PROFESSIONAL HOPES AND GOALS
One hope that I
have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that every early childhood professional will become mentally and educationally prepared to embrace every child and every family that is different. As we learn to become more accepting, we intentionally begin to break every hidden barrier that is existent within the culture.
A goal that I
would like to set for the early childhood field with regards to issues of
diversity, equity, and social justice is to create an atmosphere that is
non-judgmental within every early childhood sphere of influence that would promote acceptance,
promote tolerance and promote awareness of the many social identities that are existent and
viewed as controversial. By learning to embrace and interact with many of the cultural
differences this would promote personal growth and development and break every hidden barrier that is prevalent in the field.
Finally, I would
like to express my gratitude to all of my colleagues and our professor for making
this a memorable learning experience during these past eight weeks. I appreciate
your transparency, your insight, and your willingness to share your personal
experiences with us throughout the course to help bring clarity and
understanding of those difficult and challenging issues we had to discuss.
Hi Barbara~
ReplyDeleteI love your use of the word "embrace." I think that really sums up so much of what we have learned throughout this course. Embracing others, their differences, and learning from them would, as you said, begin to break down those hidden barriers! I've enjoyed reading your posts and getting to know you, hope to see you again in another course!
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteI share your goal to create an atmosphere that is non-judgmental in the early childhood field. After taking this class, I feel so much more knowledgeable about equity and diversity, and I feel that all educators should be mandated to take a course like this, and work diligently to eliminate prejudices in our young ones before they can be formed. Thank you for all your thoughtful posts that I have enjoyed reading this past eight weeks!