The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression: Hopes and Goals

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Each year we welcome students back in August. Some come through our doors excited, others, frightened. Students come to the classroom with confidence, having spent previous years at the school and already knowing the procedures to be successful while for other students they wander the hall searching for a friendly face on their first day in a new school. We have students from many different ethnicities and a myriad of family backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common. Each student comes through the door looking for someone to believe in them. My hope when I meet my new group of students for the next school year, especially those from diverse backgrounds, is that they feel welcome in my classroom not just on the first day but throughout the year. I hope the students feel like they matter, with their likenesses represented in a fair and just way throughout the curriculum. I hope they feel valued, through their interactions with me and their fellow students. 
Part of feeling that a student matters, and that their unique perspective is welcome in the classroom means I will take the time to get to know each student and their family individually. My goal, then, is to help each student that comes through the door, no matter their background or abilities to feel that not only can they do big things, but that they are empowered to make a difference for the next child who walks in the door. My goal is to build that community through student interactions and consistent conversations with fellow teachers, so that students feel like they are able to take great risks knowing their teachers and student friends are supporting them.
I am grateful to each of the other students in this class this session. In discussion posts, and blogs each of you I’ve interacted with has helped me clarify my thinking, dig deeper into hard conversations, and challenged me to more fully understand the perspectives of diversity and equity in early childhood education. I appreciate the comments made, the thoughts shared, and the insights shared by fellow students. As the panel noted, the biggest resource we have is each person we interact with, so thank you for helping me learn (Laureate Education, 2011).

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Diversity and equity work: Lessons learned [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

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