Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week’s lesson was focused on microaggressions and this week I had the unfortunate experience to witness a microaggression take place. My girlfriend and I were driving on the road and her tire blew out, luckily we had a spare but we decided to check with local tire centers to try and purchase a new one. After some searching we found a place and so we preceded to tell the man what exactly happened and give him the information about the car/tire, when the man stops us mid-sentence and says, “Are ya’ll gay?” We turned and looked at each other and replied, “Umm…yes we are lesbians, why do you ask?” The man replies by saying, “Why would ya’ll want to be that, did something happen to ya’ll? Do ya’ll sleep with men, give me a try I won’t disappoint ya’ll?” Now while this man was babbling on asking all personal questions, my girlfriend and I stood there feet frozen shocked that some human being would have the audacity to ask those questions to our face. I was able to gather from this week’s lesson and from the articles provided that the microaggressions taking place in this incident were microinsult and microinvalidation. The man made an assumption that not only was rude but was very hurtful, that somehow the reason why we were lesbians was due to something horrific taking place and I have found that many individuals often believe that homosexuals are raped or molested which makes them choose the same sex. It is my opinion that those individuals have a cloudy since of imagination and just do not understand the LGBT culture. I believe that once people break down that barrier of ignorance or hate that they would be able to really get to know the LGBT community and realize that we are all human, just with various preferences. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

When I think of culture and diversity, I first take a look and look at the closest people around me, and for this week’s post I wanted to share how my friends and colleagues define culture and diversity.  I had the privilege to speak to Mrs. Julie Harvey (Trinidad infant/Toddler Lead Teacher), Ms. Shriya Ambi (Indian Preschool Teacher), and Mr. Malcolm Ramsey (African-American Curriculum Specialist). I asked the three the following questions:

·         What is your definition of culture and diversity?

·         What affects have the two had on your professional career?

Mrs. Julie Harvey when asked stated the following:

            “I believe culture and diversity are two of the same because there are no way you can have one without the other. I would say that culture deals with the various groups of people in one society and diversity is the mixture of all the groups. I believe that culture and diversity has influenced my professionally career for the better and has made me take a closer look at all families and children and even at times colleagues”.

Ms. Shriya Ambi stated the following:

            “Diversity is what this world is about and defines the many individuals who are present on this present Earth. I feel that culture is what makes us all humans and is displayed in all the things that we say, do, dress and think. For me understanding culture and diversity is complex as the groups of people change but at the same time creates an everlasting learning experience”.

When asked Curriculum Specialist Malcolm Ramsey responded in the following way, saying:

            “As early childhood education and the field as a whole changes, so does the types of families early learning centers around the world service. As a professional I am able to see the effects of culture and diversity on the learning environment and can conclude that culture and diversity are teaching tools to understand all types of people and their backgrounds. Culture is what makes them who they are and diversity is what sets them apart from the rest”.

From my colleagues responses I am to gather how outside individuals view culture and diversity and how the two impact the field. I was also able to see that my colleagues did not touch on ethnic groups, race, religion and other key components of diversity and culture. It was very interesting learning about culture and diversity and learns about how outside individuals put each subtopic into their own category, and are able to incorporate the two into a lesson, complex thought or simple statement. I believe this assignment has allowed me to gain a true appreciation for other people and to fully respect all things that make them who they are and them family that they have.

My Family Culture

If I was put into a position to be evacuated from my home country and placed into another country I would bring along a bible, radio with various cassettes and a family photo album. I would take this item because the bible will serve as my comfort in my time of need and give me understanding of the situation in which I was faced, the album will allow me to remember my family as they were and keep them close to my heart and the radio will allow me to think of all the good times I had being around my old neighborhood, family and friends and also help bridge the gap between myself and the host country.

I believe the act of actually having to leave my homeland and being placed into another would be very hard and difficult for me to understand, but if I were told to leave two of my selected items behind I would be devastated to the core. In that time of confusion I would depend on having at least my bible and my family photo album with me to help me cope with losing things and family members who were so dear and important to me. From doing this exercise I am able to see how I would never want to be in a situation where I am away from those individuals and things that matter most to me. I am also able to see how by having these things that make up the person I am and shine light on my family heritage.

When I Think of Research...

          

As I continue my education here at Walden University, I am more aware of the values of certain courses as they pertain to my professional growth.  I valued the Building Research Competencies course because I was able to really learn in-depth about the research process and all the components I must be familiar with from a researcher’s perspective. I feel as if I was exposed to many terms, designs, and formalities that could really take my career to the next height and make me better for my students and their families.  From this course I was exposed to the quantitative and qualitative research design and from that knowledge I learned about two processes I was not very familiar with, which at times during course readings became a true challenge to understand. I truly believe this course allowed me to look at research from all angles and see the importance of the participants and also the overall message gained from conducting the research.  Although I was familiar of research, I must say that I was not always aware of every component and their specific function (i.e., variables & triangulation). I really appreciated how the authors gathered information that was clear and precise and was able to display the function and true value of all key items in research. I am extremely grateful for having taken this course, because I feel I gained a true appreciation for research and all the work and effort that researchers put into high quality research design. 

Research that Benefits Children and Families-Uplifting Stories

If I was presented with an opportunity to conduct a research study, I would like to explore what are the positive and negative effects of growing up in a gay or lesbian household have on young learners in the early childhood field and effective ways professionals could interact with those families?  This potential study is important to me because in the near future my partner and I would like to have children and we find it crucial to research all that we can on the subject. I personally would like to know what psychologists, educators and other professionals have to say and possibly any tips that could help us become better parents if presented with that opportunity.  I find the topic also important because there are many people who feel a certain way on gay and lesbians families and see these families as wrong and dysfunctional. There are different types of family structures and from a previous course, I was able to learn that that whatever the family structure is, that there can be positive and negative effects in heterosexual, single parent, gay and lesbian homes.   I believe that although outsiders may not agree with the various types of families, that through research those naysayers will sing a different tune. 

Your Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose for the simulation is diversity & building positive relationships. I would like to know more about the topic because I know firsthand how this topic has influenced my perspective in the classroom and also how important the partnership between professionals and families are, in regard to the whole being of the child. I also chose this topic because I wanted to research various ways to initiate and offer continual support to diverse families and build strong lasting relationships with them.

From completing the research charts thus far, I have the opportunity to learn new words that are associated with the research process. I believe that by learning these various words that I would be able to grow in this profession and also learn more new and exciting things dealing with the early childhood education field. I also believe I benefited greatly from learning about the high quality guidelines for analyzing research. The guidelines for me, gave me the stepping stone needed to find meaningful research information and be able to notice low quality information.

How do you research information and what are some things that you personally, look for first?

What benefits could research serve in your current or future position? 

Issues and Trends: Change, Contexts, Consequences, Constants Revisited (Blog)

Post at least three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for your professional and personal development (any format, any length)

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for me include, connecting with a diverse group of early childhood education professionals, awareness to issues that affect children in various countries in the field of early childhood education and also research for professional growth. I believe these things are important because they made a huge impact on how I view professionals working in my profession and most importantly brought awareness to issues and trends that affect me as a professional and the children.

        

Post one goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations

I believe this course allowed me to view early childhood education as a whole, both locally and internationally.  I have decided for my goal on international awareness that I would continue to reach out to international professionals and also I would share any resources provided/given with my colleagues to keep them aware as well.