REFLECTING ON LEARNING

            “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

                                                                                      Martin Luther King. Jr.

We contend that students who interact with diverse students in classrooms and in the broad campus environment will be more motivated and better able to participate in a heterogeneous and complex society (Gurin, Nagda, & Lopez, 2003).  Early childhood educators have deep faith in the principles that all people deserve the opportunities and resources to fulfil their complete humanity (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). Now I am convinced more than ever before that there are many benefits that an individual and indeed the society gained when diversity is embraced and valued.

As an early childhood educator, my most passionate hope for the future is to see children from diverse backgrounds and differences in my class and in the society interacting amongst themselves and with people around, flourishing and blossoming. A hope for the true fulfillment of Martin Luther King's dream that one day little children will live in a nation- in a world- where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, by where they come from, by the circumstance of their birth, but by the content of their character.

My learning in this course has been of great benefit to me and has helped me in setting some goals which I know if I pursue, I will be a better and a more effective anti- bias early childhood educator.  Having said this, I will like to say a big thank you to our professor for facilitating such a wonderful and highly beneficial learning activity that this course is. I also thank my dear course-mates for the privileges and benefits of learning together, the valuable learning experiences that you shared through weekly discussion postings, valuable comments and responses are cherished, valued, and highly useful. I wish you all success in your future academic and career pursuits.

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Gurin, P., Nagda, B. A., & Lopez, G. E. (2003).  The benefits of diversity in education for democratic citizenship. Retrieved from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pgurin/benefits.html