Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

My first teaching job after graduating college was a preschool position that provided me practice, knowledge, and great memories, although it took me a while to build a rapport with some of my parents because I was not wealthy like them, drove an older car, and didn't live close to the school. The day school I worked at was located in one of the richest areas of New Jersey where many of my mothers were fortunate enough not to work and provided their children with many experiences and material items that many other children did not get to have. Some of my families were not in this position financially and were much more open to conversing with myself not just about their children but life in general. These wealthier families made it hard to communicate with them because when I would approach them about their child whether it be regarding their strengths and or challenges, I would get a cold shoulder or an attitude that suggested I do not know what was best for their child. All I basically wanted to do was update them on their child’s education and try to get some information to start to work together as a team. These families wanted nothing to do with working with me and I felt not good enough to be their teacher the way they would speak to me or pretty much not speak to me. I did confront some others teachers that had their child/children previously and they experienced a very similar reaction but it started to die down just as they were moving to a different classroom. Teachers have been trying to work with these families and include them in their children’s educational journey for years and have been unsuccessful. Due to the parent’s attitudes to the teachers unfortunately the children have received mixed messages on how to communicate with others, adults and children. I can honestly say that because of the behaviors and attitudes of the parent’s my overall thought of the children was not as positive as they should have been. It became harder to work with the children because I received no help outside of school by the parents and to be honest their attitudes mimicked their parent’s, where communication became a challenge. What I had also noticed about these children is that they were not immersed in any other cultures other than the dominant culture which they belonged to. It was very difficult to accept others differences and often made fun of children that were not like them and didn’t have the fancy toys they had at home.

Due to the behaviors and attitudes of the children’s parents my overall assumption and outlook of them was not the best it should have been. But also due to the similar attitudes by the children working with them on improving their knowledge of educational information as well as their behavior towards others became a challenge. I do not feel that these children received what they needed educationally and emotionally due to the wall that was kept between the parent’s and the teachers. Because of the way the parents felt about individuals that were of a different culture and whom had less means than they had their children were not accepting of others who were different and didn’t get the opportunity to learn and share from others who were diverse. It was apparent that the parent’s didn’t want their child/children to socialize with children of different races, because of the handful of ethnic families we had in our school, mainly we were all Caucasian, they kept their distance from them and pulled their children away from them if they happened to be playing when they picked them up.  As Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) state “In everything they do, families communicate their culture’s values, beliefs, rules, and expectations to their children”. These children are not receiving the correct messages of others because they are getting no adult guidance at home and what is taught in school most likely is forgotten when they hear certain conversations by the adults at home. “By preschool age, children begin to absorb stereotypes and attitudes about other ethnic/cultural groups from their family and the larger society” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). To this day I wish I would have been able to put aside some of my feelings and biases and break down the wall that stood between us. Since then I have had my share of parents that have rejected communication with me, and some that have come through slowly but made it, and I’m sure these encounters won’t be my last. But I will say I am a firm believer in parent interaction and participation in their child’s educational path in order for success and I will always try my best to make their journey a team effort between all of us.

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).