The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Opression

One hope I have when working with children and their families who come from diverse backgrounds is to let them know that they both are accepted and welcomed both in the classroom and the community. Their culture will become a part of the classroom curriculmn.

One goal related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to teach our young students to lead the change in diversity by being accepting of differences. The older adults biases and prejudices are theirs and not yours, and for you to make your own decisions on cultural diversity, equity, and social justice.

I thank my colleagues for being open about learning of their own prejudices and biases, and how they will make changes both in their personal and professional life. Your questions have made me to look inward to see what I need to change to become a better educator and person. Your support has been rewarding, and I wish you all a successful career in Early Childhood Studies.

Welcome Families From Around The World.

I have chosen the country of Ghana which is on the west coast of Africa. The native language of Ghana is English. The first thing I would do is to get to know about the culture of Ghana which includes its heritage, food, language, and gender roles. Next, I will learn about the educational system and what is expected of the students. Then I will get to know the gender roles of the parents. I will learn about the government system.  Lastly I will set up a meeting where I can meet with the student and her family.

The parents will be asked about what are their education's goal and expectations for their child. An open line of communication will be extended to the parents through email, phone, or a face to face meeting. Any concerns of the parents will be addressed. My classroom will explore the different cultures of my classroom every week instead of one holiday or special occasion. Then I will ask te parents to tell me about their child.

After meeting the parents, then I would get to meet with my student. I will ask her what are her favorite games, food, and television shows. Next I will ask her about her favorite subjects, and the ones which are not her favorites and why. She will know that there will always be open communication between me and her and her parents. I will tell her what are the expectations of the classroom and the goals that we are going to meet.

These preparations will let the parents know that I care about them and their child. I will get to know my student academicaaly, socially, and emotionally. I will bring real world experiences which connect my student with the curriculum. The classroom will be safe and welcoming. Students will be encourage to care for one another both inside of and outside of the classroom.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression.

I was wondering what I was going to write about, and then I see tis article in my facebook feed. Georgia Southern students burn speaker's book after lecture.  Jennie Capo Crucet is  Cubean American novelist and short story writer. She was speaking on her novel "Make Your Home Among Strangers" that follows the story of a Hispanic girl, inspired by her own struggle growing up in a predominately white environment. Her speech was on White Privilege "But some students objected to her remarks doing the question-and-answer part of the lecture.

Jennie Capo Crucet spoke of white privilege being a real thing and benefiting the dominant culture. "Students at Georgia Southern literally burning my novel, This is where we are, America" (Crucet, 2019)". One student pressed her about her statements on the majority of white people being privileged."The student ask what make you believe that it's okay to come to our campus like this, when we are supposed to be promoting diversity on this campus, which is what we are taught. I don't understand what the purpose was." (Crucet, 2019) Her response was because I was invited, and I talked about white privilege because it is a real thing that you are actually benefiting from right now in even asking this question.

The students had a hostile reaction that reminded her of an encounter in her real life. The students begin shouting back and forth at each other. She asked the faculty to follow up with the student and the other students who were shouting at each other and for them to have a meaningful conversation.
This shows that some people in the dominant culture does not realize the privileges that are afforded to them. This shows how some races feel dominated by the dominate culture. The only way to remedy the problem is to have open discussion which may be uncomfortable at times.

Reference:
Svokos, Alexander. 2019 ABC News.