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.