What I have learned

It's hard to believe that it's our last week of our course already. This course has taught me many things about myself that I was surprised to discover, and has helped me uncover more about who I am and why I am who I am and how I came to be that way. It has helped me uncover bias within myself that I did not know existed, and work to become a better person, both in and out of the classroom.

One hope I have when I think about working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that classroom teachers, center directors, other program staff and families will establish mutually respectful and trusting relationships where no assumptions are made about others and potential issues are discussed whenever possible before problems arise and feelings are hurt. I hope for every child to grow and be educated in an environment where their identity is nurtured and everyone is respected and feels validated for who they are.

My goal for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice pertains to early childhood programs becoming more inclusive, especially of children with varying needs. It is my hope that more programs adopt approaches similar to the one described by Kate Kissinger (Pelo, 2008) when she describes her journey of developing a meaningful relationship with a child in her classroom with varying abilities. Many teachers shy away from this, even when adopting an anti-bias curriculum in other ways. When teachers include children with varying needs and accept them, it opens the door for children to view the child as a classmate, fellow learner, friend and human being. It encourages children to think critically about how to treat others who are different from them, and how to advocate for others who may not be able to advocate for themselves.

Finally, I want to say a brief thank you to all of my colleagues during this course for all of their support and varying perspectives. Learning from each of you has been enlightening for me and I hope to see you next semester. Otherwise, I wish my colleagues well in their endeavors.



Reference

Pelo, A. (Ed.). (2008). Rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.