I always find my "fire within" getting stoked when I engage in conversation about the current climate around national understanding of early childhood systems. Honestly, I think a part of this fire comes from the newness to my professional involvement in the field. In my eyes, early childhood care and education is a science. We make up a truly diverse field of people: children, their families both immediate and extended, various levels of governmental officials, community leaders, educators, researchers, policy makers, specialists, and the list will go on from there. No matter the level of involvements, some sort of early childhood education strucutre exists in each and every culture.

Yet, with that thought, I am always cocking my head to the side and racking my brain for an explanation as to why more people do not see our field to be scientific. Maybe it's because young children are just "so stinking cute,"  rather than being seen as incredible vessels for rapid neuro- and neurophysiology development. Fortunately, as the federal government has placed increased pressures of young learners to achieve as high as our disciplined, differently-structured international competitors, more policy makers have picked up on the fact that we need to invest more in these young children.


Even though the actions being taken at a higher level may not always be directly affecting classrooms and care settings, there have been major improvements made. Looking at states such as Oklahoma, we see that state governments aren't afraid to test out new programs and initiatives supporting young children and families. In stakes like OK, at risk children are being provided with a great deal of support prior to entering primary schools. State juvenile crime rates have since decreased, along with the high school drop out rates.

Educ 6765

After spending my first two years in the field working as a special education teacher in private early learning centers,I found my mind constantly wandering towards the notion that the families whom I was serving needed deeper support than they were given. I was always asking my supervisors questions about the different supports that were available, but they often were not able to give me answers that left me feeling dissatisfied. After attending several state and national NAEYC conferences, I found that the conversations that were taking place between professionals in the field (teachers, interventionists, administrators, policy makers) often were forms of advocacy. Having felt so invigorated by these conversations, I knew that obtaining a specialization in Advocacy & Policy within the field of early care and education would be the best immediate fit for me. 

Within early care and education, advocates serve as the voice for their most vulnerable population, one that does not have their own voice: children. Unlike many other fields, advocates of early care and education come in countless forms. Yet, often these people who hold the power to be the voice for positive changes in the lives and children and their families do not fully understand the changes that need to take place. The role of educated and skilled advocates is to assure that all involved parties, including policy makers, are provided with accurate and meaningful information. This information should reflect upon the understanding of the whole child, and the importance that "bigger picture" issues holds on improving the future for children all across the globe.

GOALS:
1. I plan to learn of one or several ways that I can further my direct effects as an advocate. (i.e. I plan to learn of specific organizations or advocacy groups that I can become involved with in order to further my own efforts.)
2. I plan to learn more about how policy is influenced at a state level in order to find more ways to utilize my knowledge to help guide and shape policies. 
3. I plan to learn about the different career options that may be available to me as an advocate. I would like to learn more about my options to help aid my plan to either stay in the classroom, or take my knowledge and passions into a totally different sector of the field. 

Entertainment Communications

Leading up to this week, I decided that I would consider watching a show that is totally unlike that of which I normally watch. Specifically, I chose to watch a wedding themed show: Say Yes To The Dress on TLC.

While watching this show for the first time, with the sound off, I paid especially close attention to the facial expressions of the future brides, their family members, and the bridal consultants. Knowing how stressful wedding planning can be, I figured that the facial expressions and general body language of the women that were featured in the episode would provide me with ample opportunities to understand the feelings of these women in a  monumental time within their lives.

Something that I found to be eye opening was when I noticed that the emotions of the brides were very clearly foreshadowed through their facial expressions. While watching without sound, I noticed that there were several tell-tale signs, such as a bride shifting her eye gaze downward while in a "solo-moment" with the camera. There had also been signs of frustration seen when the brides would approach their respective parties wearing certain dresses, but would express very solidary body movements, such as a lack of movement, or a dull, unexcited facial expression. When I turned the sound back on, I could almost sense the build up of emotions. With sound, I could hear the shift in tones when the brides would become discouraged. Yet, I also noticed that the respective parties would not always notice the same signs as I had.

All in all, I had realized that within many typical social situations for women, there seems to be somewhat of a social pressure to respond in certain ways. These women, these brides, had consistently expressed their desire to impress and satisfy the other women they were with.Yet, even though it was their big day at hand, their frustrations seem to have gone unnoticed. Most women would become visibly upset, yet their family and friends would almost always miss these subtle, or not so subtle cues. Especially in exciting situations, it seems as though many people become less aware of the feelings and responses felt by those around them, and rather hyperfocus on their own opinions and needs.

Culturally Responsive Scenario

• For this assignment, imagine the following scenario:
  You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

My family's country of origin is India.

I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family by:

-Learning the dialect that my family speaks, and understanding the differences between their dialect and other dialects in their country

-Learning the meal time traditions of families in India

-Learning about the religious holidays and traditions of this country

-Learning the traditional views on school, and home-school relationships in this country

-Learning the traditional gender roles and expectations of this country

I hope that my understanding of these specific things will allow me to understand the expectations that the family has on me as their child's teacher. I hope that I will understand ways to interact with the parents and the child so that I can increase their comfort level, and assure the eventual trust between myself and the family. I hope that I will be able to respectfully invite the family to share aspects of their culture with the classroom, but to do so in a way that does not appear abrasive or out of line. 

Microaggressions

One of my closest friends is a kind, intelligent, Caucasian woman. While in college, the guy that she had been dated was a first generation Indian. His parents were very conservative, and did not stray from their traditional cultures much. His parents were kind, respectful people. Yet, they insisted on the fact that their son marry an Indian girl. From what I understand, it took quite a bit of bargaining for them to agree to him selecting his own wife, as opposed to the traditional situation of an arranged marriage. When my friend began dating this guy, he alluded to his parents connection to their Indian traditions. Two years later, they moved in together. At this point, his parents still did not know about their relationships. Three years later, they still did not know about their relationship.

The whole time, I always felt uncomfortable by the situation. My friend's boyfriend truly loved her for who she was. Yet, he always remained faithful to his family. He knew how much it would hurt his parents if they were to find out. Although I never interacted with his parents, I knew that their idea of their son's hypothetical relationship with a non-Indian was something was discriminatory of someone that was raised different than themselves. His parents expressed a racial microagression towards my friend, deeming her unsuitable for their son simply because she was Caucasian. This microaggression was one of the major reasons why this couple, whom loved each other dearly, are not still together. It breaks my heart to know that my dear friend, someone who loves deeply, was stripped the right to date and marry a man of her choosing because of her race.

As a survivor of a major catastrophe, preserving my family's culture is something that would be essential to my own personal survival. The idea of continuing life in a brand new place, without any evidence of familiar culture, would be absolutely devastating to me. With the ability to select three items to bring with me as artifacts of my own culture, I surprising find myself with clear, quick selections.

The first item that I have chosen to bring is my grandmother's menorah. The menorah has been in our family for four generations, making it's own pilgrimage from Lithuanian, across Europe, and into the United States right in the heat of the Holocaust. This menorah holds value not only to my direct family culture, but the culture from which my ancestors originated. In regards to explaining this item to the people that have begun to host me, I will simply tell the story of Hanukkah and explain the similarities between the struggle of the Jewish people in relation to the struggle that my fellow survivors were experiencing.

The second item that I would bring with me would be that of my grandfather's purple heart. This medal represents the pride my family has for not only our country, but preserving the rights of others throughout the world. I choose this item as it is connected to a man that shared incredible, selfless qualities with my mother and her siblings. It also reminds me of the struggles that my family has overcome, both in their daily lives and in their quest for moral clarity. I can explain this item by telling the stories of my grandfather, both during this time of service to our country and to his family as well. Though the medal is small, it holds incredible weight to my self identity.

The third item I would choose to bring is a photograph of my immediate family. This possession is the one that I would hold on to if told that I were only able to keep one item. Through my family photograph, I will always have a vivid memory of the people who shape who I am. With the power of written and spoken word, I will be able to share with others the traits that my family has shared with me. These traits have all stemmed from various routes, many of which were influenced by the different cultures of which my parents were raised.