Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Describe in detail the consequences you might expect for the children and families with whom you work while you experience specific “–ism(s)” in your own life. Include specific examples either those you have and/or are experiencing or ones you would anticipate.

I do not personally feel that I have experienced any “isms” from the children or families who I work with, however some of my coworkers have so it is possible that I may one day.  We work in an area that has a large African American student population.  While our principal and a few of our teachers are also African American, the majority of our staff, myself included, is Caucasian.  It has happened on occasion when an African American student is getting in trouble frequently that they have accused the teacher of being racist.  It is my hope that this would never happen to me because I feel that I am very fair and respectful of all cultures and races in which I work.  However if it did occur, I feel that I would find it very hurtful, and it would be difficult to continue working with a child and family who had such negative feelings towards me and accused me of being something that I work so diligently to dissolve the world of.  I would think that if the child and family truly felt this about me and was not just throwing out defensive accusations, it would be best for all parties for them to move to another classroom.  It would be clear that they would not be able to trust me in a way necessary for an optimal learning and developing environment.

Communication Observation

• Provide an account of your observation.

I observed a kindergarten child interacting with his mother while waiting for school to start.  I was on hallway duty, and the parent decided to wait with her child until the teacher brought them into the classroom.

• Describe what you noticed and learned.

As many young boys are, this child was very active and working very hard to get and keep his mother’s attention.  At first, they were talking about what type of day he was going to have.  After a while, the mom seemed somewhat irritated with his conversational skills.  He would often change subjects or have to think about some of the words he needed in order to finish his sentences.  Eventually, the mom got out her cell phone and began texting.  At first, the boy continued talking and seemed not to notice that his mother was no longer listening.  However, eventually his facial expression showed frustration.  He hunched his shoulders and sat quietly next to his mom.

• Make connections between what you observed and the effective communication strategies presented in this week’s learning resources. What could have been done to make the communication more affirming and effective?

Throughout the conversation, the boy stumbled on his words, or took a long time to get stories out.  The mother often finished his sentences, shushed him, or became disengaged when his speech was not rapid and fluent.  As mentioned in this week’s video, the presenter, Lisa Kolbeck discussed the importance of allowing children to talk, regardless of how long it may take.  The world moves very fast, and children need to be allowed to communicate and develop at their own pace.  By forcing children to speed up and rush, they may shut down all together (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

• Share your thoughts with regard to how the communication interactions you observed may have affected the child’s feelings and/or any influences it may have had on the child’s sense of self worth.

By rushing and eventually shutting out her child, this mother could have done damage to the child’s self confidence and willingness to communicate.  He was obviously frustrated, and his body language showed disappointment as well.

• Offer insights on how the adult-child communication you observed this week compares to the ways in which you communicate with the children. What have you learned about yourself this week with respect to how well you talk with and listen to young children? In what ways could you improve?

I consider myself to communicate well with children.  I feel I am especially strong in extending the language of my students and providing new sentence structures and vocabulary.  However, I do see, especially when the pace of the curriculum is speeding up, that I sometimes may rush my students, and not allow them to take the time that they need in order to effectively communicate with me, each other, and develop their communication skills.  I have learned the importance of allowing children the time they need, and this is something that I plan to improve on.  Communication is an important piece of children’s developing into successful and productive adults, which is the utmost goal of educators.  In order to improve the student’s educational experience and future, I must step back, slow down, and allow my students to communicate at a pace which is comfortable for them.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Communicating with Young Children. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6488776&Survey=1&47=8284450&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Creating Affirming Environments

In creating an Anti-Bias Family Child Care Home, I would begin by setting my goals and philosophy of what I would want to accomplish.   I would strive to provide a safe, caring, and nurturing environment for children where parents and families feel welcome and valued.  Children would be provided with enriching materials and care that help them to develop a positive identity, feel free to be whoever they want to be, and are comfortable with the diversity that our world has to offer.  They would also learn to see and stand up against injustices, unfairness, and stereotypes when they encounter them.

Next, I would begin purchasing materials.  All materials would be culturally responsive, representing diversity and countering stereotypes (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010).  I would be sure to include books that show human differences and similarities.  A diverse selection of many different types of music CDs would be made to use throughout the day.  Dolls and figurines would be purchased or made that feature diversity of age, race, gender, body types, and physical disabilities.  This way all children will have dolls that they can relate to, and will be exposed to the many different types of people.  By having a variety of identities represented, children are getting a message that everyone is equally important.  Different types of dress up clothes and toys for both genders would be available to children that reflect various cultures.   Homemade puzzles would be used featuring pictures from magazines or the internet that show a range of diverse people in many different roles.  Different drawing materials such as a variety of flesh colored crayons, markers, and paper would be needed.  Blocks, Legos, and cars would be available (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010).

I would then arrange the home by creating play areas and decorating with posters, paintings, and fabrics that represent many different cultures.  Especially featuring the cultures of the children I plan to service (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010).

In finalizing my curriculum and philosophy, I would be sure to include the following elements:

• In this environment, children would be encouraged and feel safe to talk about the differences they observe in others.  Questions and observations would be welcomed and answered.
• Children would be encouraged to express their feelings and emotions.  Books and games portraying different emotions would be utilized regularly.  All children will learn to and be encouraged to express their anger and frustration using appropriate vocabulary.  To assist with this, dolls would be used to role play and children would be given the opportunity to discover ways to solve their own problems.
• Children would never be allowed to exclude others due to their identity.
• All children would be encouraged to at least try and participate in a different activities and types of play. 
• Children would learn to recognize stereotypes, unfairness, and injustices.
• Family traditions, holiday traditions, and celebrations would be used in a variety of ways.  The importance of holidays such as Dr. Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day would be discussed.  Cultural holidays such as Chinese New Year and Cinco de Mayo would be celebrated.  And conversations would be had about the different winter holidays such as Kwanzaa, Chanukah, and Christmas.  Children will be exposed to materials and traditions for all of these and learn that different people may or may not celebrate different holidays (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010)

Finally, I would create a parent informational packet explaining my philosophy for anti-bias education and curriculum, along with my expectations for both parents and children.

I believe that this would be a strong foundation for setting up anti-bias Child Home Care.

References

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