Early Ed Studies: Professional Hopes and Goals

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have in working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I would really want them to learn more about each other’s culture, not just in the classroom environment but to encourage them to have dinner together, share in a family activity with one another and learn more about their own prejudices and be open to changing them.

One goal for the field of early childhood that I would like to set is in terms of equity. I would like to see more early childhood groups, centers, early interventionists, and many other settings provide more equitable experiences for children that are differently abled. I would like to see them be given the same opportunities that are afforded to anyone else rather than being separated. I think it is so important to afford everyone the same opportunity and experience whether they come from a different level of income, a different level of ability, or a different race just to name a few.

I really would like to thank all of you for sharing such amazing thoughts and really enlightening my point of view and perspective on the topics of culture and diversity and what they mean to all of us in this field. Good luck to all of you and I wish you nothing but the very best!

2 comments:

GinnyJune 20, 2012 at 10:21 PM
Adaiah,
I hope that we can find innovative ways to encourage diverse participation within groups. Surely through colleague collaboration ideas can be shared and a change can take place. I also would like to see some of the same things you would in terms of more help within the educational environments for diverse learners. It seems like this is lacking all over the country. I'm sure some of it boils down to money issues, but if it were only as important as testing our students the funding would probably appear. This class has been very informative and I think it has set us all on our way toward making positive differences within ourselves and others.
Ginny
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Julie RandJune 23, 2012 at 1:20 PM
I think that you touched on an important point that we should encourage children and families to learn more about each other's cultures and not just to "get along" in the classroom. Early intervention is an important piece that I would agree we need more of in the early education field and it definately would support equity! Thank you so much for your insight throughout this course!
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Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because I believe they shape every part of who I am in some way, shape, or form. I believe that we are very much so influenced by the relationships we carry with others whether it is positive or negative by the people who are in our lives. I think that one of the most positive relationships that I carry in my life is the relationship I have with my father. He is and has always been the most consistent person in my life and he has been the motivation for a lot of the choices I have made in my life. I think this has been one of the most positive relationships in which I have been engaged in because of the consistency that it provides in my life not just by being physically present but by being an encouragement to me to seek more positive relationships that are similar to it. This relationship has really set the precedence in my life for a lot of the other relationships I have chosen to engage in. There are many challenges that one can have through the course of relationships with others and I think that one of the main challenges is trying to enhance the longevity if the relationship. I think it is so important and vital to nurture the relationships through really making time for it and encouraging its growth by talking to one another, investing in the things that are of interest to one another, and communicating your needs honestly with each other. In addition, I might think that special characterisitics of the relationships that I have personally engaged in are that they must have some degree of consistency and some sort of balance. Having a relationship with someone where you both take equal stock and investment in the relationship I think is very important to the survival of the relationship. I think primarily this relationship impacts my work as an educator because I know how important it is to carry on a relationship with someone and have them understand who you are and feel that who you are is important to them and this is what I apply to my relationships with the families that I am blessed to serve and work with everyday.

My Childhood Web

As a child I'm sure that we can think of many people whom we were important to and who are important to us. In taking the thime to think about the people in my life who cared about me and made me feel special as a child, two very specific people came to mind. I have always kept a very small circle of people so it's not surprising to me that I could think of two main people who I knew without a doubt I was important to as a child.

The first person was my dad. He was and still is the person who is always consistently there for me whom I lean on for any and everything. He has always supported everything that I do from going to recitals, basketball games, and even watching me graduate. He has always been the person who provides me a lot of consistency in my life and he always inspires me to do better by offering me encouragement and supporting my goals and even by doing things as simple as taking the time to inquire about what goes on in my life always reminds me that I am important to him. He is a figure who remains active in my life and I'm sure that even when I'm 35 or 40 and he's still around, I'm sure I'll still call him to come over and help me kill spiders (which really boils down to an excuse to see him). My dad helps me to continue to succeed by supporting me in my ventures in my education and my career and when anything else comes up I'm sure he will be there to support me through that too.

The second person who immediately came to mind was my god sister and best friend, Noel. She was everything to me. She was my partner in crime (in a good way). She was always really supportive of me and she always listened to everything that I had to say no matter how silly it was. She was the person who made me feel good about everything that I was by showing me that she needed me just as much as I needed her. She made me a part of her family and even though she isn't here anymore I still see her family at least once a week and she has given me something that can't be bought. A whole new family with people who love and support me and take interest in the things that I do. She was very much an inspiration to me and she still is now. She is the reason why I chose to do this work. She inspired me because even though she had a lot of difficulty with her health she never let that stand in the way of her faith or in the way of our friendship. She was the first person who showed me how important I was to her by telling me that she loved me every time I saw her and I have never forgotten how that made me feel and now I do my best to do the same to the people that I know and love.

About Me

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Professional Hopes and Goals

2 comments: