Farewell

• One hope that I have moving forward working with children and families is that I hope that I can spread an awareness of the bias that exists within our world and enlighten people about ways that we can remain open to both the views and experiences of others. I think this was one of the key bits of information that I took from this course and from learning in this program as well. Having and teaching others to have an awareness of the experiences and influences of society is key in being able to have an informed opinion and I think it is also the key to eliminating bias.
• I think one goal that I would like to set for the field of early childhood is to incorporate more of the cultural aspects of how people cope with challenging experiences into the curriculum. I was so inspired by the story about how one teacher dealt with death and loss in the classroom (Pelo, 2008) and how it really empowers children to find different ways to cope with issues that are very real to them. I think this is something that is so essential in terms of really working to understand these children and to see how wonderful their thoughts are about these concepts and how they think critically about the ways they choose to cope with the feelings that they have.
• I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to share with all of you and I hope that going forward that you all continue to work to find ways that inspire young children and families to achieve greatness. Good luck in all of your further endeavors!

References:

Pelo, A. (Ed.). (2008). Rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.