Professional Hopes & Goals

            A hope that I have when working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to give them my undivided attention and respect for their cultural beliefs, values, traditions, etc. For me to become a culturally sensitive professional, I must become self-aware so I may recognize that their beliefs and behaviors are representative of only one perspective (Gardiner, Fraser & French, 2011, p. 37). As I begin to understand the family’s needs, the better chance I have for them to be more open to growing an honest relationship with me as an educator. I do not want families to feel that they are unable to come and talk to me about their child, I want to improve everyone’s goals and focus on what is most important, the student. Many cultures that are not part of the dominant culture may feel they are not getting the adequate resources to support their child or even the support from the educator.

            My goal is to support everyone that enters my classroom, for me to make this happen I must continue with professional development courses, continue growing relationships with my colleagues and family members, and to even do my own research on cultures that I may be unsure about. As an early childhood professional, I am signing up to be a life long learner, and knowledge is the one thing that no one can take away from you. Some educators may have not received the training to be culturally aware or sensitive, and I hope I can share my life experiences and learning experiences to help them grow professionally. No educator should just “learn-on-the-job” as they begin working with diverse families but to have a basic understanding of how to promote an anti-bias classroom and support the differences around the world with their students.

            I want to personally thank my colleagues and professor, during these last eight weeks I have a greater understanding of not only myself but also the many differences and even similarities between the many different cultures in our classroom. Being able to work on an online community and talking with professionals who are all over the globe is extremely eye opening in itself, but being able to discuss culture and diversity and getting to the nitty-gritty was such a great experience. Thank you again, and I wish you all the best of luck in continuing your education in the early childhood field! I hope to see some of you in our next class!

Reference:

Gardiner, E., Fraser, S., & French, C. (2011, August 1). The Relevance of Cultural Sensitivity in Early Intervention. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=4dc6ea7c-89b5-4de4-b5e8-2fa6dfb17e81%40sessionmgr102