Reflecting on Learning

As an anti-bias educator, my hope is that each family and child that I come into contact with feels accepted and heard.  I am aware of the importance of connecting with each individual and will strive to learn more about each family and who they are. My hope for the future is help children feel good about who they are and to collaborate with other early childhood professionals to continue growing as an anti-bias educator. 

Thank you to all my colleagues for sharing and inspiring me throughout this journey.  I have learned a great deal from your discussions and blogs and hope to continue to learn from you in the future.  I wish you all the best!

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

I chose to look deeper into Latin America and the Caribbean because this is a region I have yet to have the opportunity to explore.  This region has six significant threats to child survival and development.  The number one threat is disparity.  60% of children under twelve years of age and 50% of adolescents between the ages 13-19 live in poverty.  The second threat is social exclusion.  Children are often socially excluded to due HIV/Aids.  The third threat is chronic malnutrition.  One in every five children have chronic malnutrition.  The fourth threat is violence.  Nearly 85,000 children die annually.  Violence affects over 6 million children and adolescents.  The fifth threat is HIV/Aids.  The Caribbean has the second highest prevalence of Aids in the world.  The sixth threat is emergencies.  Natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods occur yearly.

Any significant threat that children face or are exposed to will impact their emotional well-being as well as their development.  Children's relationships will be influenced as well as their self-esteem.  There are minimal support systems available to many of these children. The more needs these children have, the more stressors they will experience.  These stressors will hinder the emotional development of a child. 

After looking deeper into these regions I am more aware of the numerous variables that can impact a child's well-being as well as their development.  Understanding that many of these things may be out of our control, we need to make sure to support children and give them the supports they need to overcome their emotional difficulties.

Refrences:

UNICEF.  2011.  The Offical Regional Office of Latin American.  Retrieved from: 
http://www.unicef.org/lac/english.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

Often times when we speak of early childhood education, sexualization does not come to the fore front of our thoughts.  At the same time, when we speak of sexualization, we often think of intimate relationships between adults.  We need to understand what is being considered when we speak about sexualization in the early childhood field.  It is more than simply sexual relationships between two people, but the understanding of these relationships.  The things children hear and see when they are young will have an impact on the relationships they will have when they get older. 

One example of how children are exposed to sexualization at an early age is the clothing that is available for children to wear, such as skinny jeans, crop shirts, and heels.  When shopping for my 5 year old daughter, I am overwhelmed with disbelief at the adult-like clothing that is available in her sizes.  Another example I have noticed, is the selection of Halloween costumes that are available to children.  Many of these consist of superheros with unnatural physical characteristics along with a variety of celebrity look alike costumes.  Many of these costumes have some sort of sex appeal to them.  Even Tinker Bell has a revealing costume.  Finally, I have observed many children imitate things they have seen or heard on television that celebrities have done, said, or sung.  While children don't always understand what they are doing or saying, they are simply copying what they are seeing and hearing.

While many children don't understand what they are seeing or hearing, and adults don't always see a significant consequence of these copycat actions, these exposures can have an impact on who these children become and what types of relationships they will be creating throughout their lives.  Many of the implications of these exposures will not be seen until later in life.  However there are implications involved with improper exposure to children.  As adults in the early childhood field, it is important to help children appropriately understand the issues related to sexualization.  Children need to have positive supports that they trust and feel comfortable with to ask questions.  With the amount of exposure of sexualization, it would be impossible to shelter children from all of it.  Therefore, it is essential that we explain things in terms that they will understand, depending on their level of development.

After learning about sexualization in early childhood, I have become more aware of how sexualization relates to children.  The impacts that improper exposure to sexualization can have a detrimental impact on the relationships that children will be able create later in life.  It is extremely important for children to have adults they can trust to help them understand the issues related to sexualization.

 

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.