Reflection

• An explanation of your most passionate hope for your future as an early childhood professional and for the children and families with whom you work or will work.

My most passionate hope for myself and my students is continue working to bridge the gap in the quality of education that children of different socioeconomic statuses receive. I truly believe that ALL children are entitled to a quality education, however part of this must come from the home.  So in my work, I must continue to work with families in educating them and building accountability so that they feel responsible and empowered to aid in their children’s education.

• A brief note of thanks to your colleagues.

Thank you for the support, encouragement, patience, challenges, and ideas.  Reading the challenges and successes that others encounter and realizing how similar they are to my own make me feel supported and empowered.

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

For this week’s assignment, we were asked to choose a region of the world from the UNICEF website to explore.  We were asked to look for challenges in the area that would affect the emotional development of the children living in this region.

• The area of the world I chose and why.

I chose Latin America and the Caribbean.  Not only is this the only area of the world that I have traveled outside of the US, but it is also where the majority of our immigrant students and families come from in the school that I teach, so I felt it to be beneficial for me to expand my knowledge of the region.

• Detailed Description of some of the challenges that children in this region of the world are confronting.

This is an area of the world that is considered to be the most unequal.  There are staggering gaps that leaves millions of children and their families at risk.  There are many challenges that children in this region are exposed to, the main one being poverty.  60% of children living in this region under the age of 12 years old live in poverty.  An alarming 1 out of every 5 children in this region experience malnutrition.  Violence is also a ramped problem in this region.  Around 85,000 children die each year due to violence in the home.  Violence affects over 6 million children and adolescents.   There are also frequent and harsh natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding that destroy villages and towns.

• Explaination of how these experiences might have an effect on children’s emotional wellbeing and development.

We have learned the many affects that living in poverty can have on a child.  They are often stressed, worried, tired, and hungry, just to name a few.  Chronic malnutrition affects children’s growth through a variety of ways, among them: low birth weight, stunting and frequent illness. It can also affect a child’s emotional wellbeing, because their needs are not being met.  Distress from destroyed villages due to natural disasters also affects children emotionally.  Having all of your belongings and your home destroyed can make a child anxious, depressed and stressed.  These natural disasters can also lead families to other problems such as poverty and malnutrition.

• Personal and professional reflection, insights gained and the influences they may have on me as a person and as an early childhood professional.

I’ve always considered to myself to be fairly aware of the problems in the world.  However, I was shocked and saddened to learn of these statistics in a region so close to our own, and a region that so often feeds in to ours.  I left this site feeling helpless.  As educators, the best thing we can do for any immigrant children and families is to learn as much as we can about their culture and what life was like for them in their native country.  That is the best way for us to help support them developmentally, socially, and in their transition to the culture which they have moved.

References:

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

Sexualization of young children

Much like many parents, fellow teachers, and early childhood experts, I my concern is growing quickly about the sexualization of early childhood.  Some examples of this are the dolls many children are playing with and the characters they are seeing in movies and television show that they watch that show inappropriate outfits and overly dramatic make up.  I see the implications of this daily in my classroom.  Many of the young girls wear skirts and shorts that are very short, and refuse to have it any other day.  Children are being exposed to images of sexualiztion that they cannot understand.  This can confuse, and possibly even frighten them (Levin & Kilbourne 2009).  It is our job as the adults in these children’s lives to help them to make sense of what they are seeing.  Without our help, they can develop poor self identity, begin participating in sexual activity at a very young age, and even put themselves in situations that can lead to sexual harassment and abuse.  While I was always aware and concerned with this topic, this week’s readings have made me begin to question what I can do to help protect our youth from what can happen due to this sexualization.

Resources:

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1–8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

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).

What I Have Learned

• 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 one hope for children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that they feel accepted when they are in my classroom.  I feel that an early childhood classroom should be a safe haven for all involved, and strive to create that environment for the diverse families I work with.

• 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):

I would like to see more men in the early childhood field, especially in poverty stricken areas such as the one I currently teach.  So many of our children do not have a positive male role model in their lives, and I think it could make quite an impact to have that at the early childhood stage.

• A brief note of thanks to your colleagues:

Thank you to those who have read and commented on my work, and especially for allowing me to read and learn from your work and experiences.  Reading your thoughts and experiences has helped me to grow and develop towards the anti-bias educator that I am striving to become.