Professional Hopes and Goals

I hope that the theories, and the lessons learned be forever planted in our hearts and that we strive to make a better tomorrow for everyone!
As a child advocate I must release and have a clean slate of any child and the families in order to serve those best.  We have to explore social justice by being active and we have to want to know what differences we share between one another and then accept those differences.  That diversity has to be defined to myself as a professional and be able to accept their differences as well as what may make us connect.  My goal is to establish or even advocate for an organization that dwells in investing in our children, so that they  may make the difference in the world.

I would like to first, thank  Dr. Davenna Williams, for her wisdom, diligence, patience and dedication she has poured into this course so that we could properly absorb, gain, and achieve from .  Your perspective directing and sometimes redirecting our ideas were taken very well.  Thank you!  To my fellow classmates, thank you for your correspondence and your perspectives that help to generate deeper thoughts and ideas.  Good luck in the completion of the course and the next course.  

Welcoming Families from Around the World

Country of Origin- Ethiopia
Here are five ways which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this Family

I would research the native language of the family and learn key words that are familiar to those of this origin, that will enable me to greet them or use occasionally.

To ensure inclusion and that those individuals are welcomed, I would post pictures or artifacts that has it origin to make them feel at home.

I would include their family to participate and elaborate and share some of their traditions from their family's native land.

I would host a dinner and have different families to bring their most famous or favorite dishes.

I would design the curriculum that is based on cultural and expose different cultures to all students, also as a form of introduction.

My main objective would be to make sure the child and family felt comfortable and welcomed.  I would establish a relationship with the child and family to assure trust and openness.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I have a younger cousin who is very attractive, in fact, she’s beautiful.  Two years ago she graduated and went off to college.  Her father is one of my favorite cousins, is very instrumental in her life, very knowledgeable when it comes to “street smarts” and is a great history buff.  His daughter is beautiful, and very intelligent and a very kind hearted person.  Immediately, after she moved into the dorms, she met someone.  The guy, had tattoos for days, everywhere! Wore his hat backwards, pants half way down, and just about every picture he took, he never had a shirt on.  When her dad saw these pictures, it was War War III.  He was livid and some of us, as concerned family members.   After a while, these two became inseparable.  We learned to love him and we accepted him.  This year, my family is visiting Martha’s Vineyard, he is planning to propose to her.   There are so many things they have accomplished together.  However, we chose to condemn him before we got to know him.  Those micoaggressions of our own internalized oppression's of the stereotypical “bad boy” entered our minds when we saw the picture of him with all the tattoos and the hat wearing backwards, without the shirt on.  We immediately judged him as being the total opposite of who is really is.  He’s hard working, edger for education, respectful, funny, and loves my cousin til the end of the earth.    It certainly would have been a misfortune if she would have listened to her family members and disregarded this young man.

My feelings about how we misjudge this young man are quite naturally, sad.  The sad thing about it, is how often do we do this? How often does this happen in everyday life, interviews, customer service, business transactions, or just regular conversations.   As educators we should want to recognize and alleviate any of these internalized oppression's, so that we become free of these biases and better teachers, and more diversified.    

This scenario turned out to be successful and no hard feelings were felt and but what about the couple whose family members didn’t like her/him, how did their relationship work out?  What bias or stereotypes or prejudices were pass on considering them.  We just have to be cognizant of what we say and how we think.  

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

I have mixed feeling about practicing awareness of microaggressions.  Does it make us a little too sensitive now? Or Does it encourage us to be extra careful what we say to each other?  This week, I’ve experienced and can point out some microaggressions in which I believe were not intentional. I do not have a regular 9-5 job where I physically have to transport to; however, I care for children (children transitioning out/in foster homes) in my home, morning, noon, and overnight most of the time. My schedule is very unpredictable, so when people ask me what I do for a living, although, I am technically unemployment, I will tell them that I am home schooling children right now.  With that in mind, I think people picture in their mind, I probably am unavailable 9-3.  I was just placed on 4 different committees, the  president said “ Deb we need your creativity and efforts for  the Father’s day program, the Daughter’s Anniversary program, the regional Sewing session, and I’ll need you to assist Rhonda to keep her on track, since you’re available during the day, you can work your magic and help us organize these programs.   I want to be able to see who’s doing what.”   The level of awareness of this unintentional person has not considered my time schedule, the fact that I did not volunteer as I usually do, and expected or assumed that my availability is open simply because I am not employed.  The microaggression was her not considering the fact that I do not have a traditional 9-5 job; however, I still am not available or have a lot of downtime, as she may think I do.

 What I observed is that sometimes, we assume that the next person either does the same or similar things we do ourselves, or we create our own definition of what perceived.  Awareness is everything, even though somethings are not intentional done to harm or hurt anyone, sometimes what we say can cut a person worse than any other weapon.