Microaggression

Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time. In what context did the microaggression happen? What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggression?

I was trying to go back in my mind to forms of microaggression that I have witnessed. I was having a hard time recalling any.  I remember going out with a group of people in college. We were all discussing where we should go to dinner; someone suggested that we go to a fried chicken joint. My girlfriend said I do not like fried chicken. A friend of ours said, I thought all your people like fried chicken and watermelon.  We all laughed including my friend. Now I realize now that it was a microinsult.  My friend never mentioned it to me, but now I wonder what my friend really felt.  Looking back, I feel sad that she could have been hurt.

In what ways did, your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people.

This week my family and I drove 2000 miles to our new home in Florida. Along the way, I encountered many different people and often people watched. I paid attention to some of my thinking and some of my thinking saddened me.  I always strive not to be judgmental; however, I realized this week that I do make judgments on the inside. I was sitting in a play area in a shopping center. A family walked up. The husband was dressed in shorts, t-shirt, and sandals. The little girl was dressed in a fashionable summer dress. The mother was covered from the top of her head to her ankles.  Being new to this climate, I thought, man, she must be hot. I immediately thought, her husband must be cool, must be nice. I gasped inside knowing that I had assumed the woman was uncomfortable and I have no knowledge of the woman’s thinking or culture.  This week’s studies have made me aware of how I think and view the world around me. I am working on changing it and having less discriminatory, prejudice, and discriminatory thinking. 

I heard this poem many years ago (before 2006) and I loved it and wanted to share it.

And you call me coloured..??

Written by an African child and nominated by The United Nations
as the Best Poem of 2006.

And you calling me colored??

When I born, I black.
When I grow up, I black.
When I go in sun, I black.
When I scared, I black.
When I sick, I black.
And when I die, I still black.

And you white people.
When you born, you pink.
When you grow up, you white.
When you go in sun, you red.
When you cold, you blue.
When you scared, you yellow.
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you grey…

And you calling me colored??

Culture definitions

I was not surprised by the answers I received from the three individuals I spoke with about culture and diversity.  All of their definitions contained predominantly surface culture. Traits that can be physically seen such as skin color, where a person is from, the kinds of food they eat, and religion. All three seemed stumped, just as I have in the past. It was almost as though it took them much thought to come up with the answers they provided.     It is unfortunate, that many do not realize or understand the depth of culture and diversity.

Omitted from the definitions I was given that I had omitted as well was, language, beliefs, and the basic how others live and think differently. I never thought of culture and diversity being personal to each individual despite the surface culture.

I too, before this class was stuck at the top of the iceberg, only seeing what was visible. The adventure and reward is looking deeper underneath the water line of an iceberg. 


Here are some quotes on culture and diversity from many famous diverse people . You may enjoy them.  

https://www.ufic.ufl.edu/Documents/20%20Quotes%20Praising%20Cultural%20Diversity.pdf

My Culture and Diversity items

Imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

A description of the three items you would choose:

As I reflected on this assignment, I realized that as long as I had my family with me, I would not need anything materialistic. We create our culture by being together. A tradition that we have is to at least have Sunday dinner together.

However, if I had to choose something to bring I would bring the following.

1.       My camera

2.       Zoey’s baby scrapbook

3.       Easton’s Baby scrapbook

I take a lot of pictures, in fact I am known as the photographer in my family there isn’t a family function without the presence of my camera. I feel that pictures are important to keep memories a live for generations.

How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you:

The baby books are important because I wanted my kids to know a lot their development their first year, in case I am not around. My mother passed away before I had kids, so I wasn’t able to ask her if I did particular things by children did, and I don’t remember ever hearing about my birth story because when I was young it didn't matter to me.  I also treasure hand written notes from my mom; therefore, I did the entire book by hand not digitally. I hope they one day treasure those books.

Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you:

If I could only have one item, I would choose the camera to continue keeping memories through picture. I would feel very sad and angry about leaving the scrapbooks, but I know that having my family really is all that matter, and I would hope to one day be reunited with the scrap books.

Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise:

I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of need for material things to keep my culture and diversity.  Family is the most important thing in my life and defines who I am as a person.   You could say that All I need is love. 

Research Class Review

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

I was very nervous about taking this class. I like to find answers through scholarly articles, but I never saw myself wanting to do research on a large scale. I gained insight about the challenges research including but not limited to design, consent, and equity. Learning about all the different aspects and details of research made it clear that I am not a person that wants to design a research project, but I like reading them.  I admire research professionals

In what ways have, your ideas about the nature of doing research changed.

Research is more than just reading what the early childhood philosophers say, it is about creating a question and doing what it takes to find the answer. I used to think it was about reading numerous articles and reports, I never thought about the process of creating those reports.

However!!! I also discovered how I am a researcher on a daily basis when I am learning about each child.

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

I learned that designing a research project, putting it down on paper is challenging, and there are so many avenues to find the answers. Through our text, I have found that there are so many unexpected challenges that researchers must think fast on your feet, and be willing to be reflexive through the process.

Through this course, I was shocked to find the many different designs to conduct research. True researchers find their topic and then find the best design that suits their project whether it is qualitative, quantitative, or mixed.

What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them? I had many personal challenges in my life during this class and was unable to give it the focus it deserved and needed. I honestly can say I probably did not get as much out of this class as I wanted to or should have.

The content itself, I struggled with grasping and understanding some of the topics. I often felt ignorant when reading the material. I combated this by rereading the material numerous times, and using the glossary..

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified because of this course?

My perception of an early childhood professional has modified in that an early childhood professional is also a researcher. We utilize steps in the research process on a daily basis within the classroom.  I really appreciated the resources in how to read research; I feel that when I read material I will understand it better.

Although I had a rough semester, I am glad I was educated in research. 

International Research

What are some of the current international research topics? Some of the topics I found in the journal were:

1.    -   Stress and caregiver sensitivity among childcare staff in Santiago, Chile

2.      - Demographic factors, temperament and the quality of the preschool environment as predictors of daily cortisol changes among Finnish six-year-old children

3.   

-        -Foregrounding silences in the South African National Early Learning Standards for birth to four years

You must be a member in order to read the full articles; however, you can read the abstract.

4.       What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website? I found it very interesting that even countries in Europe are studying and discussing some of the same issues we are in the United States. Often times we think other countries are completely different than us but in all actuality it is very similar.

 

       What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) Has developed Country Coordinators to keep abreast of all the research going on I the world. In addition it promotes research.

The expectations of the country coordinator are:

EECERA Country Coordinators will be expected to:

• be active in their role to meet the aims outlined above;
• provide an annual activity report by 15 November each year which shows how they have carried out their role over the previous year and what success they have had in achieving the aims of this role, for example:
  - increased membership
  - increased number of submissions for the journal
  - increased attendance at the conferences
• maintain contact with, and be accountable to, the EECERA Trustee who supports Country Coordinators (currently Maelis Karlsson Lohmander: maelis.karlsson-lohmander@ped.gu.se)

The country coordinators seek out the research in their country and make it available to the Journal.

Research Process

I am really struggling with choosing my topic. This class is making me feel not so smart right now, but I will work through it. I am struggling with this process. I am struggling more because I have to look up how to do things repeatedly. Although I know this is a learning process, I am getting a bit frustrated, but I will prevail!

After much tears and aggravation, I narrowed my subtopics by webbing. Who would have known that this literature activity would assist me in my defining my subtopic for research? I .have decided to “research”, Techniques to Modifying aggressive behavior in children, I chose this topic because throughout the past few years that has been the number one behavior that parents within my program have asked for assistance with.  Some aggressive behaviors are developmentally appropriate and some are not; however, if aggressive behavior is not modified it could become habitual and harder to modify.  I am excited to continue to learn about this subtopic to benefit my families and myself.

I have found that this process has been a challenge! If you have any suggestions, please let me know. 

Final Blog 6162

As I reflected on this class I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of new knowledge I gained. My favorite subject was equity. Equity is so important in all areas of early childhood development. I also learned of the depth of information that is out there both international and nationally. I did become very aggravated and overwhelmed as I viewed various information within our field.

One consequence of learning about ECE in other countries is that I have been made aware of how deep the need for research within our field. I had hoped that other countries would know more, although each country has different strengths it is not coming together as it should.

The second consequence to learning international is the unity we can feel . It is amazing to know that we are all on the same side and having a desire to learn more about early childhood.

Finally, a consequence is the knowledge that I have not even dented research of the early childhood . However, I think there will always be more to learn.

I am excited to continue this journey and I am in anticipation of all the new knowledge I will gain. My goal would be to continue to educate myself with various media both nationally and internationally. I really enjoyed BAM radio and have saved it to my favorites and will visit it often. Anyone who reads this...Please visit http://www.bamradionetwork.com/ and plug in a subject and see what you get you will be happy with the results.