Hopes and Dreams

     I hope that with all the children and families that I work with, that no one feels left out or belittled by the actions that I take.  I always try my best to stay on top of information and work that is needed on a daily basis within the classroom.  Many of my students are in before and after school care, it is my hope that with the extra attention to newsletters, handouts, notes and projects that even if I do not see parents, that they feel welcomed within the room.  I know that my parents are working hard to support for their families, and I want them to know that I am working hard with their children as well. 
     The one goal that I have is to set up and maintain a Who Am I wall.  I want families and children to be able to explore their cultural heritage and be confident in stating who they are and where they come from.  Many of my students are unaware of the differences around them.  They know the similarities when they talk about parents in jail, or electricity being turned off. I do not want them to know that this is the only similarity they share with people.  I want the students within my class to leave with a love and understanding of who they are.
    
     I have loved sharing this course with all of my classmates.  It has been an adventure of learning, and I am sad to see this class go.  Thank you all for your kind words of support and wisdom! I look forward to continuing the journey with you all, and to conquer this program!

Hello Finland!

I was inspired about the story in our course reading, and I started to investigate Finland.  The more I investigate it, the more I want to go!!
There are some great ways that you can make a new family feel welcome in your center.

First off you can have signs in their native language that welcome them into the room.  The website http://www.speakfinnish.co.uk/phrases/general_conversation has all different types of phrases, numbers, colors and other valuable language that you can learn and hear in Finnish!
This would be an amazing thing to work with students prior to the students arrival into the room.  That way when the family enters, the classroom has some key phrases that they have studied that they can say to welcome the new child into the room. 

With learning about the language, you can also learn about the country at www.visitfinland.com.  Children in the class can spend time researching information and come up with a list of questions that they would like to ask the new student upon their arrival.  This can give the student a sense of pride in who they are and where they came from. 

Art projects, who doesn't love a good art project? Students would be able to tear pieces of paper in the colors of the flag of Finland to place on the walls within the classroom to show support of the new students arrival. 

Talking with the family and finding out what language they speak will be very important.  Even though it is said that many Finnish people speak English it will be important to ask the family what other language they would like to keep with the child.  In doing so I would also ask the family if they would mind coming in once a month and read a story to the class in Finnish.  This would give the children and the family a love of a language.  To be able to learn a new language, and to keep an old one. 

The last thing that I would do is to give the family a list of resources that are available within the community that have a link to Finnish culture.  There could be a restaurant, small community, a library with information, or even a health spa.  Saunas are huge in the Finnish culture.  It is something that is started when children are very young, and some even have their last cleansing in a sauna after they die.  It is a cultural thing that they take very seriously.  Finding a resource like that within the community would be a friendly gesture to say "welcome home."

The Personal Side of Bias, Oppression and Prejudice

I really had to think about this one.  There have always been name calling or negativity, but I really had to think of the meaning behind it. So this is what I remember....

When I moved out to California I was living with a family that stayed away from the faith practices.  I had been attending church for as long as I could remember, and missed the family support.  So I went with one of the families friends to their church with them.  This was awkward the whole way around.  It felt weird leaving the house because I felt like I was breaking some kind of code that the family stays in the house on Sunday's.  So when I returned from church I was talking to the lady I was living with, and I told her that her friend had complimented me. The lady I was living with made up this whole shenanigans as to why is was just about her friend, and not even really directed at me. After that she cut off contact from that friend.  It was really hard to go back to church after that. I felt like it wasn't acceptable to go. 

Just because I came with a different set of values does not mean that she had to squash them because I was not like her.  It was deflating because it was part of who I was.  I was in a time in my life where I had to find out who I was, and unfortunately I did not fight hard enough for the things that I wanted for myself. 

Going through this experience I wish I would have stuck to my guns, and kept up with what I found important. There were other people around me that had the similar passions as me, I was just afraid to stand up for myself.  In this situation I think that we could have both learned from each other.  She had a fear about the church, something that needed to be worked out.  Also it is important for her to understand that whatever she went through as a child, is not the way that it has to be as an adult.  I needed to learn how to stand up for myself.  I spent too much of my life trying to please other people and to help them, instead of figuring out who I was and what I wanted. 

You can only learn and grow from the past to become a stronger person.