Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds:

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I provide them a diversely rich environment where they feel welcome and can thrive and succeed in all that they do. I hope that I can enrich the lives of my students that they “will express comfort and joy with human diversity; [utilize] accurate language for human differences; and [acquire] deep, caring human connections” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 4). Every person is different we should learn from our differences and celebrate the things we have in common.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice:

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice would be more educational learning opportunities for early childhood professional and parents. “Most of the time, people do not even notice their culture, just as we do not notice we live in a sea of air. We only notice when something changes or makes us uncomfortable…When we find ourselves in the midst of another culture…we discover that the way we do things is not the only way” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 55). Bringing this awareness of one’s own culture and the other cultures out there will help prevent conflicts when people encounter them unawares.

I would like to say “Thank You” to all my colleagues. I have learned a great deal from you all through your discussion and blog posts. I wish you all luck as you continue you educational journey and hope to “see” you in future courses.

Happy Holidays,

Brandie

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2012). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.