Welcoming Families from Around the World (Week 7)

The country of my choice is Kenya. In preparing myself to be culturally responsive I would first research and learn background of the country. Learning about the language, culture, how they interact, what foods they and what type of clothing they wear will prepare myself to be receptive of who they are.

The second thing I would do is take a language course online that will help me learn the basic terms of their language like Hi, yes, no, please, thank you, welcome, food. drink, family, children, etc. In Kenya their native language is Swahili. However, they speak English also. In some parts of Kenya their is a new language called "Sheng" which is a language that is a mixture of Swahili and English. So although some may speak English I want to understand Swahili to let the family know I acknowledge their language and make them feel welcome.

The third thing I would do is prepare my classroom so that they can see things from their country. In my current classroom everything is labeled in English and Spanish. I would add their language to the labels so that the children can have a better understanding of identifying things in the classroom. Also, I will post paintings from their country.

The fourth thing I would do is prepare arts and crafts, music and movement, and language activities pertaining to Kenya in my curriculum so that not only am I learning about Kenya but the other children are learning as well. While it is important for myself to relate to the children, the other children in the classroom need to be able to communicate as well. The activities will help everyone get to know another and become more familiar with the language.

The fifth thing I would do is have a welcome to the classroom meeting with all the families. In the meeting I will have all parents welcome the Kenya family and share things about the community that help the Kenya family like shopping centers, local clinics, hospital, library, etc. In addition, I will create a pamphlet with information about child care services such as W.I.C, public assistant food stamps, health insurance, and housing.

I feel that these preparations will help the family feel welcome and little more at ease about coming to a different country. Physically seeing their country paintings, language, and clothing will hopefully give them a sense that we "members of the community" care. Having activities that include the culture will help the students feel comfortable about learning in a different environment. In addition, I feel that letting the family know about what services are available to them will help them get what they need to survive in this country. Many times immigrants come here and no one really help them adapt to our way of living. So hopefully the pamphlet will be a great asset to them.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I remember watching this movie "A Time to Kill" which was about a 10 year old black girl who was violently raped and beat by two white men. Samuel L. Jackson played Carl Lee Hailey who was the father of the young black girl took justice into his own hands when he learned that the two men responsible would get off. Matthew McConaughey played Jake Brigrance who was Carl Lee lawyer and he informed Carl Lee that the men would get acquitted of the chargers due to deep-seated racism in Mississippi Delta. Carl Lee walked into the court room and shot both men that had raped his daughter. In addition, a police deputy was caught in the cross fire and as a result both his legs were amputated. Carl Lee was put on trial and this is when the story gets worse. Sandra Bullock played Ellen Roark who wants to help Jake on case as result she was beaten, tied to a stake in the wilderness in her own underwear, and left to die by KKK. The KKK also burned a cross on Jake lawn, burned down house and nearly killed his dog. These are all incidents that happen during the trial because Jake and Ellen (who are white) are helping Carl Lee (who is black) and the KKK hates blacks. In the end Jake was able to prove that Carl Lee motive to kill the rapist would have been justified in the public eye if he had been white.

The prejudice that happen in this movie that diminished equity is that KKK believed that their shouldn't have been a fair trial and that just because Carl Lee was black he should automatically be put to death. In the South KKK believed that blacks had no rights and whites ruled everything. In a similar case four white teens raped a black girl and walked away so the KKK believed that in this case the two men should have walked too just because they were white.

Watching this film made me sad. First and foremost the girl was 10 years old. The two men raped her so bad that she can't never have children. The men laughed and smiled as if what they did wasn't  wrong and that the young girl deserved it. I felt like people should never be so mean and evil. What real pleasure are you gaining from raping anybody especially a 10 year old girl. She was still a baby. I'm grateful and thankful that I didn't live in that time where blacks had no rights and many of them lived in feared of whites. The movie just really made appreciate all I have today because blacks didn't always this freedom.

If I had the ability to change anything in this film I would change the laws that allowed four teenagers to walk away from raping a girl. It wouldn't have anything to do with the color of their skin. If you do the crime you do the time. I would change the laws so that it would protect everyone and not just one color group of people. Racism is taught. I can't change the minds of members of the KKK but I would create laws that would protect the people from them. I feel like if the teenagers wasn't acquitted in the similar case than in this case it wouldn't have been any issues. By the teenagers getting acquitted it gave others the impression that "Oh if they can get away with it so can we". That just goes back to the saying of "Monkey See, Monkey Do". However, if the teenagers had went to jail maybe the other two rapist would have thought twice about raping a 10 year old girl.

Microaggressions: Are they really needed? (Week 4)

Currently, I am in the process of finalizing things for my wedding. Looking for wedding favors, table cloths, center pieces, and most of all shoes. I traveled to King of Prussia mall over this past week and went in several shoe stores. Since I am a nice person I will not mention the name of the store where I experienced microaggression. However, I walked in the store with two of my sisters (all of us are African American) and a sales clerks approach us. She says "Is there something I can help you ladies with today"? I simply replied, No thank you my sisters and I are just browsing. A mutual friend had told us that the store had a huge selection on shoes and I was sure to find a pair. After maybe 20 minutes had pass the sales person approached us again. She says, across the mall their are several stores that may fit your budget. Here we only have items for our finer customers. At the time I was not thinking about whether this was microaggression. Microagression was far from my mind. I'm thinking "Oh I know she didn't just try to say I can't afford anything in this store"! See I believe that everyone has a boss. I stood up and asked her could she direct me to her direct supervisor. I'm not about to stand in store and make a scene but what I will do is file a complaint. Not only did I talk to her direct supervisor but I also called her direct supervisor. Clearly, she shouldn't be a sales person of anything because she has inner issues that she needs to address and get help for.

In the moment that this lady microinsulted my sisters and I apart of me really wanted to tell her off. I wanted to address her rudely just like she addressed me rudely. However, I was raised differently and I still carry myself like a lady. I didn't have to scope down to her immature level nor did I have to step outside of my comfort zone. My parents taught me how speak properly and how to address insecure folks. This is why I bypassed her and spoke with her direct supervisor. First and foremost lady you don't know what I can afford, how much money I have, nor any authority to tell me to go to another store. If I came to this store it must have been for a reason. The part of her little insult that really raised an eye brow was "Here we only have items for our finer customers". Currently, as I'm writing this blog entry I'm still lost as to who the "finer customers" are? I will not assume what she meant because that will put me on her ignorant level.

This week experience was just confirmation that prejudice, discrimination, and stereotype people still exist. Learning about microaggression gave me clear understanding of just mean people are and what type of people they are. I have dealt with discrimination all my life and its not so much that I'm use to it but more so I'm better able to deal with it. I do not let it define me nor allow what people say to redirect my thinking of who I am. Telling people off always feels like the right thing to do but will it change anything? Going to her direct supervisor and district supervisor felt like something will change. Now maybe she wont change but I'm sure she will always remember the young lady who got her in trouble and got her wedding shoes for 85% off. I'm a firm believer that "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say NOTHING AT ALL!!!!