Time Well Spent

When I began my program at Walden I thought of myself as a good teacher. I had definite beliefs about education. I had a desire to be an advocate but did not have any idea how I could make that happen. My experience with Walden has helped me to grow into a person able to narrow down advocacy efforts into a manageable goal. I have a plan to put my belief system into action. I look forward to growing The Alliance for the Best Start of Young Learners into a collaborating group focused on providing access to high-quality early childhood education for all children.

When I began my program I also believed that I knew much about quality early childhood education. The amount of knowledge that I have gained in this area is extensive and invaluable. I have leaned about secure attachment, the importance of free play and self talk, the many advocacy agencies already in action, and the importance of equity in education. Through the assignments and resources, I was able to define my mission for advocacy and create a plan to put into action. I have become more prepared to run my own early learning center. I have learned how to design training materieals to present to my staff.

I take away from this experience many assets, the biggest being the valuable resources to which I have been exposed. I will use these resources continually to fuel my personal and professional growth. I will also use them to help my staff grow.

My major long-term goal is to implement my advocacy group with the mission of attaining access to high-quality early childhood education for all children. I am very passionate about this challenge and am determine to see it come to fruition. I also have the goal to grow my business into a model for many other learning centers across the nation. Keep on the look out for The Alliance for the Best Start of Young Learners and Best Start Playschool.

I am very grateful for the instructors who have guided and molded me into more of a professional. I have looked back on my writings at the beginning of the program and have determined that a big part of my growth has been the improvement in my writing skill. I owe this improvement to Dr. Davis who did not let me get away with mediocre work and helped me to find a way to view the comments that I had been missing all along. I want to say thank you to all of my colleagues that offered encouragement, advice and pushed me to answer hard questions that helped me to grow. I have appreciated the acceptance that I have felt with all people involved with my courses.
I would love to continue corresponding with and learning from colleagues and instructors. The best way to contact me would be by email: beststartplayschool@yahoo.com. I will also be developing a website under the best start playschool name.

Link to a Wordle describing my experience with Walden and my collegues: http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5927056/Patricia 


        

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

In the world of early childhood education reform, three national organizations stand out: National Association for the Education of Young Children, Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, and Voices for America's Children.
  
NAEYC was founded in 1926 with the mission “to serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources."(NAEYC, n.d.) This organization is an invaluable resource to early childhood education professionals. They provide many opportunities for professional growth through their conferences, meetings, periodicals and books. They also support the mission of high quality early care and education by influencing public policy and setting high standards for accreditation.
Job opportunity:

Accreditation Coordinator

"NAEYC is seeking an Accreditation Coordinator to support the work of our Accreditation System by assisting program staff, NAEYC assessors and other stakeholders in understanding and interpreting the standards, the criteria and the system as a whole. The Coordinator provides information and technical assistance on the accreditation process, policies procedures via phone and e-mail to our customers.
Responsibilities include working with program administrators, assessors and decision makers throughout all aspects of the accreditation process. Coordinators review materials submitted to identify any procedural errors and measure program compliance with our standards and monitor the performance of assessors to ensure reliability is maintained in all assessment procedures and protocols, while providing support to assessors in their role.
BA in Early Childhood Education/Child Development, 3-5 years experience in the field of early childhood education and a sound understanding of its practices is required. Experience with high quality programming and NAEYC accreditation is a plus. Excellent oral and written communication, analytical, MS Office and database skills are required. Must be able to meet deadlines, work in a team and in a fast-paced environment. Some travel may be required. Salary $38-41K with excellent benefits." (NAEYC n.d.)

The Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families was founded in 1977 with the mission “to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers… by translating research and knowledge—specifically information about the kinds of early experiences that help children thrive—into a range of practical tools and resources for use by the adults who influence the lives of young children.” (Zero to Three, 2011). This organization is a very good resource to keep educators, parents and policy makers abreast of changes and new research in early childhood education issues. They work to educate families and educators and to influence public policy.

Job opportunity:
Senior Web Strategist - "This position leads the evaluation and implementation of web-based tools; the use, maintenance, and support of existing tools, and the technical implementation of custom web content ." (Zerotothree, 2011)
 
Knowledge and Skills:

 

At least 8 years of documented experience in Website development, and/or digital marketing, technical project management and production experience and understanding of current Internet technologies, protocols, and standards;

• Advanced knowledge of hand-coded HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript and other Web-based programming languages;

• Experience in administration of HTTP, TCP/IP and FTP protocols;

• Advanced experience with content management systems, preferably Convio, cross-browser and cross-platform issues, and optimizing Websites for mobile delivery systems;

• Digital graphic design experience (i.e. Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver);

• Demonstrated ability to provide work direction to others including professional service providers;

• Demonstrated reliability and consistency with attention to detail and a sense of craftsmanship;

• Excellent problem solving ability and strong work ethic;

• Outstanding verbal, written and graphic communications skills;

• Knowledge of early childhood issues a plus;

• Outstanding organizational skills and demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines;

• Development of successful e-commerce programs and online educational media;

• Experience working with non-profit organizations;

• Ability to work collaboratively in a team-oriented office;

• Ability to work independently with a minimum of supervision;

• Ability to build internal and external relationships with representatives at all levels;

• Demonstrated ability to work remotely if required

Voices for America’s Children is a “nationwide network [that] speaks up for kids and puts children on government’s agenda.” (Voices, n.d.). This organization offers membership into local affiliates. Educators from across the nation meet regularly to discuss the best practices associated with early care and education and devise plans to affect public policy. They have been a leader in campaigning for legislation that supports early childhood education.

Job opportuntiy:
Executive Director: Children's Leadership Council "who will play a significant role in leading, supporting and guiding coalition work focused on improving public policies affecting children and increasing federal investment in children and youth from birth to young adulthood. " (Voices, 2011)
Knowledge and Skills:
 

• Has excellent verbal and written communication, coordination, and consensus building skills

• Is a sophisticated advocate and can effectively work with, support and energize CEOs, Executive Directors and staff of national and state organizations, sister coalitions, foundations and other diverse audiences

• Has at least 6 years experience working in the policy arena

• Has the ability to create a personal connection, prioritize important issues and be a creative strategic partner in the development of both the policy focus and the overall future of the CLC

• Has experience in participating in or supporting multi-organizational coalitions at the state or federal level (experience in coalition building is a plus)

• Can manage and organize multi-step decision making processes that includes substantial committee work

• Is knowledgeable about the policy landscape for children and youth from birth to young adulthood

• Understands federal policy and the federal policy process in Congress (Hill experience is a plus)

• Experience managing contracts preferred but not required

• Is skilled in the use of the internet, and other related technologies to support communication and group work (experience with Convio is a plus)

• Master’s degree preferred but not required  



References
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.naeyc.org/
 
Voices for America’s Children. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.voices.org/

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The organization that I am most excited about joining is Voices for Children San Antonio. (http://www.voicesforchildrensa.org/)A major goal for this group is to expand early childhood education in my state. I feel that the experience that I gain from joining this group will help in making a difference in my community. I am excited about the knowledge and connections that I will gain by networking with this group. Their mission is in-line with my goal of providing preschool education for all children in order to assure school readiness and creating a love of life long learning. In order to become a member I will need to be passionate about early childhood education and be able to make the time committment necessary to advocate for change.
 
I plan to join my local chamber of commerce (http://lytlechamberofcommerce.com/) Being a member of this group will allow me access to influential people who may join in my goal of providing high quality early childhood experiences for all children. In order to be a member I will need to be a business owner.

A third organization that I will be a member of is one that I will launch myself. This organization will join parents, caregivers and early childhood professionals. We will meet regularly to discuss needs of early childhood education in our community. I will need organizational and leadership skills in order to organize and launch this group. I have demonstrated these skills in the past through the organizations I have operated as a leader and through the professional positions that I have held.

The first two groups I will be a member. The third group I will operate as president/leader.
 

My Own Capacity

The major impact that fuels my passion is the necessity for all chidlren to have access to high quality preschool education.

Special skillls that I have include the knowledge of child development, a passion for meeting the needs of all children, and connections with local policymakers.

The major resource that I have is a childcare business in my community. This will give me many opportunities to connect with children, parents and community leaders in order to affect change.

I hope to become more knowledgable about the specific avenues to take in order to start/join advocacy efforts. I feel like the more I learn about how the policy making process goes the better I will be at becoming an advocate.

My Role as an Advocate

My motivation for becoming an advocate is my passion for providing preschool education for all children. Research has proven that children who have high quality preschool experiences are mroe prepared for school. It is essential to recognize that all levels of advocacy are important in order to make a difference in the lives of children. all effors are imporatant from the smallest donation to serving as president of an organization.

In order to become a community leader in advocacy it is essential to be able to make a significant time commitment. It is also crucial to have resources backing you, such as money, materials and volunteers. In orde to be a state leader it is important to have the means to communicate with policymakers and progrom designers.

In order to motivate others you need to be able to educate them on the importance of your mission. It is also important to network with those who have the same passion as you do.

My advice for those who would like to become an advocate is to find something that they are passionate about and make sure that they are willing to put in the time that is necessary to adovocate for a cause.

Profile of a Volunteer

Volunteerism is an area with which I am VERY familiar! Ever since a very young age I have seen the value in being a volunteer. My experience ranges from being a young girl watching my mother volunteer as a classroom mom, brownie leader, church group leader, and softball coach. It is no surprise that that I grew up to perform many of the same roles.
As a teenager I served as a Sunday School teacher and Junior 4-H leader. These activities were fun for me because I was able to pass on my knowledge and talents to younger children. As I grew older and began my family my volunteer activities extended to Girl Scout Leader, Softball and Basketball Coach and 4-H Leader. Yes, all at the same time :)
These experiences were very rewarding for me at the time because they kept me involved with my own children and many of the parents and other leaders were uplifting. But, the true reward came when I would learn about the successes that the young ones I served where experiencing. These are many but I will only focus on a few.
One experience was reading about a recycling project that a few of the girls who were in my Brownie and Junior Girl Scout troop completed in our community. They set up a recycling drive and drop off center at our local fire department. These girls personally manned this drop off spot and arranged pick of recyclables. This is has been passed on to other troops over the years and is still going strong. The reason this is rewarding to me is because the passion for recyling began with discussions and personal commitments during our meetings when they are young.
Another experience involves a little girl who I chose to be on my softball team. This girl was one of the last to be picked because it did not appear that she had a talent for softball. When coaching you see alot of children that their parents want them to be involved with sports or activities but thier hearts are not really involved. Well this little girl had heart. She always gave her best effort, she just didn't have the skills to be successful. I spent some extra time with her, often before and after practice. We worked tirelessly on proper form when throwing, catching and batting. She improved immensely during that season, but I was not sure she would continue playing. Well, a very proud moment happened several years later when I attended my daughter's varsity game and this girl was on the opposing team. In our area softball is a very competitive sport and it is not easy to make the team. While watching her play I could see her using some of the tools that I had taught her so many years ago. During the game her mother came over to me and thanked me for working with her and helping her with skills so that she could follow her dream of playing softball. I know that others along the way had a lot to do with her improving, but I wonder what would have happened if she wouldn't have had the person to take the time when she was eleven to show her proper form.
Volunteering is exhausting and time consuming, but VERY rewarding!!

Using Social Media To Get Connected

My experience with social media is limited to having a facebook page where family and friends post pictures, comments and events.

There are some social media tools that I feel would be very advantageous to advocacy efforts. The ability to creat an event and to post daily (hourly) information are two tools that could help get the word out to many people at once.

I would begin using social media to advance my advocacy efforts by creating a page for the issue and inviting all my "friends" to join the site. I would keep this sight current with information and events. I would encourage my members to invite their friends to join.

Raise Your Hand Texas Organization believes that "education is an investment, not a cost.
The future of Texas depends on how well we educate our students.
High quality early childhood education is critical to long-term success.
Adults should be accountable for student achievement.
All students must graduate high school ready for college and career.
Community engagement drives an excellent system of public education." (http://raiseyourhandtexas.org/ )This organization is advocating for the government to QUIT cutting education spending in Texas.
The reason I agree with thier mission, and have joined their group, is because I was a teacher in the public school system and saw first hand the detrimental effects of budget cuts. In my school this meant larger class sizes, inadequate technology to keep children competative, and even the extreme limiting of paper usage.
I also agree wholeheartedly with advocating for high quality early childhood education for all children.
The following is two advertisement by popular figures encouraging people to join the effort:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyYl9GJkikw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVQyq2uLjvg&feature=relmfu

Personal Advocacy Reflection

I had a student several years ago I will call "Josie". This girl came to a team of teachers a sad and troubled sixth grader. She was very intelligent, always completed her school work and made good grades. It took her a very long time to trust this team of four teachers because she had been let down by adults her entire life.
Josie began to open up to the teachers by saying small things, such as "I hate weekends, I would rather be at school." This seemed odd but, knowing what her home looked like, made some sense. Josie was often looking for ways to get attention. She had the makings of a pretty good athlete, but would often be "hurt". She complained about knee pain and walked around on crutches much of her seventh grade year.
Luckily, the team of teachers that Josie began sixth grade with looped up with her to seventh grade. It took half of that year for Josie to finally open up to one of the teachers in the form of a letter. She began her letter "Please believe me..." The contents of this letter was heart wrenching. The amount of physical, sexual and mental abuse that this little girl was going through at the hands of SEVERAL family members was horrifying.
The teacher shared the letter with the rest of the team and reported what he was told to the authorities, as is required by law. A month and a half went by and Josie came to this teacher and asked if he had believed her letter. He told her that he had believed her and had reported her situation to people who would help her. She asked him why she was still living the nightmare.
This teacher checked into the report and found out that the back log of cases had hindered protective services from investigating. After being told this, he decided that he would call everyday until the chid's home was checked out. This took another week and four days of calls before someone finally investigated this family.
Through the course of their investigation the abuse was proven and the child was removed from the home and sent to live in another state. This would have never happened without the diligence of one teacher who took the time to follow through to make a difference in the life of a child.
When Josie was sent away the teachers were not given an address or phone number in order to stay in contact. But, it was not long before Josie found them on Facebook and still keeps in contact today. She is struggling with her demons but is finally finding happiness with a foster family who will soon adopt her.

Advocacy Overview

"The goal of early childhood advocacy is to improve the lives of children and families." (http://www.ounceofprevention.org/advocacy/pdfs/t-intro.pdf) This is the main purpose that early childhood professionals need to keep in mind when deciding where and when to fight for changes. This must come from ideas and issues that we believe in passionately in order for our fight to be justified. We must also continually reasearch and learn in order to stay abreast of current issues and trends. Finally, in order to become effective advocaters we must be willing to take some risks and stay the course when we find a cause that we want to affect.

My goal:
I will be using the information I have learned to help me begin programs in my community that address every aspect of needs for the familiies in my community. I will be using my center as a means to reach the community by implementing support groups. I will be recruiting community leaders and professionals to help these groups be successful and address all needs.
Three Consequences:
Participating in collaborative learning has given me a guideline of all the areas that need to be addressed in early learning. I will be using the categories that are described in the Build Initiative to guide support topics and programs that my community needs implemented and/or expanded.

I was reminded of the importance that health and family support play in early learning and development. This will help me design programs that best serve my community.

Seeing the "ovals" gave me a visual of the interconnectedness of healthy development. Collaborating with colleagues has given me a deeper understanding of each aspect and has given me ideas on how to ensure that my children are being serviced in all areas.

Hypothetical Family

I designed my hypothetical family to mimic a possible family that I may need to provide services for based on my community.

Family dynamics:
Two parents
English as a second language
Children ages seven, five and a toddler with autism.
Socioeconomic status: poverty level although father works full time at a local mechanic shop and mother works part time at a local fast food restaurant
Mother leaving full time work to stay home with the toddler, along with increasing medical bills has created a strain on the economics of the family
The only available family member is an elderly grandmother who can only handle caring for the child for only two hours at a time
The local school district is limited in its knowledge and resources for this type of special need
The parents have stopped much of their social life because of alternating work schedules.

This family needs all aspects of the three sectors of a comprehensive system:

They need the Health section to help them meet the demanding needs of a child with autism as well as keep their other children healthy. They need health education to help them deal with the circumstances that they may not understand.

They need early learning and development to start their toddler on a path that helps him reach educational success.

They need family support and leadership to help all family members deal with the added stress that they feel. A support group and counseling will be helpful for both parents and siblings.

The first step for this family is to find a support group that will help them by providing counseling sessions and information about services and what to expect at each step with their children. An ideal group would have an educated leader along with parents that are dealing with the same issue.

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

The Children's Defense Fund advocates for young children by educating the nation and lobbying for policies that help all children be successful. I agree with their mission to educate others about the importance of early learning programs.

Resource:
http://www.childrensdefense.org/about-us/

Parent Family Engagement

“Substantial research supports family involvement, and a growing body of intervention evaluations demonstrates that family involvement can be strengthened with positive results for young children and their school readiness.” (Harvard Family Research Project) Head Start addresses this issue by providing and encouraging several methods for families to be involved in the teaching of their children.
A main goal of Head Start is to break the cycle of poverty by providing families with comprehensive services from prenatal education to job training. Parents are encouraged to participate in the decision-making processes. This helps to empower parents by letting them know that they are capable of taking care of their children.

Through the Head Start program parents are encouraged to participate in support groups and daily events. Interacting with the caregivers and children leads to parents learning by doing. In the multimedia presentation provided by Head Start Lydia Villanueva stated “I felt I was learning as much as the kids were.” (Head Start: Leading the Way for Children, Families, and Communities)

This in depth research of Head Start was an eye opening experience. I had not realized the extensive programs that were available through Head Start. I am looking forward to networking with my local Head Start program. I also would like to incorporate many of their ideas into the program I am developing. The vision of Head Start is in line with my beliefs about the importance of involving families into the education of their children.



Resources:

Family Makes a Difference

(2012) Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College
Published by Harvard Family Research Project retrieved from

http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/family-involvement-in-early-childhood-education

Head Start: Leading the Way for Children, Families, and Communities

multimedia presentation retrieved from

http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/resources/video/Head%20Start_%20Leading%20the%20Way%20for%20Children,%20Families,%20and%20Communities/Video1.htm

Quality Programs for All Children

This topic strikes a nerve with me because I am very passionate about the need to educate the community about the importance of high quality care in the younger years. I would like to see a dedication to creating programs that help all children succeed. I feel that this will take helping families that work and have to use daycare services as well as those who choose to have a parent stay home. I believe that there are community resources that are not utilized in the education of families. I would like to see public opinion turn to the mindset of "It takes a village to raise a child". If community members and families where made aware of the importance of high quality experiences early in life, it will lead to everyone having a stake in the eduation of all children.

What Resonates With You About Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy?

I chose this specialization because I feel that high quality early childhood education is very lacking in my community. After working in the public school systems for years I realized that many of our children were starting school behind and then struggling to catch up. For many of these students, it seemed impossible for them to catch up to their fellow classmates. The reasons for this stemmed from the lack of quality early childhood programs, lack of parental knowledge in best practices, and a general passive attitude by the community just accepting things because that is how it has always been. One thing that I hope to gain from this degree is the knowledge and tools to change the quality of early childhood education in my community and surrounding area.
I believe that the only way to change the way things are is for an advocate to step forward and educate the parents and community members on best practices. Many people do not understand how crucial the early years are to life long learning. Changing this mindset is imperative to improving early childhood education.
Three goals:
1) Discover the views and ideas of policy makers in my community that affect early childhood standards.
2) Learn ways to implement a community awareness program.
3) Be able to define best practices in a professional yet understandable way.

Non Violent Communciation & Conflict Management

I work part time at a fast paced restaurant. There are many conflicts that occur because everyone is trying to do his/her job as well as possible. Also, everyone is most concerned about his/her own tables. This concern leads to arguments among the servers and between the servers and chefs.
When thinking about my interactions with my colleagues I have come to realize that I utilize the principles of three Rs. I often find myself thinking before I speak. I am diligent about being respectful and remembering that the other person is just trying to complete his/her job. I do things to help my co workers to help them from getting behind. When spoken to I respond in a manner that I feel they want to be spoken to.
Having a guideline for these strategies will help me to communicate even more effectively!

Who am I as a communicator?

This biggest surprise from this week's application activity was the big gap between my self score and those of my colleagues in Communication anxiety. I scored myself at a high/moderate level. Each of my colleagues scored me at a low/mild level. This tells me that I seem more confident than I feel when speaking.
A major insight gained from this week's discussion activity was that, despite my desire to be an open-minded person, I unconsciously make assumptions about others based on first impressions. I was dismayed that it was not very difficult for me to imagine characteristics of the woman in the photo. I feel that if I truly had an open mind these assumptions would have been more difficult to construct.
The positive part of this insight is that it has spurred my resolve to deconstruct my existing schemas.

Communication & Culture

I definitely communicate differently, depending upon the group that I am with. I have several different groups in which I have relations. At my job, the communication is less personal and more on a professional level. We discuss things that need to be done, how we can help each other, and ways to make things easier/more efficient. With my family most of my communication is on a very personal level, from things that we are dealing with in our lives to how we are raising our children.
I have a few groups of friends with whom I communicate on a regular basis. Some are closer than others. I tend to share very personal information with my closest friends and just socialize with others.
My differences in communication is not because of culture as much as it is because of relationships.

Communication Skills: Verbal and Nonverbal

In preparation for this assignment I watched an episode of Seinfeld. I have only watched this show a couple of times previously. What I learned the most from this assignment is that the sitcom actors work really hard to express what they are feeling nonverbally. I was able to successfully determine what each actor was feeling by their body language and facial expressions. During the course of the half hour show, the actors went through a myriad of emotions, from happiness to sadness to surprise to exasperation.
Completing this assignment helped me to see how you can understand how people are feeling by watching their nonverbal communication.

Effective Communication

When thinking about effective communicators two people from my education come to mind:
Flip Flippin and Stephen Covey.
Both of these men have written books and created tools for teaching individuals and groups how to be effective communicators.

Flip Flippin is responsible for Capturing Kids Hearts, a training for teachers and administrators. CKH is meant to be used by entire schools to create an environment of respect, trust, empathy and self-management. If you have not attended a CKH workshop, you have missed out on a great experience. For more information follow the link: http://www.flippengroup.com/education/ckh.html

Stephen Covey is a renowned author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In this book he outlines steps that are important for effective communication. Using the principles from this book, The FranklinCovey Group has developed a process to be integrated into the school's curriculum called The Leader in Me.
For more information follow the link:
http://www.franklincovey.com/tc/solutions/education-solutions/elementary-education-solutions--the-leader-in-me

For information about the book:
https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php

Using the techniques and strategies I learned through these resources, I have been able to create a positive environment for my students.

Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have for my own interactions with families is that I always come across as the understanding and respectful  teacher I want to be. I hope that all families in my facility, no matter race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, feel like they are part of a community of learning. I hope that our daycare becomes an extended family for all members.

One goal I would like to see in the early childhood field is increased education on diversity, equity and social justice. I firmly believe that the end of racism, biases and prejudice will come by changing the environment in which children are involved with in the early years. Educating early years teachers will help bring this change to fruition.

Thank you to all my colleagues in this course. I have learned from you new ideas and perspectives. Hope to see you in future classes!

The name of my family's country of origin is Uganda. I am the owner/director of a preschool. The five ways that I would prepare for their arrival is:
1. Learn the dominant language.
2. Learn religious traditions.
3. Learn non-religious traditions
4. Learn the culure of family.
5. Teach my staff all of these things.

Learning these things would help us make the child(ren) be comfortable in our environment. We would make it a priority to brings some things into the center that would remind the child(ren) of home. We would be open to incorportating some of the parental traditions in our environment.

Personal side of bias

Through these studies I have been amazed at how I could look at my life and realize areas of discrimination when I was categorized in a few of the areas. First, there has been a time in my life when my family struggled financially. My husband, at the time, was injured and lost his job. He was not able to return to work for months. I was pregnant with our third child at the time. When he lost his job, we also lost our insurance. Being a pregnant woman with only a high school diploma, I was only able to obtain part time work. I worked two jobs but still needed to obtain social services for health insurance. I felt extreme relief when I was approved for Medicaid. That feeling was replace with embarrassment when I handed over my approval card to the receptionist at my obstetrician and her demeanor toward me changed immediately. Her smile left her face and she very rudely said that their office usually did not accept Medicaid. She made a big production out of getting approval from the office manager. Since I was so far along in my pregnancy, they approved the insurance but I was treated coldly by that receptionist from that day forward. I remember feeling like less of a person even though the only thing that had changed about me was my financial status. While I was teaching in a predominantly Hispanic school I had to work harder to convince students that I was deserving of their respect and trust. In this situation being a White woman was a disadvantage. Most of my students had internalized that white people thought the were 'better' than other races. My consistent attitude of treating every student fairly led to them thinking that I was different from white people. Students did not change their thinking about about the race, they just thought of me as 'not really white.' The insight that this study has given me is that many of the ways that people treat each other come from internalized thinking. The only way to change the norms in social identities will be to teach acceptance of all people at a young age. This is going to take generations. On the bright side, we have come very far in the last few decades pertaining to prejudice and discrimination.

Awareness of Microaggressions

I work part time for a restaurant that employs many Hispanic people, both young and old. A while back I observed an older employee trying to speak Spanish to one of the younger employees. The young guy did not speak or understand Spanish, so he had no idea what the older man was saying. I, being a white woman who had Spanish class in High School, understood what the man was asking and translated for them. The older man was astonished that the younger guy did not understand Spanish and, basically, reprimanded him for it. The younger boy was very insulted and asked me later why many older people thought it was ridiculous that he could not speak Spanish. He said that he has encountered this alot and many times was made to feel inferior.

Learning the subtle ques to microaggressions has made me more aware of how people can say things that sound insignificant to them but hurt the target. I have become more careful when choosing my own words.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

All three of the people that I discussed diversity and culture with this week limited the discussion to race, ethnicity, food, clothing, and holiday traditions. It was interesting to me that, even though we live in an area where the majority of the population is Hispanic, all three corelated being non-white as being 'diverse'. None of them thought of 'white' people as being diverse. They also were not able to define or see the 'white' culture, but saw the Hispanics as having culture. This told me that all three looked at surface culture but did not concern themselves with understanding deep culture.

My Family Culture

The most important item I would take with me would be my collection of photo albums. My family (immediate and extended) values documenting not only special events but daily living that happens! We often look through our albums and reminisce about occurances in our lives. I am also able to share with my children stories of family members and friends that they did not have the opportunity to meet.

The second item I would take would be our collection of board games. We are a family who enjoys all types of games from scrabble to scattegories to yahtzee. We spend alot of our free time playing games. I think this is an important aspect of our family culture because it shows our spirit of competitiveness and our value of having fun with each other.

The third item I would take would be our holiday/season decorations. Our decoration collections have grown over the years. Even though they include store bought trinkets, the most important part of these collections are the homemade treasures. My children range in age from 15 to 21 and they still make decorations for each holiday/season. Their expertise has grown over the years, but we still value the thinkgs they made in their preschool years. A person can look at alot of these creations and determine what was important to that child at the time.

If I were told to leave one of these items behind I would have a hard time choosing between the photo albums and the decorations. Both are treasures to me that are irreplaceable and help define who we are as a family!