Welcoming Families from Around the World

 Pictures from Google.com

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

     My husband and I got married at the age of 22 and 23. We had no children and had just bought our first home together. It was during this time that we enjoyed riding his motorcycle. My husband went for a ride one day alone and I stayed at home. It was while walking past my front door that I noticed a person tape a note on my door then walk away without trying to get my attention. I quickly go to the door ad read the note which states "stop speeding through our neighborhood" and is signed "neighborhood watch president". I then call after the gentleman that I see walking away from my home and ask if he left the note. He stated that he did and asked if that was my boyfriend or whoever on the motorcycle. I corrected him and told him that it was my husband. He then proceeds to tell me that he "is the president of the neighborhood watch (in which we did not have) and that my husband speeds up and down the roads constantly". I disagree with him and then he proceeds to ask "if I own or rent the home"? I do not answer and ask him to leave my property as we have both elevated our tones at this point. He jumps onto the side walk then eventually leaves. When my husband returns, I tell him about the incident and he then goes to the man's home to address him. In this conversation the man tells my husband about his encounter with me and that he asked me "if we owned the home and I informed him that, we rented". My husband immediately knew that the man was not being truthful (as he also was not speeding) about anything and ended the conversation.

   This situation made me angry. I felt as if the man first tried to intimidate me with the way that he signed the note to evoke power. Then I felt as if he presumed that I was unwed and could not afford to purchase a home. 

   This discrimination and prejudice diminished equity and could have been changed initially by the man trying to have a conversation instead of hiding behind a note. He could have stated his thought in a respectful manner that would have given me the opportunity to reply in the same manner versus being on the defensive end. I would have then just told my husband "to make sure that he isn't speeding in the neighborhood when he leaves" just in case, even if I knew he had not.  

 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

   I utilized my social media pages for this assignment. I was able to reach a mass quantity of people in a short amount of time and also engage with a wide range of people. I asked the question "what is your definition of culture and what is your definition of diversity?" I requested those that responded not look up their definitions to get their honest feedback. 

   From the answers that I received when referring to culture many people mentioned words that are included in the surface culture such as holiday traditions, clothing and food. Other words that were mentioned were language,  morals, values, music and spiritual practices. When referring to diversity I received the word inclusivity a lot but it was fellow educators or social workers that dissected the word even more. They stated that it means people of all cultures, genders, socio-economic status, religions, sexuality and educational backgrounds.

   The aspects that were omitted from culture were things like gender roles, roles of children. The aspects that were omitted from diversity were age and ability. When thinking about others definition of the two terms it influenced my own thinking by giving me the perspective that one has to have diversity in thinking to be inclusive to all and be diverse and culturally aware.  

My Family Culture

 

 

Research Around The World

 I chose the Early Childhood Australia website for this assignment. Early childhood Australia is an organization said to be the equivalent to NAEYC where their focus is on the topics of "advocacy, influencing many significant issues relevant to the care, wellbeing and education of young children in Australia" (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au). 

 Insights I earned about this organization is that they have a branch in every state and territory that "help identify issues and priorities for state and national action, and influence policies concerning young children" (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au). They also have a Early Learning Matters week that was started in 2018, this week raises awareness of the role of early childhood education and care in children’s development and wellbeing in Australia.

 Noteworthy information about the organization is there are ways in which one could become a member suitable for them such as from the aspect of a student, professional or an institution. Each membership comes with exclusive information about ECA, discounts and benefits.

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/