Revolutionizing ECE

I desire when I work with children and families from multifarious backgrounds that I understand their differences and remove my own biases from the relationship. I hope to subsume their culture into the center and their child’s classroom. I love history but I do find it arduous to be intrigued in someone else’s ethnicity if it does not relate to me subjectively.

The mission I would like to attain in the early childhood field related to equity is building an ECE program in low income neighborhoods that has all of the assets of high income ECE centers. I have seen there is a big variation between centers who are low income versus high income. It should be a level “playing ground” when it comes to education and it is not. I think educating our children under five and continues through to high school will help to mend the social injustices.

I would like to thank the professor and my fellow classmates for their perspectives and inputs into my perspectives. I have really grown in this class and have learn about subjects that matter to people that I never really thought of.

Family from Benin Africa

I actually did have a family that is from Benin, Africa. We noticed that he may not know much English and knew his home language only. We tried to find out what language his family spoke. Mom would not tell us but Dad told us it was benin. I tried to look it up but the main language spoken there is French. Benin may be an almost lost language (Benin). I would try to get some common benin phrases such as, lunch time, sit down on the carpet, nap time, outside time, etc. I would try to research the culture of Benin and include pictures in the classroom. I would also try to talk to his pictures and have them bring in family pictures. Lastly, I would teach his classmates about Benin as well so they can learn a different culture. These suggestions will benefit me because I will understand how to teach appropriately. Also it is beneficial to the family because they feel included and important as well as the child.

Benin. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ethnologue.com/country/BJ

"Big Momma"

I remember working for an afterschool program where I cared for children ages 4 to 12 years old. There was a heavy set dark-skinned girl who was crying on the field. I asked her what was wrong. She said that a particular girl kept calling her “Big Momma”. I confronted the girl and told her how mean her statement was and how much it hurt her feelings. The girl looked at me with such confusion. It looked as if she did not know how much that statement hurt her. I hope I did not get onto her to harshly because I know how it feels to get picked on during that age. Even though the “bully” did not understand her microaggression it was very unfair to her to feel less than a person because of her weight. It was unfair to have to sit there on that field and miss out on playing with other children because her feelings were hurt. I myself was hurt and imagined myself as that child who was bullied because I was considered a “cry baby”. I now know that I was just highly sensitive. I did not stand up for myself when I was younger. When I was talking to the girl bully that was probably the little girl inside of me finally defending herself. The bully will have to change in this scenario because she has to learn how her words can affect others feelings. I as a teacher had to teach that to the bully.