Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

 The microaggression I read about was an article online Professional Black Women Wrongly Accused of Prostitution event occurred in a New York at a Standard Hotel in Manhattan’s fashionable Meatpacking District. There were three professional African American ladies going to enjoy an evening drink and conversation. They were the only African American ladies in the restaurant.  They were approached at different times by several mean offering to buy them a drink. A security guard approached the group whispered something in the man’s ear and he walked away. Her then approached the ladies and replied to the ladies ‘Come on, ladies. You can buy a drink but you can’t be soliciting (Van Buren, 2014)

 

This is a clear example of racial microaggression because this was clearly discrimination, and stereotyping people for the race by the dominant power culture of the people associated with this establishment. The guard whispering something to one of the men that approached the ladies and him leaving only add fire of discrimination being experience by the three ladies.  The guard accusing them of prostitution and the responds from hotel manager over their treatment, and were met with indifference. They never received an apology but were offered a free meal and champagne. There was no true resolution to this horrible experience for three economical sufficient African American professionals. Situations like this case of racial microaggression has being experienced by people of different cultures for a longtime and until society learn to respect and become an anti-bias society we will have these challenges for time to come.

 You can read this article at: http://latest.com/2014/09/three-professional-black-women-wrongly-accused-prostitution/#!  

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I enjoyed talking with different people to get their thoughts on what is culture and diversity means to them. There were some similarities and there were differences in the responses I received from all three. The definition of culture all reflected what we have learned thus far in the course; live, their beliefs, what they eat, and their religious beliefs.

 One of the friends I talked with considers their family Jehovah Witnesses and they live and practice a different set of rules when it comes to celebrating holidays. They do not engage birthday celebrations, Easter or any other “normal “holiday. They are a very close net group of people that believe in working for their religious kingdom. They did not have any different set of rules when it came to what they eat such as different meats. But that was not so when I talked with a Muslin friend with several children attending public school.

 
Their culture clothing for everyday wears, inside and outside the house; and clothing required in specifically religious contexts. The attire was women and girls wore veils (hijab). The culture has strict rules on what they eat such no pork and some do not eat beef. The family studied the Qur'an (bible) and followed the guidance of the rules within the content of the Qur’an. The family celebrates two major religious observances each year, Ramadan and Hajj, and corresponding holidays connected with each one. During these celebrations the children are excused from school to participate in these events. The third friend I talked with was from Mexico and this was w very interesting conversation.

 I was familiar with the other two culture believes and family values but the beliefs of the Latino family gave me an insight on how to better serve the children from Mexico. I believed that people from Mexico shared the same culture “norms” and were all intertwined but this was far of being true.  My friend is from Mexico some of their culture values and traditions they stress the importance of close extended family relationships, the strict roles of males as respected providers and females as trustworthy abnegate mothers, and the need for children’s absolute obedience in exchange for parental love and protection. They are very religious beliefs are of the Catholic faith. They want their children to have the best education possible and learning English as a second language weighs heavily on the expectations of the children.

When I asked about their thoughts of diversity the answer were very similar they all believed people need to learning about the cultures of other people and respect the difference. They all really stressed the fact they want their children to be aware and respect the beliefs, values and traditions of others, but to never forget about their own families identity values and beliefs. The families understood the importance of knowing the culuture and divserty of other families provide children the richness and values of others. they also are lesrning about the people around them  as discussed in the video ""Culture Diversity".

I was pleased to learn I shared the same ideas the three groups of people I talked with. We need to hold on to our own cultural values and beliefs but be willing to embrace others for whom and what their families are so we can live a true diverse society.

My Family Culture

As I tried to choose the three small items I would take with family and me it was not as easy I people would think. I had to good deep in my soul to decide what those items would be. The three items I finally decide to take:

My family album       

My family album has pictures of my life and the many family’s memories of life together.

My deceased mother recipes

My mother would write her recipes in a notebook as we watched her cook the many wonderful meals we eat.

 



My Bible

My Bible because it was the gift my husband gave me when we got married and I have recorded the births and deaths of people in our families.   

If I were asked why I chose these three items my responds would be:
My family’s life is gathered in the pictures in our album. My parents started the album from the day they wed to the present day. We believe in family celebrating new life when a baby is born and the many family reunions we have had as the family brings food, fun and share memories of our family.

My mother recipes would go with me because going to an unfamiliar country we would want to share foods we are accustom to made with the loving heart and hands of my mother. The recipes were past from my ancestors to my grandmother who then in turned passed the notebook to my mother.

My Bible was a wedding gift from my husband and it has the important date’s record in the front such as our wedding date, our children’s birth and the family members that are  no long with us. It also is the source of my faith and strength. When I feel life is going to be overwhelming I can always go to my Bible to get an uplifting word.  is our source of strengthen and faith in time of trouble.

If I was told I could only keep one of the items this would be difficult because each items is a part of my cultural and represents who I am. I think I would choose the family album because it holds the most precious memories of my life. When I feel I am losing my identity I can always look at the album and empower my social self.  

This assignment helped me reflect on how strong our family bond is and that my family history is the glue that keeps me going and made me the woman I am today.

Daily Support

Support is having people who will help keep you from falling when life challenges come. There are different types of support that help me every day. Spiritual support comes from God who carries me when I am at my lowest and don’t see my way.

 “I live in the faith that there is a Presence and Power greater than I am that nurtures and supports me in ways I could not even imagine. I know that this Presence is All knowing and All Power and is Always right where I am”
― Ernest Holmes

 

There is support from my family that has supported me throughout my life. My strongest support comes from my oldest sister who step in the role as my mother and sister after my mother past. She has encouraged me to go to college and is still walking me through this new chapter in my life of completing my master’s degree.

 “The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn’t the family. If you don’t have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don’t have much at all. Love is so supremely important. As our great poet Auden said, ‘Love each other or perish’.”
― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays With Morrie

 

There third support system I have managers, staff and other co-workers. We work together to meet the needs of the families we provide service. Being an administrator and a supervisor I face challenges every day and making decisions can difficult because they can impact the lives of family and children. With the government cuts in non-profit organizations we were faced with   assisting parents that needed before and afterschool care and could not get a voucher or scholarships. The staff and I met and decided to have a fundraiser to create revenue to assist 5 families. The staff is supporting me by continuing with this strategy to help our families. I am so blessed to have staff that share my passion for meeting the needs of our families and willing to go the extra mile when needed.

 

“Life is a wall, you have to climb it by pushing others to climb over and you will be pushed as well. Give a helping hand today.”
― Bernard Kelvin Clive

“My Connections to Play”

Special Play Quotes:

Almost all creativity involves purposeful play

Abraham Maslow
American psychologist 1908-1970
 

When children pretend, they’re using their imagination to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand.  A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero.

Fred Rogers

American children’s television host
1928-2003

Favorite play items and places

I made dinner



   Quest though the forest     



Pretend to be a baker

 

My Childhood  play experiences

When I was a young child my mother encouraged me and my siblings to go outdoors to play. She would give us old pots and pans to play with and would come to check on us to see what we were up to. She would pretend to eat the dinners we made with the red dirt and ask questions about what we used to make it. When I got my Easy Baker Oven, she would ask “what is my little baker creating today”. This was the best creative time in my life. I would pretend to measure the ingredients, mix them put them in the sun or my oven to cook     . The interaction between my siblings was positive and very special because we never had fuss over the things we were playing with. We would play outside for hours and never complained about the heat or cold.

When we visited my grandmother I would go on adventures in the woods. I would pretend to be explorer looking for unique objects, animals and pretend we were camping out using my grandmother’s swing set with pillows and old curtains. These types of play were an important part of my growth and development. It enhanced cognitive, language, social and motor skills without the direct instruction from my parents.

 Today play is different from when I was a growing up. Children are not interested in playing outside or during gross motor activities. They have so many toys and computer games to play with. They can turn computers on, login and find websites. Some of them will play games such as basketball, football or on playground equipment but I observe very little imaginary play.  They ask to go inside because the weather is too hot or cold and what to play with the many store purchased items in the classroom. We need to help children get back to the true power of play.

 

 

 

Relationship Reflection

“Relationship Reflection”

I believe relationships can be both personal and professional and can have equal impacts in live. The one person I would say my strongest and most rewarding relationship will my oldest sister. She has been a role model, listening hear, encourager, and motivator when I did not see my way through. Our relationship surpasses the personal level as family but also professionally. I say this because as I embarked on furthering my education she was able to assist me with the process, helping me understanding the course work and celebrated my successes. This relationship is and will all ways be the most important in my personal and professional live.

 There are other relationships and partnerships that have been establish in my live as well. They are with people I work with in the educational field. The first in this part of my live was with my first partner in the classroom. She was the lead teacher and I was her assistant. She was an awesome teacher and mentor for the children and for me. Her passion for teaching placed golden nuggets of the same passion in me. I will always reflect on the knowledge about early childhood I gained for the working relationship with her.

 One other person I have gained a professional relationship with is Ms. Katherine Maynard our educational manager in the Head Start program I work in. She took me under her wing and taught me the importance of observing, assessing and planning goals and objectives for children. She also helped get a better understanding of having the parents being involved in the education of children. I never faced challenges in either of my relationships with any of the people that have impacted my professional and person live.

“For this I feel blessed and honored for having such awesome people in my live.”

 

Effects of Poverty in Families

Poverty is characterized as “being extreme poor or not having sufficient amount of food, clothing and shelter.  This particular issue is, and had been a, problem in America fluctuating with the passing years. What's more is the effect it has on children living in homes plagued with poverty? Not only does poverty affect the child's well- being, but it impacts their education as well. In general, children from homes living under the poverty line have poorer performance in school. Such performance has also been linked as far back as cognitive and emotional development which is lower in poverty stricken children than those children who live in homes whose income is above the poverty line. Although data has not yet been gathered to give specific details of all the cognitive effects, especially in older children, it is clear that the effects are not only present but threatening to the well- being of the children involved.

In my profession in Early Childhood Education and working in Head Start a non-profit organization I experience families living in or below the poverty level. Children come to school hungry, sleepy and without appropriate clothes. We are mandated by the federal government to assist families with getting back needs met. That is one of the responsibilities of our Family Advocates to help parents become self-sufficient through assistance of community resources.

I remember one family with two children in the Head Start program and a new baby. At the beginning of the school year the children came in with holes in their shoes, clothes were too small and both children asked for seconds and some thirds of breakfast and lunch. The children were teased by other children and the teachers would intervene. Their attention spans were not very long and after getting breakfast they would fall asleep. The Family Advocate reached out to the mother but I think her pride would not communicate her needs; her response was “we are okay”.  We would give the children feed the children large portions at both meals and on Friday’s we would give them a snack before going home.

This story does not end here, two months after the children started they came in wearing new clothes, hair done and stopped asking for seconds. This went on for about three months and then the mother stopped being the children to school. One of her sister came to my office to tell me she would be bringing to school because the mother was incarnated. During the meeting the sister shared the mother was incarnated for stealing children clothes and food for local department stores. This story is one example what families living in poverty believe the need to provide for their children.

 Africa includes some of the poorest countries in the world. In much of Africa south of the Sahara, harsh environmental conditions exacerbate the conditions of poverty. Dry and barren land covers large expanses of this region. As the poor try to eke out livings through farming and other subsistence practices, they exhaust the land, using up the soil nutrients needed to grow crops. Over time this has led to desertification, a process in which once fertile land turns to desert. During the late 20th century, desertification contributed to famines in a number of African nations, including Somalia, Ethiopia, and Mali. Political instability and wars in many sub-Saharan countries have also contributed to poverty. As a result of such factors, the number of people living in extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa grew from 217 million in 1987 to more than 300 million in 1998.

Despite the challenges, there are signs of progress and more is achievable. Importantly, Africa’s development agenda is increasingly African-led. Improved partnerships between African and donor nations have resulted in increased aid flows being used more effectively.

http://www.fightpoverty.mmbrico.com/facts/africa.html

Children and families in Africa face more challenges than we do in the United States. We have organizations that provide assistance with food, clothes and housing but in African they are just getting help from organizations such as African Union and The New Partnership for Africa development. NEPAD and the AU are working on reducing poverty, HIV/AIDS and sustain long-term economic growth for families in poverty. These effecters will help improve children’s health and educational success.