Reflecting on Learning

My most passionate hope for my future in working with children in the early childhood field is that with each year the things I have learned will become easier to do and that teaching an anti-bias classroom will become second nature. This is just the beginning for me and any children that I may teach but I hope that with each class I get better and they are able to learn in an environment that they feel welcomed, accepted, and cherished so that they flourish. I want the children that I teach be able to look back on their first years of learning with happiness and take what they have obtained from me and build a great career of learning.

I want to thank all my fellow bloggers for being so supportive and active in this course. It has been a great 8 weeks and I cannot believe that it is over. I am sad that this is almost the very end, but also extremely happy that it is. We all worked so hard, enjoy your Holiday celebrations and I hope to see you all in our last class!!!!

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

I have chosen to investigate the East Asia and Pacific region, more specifically the Philippines. I chose this region because this is where my husband’ family was born and raised. My husband is actually the only one here in America out of his family. When I can, I choose this area so that I can learn about life there and then tell my children. We believe that our children should know all they can about where it is part of their heritage and culture comes from.

 

The challenges that the children in this region are confronting right now are from the effects of Typhoon Haiyan. This has been devastating for the entire country, the children now are dealing with more than just not enough food and water; a majority are homeless. Schools have been demolished as well as just about every other building in their towns and villages. People are cramped together in some of the structures that have survived, but they cannot stay for long. Clothing is another issue for people; many just have what they are wearing. So many children and families lost everything during this storm. Children have seen death and destruction and are trying to cope as best they can. They have not been to school since the storm, mostly because they have no schools to attend at the moment. The government, along with UNICEF, has started making tent schools which they hope to have up and running fully in January. However, the students lost all their school supplies along with their other personal belongings during the storm so this is now another issue for children to worry about. Because of the storm, the government is also concerned about the health of the children. They are holding a vaccination drive to help and they are including Vitamin A to improve immunity against infection.

 

These experiences will stay with the children in this region for life. The effect on the children’s emotional wellbeing and development may vary; however, all children will in one way or another be affected. Children in this area have seen death first hand. They have experienced loss in several ways; loss of life, loss of homes, loss of security, and loss of belongings. This may cause children to become insecure and withdrawn. Children are also dealing with health issues with the aftermath of the storm which will also affect their development. Children who are not healthy will have problems learning.

 

Personally, this has been heart breaking. My husband has not been able to find his cousins and it is stressful thinking about “what if”. I have realized how lucky we are to be here but I pray for the families daily. I think about the problems that I face with my families and the obstacles that they need to overcome and I realize that they are minimal compared to the devastation that the children and families of the Philippines are dealing with because of the storm. We are blessed to have the resources and help available and I will continue to reach out to my families so that they can help their children become successful.

 

UNICEF (n.d.). Information by country and programme. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/

 

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The sexualization of young children has been something that I have seen evolve over many years. Today things are different from when I was growing up and one thing that has extremely changed is how we show our little girls to be. I personally do not like the images and stereotypes that are stressed for the younger children. I do not believe that little girls should be worried about hair, clothes and make-up before teenage years.

Television and the shows that are geared for younger children are not giving children positive, healthy role models. Children are seeing more that you need to have a specific "glamorous" look to be popular and have friends. Advertising is another area where children are being targeted. Children are being shown that they can be pretty, funny, popular if they have these brand shoes or clothes. Many times the effects that this type of marketing has on the children and their families can be extremely harmful. Children may become depressed because they do not have what society is saying they should. Music today is an area where children are hearing things that they should not be listening to. There are now CDs made of young children singing, but the songs that they are singing are adult songs. I do not believe that just because it is a child’s voice it makes it appropriate for children to sing. The lyrics are basically the same, they may take out the “bad” words but you cannot change to meaning of the song. I do not believe it is suitable for children to sing about shaking any part of their body.

Children’s self-image/self-esteem can be destroyed if they set themselves up for failure at a young age. Children need to be praised for the good works that they do, not for how they look and the clothes they wear and the music they listen to. More and more children are dealing with depression and anxiety when they should just be enjoying being a child.

Because of the discussion this week about sexualization of young children, I have become aware of how much influence society has on our young children. To me, television, advertising and music are more concerned about how much more money they can make then whether or not children should be viewing and listening, and that is very sad.

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Over the past year, I have been dealing with my own racisms at work from my boss and other co-workers. It has been a very challenging year, to the point where I almost quit on many occasions. Luckily, I did find support with 2 other workers and through them we have worked out several of our issues. However, during the roughest part I could have easily created an atmosphere in which my anger and hurt from my boss was taken out on my children and families. I hope that I did not do this, and in fact I am very close to a majority of my families, but when dealing with the hurt that was caused to me I could have made any one of my families feel bad because of what I was going through. Because I am aware of how my own experiences can affect how I respond to others, I need to make sure that I do not allow my hurt and anger reflect in my teachings and dealings with my children and their families. I realize that it is not the fault of the families I serve, and I need to keep separate how my boss makes me feel and my position as teacher.

Observing Communication

Since I work in an early childhood setting, I decided to observe a child communicating with another adult in a different environment. While I was at the park with my grandson, I noticed several other young children with adults so I chose one to observe. With this observation the child I focused on was trying to gain the attention of his mother. She was talking with another mother and not really talking to him at first. Finally she stops and asks what it is that he wants. She does not seem too happy but she gets up and takes him over to the swings. She tells him she is not going to push him for long and that he needs to find something else to do. The boy does not say anything to this but you can see how happy he was to be on the swing. After she is done pushing him, she tells him she is going to sit back down. The boy waits until the swing stops and then jumps down and runs off.

 

What I noticed the most is that the mother seemed more interested in talking with the other mother than her son. The communication was not very often or long before she left and went back to the other mother.

Lisa Kolbeck, from the media segment this week, discussed how young children should not be closed off while speaking. She also stated that children communicate in different ways, many times using their bodies to help with their communication. From the observation that took place in the park I believe that the mother could have tried listening to her son a little more and that she could have taken the time to allow him to express his wants and needs. The mother could have also engaged more in play with her son at the park also so that he could have felt more important and respected.

 

I believe from what I observed that the child did not feel important and he was disappointed not only with not having the communication that he tried for, but also not being the center of play with his mother. As for myself, I know that I communicate better than what I observed, however there is always room for improvement. I try to engage in conversations with my children to get them to tell me more. Open ended questions are a huge part of the day. One problem that I have is the amount of time spent with each child. In the video segment this week, two girls were shown talking with Kolbeck. That would be great but I have 17 children and I am not able to get to every child like that on a daily basis. One thing that I would love to do is spend that kind of time communicating with each child and help them with their play. I found that the way she just kept helping them along with their by adding tools they needed to be the animals was great. This was a great learning experience for the children because they were not just discussing things about owls and cats, they were doing living it.

 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Communication with your children [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4066646_1%26url%3D

 

 

Creating Affirming Environments

Welcome to “Child’s Play” family child care center. My name is Elizabeth Garcia and I will be sharing with you the vision of my center. I serve 20 families and their children ages 3-5. The children have several centers for learning and play along with areas that help promote healthy social identities that help with building confidence and family pride. When first entering the center, families will find a “Parent News Board” that not only gives basic information such as daily schedule, menu, lesson plan, and news letter but also resources for the families. Families can use this board for their own use too. They can add letters of their own of things going on in their own lives, up-coming events that they want to share with others in the community and offer services. Each child has their own cubbies lined along the wall with a picture of each child along with their name. The centers are set up so that the “quiet” centers are close together and the “noisy” centers are together. Each center has labels on the shelves and containers in English and Spanish and some have pictures of words in sign language. The centers also have multi-cultural items to help all children feel welcome and included. The library contains multi-cultural books to help “introduce differences and similarities” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010); the art area contains multi-cultural paints, paper, crayons, and markers to help support this as well. The music area has a “diverse selection of CDs…to reflect children’s home cultures and languages as well as the larger community, country, and world” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010 p. 52). The dramatic play area contains dolls that support girls, boys, and cultures as well as “clothing and toys for both genders {that} reflects the children’s background. (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010 p. 52). The bock area contains many different types of blocks along with people figures for children to use for play acting and expressing emotions. The walls show diverse children playing in the different centers, different art work or wall hangings that represent different heritages and a section for the children’s art work to be shown. I also have a “Share Your Culture” center that contains shelves for families to bring in something that represents their culture or heritage. The items are displayed for a month and then sent home and a new item is sent back in its place. Each family has a time that they can come in and share the item with the children and explain why it is important to them. My “calming down” center has a large soft pillow along with small pillows on the floor. In this area children can explore their emotions by looking in a mirror that is on the wall above the pillows. Around the mirror are many different faces of children showing different emotions like happy, sad, scared, frustrated, mad, excited, tired, and so on. We eat family style for breakfast and lunch which means the children serve themselves as much as possible; they also help with the setting of the table and cleaning up when finished. Thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoyed our center.

Inspirations:

I was really impressed with watching the video segment with Adriana Castillo and some of the sections that she included into her center. Many of these things I would not be allowed to create at my own center that I work at; however, if I did have my own center I would have them. The main section that inspired me was the Family Culture Share that Castillo has in her center. I loved this idea and knew right away that I needed to include this in my own center. Another inspiration that I received from Castillo was the idea to allow families to use the “news board” themselves. I thought this was another excellent idea for partnership between the center and families as well as a type of support for everyone. I like that the board is not just used to inform parents about daily routines and what is on the menu. I like that it can be used by the families to inform everyone about different things going on in their lives or in the community. The calming down area is another center that I was inspired by Castillo. I believe that this could be a comfort for the children and I included the mirror with emotions so that they can try to evaluate their own feelings. I do have a mirror with emotions on it now in my classroom, but it is by the sink because that is where I was told to put it. I believe it could be of better use in a center for children to be able to explore their feelings.

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).

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer) (2011). Welcome to an anti-bias learning community. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4066646_1%26url%3D

What Have I Learned

One hope that I have with regard to working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds includes the hope that they are being listened to and that their needs are being met. Many times helping our diverse children and families just takes listening to the family members and carrying through with the things that they may need to help their child be successful. Little things can make a big difference in a child’s learning environment and out diverse families are no different.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field that I work in, related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice includes trainings for teachers for anti-bias classrooms. Every year we have trainings on so many different things and they are important, but one thing that we have never had trainings on or even had someone come and speak about is an anti-bias classroom. I believe that all teachers would benefit from an anti-bias workshop and they may even find someone to help support them in trying to make their classroom a better place for all their children.

As always it has been great working with all of you, you have been a great support to me through this class. I appreciate all the responses and comments they have helped me look deeper and think harder. Thank you so much for everything and I hope to see you all in the next class on our journey!!

 

Creating Art

When I first read this assignment I knew I wanted to paint something, I have been painting for as long as I remember but I haven't painted anything this size in almost 15 years. When I began I thought I might paint some children doing something or several different children of different cultures. But when I paint it just kind of comes out and when I started with the sky I just kept going with the colors and then the outline of the castle. I also love history and have always wanted to visit an old castle, but my thinking for this painting went deeper than just a love for history. The purpose for the castle is to show that even people who live in the most wonderful homes deal with issues whether they are a target of racial issues or the cause of it. One does not have to be poor to be a target of any type of biases; and just because one has money does not mean they are not racist. The same can be said for children of abuse and the abusers. The bright sun behind the castle is the dawn of a new day; the dawn of understanding biases and how we can make the world a better place for the next generation of young children. The dawn of a new day is passed due; that is why I chose the dark colors, but there is still hope in the brightness. It is a new day for me and I intend to continue forward with my learning and teaching in an anti-bias classroom. Even after I finish this course, this degree, I intend to continue to grow and learn so that I can help in the development of our children so that their future may be brighter than the sun.

“We Don’t Say Those Words in Class”

This is unbelievable, this just happened in my classroom today. We were eating snack and waiting on a few children to join us so that we could finish and clean up to go outside. I turned to my assistant and ask “who are we waiting on?” when all of a sudden a little voice at the table on the other side of me said “we still waitin on those Spanish girls”. So at first I was frozen and all I could think was I can’t believe she just said that, but then I heard my assistant say, “did she really just say that?” I said yes, she did. Before I could respond my assistant said “we don’t talk like that in this class, they have names use them. But then I jumped in and added “A, yes they do speak Spanish because they are Hispanic, but when you say it like that it is like you are calling them names. Do you like when people call you names? No, it’s not nice and it hurts their feelings, they can speak two languages and it is sometimes hard for them to understand everything. We need to try to help them; do you think you can do that? Good, because you all are special in here and I love you all the same.

The message that might have been communicated to A by my assistant is that yes it was wrong, but she might not have understood why it was wrong. She only told A not to use those kinds of words in our class. She did not explain further for clearer understanding. A did at first look confused and hurt herself and this may be because she has heard this term used by others around her and she did not know that it is not all right to use.

 

I am not completely sure if my response is totally anti-biased, I am still learning; however, I do believe that after expanding on what my assistant said she did understand more as to why it is not okay to talk about the girls like that. I do not believe that she meant to be hurtful; I just think that she did not know any better. I hope that by explain about the girls and that they are Hispanic and that they do speak two different languages, but that is a good thing that A will think before she makes another comment like that about the little girls in the future. I understand that children this age are “confused about racial group names and actual color of their skin” (Pelo, 2008). But I was hoping to help them obtain some understanding that different does not mean bad. I also believe that the other children listening understand a little more also, so this was actually a good moment for understanding to take place for the entire class not just A. I wanted them to know that just because they are different does not mean I love any of them more or less.

 

Pelo, A. (Ed.) (2008). Rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools. 

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

I have heard children use the term “gay” as an insult toward other children on many occasions, not so much as name calling but when they are referring towards something they may not like they will say “that’s so gay”. I do get frustrated when I hear this because for one thing these children are too young to understand what they are saying so I know this is something that they hear often enough to know how to use the saying. These comments can influence all children especially those who are hearing these comments at home create further misconceptions and stereotypes causing homophobic tendencies to be included in their own social identities. Like we have discussed, we learn first from our families and the world around us, so we also need to counter these misconceptions before they become full blown biases towards others. When I hear children use terms like this, or any name calling, I immediately tell them that those are words we do not use in this classroom like that. I do try to find out where or from whom they heard the words from and if the child even knows what they are saying. Many times the child does not even know what they are saying.

 

My response to someone who believes that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families would be the same for someone who does not want their child to discuss religious holidays or allow their child to celebrate birthdays. I would tell them that I can appreciate their concern and their views and if they did not want their child to read the books that is fine, but the books will be here for those who do want them included. I would also allow them to read the books themselves if they would like so that they could see what the books are teaching. We need to be respectful of all the families we serve not just the ones who think their views are right. I do not stop discussing Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanza, but for those families who do not want their children to learn about these different holidays, their child can go to another room or even stay at home. So if a parent does not think the books appropriate for their child, I will make sure their child does not read or look at the book. If we are reading the book in class I would have the child go to another room.  

Collaborating with Colleagues

During these last 8 weeks everyone in group has been supportive and responsive especially during my period of not knowing how to handle the situation with my sister-in-law. I very much appreciated the feedback and ideas that helped me get through that time because it was more emotional for me to see through the “Third Side”. I have enjoyed this class very much and hope that it continues to help me improve on my communication skills for not only my professional goals but my personal goals as well. I wish you all the very best as you embark on the last few classes left toward our degrees. If anyone ever needs anything or just wished to talk my personal email is elizabethgarcia1950@gmail.com

Thanks Again!!!

Stages of Group Development

When I was working on my bachelor’s degree we had groups for every class like we do here; however, the work load for our group assignments was much more involved. For three years I worked with people that came and went depending on the class. There were very few that I started and finished with over that three year period. After about a year into my program, there was a few that we noticed were a constant and we tried to make sure that we were in the same group class after class because we knew we did our work and we worked well together. Towards the end of our program we were at our most efficient and I would consider us a high performing group. I would say this was the group that was hardest to say good-bye to. I remember times when I was glad to see the group go because of lack of work, commitment, and communication. However, the final group that I had for the last year straight was a great team to be a part of and we all worked hard. We knew how the teams worked, we knew who was leader each week, and we knew our parts and did our work. If problems came up, we discussed possible solutions and we all helped to solve the issue; it never fell to one group member. We did call each other and say good-bye because this was on online school; however, if we were closer I would have loved to get together for a small celebration if we could have. We all worked extremely hard to finish and I believe we deserved some type of recognition for that work. I know that when we finish working on this master’s degree that some may post messages, some may send email and other may make phone calls; however, I do wish it could be more. Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because members may “reflect on their accomplishments and failures as well as determine whether the group will disassemble or take on another project” (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012, p. 257-258).

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford. St. Martin's.

 

Communication Conflicts

This has been very ironic for me because I normally do not have personal conflicts; however, just earlier in the week I did. I had already written about it on the discussion board but it fits perfectly with this assignment so I will briefly go over it again. My ex-sister in law just recently remarried and never even told me that she was going to do it let alone that she did it. I found out about it through facebook which made me livid. It shocked me mostly because we were so close for so long and even though she divorced her first husband we remained close and still did almost everything together. I knew that she was pregnant before anyone else, I knew her problems, and I knew when she was happy. Then on top of all this, I found out that the lady that does her nails knew all about it. I waited 3 weeks for her to say something to me and she never did. So today I finally said something to her and it turned into a horrible argument. I said some terrible things and told her I did not want to hear anything she had to say because I figured she had plenty of time to say something to me. After reviewing the lessons learned this week I did realize that I could have tried to see things from her point of view. We had learned about The Third Side and how seeing, listening, and speaking should be done with different perspectives. According to The Third Side (n.d.), when in conflict, we see ourselves as “in the right” and that is how I dealt with this, without giving her a chance to explain. As far as I was concerned, she had plenty of time to do so and I was not important enough to explain why she got married and did not want others to know, especially me. Another thing that I could have done better was speaking from the 3^rd side. “The words and actions we choose influence the conflicts around us” (The Third Side, n.d.). I allowed my words and actions to take over the conversation which lead to me saying to never call me again.

I would love to hear everyone’s input regarding this situation. It has bothered me since it happened. This is not normal for me, but all I can say is that I allowed my emotions to rule my conversation and I exploded.

The Third Side. (n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/

My Evaluation/Communication Skills

The first thing that I noticed was how all three evaluations were very similar with a few exceptions. The one thing that surprised me the most was a friend of mine who I used to work with had scored my communication anxiety as low. I scored myself as mild and my family member did too; however, I do tend to be more critical of myself. My friend has had to sit in on meetings in the past and has seen me with my family members and other coworkers and she felt that my communication anxiety was that of be being comfortable communicating in most situations and confident in anticipating such encounters. This made me feel really good, because even if I am feeling anxious about speaking in front of people, it apparently does not show.

 One insight I gained about communication this week with regards to the evaluations is that I am people oriented which is something that I always believed to be and strive to continue to foster with my children and families every year. Another insight from this week was how having to answer the questions about the lady for the discussion question caused my first impressions to be mostly assumptions because I did not know the lady or anything about her. I found myself answering some of the questions based on my own likes or feelings which are not accurate for her. This was a good exercise to do to help remind me not to judge people especially based on looks.

 

Communicating Differently

Yes, I do communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures. Depending on who I am speaking, I tend to use different language, tones, and content. If I am speaking with my family I can say I am myself, I speak fast and loud and use humor all the time. My entire family is like this, we know each other and humor is a big part of our culture. If I am speaking with someone older than myself I tend to be more respectful, I try to be quieter and I may not use as much humor. When I am speaking with someone here where I live now, I tend to use words that I would not normally use. After being here for almost 20 years I have found that people respond to me better if I use words like y’all and ma’am. Even without a southern accent, they respond to me as if I have lived here all my life. When I am working, I do use humor with the people I have worked with for many years; they know me and know that humor is a huge part of my personality. Sometimes when I don’t make a joke about something they ask if everything is ok; it is just expected of me now which makes me feel good because they know that about me. When speaking to others from other cultures, I just try to listen and be understanding, I may not use humor often because I do not want them to misunderstand or think I am not taking them seriously, unless they get to know me, then I will joke with them. When I am talking with my children I will use humor with them also and I will use slang words that I hear them use. They laugh, especially if I did not use the word correctly, which is most of the time.

 

Nonverbal Clues

The episode I watched was the Cosby Show. While watching the show without sound I had made many assumptions about what was going on with the characters, especially Clair because this was an episode that revolved around her. Clair was upset early on in the program and you can tell by her facial expressions and how she was walking around. Bill was great to watch even without sound because he always uses his facial features to express himself, but even with knowing this I was all wrong about what was happening in the show. You could tell that Bill was trying to get the children to listen to him, but they kept trying to walk away. At this point I had thought that Clair was tired of cleaning up after them and dealing with their arguing.

After watching the show with the sound on I was shocked at how different the show came together. I found myself at many sections of the program saying, Oh that’s what they were talking about or wow I got that all wrong. Clair was not angry at the children like I thought, she was just stressed out about life, tired of doing and doing between work and home. Bill was trying to give her a little vacation for the night so she could just focus on her wants and needs.

I don’t if I would not have had assumptions with a show that I was familiar with, I mean watching what they are doing and having to rely solely on body language, anyone could be wrong. With a show that I am more familiar with, I might be able to tell what kind of mood the characters are in better, but I am not sure if I would be able to be able to figure out the plot. I did not have much to choose from when I started this assignment and I chose the Cosby Show because I have not seen this show since I was a teenager. I am familiar with Bill and I have seen many of his standup acts. But even with knowing how he is, I was still wrong about the plot of the show and what was going on.

Communication Skills

When I think of effective communication skills I always think of my sister Amanda. While in high school and then in college, she took several public speaking classes. Back then, in the 80's, public speaking was done differently than it is today. She needed to write and give speeches all the time and I would be her audience for her to practice. She was very good at writing and giving speeches and to this day I use her advice given to me about writing good papers and having to give speeches. Even when not speaking in front of people, she always uses proper grammar and looks at people like what they have to say is so very important. If I could model any of her behaviors regarding communication it would be that I can also make people feel what they have to say matters while listening and speaking to them.

Professional Hopes and Goals

       One hope that I have when thinking about working with children and their families that come from diverse backgrounds is that I want them to know their value in and out of the classroom

      One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field with regards to diversity, equity, and social justice is that all classrooms, at least where I work, strive to become an anti-bias classroom using resource, helping each other, and supporting our families so that future generations can say “when I was little I was respected, cherished, welcome, and loved in my classroom”

      I would like to thank each and every class mate who has helped support me through this class and I appreciate all the responses given…they were truly helpful in this learning process…good luck to you all.

 

 

 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Country: Romania

 

Five ways to be prepared:

1.       First I would have a meeting with the parents/family to learn what I can about their culture, religion, lifestyle, clothes and so on.

2.      Discuss expectations of the classroom and differences that may cause problems. What may be considered respectful in one culture may be disrespectful in another.

3.      Prepare the classroom with words written in English and Romanian for the child to see, include pictures from Romania and place around the room of people and places that will be familiar to the child. Also try to include clothing in the dramatic area for the children to play with.

4.      Invite the family to come and speak to the class or just sit in the class and observe.

5.      Include their holidays when possible and allow the child to share their traditions with the class.

 

In doing these things, the family will be able to share their background including culture, heritage, religion and other beliefs with not only myself but with the other children in the classroom. The child and family will feel welcome and hopefully open to share their background with us. These things will also help me learn about the child and better prepare an individual plan as well as lesson plans that will include the child as a whole.

 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I have been dealing with biases and prejudices all year in the work place, this year I have been the only one yelled at for wearing jeans on a Friday even though everyone had them on because we were told we could wear them, I was yelled at in front of volunteers for things that were not my fault and she never even apologized when I pointed them out, I was told I cannot take off, while right in front of me my assistant asked off and nothing was said but remind me later, I was told I cannot leave my classroom even if my assistant was under ratio, but my assistant could enjoy coffee in the office all morning leaving me alone with my class but most recently was right before we left for the summer I was told that I may not have my class when I come back. By all rights I should have seniority; I have 10 years working with young children, 7 of those years with Head Start and I am the only one with a Bachelor’s degree. So tell me why my assistant with no experience as a lead teacher, who just got an associate degree maybe running the show? With the last agency we were under, I made teacher of the year every year I was there, so it is not like I do not know what I am doing or am a bad teacher.

I was hurt about the situation but not surprised because my assistant had been saying towards the end of the year how she could not wait to get her own class, I just knew this was going to happen. I was told that a comment was made about me that I will say anything…what does that mean? I can assume what the comment meant, but that will make me no better than my boss for saying it. So I have been looking for other positions, I hope to find one that will value me for what I can do with children not what I look like. I only named a few things that happened this year, it was a nightmare, I got to the point I did not want to go to work because I was forever being yelled at for something, and when I say yell, I am not exaggerating, people heard her in other classes. I finally had to go to her boss and discuss the situation, but now I feel like I am being punished for that.

I do not even know how this could be changed to make it more equal except for it not to happen at all. It is one thing not to get a position that I would apply for but to be told that my class my no longer be mine for no apparent reason other than my assistant wants her own class that is unacceptable. She needs to apply when there is an opening like the rest of us did, not have someone pushed aside so she can take over. If she does not get her own class, my boss is taking the 3 year olds away from me and giving me 4’s because that is what my assistant wants. My mother keeps telling me that God is in control, and he will put me where I need to be whether if I remain in my class or find another position, I need to pray and have faith, so that is what I am doing this summer because I really cannot go through another year of that.

Practicing-awareness-of-microaggressions

 My micro-aggression was due to a coworker. I know that she does not mean to be hurtful with her comments and I personally do not see them as hurtful, sometimes she asks just to be sure but it is the way she asks or comment that makes it a micro-aggression. Anyway, we have not that much to do left this year and we were all sitting around discussing having a cookout next week on our last day. When the mention of what types of foods we should have was brought up, she looked at me and was like “well what kinds of foods do you eat?”  Now, I have known several of these ladies for many years, and by now you would think that they know I will eat just about anything, and this being a cookout, really what would be there that I would not want? Then I said “what do you mean what foods do I eat, it’s a cookout right? I will eat whatever is made” she responded, “ok well I was just making sure, I know some of y’all are picky” Now I could have asked her what she meant by some of y’all, but I just let it go. I am so tired, this has been a very trying year and it is almost over, I just say a prayer that God gets me through.

I try not to allow comments made toward me affect me too much. Yes they can be hurtful, and when my children are targeted, I do flip a little bit, but the way I see it there are so many more things in this world that need my attention and energy, like helping children who have no food, clothing or shelter. I do like to volunteer and I am always helping my family members with problems they may have. I myself just say a prayer and move on, but I do understand, that is not always possible.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

When I asked a few people to define culture, this is what was said:

1.      Culture is the values and beliefs people live by

2.      Culture is the way people live

3.      Culture is where you come from, your history, roots and your family’s history

4.      Culture is more about your folklore and your race

When I asked a few people to define diversity, this is what was said:

1.      The difference in how different cultures live

2.      Diversity is the difference between the way people live

3.      Diversity is the combination of different cultures

4.      Diversity is how different cultures interact with one another

Aspects of culture and diversity

While reviewing the answers given to me, I did notice that everyone does link culture with the way people live and where they come from, while diversity is the difference in those cultures. I see culture as a family’s identifier; culture makes you who you are…it is your past, present and future. Diversity shows that not all cultures are the same; it is what makes us unique.

Aspects omitted

The people that answered all said that they had a hard time explaining the definitions and gave brief explanations of each. One thing that I believe some omitted was the fact that culture defines us; it is our past, present and future.

My own thinking

My thinking on culture and diversity has been influenced by the others in that I believe that my thinking is more in-depth and I think about culture and diversity from a personal view point and I view them through 16 little children and their families.

 

My Family Culture

Three items of choice:

      Rope Bed

      Family Tree

      History book of my family

 

What they mean to me:

      The rope bed has been in my family for over a hundred years, it was my great-great grandparent’s bed. My mother used it when she was a little girl and it was passed to her when my great grandmother died. When I was a little girl my parents bought a mattress for it so that I could use it. I am a huge lover of history and the fact that the bed was old and a family heirloom it meant the world to me.

      I have a framed family tree that was done for me for my 40^th birthday that goes back to before my family was even in this country. I love that it includes pictures of my family including mine. I would love to have it so that future generations can see where we came from.

      The history book of my family was also a present for my 40^th birthday and means as much to me as the other items. The book dates to when my family first came here on my father’s side of the family in 1742. I have learned so much from the book including that I have family that fought in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. I also have a picture of my family gathered at Devil’s Den in Gettysburg PA, where my great grandfather lost a close friend. We went there on my 40^th birthday and had another family picture taken to place next to the one taken almost 100 years ago.

 

If I were told I could only keep one item, I am not sure how I would react, I am not sure if I would stay, honestly I cannot answer this question. I know now I would have a lot to say if I were told I cannot keep my items, however, if I had to choose between my children and items my children would come first, but those items rate just below my children because they are my past. They are what made me who I am, and I want my children to have them so that they can pass them down and always have a piece of where they came from.

I enjoyed choosing my items and discussing them, until I had to think about leaving them behind. My family and history are my two great loves in life and I truly do not know what I would do without them. This has been interesting to me because it really made me have to think about what is important to me and truly how important my items are.

Thanks

I would like to thank you all for reading and responding to my posts throughout these last 8 weeks, I wish you all the best and hope to see you in my next class, thanks again...Elizabeth

When I Think of Research...Reflection

Insights that I have gained from taking this course include the many important steps throughout the research study process, how important each step is in relation to obtaining reliable results, and how to create a study that is also fair and just.

My ideas about the nature of doing research has changed in many ways, but after this course, I believe the most important changes include that fact that I now know that a research study needs to be done step by step and each step needs careful consideration and every aspect of the research needs to be taken into consideration before the study even begins. Papers need to be signed, people chosen and everything in its place then the study can begin.

I have learned so many things about planning, designing and conducting a research study in early childhood, but some important lessons include making sure that a research needs to choose the way in which they are going to collect the data. The researcher needs to determine if observations or interviews will be better. Then the research also needs to choose the participants and how will they be chosen. I also learned how important it is that researchers keep their own ideas, assumptions, and bias out of the research study to obtain reliable, just, and fair results.

Challenges for me where trying to turn the research question into a hypothesis and learning all the terms used for research studies. I read as much as I could and also did more research myself on the internet to help learn about creating a hypothesis. I also read more on the terms so that could truly understand their meanings and how they could be used in sentences with regards to research studies.

I had not thought about the amount of work that is included in creating a research study from childhood professionals, I never thought of researchers and what all they do especially from start to finish of a project; however, after this course I can say I know that they work hard. Many hours of work goes into just preparing for the study and then the observations and or interviews that are done. Researchers spend a great deal of time and effort to look for answers that will benefit the early childhood field.

One way that my perception of an early childhood professional has been modified as a result of this course is the amount of dedication into the research aspect of this field. As a teacher of early childhood education, I have spent 8 years in a classroom using curriculums that I have either liked or disliked for different reasons and have always wanted to know more about how we came about using them. This course has helped answer questions as well as show me what is involved in how and why curriculums are chosen. I also know that there are so many more aspects of working in this field and that I may wish to look further into the research side of the early childhood field.

 

Research Around the World

The website that I chose to explore is http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/ and I have found some of the research topics to include Learning and teaching through play, Learning from High/scope, Diversity and difference: Lighting the spirit of identity, Engaging families” Building strong communication and many more.

 

One thing that surprised me through exploring this site and looking for what they are researching is that many of the topics researched in Australia are topics that we research here in the United States. Some insights gained while exploring the site include how many topics for research and supporting best practices include many areas of behaviors and emotions for young children.  

 

I enjoyed exploring this website because it was easy to navigate and had plenty of information on early childhood issues both for research and knowledge of the early childhood field. I have started to read the research papers on curriculums, but did not get to finish them yet, but I do look forward to it.

 

 

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

I came across this article http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2008/09/early-programs-isaacs while looking for information for another class. I did not use the article for the other class because it was not what I was looking for; however, I did read the article because I found it interesting. The main focus of this research study was to examine the impact on early childhood programs and children over a span of 24 years. One study actually went to children who reached 40. The results of the study showed a positive impact on children and their families in many areas. “Most early childhood interventions also have had positive impacts on children’s emotional and behavioral outcomes, including long-term reductions in criminal behavior. There also is some evidence of improvements in children’s health and safety, and some programs have had positive effects on the children’s parents” (Isaacs & Roessel, 2008). One of the things that I loved about the results of this research study is the fact that the findings will be used “to provide policy-makers with a user-friendly summary of up-to-date, high-quality evidence on several early childhood interventions and their impact on children and families” (Isaacs & Roessel, 2008). This is in hopes that more funding will be available for expanding future early childhood programs state and nationwide.

 

Isaacs, J., & Roessel, E. (2008, September). Impacts of early childhood programs. Bookings. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2008/09/early-programs-isaacs

My Personal Research Journey

I have started to research how and why different curriculums are chosen for the early childhood field. I would like to know what type of research is done and if teachers are considered during the process. Teachers spend the majority of the day with the children and in the agencies I have worked for, they are not given time daily for planning like in the public school. This will affect the way teachers complete paperwork on each child; not giving a true individual plan based on children’s needs. My 3 subtopics include how a curriculum is chosen, the proper or improper use of curriculums and what is expected of teachers when using different curriculums.

I chose these topics because I work with a curriculum that maybe good for the children in the classroom; however, it seems to be overwhelming for teachers and the work is not being done correctly. If the work is not being completed correctly it defeats the purpose of using the curriculum. Teachers need to be able to complete the work and submit data on a daily basis. If there is too much to do, teachers are just using one observation for an entire class. This is not creating a plan that is individualized for each child; so many children may not be receiving the instruction that they need for learning. I have also found that if teachers are completing paperwork correctly it is because they are doing it during teaching time and just allowing children to do what they want so they can jump on the computer to get work done. Either way the children are the ones who will suffer.

I have found a site that I think will help with my research process, but I have just really started exploring it. You can reach it here https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/eecd/Curriculum/Planning/HowToChooseaP.htm

I would love to hear any ideas, comments, or insights regarding curriculums and teachers so please leave comments.

 

Final Blog Post For Issues and Trends

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field that pertain to my professional and personal development include being aware of the issues of poverty across the globe and how it affects children and their learning, how some countries are trying to include technology into learning to help increase learning and skills, and how the importance of the early childhood field is growing around the world and how different countries are trying to improve learning for pre-school children.

One goal for early childhood relating to international awareness of issues and trends and collegial relations would be to continue to explore the web sites that I have been for the past 8 weeks and keep myself attentive to the issues and trends that I have been exploring. Changes in this field are constant, and for me to be completely in tune with all that is going on I need to keep myself alert and aware of all aspects of early childhood, not just here, but around the world. I would like to continue to receive newsletters and blogs from the sites that I already do and continue to read up on issues and trends at least once a week so that I am conscious of all the changes and problems that arise in the early childhood field.

 

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Exploring UNESCO website @ http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Three new ideas/insights gained from exploring the UNESCO web site include a vast amount of information regarding early childhood education internationally, improvements being made for education interantionally and information regarding various cultures across the globe.

The section that I explored for early childhood education covered areas such as Africa, Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Each section gave a brief statement on what different organizations where doing to help improve the quality of education for children and then several news articles regarding teaching in those regions and what is being done to help make improvements.

One of the improvements trying to be implemented is the use of mobile technologies and learning. According to the Education Sector, “at the end of 2012 there were an estimated six billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world. The unprecedented uptake of mobile phones in particular, in both developed and developing countries opens up new possibilities for increasing education access, equity and quality. Mobile learning, a growing field of ICT in education, has the potential to significantly impact the delivery of education” (2013).

The section that I explored for culture was my favorite. You can access this section here http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/

I watched a video regarding saving Mausoleums in Africa that had contained thousands of manuscripts. They discussed trying to reconstruct many of the buildings and the loss of the manuscripts. There was so much information on various cultures and items from around the world and articles for different cultures. I spent an hour just reading about treasures, artifacts, and heritages. It was very interesting as well as informative. Here are some of the manuscripts from the 12^th to 15^th centuries.

  

“Subjects treated in those works span a vast range of ancient learning: from theology to mathematics, medicine, astronomy, music, literature, poetry, architecture, as well as esoteric practices. Together they bear a unique testimony to the cultural past of the city as a centre of learning and crossroad of trade and cultural exchanges. They also contain invaluable information about the pre-colonial history of Muslim Africa” (UNESCOPRESS, 2013).

This section of the UNESCO web site was just so wonderful, and I am glad to have been able to

explore this segment and learn more about what UNESCO does. This was interesting to me also because it gave a glimpse of heritage, culture and background of the children who UNESCO helps with education.

 

Education Sector (February 2013). ICT in Education. Learning with mobile technologies. Retrieved from  http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/themes/icts/single-view/news/learning_with_mobile_technologies/

UNESCOPRESS (January 2013). Timbuku’s documentary treasures. Building Peace in the minds of men and women. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/resources/preserving-the-moslem-cultural-heritage-of-mali-and-africa/