HD361-Reflection

HD 361 Final Reflection

Cherilyn Helguera
June 3, 2016

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The first day of HD 361 class, I immediately felt different than my previous
courses. Something was wrong and I could not put my finger on it. By the second week I
figured it out: I was a minority in the course. I had never felt this way before, nor did I
feel as if I treated others in a negative manner. As the professor introduced topics one
caught my attention. He asked, What does Manifest Destiny mean? The class had
various definitions but we all agreed it meant creating your own destiny. He played a
video that I remember as a child, Schoolhouse Rock. I loved these after school videos and
would hum the tunes. As we watched it, I started to struggle with the words. I realized I
never payed attention to the words as a child, just the tune of the songs and the
presentation of the videos. It was disheartening to realize that the settlers from Europe
thought it was their God given right to go to a land that was inhabited and take it over,
even by force if necessary.
I started to wonder, how could Christopher Columbus discover a New World if
there were people living in it? I began to reflect on all the previous experiences my
classmates went through and began to have a better understanding of their struggles. I
thought that these stories we were taught in school were historical facts, with the key
word being historical. I believed that we were greatly evolved as a country and more
open-minded today. I realized I was wrong.
I was encountered with a different issue regarding Thanksgiving. One parent said,
I dont participate in such a violent celebration! I asked her what she meant and she
spoke of the horrific acts towards the Native American people. I did understand her
prejudice towards this

HD361-Reflection

National holiday, since we began our course work with a mini clip regarding Manifest
Destiny. Realizing how much information is made unavailable when learning the history
of the United States makes me feel ignorant. I have learned that the power of change is
based on my willingness to be educated. If it were not for this coursework, I would still
be blind to the social injustices that plague our society. Listening to the other students in
my class has also broadened my understanding of prejudices.
Racism is not solely experienced by one color or ethnic group, but oppression can
happen to all sorts of people, whenever those with privilege and power negatively judge
differences. Through my work as an educator, I had listened to many parents of color
make racial comments to other families of not only those of different cultures, but also
those similar to themselves. There was a mother in my classroom that is an active parent
with her three daughters, one of whom is in my classroom. Mom is African-American
and Mexican-American while dad is Caucasian. This woman has made many prejudicial
comments towards other parents of her same race.
I see her judgments as based on characteristics of parenting, not color. She uses
her upbringing as the standard to compare to others around her. She is clearly open to
biracial relationships, but judgmental about how people of color parent their children. She
made a comment once about another parent who is African-American, saying, That is
such a typical black parent! I asked her what she meant by that comment. She said,
Always belittling and putting the children down. Arent we supposed to raise them up
and encourage them that they matter? I did agree with her point, but I also know that a
tendency to belittle children is not a trait exclusive to parents of color, nor shared by all
parent of color.

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My ah-ha moment came during a book presentation on, The Long Haul. As I
read the book I began to see the structure of the Highlander School to resonate within
Pacific Oaks College. When I first started Pacific Oaks, I expected to do many research
papers, cite theorists, and take many tests. Yet, to my surprise it was quite the opposite.
The professors continued to fill my mind with the wonders of critical thinking and
dialogue amongst the classmates. Each semester discussions filled the room of how each
one of our developmental experiences can be associated with the topics.
In the beginning it was difficult to accept, but each semester I opened a little more
and embraced the process. Upon reading this book, I began to understand Myles Hortons
goal of the workshops within the school. These classes were not based on complaints in
daily life, but that each person was a representative to a group. They were coming
together with social and political concerns and learned to rely on each other to critically
think how to create solutions.
I am a representative from the classroom I work in. Some may look at how viable
would it be to preschool students, yet, this is where it begins. Myles Horton believed in,
providing people opportunities to learn for themselves by making decisions, two
concepts are central: Social Equality and Freedom of Speech. These elements are true in
the preschool classroom as well. Children come in with biases that have been imbedded
into their processing by their immediate caregivers. You can build strength from the
bottom up instead of the top down (Horton, M. 1998).
I am gleaning information from my classmates in how to create an inclusive
environment for my students. Allowing children to practice freedom of speech and follow
through with open-ended questions to stimulate their thinking of why they believe in their

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statements. I enjoy observing children in how they process information around them. I
have had to take a step back and realize not all childrens statements are bias. Some
statements are just innocent views of what they see.
I have valued the openness of my classmates in regards to their personal conflicts of
racism today. These discussions have allowed me to realize that racism is still today in
modern society. Since I have viewed our nation's accomplishments through the years, I
have realized how far we still have to go. It is important for me to view my world without
a deficit lens. I look at people with two eyes simultaneously all the time, and as they
develop and grow, I still look at them that way. Ive got to remind myself constantly that
theyre not all they can be (Horton, M. 1998). My intrical part in the world is valuing
my preschool students, but guiding them in the process of valuing their fellow
classmates. Being apart of their guidance in viewing the world within a small
environment. My ultimate hope is that these moments will not only set my students on a
path of becoming critical thinkers, but modeling this for their own families.
When I participated in presentations regarding the NAACP and The Civil Rights
Act of 1964, it made me appreciate the efforts and sacrifices that were made in the fight
for equality. Children are not born prejudice free. We are innately wired to perceive
difference and compare difference. The problem is when differences are ascribed
negative values. That is what children in a societal context, beginning within their
families of origin, but not exclusively, learn. A child who watches the original Peter Pan
Disney movie will learn a certain picture of Native Americans, and one that may not be
shared by their parents.

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One concept that stands out the most for me that Professor Giraldo stated in class
is racial micro-aggression. This phrase means: subtle verbal/non-verbal assault on a
person of color by a white person whether consciously or unconsciously. I was shocked
to know that these actions are still being displayed today. I have chosen to broaden my
perspective on people and be open to understanding cultural differences. As a
professional educator I want to begin this process within my classroom. Educating
children and their families to not simply tolerate one another, but to embrace our
differences and celebrate them is my goal.

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Reference

Horton, M., Kohl, J. & Kohl, H. (1998). The Long Haul.

Teachers College Press. New York, New York