Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

For this week assignment we have to describe at least one microaggression that we detected this week or remember from one time.
According to Dr. Sue, microaggressions are brief everyday indignities that are verbal, behavioral or environmental, that they may be intentional or unintentionally communicated to women, to people of color, to gay/lesbians that have an insulting message behind them that often time causes severe psychological distress and harm.
I remember a time when I had to give a speech in front of a large audience for work. Some of the people I had never met before and the audience was a mixture of men and women of different ethnicity. I was nervous about giving the speech because I was not a speaker, I am a more pf a behind the scene person. After my speech two white ladies came up to me and said I did not know you could speak that well. I had a confuse look on my face and when I want people to repeat what they have said I always say excuse me. The ladies said again I did not know you could speak that well. You spoke really well and you are articulated your words. I said reluctantly thank you. I ask them what department were they from because I have never seen them before. They said they were from the youth department. I really felt sorry for the youth that they were over because they were clearly making a racist statement. I told my other coworkers what they said and they became upset and said do you know they were being racist. I said I know, but I did not want to start a riot so I left it alone. I was raised to pick and chose your battles and I did not want to battle with those two women because they may have not known what they were doing. I felt very uncomfortable and I already did not like to speak in front of a large crowd and this incident did not help encourage me to keep speaking.
The effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people can be permanent and damaging. Like the microaggression that I experienced, I speak in front of large audiences if I have to, but I do not choose to do it. I still feel uncomfortable and that incident happened in 2007. I do not understand how someone can think that they have a right to discriminate against someone else. I may not agree with something or like something, but I do not mistreat people because of my thoughts or beliefs. I treat everyone equally.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

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Perspective on Diversity and Culture

For this assignment we had to talk to three people (friends, family, acquaintance, and/or colleague) about their definition of culture and their definition of diversity.
I talked to my brother (Dexter), best friend (Rashad), and colleague (Barbara).

Rashad (30 years old, male, and Catholic) definition of diversity:
I think diversity is a catch 22. To be diverse in a sense of being able to adapt to different situations is vital. It's almost animalistic for one to "change" in a new environment. However one can lose their own identity in an attempt to "change". In modern society the push for diversity is so strong that I believe it's pretend or forced. The theory that America is "melting pot" is preposterous it is a victim of "forced diversity". Ships of individuals sent here where their culture was considered second class had to diversify...and that diversity still exist. 

Rashad definition of culture:
Culture is the thread to every person, it's our life! Culture is what creates wars...to fight for your culture is to fight for yourself.

Barbara (54 years old, Female, and Christian) definition of diversity:
My definition of diversity would be different groups of individuals who are of different races. Who accept each other for who they are despite their differences; whether is is their sexual preferences, beliefs, race, or gender. There are many different races in America who respect others beliefs and are not judgmental. The reason that America is called the melting pot is because of the diversity. 

Barbara definition of culture:
My definition of culture would be whatever a particular group's belief and values are. Culture is passed down from one generation to the next. For instance, at a young age my parents taught my siblings and I to respect others no matter how different they are from us. They also taught us to always be honest, humble, and willing to help others. I have instilled the same attributes into my children and from what I have observed with my grandchildren their parents have done the same thing.

Dexter (45 years old, Male, Episcopal) definition of diversity:
Diversity is the blending and understanding of a variety of cultures.

Dexter definition of culture:
Culture is simply the customs, traditions, values, morals, and beliefs of given group of people in a simple culture is who a people are with or without reason or explanation. 

The three people I spoke with gave some passionate definitions for diversity and culture. I think that this topic can become very controversial for some people. It made me think about what I think diversity and culture is. Diversity to me a variety of different groups from different backgrounds, religions, race, gender, social status, and sexual preference. Culture to me is a persons values, beliefs, and traditions. I think that Barbara and Dexter definitions were very close to mine and the definitions I have read from the text and articles. It was interesting to find out how each person think from 3 different generations and backgrounds. 

My Family Culture

This week we were asked to imagine ourselves in a major catastrophe were we would have to evacuate our country and we had no input in anything. We were asked to choose three things that we hold dear to us and that represent my family culture.

The 3 items that I would choose to take with me would be a picture of my family, a bible given to me by my mother, and my birth certificate. 

The family picture is important to me because it will remind me where I came from and if by any chance that I get separated from my family that I would not forget what they looked like.

 

I brought the bible with me because my help comes from the Lord. All the answers I need for everything that is going on in my life would come from that book. My religion is very important to me and I would need to take it with me everywhere I go. 

My birth certificate would be important to me because I need proof of where I was born. I needed a reminder and certification of my birth place. 

I would be very upset if I could only bring one of my items with me. I would be very heartbroken and I may even protest. All 3 of my items are very important to me and I need all 3 of them with me. If I truly had to the only item I would bring with me would be my bible. The bible would help me get through this hard time. 

I learned that my faith is stronger than I thought it was. I have been doubting my faith because I have been worrying about to many things that I do not have control over, but after reading my post I realized that my faith is strong in the Lord than I thought it was. My family has always been very strict about our Christianity and we always went to church and not just on Sunday's. I guess I have not lost those values and I will continue to use them. Years ago during slavery and the civil rights movement, religion was a major source for African Americans. They trusted and believed that the Lord would free them and get them through that time. The Lord is the only one who could help them sustain beatings and mistreatment by the dominant culture. 

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When I Think of Research..........

    

•  I have gained a lot of insight from taking this course. I have a better understanding of what research is and what steps to take to conduct a research study. I understand that every question may not be compatible for a research study. Some questions may be to broad and cannot be condensed into a hypothesis. I have learned that there are more than one method to conduct a research. For instance, there is quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. I learned how to turn my research question into a hypothesis. I learned the meaning of several words I was unfamiliar with. There is a lot of insight I have gained about research through this course. 

•      I was terrified of research before this course. I did not know the extent of doing a research study. I am more comfortable about doing research. I use to think that research was boring and I have found out through this course that research can be exciting and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication.

 

•      I learned that planning is very important. You must have a plan about your research before you can even start. I believe planning is important with everything you do in life. I cannot just up and go on vacation without planning the vacation because I would need to book the hotel, air flight, save money, put in for days off of work. The same goes for research; I would have to develop a research question, find material on my research question, decide on who I will use for my research, where I will do my research, and how I will do my research. Planning, designing, and conducting the research takes a lot of time and effort. 

•      A challenge that I encountered in the beginning of the class was my research question. My original research question was too broad and could not be condensed into a hypothesis, so I had to change my research question. Another challenge I encountered was understanding some of the terminology used during certain projects. It took me a minute to grasp the understanding and get a better understanding of what was being asked of me to do. Some of the feedback from my colleagues and instructor helped me better understand the terminology.

•           An early childhood professional has a lot of work to do. It is not as easy as most people may perceive this profession. Teaching, protecting, guiding, and developing young minds is a challenge. Working directly with children ages 0 to 8 years old can be very stressful and rewarding. Watching children grow and their families grow is very rewarding. Research in early childhood is very important because it helps protect the children and their families along with correcting any challenges that may occur in this field. Finding out why a child is so aggressive or why the child cries most of the day is very important to research in early childhood. With the knowledge of know what is going on with the child and the family can help both the child and family succeed in life. A child in poverty does not have to become an adult in poverty. Early childhood can make a difference in every community, nationality, and social background!

Research Around the World

For this weeks blog I have decided to view the website for Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) retrieved from http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php.

1. A current international research topic is early childhood development in the 21st century: children's rights to live, play, explore and understand the world. This research topic was chosen because of new and positive early childhood initiatives are being implemented in Liberia. According to ECDVU (2013), Liberia has made and developed high quality early childhood system. 
2. Another current international research topic is the difficulty to locate African based and African led research. According to ECDVU (2013), the issue has long concerned ECDVU as it has sought to locate such materials for incorporation into its courses. 

A surprising fact that I learned from ECDVU website is generative curriculum. Generative curriculum is an interactive process that links three main strands of knowledge about child and family development: students' and elders' knowledge from their cultures, text usually prepared by specialist on local and regional cultures, and Western and international research and practice (ECDVU, 2013). Generative curriculum shows that the community is strongly committed to their children's development. 

I found it very interesting that there is little no research topics based on Africa. I think that it is important for each country to have research conducted on early childhood. Research provides organizations to locate their weak areas and improve those weak areas. Research is good in early childhood because it allows agencies to know if the children are developing and if there are changes that need to occur. 

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Research that Benefits Children and Families

A positive example of the effects of research on a child and his family is one of this special needs boy enrolled in the agency I work for. This boy goes part-time at my school and part-time at a Chicago public school for his special needs services. The student was always coming to my school crying and upset. The school is always calling his mom telling her to come pick him up for any small incident. The boy may have been crying and the teacher would call for his mom to come and get him. The boy has a full developmental delay and he cannot speak. So I asked the mother if it was okay if I go over to the school to observe what was going on in the classroom at the Chicago public school. I went to the school and observed that the teacher immediately started to complain about the boy before he even took his coat off. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. The boy was trying to get the teacher's attention and she just ignored him. She yelled at him and told him to go sit down. The boy began to cry and the teacher told him that she was going to call the front office and have them call his mom because he was uncontrollable. After my observation I contacted my disability coordinator and told her what I saw and then I went to meet the principal and have a one on one with her. She was very upset about the situation and the teacher's action. I showed her the case notes I had on everyday that the teacher called for the mom to pick her son up and what the teacher told the mom when she called. The principal could not believe what she was reading. The principal informed me that she would speak to the mom and the teacher about this situation. The principal said that the teacher is trained and getting paid to work with special need children. She also said that the teacher has an assistant in the classroom with her at all times, so she should not be overwhelmed. The outcome of this situation was that the child was transferred to a different classroom and the parent was pleased. The child no longer came to my school crying or upset. He was happy and he was starting to say words. Every day I see the improvement in this little boy. The parent was happy that I was there to advocate for her child and get some better results out of the situation. The mother was on the verge of taking her son out of the Chicago public school because she was not happy. I convinced her to give me a chance to rectify this situation. The teacher may not know that she was doing a disservice to the child and the family by not even being willing to work with him. She never gave him a chance and I am glad that he is in another classroom. 

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Your Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose to research for this course is the effects on children in one small child care center when federal budget cuts happen. I chose this topic because I deal with this situation on daily basis. I have been in the early childhood field for eight years and federal budget cuts has been an issue that we have been battling every year. Every time the federal government announces the budget for the new fiscal year, child care is usually the first to get cut. The federal government does not understand the importance of early childhood and the difference that many early childhood programs are making in children lives. I have had families return to our program to let us know how well their child is doing and they always say they know it is because of us and the work we did with their children. We cannot continue to have success stories without the proper funding to operate. When the federal government cuts the budget to early childhood; that means some agencies will have to cut staff or salaries. One of the largest early childhood programs in Chicago had to close their doors because they could not afford to pay staff. The agency I work for recently cut all staff salaries and had to layoff some staff because of the federal budget cuts. We have limited supplies and limited staff. It is very stressful and it is causing staff to find employment elsewhere because of the budget cuts. The agency is loosing qualified staff because of these cuts. I know I am currently looking for employment elsewhere because it is a struggle to maintain my home on the salary that I am receiving. It is also frustrating to work with limited supplies and I cannot provide the services to the children or families. The stress of poor compensation and no supplies can drive a agency out of business.

I have a lot of personal experiences that stimulated this topic, but I am having a hard time starting the research process. Can anyone provide any ideas for me about where I should start or what should I actually be researching?

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