Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

I am pretty sure I have experienced microaggressions throughout my life.  However, I can vividly recall the experiences with my daughter better.  There is one particular incident that I can recall when my oldest daughter was about 2 years old.  My husband and I were in Belk, and we were having a conversation with my daughter like we always do.  An older Caucasian woman kept following us and staring at us.  She made us feel weird because we couldn’t figure out why she was staring at us.  After about 5-10 minutes of staring at us, she came over to us said that she noticed my daughter spoke so well and that she was so nicely dressed.  This lady really looked and sounded very shock that an African American child could speak and dress so well. She didn’t say it, but her facial expression and wording said it all.  My husband and I told her we wouldn’t have it any other way.  We told her that we never talked “baby” talk with her, and we have always used correct English with her. We advised her that we make sure she is well dressed where ever we go.  This is one thing both of our parents taught us. When you go out you are representing yourself and your parents and don’t go anywhere looking a mess.  My mom always said even if you have on jeans and a t-shirt make sure your hair is combed whenever you go out because you never know who you may run into.  My husband and I get comments like those all the time with both of our daughters.  I guess society plays a major part in how African American children are viewed as always speaking “slang” or not being dressed appropriately.  In today’s society it’s sad to see that people still see race as being a factor when it comes to a person’s speech, intelligence or the way they dress. As I reflect on this week’s information on microaggressions, I feel we must work together as a society to eliminate stereotypes such as these.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

The conversations I had this week on culture and diversity were very interesting.  I spoke with two of my friends who were males and one female.  Each ones perspective on diversity and culture was similar because they seem to only think of what’s on the surface.  I explained to them that culture goes way beyond the surface, and with “deep” culture we can find out a lot more about a person. They all seemed to think culture and diversity was one in the same.  Their definitions of culture were mostly what you see on the outward appearance.  They believe that culture is a person’s traditions, beliefs, attire, food, language, and religion. They believe diversity is what makes a person different. Diversity can be several things, but it’s is what makes us understand why we are all different. The aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course helps me understand what makes us who we are.  Culture is basically what makes a person who they are.  Diversity on the other hand is how we look at people.  Diversity helps us better understand that we are all raised differently.  However, it makes us learn to be open to learning about different cultures and the way things are done.  This exercise helped put some things in perspective on culture and diversity.

My Family Culture

If I was in the middle of a major catastrophe that completely devastated the infrastructure of my country, I would have trouble choosing three small items to take away with me. The three items that I would chose would be my Bible, family photo, and a locket that my daughters’ gave me for Mother’s Day.  My first item would be my Bible because my faith in God is what keeps me grounded. My family’s faith in God is what makes us stronger.  I can read my Bible and remember that trouble don’t last always.  I may be in a catastrophic situation at that moment, but God didn’t bring me this far to leave me now.  The second item I would bring would be a family photo.  I would bring this photo in the event that we got separated.  This photo will remind me that I can weather the storm because I have to survive for my family.  The third item will be a locket that my daughter’s gave me for Mother’s Day.  I would bring this because my girls are my world.  I am an only child so I cherish every gift and moment that I am able to spend with them.  If upon arrival to the refugee camp I was told that I could only keep one item, it would have to be the Bible.  The Bible will provide a daily guide for me and my family.  It will give us reassurance that the catastrophe is only temporary.  I feel confident that it is the only item that my family and I would need to take with us.  This assignment really made take a step back and look at what matters the most to me. I realized that all the material things I really wouldn’t miss.  I realize that family is all that matters. If we can weather the “storm” together, we can conquer anything.  I pray that we never experience a catastrophic event.  However, our faith in God will see us through any situation.

When I Think of Research.....

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

I have gained a lot of valuable insights after taking this course.  I learned a lot of information that helped me understand the research process in detail.  I now have a better understanding of how to select a topic, how to formulate a research question and hypothesis, how to collect data, how to analyze data, and most importantly how to ensure the study is valid.

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

My ideas about research have changed a lot.  When I first started this course I thought it was going to be a boring research class where you had to write a lot of papers.  My perception quickly changed after I learned how to effectively do research without wasting a lot of time.

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

I have learned that when conducting research in early childhood, the researcher should plan carefully to eliminate wasting his/her time as well as the participants. The researcher should always use credible sources to make sure the study will be valid.  The researcher should remain ethical at all times. This will help protect the children and families during the research process. The researcher should also remain transparent throughout the process.  These key points will help ensure the success of the overall study.

What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

The greatest challenge that I encountered during this course was narrowing down a research topic.  I originally chose autism which is a very broad topic.  I had to narrow down to very specific subtopics that could be researched in a reasonable time frame.  I was able to overcome this challenge by reading through some articles that were related to my topic, and I had to decide what information I wanted to learn from the study.

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

My perception of early childhood professionals who perform research has changed tremendously.  Those researchers deserve a lot of credit for the work they do. They spend countless hours doing the research and analyzing the data.  That can be time consuming which means they are probably away from their family a lot.  It takes a special kind of person to be a researcher because you truly have to be dedicated to the area of study to make sure the study goes smoothly.

Research Around the World

For this week’s assignment, I explored early childhood in Australia through the website www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au . Early Childhood Australia (ECA) has been advocating for children in Australia for many years. As I read the research topics on the early childhood website I realized that the issues and concerns in early childhood are similar across the globe. The Australasian Journal of Early Childhood (AJEC) is Australasia’s foremost scholarly journal and the world’s longest-running major journal within the early childhood field. The topics  range from Supporting literacy learning in the early years, Mothers’ perspectives on learning through play in the home, Inclusive pedagogy from a child’s perspective, and Recognition of family engagement in young children’s literacy learning.  The insights I learned about early childhood was from the parent resource tab. There was a lot of helpful information for parents under that tab. The other noteworthy information I found was about Early Years Connect which is a professional development package which has been designed to support early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators working with children with complex additional needs. This includes children with a disability, significant development delay and complex social, emotional and behavioral needs.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

The topic I would research is the lack of funding for early childhood programs. The lack of funding for early childhood programs have  become a major concern for several states.  This issue personally hits home for me because I have a 3 year old that I tried to get in head start.  We were denied because of income guidelines, but they said my child would be placed on a waiting list.  When I received that letter I was surprised because I want my daughter to attend preschool.  I only wants what's best for her.  I would love to have preschool that I don't have to pay for.  The issue is a major concern for a lot of families.  If I could research how to get a grant for more program funding, that would make a big difference for children and their families.  The positive contributions will be having more programs will help more families succeed in the future.

My Research Journey

The topic I would like to know more about is autism, and how it’s diagnosed in children ages 3-5.  I know that autism is a very broad topic.  I would like to learn ways to teach students with autism.  My professional reason for choosing this topic is I am thinking about teaching Special Education, and I want to learn about different disabilities that affect the learning process.  My personal reason for choosing this topic is I have a close friend whose daughter was diagnosed with autism.  Autism is a controversial topic in education that people need more clarity on.  Autism currently affects a lot of children, and I am just wondering why we are seeing a rapid increase all of a sudden.    My friend stated that her life has changed since this diagnosis, but becoming more educated about autism has helped her through.  She said it’s hard knowing that your child is different from other children. As educators, our focus should be on how to  make instruction time work with children with autism. This will help us work with the child and adjust to each unique way that they learn and deal with everyday life situations.