A Hope, a Goal, and a Note of Thanks

I hope that when families, no matter what they look like, what language they speak, what God they praise, or who they love will walk into ECFE and find it welcoming and accepting. 

 Supporting early childhood professionals in understanding isms and the harm they do to our society is a goal I can offer. I provide professional development for early childhood professionals all over the state of Minnesota and will create a workshop to assist programs in exploring the issue if isms. Isms need to be confronted.

I look at the poster and think that it could be edited to read "Isms are something you learn, not something you're born with" and I might add a poster to the teachers lounge that reads "Isms are something you teach, not something children are born with". Edgy? Perhaps but becoming uncomfortable is often the first step in change.

Many thanks to my Walden colleagues as we finish another course. I wish you a beautiful school year whether you welcome students to your classroom or send your own children back to school. Education really is a great hope for a socially just world.

Cocos Keeling Islands

The name of the country I chose for this assignment is Cocos Keeling Islands. They are located in the Indian Ocean midway between Australia and Sri Lanka. If I had a new family enrolling in ECFE from Cocos Keeling Islands, I would prepare in the following ways:

1. I would do some research, as I did for this assignment. I would likely start with a Google search, including a Google image search.

2. I would create a Prezi (a presentation format, similar to a power point) to share with the staff about what I had learned. We would brainstorm together our ideas to welcome the family to our program.

3. I would learn a few key phrases in the language of the Cocos Keeling Island people. "Apa kabar?" or "How are you?" is one example of the Trading Malay oral language that the family would recognize.
4. Knowing that the people of Cocos Keeling Islands have had few experiences with outsiders, I would schedule a home visit with the family and include the early childhood teacher.

5. As a staff, we would make our classrooms inviting to the new family by incorporating art, language, photographs, music, and foods that reflect the culture of the Cocos Keeling Islands.

The preparation we do as a staff is beneficial in preventing bias based on ignorance. When we know, for example that the people of Cocos Keeling Islands prefer that we ask for permission to photograph their child, we can avoid a possible uncomfortable situation. The staff feels more competent to serve this family because of the preparations we have made. The family feels more welcome and valued knowing that we have created a space that says "Welcome, we are glad you are here".

Hair on Fire!

Thought I would post while my hair is still on fire. This weeks discussion post felt very personal to me. I thought I might share my daughters story but it is not mine to share and after the discussion thread, I think it would be irresponsible to subject her to bias. So let me tell you this, I am a grown woman who has raised three daughters in my home and about one hundred other children in my heart. Some of them have been gay. I know that because they have felt safe enough to share that with my husband and me. They are welcome in our home, at our dinner table, and at our family celebrations. It saddens me to think of the love that we would have missed if I had made a decision to exclude them from our life because of their sexual orientation.

 I believe that people, educated people who do not see them as equal human beings have never known a friend or relative who is gay. How sad. To subscribe to a moral code or religion that fosters prejudice will never be a church I belong to. I feel like my family has been targeted this week. I feel angry and hurt. I hope that all three of these women will become mothers one day. Two of them will likely raise children in homes with two mommies. My daughter in the picture will likely raise a child with a husband. Any of these young women would be wonderful parents and wonderful, generous members of an early childhood parent group. To assume that they would not diminishes not only their equity but all of ours as well.

I feel so grateful that these three women live in Minnesota. It is a safer place to be than many other states. I am proud of the work that Minnesota has done legislatively on same sex marriage, the civil rights issue of my time. When any one of us thinks less of any other of us, it is discrimination and I will work tirelessly to end discrimination in all it's forms for the rest of my life. I hope I live long enough for the public discussion about LGBT families sounds something like this: "Remember when families were discriminated against because of who they loved? Remember when adults had to hide who they were in fear of being targeted? Remember when folks thought that their own marriages would be threatened by same sex marriages? How silly that all seems now!"