Time Well Spent

As we are coming to an end at our time at Walden University, I realized that there is so much that I have learned. The first and most important concept that I learned from this program is the concept of an anti-bias education. When I signed up for this program, I didn’t realize exactly what I had gotten myself into. As we continued through the program, I was excited to keep learning more and developing my understanding of what an anti-bias education was.

The next concept that has really changed the way I look at things is learning that we all have biases. Throughout this program we have been asked to look into ourselves and see what hidden biases and strengths we could find. It was important for me to figure out my own biases and learning where they came from. It was reassuring to know that my colleagues were going through the same thing and that we could work together and support one another.

The final concept that I learned is that we can all make a difference in the early childhood field. I never believed that my one voice could make a difference. What I have found is that it can, and that if we combine our voices, we can do so much more! This concept has made me look into advocating for the early childhood field, and I am interested in seeing where this takes me.

From learning everything that we have, there is a long-term goal that I have for myself. My goal is to take everything I have learned from this program and apply it not only to my professional life but to my personal life as well. I want to teach my own children through an anti-bias education along with my future students.

With all the knowledge that I have learned, it couldn’t have happened without all of my professors and colleagues that I have met along the way. Dr. Shephard, it has been an honor learning from you these past 16 weeks. The questions that you leave us after each assignment, has helped me to continue my learning and to think deeper about different topics. It has also been your support and encouragement along with my colleagues that has helped me to finish this program.

I want to personally thank all of my colleagues for helping and supporting me throughout this program. By asking questions and sharing personal experiences, I have learned an abundance of information from all of you. I hope that I have done the same for you. I plan to keep this blog up and running to share with you information that I have learned and how my life has been changing due to this program. You can keep in touch with me through here or through my email which is: charlotte_heiser@yahoo.com.

It will be interesting to see how we all put our anti-bias education to practice. I just hope you all remember to celebrate the small successes and to not let anything stop you from achieving your dreams. I wish you all the best of luck and an early congratulations on graduating!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The first international organization that I found was the Association for Childhood Education International, ACEI. ACEI’s mission statement is “to promote and support the optimal education, development, and well-being of children worldwide, and to influence the professional growth of educators and the efforts of others who are committed to the needs of children in a changing society” (Association for Childhood Education International, 2011). They also have consultative status with the United Nations. I found that they are advocating against corporal punishment and the attacks on education. While searching their site, I found an internship program which has given many the opportunities to be a part of major organizations.

The second organization that I came across was the World Organization for Early Childhood Education also known as OMEP. This organization was established in 1946 with a small group of educators and others. They aim back in 1946 is still their aim for today which is to “advance the interests and overall wellbeing of children in all parts of the world, regardless of race, sex, religion, nation or social origin” (World Organization for Early Childhood Education, 2010). I liked that this organization is about what we have been learning from day one of our program. I found that OMEP is collaborating with UNICEF while also supporting relief efforts and developing information and activities to get their organization more known across the world.

The final organization that I found is the World Forum Foundation. This foundation brings together six to eight hundred early childhood professionals every two years (World Forum Foundation, 2011). Their mission is to “promote an on-going global exchange of ideas on the delivery of quality services for young children in diverse settings” (World Forum Foundation, 2011). Inside the foundation they bring people together to work towards a common concern or interest. These groups are working towards children’s rights, children impacted by HIV/AIDS, including children with special needs, and many more causes. I found places to become a sponsor or a champion but did not find any job listings.

 

References:

Association for Childhood Education International. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.acei.org/

World Forum Foundation. (2011). Retrieved from http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/

World Organization for Early Childhood Education. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.omep-usnc.org/

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

This week we were to look for national/federal organizations that we would want to be a part of. The first organization that came to mind is the National Association for the Education of Young Children, NAEYC. I chose this organization because it is their information that I always come across when doing research on the early childhood field. The NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children, n.d.) “Is the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children with nearly 80,000 members, a national network of more than 300 state and local Affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations.” I couldn’t really find any job opportunities but it seems that there is an abundance of things to do and work towards.

 

The next organization that I looked into was LearnNow. This organization is based on getting people together to work towards a common cause. Their mission is:

To better prepare children for a dramatically changing world, LearnNow presents evidence-based information as the basis for sound decision-making in ways that can help build an online community to help answer questions and demystify some of the challenges involved in raising, caring for and nurturing children. (LearnNow, 2012)

People involved in their organization are professors, neuroscientists, parents, psychologists, and many others. Once again, I couldn’t find any job opportunities but saw that there were an abundance of people on three different advisory boards. I chose this organization though because it doesn’t just look towards educators but to the whole community to help with advocating for children.

 

The final organization that I looked into was the Alliance for Childhood. I chose this organization because they are working towards getting children away from televisions and computers along with reducing the amount of high-stakes tests that children have to take. Their mission statement is to:

Promote policies and practices that support children’s healthy development, love of learning, and joy in living. Our public education campaigns bring to light both the promise and the vulnerability of childhood. We act for the sake of the children themselves and for a more just, democratic, and ecologically responsible future. (Alliance for Childhood, n.d.)

They have professors, directors, and CEOs of other companies that are a part of their board of trustees. There is also a person who is just in charge of communications with other organizations.

 

References:

Alliance for Childhood. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/

LearnNow. (2012). From research to the real world. Retrieved from http://www.learnnow.org/

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The first state organization that I found was the Ohio Education Association. I chose this organization because they “represent 124,00 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children” (OEA, n.d.). Their focus is on how quality education can help all children and their lives. When looking through the job openings, I was surprised to see that 2/3 of the job opening wanted degrees in other professions than in the education field. The one job that I did find, that wanted education experience was a consulting job which wanted experience in advocacy work.

The next organization that I found was The Ohio Confederation of Teacher of Educaiton Organizations, OCTEO (n.d.). This organization is known as an umbrella organization that brings together other organizations. The OCTEO sets up conferences for these different organizations to come together. I really liked how this organization helps other organizations stay connected. This seems like it would be a great way to learn more about the programs that are out there and find out what others are doing in their organizations. The different job openings that I found were for colleges in the area which involved assessment, human resources, and assistant professor. This organization would be a great way to impact the future teachers of America. One main skill that I saw they wanted was strong communication and collaboration skills.

The final organization that I found was based in other states but could be a great opportunity. Playworks (n.d.) is an organization that I found that sets up trainings and inform schools how important play is in the schools. One success that they have had is bringing coaches into the school so that they can teach teachers and administrators on what to do to get children to be more active. I found this to be a great organization and one that should be shared with schools that are trying to bring play back into the classroom. The jobs that I found involved being a coach in a school or being a program coordinator. Once again, the requirements for this job are strong communication skills.

 

References

Ohio Education Association, OEA. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.ohea.org/

Playworks. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.playworks.org/

The Ohio Confederation of Teacher of Educaiton Organizations, OCTEO. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ohioteachered.org/index.html

Reflecting on Learning

My biggest hope for my future as an early childhood educator is to actually put everything into practice. My passion has been to teach in a school setting and right now that has not been possible. When that day comes and I am able to teach, I hope that I will remember all of this. I hope that I will be able to support my students and their families while learning about the anti-bias approach. While waiting for a teaching job, I plan to start advocating for children and to live by the anti-bias approach.

I want to thank each and every one of you for helping me through this process. I have learned so much and you all have pushed me to think further. Thank you Dr. Tammy Shepard for constantly, having me think of new ways to look at topics and issues.

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area that I chose to explore was Central and Eastern Europe Commonwelath of Independent States. I chose this area because I have met a few people that have emigrated from Russia and wanted to learn more about the area. Along with Russia there were many other areas that I was interested in. For example, Croatia, Turkey, Albania, and Romania because when I was a teenager, some of my peers were from these areas.

What I learned from the UNICEF website (2011) is that children from Tajikistan were finally able to get the diphtheria vaccination. This taught me that one of the challenges that these children face are disease due to lack of immunizations. Another common challenge that I saw children facing was lack of funds. One child could only attend school one day a week because that is all that the family could afford. Another challenge that I saw was that most of the states did not have inclusive classrooms. This meant that children with varying abilities either did not go to school or went to a special school. One family even opened up a center so that children who could not attend school could still get the education that they deserved.

With children not being immunized and not being able to receive an education, their development could fall behind. Children who are not receiving the proper education due to having varying abilities are just keeping that group down. Luckily for them, one family decided to open up a center for children to go to so they can learn and grow. Money issues can also bring about stress which causes emotional problems and for some developmental delays because they cannot get to school.

On a personal reflection, I learned that there is so much more that I can do for children around the world. On a professional level I have learned that I need to stand up for the rights of more than the children in my country but in the other countries as well. I never realized how powerful inclusion classrooms could be until I realized that in some countries children is not allowed to attend school if they are disabled. I believe that all children have the right to an education and as time goes on, I hope that others countries start to understand this as well.

 

References:

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

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

Share your reaction to the topic of the sexualization of early childhood.

Provide three or more examples, from your personal or professional experience, that further illustrate the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment.

While reading the article by Levin & Kilbourne (2009) I didn’t have too much of a reaction. This is something that I have talked about in the past and have heard stories of. It seems as time goes on, children younger and younger start knowing about sexualization even if they don’t know how to explain it.

One example that I can give from my professional experience is a story that I was told when I started working in my preschool classroom. The teacher before me had been written up for an event that happened in the classroom because she was not circulating the room but only watching the children’s heads. When the teacher finally got up to walk around the room she found two children playing doctor. The boy had stuck one of the toy instruments in the girl’s private area. The fact that they knew what to do, shows how quickly children are learning about sex.

Another example I have comes from my personal life which involves my best friend and her little sister. My best friend loves to listen to all types of music and would teach her sister parts of songs and dance moves to go with it. The one incident I remember the most is when the sister was five years old and was walking around shaking her hips and butt singing “shake your money maker” by Ludacris (Williams & Bridges, 2006). My best friend found this to be so funny and kept teaching her sister different songs and different moves.

The final example I have comes from my own experience. When I was five years old my mother would let me watch rated “R” movies that involved sex, like Pretty Woman (Milchan, Reuther, & Goldstein, 1990). Watching that movie I remember trying to act out scenes with one of the kids at my babysitters. I remember that clothes were always on but we would pretend to do stuff.

Explain the implications this may have on children’s healthy development. Include ideas you might have, as an early childhood professional, to best respond to these concerns and to reduce the negative impact on children.

These experiences are things that I know made me grow up faster than I should have. I think that with all of these experiences I can see how girls and boys will feel like they have to be sexy or have to be in a relationship to prove something. I feel like we are constantly trying to get our children to grow up but when they do we try to make them kids again. This cannot be healthy on a child’s development. They are being forced to grow up faster and try to understand concepts that they shouldn’t be ready to learn about. I think the best thing that we can do as professionals is to remind parents that their child is young and that they should hold onto those years. We can also teach content and concepts that are age appropriate.

Describe the ways in which your awareness of the sexualization of early childhood has been influenced and/or modified by studying the topic this week.

By learning about this topic this week, I think I will be more aware of what children are exposed to in my care. Due to our reading this week, I am also very curious about the rest of the book. It seems like it will have great ideas and resources to help us feel more confident about talking to parents and our students about what is appropriate and not.

References:

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

Williams, P. & Bridges, C. (2006). Money maker [Recorded by Ludacris featuring Pharrel] On Release therapy [CD]. Atlanta, Georgia: DTP, Def Jam.

Milchan, A., Reuther, S., & Goldstein, G. (Producer), & Marshall, G. (Director). (1990). Pretty Woman [Motion Picture]. United States: Silver Screen Partners IV & Touchstone Pictures.

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

This week we had to think about the impact our personal life has on our professional life, in regards to if we were being stereotyped or people were being bias towards us. By having these negative impacts on your social life, it is guaranteed to have some effect on your professional life. The consequences that I could see happening is the teacher not having confidence in herself and therefore not helping her students gain the confidence that they need.

 

Another consequence could be that stereotypes and biasness in the classroom goes unseen because the teacher no longer knows how to handle the situation. The teacher could also take personal offense to a comment and treat a child differently. This could also lead to poor interactions with the families because the teacher may think that the families think the same as the people stereotyping him or her.

 

One example that I can think of would be a teacher who is being judge for being lower class. She may then feel like she is not good enough to teach her student. She could also feel that the parents of her students are always judging her by the clothes she wears or her means of transportation.

Observing Communication

I was just at a family function and I decided this would be a great time to do our observation. My aunt walked in the room and immediately picked up my godson. She said, “Hello Emmitt!” Then turned to his mother and started asking her questions on how Emmitt was doing. Emmitt started squirming and saying “down.” My aunt did not listen until finally Emmitt squirmed just enough for her to almost drop him. That is when she put him down and continued talking.

From this whole observation, I learned that my family does this quite a bit to the younger ones. Everyone will pick them up and say hello but then start talking to an adult. The children then go unnoticed and most likely feel like they are not important.

This week, we learned vital tools to interacting with children. One main tip that I learned  was “to refrain from talking about babies to others in the baby’s presence” (Kovach & Da Ros-Voseles, 2011, p.48). For this to happen, my aunt should have asked Emmitt how he was doing and then later ask the mother. We also learned to “talk to babies before touching them” (Kovach & Da Ros-Voseles, 2011, p.48). I think Emmitt would have felt more comfortable if my aunt would have asked Emmitt if she could pick him up or say that she was going to pick him up. Being that Emmitt is a toddler, he knows how to express his wants and needs and this should be listened to.

While watching this encounter, I realized that I do the same things. I don’t think about talking to the child before picking them up or asking the child the questions. I just assume that since he can’t answer that it doesn’t really matter. I now know that this is completely wrong! I need to make sure that I communicate more with the younger children and explain what I am going to do before or while I am doing it. The one thing that I do know I do well is getting down to the child’s level to talk to them. I believe that this really helps in the communication process because I will not look intimidating to the child.

References:

Kovach, B., & Da Ros-Voseles, D. (2011). Communicating with babies. YC: Young Children, 66(2), 48-50. Retrieved from http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=60001533&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Creating Affirming Environments

The picture above is of my Family Child Care Home. To begin, parents will come into the green area, or the outside area that is fenced off. If there is bad weather, then the family will walk through this area and enter the inside drop off area that has the same centers.

In both areas the parents can sign in and the children can have a transition area. In both areas, there will be a place for children to relax and wake up or to continue sleeping. This place will have some couches and chairs along with some pillows. I chose to have this area based off of the area that Adriana (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.) had in her center. She made sure to have a quiet area for the children to wake up or calm down in. I found this to be a very nice area for the children to wake up in a peaceful area.

Also in this area is a jungle gym that has equipment for all ages and capabilities. There is also a block area that has block people and Lego people of different cultures. Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) said that it was useful to have multicultural Lego people and I agreed with them completely. Next to the block area is the sand box that has all types of tools and equipment for free play. The final area is the Dramatic Play area that has persona dolls, clothes from all cultures, food from all cultures, etc. All of these will feature “diversity of age, race, gender, and body types, including people with physical challenges” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 52). All of these areas are designed for children to make independent decisions and learn about the cultures around them.

The next room is the group area which is for all the ages in the center. In this area, there is a space for parents to share information about their children and families with the center and other families. There is also an area for families to bring in pictures and items that share their cultures and home life. Both of these areas were inspired by the areas in Adriana’s (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.) center. In Adriana’s center there was an area to share one families’ culture for the month. For me it seemed like a good idea to have a place for all of the families to put items and pictures to share with everyone. The final area in this room is the circle time area where all the children in the center come together.

The next two rooms are the infant/toddler room and the preschool room. In both rooms there is a block area and dramatic play area that has the same concept as the ones in the drop off area. The dramatic play area is a great place for children to work through conflict resolution and act out scenarios that they are having trouble understanding. Both areas help with independent thinking and exploration.

There is also a music area, a book and puzzle area, and a meeting area. I got both the music area and the book and puzzle area ideas from the center that I used to work for and from Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010). I believe that the music area is a great place to express oneself to the music of the different cultures. Finally in both rooms there is an art area that includes all the colors of skin tones which Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) suggested having. This area will help children to understand the different colors of our skin and to express their feelings openly.

The final part of my center is the kitchen and dining room area. In the kitchen, meals will be prepared that are inspired by the families in our center. These inspirations can come from family recipes or from sharing time with the children.  Finally, the dining area has a table that is big enough for all the children to come in and eat together along with the staff members and any parents that want to come in. I believe that this area helps bring the families together and gives them a sense of community in our center.

 

References:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d.). Welcome to an anti-bias learning community. 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_1373761_1%26url%3D

What I Have Learned

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families is that they all feel welcomed and comfortable around me. I hope that I can teach children to see pass stereotypes and their own biases to see a person for who they truly are.

One goal that I would want to set for the early childhood field is to make courses like these more known and available to ALL teachers. I think that teachers should have to understand the impact that their biases have on others and what they are teaching their students without knowing it.

I want to thank Dr. Ferrari and all of my colleagues for everything that you have taught me. This course was filled with so much insight and each of you helped me to understand the different aspects of it all. I would assume that I will see most of you in the next course, but if not, I wish you the best of luck with the rest of the program!

Week 7

The top row represents an Anti-Bias Education, where every child learns to love one another and their differences. The bottom row represents what children go through and how they feel when bias and discrimination enter their lives. With each experience, a child is either given the opportunity to grow and experience new things, or left behind and not being able to see the world for what it is.

The bottom left picture is my favorite because it shows how children can get trapped by the labels that are given to them.


References:

B, R. (n.d.). Bye bye prejudice! Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0210341/solutions/rebecca/rebecca.htm

Compasito. (n.d.). Discrimination. Retrieved from http://www.eycb.coe.int/compasito/chapter_5/3.html

Look For Diagnosis. (2009). Prejudice. Retrieved from http://www.lookfordiagnosis.com/mesh_info.php?term=Prejudice&lang=1

PBWorks. (2009). Prejudice and discrimination. Retrieved from http://kiefer.pbworks.com/w/page/6289146/Prejudice%20and%20Discrimination

Teen Health Alliance. (2007). Subject: discrimination. Retrieved from http://www.teenvillage.org/social_discrimination_prejudice.asp

Week 6

This week we are supposed to write a story about a time when a child pointed out someone else’s differences and the response that we had towards this comment. The story that sticks out most in my head happened when I was teaching preschool. One of my preschool students wanted to spend some time alone. She did quite a bit where she would get mad at the other children and just wanted some time to herself. Well, on this particular day, one of the boys would not leave her alone because he wanted to play with her.

As the child got more frustrated that the boy was bothering her, she turned and pointed to the boy and yelled, “I don’t like to play with black people!” At this point, I was completely in shock, and walked over to the children. I asked the boy if he was okay, and when he said “yes” he went and played with another group of children. At that time, I turned to the girl and said, “We shouldn’t say things like that. You just hurt his feelings. How do you think you would feel if someone said that to you?”

This is when the child got quite and said that she just wanted some alone time. We talked about the different ways to tell someone that we want to be left alone and that she should have come to me if there was a problem. Later, we informed both the children’s parents on what had happened.

Thinking back, I don’t know if I gave both children the right message. I talked about hurting someone’s feelings but I didn’t really go into detail about how we are all different. I was just so shocked by this incident, especially since they are really good friends, and I didn’t know how to handle the situation.

Learning what I have from this program, the one thing that an anti-bias educator would do is talk to both children at the same time to talk about differences. I should have talked to the other child more and made sure that he was ok, and to let him know that it was not ok with what the other child said. If I had all this information, I would have also talked to the girl more about race and how it wasn’t his skin color that made her not want to play with him. I think if this situation were to happen again, I wouldn’t be so shocked and not know how to handle it. I would be more prepared and ready to take action.

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

Some of the ways you noticed that homophobia and heterosexism permeate the world of young children including books, movies, toys, stores, culture of early childhood centers, and schools

When looking through my collection of children’s books, I realized that I have only seen books that involved heterosexism. I love going to book stores and looking through all the children’s books and seeing if there is anything that sticks out that would be a great addition to my collection. Not once, have I come across a book that involves LGBT. Does anyone know of some books that touch on this subject for children?

Your response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families

The main response that I would have is that we live in a world that is diverse, and we need to make sure that everyone knows that they are valued. By having books that depict gay or lesbian individuals gives children the chance to express their feeling. I don’t know whether it is because I grew up knowing about gay and lesbian couples or if it is because I believe that everyone deserves the chance to be happy, but I think that children need to see this. As we learned from Tina this week, if children do not know that it is okay to feel the way that they do, then they will feel like an outcast or unsure of their feelings. By showing children that a family can consists of many different scenarios you are helping a child better understand their feelings.

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

The first thing I would do is ask the parent or family member why they feel the way that they do. If there are stereotypes that they are afraid of, I would give them the facts and try to dispel what they have been told. I would also remind the parent or family member that all staff members are professional and are passionate about their job. Being homosexual or transgender does not affect the way that a person does their job and their personal life has nothing to do with the professional life. I know that the one rule that my previous employment had, was that no family could be on the premises when the staff member was working or there were children in the building. This was for the safety of the children and other staff members.

Thank You & Good Luck

This course taught us all about effective communication and collaboration. I learned that there is more to communication then listening and talking. Nonverbal cues are just as important to how you listen and how you talk to the people around you. All of you have shared your experiences and taught me how to handle certain conflicts. If you asked me at the beginning of starting my master's degree if I would connect with my classmates, I would have answered, not likely. I am a shy person who takes time to warm up to people. But with sharing our experiences, I feel like I have connected with so many of you.

We move from course to course staying with some familiar people and meeting new ones. I want to thank you all for everything that you have taught me. I wish everyone the best of luck with everything that you do and hope that we all remember the communication skills we learned about. I know that I will be mindful of the ways I communicate and be mindful of how I handle conflict.

I plan to keep this blog going after graduation so that many of us can still stay in touch. I wish you all the best of luck as you continue down this journey. For anyone that took the specialization in Teaching and Diversity in Early Childhood Education I hope to see you again in our future classes. It is crazy to think that there are only three more courses to go!

5 Stages of Team Development

This week we learned about the 5 stages of team development. Thinking back to all of my group interactions, I can’t say that there was a certain stage that made it easier or harder to say goodbye. I have kept in contact with many people that I have had to work with in the past. There are hard times when leaving a group, but for me it was mainly because I was starting a new phase in my life. Leaving people that I worked with for a year, while student teaching, was hard just because of the bond that had been made. Some closing rituals that I have been a part of are usually parties that celebrate what has been accomplished; whether it was a successful school year or graduating from school.

When it comes to adjourning from my colleagues from this class and from the program as a whole, I see saying goodbye and wishing everyone the best of luck. I see staying in touch with a few and remembering the conversations that we have had. Being that every eight weeks we move on to a different course and many times meet new people it has made the adjourning process a little easier for me. I have already wished one colleague the best of luck as she left the program and thanked her for everything that she has taught me. I see our blogs as a great way to stay in touch with people and also a great way to accomplish the adjourning phase!

I think that the adjourning stage is essential because it lets you celebrate what you have accomplished and reflect on what went wrong. Without the adjourning stage, I think that I would feel like things were never finished or would wonder if what I did really helped myself and others.

Week 5

This week we have been learning about conflict resolution through communication. Thinking back to disagreements I have had in the past there are a few strategies that I wish I had known about. The first is the third side view which is to look at a conflict from a larger perspective (The Third Side, n.d.). Using the third side view would help me to see how the conflict is affecting the other party member and the people around us. Many conflicts that arise in my family usually starts with just the two parties but then ends up encompassing the whole family. By using the third side view, I would be able to see how the conflict is affecting everyone and can come up with a way that will resolve the conflict.

I also liked one of the skills from the Center of Nonviolent Communication (n.d.) that states;

Requesting what we would like in a way that clearly and specifically states what we do want (rather than what we don’t want), and that is truly a request and not a demand (i.e. attempting to motivate, however subtly, out of fear, guilt, shame, obligation, etc. rather than out of willingness and compassionate giving).

Many times in when I am in a conflict, I do better at saying what I don’t want and not saying what I do want. This is something that I want to work on so that I am clearly stating what I am thinking. Also, by making sure my words are a request and not a demand, I believe that some conflicts will not even happen.

References:

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/

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

Evaluation

This week we evaluated ourselves on our effectiveness of communicating with others. Then we asked two people to evaluate us and compare the results. What I found most surprising was that out of the three different tests, only one came back that was different than my evaluation. The one that was different came from my mother who only sees me interact with my family. I found the results surprising because I had not really thought about the things that she was saying. The verbal aggressiveness test (Verbal aggressiveness scale, n.d.) was the evaluation that she had a different score for and I could see why she ranked me so high.

 

What I learned from this is that I really need to pay attention to how I respond to my family. I do great when I am with someone I don’t know or with someone who is not family. Looking back, I realized I do criticize my brother in a personal way because that is how he is with me. Growing up with it, I guess I just learned how to fire back at him so that I did not feel powerless around him. What I take from this knowledge is that my personal life does not interfere with my professional life, and I am able to communicate differently with everyone that I come into contact with.

 

Another insight that I gained in general from this week is that stereotypes do not play a huge role in my life. With the picture, it was very hard for me to answer the questions and to judge that person. I think that I have become this way, because I surround myself with a variety of people. This will definitely help me in my professional life since I will not be quick to judge the children and families that walk into my classroom.

References:

Verbal aggressiveness scale. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6165/04/mm/quiz/quiz_verbal/index.html

Cultural Communication

Thinking back to how I communicated with others and comparing it to how I communicate now, I would say that there have some changes by not much. I have learned to pay more attention to nonverbal cues which has helped me to assess how the person is feeling. I have found this to be very important because I have noticed more things about the people around me.

Learning about the Platinum Rule this week, has really made me start looking back on certain situations and realizing that this rule could have helped. My sister-in-law and I do not agree on much and I always complain to my husband about how she always expects to get her way and never really sees other people’s opinions. What I have learned this week is that I need to take a moment and assess the situation that I am in. She was raised with being able to do whatever she wanted and is now basically in charge of their mother. I have to remember when talking to her, that this is the way she was raised and to see how her point of view works for her. We are heading over there today, so we will see how that goes!

Finally, I have learned to listen more and to not let my attention wander. I can be a great listener, but when it comes to things that I do not care about or have no idea what is being talked about, I have a hard time staying tuned in. I have been working on this, and trying to pay more attention as people are talking about things that I “go over my head.” It has be interesting to see what I have been missing, and the new information that I have been learning.

Week 2 Watching and Observing

This week we were assigned to watch a television show that you have never seen before twice. The first time without any sound to see what cues you could pick up on. The second time was with the sound on, and we were supposed to compare the assumptions that we had to what really happened.
 

This was quite interesting for me. I chose to watch the latest episode of Community and was confused from the very beginning. There was a mismatch group of people and I could tell that they were friends because they were around a table with food. Other than that, there wasn’t much I could read into. The facial expressions showed me emotions, but I could not really grasp how the people knew each other or what was going on.

 

What I realized from this experience is that it is easier to judge nonverbal cues from people that you know! I put this to the test by watching a show that I am familiar with and found that I could pick up on more cues than I did in the show I was unfamiliar with. I also found this to be true when interacting with people. During my observations this week, I noticed it was easier to tell what people were expressing if I knew them personally.

 
I think that the main thing we all need to consider when communicating with others is that our instincts about something may not always be right. We really need to pay attention to what is being said and to the nonverbal cues that goes along with it. I think that if we really pay attention to both, we can pick up on what is going on or what is trying to be conveyed to us.

 References:

Harmon, D. (Producer). (2012, May 10). Curriculum unavailable [Television series episode]. [With Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Jim Rash, Ken Jeong, & Chevy Chase]. In Community. United States: National Broadcasting Company.

Competent Communication – Week 1

When thinking of the people that I know and the people I see on television or hear on the radio, there are a few that demonstrate being a competent communicator. The person that stands out the most is my cousin, Jimmy. He is someone who can talk about anything with anyone and connects with that person and that topic. Some behaviors that I have noticed were constant eye contact, facial expressions, and a feeling of that he cares about what you are saying. He also can talk in ways that help people understand what he is saying. There were many times he would be trying to help me fix my car, and the way he explained things made complete sense! I know that he is a great communicator because he is a great salesman with a good rapport with all of his clients. He is also someone who can listen to what someone is saying, and completely understand and relate to that person.

I would definitely want to model some of my own communication models after him. There are times when I talk that I know I am not making sense to others, and I wish I had his way of talking. I also am someone who has a problem keeping eye contact with people, even though I am listening, and would love for it to come naturally like it does for my cousin.

This is a picture of Jimmy and I at his sister's wedding.











Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds:

The one hope that I have when working with children and families from a diverse background is that they all feel welcome and comfortable in my classroom. Once I am teaching again, I hope to take all the information that I have learned from this course to make sure that I am culturally aware of all of my students. I know that in the past, I had a classroom of diverse students and didn’t do much about it. We made sure that their culture was displayed around the room, but i never took the time to get to know the families. Whether it be they never stayed in the classroom long enough to talk or something would happen with the children to where I didn’t have time to talk. I now know that I must find time to get to know my families and really pay attention to what the children are doing and saying.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice:

One goal that I have for the early childhood field is that it becomes a place for children to feel safe and encouraged to try new things. Children should not be judged by the color of their skin, their gender, or their economic status. Every child should have the same opportunities to learn and grow in the early childhood field.I think that Derman-Sparks (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011) picked a good quote from Raffi that stated:

We find these joys to be self evident that all children are created whole, endowed with innate intelligence, with dignity and wonder and worthy of respect, the embodiment of life, liberty and happiness. Every girl and boy is entitled to love, to dream and belong to a loving village and to pursue a life of purpose.

This is exactly what I want for all children!

I would like to thank my colleagues for helping me down this journey, called diversity. I learned a lot from each and every one of you, and value the experiences that you shared. Hopefully now, we all have the knowledge about diversity and equity that we can start standing up for our students. I wish you all the best of luck as you continue your journey to your master’s degree!

References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Diversity and equity work: Lessons learned. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from the Walden University website: http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6488767&Survey=1&47=9303639&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The country that I chose my family coming from is Finland.

Five ways in which you will prepare yourself to be culturally responsive towards this family

• Look up information on Finland on the internet
• Talk to the family
• Try to connect with people from Finland
• Check out books that have information on Finland
• Figure out the language and learn key words

I think that by working through these five steps, I will be able to set up a classroom that is inviting to the new family. My goal would to also make sure that the child feels at ease and can relate to materials in the classroom. By looking up information, I can learn about the country and find posters and books to put in the classroom. By talking to the family, I can learn what they expect for their children and what they expect out of the school. Before the family comes, I would plan to see if there were people in the area from Finland. That way I can use them as a resource and hopefully connect the family with them so that they have someone to relate to. I also think that learning key phrases will help the child transition from their home language to English. This should also help build a connection with the child.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

Just recently I had an experience with oppression while watching a television show. My husband and I have been getting on Netflix and watching some of the shows that we used to watch while growing up. Recently we have been watching Futurama and on its last season there was an episode that had my jaw on the ground! The whole episode was all about how women needed to be in their place, which meant making food and cleaning. There was even a part that insinuated that women knew more about television shows and “little” stuff while the guys knew how to lie. The guys in the show saw themselves as better than the women and were superior in many ways.

The idea of this show made it clear that the writers were trying to make a joke about the inequality that women face in society. The ideas that could be put in young male’s minds are the reason that comments like, “get back in the kitchen,” are still around. While watching the show, I felt out of place and so did my husband. He kept saying it was because the last season was taken over by Comedy Central they were being very bias, but I don’t think that is the case. I think the writers were given the opportunity to push boundaries that they were not allowed to do with the network they were with before.

While watching the show, I felt so out of place. The ideas they were saying, were outrageous and really got on my nerves. Growing up, I have heard those sayings from my uncle and to this day, I do not find any of it funny. Women had to work so hard to get to where we are now, and the fact that these thoughts are still being said, are ridiculous.

I think that a way they could have turned this incident into an opportunity to teach about equity would have been to have an ending that showed that these comments are outdated; that women can do just as much as men can do. Men can make sandwiches and clean up after themselves and women can think on their own and can problem solve.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

In my previous place of employment, there were many examples of microaggression that happened if not daily, at least weekly. We all got along very well but there was definitely times were there was a divide between the races. One example of microaggression was when a coworker would say that it was okay for the other coworkers to be late because that is the time that “their” people run off of. This microinsult was out of frustration for this coworker, who was always on time, and had to wait for another coworker to show up so she could leave. She assumed that just because the person was black, that they would always be late because they have their own time. What this coworker didn’t take into account was the home life of the other person and never considered that something could be causing this to happen.

Another example of microaggression happened to me while I was working in the same place. The cook of our daycare came barging into the office, where I was at, and asked, “What is that thing called that you people put on your table as a centerpiece for Thanksgiving?” Do you know what it is? At the time, I had no clue what it was and confused that he thought that “my people” use it all the time as a center piece. The feelings that rushed through me were ones of frustration and confusion. I felt like I lost some of my self-esteem because I was being categorized by what he saw in a magazine.

While observing people this week and thinking back on my own experiences, I realize that stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination is all around me. It doesn’t happen with just race or religion, but with the way we dress or the size of clothes we wear. There are people out there that will look for something to discriminate against, and I believe that is because they are not happy with themselves. They need to put others down so that they can have the power that they may never have any other way.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Today I asked three different people to define culture and diversity to me. I then asked a group of people to define the same terms. This is what they said:
My Cousin

Culture – A way of life, varies based on origin

            Diversity – Wide variety of differences of people or items

My Aunt

            Culture – traditions, values, folk lore, group of people

            Diversity – very long pause… differences of the same thing (gave an example of someone decorating the same type of cake in different ways)

My husband

            Culture – the people and environment in our lives that. How they influence us

Diversity – People from diverse backgrounds

Group of People

Culture – The people in different countries, traditions. Also, could include the arts and sciences (people who have culture). Another definition was well-rounded or having more class or experiences with appropriateness to different environmental factors, such as food, music, clothing

Diversity – Differences (not good or bad). Also, the things that make us different.

I think that one example of culture that I can relate to what we have been studying is when they talked about acting appropriately with new experiences like food, music, and clothing. We have learned that culture includes the music that a group listens to, the food that they eat, and the clothes that they wear, along with parenting styles, and so on.

I also think that the last definition of diversity goes along with what we are learning. My uncles made a point that diversity is the differences that all of us have that are neither bad nor good. When we have talked about diversity it is based off of gender, ethnicity, social-economic status, and sexual orientation. It doesn’t matter what the differences are because we should accept everyone for who they are.

Along with the answers that go along with our studies are certain insights that I think they forgot. Growing up in a big family, parenting styles vary greatly and this is culture as well.

While talking to the people that I interviewed, I learned that the words culture and diversity are not used enough. I think that this topic is one that needs to be known to all, so that we are more accepting of others and their differences. Even while asking my aunt (included in the group response), who is known to give very sophisticated answers, had problems coming up with a definition for both words. While talking to my family, I realized that these are words that we don’t really use and they all started questioning what my class was about. Before I never would have thought of my family as diverse, but looking at what we have learned so far, I realize that diversity is everywhere.

My Family Culture: Week 2

After thinking for quite some time, I realized that the three items that I would want to take was easy. The first item would be my family recipe book. Each card has a recipe that has been passed down from both sides of my family. This recipe book is of very importance to me since it holds all of the comfort foods that I am used to. It will make me feel like I am home even in a new place. The second item that I would bring is a picture of my extended family. Family is very important to us and we get together at least once a month to see everyone. Family would be the thing that I would miss the most. I know that my immediate family would be with me, but when it comes to my family our extended family might as well be our immediate family. This picture would remind me of the times that we have had together and to make sure that I can show pride in who I am with this picture. The third item that I would bring is my rosary beads that have been passed down for generations. The rosary would show the importance of our religion to others and that it is something that our family holds close to our hearts.

If I was told that I could only keep one item that I brought, it would be pretty hard for me to handle. The fact that my family would be with me, would help with this realization. I can always remember my family and the way things were so I don't think it would be too hard to give up the picture. To choose between the recipe book and the rosary would be the worse. Both things mean so much to our family that and to me, that it would be hard to let them go.

Due to this exercise I realized that the most important thing about my family culture is my family. I think the hardest part about something like a catastrophe would be that I would not see most of my family again. My cousins are like sisters and brothers to me, and the thought of them not being around is upsetting. When I think about describing my family to others and the beliefs that we have, I think that it centers around our openness to each other and our love for food! I can't think of a time when we have gotten together, that there wasn't an abundance of food and people sitting around the tables eating and laughing.

When I Think of Research...

From this course I have learned so much about research and what it entails. One insight that I gained was that there are different types of research studies. There is the quantitative design which involves using numbers for analysis and then there is qualitative design which uses words for analysis. Each can be used on their own or used together to make a study that has numbers and words to back a finding. I also learned that I am not supposed to understand everything in a research study. Before this class, I would try to read a whole research paper and would get completely confused. Now I know what to read and what not to read, and have a better understanding of what I am reading.

I looked at research as something that scientist did and now I know that everyone can do research. Before this course, I viewed research as something that happened in a lab and that was something I would never do since science was never a strong subject for me. Now I know, that research is way more than that. It is the act of observing and finding out the answers to questions that we have. Without research we would not know much of what we know today about children.

When it comes to the early childhood field and children I learned that there are ethical concerns that need to be looked at. Consent is a major ethical concern that every researcher should get from their participants. This also means, that if the participant is a child, consent from their parent or guardian is a must. When it comes to a research project this is all a part of the planning process. As for conducting the research project in the early childhood field, I learned that we need to take a role in the classroom. Researchers need to let the children know what their role is and that they are there to listen and not judge or grade.

One challenge that I faced during this course was telling the difference between a quantitative design and a qualitative design. In the beginning I was not sure what the differences were. By talking to Dr. Davis and rereading the course work, I realized the main differences. When it came to quantitative design, one must be more exact with what they are finding. Where are qualitative design is more lenient on where the research is going.

I want to thank all of my colleagues and Dr. Davis for everything that you have taught me. This course topic was one that I was not familiar with and had some difficulties understanding some of the concepts. It was because of all of you that I now understand everything that we were supposed to learn. Thank you again, and I wish you all the best of luck as you continue this journey to your masters.

Research Around the World

The website that I chose to look at was http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/.

Some of the research topics that I found were quite interesting. The first one that caught my eye, and could be used world wide, was Dealing with bullying together: prevention and resolution. Since you have to pay to see the full report, I am going to share the brief overview that they gave. The research talks about being a careful observer, gives strategies for helping children who are bullies or have been bullied, tips on supporting the parents, and preventing bullying all together in the early childhood field. Anti-bullying programs have always been an interest to me, and I think it is important that every teacher learns the signs of bullying and takes an active role in stopping bullying.

A few other topics that they have were:

Children's resilience: Working with the Early Years learning Framework
Nurturing the spiritual child: Compassion, connection, and a sense of self
Aggression and young children
and many more!

One piece of information that I found interesting was that there was a section under position statements that has a statement of regret. Here they talk about how they are taking a stand and are recognizing and committed to reconciliation with the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander children and families that were forced out due to new settlers. I think that by taking a stand, they are showing that they care for all children and believe that all children deserve the same rights and education.

I did learn that just recently all childcare settings in Australia have a ration set in place of one teacher for every for infants in a room. They put this into effect so that all children under the age of 24 months will have a higher quality in care and development. With this development they have also put in place a rating systems so that parents can see how their child care setting compares to others in the area. They stated that this is the biggest reform in the child care setting they have had to date (Early Childhood Australia, 2011).

This was definitely an interesting website. I just wish that there were more free resources to see some of their findings.

References

Early Childhood Australia. (2011). Early childhood news archives. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

Just over Thanksgiving I was informed that my best friend's sister was sent to the hospital with a diagnosis of type two diabetes. Without research, the fast treatment that she received to survive, would not be in existence to save her. Due to this, I decided to look at more research that was going on to find out what causes diabetes in healthy children and what they are doing to make sure children do not have to live with diabetes.

The one research that I found most intriguing was that they are tracking the spectrum of insulin resistance in diabetes. They know that diabetes begins when the body resists the insulin that is being produced. They are not sure when and how the disease takes over.  The Joslin cohort study, which is ran by Dr. Patti and Dr. Goldfine are using different volunteers along the insulin resistance spectrum. This is done so that they can see the differences between a healthy person without diabetes to a person who has type two diabetes. With the spectrum they will be able to see the changes as they occur with each level of the spectrum. Dr. Patti stated, "if we can identify factors that are different in people at risk for diabetes, those factors may play a casual role in diabetes development" (Joslin Diabetes Center, 2012).

Through this research, they are developing new therapies to prevent and even treat the disease. Hopefully, in time, more research will find the cure so that no child has to live with this disease. There will be no more pricking with needles to check their blood sugar count and  no more poking with needles to give the insulin that they need.

References

Joslin Diabetes Center. (2012). Tracking the spectrum of insulin resistance in diabetes. Retrieved on January 20, 2012 from http://www.joslin.org/news/tracking-the-spectrum-of-insulin-resistance-in-diabetes.html

My Personal Research Journey

The topic that I chose to work with this course is inclusive classroom and whether they are beneficial or distracting to students. I chose this topic because it is one that my cooperating teacher (back when I was student teaching for my bachelors degree) always talked about. She was a big advocator for this, and it has always interested me on how it would work and if all the children would benefit from this. Recently, I went back to do an observation in her class and found that she was teaching in an inclusive classroom. Spending the day with her and her students made me realize that there were some great benefits, but there were some draw backs as well.

So now, this week I am in the process of reading research papers to find out the results. So far I have found that schools with inclusive classrooms, usually but not always, have a higher quality program. All the studies I have found so far is based off whether the teacher is qualified to handle an inclusive classroom. From first glance, it seems that an inclusive classroom can work as long as the teacher is prepared to make it work.

I know that some of my classmates and I have talked about this in another course, but I am curious on what everyone thinks about inclusive classrooms. Do you teach in an inclusive classroom or have children in an inclusive classroom? What are your experiences from this?

As I find resources that I find important for this course or my topic, I will be adding them here. I am excited to learn more about inclusive classrooms and to learn from all of you!