Reflecting on Learning

I sit her blogging my final post and wonder how I can best take all this information from this current course and use it in my future as an early childhood professional.  It has always been my passion to make a difference in some child’s life in hopes of changing a possible poor path to a positive one.  Throughout this degree program I have accumulated supports through my colleague connections, formulated strategies to help educate families and children on positive interactions with all their peers, and intervention techniques that can ultimately change a possibly negative path into a positive path.  My hope is that all my work in my endeavors of creating an anti-bias classroom will be successful and begin a change reaction within the school of fostering an environment where all children and their families feel equally important, free to interact without hesitation and grow as kind, considerate people.  I also hope that all my endeavors also create a chain reaction within the students and the families that they carry on and our society continues to grow and accept. 

I want to take this time as I did in my final post for this week and thank all my colleagues for their time and energy they have spent during these past 8 weeks.  I truly appreciate your efforts for I have learned much from you all.  I also want to wish you all well in your endeavors and offer my support in creating the healthiest learning environment possible.  

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

UNICEF-East Asia and the Pacific

                I chose the East Asia and the Pacific region to research involving challenges that children are confronted with because my husband and his family are from the Philippines and many relatives of theirs are still in the Philippines. 

                Challenges that UNICEF are trying to help with involve trying to prevent preventable childhood diseases and mortality.  An example of specific challenges that children in this region are encountering involve child labor.  Children are being forced to work at very young ages in environments that are hazardous to their health and well-being.  They are missing school and even being subjected to exploitation in these jobs.  The emotional wellbeing and development of these children are being hindered by pushing them into roles that adults don’t even want to be in, being forced to be in dangerous situations with no regards to their well-being.   The exploitation that the children in the region are being subjected to is obviously endangering their physical well-being and emotionally destroying their innocence, morality, and confidence. 

                 

                UNICEF is trying to help these children have a healthier childhood with opportunities to actually be “children”.  As an early childhood professional and a mother of four I cannot imagine putting my child through anything like this.  But I also understand that in some areas that children are working to help their families eat and survive.  My hope is that UNICEF and other organizations such as theirs can aid these families in various regions in ways so that the children do not have to be placed in harms’ way.  Children should be cherished for who they are-miracles of life.  These children are also our future and how we raise them and how they experience the world will determine how they will treat the world and the future generations.

                Reading about the children from another region has made me realize that things can be much worse than I  have been exposed to as a child.  I also realized that with all these awful experiences that these children are being exposed to can be changed for the better through organizations such as UNICEF.  They aren’t the “cure all” but they are making remarkable positive steps through all their proactive approaches in helping these children.  Lessons such as these teach me that the students in my classroom, all the students in my classroom, can be successful through positive strategies and perseverance. 

Resources:

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Families do not have it easy these days with children in school with all the required elements that today's standards demand. I cannot imagine dealing with "isms" and trying to ensure that my child was meeting the academic demands of the current curriculum.   As a parent of four children, I first realized the demands of school requirements, keeping the children current in their studies along with the extra required nightly homework, sports, music and clubs, etc.  I was so exhausted by the end of the week running around trying to get everyone where they needed to be, while reciting spelling words, flashcards, music programs, club requirement, etc.  The idea of being faced with any sort of "ism" along with these demands realize how important my role as an educator truly is.  

The isms that today's children are faced with such as single parent home is tough.  These types of challenges are forcing educators to work more quickly to form strategies outside their current situation in preparation for the family's particular challenges.  This has impacted the professional early childhood education field by more requirements for the educators, but in turn it seems to help these students and families to go even further than previously.  

Observing Communication

Observation of Early Childhood Daycare

            Observation is watching without intervention or judgement.  I decided for this blog to observe a local daycare center during outside playtime. 

1.     Children lined up at door by command of teacher.

2.    Children walked in line to the play center across the walkway with the teacher in the lead.

3.    The teacher is direct with no allowance for discussion.

4.    Children released to play within play area why teachers outlined the playground.

5.    Children screaming, playing, running, laughing, smiling.

6.    Teachers chatting while observing students.

7.    Child fell and cried, teacher witnessed but waited just a bit and then approached the child smiling encouraging them to get up on their own, which he did. 

8.    Teacher cheered child on and he ran to play.

9.    After 10 minutes children called by whistle to line up at gate. 

10.  All students lined up except 2 girls playing in sand.

11.  Teacher approached and nicely helped them to the line.

12.  Teacher led students into the building.

13.  Children quietly entered building.

I noticed that the teachers were organized, well attentive and caring.  Students listened and responded well to the teacher’s commands. 

Teachers’ communication strategies aided to the postivie self worth of the child.  The child responding positively to the teachers showed a good relationship between the teacher and child. 

As an instructor I also strive to be positively instructive with the understanding from the child that I am in charge and they can rely on me to be their support person.  Listening to children shows them they are worth the attention and they will rely and respect you.  This common respect will help the academic relationship to excel.

Creating Affirming Environments

Creating Affirming Environments

Scenario:  Imagine that you want to open your own Family Child Care Home. Reflect on what your setting would look like, what elements you think you might want to include and for what reasons, and the various ways that you will strive to ensure that every child and family feels welcome and respected.

Creating an affirming environment for children involves everything from toys to how the room and learning materials are arranged (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010), thus setting up a healthy anti-bias environment takes thought and reflection.  I would begin my process of setting up a family child care home by surveying the materials available to me.  The next step would be to survey my client base to see their cultural, environmental, and family background .  Knowing the families and creating an environment that is culturally responsive for them will ensure that I am trying to create an anti-bias environment(Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  This will also ensure that the families feel like they belong in the classroom and are part of the classroom rather than an outsider.  My hope is that they will feel welcomed. 

After I have surveyed my material, I can make any additions or eliminations that need to be performed to ensure the environment is anti-bias and culturally responsive.  For example, I will make sure that I have boy and girl ethnic dolls, the play centers set up to welcome both genders and all nationalities to play, wall décor that represents healthy pictures of anti-bias behavior such as a woman and man Doctor, various representations of ethnicity and books in various languages. 

I would also like to set up a system where the families are a part of the child care system.  I could coordinate various opportunities for parents to assist and share something about their family, culture, or beliefs with the class.  I would also like to bring in various resources from the community to share cultural diversity. 

There is so much more I would like to do, but also realize that one step at a time and implementing too much at one time could back fire and prove to be overwhelming.  I think a calendar system of step by step implementation would help organize my plans and help to ensure that all is done successfully.

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

What I have Learned

I have learned quite a bit about bias and how to handle such things through this course.  I have also learned a lot about myself and how bias can cause damage to young children.  I have also learned how healthy strategies and awareness can alter children's paths for the better...Out of all these lessons that I have learned I have one hope, one goal, and many thanks to give....

One Hope…

               

             My hope is that healthy diversity becomes the “norm” and bias becomes obsolete.  I think as humans we will always have traits of jealousy, envy, negativity…but we can also have gratitude, love, and positive mentality.  My hope is that the diversity that is already among us become what it should be, which is---life.  I want my students, my family and myself to embrace diversity and discover the wonderment of all human life.

One Goal…

                

             One goal that I have for early childhood field involving diversity, equity and social justice is that strategies and proper rules continued to be placed so equality comes fairly and justly.

Thank you…

                

               I want to tell all my colleagues that have taken the time to read and respond to my posts and blogs Thanks!  I also want all my colleagues to know that I appreciate their time and effort they placed in writing their posts and blogs.  All your sharing has furthered my knowledge and understanding more than you know!  

Child's development and Identity Map

A child's development and identity is fragile.  Bias, Discomfort and Trauma are three things that can have a serious impact on a child's development.  Below is a Map of how I see the effects of these three things:

*Child’s Identity and Development*

*

 How is this impacted by Bias?

**

Low self esteem, looking towards negative measures to drown their emotions, taking the bias and turning negative into anger (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010)

                        

                          

                         *Child's Identity and Development*

                                                    *

                         How is this impacted by Discomfort?

                                                   **

                        Low self-esteem; confusion in identity

                                                        

                                                       *Child’s Identity and Development*

                                                                                   *

     How is this impacted by Trauma?

    **

Child could develop

Miss-conceptions about what is appropriate behavior (Gorman, Fitzgerald,  & Blow, 2010)

and 

Parent-Child relationship could be hindered (Gorman, Fitzgerald, & Blow, 2010).

***

Disorganized attachment

Psychological Distress

Inability to regulate Emotions

(Gorman, Fitgerald, & Blow, 2010)

Gorman, L. A., Fitzgerald, H. E., & Blow, A. J. (2010). Parental combat injury and early childhood development: A conceptual model for differentiating effects of visible and invisible injuries. Psychiatric Quarterly, 81(1), 1–21.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). EDUC 6357-6 Diversity, Development, and Learning [Webcast]. Learning from Another’s Life Story. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6357/CH/mm/audio_player/index_week3.html

Handling Bias comments from a child

Most children that I have been in my classroom do not exhibit intentional bias towards anything or anyone.  I do work with very young children though so I get to be with them as they are learning to speak, comprehend and progress.  However, i have had the experience with my own child making a comment that was not appropriate in public.  For example, one day my son and I were at the grocery store and he blurted out, "That lady is Fat".  I immediately hushed him and explained that to him that was not the best way to describe that person.  Using the term "fat" may hurt that lady's feelings.  I gave him some better examples such as pointing out other features of the lady if he is trying to point her out such as her clothing, etc.  I also told him if he is wanting to talk about her size to quietly speak to me and use terms such as "larger than me or larger than you mama".  This son also has said things such as, "That old man gave it to me".  Then I corrected him by saying, "I think a better way to say that is "That older man over there gave it to me".  My son is old enough to understand the difference in these terms so I feel confident that this isn't too much for him to do.  

My first response about the large woman was quite hasty and startled my son.  He felt bad for pointing her out and was silent for quite some time.  I should not have been so abrasive with him and maybe used an example in his life to explain how it hurts a person's feelings when you point out their physical make up in such a way.  

I think my second example of handling my son's comments was better.  I think this is because the context in which the comment was made.  The first commented was more offensive in my mind whereas the second was a way of describing a person who gave him something.   

I felt in general that I had broken the cycle of how bias was handled when I was a child.  I can remember instances where I was physically corrected for missteps in my words.  I feel that I have identified and corrected the path placing my family on better road to change our core and lead an unbias life (Harro, 2008).

Harro (2008). Readings For Diversity and Social Justice.

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

I grew up in an area in which transgender, homosexuality and any conversation about such things were not present.  This small community has grown to have homosexuality present now, but still no transgender diversity that I am aware of.  The homosexuality that is present is not discussed very much, but seems to be accepted-basically a live and let live situation.  In this week's resources I viewed the media segments and read the book excerpts finding good strategies to help avoid sexism with the students but did not find too many resources in how to help with LGBT-ism.  Below are two questions that I chose to answer in regards to this topic.   

How you would respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child:

This is something that should be stated within the enrollment into the program.  The parents need to understand from the beginning that we will not be a party to sexism or bias towards sexual orientation.  The parents need to sign the equality statement.  Then if any parent/family were to approach me about this request then I have documentation support to refer to in a kindly manner so they understand it is a policy of the program that these types of requests will not be entertained.  I feel that this particular subject is sensitive and personal to each family.  I also do not want to put any person that is homosexual or transgender in a hostile position.  So even with the enrollment form being in place with the proper wording there will still be bias and LGBT-ism present.  I feel the best approach would be to stay positive with the parents/families and after reminding them of the contract, gently remind them that this is a matter that does not to be of any concern because all staff are professionals that abide by the same rules of conduct and then refer them to the administrator if there is any further concern.  I think as staff you must remember that you cannot cave to these types of requests, but must also be sympathetic towards their concerns because most of these concerns are due to lack of knowledge and understanding of the diverse party. 

Any other related situations, thoughts, concerns, questions, and/or areas of discomfort you would like to share related to children, gender, and sexual orientation:

Homosexual and transgender bias from parents/families is a major concern due to the diversity and conflict of opinions revolving around the subject as spoken above.  Also I am concerned about what I have seen in the news about children being transgender and wanting to be treated as the opposite sex than they physically are in all ways including restroom use.  I do not care how a child comes dressed.  My concern is the restroom use.  As a parent of girls and boys I do not like the idea of them sharing a restroom with the opposite sex at the same time.  If the restroom was designed to only occupy one child at a time then no big deal.  To me if the child is physically a male then they should use the male restroom.  If the child is physically a female they should use the female restroom thus the reason for the separation.  It would be hard for me to support the parents who want their transgender child to use the restroom opposite of their physical make-up.  I understand their concerns and would sympathize.  Obviously a way to avoid a conflict such as this would be to make a restroom in each classroom that is a single occupancy and non-gender specific.  

Professional Hopes and Goals

• One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length)

                               My hope is that I can make a difference in their lives-I want them to feel accepted for who they are.  

• One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length)

                                The goal I would set for early childhood field is to provide more resources for diversity.  I realize that they have come very far, but I think that more resources need to be readily available for parents, families, and educators in this area.  

• A brief note of thanks to your colleague

                                I would like to thank my fellow colleagues for these past 8 weeks.  I have learned much through our interactions and look forward to continued fellowship with all of you.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

You are working in an early childhood setting of your choice—a hospital, a child care center, a social service agency. You receive word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from a country you know nothing about will join your group soon. You want to prepare yourself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, you are enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated you need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

My family in this scenario is from Russia.  
To prepare to be culturally responsive towards this new family from Russia, I will:

               1.  Perform online and library research about the country and the area in which the family is coming from.
               2.  Reach out to cultural community resources for information and opportunities for myself and the family.       
               3.  Schedule a meeting with the family in order to take the opportunity to get to know the family and observe 
               4.  Prepare the classroom to be culturally responsive to this new family(ideally it should already be this)
               5.  Prepare the curriculum to be culturally responsive for the new student.

My hope is that these preparations will give the best beginning opportunity for the student and help their family feel welcome in this country.  It is scary enough moving to a new place, let alone to a place that speaks a different language and possibly holds different beliefs than their own.  I am hoping that the meeting with the family will give me a better look into their family culture.  I believe the biggest thing anyone needs to remember is that having an open mind and approaching the situation with reserved preconceived notions  will help prevent offending the family and allow the student and their family to be themselves.     

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

·         What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

Prejudice is an experience that anyone who has encountered, probably wants to forget.  I can recall a time that my husband and I were shopping for jewelry in our casual clothes in the mall.  We weren’t wearing no observable high end brands and we were young.  When we entered the jewelry store, the employees saw us enter, but didn’t greet us.  So we began looking at the jewelry when another couple entered the store.  This couple was dressed up quite nicely as if they were on their way to a fancy dinner.  The employees seem to race to greet them.  They offered to clean the couple’s rings while they shopped.  They were shown the latest in the type of jewelry they were shopping for while we were never even greeted.  My husband told me that they didn’t approach us because we appeared to have no money while the other couple seemed to have plenty proving they would be more serious about purchasing additional high end jewelry.  Because of how we were ignored we chose to take our business elsewhere, but before we left my husband approached the employee at the counter and told him that they just missed out on the sale of our wedding rings.  This is really a minor prejudice compared to many other experiences but I wanted to point this one out because sometimes prejudice occurs when you least expect it and in all forms. 

·        

   In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

This prejudice that my husband and I experienced made me realize that it can be seen in many forms and experienced by many. 

·         

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

I felt angry and hurt.  I couldn’t understand what I had wrong.  I really do not like when people assume something about me when they have no idea.

·         

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

When my husband spoke to the employees he was not mean about his comment, but firm and to the point.  His speaking up about what they missed out on because of their prejudice gave them a chance to see what they were doing and the consequences of their choices.  I am not sure what else could have been done in order to change the events.  

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggression  is something that I do not notice too much.  Most the time I am busy ushering my children in and out of stores, church, etc. that I do not have idle conversation.  As I reflected this week, I can recall a few instances of microaggression.  The first instance I can remember, occurred when I was a young child.  I can remember my grandfather’s comments about how girls could not handle tasks meant for boys.  I had no idea what he was even talking about, but I do remember my mother getting pretty upset with him and my father for the comments.  Another instance I can recall happened later in life when my husband and I first began dating.  His parents were very harsh towards my race and would always tell me that I could not understand their ways because I lacked culture.  I was always puzzled by their comments especially since I knew everyone had culture.  I was very hurt by their comments and still hold some resentment towards the negativity they showed me throughout our newlywed years. 

Because of these experiences I have more sensitivity towards others.  It does not feel good when others display microaggression and it makes you second guess yourself when exposed to these types of comments.  This week’s resources in class have given me good resources to justify my feelings about microaggression and to support my strategies for my students to overcome prejudices such as these.    

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this blog assignment I interviewed my husband, my mother, and my friend.  Below are two questions that I asked each person and their responses:

Their definition of culture:
                          Husband-A person's way of life
                          Mother-Ethnicity and surroundings in which they are raised 
                          Friend-a person's countries traditional clothing, dances, customs.
Their definition of diversity:
                          Husband-Different backgrounds
                          Mother-Everything that is different or varied
                          Friend-changing or going against the "norm"

We have studied a variety of ways culture can be looked at such as it is related to various subgroups like ethnicity such as my mom mentioned and my friend.  We also studied about how culture is tied to a person's family and surroundings such as mentioned by my husband.  All of the definitions of culture that I received, in some way, can be found in , Diversity in Early Care and Education by Gonzalez-Mena.  I honestly feel that most individuals have some perception of what culture means just may not realize that there is more to the definition.  My mom for example thinks of specific ethnicity groups and their traditions specific to those groups which is common and true.  But culture is more than just ethnicity, it involves economic class, gender, sexual preference, religion, education and more.  

Diversity has one main theme, difference.  When I asked my husband about diversity, he paused and replied, different backgrounds.  My friend referred to the change against what is considered normal.  This idea is mentioned in  Diversity in Early Care and Education by Gonzalez-Mena.  Some see diversity as something possibly going against what they consider normal.  But what is "normal"?  

With both definitions, all my parties did not come up with a "complete" definition.  For example, none of them mentioned gender or religion.  I am not sure I knew a complete definition of culture until I began my studies at Walden University.  My mom and my husband both had trouble even defining either concept because putting it into words is a lot harder than one thinks. 

This exercise has been beneficial to me because it made me realize that I am not the only one who has trouble defining  these concepts and that knowing and understanding these concepts is important for me as an educator so I can bring knowledge to my students as well as know how to best approach the parents.  

References:
 Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008). Diversity in Early Care and Education (5th ed., pp. 8–13). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.
Copyright 2008 by McGraw-Hill Education, Inc.. Reprinted by permission of McGraw-Hill Education, Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center.

My Family Culture

This week's post is something that my husband talks about frequently due the large amount of zombie shows!  I on the other hand do not like to talk about it because it scares me that my children could be in a situation like that.
If a catastrophic event occured and I could only bring three items that represented my family culure, they would be:
      1.  Our family Bible- because it is the word of God our guiding light in which we live by and it has our family tree listed within the pages to show our family heritage.  I would explain that this item is important because it is the only item that contains our only written family history to remember where we came from.
      2.  Our Family photos-because they are our documented memories.  I would explain that these are important to our family because we sit and remember the events that we have done and shared.
      3.  My husband's guitar-this represents our music in our family.  We sing as a family and enjoy music.  It provides a wonderful outlet for us as a family and would be beneficial in a time like this.

If I had to choose only one item once arrived I would be devistated because I had already reduced everything to three items.  On the other hand, I would be thankful to be alive with my children and husband.  I would choose to keep the Bible because it is our guiding principles and documented family heritage.

This exercise has made me reflect on what I consider important and that would best represent us as a family.  Very tough to reduce everything we have to three items, on the other hand, most of what my family is....is literally us.  We represent our family culture and even if we had to leave everything, we would be our examples of our family culture.