Final Blog

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL……….

I really enjoyed reading your post and responding to each one of you.  I really feel that each one of us have a passion for children and that we all want what is best for children in the early childhood field.  I look forward to seeing some of you in future courses. 

My hope for working with families and children is to gain knowledge and be able to help.  Having a positive altitude and a passion to help families is a positive.  I hope to continue to have the desire to help families and children in the near future. 

My goal is to make a difference in families lives and to be able to provide them with resources that are available to them.  Helping families and educating them in regards to their children and their homes can be rewarding when working with families.  Educating and knowing that I did my job is a goal that I always strive to succeed. 

BERMES PEOPLE

I have worked with a Burmese Family this year.  I had a Child Protective Service investigation that came in on the family. The referral stated that a 15 year child had just had a baby from a man that was 25 years old.  The hospital made the referral and our agency accepted the referral.  First of all I did not know anything about Burmese people.  I did not know that Burmese people exist.  The first thing I had to do is research.  I Google Burmese people and read about their culture and where they are from.  The main important thing was their language.  Our agency did not have any one to speak Burmese language.  This investigation lasted for a long time.  I made several calls to find an interpreter.  I found out that there were a group of Burmese people that resided in our county.  I finally got in contact with the people that were helping this particular group.  To make a long story short, their culture allowed older men to be with young girls.  The mom stated that her daughter and the man were married.  The judge order the couple to get married legally in our county or charged was going to be pressed.  The couple was married and the family is doing well. 

Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppression

A memory of an experience with involving bias, prejudice, and/or oppression is when I was working in the field on a new case.  I had to go to the police station to see if I could get a detective to go out with me to a home.  I arrived at the police station and went up to the desk.  There were two ladies working the front office.  One lady appeared to be on her lunch break and the other lady was helping a man.  I stood there in line over 20 minutes, listening to the lady help the gentleman about rental property in the area.  No one acknowledge that I was there or why I needed help.  I had on my DSS badge and still was not asked for any assistance.  I felt that I was not acknowledged because of my race.  I felt that if I was an Indian I would have been asked for assistance when I walked through the door.  The town I was in population is majority Lumbee Indians.   I felt some type of way in regards to the Lumbee Indians at the time.  Lumbee Indians are trying to get federally recognize by the state where I am from.  At that moment I felt that they should not get federal recognize if they can’t recognize others.  I had to calm myself down and walk out of the building.  It was just a thought for that moment.  I know that I could not think that all Lumbee Indians act and behave in this way.  I ended up going to the home without the detective.