Thinking back over my life time there are many instances where people have advocated for me, when people were willing to go the extra mile to help me achieve goals or dreams. I believe that I have been fortunate.
For this assignment, I believe it would be most fitting to share my earliest recollection of advocacy. Being a minority in an all white school in Warren Michigan in the late 1970's was probably one of the best opportunities that I have had in my life. The advantage I had was being of mixed race where it was difficult to tell my race, unless you had met my father in person. My teachers were the best teachers! They were patient, polite and dedicated. As a child I probably wasn't as appreciative as I am today for all of the times I had to stay in class and redo or complete work while my classmates were outside playing, but I know today it is because of these ladies that I am who I am today. They identified that I had a speech problem and referred me for services, although I am not sure if I had a speech problem or if it was a dialect issue, but either way I was given the opportunity to learn to speak proper English. They did whatever it took to make sure that I had the same opportunity as every other child. No excuses. Mrs. Mabry and Mrs. Thompson were my Kindergarten and First grade teachers and I truly feel that they went beyond their teaching duties to make me successful as a student.
It is this spirit that I would like to offer my students. I want every child to have the best opportunity possible, and that means that early childhood educators have to identify developmental delays or neurological impairments and help the families get the children the services they need. The first five years of life are so vital to the development of children, if we can identify delays or problems with development there is time to correct or improve the issue.
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog this week. What you experienced as a minority at an all white school in the 70s must have been quite a learning experience. My mother-in-law was actually the first African American student at her high school in Berlin, MD. Berlin is quite a small town, and still today is set in a "good old boy" mentality. She actually just took myself and my two daughters (who are bi-racial) to see some older restaurants that she was only able to go in the back door! This is amazing to me because she is only 55 and it seems to me like she is too young to have experienced this. For her it was not her teachers who advocated for her success, but one aunt who supported her through school and spoke up for her when needed. She learned how important it was to stand up for what you believe. When she had her own children (one being my husband) she had to continue to fight the very blatant racism that resides here. One example of this was her two oldest children were waiting at the bus stop and the bus driver told her he didn’t want any "colored" kids on his bus, and pulled off. Obviously she did not want her children on that bus, but she was the only person to go to the board and speak up for change. A local daycare told her that they didn't know how to take care of black children. This was another time she was forced to make her voice heard. I was not raised here for the first 14 years of my life I lived outside of D.C. so when we moved here I was shocked by how behind in times it seemed to be. Fortunately for our two girls things have improved and the schools are more diverse. I admire my mother-in-law for always taking the first steps, never carrying hate in her heart for what others have done wrong, and loving her family enough to stand up when it is hard. I strive to be strong like that and be a voice for others. As I am currently a Head Start teacher, and was a fourth grade teacher I have seen how dyer it is to identify problems and needs as soon as possible for our children. As their brains develop we know that it is much earlier to fix a problem and learn new skills young rather than trying to remediate later in life. I wish you luck with your Pre-K school and commend you on your overall success!
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteIt is so important for children to have someone to advocate for them. Far too often, children are situation where they do not anyone who will standup for them. It is good you had two great teachers to advocate for you. I was born and raised in Detroit in the 70's and back then Warren, MI was one of the cities known to be racist. The great divider of races was 8 mile Rd