As I look to the future, my hope for children and families is that each person is recognized and celebrated for their differences. Each family provides a learning opportunity that can easily be missed in managing the daily hustle. I will strive to not only take the time with families and colleagues, but to listen....truly listen to their hopes, desires, expectations, and needs. My purpose will be to assist them in the acclimation to their new surroundings without sacrificing who they are.
My goal for the field of early learning is that we move beyond the token classroom diversity items to truly welcome our families. A welcoming environment needs to be more than a handful books with various races, multicultural dolls and play food. We need to share beliefs, traditions, recipes, and culture. Let the past help drive us to a new positive future. We need to make our classrooms meaningful and a 2nd home to all.
I would like to thank all of my colleagues who have read my posts and left comments. Your positive feedback in this journey has been astounding. A special thank you to Susan who's posts are always so articulate on the discussion boards and her blog. I commend you for your passion in striving for equality for all. You are a role model and I have learned so much from you.
Your heart and passion come through in all you write Arlene; I wish only the best for you. I have so enjoyed reading your posts and learning from you. You have encouraged me to think more deeply about my belief systems and passions. I hope we are in another class together as we continue this journey.
ReplyDelete~Lisa
Arlene, it has been such a pleasure to read your posts and learn from you over these past weeks. Your commitment to your profession is evident in your thoughtful words and creative ideas to welcome children and families. Thank you for reminding us to celebrate the beauty that is diversity! -Susan
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more when you said, “A welcoming environment needs to be more than a handful books with various races, multicultural dolls and play food. We need to share beliefs, traditions, recipes, and culture. Let the past help drive us to a new positive future. We need to make our classrooms meaningful and a 2nd home to all.” I think another big thing is to integrate families into the classroom. Too often I have seen/heard teachers complain that families are not more involved with their child’s schooling and no one volunteers to be a classroom helper etc. but at the same time those teachers are not very welcoming when parents and families are in their classroom. When classrooms feel stuffy or families feel like there are being an inconvenience or are not welcomed in the classroom then they will not come around.
ReplyDeleteThis class has been very interesting. For each week, we shared our identities from different perspectives. We learned to use our life experiences and apply them to the field of early childhood development. From learning of bias and prejudice from the dominant culture, I am now very conscious of what I can do for immigrant children. I hope to bring more equity to the immigrant community.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to read more of your ideas in the next class.
Yen
Arlene, thank you for sharing all your thoughts and insights throughout this course .I wish you the best in all you do. I like how you gave a special thank you to Susan :) her writings are such an inspiration to me as well.
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