My hope as an early childhood educator is to help nurture and support the healthy development of young children from diverse backgrounds. One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is to remain committed to social activist work I began last semester working with Professor Aref Abu Rabia and the Bedouin community. Since last semester we are still working on moving forward with the grant proposal for a Bedouin Ecology Center located in Southern Israel. He asked me to build the website, here it is: http://firdawsalhikma.wix.com/ecologycenter Lastly I would like to thank my colleagues for their positive support throughout this course. I feel very close to you all, especially since we have been delving deep into our social identity and childhood, it has been a very rewarding experience. I would also like to thank Professor Anthony Morgan for his helpful insights in this challenging and rewarding course.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

New Student's Country of Origin noun: Kazakhstani(s) adjective: Kazakhstani Ethnic groups: Kazakh (Qazaq) 63.1%, Russian 23.7%, Uzbek 2.8%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Uighur 1.4%, Tatar 1.3%, German 1.1%, other 4.5% (1999 census) Languages: Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)

* At least five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family 1. Study about the child's country, culture and food. 2. Encourage other students to be welcoming, assign a buddy for the new student. 3. Learn a few key phrases in their native language. 4. Prepare some openers which will allow the child to feel part of the classroom. 5. Post up some pictures of the child's home country and show the class where it is located on the globe. * A brief statement describing in what ways you hope that these preparations will benefit both you and the family I hope through these preparations that I will be able to make the new student feel comfortable and a part of the group.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I love to shop at my local drugstore. I must have shopped there multiple times a week for over a year. The store manager “Dale” always struck me as a bit strange, but I always was friendly to him. One time during Halloween I needed helium balloons for the class party, and nowhere in town had helium. I brought my deflated balloons to Dale and asked if he had helium, “Sure, you’re one of our best customers!” He filled up my balloons for free and a woman saw and asked if he could fill some balloons for her and he said no. He was always friendly and would even give me the clearance price on some items that probably weren’t on sale. Then one day, I went to shopping a few days before Christmas. He asked, “Oh, do you need Christmas ornaments, they just got marked down, check isle 5.” And I replied, “No actually, I’m Jewish.” Suddenly, it was a very awkward moment. He replied, “What!” I said in a friendly voice, “Well I do need some holiday wrapping and cards for the teachers, but we actually celebrate Hanukkah.” At that moment, Dale looked at me with this almost look of disgust. And I will admit it, it hurt me. I couldn’t understand how he could be so shocked when he discovered I was Jewish.I felt almost betrayed that a year and half of friendly interactions could all go out the window in a split second. I learned from that incident, that it is better for me to stay quiet. In some ways, it silenced me. I learned that it’s better to fly under the radar and not share the details of my life with random strangers. After that incident, I stopped shopping there for a month or so, but finally I went back. I still see Dale, and we are still cordial, but he has never treated me the same even though he is still nice, he looks at me differently.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Without realizing it, I know that I witness examples of aggression everyday. Sometimes it may be someone rolling their eyes behind someones back or someone becoming irritated in the checkout line. When I think of microaggression, I think of acts of aggression which is directly targeted towards someones race, ethnicity, skin color or sexuality. One example I can think of happened just the other day. My son and I were having lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. The menu has pictures of the food with writing in Chinese. Many of the customers are Chinese and I can see at least one group of White customers. The waiter speaks broken English, and the white female customer becomes frustrated when he does not seem to understand her request. She says loudly, “Can someone find me a waiter that actually speaks English.” People look up from their tables and glare at the woman and then go back to eating. I can see that the waiter seems upset. I witness these racial microaggressions quite often, although after this class I know I will be paying closer attention these incidents

Blog: My Family Culture Imagine the following: A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture. Blog about all of the following:

My daughter's stuffed animal: Doggie She has had him since she was born and won't go to sleep or anywhere new without "Doggie."

My Family Photo Albums which include pictures of my grandparents, my parent's wedding, my childhood and my children, as well as pictures of friends.

MY Passport In order to prove my identity and birthdate, I would need my passport. I can't imagine how hard it would be to leave everything you know and start from scratch in a new place. At the end of the day, I just need my family and I believe that we could rebuild and with a positive attitude be able to make a bright new future much like the immigrants that move here to start new lives.

When I Think of Research...

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course? Research is a complicated process, and I have learned that many steps must be taken by a researcher before the actual research process takes place. I feel most connected to a Poststructuralist methodology which states, “poststructuralist researchers reject the idea that we can ever be certain about the world because its complexity and dynamism defy encapsulation, categorization and closure.” (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010) In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed? My ideas about the nature of doing research has changed and I have developed a greater appreciation for the entire process. What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn? I discovered that the planning process of a research project is just as important as conducting the actual research. In may ways, it is important to be as realistic as possible as to the feasibility of the project in order to be prepared for the challenges one may face. But, as a researcher one must be prepared to face challenges and be able to communicate these challenges in an objective non-bias fashion. What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them? One of the greatest challenges I faced during this process was in deciding which research simulation project to choose from. Ultimately, I chose the project that was more challenging but that felt closer to my heart. Another challenge I faced was the importance of remaining objective throughout the research process. My research simulation project was called, "Examining the Prevalence of Restraint and Seclusion of Autistic Children in School Settings." For this project I studied many cases of restraint and seclusion and it became a very emotional situation in which I had a very difficult time separating myself what I was reading. Being objective is a very important element of being a researcher, and I found it very difficult. Resources: Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S. & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010) Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. I would like to thank Professor Johnna Darragh for your supportive and positive encouragement for and my fellow classmates for your support throughout this course, I look forward to future classes with you all!

I examined the website, http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au, which has many resources for parents and educators of young children. This website offers parent's a guide to children's behavior in a book called, "Children are people too" which examines current parenting methods which rewards good behavior and punishes bad behavior. According to the author, Louis Porter, this common method of parenting actually escalates behavior problems. I think it is wonderful that the Early Childhood Australia website offers book suggestions to parents which help them rethink current practices. The website offers information on many topics, including: behavior, diversity, health, social/emotional learning, leadership, ethics and much more. Early Childhood Australia is geared for early childhood professionals, staff and directors of child care centers, as well as parents, grandparents and caregivers. I found this website very well organized and very comprehensive, offering relevant advice to help support the healthy development of young children.