EDUC 6164 - week 8

When I think of working with children who come from diverse backgrounds, my hope is that they always feel welcome and safe under our care. I hope that they are able to flourish with confidence, discover each other, learn to embrace the differences amongst them and spread the value of diversity.

A goal for the early childhood field would be to study the various ways children see differences, and to research the methods that make diversity more natural and acceptable to very young children. I think that teaching the teachers has a huge impact on what translates to the children, but we also need to figure out what is in their minds and how they see the world. It may be that we have lots to learn from them.

I am very grateful for the colleagues in this course, and all the comments, discussions and valuable lessons we have taught each other. We are a diverse group, working together in great harmony, with the same goals and aspirations. I wish you luck and many wonderful experiences to come. Thank you Dr. Parrish for leading us in this important subject, and for your creative teaching methods.

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”
— Maya Angelou

EDUC 6164 - week 7

Chad in Africa

The new family in my class would be from Chad, which is a landlocked country in central Africa. In Chad the two most common languages are French and Arabic, although there are over 100 other languages or dialects spoken. In preparation for my new student, it would be good to know how to greet him/her in French and Arabic, and then ask the parents to teach me a few key words in their spoken language. Those would include words like: toilet, water, hungry, thirsty, mom is coming, I am hurt, and so on.

The most prevalent religion is Islam, then Christianity and then animism and other religions. So in preparation for meeting the family, I need to be aware of some of the religious beliefs accordingly. If they are Muslim: do they eat pork, does the father shake hands with a female, etc.

I found out that girls are still married at a very young age and so the average age for mothers is 18 years old. Literacy rates are quite low, particularly for females and usually the man marries more than one wife and lives with the extended family. This is quite important because I need to anticipate a young mother, who could be illiterate and possibly living with extended family. Communication with the family will be very different from the typical America family, and we cannot rely on written communication alone or that the information reaches the mother each time.

On child raising practices, I found very little but this gives me some idea of what to expect: "The rearing of young children is done by the mother and by relatives; at a later stage there is more involvement by the father. Of greatest importance for all Chadians is the socializing role of the family and the ethnocultural group later in life through, for example, initiation, the taking on of religious and ritual duties, mutual help, and social support. Children necessarily remain dependent on their families until their early twenties.

About 60 percent of Chadian children attend primary school, but the literacy rate in Chad is estimated at only 20 percent, a comparatively low rate within Africa. Further formal education is pursued by a minority, and most children are educated by their families, taking on domestic and economic tasks in their early teens…" (everyculture, 2015)

I also found out that there is a huge variety in their food and clothing, so it would be difficult to anticipate the child's needs in that regards.

In preparation for my student, I would have the flag of Chad up on our international wall of facts. I would learn a few words in French and Arabic, and anticipate some of the religious practices. The basics have to be established when the family arrives, such as the child's name and how to pronounce it correctly. As well as how the parents like to be addressed.

In addition, I would prepare an interview list of questions like whom to contact for concerns, preferred means of communication, eating habits, sleeping habits, family members in the household in USA, family members in their household in Chad. To go further in helping the family in their new community, I would ask them if they knew any other Chadians or if they needed to make contacts. I would ask them if they have established a pediatrician and guide them accordingly.

After the interview, I would take the family for a tour of our facility and explain how we run our program, and what our policies are. During such a tour, many questions arise such as previous child care, eating habits (floor, table, fed, independent) and much more.

By observing the family and prompting them, we can find out if their culture praises or encourages children through hugs, high fives, kind words or any other gestures that can be used in our setting.

A family that feels that the school recognizes their differences and prepares and embraces them, are going to feel more welcomed and less intimidated. A teacher who is prepared for a family's differences, will also feel less intimidated when approaching them, and better equipped to care for their child.

Opening up communication through an introductory interview and tour of the setting, will prepare for the differences to be discussed and addressed.

http://www.our-africa.org/chad/people-culture

http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Chad.html

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cd.html

EDUC 6164 - week 6

As I read through the assignment, I knew exactly which incident I would write about. My last job as a pharmacist was a very unique one: I was hired by an American company that was set up overseas in order to bring a healthcare service to American standards. We were to work closely with the existing management in order to make the changes necessary.

The overt prejudice that was directed at me was by the existing director of pharmacy, who refused to accept me as an American pharmacist with the education and expertise like the rest of the American team. Because I was of another nationality by birth, and spoke another language (same as hers), I was rejected as not American enough for the job.

The result was an oppression because I could not do the job that I was hired to do, by my American employer. Equity was diminished instantly because my employer was forced to hire a male American pharmacist who had no other ethnicity to do the job, and I had to take on different responsibilities.

Of course I felt humiliated at the time, and although my American employer stood by me and rejected such bias, I was still marginalized. It left me feeling helpless and frustrated because I knew that I could get the job done, but only prejudice got in the way.

For that kind of prejudice to change, it would need a change in the mind set of people like that pharmacy director. My leaders were quite confident in my qualifications, experiences and approach; but it was not enough to eliminate her overt prejudice.

I did learn from that experience, that that’s the way life is, and that I had to make better choices of where to work in order to avoid such inequities. I also learnt that I am lucky because I could look elsewhere for work, but some people have little choices and have to live with such inequity.