Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length)

My hope for families is that as a society we become more open and accepting of others. I work with military families who are as diverse as they can be. Sometimes I feel sad when I see that children have to struggle with whom they are and do not get support. As early childhood educators, it is our responsibility to welcome all families and their children. It is important to accept all of them for who they are rather than their race or lifestyle. Therefore, it is my biggest hope that by learning more about diversity, we all go out and advocate for our families.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length)

If I had to choose a goal, I would choose advocacy. It is important to go out and educate others about the importance of learning and accepting diversity. Yet, I find that most programs just go through the motion and think setting up a multicultural week once a year is all that is needed. Welcoming families to our programs can only work if we educate ourselves about different cultures. We often ask some questions of our families when they first enter the program but we don't do anything with the information provided. We should always correspond with our families and invite them to share with us information about their culture. Teachers are often not trained in how to incorporate all the diversity into their culture and are overwhelmed. By advocating and teaching others how to become more inclusive can help everyone.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues.

I want to take the time to thank all who participated in this class. I was amazed to see how much diversity is reflected within our small community and liked that everyone was so open about the things that affected their lives. It was great to be able to participate with so many of you and bounce of different ideas from each other. I definitely learned more about diversity and myself. Thanks everyone.