Good bye and thanks for joining me in my discovery of diversity

My goal within my programI hope that I can learn what I have learned throughout my coursework at Walden to better meet the needs of families in our program by listening, learning, asking and advocating for anti-bias eduction, equity and social justice, whatever my role.

One goal I have for the ECE field is that I am going to advocate more strongly that anti-bias, social justice, and equity courses be required by anyone working with children and not just a 2 hour introduction to the topic, a series that fully explores the topic.

I want to thank each of my classmates for allowing us to have a glimpse of your social identity through the course writings. Your explorations of diversity has helped me to grow as a ECE professional.  Without your stories and your feedback, the fullness and richness I experienced would have been minimal.  We are all in this together.

Thanks,

Brenda

I spoke with my brother in law who grew up in Equador, he gave me some insights into the “real” equador.  He told me one of the favorite instruments from his childhood was the “finger piano”.  He mentioned that music plays an important role in traditions and holidays. 

He also mentioned that there are very distinct ways of dressing based on which part of the country you are from.  Those that live in the mountains will carry their infants-preschoolers on their back so they can walk from village to market.  How women and men wrap their serape can tell you which part of the country they are from.

He mentioned that much of the fresh produce sold in fresh air markets are hauled in large baskets on the head from the more remote areas.  Quito, is unique mixture of urbanites and the indigenous populations living in concert.

He told me the main language spoken in Ecuador is bi-lingual English and Spanish or Portugese/Spanish.  Many of the indigenous populations have their own unique dialect of Spanish.

There is a combination of weather despite being located close to the equator due to the higher elevations of the mountains and volcanoes.

There are a variety of ways that children go to school in Ecuador.  My brother in law attended a boarding school in Quito while his parents were missionaries in the neighboring mountainous villages.  He recalls seeing the open-air classrooms in a hut in the center of the village where his parents lived.  Many of the schools require children to wear uniforms.

What to do to welcome the new student:

Have a lengthly conversation with the family about what they will remember from their time in Ecuador?  Ask them what brought them to America?  Where does their extended families live?  
What are some things we could do to make their child feel welcome and comfortable?  What are things if any that their child is struggling with.  Asking the family which area of Ecuador they lived in and what their lifestyle was like? Find out what languages they speak at home, then ask for their assistance in labeling common items in the classroom. 

Offering some music from Ecuador along with musical instruments like a thumb piano accessible.    Work with the family to incorporate art materials that would reflect what children in Ecuador might use.  Find out if there are favorite games their child enjoys playing or other activities unique to Ecuador.

Ask the parents to bring pictures of their life in Ecuador to share with the rest of the students.

Experience with oppression (ableism)

My son who had muscle and joint laxity experienced bias and prejudice while in school, especially elementary school.  He had an unusual gait and tended to pull muscles easily, so he could not run as fast or long as other children and was picked on and never chosen for sports teams.  This had a huge impact on his self identity and even to this day at age 31 he struggles with who he is and what he wants out of life.

            The oppression kept him from fully participating in team sports and pick up games.  He would go out for a sport and then be bullied so bad he would hide during practice and then come home like nothing happened.  His diminished sense of competency diminished his equity to participating.

            As his mother, my first reaction was anger on his behalf.  I wanted to protect him just as Nadiyah spoke about wanting to protect her son from prejudice.  I could see his pain over the years and try as  I might I could not help him.  I wish those people would have gotten to know him better, he has so many great traits that go beyond physical abilities.  I feel guilty that I failed him as a mother.

            Perhaps educating the coaches or the teachers on his disability and encouraging him to talk to me about his feelings.  We could also have offered more opportunities for him to participate in other sports.  We did teach him how to roller skate and enrolled him in Tae Kwon Do which he enjoyed and both of those were more about pushing yourself rather than being pushed by  teammates.  The harder thing to change her is the herd mentality of elementary aged children.  Educating the children on treating others with respect, offering them opportunities to process various ways they could include Josh in their acitivities.