Early Years Education

How come you speak English so well? You must have gone to a very good school? You definitely don’t sound like a Nigerian? You are quiet and well-mannered unlike most Nigerians I know. These were the many question and observation that filled my 6 weeks among young African leaders and Americans in West Virginia some years back. Micro aggression maybe subtle and unintended but it always leaves the victim feeling marginalized. Then I wandered why so many questions around my speaking English. Our official language is English why must I have to go to a good school to communicate in our official language? Nigerians are smart, intelligent, outspoken and we don’t live in the jungle, why is that termed as loud and unruly? According to Dr. Rue in the Video segment people’s remarks or behaviors can create feelings of uncertainty, inferiority, marginalization, and/or unsettling emotions in others even though they are unintentional (Laureate Education 2011). Many times, like my own exper...

This week I had a chat with three different people about with their view on culture and diversity . This was their definition 1 st person: Culture is the way of life of a particular group of people, the way they dress and things that have to do with their traditions. She defined diversity as the things that make us distinct. What differentiates us. 2nsd Person: Culture is the way of life of people living in the same community, sharing the same values and norms to achieve a common goal. She defined Diversity as how people are different I culture and how their norms and values are different from others. 3rd Person: He defined culture as a way of doing things, unique to a people defined by geographical location. He defined diversity as the state of being composed of many part that are unique in their individual selves. During these chats with colleagues and family members, I realized that most people like myself are more conscious of surface culture, we are aware of the way peo...

If I have to leave Nigeria to a completely different environment as a result of an emergency and I have an opportunity to take only 3 items, those items will be 1. A Yoruba Bible: My Family values are founded on our Christian Faith, it influences our thoughts, actions and family culture. Having it in our mother tongue translation would be a wonderful memorabilia as we would love our young children to continue to speak our language even in a different environment. 2. A collage of pictures of our extended family members: This picture will comprise photos of our extended family including grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunties and friends turned family. It would be nice to have a picture to take along to keep good memories of our wonderful moments with loved ones and to continue to have it as a remembrance. 3. A painting of a cultural depiction of our society: We have a painting in our living room that shows the Nigerian environment, the major occupation of the people livi...