Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

As an early childhood educator I experience "-isms" in my both my personal and professional life.  There are many consequences that may occur with these "-isms" with children and families that I work with.  These     "-isms" could interfere with creating a positive relationship.  Families need to feel comfortable and trust you in order for the child to be successful.  By feeling that they are being judged they may begin to act and communicate differently which takes away from who they are and what they need.  One of the most important aspects of helping a child is understanding where they come from and how they interact with their family.  If the family feels that they are inferior we may not be able to get a real understanding of who the child is and what their needs are.  We tend to have slight biases towards most groups of people.  I continue to learn about different groups and have more experiences that dismiss these biases.  Keeping an open mind about each individual family will allow be to continue to create positive relationships without letting my biases interfere. 

Observing Communication

This week we were asked to observe an adult and child communicating.  Throughout the week, I observed many conversations between adults and children.  Often times, conversations that are very positive or negative catch my attention more and make me reflect on the situation.  Yesterday my family and I were getting in our jeep to go to the store and I noticed my neighbor and children pulling into their driveway.  As I was getting something out of the back of the jeep I could hear the mom yelling at her daughter.  I looked over and saw her 6 year old daughter carrying her backpack and other items trying to open their front door.  It was obvious from what I saw that she was struggling to open the door.  As the daughter was trying to open the door, the mother was walking towards her carrying various bags yelling "McKenna open that door right now."  Mckenna stated "Mom I can't do it."  Mom yelled back "Mckenna knock it off and open that door right now."  Mckenna said back to mom crying, "I can't do it."  Mom pushed Mckenna out of the way and opened the door herself.  She then replied, "You are not going to be doing anything when you get inside.  Go to your room right now."  I noticed that the mom was just getting home from work and bringing the children home from school.  She was more focused on her own needs opposed to her child's needs.  I learned how important it is to look beyond yourself and to be aware of meeting the child's needs.  In this situation, the child was not listened to or seen by the mother.  The mom should have been able to see her daughter struggling to open the door and validated her feelings by saying "I see that you are having a difficult time opening the door, what do you think we should do?"  The mom could have suggested her daughter to set down her bags and then try to open the door.  Being talked down to in that way makes the child feel bad about themselves.  It also breaks the trust between the child and the parent.  The next time a situation like this happens, the child is going to be afraid to ask for help.  If the mom helped her daughter in this situation she would have built her daughter's confidence to problem solve this next time. 

There are no similarities between how this mother communicated with her child and how I communicate with children.  The mom was very aggressive and condescending to her child and was not able to see beyond her own feelings.  I am very aware of children's feelings and understand that each thing we say to children have an impact on them and on ourselves. 

Creating Affirming Environments

If I were to open a Family Childcare Center in my home, I would want to create a safe, healthy, learning environment for all children and families.  Creating and maintaining relationships with my families where they feel comfortable and respected would be key to a successful center.  Communication is also a essential component to creating and maintaining relationships.  Each family and child's voice would be heard and respected. 

In creating a safe healthy, learning environment I would provide multi-cultural materials throughout my center.  In the course reading it says to provide diverse, anti-bias materials.  I would include a rich variety of multi-cultural books, dolls, puzzles, and art materials.  Throughout the center I would include pictures and posters that show a variety of cultures that encourage conversations and learning opportunities.  In the video Adriana Castilo displayed pictures of the children who were in her center.   I would incorporate that idea in my center as well.  Another example I liked from Adriana Castilo center is including an area labeled "Family Culture Share."  This is a great opportunity to share and learn about the children in the center.  I also feel having and playing a diverse selection of music creates a calming environment. 

References:

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).

Video: “Welcome to an Anti-Bias Learning Community”

Art Gallery - What I Have Learned

One hope I have for working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to be able to see each individual for who they are oppose to who I would expect them to be.  It is important to look beyond the stereotypes placed on each individual and/or group in order to help their needs. 

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to work towards eliminating bias and provide support for all children and families regardless of their background.  By doing this we will be setting/meeting goals of the family's needs opposed to us setting/meeting goals that we feel is needed. 

Thank you to all my colleagues for supporting and encouraging me throughout this course.  I appreciate your comments and post and have learned from all of you.  I wish everyone the best as you begin your next course. 

Creating Art

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

There has been many times where I see a child point out or comment on another person's physical appearance to their parent or caregiver.  I often notice these comments when standing in line to check out at a store.  Just last week when I was waiting in line to check out, there was a man with no legs in a wheelchair.  Behind him, was a mother and young child.  The mother was distracted putting her groceries on the belt when the little girl pointed at the man and very loudly stated "Mom, that man has no legs."  The mom very quickly said "Emma don't say that, it's not nice."  This brought attention to the situation by other people standing in line, including the man in the wheelchair.  Obviously the mother was embarrassed and was unsure how to respond to her child.    If I was the child, I would have felt that it was not ok to talk about other people who look different.  Which would then lead to me being afraid to talk about those things.  As an anti-bias educator, I would have acknowledged what the child said as she was clearly trying to understand why this man looked different.  I would reaffirm the child's comment by saying "Yes, Emma that man has no legs and that is why he needs his wheelchair."  I would follow up with Emma later and ask if she had any questions about what we talked about earlier.  As these situations occur, they are teachable moments where we as parent's and educators have the opportunity to teach our children and help them better understand the world around them.

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

After reviewing the videos, I was reminded of the importance of being open minded to issues regarding gender and sexual orientation.  While I am aware of both of these topics, I have yet to see a push to educate young children about sexual orientation.  Many of the books and materials, including many of the curriculum that we use do not incorporate differences such as differences in sexual orientation.  Gender, on the other hand, is discussed and gender roles are identified and incorporated in the curriculum.  In my opinion, it is more difficult for children to understand the differences in sexual orientation when it often goes against what they learn about typical gender roles.

When discussing the issue of avoiding books that depict gay or lesbian couples, I would think it would depend on the situation.  Many people have very strong opinions on this topic.  If materials were presented that depicted gay and lesbian couples, there may be a very strong opinion against such books.  If this is the case, it may do more harm than good to have these materials in these classes.  However, the main purpose of books is to help with the education of children.  Therefore, I would not necessarily avoid a book because it depicted gay or lesbian couples if I thought it was relevant to the topic being discussed.