Professional Hope and Goal

           One sincere hope when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, is to have a coherent support from various related organizations and institutions.  I wish that the district Education department, Health department, all schools and early childhood programs, and research centers work together under a unified system to implement a holistic development and monitor program for all children.  The program should start running when a child is still in his/her mother’s womb, until the child reaches puberty.

           One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field in my region related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to have an unified voice to fight against institutional isms, and to stand up for children and families who are being discriminated or marginalized due to their social identities. 

            As coming to the end of this course study, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my course Instructor and colleagues for their contributions in the past to enrich my learning experiences through their advises, words of encouragements, and thoughtful comments.  Many thanks!

Welcoming Families Around the World

            The name of the family’s country of origin I chose is Germany, as I have a foreign teaching staff who is from Germany.   Five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

1.     I will read related publication resources to get myself familiar with the deep culture of Germany, not just about the country’s food, holidays, artifacts, but also its values, role of children, gender roles, beliefs, taboos, etc.

2.     Get to know ahead the child, his/her family, and their interests in order to aware of their diverse social identities.

3.     Review my curriculum and pedagogy for any German racial and cultural bias, and make sure that study topics are culturally appropriate for the child as well.

4.     Invite the family to bring culturally appropriate resources into the classroom.

5.     Stock my classroom with multiple resources that reflect and support the cultural norms of the child as well.

            Theses preparations, I believe, will equip me to get prepared to have the child to be in my class that treats every child with equity and justice.  The family, the child in particular, I think, will feel visible, included and empowered to be in the class.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

            It is said that our individual prejudices and societal isms are the roots of inequities and oppression in the society.  And, we develop these biases and prejudices when we are even at the young age.  As a result, biases and prejudices are pervasive in every corner of our society; at home, in school, in market, in office, and in hospital.

            I am Chinese, was born in Malaysia, a country where my parents had emigrated to from China before they were married.  Malay, the natives of the country are considered to be in control, having the ruling power to run the country.  However, they seem to be biased against people who are not originated from the country, and thus classify them as second-class citizens.  As a result, my race has not been treated equally with Malay.  Many times we are being denied of human rights and resources.  For example, a quota is used to limit Malaysian-Chinese studying in the local state universities.  In fact, I was a victim of the system, not being able to access to the local university because of the limited quota, even though I did well in my study. 

            When one particular social group is being rejected to access to a needed education based on an unfair system or policy, it diminishes equity and justice in the society.  Using a discriminating system to limit certain group of people to education is unfair and inhuman. 

            When a person is discriminated under such unfair system, he/she will feel marginalized, excluded, humiliated, and dispirited.   On top of that, others in the society might stigmatize him as being intellectually inferior.  Studies found that when people are reminded that they are considered inferior cognitively, their performance may fulfill this prophecy.  It is said that when a person is expecting not able to do well in his performance can turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  I had been in that kind of feelings and dilemma for a number of years. 

            I believe the prejudiced incident can turn into an opportunity for greater equity if the society can work together in a structured environment to tackle the issues of bias and prejudice.  The attitudes and behaviors about diversity can change dramatically.