Reflecting on Learning

As my journey towards completing my master’s degree comes to end, I can sit and reflect on how far I have grown in my understanding of diversity and families. I have become more passionate about bridging the gap than ever before and I hope one day more major advances and resources are made available to families regardless of socioeconomic class, race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation or varying abilities.  I plan to continue my education in the early childhood field and move one-step closer to influencing the world of all young learners.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues for sharing your ideas and stories, which gave me a glimpse of the wonderful professionals you all are. I can honestly say that we have come a long way and the end is drawing near. I wish you all the very best and good luck in all your future endeavors.

I would like to thank Dr. Nanette Schonleber for being a wonderful and most of all patient teacher.  You have been a joy to learn from these past several weeks and I can say you made me discover my strengths as a student. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and all the best to you and your family.

                            “Good Teachers Teach. Great Teachers Inspire”- Unknown

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

For this week’s blog assignment, I wanted to learn more about West and Central Africa. I decided upon this region because currently in my class I have two families from Nigeria and during high school and undergrad, I knew several people who were also from Nigeria. I would often ask them about their country and I was amazed because they gave me both positive and negative insight on the country. I am happy to complete this assignment, because I get to learn about how the country and/or region as a whole, is influencing child development.

According to the UNICEF website, many things effect a child’s healthy overall development. “Nearly 2 children out of 10 never reach their fifth birthday,” (UNICEF). These items include:

·         Polio immunization

·         Nutrition

·         HIV/AIDS

·         Water and sanitation

·         Gender disparity in primary and secondary education 

·         Child/women sexual violence

·         Maternal and newborn health/death

·         Child exploitation

·         Poverty

In my opinion, all of these adversities affect how children develop emotionally, mentally, and physically.  As a professional, I found the above items extremely alarming and I wondered how I would have been if I were born into this region. I can imagine that often times, these children suffer from losing a limb due to polio and other infectious diseases, dying from mal/under nutrition, loss of a parent or both due to HIV/AIDS, and emotional scars and physical scars from sexual exploitation and sexual violence.  I believe that those children who have lost a parent suffer a great deal; because they may or may not have another family member who can adequately care for them.

After looking over the UNICEF website and the information about West and Central Africa, I wish there was something that can be done to end the situation in West and Central Africa.  As a professional in the education field, it saddens me to see that girls are not allowed to be educated and makes me appreciate the little things and being able to educate all children.   Here below are a few videos that I found helpful in learning about the region of West and Central Africa.

The links to video are as follows:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE9M2R1nuIo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmtvcJZKXrw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCPY6n8t-R8

References

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

According to the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2010), sexualization occurs when:

·         a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics

·         a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness (narrowly defined) with being sexy;

·         a person is sexually objectified—that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than seen as a person with the capacity for independent action and decision making;

·         sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person.

As a professional in the field of early childhood education, I have seen an increase of suggestive sexual messages geared towards young children on today. Growing up I remember being shielded from my family members if something came on television provocative, but today there are sexual images plastered everywhere. There are more dolls/toys showing off girl’s bodies than ever before and suggestive sayings in music and even television programs designed for children. It disturbs me to see how times have changed and makes me weary of what will come next for future generations.

As a child growing up, I can remember only two or three young girls engaging in sex. In recent years, that once small number has nearly quadrupled.  There have been an increase in teenage pregnancies and this is the generation for the new age grandparents, ranging between the ages of 30-40. When I was in college this show, “Teen Mom” aired, and from the very beginning, I was against and still against watching the show. I refused to watch a television program in a sense glorifying teen pregnancy while those teen mothers gain a profit. So many of my classmates just fell in love with the show but deep down I knew how being a teen mom influenced and changed lives. My mother was pregnant with me at age 16 and had both my younger siblings by the time she was 21 years old, and I know how rough and hard it was growing up to a single mother. Although my mother did the best she could there were days that I wondered how life would be if my siblings and I came much later in our mother’s life.

Over the past, few months I have noticed that one of my students insist on kissing the other little girls. The student, in which I am referring to, has two mommies and often speaks on how she does not have a daddy. The other day during circle time, the students were sitting on the mat when the little girl turned, grabbed her friend’s cheeks and began kissing her. I was shocked because it was as if she absolutely knew what she was doing and had no regard. I immediately stepped in and informed the child that although we like our friends that it was not okay to kiss them and that hugs were how we showed our friends we liked them.  The little girl nodded her head showing that she understood but I had to figure out the best possible solution of expressing that to her parents without making them uncomfortable, which was not a hard task.

            My niece is such a joy to be around and we have discovered her love for music. Now I was always the singer in the family but my sisters were the dancers (I have two right feet, not left).  My niece has the complex that all electronic devices are hers and is often times trying to get to the music. One day my sister, my niece and I were in the living room, when my sister began dancing. My niece then climbed off the sofa, bent over, and started shaking her behind. Before I knew it I picked her up and expressed how little girls should not dance like that, but my sister on the other hand did not agree.  She laughed and talked how it was cute but I felt it was inappropriate to allow a child to dance in such a provocative manner.

According to the article, “So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids”, authors Levin & Kilbourne concluded the following (2009):

“Both boys and girls are routinely exposed to images of sexual behavior devoid of emotions, attachment, or consequences. They learn that sex is the defining activity in relationships, to the exclusion of love and friendship. They learn that sex is often linked to violence. And they learn to associate physical appearance and buying the right products not only with being sexy but also with being successful as a person.  Such lessons will shape their gender identity, sexual attitudes, and values, and their capacity for relationships, for love and connection that they take into adulthood. While they struggle to make sense of all this, children are robbed of valuable time for age-appropriate developmental tasks, and they may begin to engage in precocious sexual behavior”.

Sexualization can influence and shape gender identity, values and other things, but it is our jobs as adults to show young children the importance of valuing themselves and not relying on others to validate them. I believe if we as adults model good behavior that young children will feed off it and do the same. I also believe that by building confidence that children will step away from what others around them are doing and follow their own lead.

This week has opened my eyes in my awareness of sexualization of early childhood and has shaped how I want to shield young children from these images, even though they are healthy images. I just believe it is important to keep young children pure and innocent and it is my hope that one day the rest of society will do the same. Here below is a link to a video in which I found helpful in exposing sexualization among young children. The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWLdSwO_cwo

References

American Psychological Association (2010).  Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf

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

Last year I became the youngest Lead Teacher on the Infant/Toddler side in my center and that was a huge adjustment for not only me but also the families in which I worked with. I had three strikes against me from the moment I agreed to the position, I was the youngest, I have no children and I am a lesbian.  The teachers in which I worked with knew about my sexual orientation, but I made it my business to shield that from the families, because I did not want that to be an issue in which the parents questioned my teaching ability. From the beginning, the families fought with me and on the sly questioned my ability to care for their children. I followed and still follow all guidelines and show my students as much love and care as my heart and their heart can hold, but at times it still feels like it is not enough. I must admit that it is very frustrating and I even go home crying and feel defeated because all I want from the families is to see that I care about their child’s well-being, that I am their advocate, that I am competent and that this is not a baby-sitting job for me.   From looking at the demographics in my classroom, most would believe it would be a breeze, but to their surprise, it is not. Most of the families I service are between the ages of 22-29 and I even have a lesbian headed family.  These family structures are the ones in which at times makes my workday a stressful one. In my experience, I have had the following issues in working with these families. They include:

·         Families do not read daily grams, flyers, newsletters or etc.

·         Families do not complete Home Enrichment's/class projects

·         Families do not show up for center wide events

·         Families do not come to parent-teacher conference meetings

·         Families do not volunteer/donate

Although my first year has not been ideal, I have built a few lasting partnerships with some of the families in my classroom. I can honestly say that I can see the progression that some of my children have made and they tug at my heartstrings. I believe that we as professionals go the extra mile to welcome families and invite families in the learning environment regardless of classism, race, age, cultural background, sexual preference or even family make-up. It is my hope that families remove their own biasness and see the greater picture, which is to build strong, independent, intelligent, diverse, respectful young children.

Observing Communication

This past weekend I had a blast hanging out with my sister’s and also my niece and nephew.  It was so amazing to see how much they had grown and how intensive their vocabulary had gotten since the last time I had saw them.  My nephew, Josiah is Tee-Tee’s little monkey man, and he is is 2 years old. My niece a.k.a. my punkin Nylah, is 20 months old and those two little people just light up my life.

Friday my sister’s and I decided to get together, cook, and watch movies. I was sitting down in the floor and my niece and nephew went over to Tee-Tee Tam and just started playing and talking. Tee- Tee Tam was bouncing Nylah on her leg, when Josiah walked up and said, “Tee-Tee, do me. I wanna do it.” My girlfriend and I looked at each in amazement because usually my nephew is very quiet and does not say very much.  My girlfriend turned and looked at Josiah and said in response, “Okay Jo, Tee-Tee can bounce you and Nylah. Is that fine? See you guys are sharing time with Tee-Tee”. Josiah ad Nylah laughed so hard and had several back and forth exchanges with all of the adults there, which made for a good time.

I felt my girlfriend did a wonderful job in connecting the importance of sharing and taking turns. I also appreciated the fact that real words were used and that she disregarded their age and communicated with them as if they were older. I could see that because the adults surrounded by my niece and nephew were talking and being very expressive that it made them want to be a part of the conversation and engage in real-life conversations.  In looking back at the situation with my girlfriend, our niece, and nephew, I could see that she incorporated the following strategies, as presented in the article “Communicating with Babies”. The strategies included (2011):

·         Acknowledge the baby by name

·         Wait for the baby’s response

·         Include your observation of the baby’s response in your next message

·         Say what you see or think you see and include those responses

I believe because Tee-Tee Tam acknowledged and referenced both children, that it allowed them to feel important and included in the conversation.  I also believe it allowed them to make connections and see the importance of sharing and taking turns, which would aid them in future situations.  I will never say that I am the most effective communicator, so by competing this assignment and looking over the articles and resources provided, that it has furthered my knowledge on the importance of effective communication. I feel as if the more I learn, the more insight I can offer the families and children I reach every single day.

Reference

Kovach, B., & Da Ros-Voseles, D. (2011). Communicating with babies. YC: Young Children, 66(2), 48-50. 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=60001533&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Creating Affirming Environments

For this week’s blog assignment, I have been given the task to imagine I have my very own Family Child Care Home.  I would first incorporate structure and independence building in a free play curriculum. I believe that although I am allowing the child to develop at his or her own speed that the child will be able to gain the knowledge and skills needed to flourish academically and developmentally.

In creating and opening my very own Family Child Care Home, I would like to service families with children six (6) weeks to four (4) years old. I would like the various age groups to stay together and have a very small class teacher to student ratio. I would first create an in-take process which will allow me to better get to know the families in which I will be servicing and also allow the families to express their views, concerns, and highlight their culture in a more intimate setting. I would love to work with families from all different kinds of cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds.  In order to build a lasting partnership I am aware as an early childhood professional, that it is important that I make all the families being serviced visible inside the classroom and the center or home as a whole, and that I should also gain input from the families about their traditions and beliefs. One thing that I found useful inside my current classroom was creating a family tree and having the children bring in photos of their family and have the children and parents and/or guardians create “All about Me” books. It was during this time when the families got more involved into the lesson and became creative with highlighting their family inside the classroom. I also found that the children loved displaying their creations during Friday Show & Tell hour.  Creating an anti-bias environment deals greatly with visual effects and here below are a few things professionals need to take into account when displaying families (2010). They include:

v  Display children and adults from various racial and ethnic identity groups in your community

v  Display families from a range of economic groups performing all types of work (e.g., working class, professionals; work I  home, work outside of home)

v  Incorporate visual images of persons with disabilities of various backgrounds working, playing, spending time with their family

v  Display diverse family structures (single parent, adoptive families, gay/lesbian families, mixed race etc.)

v  Be sure images chosen reflect both similarities and differences within every group as well as between groups

v  Do not show images that depict misinformation or stereotypes about a group

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.  (pp. 43 & 45). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

What I Have Learned

It is my hope that one-day families from diverse backgrounds see the importance of embracing their differences and be open to share insight on their culture, values, and beliefs with other families inside the classroom. I believe these could bridge the gap between families and staff, educate other families and children, help in bringing the community together, and serve as the basis for teaching understanding and acceptance of all.  I also believe the world would be a better place if families embrace differences instead of shielding them from today’s children.

One goal I would like to set in respect to the early childhood field would be to become more aware of resources, which could benefit diverse families and further my education in diversity and diverse groups. As an educator, I want to feel as if I am current with the issues and trends of the world. I believe by being aware of current events that I would become a better professional and individual.

I would like to express a big thanks of support to my colleagues these course. I have truly enjoyed learning new things from each of you and I feel as if I have been on a journey through each of your lives, both personally and professionally. I wish you all the best in future endeavors and Congrats to you all for making it thus far! YOU ALL ROCK!!!!!!!

Sha’Keema

Diversity Video: My Representation

"Start Seeing Diversity Blog: "We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

In undergrad, I had the opportunity to learn about children with varying abilities and after completing a major project for the course, I realized that sometimes we as humans, take these groups of people for granted and mistreat them without realizing that our words and actions can hurt.  I am fortunate to work at a center who accepts all children and families types, which has given me the opportunity to meet and interact with various types of people. In one classroom, there is a little boy who has cerebral palsy and he has a twin brother in another class. One day the children were outside and I overheard another student say, “What’s wrong with him? He broke or something?”  I immediately noticed that all the students’ on the playground were laughing and cracking jokes and especially the twin brother. I was confused. I immediately pulled all the students aside and explained to them that their actions were mean and wrong, and very hurtful.  I was more hurt at the twin brother because I imagined him coming to his brother’s rescue. I spoke his parents later and learned that he was having a hard time coping with the idea of not having a “normal” brother in his eyes.

            From that day forward, I found it increasingly helpful that I had information on various abilities to share with the children to make them aware that it is important to be respectful and accepting of all. I also encouraged the families to come in and speak to the children, to give them a firsthand look at what it actually feels like to have disability. I hope that by pulling the children aside that it showed them that I care, that I respect all individuals, and that I wanted to share with the the importance of being mindful of their actions.

"Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

·         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

    It is my belief that society as a whole loves to be in the dark, but yet loves to dictate what individuals can and cannot do, for example the right to marry for all. Policy makers, educators, and those high up in politics try so hard to cover up the various types of families and fail to realize that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender families, children and individuals have been around for forever. The LGBT community has spent so many years in the closet and with an increase of people coming out; society still tries not to acknowledge those individuals. As a lesbian, I believe it is important for all families and individuals to be depicted inside the classroom and educators should be willing to educate all children on the various types of people, whether gay, straight, lesbian or other. Bullying is and has been at an all-time high and believe that once teachers, professionals, and parents educated their children on all persons of the world, than we will be able to cut down on bullying and increase acceptance for all.

·         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

When I first read this question, I was flooded with a lot of emotions and feelings.  I am a lesbian and I was hesitant to come into the field of education, because I felt that I would have to live a double life and not be whom I am truly.  I was fortunate enough to have a supervisor and coworkers who were open and accepting and did not judge me on the life choice I chose to make.  In my mind, my parents were my hardest hurdle because I did not want them to think anything perverted or think that my sexual orientation hindered how I taught and interacted with my students.  I have been a teacher for the past year and as of now; I have yet to experience hatred or ignorance at that level. However, if I was in that position then I will let the parents and those individuals know that I mean no harm and that I am capable of providing quality care to their child and that my sexual orientation is not flaunted, and that I respect each family and child represented inside my classroom regardless of the family’s belief.  

Blog Assignment: Stage of Development

There has only been one group in my life, which was hardest for me to leave. That group consisted of me, my best friend/twin Lakeshia, and my best friend Tomeka. We first met each other when we were in middle school and instantaneously we were joined at the hip. People and teachers always assumed Lakeshia and I were twins, so we went along with it and surprisingly people did not find out the truth until the day of 8^th grade graduation. Every other week we would stay after school, go to the candy store, and sit out front the school and talk about life. We each had a unique story, which made us very close because we all knew what pain felt like. On the day of graduation we cried until our eyes swelled and vowed to always keep in touch, which we did for a little while, but eventually over the years we were hear from each other every blue moon. Tomeka and I were the exception; I was there for her when her grandparents passed away and she would come to my church every youth choir anniversary and hear me sing.

            Tomeka and Lakeshia were the greatest best friends a girl could ask for but about two years ago, Tomeka became ill and was hospitalized. Classmates would keep me informed and abreast of her situation due to me being off at school but on February 15, 2011 at the age of 23, I lost one of my closest friends in the world. I look back and wish we had more memories together and I wish I could go back to the good old days in middle school when we would sit on the brick wall outside of school and chill and talk for hours. Leaving and adjourning from any group can be painful, but the experience that I went through with losing my friend, I do not take for granted the people in my life. It is my hope that my colleagues and I see the true importance of connecting over these several weeks and build lasting friendships. I wish us all the best and remember to keep your eye on the prize and I cannot wait to possibly meet you all on graduation day. 

Conflict Resoultion

In my classroom, I work with two other teachers both of whom are Teacher Assistants, where I serve as Lead. Recently I was afforded the opportunity to add another teacher into my classroom and since doing so I have noticed that there have been conflict and verbal exchanges between the two teachers. One day as a team we needed to come up with a fundraiser idea for the school and all I noticed was that sparks began to fly. The two teachers could not agree and so I decided I would make the final decision as to what fundraiser we would complete. I have made it known to both teachers that I am not picking sides and that their behavior has influenced the classroom dynamics. I decided that it would be best if I tried to resolve the conflict before taking it to my supervisor. I found that the strategies I learned in classroom management such as become the delegating and neutralizer could benefit me in trying to have both teachers see the importance of working as a team. I have seen some improvement since the initial talk and will continue to be neutral in their disagreements, enforce that respect for each other and the classrooms is given and use communication skills by authors O'Hair and Wiemann to effectively communicate with my entire team

Blog Assignment: Evaluations and Surprises

What surprised me the most after looking over the evaluations is that I am considered a people person, which is the contrary to those who really know me. I have always disliked being in the spotlight and being around people I do not know, and so when the evaluations concluded that I was people-oriented that took me off guard and got me curious about how I am people oriented. I also learned from the evaluations that communication affects my relationship and allowed my girlfriend and I to see that I shut down quite frequently and at times do it out of habit. I also learned that nonverbal behaviors also influence how others perceived me and influence how effective I am in communicating with those around me. I hope this course will continue to allow me to grow in insight on how to become a better communicator. I hope that the newfound knowledge that I have will allow me to be better equipped to communicate with the different family dynamics and families of the new generations

Blog Assignment: Communication and Cultural Diversity

As a human being I can admit that at times I find confusing things and people I don’t understand. Through my continued education in the education field I have been using those lessons and strategies taught to better understand those around me, children, families, and even colleagues. Before learning different strategies I would only have basic communication exchange, your name, profession, and small talk.  When communicating with people of different cultures, I would myself getting shy and putting up a block because I did not know how to effectively communicate which made those around me look at me as if I was a mean person. I also found it very difficult to effectively communicate because at times even families would have up this wall and I had no clue how to knock that barrier down.

            The three strategies I learned this week that I feel will better help me in communicating with persons of different cultures are as follows:

·         Recognize my own patterns of nonverbal behavior (2010).

·         Learn as I interact and be willing to adjust my behavior as I learn and resist thinking my culture has all the answers (2011).

·         When something about a family’s practices bothers me, try to look at that practice or behavior through their viewpoint rather than my own (2010).

References

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.  Chapter 4, "Interpersonal Communication and Diversity: Adapting to Others" (pp. 85–114)

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). 50 strategies for communicating and working with diverse families. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

 "Understanding and Appreciating Cultural Differences" (pp. 36–38)

"Looking at Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures" (pp. 80–81)

Television & Communication

Sound Off: For this blog assignment I chose to watch the “House of Payne” show by Tyler Perry, an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, author, and songwriter. On this particular episode there is an older woman who seems to like at the home with her husband and other possible family members. The individuals seem to love each other and from watching the show I can tell that this particular family is the matriarch of this family. I noticed by watching the program that the family loves to laugh but could be serious when need be.

Sound On: Once the sound was turned on I was able to finally put names to the characters and prove that the family was indeed close and care a lot about each other. The patriarch of the family was very silly and most of the family members tried their best to keep him calm and in line most of the show. I believe that if I would have watched a show I was more familiar with then I would have been more spot on with observations and behaviors.

Communication Blog Assignment

As a child and even today there has always been one person that I could always go to in time of need and whenever I needed advice and that person is my great-grandmother Mary Evans. My great-grandmother embodies strength and love. She taught me at an early age to always treat people with respect and to always fight for what I believe in. My great-grandma used her years growing up during segregation as stepping tools in the running and foundation of our family. I have never once heard her use one bad word or raise her voice, and just by being around her calms me.  My family and I know that although my great- grandmother’s voice is always calm and soft the why she speaks; it just commands us all to listen. I find that my great-grandmother’s overall presence allowed her to be effective when communicating with not only the family but others as well. My great-grandmother was and still is an advocate for respect and has always been honest even when times got rough. Although I am still learning and growing as an individual and professional I hope to one day have all the tools to be an effective communicator. As I continue through life and my education I try to embody some glimpse of my great-grandmother’s calming and caring spirit.

Professional Hopes and Goals

Over the past several weeks I feel my knowledge of diversity, equity, and social justice has changed for the better. It has been a wonderful experience learning and gaining insight on how diversity and social identities and how these factors contribute to the overall balance and relationship of staff and parent, professional and professional, and professionals and children. I am able to see now that how I identify myself and my family’s culture background influences the professional I am today. Although I feel as if I gained so much useful information I do feel that with my continued education here at Walden University and also with the motivation of faculty and peers that I will continue to grow and one day have a magnitude of knowledge to better serve those around me.

It is my hope that one day policy makers and the government will notice and do something about and beneficial to the early childhood education field and the many diverse families we as professionals serve. I hope that they can see the importance of inclusion for all children and families and make sure that early childhood centers, organizations, staff, and families are given the necessary resources to build a strong nation of healthy and bright children, regardless of sex, religion, socioeconomic class, orientation, ability and etc. If I was given the opportunity to set one goal related to early childhood and diversity, equity, and social justice, it would be to educate families and professionals on different ways to promote healthy inclusion for all families  and make sure they are aware of different mechanisms they could do to promote equity and social justice for all, and also make sure all early childhood education organizations have the necessary tools to integrate those diverse families smoothly, efficiently, and most important respectfully.

            I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS, to all of my classmates and group mates for making it this far in their learning and thank you to all for all of your insight, words of encouragement, and weekly responses, I truly appreciate you each and every one of you. I wish you all the best and please remember that the best is yet to come and let’s get out there and impact the world one young learner at a time. Best of luck to you all!!!!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Earlier this week I learned that I would be receiving a student and her family from Holland and I would like to learn as much as I can about their culture and make the transition to the United States a good one. For the transition I have decided to do the following for new family:

1.      Research helpful information on the country of Holland and various customs

2.      Learn basic sayings in the Dutch language which could help in communicating with the child and family.

3.      Present information to the other students and staff about the family’s country origin to help in transitioning

4.      Plan a small but big welcome ceremony for family

5.      Make the classroom more inclusive to the child and family      

I hope after preparing for the family in the following ways that I am able to lay a strong foundation for a healthy relationship between not only the child and also the family. I hope through preparing I am able to learn more about a country I knew little or nothing about. I hope the preparation can serve as a learning tool for also the current students and see the importance in accepting all diversities and make new friends. It is my hope that family see how far much we care I care as the teacher but also the other students and staff, care about the positive transition for the child and also for them. 

Here are some links containing information about the country of Holland:

http://www.holland.com/us/tourism.htm

http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/holland.htm#.Ub-gs_lQH7U

Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

When I was in high school I began early on trying to devise a list of colleges and universities that I would be interesting in. I was very lucky to have a counselor and many mentors through tout the school  to help me gather information and other information that not only would be helpful to me but also my mother. One day my aunt took me up to visit and tour a predominately White school and immediately I felt out of place. I was aware in the beginning what kind of school it was but when we arrived on the campus I did not get a rush of warmness from the students or staff. After touring for quite some time they allowed us to have lunch in their dining hall and I can remember my aunt and me hearing snickers as we walked across the dining hall to our table. There was this petite Asian girl and white girl who looked over at me and yelled so everyone could hear them, “What ya’ll doing here, this is not the ghetto”! I was furious and became enraged because the girls did not know me and opted not to get to know me. I was quite shocked at the response the guide and teachers gave, because they did not make known of what the girls had done and addressed the situation properly.

I do not know the thought process of the adults at that time, but I felt as if they made me an outcast and a spectacle for the rest of the group.  I felt again like I did with the little girl that day and the day at the store with my mom and sisters. I knew in my heart and my aunt knew from my facial expressions that I was about to explode, and I did. I told those girls and the tour guide and teachers  off being as nasty nice as I could and even though I did not have to fight fire with fire, I had had enough with the remarks, the jokes, and even laughs at my expense.  I believe the if the teachers and tour guide would have addressed the girls and had shown me some compassion then I would have felt as if that school could have been my home and just because I had had that incident happen to me, that I would have met some interesting and cool people of all diverse communities and built strong lasting friendships with them all.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week’s lesson was focused on microaggressions and this week I had the unfortunate experience to witness a microaggression take place. My girlfriend and I were driving on the road and her tire blew out, luckily we had a spare but we decided to check with local tire centers to try and purchase a new one. After some searching we found a place and so we preceded to tell the man what exactly happened and give him the information about the car/tire, when the man stops us mid-sentence and says, “Are ya’ll gay?” We turned and looked at each other and replied, “Umm…yes we are lesbians, why do you ask?” The man replies by saying, “Why would ya’ll want to be that, did something happen to ya’ll? Do ya’ll sleep with men, give me a try I won’t disappoint ya’ll?” Now while this man was babbling on asking all personal questions, my girlfriend and I stood there feet frozen shocked that some human being would have the audacity to ask those questions to our face. I was able to gather from this week’s lesson and from the articles provided that the microaggressions taking place in this incident were microinsult and microinvalidation. The man made an assumption that not only was rude but was very hurtful, that somehow the reason why we were lesbians was due to something horrific taking place and I have found that many individuals often believe that homosexuals are raped or molested which makes them choose the same sex. It is my opinion that those individuals have a cloudy since of imagination and just do not understand the LGBT culture. I believe that once people break down that barrier of ignorance or hate that they would be able to really get to know the LGBT community and realize that we are all human, just with various preferences. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

When I think of culture and diversity, I first take a look and look at the closest people around me, and for this week’s post I wanted to share how my friends and colleagues define culture and diversity.  I had the privilege to speak to Mrs. Julie Harvey (Trinidad infant/Toddler Lead Teacher), Ms. Shriya Ambi (Indian Preschool Teacher), and Mr. Malcolm Ramsey (African-American Curriculum Specialist). I asked the three the following questions:

·         What is your definition of culture and diversity?

·         What affects have the two had on your professional career?

Mrs. Julie Harvey when asked stated the following:

            “I believe culture and diversity are two of the same because there are no way you can have one without the other. I would say that culture deals with the various groups of people in one society and diversity is the mixture of all the groups. I believe that culture and diversity has influenced my professionally career for the better and has made me take a closer look at all families and children and even at times colleagues”.

Ms. Shriya Ambi stated the following:

            “Diversity is what this world is about and defines the many individuals who are present on this present Earth. I feel that culture is what makes us all humans and is displayed in all the things that we say, do, dress and think. For me understanding culture and diversity is complex as the groups of people change but at the same time creates an everlasting learning experience”.

When asked Curriculum Specialist Malcolm Ramsey responded in the following way, saying:

            “As early childhood education and the field as a whole changes, so does the types of families early learning centers around the world service. As a professional I am able to see the effects of culture and diversity on the learning environment and can conclude that culture and diversity are teaching tools to understand all types of people and their backgrounds. Culture is what makes them who they are and diversity is what sets them apart from the rest”.

From my colleagues responses I am to gather how outside individuals view culture and diversity and how the two impact the field. I was also able to see that my colleagues did not touch on ethnic groups, race, religion and other key components of diversity and culture. It was very interesting learning about culture and diversity and learns about how outside individuals put each subtopic into their own category, and are able to incorporate the two into a lesson, complex thought or simple statement. I believe this assignment has allowed me to gain a true appreciation for other people and to fully respect all things that make them who they are and them family that they have.

My Family Culture

If I was put into a position to be evacuated from my home country and placed into another country I would bring along a bible, radio with various cassettes and a family photo album. I would take this item because the bible will serve as my comfort in my time of need and give me understanding of the situation in which I was faced, the album will allow me to remember my family as they were and keep them close to my heart and the radio will allow me to think of all the good times I had being around my old neighborhood, family and friends and also help bridge the gap between myself and the host country.

I believe the act of actually having to leave my homeland and being placed into another would be very hard and difficult for me to understand, but if I were told to leave two of my selected items behind I would be devastated to the core. In that time of confusion I would depend on having at least my bible and my family photo album with me to help me cope with losing things and family members who were so dear and important to me. From doing this exercise I am able to see how I would never want to be in a situation where I am away from those individuals and things that matter most to me. I am also able to see how by having these things that make up the person I am and shine light on my family heritage.

When I Think of Research...

          

As I continue my education here at Walden University, I am more aware of the values of certain courses as they pertain to my professional growth.  I valued the Building Research Competencies course because I was able to really learn in-depth about the research process and all the components I must be familiar with from a researcher’s perspective. I feel as if I was exposed to many terms, designs, and formalities that could really take my career to the next height and make me better for my students and their families.  From this course I was exposed to the quantitative and qualitative research design and from that knowledge I learned about two processes I was not very familiar with, which at times during course readings became a true challenge to understand. I truly believe this course allowed me to look at research from all angles and see the importance of the participants and also the overall message gained from conducting the research.  Although I was familiar of research, I must say that I was not always aware of every component and their specific function (i.e., variables & triangulation). I really appreciated how the authors gathered information that was clear and precise and was able to display the function and true value of all key items in research. I am extremely grateful for having taken this course, because I feel I gained a true appreciation for research and all the work and effort that researchers put into high quality research design.