Professional Hopes and Goals

My hope for when I work with families in the future is that each of us will have the patience to get to know one another and the unique qualities that each side brings to the classroom. I want to be given the chance to get to know the unique traditions, values and beliefs that each child brings with them from their family and communities. I know that it takes a village to raise a child, that is why i feel their culture comes from more than just the immediate family that surrounds them. I want my classroom to feel welcoming and a place of acceptance for those to come in, share, and be a part of our classroom community.

One professional goal that I have for myself is to become more thoroughly acquainted with the idea of Microaggressions which we learned about in week 6. I want to know enough about this topic and the research behind it to compile a mini course specifically designed for all students to take at a college/professional level. I would make a case to the board that this is not just a course for teachers, or social workers, but for all students. We are all subjected to some sort of microaggression no matter who we are, but we also all give out microaggressions. Most of us are not aware we are making such a transgression, and knowledge is power. Giving people the self mindedness that comes from learning about microaggressions can help to create a more harmonious society and takes us further away from the ideas of discrimination as it should be.
I would have to say that the topic on microaggressions is one area that I would want to expand my knowledge about in a professional way. Seeing how I would like to one day teach a course on this topic, I should gain as much knowledge as possible about it. This is a topic that I knew nothing about for the first 27 years of my life, and I don’t like to think about how many indiscretions in this area I may have made in those years and not have had any idea. To me this is such a vital part of how humans function and categorize/empathize/sympathize that we are not even aware how it might be completely inappropriate. 

I wanted to thank all of my class mates for helping to expand my realm of thinking and push my limits to expand in the knowledge of this topic. Through our blogs and discussions, I have really had the opportunities to look at the world through your experiences and perspectives and that is something that I truly value! I wish you luck throughout the rest of your semesters and also your journey in the early childhood field, wherever you may go. 

Families from around the world

I would be teaching a UPK classroom and I decided to look up the country of Tonga.

First I would look up what language they speak so I know if I will need to get an interpreter somehow, or if we will be able to communicate. In Tonga, they speak both Tongan, which is an Austronesian language of the Oceanic subgroup, as well as English.

 I would look up information on the place/history of where they live.

• Tonga is a small island in the middle of the South Pacific. This is a country that is still ruled by a Polynesian monarchy, and where most Tongans live in small villages not big towns or cities.  This is the only pacific island that was NEVER colonized by a bigger nation or power.

Next I would look up information on their education system to see where that falls into their list of priorities.

• Tonga provides for its citizens free and mandatory education for all. Secondary education with only nominal fees and foreign-funded scholarships for post-secondary education! Tongans enjoy a relatively high level of education, with a 98.9% literacy rate, and higher education up to and including medical and graduate degrees (pursued mostly overseas).

Then I would look at religious belief or customs.

•  Everyday life is heavily influenced by Polynesian traditions and especially by the Christian faith; for example, all commerce and entertainment activities cease from midnight on Saturday until midnight on Sunday, and the constitution declares the Sabbath sacred forever. 

After religion, I would look up any cultural "hobbies"(for lack of a better word).

• the most famous local craft is the making of Tapa, a decorative bark cloth painted with traditional symbols and designs. Tapa is usually offered as a gift of respect at weddings, births and funerals. Tongan arts and handicrafts, including bone carving, wood carving, basket making and fine weaving made using techniques passed down through generations of Tongan craftspeople.

Finally I would look at their traditions.

•  Food is the occasion for a family gathering only at the end of the day. But they can eat freely during the course of the day. The ritual of kava drinking characterizes both formal and daily events. It is nonalcoholic but slightly narcotic. People sit cross-legged in an elliptical pattern whose long axis is headed by the bowl on one side and by the highest-ranked participant on the other.
• People shake hands when they meet, and relatives kiss by pressing each other's noses against their faces and soundly inhaling through the nose.
• Most food is eaten with the hands, although silverware also is used. It is customary to wash one's hands at the beginning and end of a meal.  
• The gesture of raising the eyebrows in conversation expresses one's understanding of the speaker's speech and is an invitation to continue. It is difficult for people to admit failure in understanding or to respond negatively to requests.

  
  I would know that I should be able to at least communicate with them to a certain point because we would speak the same language. Although depending on how frequently they used English they might not have as much vocabulary, but we could work through it together! I would also know how to greet them when we met, some cultures don't like to touch while others are very touchy/feely. Also the child might not use utensils often, so they might eat with their hands when we get lunch/snack in the classroom.

  
  Reference:

http://www.thekingdomoftonga.com/

Personal Side

One very strong memory I have that still effects me to this day is from when I was a little girl I was taking out of my first grade class and held back on the reasoning that I was not teachable, and not intelligent enough to move forward. Granted my parents were informed of this during open house (3^rd week of school). I was placed in remedial reading, and when I was in school that was a separate classroom where the kids who wore helmets and bibs would go during the day. Talk about a blow to self-esteem! This is an absolute time that I felt powerless. Of course I realize it more now as an adult reflecting on how I felt back then, than when I was living it. I felt as if I didn’t really matter and they just swept me under the rug because they didn’t want to deal with the “problem”. That’s how this assertion of power made me feel, like a problematic outcast.

Equity was completely and totally demolished and power was taken away from me by those who made me feel so low.  It wasn't until recent years that I would even talk about this situation, let alone how I felt because I always felt that I would be judged by those who knew the "truth" .