84 16.3: The Journey Towards Equity
As mentioned previously in this book, becoming culturally responsive and equity-minded is not a simple or short journey. Hopefully, this book and the course you are using it for has given you information and opportunities to reflect on the important of early childhood educators engaging in this process with an open heart and open mind.
As you become aware of your own culture, the importance of forming strong partnerships with the families and authentic relationships with the children you serve, and recognize your role as an early childhood educator as advocate for social justice and equity, you can go even a bit deeper into your reflection on the importance of diversity and equity. This chapter introduces the process of reflecting on privilege and power and how those leads to oppression in our society and also how those with privilege and power can use those to make changes towards more equitable systems and environments across society (including early childhood education).
This process is rarely a comfortable or uncomplicated one. Our goal is not to assign blame or guilt, but to encourage respectful and thoughtful engagement and open-minded reflection that is appropriate for where you are at in your personal journey towards equity.