Reflecting on Learning

Throughout this course I earned so much and have gained a deeper meaning on anti-bias education. I learned that we may not have all the answers or may be the best at promoting anti-bias education, but we can start doing it now (Laureate Education, 20111). By starting anti-bias education now in the classroom, we can learn along with the children and learn what strategies work and didn't work (Laureate Education, 2011). If we we don't start teaching anti-bias education now, and keep putting it off until we think we eliminated all our personal biases, then we will probably never start, because we probably won't ever know enough (Laureate Education, 2011). I hope that I can share the knowledge I learned in this class with children and family that I may work with, and leave a great impact on them, and teach them that we can eliminate personal biases and stereotypes against each other. I hope that families and children become more accepting of the fact that we live in a diverse society, and that we treat everyone fairly.

I would like to give my colleagues a huge THANK YOU! My life has been very chaotic these past eight weeks with teaching, coaching, planning my wedding that is happening in just eight weeks, and taking this class. You all made this class very enjoyable, and I love hearing what you had to say. Your support kept me going over the last eight weeks! So, thank you for all your support, and I wish you nothing but the best as you finish out this journey/program!

Reference:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Your commitment to anti-bias work. Baltimore, MD: Author 

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

I chose to look at the Latin American and Caribbean  region. I chose this region because I have had several friends and family members visit this region. My brother even working a medical mission trip for a week in Honduras, and he has told me many stories of the lack of resources people from this region have. While he was in Honduras, they ran a medical clinic (he's currently in medical school) and he often commented on the amount of children they treated. He also told me about how he interacted with the children who were waiting on their parents who were receiving treatment. I know the trip left a lasting impression on him, and he said he would do it all over again if he could go again because these people really need our help.

Looking at some of the challenges that children in this regions of the world are confronting are malnutrition and micro-nutrient deficiencies,thus impacting their growth and development (UNICEF, 2015). They are faced with challenges of AIDS and HIV, natural disasters like hurricanes, low access to education, and living in poverty (UNICEF, 2015).

I feel these experiences might have a great affect on children's emotional well being and development for many reasons. First is that they may have to deal with parents beings sick, and maybe even caring for their sick parents. This can take a toll on the child because they may be force to grow up quicker than they want too, but also fear the risk of losing a parent. Losing a parents can be very emotional for anyone, but I feel it would be especially hard for a child, because they still rely on the parent for emotional support and care. Another way it could affect children's emotional well being and development is that by the lack of nutrition, the children are getting the right nutrients they need to develop properly. Thus, it could result in certain disabilities or parts not developed properly. This could led children to being teased by others, and lower their self-esteem.

It just breaks my heart knowing that there are countries that lack so many resources, when we have so many here in the United States. The early childhood stage is such a vital stage in making sure our children develop properly and successful, and when you lack the resources for that, it can really affect the child's life. By doing this assignment I have learned that as an early childhood professional, I need to make sure all children have the resources they need to develop successful. If I notice a family or children lack things they need, I can help that child and family in order to make sure the child gets all the needed resources to develop successful and fully.

Reference:
UNICEF. (2015). UNICEF: Latin American and Caribbean. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/lac/

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

Looking at the topic of sexualization in early childhood, it scares me the amount of information that our children know. They are getting this information from the media, TV shows, movies video games, books, toy, and etc. Children have always been curious about sex and sexuality from an early age, and we need to remember to give them honest and age-appropriate information (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).  As kids begin to learn information younger and younger, I feel it is going to cause them to grow up quicker, This is why I feel it is even more important that as early childhood professionals we are setting the right example and tone with the children. It is going to be our job to remind the children to be kids and not try to grow up so quickly.

Looking at some examples from my personal and professional experiences when working with young children that illustrate the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment is that one time I had a young girl tell me the kids at school call her fat. She was no where near being fat, but compared to the other girls she was more "huskier" then the other girls. Another example I have seen is parents donating magazine to the center for the kids to use in the art center. The donations of magazines is great, but the magazines may not be age appropriate, thus exposing kids to things they shouldn't be. My final example from experiences that illustrate young children being exposed to highly sexualized environment is how the parents dress. Some parents dress is such seductive clothing, that if the children are exposed to that, they may feel they have to dress that way too, and expect others too.

Some of these examples may have negative implications on children. For example, the girl that was called fat could feel that she needs to lose weight already as a young children. That is the least of the things a young child needs to be worrying about. If this happened in my early childhood classroom I would explain to the girl that she is beautiful and everyone is made differently. I would also explain to her that she shouldn't have to change anything about her. Same goes with the dress. I would need to explain to students that we need to dress modestly when coming to class, and that our clothes should be a reflection of how we want people to treat us.

I actually talked to my friend about this concept because she currently teaches in an preschool center, and she mentioned how children are exposed to the idea of sexualization all the time. From the commercials they see on TV, to watching what their parents do, say or wear, to the games they play on their tablets now days, children are being exposed to these concepts far more than we can ever imagine. My friend often talks about how she is probably going to be a terrible mother because she is going to be strict on her children to limit the exposure. I feel that being exposed to sexualization is going to cause our children to grow up a lot quicker, and thus taking away from their childhood. Childhood is change for children to be care-free and enjoy life, not worrying about the way the dress or how the look.

Reference:
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 Practices

Looking at some consequences I might expect for the children and families with whom I am working with while experiencing specific "-isms" in my own life would be possibly having a negative attitude towards the children and family. If I am experiencing personal "-isms" towards myself, I may become sad and upset with those people, and may take my frustration out on the children and families. Another consequence I anticipate to happened would be that I would stop teaching anti-bias education, because I feel offended by the "-isms" that are happening in my personal life. In order to have a successful anti-bias classroom, the teachers need to know themselves (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010). If I have experience personal "-isms" then I do not know myself fully, and would need to work on that. I feel these are just a few of examples of consequences I might expect for the children and families to have if I am experiencing "-isms" in my own life.

Reference:

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

Observing Communication

For the blog assignment this week, I chose to observe my friend with her 3-year old niece. I have known my friend's niece since she was an infant since my friend and I use to live together, and she would watch her a lot at our house. For this observation, I was at my friend's house who happened to be playing with her niece while I was there.

While watching the two interact with each other, I couldn't help to notice how good my friend was with her. She was very patient and pretended along with her niece and her niece continued to dress-up. Her niece was the princess. When my friend asked if she could be the princess, her niece told her no but she could wear some pretty jewelry instead. My friend proceeded to put on the jewelry and asked how she looked. Her niece told her she looked pretty. Her niece then pretended to make some food with the kitchen, and handed it to my friend to eat. She told her to eat it, and my friend did, and told her it was very yummy.

One connection I was able to make between what I observed and the effective communication strategies presented in our resources this week is that she took a step back and listened (Stephenson, 2009). She allowed her niece to express her likes and dislikes and focused discussions about their learning environment (Stephenson, 2009).  I felt my friend did a great job of keeping the conversation at her niece's level, and played along with what the niece was imagining. She wasn't quite to judge or argue what her niece was saying.

Looking at the communication interactions I observed, I did notice how when my friend asked if she could be the princess, her niece told her no. I thought by her not asking why not, it told the niece that she was better than her, and in reality that's not necessarily true. By not explaining to her that everyone could be a princess, it taught her niece that she is superior to others. She may then take that knowledge and use it in her play or interactions when she is at the daycare during the week. I just thought that if my friend explained to her that she's not the only princess, and that everyone can be a princess, then she would have had some anti-bias education there.

The adult-child communication I observed this week compares to ways I communicate with children in many ways. The first is that I often too go along with what the child is pretending and not question their thinking. I learned through our resources this week that we need to asked children questions on how they came about their reasoning (Stephenson, 2009). This will allow them to expand on their learning and show us what they know. Once I have an idea of what they know, I can then promote anti-bias education and correct any bias or prejudice behaviors. Another thing I learned about myself this week, is that I need to learn patience when dealing with young children, and encourage their imagination, but also help them learn from it as well.

Reference:

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database. http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=37131016&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Creating Affirming Environments

Looking at my Family Child Care Home, there are many things I would like to do and have to create an anti-bias learning community. The first thing is do have plenty of anti-bias materials such and books, music, DVDs, wall hanging, puzzle, drawing materials etc. (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010). By having these items and stations, children will be able to learn about different cultures and see that everyone is different, but we should still treat them equally. In the dramatic play section, having clothes that both genders can wear is important as well. Since children love books, having books from different cultures will also help the children learn about different cultures. Also, within my Family Child Care Home, I want to teach the children about holiday traditions and celebrations to help the children learn about different celebrations that happen in their culture and in different cultures (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010).  In my Family Child Care Home, children will be required to try all activities, even if they don't think they will like it, and I'll play right with them. By doing this, I can help answer questions children may have and help support their discussion in an anti-bias way (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010). I hope all these steps will help my Family Child Care Home become an anti-bias learning community.


Reference:

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

Wow, can't believe that this class has come to an end. There are some many new things I learned in the past eight weeks it is crazy. Out of everything I have learned about anti-bias education and how to foster and promote it, one thing I hope that I will think about when working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds will be that I need to keep an open mind and get to know the children and family before I judge and make assumptions about them. I have learned that creating an anti-bias classroom starts with the teacher getting rid of their biases, so hopefully I remember to think that when dealing with children and family from diverse backgrounds.

One goal I have for myself for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to continue to not form biases towards groups and to promote diversity in the classroom. I feel that if i promote diversity in the classroom, then the children will be able to see that everyone is different, which is okay, and maybe learn that we should treat everyone fair and equally.

I wanted to thank all of my colleagues for their continue support throughout this class. This was a pretty challenging eight weeks for me with starting a new teaching job, planning a wedding, and doing this class, but your support gave me motivation to keep trudging along. For that then, I thank you all!