Professional Hopes and Goals

My Hopes

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that my learning environment not only makes them feel safe, loved, or wanted but also included.  One of my professional goals is to include each individual culture within my classroom into the activities, lessons, centers, etc. through the course of the year.  This is a way to help children learn about other cultures, learn to accept and respect those other cultures, and understand that even though the culture is different from theirs, there are still similarities. 

Another goal I would like to set with ECE in relation to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to increase my awareness of those issues in the classroom.  I want to target the issues that are present in my classroom so I can use those moments as teaching opportunities to show how we should respond and teach others who may look different, act different, or have a difference in opinion from ours.  We all know that the issues exist around us, outside the classroom.  The approach with the families, parents, or other adults will be much different from the approach I will take with the children I work with.  Finding a personal touch in a professional manner to address those issues as well will be crucial because once the child leaves my classroom, his family or parents may not support what I’m sharing and showing in the classroom when it comes to diversity, equity, and social justice.  So, increasing their, the parents, awareness as well will be helpful in building the child’s character development. 

Special Thanks

I want to thank all my colleagues, especially during this course, who took time to read my post and respond.  Thanks for your input or feedback; even through the discussion board.  I really have gained insight on the anti-bias that are present in education.  I hope all of you are much closer to your professional goals and will take what you have learned and apply it to the young children and families you work with daily.  Again thanks for being a part of my educational journey and helping me become a better educator.