Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

My personal life affects my professional life. This is something that is good for early childhood professionals to always be conscious of as they work with children and families. I have not personally dealt with any “-ism’s” that have affected me a great deal. This is something though that is good for me to be aware of in case I do deal with “-ism’s” in my personal life.

            Consequences that I might expect for the children and families with whom I work as I am experiencing an “ism” could be of a sensitive nature. My lack of knowledge to the types of “ism’s” affects my work with children and families. Although I am learning more than I ever have before about poverty, I am not very familiar with the culture of poverty. I am not yet in the best place to serve poor families. That is until I gain some knowledge about and experience with the lower class. The preschool where I currently work serves middle to high class families. Some other consequences that I would expect for the children and families I serve is a lack of feeling of community. If I were to be suffering from low self-esteem because of my personal experiences with people who discriminate against my ethnicity, I might not be inclined to encourage community involvement and connections. The children also might notice my unhappiness and would be distracted from learning.

            I learn things from each family I meet. I will continue to learn and grow in my personal and professional life. The more I recognize how my personal life affects my job and the others around me, the better I can be at trying to deter the consequences.