Hope-Goals & Thanks

            This week we are asked to give one hope that we have for ourselves in relation to working with children and their families that come from diverse backgrounds. My hope and expectation is that I will always be mindful of their needs and respectful of whom they are. As many classmates mentioned in discussion board this week: diversity is on ongoing part of life. It will not do to come up with a plan and not altar from it. I need to embrace each child and family individually.

            The one goal I would set is I feel a very realistic one and that is: That everyone working in the Early Childhood field continue to educate parents and communities along with supporting other EC professionals and themselves with self care and continued education. If we all do this the word will spread I have no doubt.

            Well it is the end of yet another class here at Walden. I would sincerely like to thank all of my peers and professor for such an interesting and involved adventure. My interactions with everyone have always been respectful, supportive and sometimes quite comical! I wish health and safety to all.

Jenn Pore`

Welcoming Families from Around the World

     Our scenario this week is to choose a country that we know little to nothing about and come up with a plan on how to make a child (and the family) coming from that country feel welcomed into my agency. I have chosen Sweden as the country that my new family hails from.

1. The first thing that I would do is make certain that I have as much information as possible about the family: names, parents, where their from specifically, etcetera.
2. Next I would look up Sweden on line a find their township specifically if I had it. I will want to know things like health care, popular music bands, how their schools are structured etcetera.
3. If we have a photo of the child I would post it in the classroom with welcome in both English and Swedish written on it.
4. I would find how to spell and pronounce some key words and phrases in Swedish. I would add the Swedish word to everything that was already labeled for a print rich room.
5. Hopefully the family would have left e-mail. That would give the opportunity to make contact ahead of time and try to find some information out about the child, such as favorite color, food, and also any fears that we would need to know about.

My intention of course would be to try and make sure that the child and family felt welcome and that our classroom would be comfortable and inviting. If the family spoke no English at all I would see that could be done about having an interpreter. Caution would have to be taken to not use stereotypical foods, toys, and etcetera but to be sure that anything set up to welcome the child was specific to him or her and their family. I would do my best to have at least a few words learned in the child’s native language and make certain that when the family arrives that I make certain that I pronouncing their names correctly. I also think it would be fun to involve the whole class by teaching the children words like: hello, welcome, bathroom, eat, happy and sad.

Jenn Pore`

Bias,Prejudice, and Oppression Oh My!

              Many of my classmates have heard me talk about a proposal that I have been working really hard at. The proposal is to add two doublewide manufactured homes to our work property. Our building sits on a big corner lot that would not only accommodate both additions but a large fenced play yard for the children. My plan is to have one wing house our A&D clients and services and the second would be a children’s wing. Sounds great doesn’t it? My proposal is quarter the cost of a quote the Commissioners received 4 years ago to build a new building and yet they still won’t approve my proposal. My Director is 100% behind me, as well as every county supervisor and director of every agency that we work with to include our advisory board. The bias, prejudice and oppression are coming from our three commissioners that of course are who makes the decision.  They cannot conceive that a woman could have come up with such a flawless plan. Every concern and question that they can think of to throw at me, I have been able to answer and show how it was already addressed in the proposal. Their “good old boy” prejudice against women is maddening! I am so angry with these ridiculous men that I can hardly see straight. We are so cramped for space in our current building that we can’t provide all the services that we need to. So my boss and I discussed it and of course the project is far more important than my ego so he has been having meetings with each of the commissioners, getting their questions and concerns and then coming back and working with me for his answers. He has managed to sway two of the three commissioners so far with my information and plans. I was the one that had to change my tactics for this project to have a chance and I think it is a darn shame.

Jenn Pore`