Creating an early care and education atmosphere that recognizes and respects the goals and aspirations of diverse family and community groups is a crucial task for early childhood educators and administrators today. Many of today's early learning venues are simply a microcosm of the broader pluralistic society in which many of us live and in many instances, wide disparities often exist among stakeholder groups relative to their beliefs and cultural practices. Hence, from the very onset of young children's schooling trajectory, there are important racial and ethnic differences in parenting beliefs, understandings of developmental milestones, expectations for school readiness and influences on parenting (Spicer, 2010). Understanding these important differences is an important first step for early childhood professionals, which can assist them greatly in working more effectively with all parents/guardians. However, here it is important to introduce the caveat that coming to grips with the idiosyncrasies of other cultures outside of one's own is no small feat. Culture is extremely complex, loaded, if you will, and rife with a variety of elements that are both explicit (housing, language, food, artifacts, etc.) and implicit (family structure, behavioral norms, religious beliefs, values, etc.)—all of which must be carefully considered if we desire to be more efficacious in our work with young children and their families. Culture is often difficult to negotiate and/or broker. Paulo Freire once wrote: "No one goes anywhere alone, even those who arrive physically alone… We carry with us the memory of many fabrics, a self soaked in our history and our culture" (Freire, 1994, p. 31). That being said, it is essential that early childhood teachers and leaders seek to become more "culturally responsive", "culturally aware" and "culturally sensitive" when engaging with growing families that are enrolled in our preschool programs and elementary schools as opposed to striving to become more "culturally competent". The consistent use of the term "cultural competency" has become increasingly untenable to me over the past few years. The juxtaposition of the words "culture and competent" implies a certain degree of expertise and/or proficiency in understanding a particular culture. But given the various nuances and layers of culture, is it really possible for one to be "culturally competent" in a culture that one does not formally share? It's quite a challenge to effectively understand and negotiate all of the aspects that comprise one's own heritage because human interactions, at best, can be quite complicated. So, lately, I have come to view the term "cultural competence" as, perhaps, a misnomer. Therefore, I'm suggesting that, as educators, we dispel any traces of elitism, (which are often the result of claims of cultural competency) and strive harder to bridge cultures and reconcile contrasting behaviors, beliefs, value orientations and child-rearing practices that often exist between us and the children and families that we serve (Triandis 1989; Trumbull & Farr, 2005). The process of reconciling differences between individual cultural ideals (parental/familial goals for children, the value placed on education, approaches towards learning, etc.,) and that of the collective culture (the aims and purposes of early care and education and the range of strategies utilized to accomplish that end, etc.) within preschool or early grade classroom settings is very hard work but, nevertheless, an essential aim for all early childhood educators. Below is a list (not all inclusive) of ideas one might consider when working with today's growing families in both pluralistic and homogenous settings: