About Me

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I believe and live by the Golden Rule, and I wish the rest of the world did as well.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Wisdom of Yoda


Yolanda Thomas has a way of turning my frustrations and negative experiences into a positive life lesson.  She mentors me to respond to negativity in a constructive way, which then turns the situation around in my favor. She has an amazing soul, is a wonderful woman, and great colleague.  Her quiet demeanor is exhibited in every interaction she makes.  Having her in my life has changed the way I interact and communicate with the people around me. She has improved the person I am and I value her support and wisdom. 

Through Yolanda’s guidance I have learned more constructive ways to communicate within our work environment.  Our relationship is symbiotic, as I assist Yolanda with finding resources to utilize and enhance her program, while she is my communication Yoda.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Hope, Goals, and Resource




My hope for all children and families is to feel respected, valued, and welcome in every early childhood programs. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XWg-ZrV3wPk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

  
My goal is to influence change within the early childhood field. I want to educate parents, families, administrators, and teaching staff members about the importance of quality early childhood experiences.  I would like to influence change in the licensing standards for early childhood care programs. Once a month I am going to write an article for the San Angelo Family Magazine. It is a monthly publication geared specifically toward families in the local area. The publication is distributed in doctors’ offices, restaurants, banks, libraries, and many other establishments frequented by families. http://www.sanangelofamilymagazine.com/ watch for my first article in August 2012

I believe we all have a voice, I am hoping to influence as many lives as possible.


So far this program has provided me with a vast amount of perspectives that I would have had without the wisdom and knowledge shared by my fellow classmates. I hope to see you all at graduation. I am already planning my trip to Minneapolis.  Let me know if you are going to be there. Keep in touch. You can always email me at Julie.haffner@goodfellow.af.mil.  I hope I can count on all of you as a resource for future projects and insight. Take care and you can make it.

Supporting cultural and linguistic diversity in early childhood

Saturday, June 16, 2012

The Republic of South Korea

한국의 공화국 

한국의 공화국에서 나의 새로운 가족 문화와 친숙해지하기 위해서는 가지 일반적인 관습과 인사말을 배울 것이다.

 나는 문화적으로 반응하게 가족 환영 느낄 있도록 다섯 가지이다 :

1. 나는 아이와 가족에게 교실에서 어슬렁 대는 배너를 보이게 것입니다. 그것은 말할 것이다 : 우리반에 오신 것을 환영합니다. 김과 가족

2. 나는 도서관 영역에 일부 한국어 도서를 추가합니다. 제임스 하스 에선하여 국내 길을 카운트 K 한국 (세계 알파벳)입니다 고요한 아침의 나라 : 한국 문화 그때와 지금은 중요시하여 수잔 Crowder 한강으로 서울을 방문하자 - BIM ! 린다 공원 의한




3. 나는 솔직하게 놀이 공간, 한국 식료품 패키지, 현지 한국어 식당, 한국 신문에서 메뉴에 가지 한국의 전통 옷을 추가할 것입니다.

4. 나는 가족 정책 절차를 이해할 있도록 한국어로 모든 서류를 번역합니다.

5. 나는 매월 메뉴에 일반적인 한국어 식사를 추가합니다.

환영 환경을 만드는 것은 우리가 그들의 문화를 존중하고 포용하는 가족을 보여줍니다. 우리는 지속적인 대화를 통해 그들의 문화에 대해 배울 있도록 가족을 묻는 것은 장기적인 파트너십을위한 길을 불법 체류자.

 The Republic of South Korea

 In order to become familiar with the culture of my new family from the Republic of South Korea I would learn a few common customs and greeting.

Five things I would do to be culturally responsive and make the family feel welcome is:

1. I would make a banner to hang in the classroom to great the child and family. It would say:

Welcome To Our Class.

Song Ja Kim and family

2. I would add some Korean books in the library area.

Count Your Way Through Korea by James Haskins

K Is for Korea (World Alphabets)

Land of Morning Calm: Korean Culture Then and Now by John Stickler

Let's Visit Seoul by Suzanne Crowder Han

Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park


 






3. I would add some traditional Korean clothes to the pretend play area, Korean grocery packages, a menu from the local Korean restaurant, an a Korean newspaper.

4. I would translate all the forms into Korean to ensure the family could understand policies and procedures.

5. I would add a common Korean meal to the monthly menu.

 Creating a welcoming environment, shows the family that we respect and embrace their culture.  Asking the family to help us learn about their culture through ongoing conversations paves the way for a long term partnership and a genuine relationship.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Say WHAT?!!!!


Last week a very good friend of mine posted on her Facebook page the following message, “....my baby got called a n*gger today at school....I hurt because I can't take away his hurt :-( Some people's kids...” Karla Hall, 2012). She received 92 comments about her post.

The comments were very interesting and insightful for me to understand the ramifications that word has on the African American communities. I felt so bad for my friend Karla and her little man. Karla stated, in one of her comments, that she remembers the day she was called that, as a child, down to what she was wearing.  As a White middle-class citizen, there is nothing in my life that can ever compare to sentiment expressed on Karla’s status.  The teacher’s reaction was to tell the other child not to say that.  I believe that was a very minimal reaction.  The teacher needs to do some educating in cultural respect and tolerance.  I felt do helpless as I cannot relate to the situation or give her guidance or suggestion to help her through the pain.  I did tell her she should contact the school to see if they are going to implement any special curriculum to help the children learns how words can hurt, and any other relevant topics which could help prevent such behavior in the future.  Parents and the teachers need to take action to ensure the children are educated and enlighten, on the topic of cultural respect.