Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

I have experienced many "isms" during my years of teaching, the only ones that resonate with me the most are LGBTism and ageism. I had a difficult time reaching out to children and families of LGBT, due to the fact that I didn't agree with their life style and I didn't want anything to do with them. I had to remind myself that their children need help and support, just like every other family. I didn't have to neglect their child(ren) because I didn't agree with their life style. The consequences that the family and child(ren) suffered, was my lack of educating and support. I wasn't open to collaborating or communicating with them family.

Ageism was more of a judgmental/stereotype I did with people/families. I would think parents or families that were young didn't know how to take care or educate their child(ren). They were young, what did they know about raising children, they are still young themselves; those were some of the thoughts going through my head. Some families would prove me right and some would prove me wrong. I had to look past the age of the family and look more into the need of their child(ren). Children don't get to choose their family (majority of the time), so I couldn't take how I felt about their family out on the child. The consequences were my lack of understanding and providing appropriate education to their child or family.

Observing Communication

Provide an account of your observation. A teacher and a child were in a general conversation about small things

Describe what you noticed and learned. The teacher was engaging in conversation with the child and giving the child their attention. The child was very excited about what they were talking about and seemed to enjoy the teachers company.

Make connections between what you observed and the effective communication strategies presented in this week’s learning resources. What could have been done to make the communication more affirming and effective? I believe the communication was affirming and effective. The child kept talking and the teacher stayed right there with the child, giving them their attention. When another child would come over, they would reach out and acknowledge them by touching their hand or head, or holding in a side hug.

Share your thoughts with regard to how the communication interactions you observed may have affected the child's feelings and/or any influences it may have had on the child's sense of self worth. From what I observed, it seems that the child was happy and felt safe. They kept talking and no matter if another child came over, they didn't stop talking.

Offer insights on how the adult-child communication you observed this week compares to the ways in which you communicate with the children. What have you learned about yourself this week with respect to how well you talk with and listen to young children? In what ways could you improve? I give children the attention needed when they want to talk to me or tell me something. There is nothing that changed in how I communicate with children.

Creating Affriming Environments

•  Reflect on what your setting would look like: My setting would be in a home, I feel children will feel more comfortable in a familiar setting. I would make sure to have a rooms designated for play, eating, and sleeping. I will also make sure to have handicap accessibility.

• What elements you think you might want to include and for what reasons: I will make sure to have toys that are diverse in every way possible. I will have dolls, puzzles, cars, trains, coloring, manipulatives, books, animals, etc. I will make sure all areas are visible, such as writing, block, sensory, dramatic, kitchen, table and floor centers. I want to give my children that ability to explore what they want and feel free to be expressive as they want. In the book section I will have books on animals, feelings, friendship, culture, and differences. I have read books like these to my students and they seemed to enjoy it. 

• The various ways that you will strive to ensure that every child and family feels welcome and respected: I will make sure to post pictures and posters of different cultures and races. I will make sure every family knows they can come to me with any concern they have about my center and feel free to give suggestions. I will allow each child to express themselves and ask questions they are curious about, while teaching respect.

What I have learned

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length) I hope to inspire all families to be who they are and accept their differences from other cultures.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length) One goal I would like to set for early childhood is always learn, know, and acquire information about my students and their families, so I can properly assist them and help them become success. I give everyone a fair chance in learning and adjusting to change.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues Thank you all for sharing your personal stories and thoughts about diversity as well as your discomforts/comforts. It has been great getting to know you from your writing and your life stories. I know you all will be amazing educators in diversity, because you have shown in your writing how to be diverse. I appreciate all the wonderful compliments said in previous blogs as well as discussions. Best wishes as we get ready to end this journey, only two more classes to go. I don't know about you all, but I am VERY excited to start applying what I have learned in these courses.

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: Creating Art

When I think of diversity, I think of different individuals coming together from all walk of life and cultures. Diversity is for everyone, no matter how young or how old. Diversity has been around since our ancestors, in fact each one of us is mixed with many different ethnic's. No matter what state, what family, or what culture, we all are apart of a diverse world and impact it with our lives. I have chosen to do a photo collage to display how I view diversity.

 

Photos courtesy of: Google

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

A time when you witnessed an adult (or yourself) reprimand or silence a child after he or she pointed out someone they saw as different (e.g., "That lady talks funny," " That man only has one leg!" "Why is that man so pretty!"). Include what the child said and what the adult did or said in response. (Note: If you cannot think of a specific time ask a friend or family member.) Working in a daycare/preschool setting, things like this will often arise and teachers will have to deal with them. My center is diverse in teachers as well as children, so it is common for other children to notice something different about another child. My students (and some others) have commented on the fact that my skin is darker than theirs (Caucasian students) and some have said that, " Joan (name changed due to HIPPA) looks like you Ms. Onie, she is the same color." I laugh and say, "You're right." There was no harm done in them realizing that I and their peer looked similar in color and they didn't. This shows their growth, they are recognizing different things in their environment. I also have students who have to wear braces on their feet to help them balance when they walk, so some students have asked me, "why does Johnny (named changed due to HIPPA) have to wear those braces?" I simply tell them, "It helps them learn how to walk and keep their balance." Children are naturally curious about things, so it is natural for them to ask questions. When I feel a student is making fun of another students because they are different, I will tell them that's not nice.

What messages might have been communicated to this child by the adult's response I believe that they child understood that is was okay to ask questions to something they wanted to know about. Also, just because someone is different from them doesn't mean that they are less important than they are.

An example of how an anti-bias educator might have responded to support the child's (or classroom's ) understanding An anti-bias educator will listen to the child and explain to them how we are all different. Everyone in the world is unique; however, they are just as important as you and me. Derman-Sparks and Edwards stated it well in chapter 1, "As in all other areas of learning, young children try to make sense of their world by organizing what they observe and experience into "theories." This is true for how they explain their observations of skin color, gender, culture, disabilities, and so on." (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p.14).

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

Blog: 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

• With our world being diverse in many different venues, our children are subjected to many facets of life. Let's start with families, there are two sets of families at my current job that are homosexuals. Both families are female, however there used to be a gay couple who brought their children as well. Children who grow up to be homophobic are children who were never taught about gender and sexuality or given a chance to create their own opinion. In this weeks media presentation, one example of bias was when the children were playing doctor and the girl wanted to be a doctor, but one of the children said she couldn't because only boys were doctors. This is just a small example of how children view the world around them. Another example I have, in my classroom my students love to comment on colors and how some are boy colors and some are girl colors. They say pink is for girls and blue is for boys, well when babies are born that is the common colors we see them in, blue boys and pink girls. The narrator in the media segment stated, "One of the most helpful ways to respond to a biased comments is to ask why the child thinks that" (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

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.

• Children are a open book, they want to know all they can and ask lots of questions, as they should. How can children learn if we don't teach them things about life? The truth is homosexuality has become big and there are many families who are same sex partners. Children have the right to make their own choice when they get older, so it is our job to educate them on those choices, whether heterosexual or homosexual, they have the choice. It would be on the same lines of black history, taking black history out of curriculum or history books when teaching about history. Black history played and still plays a huge part in American history, children need to know how society handled biases, prejudice, and racism.

Reference
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011).  Start seeing diversity: Gender [video webcast]. 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_3465515_1%26url%3D