one of the schools.  I noticed one of my nieces and her friends hugged up together on the bleachers. These children spent the entire track meet running back and forth hugging and some kids were kissing. This was very challenging for me and I started to realize how things have changed.

While spending time at my church with some of the preteens, I notice one child wearing makeup and having her eyebrows arched. I was so surprised that this child was wearing makeup and one other adult asked the parent about this and she replied the child wanted it and she allowed it. I do believe this takes away from the child's youth and makes her want to be an adult much older than she should be.  

As a teacher, I have noticed that children start spending more time together and start communicating more with the opposite sex. Often the little boys and girls are choosing their boyfriends and girlfriends and seem to seriously believe that they are in a relationship. I find this alarming but I do not feel these children are prepared to have their hearts broken this early on in life.

I want to help children to realize that things such as sexuality at an early age. I do believe things are happening too fast and children are getting the wrong idea from what they are seeing in the media. I believe they are confused about what they see and they need to have these things explained to them. They should be able to talk about what they are feeling and need to ask questions about what is going on as far as sexual relationships go.  There are so many diseases out there and I do believe they have enough information about what oral sex and sexual intercourse to be engaging in it. Not knowing all the information about diseases and even pregnancy can seriously hurt our children. 

Mothers and grandmothers should not have to continue to spend their lives helping to raise children that are fathered or mothered by children. I do not believe they are mature enough mentally or psychologically to handle pregnancy or diseases that can possibly kill them. These are serious things that need to be addressed early on, especially now that sexuality is so popular in the media.

Schools should foster all types of information and materials to enlighten the students on what is out there and what can happen to them if they continue to engage in sexual activities without protection or knowledge of what can happen.

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Blog Assignment: Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Growing up down south I have been the subject of stereotypes or biases even in education.  These have included racism and classism.  As an African-American, I have often been discriminated against because of my color.  I was sent to a predominantly white high school where I had to catch a bus from my neighborhood to another school in a different neighborhood.  This was hard but I did learn in that time that not all people are prejudice.  I did learn that there were teachers/educators who saw my abilities and potential and worked very hard to make sure I learned everything necessary to move on in life. I learned with this that I would never want a child to feel what I felt from those around me, including my classmates, that did not recognize that I was a human being first.

In classism, because I was poor, often people would associate the fact that my family was poor and that I came from a poor neighborhood with people who were lazy, loud and did not care anything about their appearance.  All of these things were opposite for me and often I was told that I didn't act like the normal child that came from a large black family.

I now know the feeling when you are in a community where you have been raised in a different culture and the fears associated with trying to belong or just to be treated as equal with the rest of the class.  I would expect those of different isms to be withdrawn or to feel like they don't belong until someone such as an educator would do things to make that child feel like they belong. When coming into the classroom, I feel there should be famous people of all races pictured throughout the classroom along with their achievements.  I believe there should be a wall where students can write things about themselves and their families and to use this as a stepping stone to help all children realize they are special.

I believe, as the educator, they should see me as one who inspires them to do their best and should never see me look down on them because they have a hard time pronouncing certain words of the english language.  I should never allow any students to disrespect any other student and always present the face of love, peace and understanding.

Blog Assignment: Observing Communication

This week I observed at church a child trying to communicate with her mother.  The child noticed something different about another child and was trying to ask the mother questions about why that child talked differently.  The mother totally ignored the child in an effort to go where she was trying to go, which was Sunday School.  The child continued to follow and ask questions and I stood there wanting to answer the child.  The mother soon told the child they would talk later and dropped the child off at her class.  I looked at the child and smile, all the while wanting to explain that the child had autism and what that meant but because I was not close to the parent or child, I stood there speechless.  I was interested in the fact that the child noticed a difference, especially since the child seemed to be around 4 or 5 years old.  I was also very happy to see the child not calling names or saying anything negative about the other child but merely wanted to know the difference.  I was saddened to see the parent not take the initiative to stop and listen to what the child was saying.  I understand trying to get to a class but I do believe this ranked a little higher in importance than trying to be on time to class.

Since starting this class, I have noticed differences even in the way I communicate.  I also have realized how harmful words can be and how important it is to stop and listen and not jump to conclusions. 

I am happy that I am able to spend more time listening than talking.  There have been things that I am sure I have missed in conversations because I was merely trying to get my point across.

Blog Assignment: Creating Affirming Environments

Anti-Bias Education

In my childcare center, I would like to create a setting where any child can walk into the setting and feel like they belong.  I want them all to see parts of themselves in my school.  "Relationships and interactions with children and families, the visual and material environment, and the daily curriculum all come together to create the anti-bias learning community" (Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. 2010). 

I want to begin by having pictures of all races and genders in professional roles pictured all over the classroom.  I want to show people of diversity with their achievements including the arts, drama, sports, entertainment, education, law, medical and hospitality.  I would have books that were authored by people of diversity and include those in the curriculum. 

I want to include both male and female doctors, male and female teachers, male and female construction workers, policemen and women, firemen and women, of different races to show that they can be whatever they desire to be. 

I enjoyed reading about the Family Child Care Home where children are allowed to ask questions about their different skin colors and even the differences in their hair.  This helps the children to learn not only about themselves but about others.  They are allowed to see the differences not as one being better than the other but just different. 

I also would like to incorporate traditions from each family into the curriculum. I want to use this to help others learn about families and also to bring the families in as a connection to the others to help with diversity and anti-bias.  I believe the more each family knows about the other the less judgmental they will be.  "In stereotyping, images and information not only treat all members of a group as the same, but also dehumanizes people through exaggeration, caricature, and inaccurate overgeneralizations" (Derman-Sparks & Edward, 2010).

Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and

Ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young

Children.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED     

   

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length).

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and their families who happen to come from diverse backgrounds is that I realize the great opportunity I have to learn more about their culture and their likes and their differences. I hope that I can make that family feel comfortable, loved and appreciated for who they are and allow them to teach me things about their culture. I want to be able to take the information that I learn from them and pass it on to others in the classroom as well as other faculty and staff members and my own family. 

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length).

My goal is to be an ambassador for early childhood education in the issues of diversity and equity. I want people to realize that this world is made up of so many people that are different and that everyone matters. I want people to know that we are a great country because of our differences and these differences are assets. I want to do research on the things that are going on in my own State of Tennessee, and see what I can do to help children in early childhood deal with biases and prejudices. 

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

I would like to take this time to thank all of my colleagues along with the professor for all the rich information, all of the interesting posts of collages, the poems, and the videos.  All of these things have helped to enlighten me on diversity and biases.  I have truly enjoyed this class and wish everyone well in all they endeavor to do. God bless you all!!!

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: Creating Art

POEM:  WHO ARE WE

When we look in the mirror each morning

As we go through the hustle and bustle of getting off to work, to school or to play

How many people do we see each day

How many faces do we see each day

How are we alike and how are we different

Are we defined by our appearance

Are we judged by our differences

Are we praised for our accomplishments, loved for who we are and defined by what we do

Many colors, many races, many dimensions, many shapes, many sizes

All bleed red blood, all have two eyes, two ears, one mouth, one head, and one body

All love the same, hurt the same, laugh the same, and cry the same

We love our children, love our spouses, love our lord and love our animals

Why do we hate the differences instead of embracing the individuality

Why do we speak unkindly about what we don’t understand

We all have a voice, we all have a choice

Give love, respect differences and enjoy life to the fullest

We all have a purpose in life and a god that loves us all

Let’s stop the hate, stop the violence, stop the prejudices, stop the biases, and see each person as one that can possibly change our lives.

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: "We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

"Educators who do speak out, who take action in the name of anti-bias education, find that most times all parties share the same aim: to protect children from bias and prejudice."

·         A time when you witnessed an adult (or yourself) reprimand or silence a child after he or she pointed out someone they saw as different (e.g., "That lady talks funny," " That man only has one leg!" "Why is that man so pretty!"). Include what the child said and what the adult did or said in response. (Note: If you cannot think of a specific time ask a friend or family member.)

·         What messages might have been communicated to this child by the adult's response.

·         An example of how an anti-bias educator might have responded to support the child's (or classroom's ) understanding.

 At my church there is a young man that has autism.  Often he makes different noises and sounds during the services and sometimes when he is upset he may scream. During one of his episodes, one of children started laughing and pointing and making comments about this young man. The child said, He is crazy, why is he yelling like that.  The adult simply replied, just stop it okay.  She never took the time to explain that the child had a disorder that caused him to behave in a certain way but merely allowed the child to believe the other child was crazy. This of course upset me because this is something that should have been handled in a way that didn't leave the child believing the child was as she stated "crazy".  If she had taken the time to educate the child along with the children around her the seriousness of biases or prejudices, they probably would not be so judgmental the next time they saw someone acting differently from what they were used to seeing. 

Educators would explain why it is important to ask questions before making comments and also let the child see how wrong it is to call names. Since the adult did not address the fact the child called the other child crazy, the child is to assume that it is okay to say bad things about others.

I believe an educator would have taken the time to say to the children that there are people that have disabilities and illnesses that cause them to act a certain way when they are happy, sad, excited or angry. "The more passion you have about the need for creating a world of justice and peace for children, the more you will be able to make it a priority in your work".   When we can get rid of our prejudices and biases and things that make us uncomfortable, then will we be able to teach it to others. But first we have to recognize when there is a issue that needs to be addressed and know how to address it. We have to be the example.

"Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

Some of the ways you noticed that homophobia and heterosexism permeate the world of young children including books, movies, toys, stores, culture of early childhood centers, and schools

 

Growing up in the 60s and 70's things were much different than they are now.  Certain things were delegated for boys and certain things for girls. Dolls, clothes, and dress-up was only for girls and boys were supposedly more into sports, rough-housing, cars and trucks.  Today, there are a lot more women that are as excited about sports, being firemen and police officers than ever before. If you thought you wanted to be a police officer or even a construction worker, you were frowned upon. Also, if there were males that wanted to be nurses or secretaries, this also was frowned upon. Genders were supposedly dealing with girls being pretty and boys being hard and rough. Over time these things have changed as life changes. We can no longer teach our children that they do not have a choice. The interests are greater and we cannot identify children by how they are dressed or how they look. I went to visit a school and noticed this little boy whom I thought was a little girl because he had long pigtails in his head. I did not realize it was a boy until the teacher asked all of the boys to get on the carpet. I assumed because of his appearance that he was a girl.

 

If you have ever used or heard homophobic terms such as "fag," "gay," "homo," "sissy," "tom boy," or "lesbo" as an insult by a child toward another child? Or, by an adult toward a child? Describe what occurred. How might these types of comments influence all children? (Note: if you have not had a personal experience, ask a family member, friend, or colleague)

I remember growing up and those of use who dressed in a certain way or spent a lot of time playing sports were considered tom boys. I loved playing sports at that time but also was a girly girl so I didn't get thrown into that category. I have heard all types of names being used to describe those that were homosexuals and I have myself said words such as fag or gay before realizing the harm that these things can cause. I have never called a person by these names but have seen the hurt they can cause. I have a nephew who is homosexual and for many reasons family members do not accept him. I choose to accept him for who he is and love him in spite of what anybody else thinks or feels. It is very hurtful to hear these comments, especially towards someone you love and can be very damaging to children. Children have family members even parents that may be homosexual or lesbians and the things we say in their presence can cause damaging affects on that child as well as other children listening to our comments. We have to be the example we want to see.

PROFESSIONAL THANKS

I have truly enjoyed this class and all of my colleagues.  It was very interesting meeting and hearing about all the different stories and ideas that have been given in this class. I wish all of my colleagues well in their journeys and hope to continue to hear abou their lives and their accomplishments.

Good bye and good luck in all you do.  Please feel free to continue to contact me and let me know how life is treating you.  God bless.

Blog Assignment

I have been involved in several groups, mostly in being a part of online groups while pursuing my degree. Some of the groups were involved in getting projects together such as power point presentations and others like this one, spending most of my time commenting on their posts. I have a few colleagues that have been in several of my classes here at Walden and it has indeed been a great opportunity learning about so many things that are different from what I am used to. I hope to be able to continue my communication with some of the colleagues long after we have received our degree. I believe I find that those groups where we performed the best and achieved exactly what we were trying to achieve were the hardest to leave, especially if we worked together for more than a month. I believe most groups don’t take the time to adjourn. I believe we go through all the other stages of forming, storming, norming and performing but often do not adjourn the group. I believe we do the last assignment and simply dissolve. There have been groups that I have been a part of where everyone wants to be the leader and everyone is working hard to make the best grades. It was a pleasure working on a project with them because we all had a set purpose and that was to do well. Even though I was part of a group at church where it ended up being three people that finished the project, it build closer relationships and also allowed us to continue working together years after that. I do wish we had taken the time to adjourn the groups but I believe because we never had true relationships at the beginning, it was easy to just dissolve.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT

There were problems on my job with the administrative team and the laboratory team. Things were getting missed or eliminated and it was causing problems with our jobs. We could not consistently perform our jobs to the best of our abilities because of lack of communication. One coworker began going t o the boss about the situation without first speaking with the people on the other team. The boss then ridicules the other team and sends out an email to that affect. The laboratory team were unsure of how to handle the situation so decided to not do the task and asked if we would do it for them to keep down confusion. In dealing with this situation, I asked what could be done to rectify the situation because at this point the confidence and loyalty the lab team has with us has been compromised. I feel we should have discussed efforts in solving the issue without consulting the boss. I believe if we had used the three R's, especially respect and relationship, this could have been prevented altogether. In speaking about the subject in a meeting, I began asking questions to try to get a solution to the problem. The administrative team did not want to compromise and felt it necessary to continue giving bad reports to the boss. I am part of the administrative team but don't want to be part of the problem but the solution. I suggested the lab team do what they were asked to do and then communicate when there were discrepancies that were beyond their control. I sincerely believe respect others and treating others the way you want to be treated would definitely help in this situation.

COMMUNICATION

This week we focused on how we perceive others and took quizzes on our communication skills, verbal, listening and aggresiveness. I found myself in the group that is very empathetic towards others and that I take the time to listen and not dominate the conversation. But in the assessments given by friends and colleagues, my listening skills are not as high as I supposed. According to the results of the tests, I can use a little more focus in listening and I seem to sometimes dominate the conversation as opposed to listen. Also, it seems sometimes that I am more aggressive in speaking and less so in listening. All feel that I am very empathetic towards others and their feelings but that I could take more time to listen to them before speaking. I learned about perceptions and how people often perceive people much as they see themselves be it positive or negative. I also learned that our past experiences or personal schemas also have a lot to do with how we perceive or evaluate people. I do believe I have to learn more communication skills in order to be a great educator. I must be able to take the time to listen without interrupting or rushing to get to the next thought or activity.  As educators or even as adults, we cannot continue to make assumptions about people, their heritage or personalities. Before we come to any conclusion about a person, we must take the time to get to know that person and find out more about him or her before making any assumptions, stereotypes or perceptions.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT

THE OFFICE ON TBS:
I had never watched this show before but that it was interesting. When I watched the show without sound, it seemed as though there were two men that were looking at a computer and another comes into the office and seems to confront them about it. I thought of course that they were watching porn and the boss came in and caught them. Looking at their faces I assumed the conversation got into someone getting in trouble about this. This led to them sitting in the office again talking to someone on the phone, which I assumed was the big boss.

The story was about an insurance salesman that was part of the Mafia and was sending messages to the guy about buying insurance. The person that received the email, actually called the guy at the coercion of his coworkers to let him know he was not intimated and that he did not want to buy insurance. After this, coworkers informed him that he was talking to the Mafia. He actually told the guy that he would cause him bodily harm if he didn't stop emailing, not realizing he was talking to someone that was part of the Mafia.

It is very easy to assume or misinterpret people's actions without hearing what they are saying. Looking at the body language and trying to read lips, does not work when you cannot actually hear what is being said.

In communication, we must not assume anything, we have to take the time to listen and ask questions instead of waiting on our chance to talk or being defensive about what is being said.  We have to be active listeners.

COMPETENT COMMUNICATION

For this assignment I chose my pastor, Gregory Askew. The reason I chose him is because I have noticed not only in his speaking to the congregation but also in my conversation with him regarding an issue. As I began to speak to him about this particular person, I began to say things such as this person did something to hurt me and he corrected me on more than one occasion, stating that this person did something that hurt me. He helped me to realize that although I felt as if the person was doing this intentionally to hurt me, it could be that what happened hurt me but it was not necessarily the person's intention to hurt me. This helped me to channel my words in a correct way to realize what I am saying and how I am saying it.  Communication is not necessarily your speaking but also listening and understanding what is being said. Pastor Askew is very careful of the words he uses and makes sure to allow the person to hear exactly what is being said without having to read between the lines.  I am working on my communication skills so that I can effectively communicate the things I desire to say and not find myself apologizing for things that were taken out of context. I believe if we communicate effectively there is no reading between the lines.

Seletha Head Tucker

Shared publicly  -  Jun 24, 2013

Blog: Welcoming Families From Around the World

My country of choice for the family is Cambodia and I will use a healthcare setting or hospital for my place of employment.  I would begin by researching the country itself along with the history, languages of that country. I would then try to find out as much information about the family.  Is there any history of the family in this country before?  Is there a chance the children or members of the family have attended school in this country.  If not, I would begin to call the different schools in that area that can give me any information on how I would be able to speak with these people in case they do not speak my language. I would also try to find out if there were things I could do to make them feel comfortable in our country.  I would work on the things that I would say to them and how I would address them.  If the male is the head of the household and the spokesperson for the family, I would begin speaking with him and allow him to answer questions until he permitted me to do otherwise. I think going back to look over my notes and my assignments on ethnicity would also better prepare me to do the job to the best of my ability.
By doing these things, I allow myself a chance to be more calm about meeting people from another country and would feel better about communicating with them. This would also put the family more at ease, knowing that I took the time to research information about them and their culture.

Blog: Professional Hopes and Goals

I have truly enjoyed this class about diversity and my hope is that I become the teacher all children will be able to come to when they are having trouble and believe I want the best for them. I want them to know that I care about them and their families and my only desire is that they succeed.

My goal is to educate as many children as possible and give them a burning desire to learn all they can possibly learn and to realize the sky is the limit.

I would like to thank my instructor, Professor Tuthill, and my colleagues for making this such as enjoyable class and for allowing me to be a part of their lives for this brief period. I wish them all the best of luck in the future. I am positive all of them will be an asset to any teaching environment they come in contact with. God Bless.

Blog: The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I remember watching the movie "Glory Road" with my daughter. The movie is about the first black college basketball players to play on a white team and all the prejudices they endured while being on the team. It was awesome the way the coach stuck up for the kids and encouraged the kids to be their best in spite of adversity. They had to endure not being able to sleep in the same hotel rooms and not being able to participate in ceremonies for the players because of their race. 

So many things really hurt to see these young men being beaten in bathrooms simply because they played on the white college basketball team. Hearing all of the racial slurs and the constant condescending remarks and belittling really allowed me to see how ugly racism really is. They simply wanted to get an education and be able to play a sport they loved and they were good at it.  It did bring up other incidences in my own life when we lived in Seattle and my son got into a fight because of being called the "N"word. He was in elementary school.  This was ten years ago.  We were also called out of our names because we lived in the Suburbs of the State of Washington.

This hurt but I realized that those people are not all people and do not express the thoughts of everyone. I have never treated anybody differently because they were not the same race.  I believe in order for the world to change, we have to change one by one, seeing the good in people and accepting them for who they are not for what color they are.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Blog: Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

One example I had this week of microaggression was when I made a comment in a meeting and my boss repeated what I said and said you have to do the head and neck rolling to know exactly what I said. Meaning, black women make comments the expressions of rolling there eyes , head and neck in an attitudinal method. I have noticed this before with another black female at the job and was very much offended by this. Realizing the type of person she is after working there for almost a year, I was not as offended this time as I was the first time she did it with a coworker.  I believe she is quite aware of what she is doing but feels we don’t realize it.  It is hurtful to see that people in this day in time still harbor prejudices against other races.

This week has enlightened me on microaggresssions and I have really been more aware and more cautious of the things I allow to come out of my mouth.  I don’t want to offend anybody in any way and want to always be aware of how words can hurt.  I also have noticed things that have probably been said around me all along that are microaggressions.  I now realize what they are and have brought these things to the attention of others.

Blog Assignment: Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

The people I spoke with about diversity and culture all seem to agree that culture is how you grew up and the things you did when you grew up. They felt that culture was the way you celebrated things such as Christmas and Thanksgiving. One particular friend thought of culture as how they celebrated their daughter's 16th birthday with a huge celebration. She would dress up in a beautiful gown and they would consider this her coming out party or becoming a woman. They all felt religion was a part of culture also believing that most believed in God and even the differences in how they worship.

Also, there was some commonality on believing diversity was defined as the different races working together for one purpose. They believed having all types of people that included African-Americans, Latinos, Chinese, Japanese, and Caucasian and the like going to school or working together made things diverse.

Before starting this class I believed the same about culture and diversity. Reading all the information that describes culture as being more than just religion or dress or celebrations but also the things around you that helped to mold you into the person you are. Learning that the different classes of people, employed and unemployed, married and unmarried, even widowed persons could be considered diverse groups. Also, finding out about the dominant culture and how we may relate or even begin to change the things we learned to fit into that dominant culture may cause other problems in you being the person you were born to be.

MY FAMILY CULTURE

Imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

 

The three things that I would take with me would be pictures I have of my family in a globe, my cell phone and my bible.  I chose these three items because with the family globe of pictures, it gives me joy to remember how things were; my children when they were born and some of the birthdays and other celebrations that have occurred over time.  I would take my cell phone to possibly be able to communicate with other family members and friends to find out how and if they are surviving and how things are working in our country and other parts of the globe. Also, with the phone, the world wide web is everywhere and I may be able to communicate via email, facebook or twitter with others. Also, I can pull up information, games, phone numbers and other things on my phone to help keep abreast of what’s going in on the world and also it would allow me to look up information about the country I will be living in and their culture. I chose my bible because my God is very important to me and also to continue to keep the faith and believe all things are possible even through tragedies. There may be a different religion there and it may not be possible to get a bible but I can always read it whenever I am discouraged or down because of what’s going on.  If I could only keep one thing, it would be the phone. My phone would enable me to communicate with people all over the world and find out how they are living and what’s going on in other parts of the world.

This was very interesting because I had to really think about what things I would chose and also about culture. Because my ancestors were brought to this country from Africa, my culture has basically become the dominant culture in America.