Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

This week I am putting others shoes on my feet. I am pretending that I am an early childhood professional who is experiencing “-isms” in my personal life and they are carrying over into how others view my work performance. I am going to imagine myself being in a same sex relationship.

If I was in a same sex relationship I feel that others would react to me with the use of stereotypes and prejudice. Not only could co-workers react, but families, and children could react in negative ways. Below are hypothetical consequences that each group of people might inflict on me if I was in a same sex relationship.

Co-Workers

-          I might not get promotions based on others feelings towards my personal life.

-          My education might not matter because some people could think that I am “dumb” for the choices I have made in my life.

-          I might not bond with co-workers for the fear of judgment from my personal choices.

Families

-          Parents might not want me working with their children because I can “convert” them.

-          Families might not know how to interact with me and what to say to make appropriate conversation.

-          Families might think I have gender preferences.

Children

-          The children might ask questions about my family and I might not know how to answer and because of this I might fib or not give any details about me. This can create a lack of bond between teacher and students.

-          The children might be shocked if my partner ever came into the classroom setting.

-          The children could become confused about why my family is different from theirs.

       Students could make fun of my lifestyle and I might not be seen as an authority figure.

Observing Communication- Week 3

This week I was observing an adult and child interaction. I was at grocery store this weekend and saw a women with 3 children, all of which looked young enough to be under five. What I noticed was all of them crying at one point, telling their mom no when she asked them to stop, and the mom trying to put the children in the cart. She was very sympathetic to the children and did not yell at any of them once, for behavior or as punishment.

What I would have done to make the communication more affirming and effective was to first make sure that I was using appropriate kinds of language. For this outing I would be using language that encourages children through specific feedback about the groceries they were buying and why; and this also extends the children’s language (Stephenson, 2009). I would also think about the power in the conversation. There was a power struggle between the children and the mom and none of the parties were winning. “Children tend to actively participate in conversations that they initiate, that are relevant to them, and that invite reciprocal exchanges” (Stephenson, 2009). By balancing the power struggle and giving the children an opportunity to express themselves the behaviors would not have happened because there was no reason if they felt needed and engaged.

The communication interactions I observed may have also affected the child’s feelings of self worth. Without their ideas and input along with respect from the mother, they felt unneeded and might not have been receiving the attentions that they wanted. Children like to be listened to and feel valued. “Children are more eager to spend time with an adult who is keen to listening to them” (Rainer & Durden, 2010). If children are eager to spend time with an adult a behavior meltdown might also not happen because the adult is engaging and the child has fun with them.

This experience has offered me insights on how the adult-child communication compares to the ways in which I communicate with children by reassuring that by listening to children and engaging them in conversation it is easier to help the child feel safe as well as help build their self worth. Through communication children also can express what they know and the information can be used as a formative assessment. I can improve my communication with children by making sure that I am using clear language that extends children’s learning, encourages feedback,  and connects to children’s lives.

Rainer Dangei, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81. database. http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=47964033&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95. database.http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=37131016&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Creating Affirming Environments- Week 2

This week I am imagining that I am opening my own Family Child Care Home. A family child care home’s setting and elements are very important. How the area is set up and interacted with will either make children feel welcomed and respected or not.

One first has to understand that the way a space is set up alters children to which issues and people the teacher or facilitator thinks are important and unimportant (Derman-Sparks, 2010). An environment rich in anti-bias materials invites exploration and discovery and support’s children’s play and conversations in both emergent and planned activities (Derman-Sparks, 2010). For this, I would make sure that my space was set up so that the focal part of the space was were the most important information hung. This could be academic items and also materials that honor diversity in an accurate and nonsterotypical way (Derman-Sparks, 2010). Multicultural literature would be a must along with dolls of all races and cultures. By having multiracial and cultural dolls, children can relate to the materials rather than just the dominant culture and not feel the harm of feeling invisible or not fitting (Derman-Sparks, 2010). The coloring of the room would also have to be not gender indefinable along with all materials. By having bulletin boards with photographs of the children and their families it will also make the space seem like everyone’s, which is the goal (Derman-Sparks, 2010).  A unit or theme is also important and helps families embrace and feel welcomed in the space (Derman-Sparks, 2010). My theme would be either owls, or animals that all children can relate too. Themes such as the Olympics’ for older children also show diversity of individuals and focus on the success of people rather than the downfalls.

Overall misinforming and misrepresenting individuals needs to be thought of before a space can be created (Derman-Sparks, 2010). All children and families need to feel welcomed so that relationships and interactions can come together to create the anti-bias learning community (Derman-Sparks, 2010). A space that is nurturing and supports all children is what I want and would need to have to have a successful family child care home.

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).

Reflection on Learning

During this class at Walden University, I have learned so much about diversity and strategies to work with diverse children and their families. I am thankful for all the new information that I have gained. My hope for my future as an early childhood professional is to one day see a time when diversity is not treated as a negative issue. Diversity is what makes everyone special and unique and makes our society rich with ideas and keeps it growing. I hope that children in the future will see diversity in a positive light and be excited to embrace every human being for who they are and what they think.

I want to truly thank all my colleagues that I had this journey with. It is not without your hard work, perspectives, and support that I have been able to learn so much. I hope that each one of you has gained as much knowledge as I have and that each of us can become advocates for diversity. I hope and wish that the children and families that come into contact with you change your life for the better and you change theirs as well. You all are amazing individuals and it was a privilege to work with you!

Start Seeing Diversity

Diversity is how people differ

It affects each one of us

It might make some people quiver

And really drive those nuts

But if you look deep inside

About the discomfort, trauma and bias

It could make you cry and feel pride

About how these people abide it

Thoughts and negative feelings about the ones around

Really hurt the world and diminish our society growing

It’s time to strike down

And educate the unknowing

Believe in each other

And help the world feel love

We are really the mothers and brothers

To send out a diversity dove

"We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

When looking at diversity and communication it is important to view how each of us communicates towards a child. At times when a child says something that is not politically correct, adults usually just try to hush the child before anyone else can hear what the child said. During that time, it is a teachable moment that needs to be embraced. I know I am guilty for not using that time wisely as well.

I have been a nanny most summers for various families. One summer I was a nanny to these adorable little boys. Their ages were 3 and 5. Sometimes we had to go places that were not very entertaining for them because of errands I had to do or some that their parents left. Once I had to drop off a paper for the older boy’s Boy Scout troop. In line ahead of us was a lady that was bigger boned and was not as feminine looking as the boy’s mother. The younger boy shouted, “Is that a lady or man because it has a mustache but is wearing heels. I thought you were either a boy or girl not in-betweens.” I was mortified and told the little boy to please be quiet and it’s not nice to talk about others in a negative way. His response to that was, “it’s not bad I just don’t understand”. I then gave him a look that communicated to be quiet and he was.

The message that I could have been communicating to this child was that it is not okay to ask questions if you do not understand something. I could have also communicated that it is not okay to speak one’s mind. I also never answered the question about the difference between men and women or if there is a third gender which also could confuse him. Overall, I did not do a good job handling the situation and did not follow up with the child about this episode. I did tell his parents about it, but also did not follow up with them about their exposure and their conversation they had with him.

How an anti-bias educator might have responded to support the child understanding would be to say that it does not matter what gender a person is, because everyone is special and has special characteristics. I could of even said people are all made different and it is important not to say something that could make someone else not feel good about themselves. I could of also focused on maybe saying the positives about the person. Following up with literature is also a great way for early childhood children to understand concepts so a library trip could have been very useful.

Overall, I now know how to act in a more positive manner and use those teachable moments to help benefit all children. 

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

Recently I have been researching and trying to gain new ideas and concepts in the areas of early childhood with their gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. These concepts are often overlooked but are very important in child development.

There are ways in our society that homophobia and heterosexism permeates the world of young children. This could involve books, movies, stores, culture, and schools. I think toys are a very big part of not supporting homosexuality. Toys are either marketed for girls or boys. There are very few toys that are gender neutral. If the opposite sex children play with the “wrong” toys they are looked at in a different way. They are being discriminated against just from playing with another toy. I think this is wrong. Boys should be able to play with dolls and Barbie’s and girls should be able to play with Lego’s and cars. In my classroom I make sure that I have mostly gender neutral toys, but I do have few gender related toys. I think it is great when boys and girls play with the opposite gender toys to expose themselves to those experiences. I have boys play “Pretty, Pretty, Princess” and I do not say anything against it. Children need opportunities to experience different genders and have as many experiences as they can to develop their own personality.

Within this topic also come the thoughts if books depicting gay or lesbian individuals should be used in early childhood centers. I first researched libraries in my community. At the public library there are books like this but an adult library card needs to be used to take the books out. In the district where I teach there are no gay or lesbian oriented books or same sex family oriented books at the elementary level. I can understand these precautions but I do think that these books need to be exposed to early childhood. This is a step in the right way direction to stopping discrimination by having our younger generation fin acceptance.

Early childhood gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation is a part of child development and needs to be explored and thought about when dealing with young children.

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

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 (22 minutes)