What I Have Learned: Week 8

 

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length) <p>

 

The one hope I have for working with my families and children is to really immerse myself in learning about each families unique differences and bringing them into my classroom as best I can. I want to be able to help all children no matter where they live or what their family situation might be. Children have no control over their young lives and it is up to us to help them succeed and give them the tools for this success. I would like to help children get the education they are afforded even if they are not able to pay because again the children have no control over this and each and every person should have an education. <p>

 

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) <p>

 

A goal that I have for the early childhood field would be to help bring more awareness to everyone the importance of educating all children around the world. Education is supposed to be equal for all and here we are in the 21^st century and we still haven’t made it equal for all. I would like to have centers available in each community that caters to children no matter their race, gender, disability, or any number of other injustices that we dole out whenever we see fit. We must overcome our biases to help our families to reach the goals that they set for themselves and their children. <p>

 

 

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues<p>

 

Lastly, I would like to thank my colleagues for their continued support during this class; I truly appreciate your comments and suggestions as they are helping me to grow. You have all shared many great ideas and stories that I will remember. We have shared our biases and hopefully we are learning from each other as well as growing to be better people and educators. Here’s to another class down and two more to go, hopefully I will see you next week in our next class. Best wishes to each and every one of you in your continued journey. <->

 

 

Start Seeing Diversity

Start Seeing Diversity<p>

 

Diversity is how we are different<p>

Instills our beliefs<p>

Values that we hold near and dear<p>

Exceptions to our beliefs as we share with others<p>

Refuse to worry what others think<p>

Say or do<p>

Including all consequences<p>

Therefore, we are to be an individual<p>

You and me will be one and unique in the grand scheme of society<p>

<p>Diversity means many things to each individual. We all have our own definition and for me it includes being true to each race, culture, child, adult’s unique qualities that define a person and instead of changing someone to fit what we believe. <p>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Don't Say Those Words in Class

"We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"<p>

I have witnessed many young children being reprimanded for pointing out a person’s disability, race, speech or type of clothing being worn. The incident that I witnessed was just recently and when I heard the child I wondered how the person it was directed at would react. The recent incident was when I was at the local grocery store and a child of about 6 or 7 years old was shopping with their mother. While in the checkout line the child blurted out to the store cashier “what happened to your face!” The mother instantly shushed the child and tried to change the subject. The store cashier however was amazing because they answered the child without issue. He took the time to explain to the child that he was burnt when he was a young teenager. He also explained that he had to grow new skin and that is why it’s different. When he was done the child’s curiosity seemed satisfied and even the mother’s embarrassment seemed to be eased.<p>

The message that was communicated was that we should not point out another’s disability in this manner. We should be cognizant of others feeling and not stare or blurt out questions in this way, this could have really hurt the cashiers feeling and made them feel like the center of attention and they are just doing their job. We would not want someone to stare or talk about us in this way.<p>

The way an anti-bias educator could handle the situation might be to sit down with the child after the incident and explain to them that what they did in the store was improper and hurtful to the cashier and it made other in the store uncomfortable. I would need to read books, and obtain pictures to help all children understand that differences are good and we should not ask questions out loud, questions should be asked in private so we don’t offend or hurt anyone. I would also need to review with the children any traits that the person might have and find a way to incorporate learning about burn victims and other types of physical disabilities they may come across. Through understanding how each person is a stepping stone to our society I can help the children by teaching to each topic that comes up in the classroom.<p>

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation:Week3

Blog week 3<p>

 Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation<p>

 

When we think about all the media that children see everyday going to and from school, it is amazing that they can learn to understand how to play with others on any level. Children are given mixed messages constantly by the toys (how they are advertised, and the messages they get from people around them). Books are still portrayed as gender specific in most cases, but they are getting better and if you look you can find books that have stay at home dads, grandparents as the parents, interracial families and books that children can look at and understand about the many cultural differences that surround them each day. In some ways the society is getting more open minded about gender, sexual orientation, and diversity as a whole-but we have a long way to go before it becomes second nature for both adults and children to just enjoy being alive and not worry about what they are playing with or wearing for the day. Once we all become comfortable with ourselves then we can teach children the same (I hope!). <p>

This week we had to read resources dealing with gender identity and sexual orientation and how it relates to early childhood. Does a child being called a “momma’s boy” count in the same category? My son was called this for years by the children in our neighborhood and the school that he went to in Louisiana. My husband was serving overseas and my son was the only boy in the house, but he played with toys that everyone calls boy toys and did everything a person would expect a boy to do and he did help out with chores of all kinds and play with his sister. I found nothing wrong with who he played with, what he played with or how he interacted with other children. Some would say that momma’s boy and sissy are the same but I’m not sure about that. Also at a school I worked at when I first moved to Virginia there was a little boy of three and a half that wanted to play in the dramatic play area with the dolls everyday and some of the boys would laugh at him and didn’t want to play with him outside or in any other centers, he started being really quite and I had to have a class talk about it being okay to play with all the toys no matter what they were. In my classrooms there is no such thing as boy toys or girl toys-they are just toys that everyone can play with. Growing up I remember hearing the term tom boy and thought nothing of it because I played wherever I wanted and didn’t worry about that type of thing (at least not while my parents were alive). I used to love to climb trees and hunt for bugs and even jump off the roof of our house. When children hear comments about what they play with as being girly or a baby toy it can affect their self esteem, and their social skills in regard to being able to socialize with others. This can make it difficult to go to school when the time comes <p>

References: <p>

Course Media: "Start Seeing Diversity: Gender"

 

Course Media: "Start Seeing Diversity: Sexual Orientation"

 

 

Spiegel, A. (2008). Two families grapple with sons' gender identity: Psychologists take radically different approaches in therapy. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2008/05/07/90247842/two-families-grapple-with-sons-gender-preferences

 

Maglaty, J. (2011). When did girls start wearing pink. Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/When-Did-Girls-Start-Wearing-Pink.html

 

 

 

A Final Thank You

I would like to wish every one of my colleagues the best on their continuing journey with Walden and beyond. I have truly enjoyed getting to know so many dedicated professionals since starting this journey in 2008 with my Bachelor's degree. I look forward to meeting many of you at graduation and I hope we keep in touch after we are finally finished!
Again-Best to everyone in your future endeavors!!

Week 6

·         Blog Assignment: Week 6<p>

This week you read about the five stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Consider the adjourning phase for several of the groups in which you have been involved. Think about which aspects of the groups made for the hardest good-bye. Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? Groups with the clearest established norms? Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why? What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced? How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree in this program? Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork? <p>

 

After reading about the five stages of team development this week, I do think that high-performing groups would be the hardest to leave. I say this because when you think about this type of group, it would be a group where the people in most cases have become close and very similar to how a family works together. When I worked for the county as a SACC teacher, I was part of a five person team that I thought was working great together-but all good things must come to an end. I found out that one of the head teachers was taking credit for what the rest of were doing and making it look like she was the only one working, therefore we ended up in a very uncomfortable situation that became too much to handle and three of us decided to make formal complaints and then leave. This was still very hard to leave since we had been working as a cohesive team. This type would probably be hard to leave also because it seems that everyone is pulling their part and have realized how important each member is to the team. So far I think my SACC team was the hardest to leave because of the friendships build and what I thought was a great set of team members that shared ideas and resources. I wish that we had been able to get together away from the worksite and just relax and talk about how much we had learned from each other when it was time to leave. <p>

 

When it comes time to adjourn from the colleagues that I have worked with in at least one class since starting at Walden (received my Bachelors in October 2012) and then continuing on with my Masters degree that we will finish this year, I will say it’s going to be very hard to say good-bye. I have learned so much from everyone and maintained a solid routine over the years by asking what works for others and trying it out for my own use. I am really hoping that I will be able to keep in touch with at least some of my colleagues to see how our goals work out after this part of the learning is done. I know that I will always have questions and hope my new friends will still help me to learn as we continue to grow outside of the classroom/online community. Routines are important and so is closure in all parts of our interactions with others. <p>

Conflicts and Communicating

Blog Week 5<p>

This week we are talking about conflicts and how to work through them without anyone getting hurt or in general how we are dealing with the situation. The conflict that is affecting me and my family currently has to do with my granddaughter’s school. My granddaughter started kindergarten this September and there have been issues from the beginning with not only the teacher, but the principle also. My granddaughter will be six in June, so this makes her the youngest in her old class and new one, the problems started when she was placed in a chair at circle time (because she talks to others), not allowed to have recess most days and not allowed to eat or finish her lunch. Both teachers are telling us she is spitting on children (something she has never done), she is also messing with her classmates papers in some way, we are not saying she is perfect-but the school is telling us that she is misbehaving EVERYDAY! My daughter and I have had meetings with not only the teachers, but the principle and they tell us that she is doing better one day and then horrible the next. The principle has also been caught lying to us about what she said she was going to do with my granddaughter. She told us she was going to take care of the teacher that was labeling my granddaughter as a trouble child and did not. What we are seeing is the school protecting the own and not putting the children’s safety and well-being first (we have talked with other parents with the same type of problems with this school). <p>

I guess what I am trying to say is we have tried to work with the school and stay calm, but no matter what type of strategy we go in with-it doesn’t work. We have tried to be cooperative with the school, but as I said, they say something and do another. We thought after moving her to another kindergarten class thing would be better, but after one week, the emails and bad cards started coming home. My granddaughter is at the point where she does not want to go to school at all! We are educators here-any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as to how we work with this school and get her back to enjoying her learning experience. She is also experiencing bulling from the children that are in both her classes (present and old), most of the children in her classes are 7 or almost seven-to me this is too old to be in kindergarten! Is this the new norm? To keep your child out of school until they are this old? We are running out of options and are now thinking about homeschooling her.<p>