Great communicator (EDUC 6165)

Someone that I feel is a very effective communicator is a radio host and author called Stuart McLean. He hosts a program on Canada's public radio station called The Vinyl Cafe about music and life. The show is often taken on the road as well. Although I've never seen him, on the radio I imagine the rapport he has with his live audience. He tells stories throughout the show and his cadence is compelling. You want to know what happens even when nothing much is happening. He is modest and gentle when he is speaking. You feel as if he is speaking directly to you. I aspire to have the same kind of rapport with the children in my class.

Professional Hopes and Goals (EDUC 6164)

One hope I have when I think about working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I can create an environment that values each child for who they are. I hope that I can show understanding and compassion as well as help the children to accept themselves and others. I hope I can teach children that differences are not bad things.

One goal that I have is to have more open discussion with colleagues and parents about issues of diversity and social justice. Discussion is vital in understanding and being open to other viewpoints is vital to constructive discussion.

I want to thank my colleagues in this class. Your posts and comments have made me think and re-evaluate ideas that I've had. Your support has allowed me to reflect and grow. 

Welcoming Families from Around the World (EDUC 6164)

The country that I chose for my new family is Brazil. I have had and currently have a family from there but still only have a basic idea about the country.

To prepare I would do the following things.

1. Learn to say hello, goodbye and thank you in Brazilian Portuguese.
2. Read about the different areas of Brazil and find out where my family is from.
3. Find out some of the cultural traditions that are practised in that area.
4. Read about family life and school life in Brazil.
5. Find other children in the school who speak that same language so that I can introduce them to each other.

By doing this research I hope to be able to welcome this family more fully into my class. I'm hoping to help make the transition easier because I have information about what differences they might face. I'm also hoping to make the family and especially the child in my class feel safe and comfortable. Knowing what school life was like in Brazil I can help ease the new child into new routines.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppression (EDUC 6164)

      As I have mentioned before I live in the Netherlands but I am originally from Canada. When I first moved here, I needed to get my teaching credentials certified by the Dutch authorities. This was a pain to do and took some time. I had to get my degree stamped first by my university in Calgary to certify it's validity. They sent it to me in the Netherlands. I then had to send it back to Ottawa to get it stamped by the Dutch embassy in Canada. When this was done, my degree was certified and I was able to hold the position of teacher.

      I have a colleague who is from St. Maarten's which is part of the Dutch Antilles. She, unlike me, has held a Dutch passport since birth. Her education was in Dutch and followed a Dutch system. She also had to get her teaching degree certified by the Dutch authorities. Although her program was almost identical to mine, hers was denied. The only reason that I can see for this is that most people from the Dutch Antilles are black. The result of this denial is that she holds the position of teaching assistant even though she has the responsibilities of a teacher. She has her own class and is expected to take on the same tasks that I am. Because she has a teaching assistant position she is paid significantly less. She has almost as much experience as I do and yet she gets half the salary.

    This situation started about 7 years ago when the school district where we work started checking certifications. It has yet to be resolved. I still feel angry at the unfairness of it all. The only way she can rectify this situation is to redo her teacher training, something that is almost impossible while working a full time job. She is a single mother and can't take time off to go to school. She shouldn't have to either as she has already done all the training required. I also feel helpless to change the situation. She has accepted it but I can't seem to let go of my feelings of unfairness.

   In order to bring greater equity to this situation I think the process of certifying degrees should be changed. Rather than looking at the degree itself, they should look at the courses in the program. They should compare the actual program completed to the program that is offered here. They should also take into account the era that the degree was completed as requirements change. The location of the university should not be known to the committee that certifies the degrees.

Practising Awareness of Microaggressions (EDUC 6164)

The task this week was to observe microaggressions. I did not observe many, in fact only one that was on television. I think the reasons for this are the environments in which I live and work. My school is an international school and, as such, most of the teachers are acutely aware of different cultures. Most teachers are think carefully about how they say things because of this. This doesn't mean there are no microaggressions at my school, just that I did not see any this week. My home environment is in a language that is not my own. While I can follow conversations, I often miss hidden messages if they are present. This makes it difficult to identify microaggressions.

The one microaggression I did observe was on a cooking show on tv. The idea is that amateur and professional cooks from a certain region compete against each other to represent their region in the final. The task was for the eight cooks to be divided into teams with a team leader choosing who they wanted. One team leader, male, chose all women to work with because they wanted attention and would be more easily led. This statement made me indignant. The hidden message is that women are weak and need a strong leader to achieve something.

Stereotypes are an easy way to define people. They release you from having to open yourself up to other possibilities. They can give you a target for your frustrations. The most common target here is the Morrocan community. They are stereotypically portrayed as troublemakers who are too lazy to work. The members of this minority are often blamed, individually and collectively,  for many of the ills and troubles in the country. One result of this is that some members of the Morrocan community are very angry at everyone. This can promote hatred and feed into the cycle of exclusion that already exists.

Perpectives on diversity and culture (EDUC 6164)

    I asked a range of people the two questions this week and got very similar answers from most of them. As a definition of culture the prevailing synopsis was the beliefs and traditions of different groups of people. One person suggested that culture is made up of the music, art, dance and literature of a group. When asked about diversity the main response was a group that includes people from different cultures. The people I asked had some difficulty describing diversity.

    Most of the points brought up by my interviewees were part of the surface culture, the tip of the iceberg that is easy to see and to compare. These include the art and music of a group as well and the traditions, food and dress. When talking about diversity they all mentioned having a variety of cultures. An example of this is a classroom in our school which represents between 10 and 15 cultures in itself.

    There was no mention by anyone of 'deep' culture. Although one person described how the aspects mentioned gave an idea of the groups beliefs there was no mention of how culture shapes our everyday interactions. No one described culture as all-encompassing. Religious beliefs were mentioned as were political beliefs. One respondent even mentioned 'teacher-itis'. No one commented on how these aspects of culture are the lens through which we see life (Taylor, Laureate Education, 2011).

   I was surprised by some of the responses that I got. Most of the respondents are colleagues and work in the same environment as I do. We have had many discussions as a staff about culture and diversity. Part of the curriculum that we teach is international mindedness. What surprised me is the almost exclusive use of surface culture as a definition. While we talk about the diversity in our school and accepting differences, none of this was reflected in the definitions. For my own definitions now I want to be sure to include the differences within an ethnic group. I want to think about how diversity can occur within one person.

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Family cultures: Dynamic interactions [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Family Culture (6164 Diversity)

       The first item that I would take with me would be my iPad. Both my husband and I are tech nerds. We love gadgets, so much so that I call my iPad my baby. My iPad gives me access to all my photos including the scans of the slides my father took. He is deceased. My iPad also allows me to read as many books as I want in whatever language I want. In a new culture, being able to have something familiar is incredibly comforting.

       The second item I would take would be my recipe book. Although I don't cook a lot there are certain family recipes that I would like to be able to recreate. Comfort food is another thing that reminds a person of home and family. It's one of the things I miss living so far from my family.

       The third item would  be my family tree. This has been created by my dad and gives me a sense of belonging. It allows me to trace my history on one side of my family and gives me roots. It is an ongoing project that I have been adding to since I took it over in my teens.

        If I was told that I needed to give up 2 items to enter the country, it would be difficult to decide between them. I would feel unsettled. At the same time, I would feel like taking the opportunity to build a new life. Sometimes hanging on to traditions too tightly can close off growth. While I would want to keep a connection with my roots, it would be important to put down new roots, especially if we needed to stay in our new country.

        I found this assignment particularly difficult because I have left my home country to live in a new place. I have started building a new life more than once and, while it's always difficult, it also gives a sense of freedom. I have discovered that family culture is very adaptable. In a new place, you hold on to objects and traditions that make you feel comfortable but you also collect new objects and traditions that become as important to you as the older ones.