Who will I meet that will challenge me? Encourage me? Support me?
What response will I receive from these people? What will they expect of me? What will I gain?
When will I meet that challenging person? When will I apply every single bit of knowledge from here on out? When will the rest of the world see how very important social justice is?
Where will I go? Where will I teach? Where will I overcome? Where will I fail?
Why do they act like this? Why am I so nervous around some people that are different than me?
How will I do it all?
...and those are just some of the questions flying through my mind!!!
A goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field is this:
Recognize diversity, work toward equity, and commit to social justice in all that you do.
I think that it's safe to say that the above goal is also a challenge to my colleagues. Thanks to all of you for your comments, questions, challenges, and kind words. Without each of you I would not have gained the amazing amount of knowledge that I have over the past eight weeks!
Dear Amanda, what a wonderful post!!! I completely relate to all the questions you stated! It is funny because as I was reading them I was trying to answer them and I have an answer for many of them, but I know this is only a temporary answer since each day, each moment, each place, each experience is a new situation that (affects this lifelong journey of anti-bias work (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).
ReplyDeleteI also want to thank you personally for your support, sharing your ideas, knowledge and insights and your personal experience, which we both know is one of the most teachable resources we can have as early childhood professionals. Thanks again and good luck during the capstone and the rest of this journey! Enjoy the ride!!! :)
Reference
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Your commitment to anti-bias work [DVD]. Strategies for working with diverse children. Baltimore, MD: Author.