What I Have Learned

I hope that in working with families and children from diverse backgrounds that I can be sensitive to their unique needs and points-of-view.  I hope that I can use all I have learned to help other staff to better serve the children and families in our programs and the community.

My one goal is to bring the Anti-bias philosophy to my agency.  There is so much 'multi-cultural' but so little anti-bias curriculum.

Thank you all for your posts and input this semester.

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: Creating Art

The picture I decided to make for this representation was of a flower garden.  The flowers represent people.  The soil is the foundation that has been laid by the family the child has grown up with.  This foundation has created a foundation for the roots that the child has to fall back on and navigate the world.  These will dictate how the child reacts to flood or drought.  The different flowers represent how depending on what goes into the child the flower is unique.  All of the flowers are close, or in the same community, but they have each experienced unique soil, rain, sun, diseases, etc.  The different experiences have caused a different flower to blossom.  The lightning represents trauma, and the bee represents the passing experiences that may only fly by in an instant but causes a lasting impact.  There is so much that can be interpreted from this picture.  What do you see that can represent what we have learned so far in this course?

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

A time when I witnessed an adult reprimand or silence a child after he or she pointed out someone they saw as different was when I was at the mall. a couple of weeks ago.  While at the mall I watched as a father shamed his son for asking a double amputee why he didn't have any legs.  The boy was about five years old and approached the man in the wheel chair and simply asked, "Why don't you have any legs?"  The man began to answer when the dad stepped in front of his son, apologized to the man in the wheel chair, and then yanked the boy by the arm away from the man, and told him to never point out why people are different.  He asked the boy how he would feel if someone asked him about how he was different.  The man went on and on shaming the boy until he was in tears.

The message the man communicated to his child was, its not okay to be different.  It is something to be embarrassed about and definitely not spoken about.  My own daughter asked why the man had no legs, and we discussed the possible reasons.  We also talked about how life would be different for him without legs.  Our conversation lasted about three minutes, and ended with my daughter shrugging her shoulder and saying, "Huh, he must really have fun wheeling around in his rolly chair!"  The boy and my daughter both were curious and trying to make sense of the world around them (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  However, my daughter got the message that its okay to ask questions and be different, while the boy received the message that it is shameful to be curious, and not okay or safe to be different.

In my classroom I would have allowed for the boy to ask the question of the man.  I would have listened to the exchange and allowed for more questions.  After listening I would have figured our what the boy really wanted to know about the man in the wheel chair.  For example, my daughter was more interested in knowing about the rolly chair.  I would have then talked about what the boy learned and talked about how he approached the man and what he learned form asking the question.  I think this would be appropriate for anti-bias education.


Reference



Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and

            ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

 

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

Children build schemas constantly that provide them with the information they need to decipher the world around them.  Their families, communities, and classrooms all influence how they interpret the world.  Gender identity and how they view sexual orientation are two areas that are always hot topics in the early childhood field.

When in comes to the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families I think if that represents the culture of one or more of the children in the classroom it is important that it is represented in the literature in the classroom.  As in the media segment, in my classroom we begin the year with a home visit where we make family scrapbook pages.  These pages are placed in a area of honor that children often refer back to.  This year I had a same-sex couple that had a child in my class, so of course their family picture included two moms.  It was posted, and we had other children's books that represented this type of family.  It was never an issue.  Children asked questions sometimes, but our staff and the child just answered their questions.  It was a simple as that.  We talked about our families and their similarities and differences.  However, had we left the books that had same-sex families we would have alienated the family, and caused a lot more biases to form.  So, if it represents the culture of a family in your class, or if children have questions about same-sex couples I do believe the literature should be available. 


If a parent/family asked me to ensure that their child was not cared for by anyone that was perceived or self-reported to be homosexual or transgender I would begin with a discussion.  I would ask why.  I would respect their opinion, even if it was misinformed, and then present my opinion on the situation.  I believe in all of my staff, they have passed all background checks necessary, and are highly qualified.  I would then tell them if they do not feel comfortable with their child being in our care due to a staff member being homosexual or transgender that I would refer them to some other exemplary programs that their family may feel more comfortable with. 

Adjourning

As I look back on my adult life I can see many times when I was asked to work in a group.  When I think of the adjourning phase it is difficult to remember how each unique group finished.  It seems that many simply disbanded with no clear end or finally.  The most difficult group for me to leave was the first staff I worked with when I came to Head Start.  This group wasn't the most high-performing group I was a part of, and I didn't have too much in common with each of the members.  However we had come to know each other by working closely with each other everyday.  We worked through a lot of change and helped each other overcome some difficult circumstances.  When it came time for us to go our separate ways we said farewell with a simple luncheon, and that was it.  Many of the groups I have worked with end in this way, and I wish there was more of a recap of sorts.  A way to gauge what was done and how well the group stayed true to its purpose.  As for the group of colleagues I have become a part of through this master's degree; I'm not sure how this will adjourn.  It is certainly different from my cohort group for my undergrad degree.  What end could it have?  I just can't imagine it yet.  Adjourning is essential because it brings the work full circle.  From the beginning to the end it brings closure and makes progress on the goals that were set out in the early stages.  

Conflict Resolution

A recent disagreement I had with a colleague at work had to do with her having very little confidence in herself.  She would often put herself down with negative self talk when working with the children, and when I confronted her she was embarrassed and angry that she was called out.  

To help to resolve the conflict more productively we could have used two of the basic ideals of the center for nonviolent communication vision statement.  We could have used the ideal that "every individual embraces self compassion," if she would have compassion for herself she could forgive herself for the mistakes she makes and not be so critical of herself.  We could also use the ideal that "people joyfully and compassionately contribute to each other and resolve conflicts peacefully."  If we both came to the table with this basic premise the whole conversation could have been approached and resolved joyfully and peacefully.  

How would you deal with this situation?

Communication Quizzes

I have to begin by stating that using these quizzes was difficult for me.  I am out of work for the summer and stay at home with my daughter.  This means that I see one adult on a regular basis, my husband.  I thought I would be able to email these out to others to have them email back to me, but after trying all week to figure it out I had to resort to having my husband and mother-in-law fill them out, because they were the only two that were at my house that I could log them in to fill out. 

After saying that there weren’t many surprises in regards to how I see myself and how they do.  We are all very close, and so the know how I am.  The insight I saw from these quizzes was that these quizzes weren’t too clear in describing the person that it is being said about.  There were too bipolar in the questions.  I think this tells me professionally that communication is important, and not everyone sees it in the same way as I do.

Communication Accommodation Theory

When I communicate with different people I use different communication strategies.  In fact communication accommodation theory “suggests that all people adapt their behavior to others to some extent” (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011, p. 112). 

Some examples of this change in communication strategies are; if speaking to a child I adjust my vocabulary so I can be understood.  When talking with other professionals I use jargon they understand, but wouldn’t use the same language when talking with a family new to our early childhood program.  Beebe, Beebe, and Redmond support this practice, “We are suggesting, rather, that you be aware of what your communication partner is doing and saying, especially if there are cultural differences between you, so that your message is understood and you don’t unwittingly offend the other person” (2011, p. 112). 

It is important that I develop a set of strategies to communicate with diverse people.  Some of those strategies include adapting my message due to information I know about the person, adapting based on what I perceive the other person to be thinking or feeling, or adapting based on my history with the person. 

Non-verbal Communication and Television Show

The show I decided to watch is Betas.  This is a new Amazon original television series.  I have never watched it or seen previews for it. 

The Sound Muted:

In the opening sequence the show introduces several characters in an office.  It zooms in on a few, and I am assuming that these are the main characters.  Character 1 is working on a computer and looking around at the other characters.  From his body language he seems annoyed, because he is being distracted while trying to get work done.  A little bit into the show two of the characters leave and get into a car.  They are talking to each other and appear to be friends.  They are talking in a carefree way with lots of smiles, laughing, and the occasional punch in the shoulder.  Both of these characters seem to be friendly and familiar.  Throughout the show it jumps around to different scenes, and this may be due to the fact that it is the pilot for the show and they are introducing several people.  It was difficult to determine communication between characters  as there were a lot of scenes with characters either alone or in a large group.  In the large group sequences the communication and body language was hard to decipher, as it changed and the camera jumped around a lot. 

What are they feeling and expressing based on the nonverbal behavior you are observing?

The Sound On:

I made many assumptions on this show that were incorrect.  I didn’t know that there was a narrator for the show, and he explained a lot about the premise of the show and the background of many of the characters.  This would have helped explain some of the exchanges as well as the relationships the characters had.  I assumed that the two characters I observed in the car with friends, however after listening to it with the sound I realized they were father and son.  This explained some of the touching, and the way the one character reacted to the others words.  I also confused annoyance with a person making a plan.  The facial expressions and body language seemed to be annoyance, but they were actually showing character 1 being devious. 

I made some incorrect assumptions, and some that were correct when watching this show on mute.  It is interesting to watch body language and facial expressions.  They are so easily confused without knowing what is going on.  Had I known the characters and the show I would have known their character.  What the character was about, who they related to, what their goals were, etc.  This would have helped me decipher their communication better. 

Competent Communication

When I think of a person I know that is a competent communicator I think of my husband.  I think one of the greatest strengths he has as a communicator is his ability to listen.  He is an active listener.  He nods his head, makes eye contact, turns his body when listening, and then when he speaks he is able to validate what I have said or someone else has said and then communicate what he wants to say.  Then, when he is actually communicating what he has to say he speaks clearly, concisely, and with a calm and even voice.  He speaks with his hands, but only enough to support his point, and convey positive body language.  I would like to work on how he changes his body language to convey a confident but approachable demeanor when speaking.  People respect what he has to say, because he presents it in such a way that it is hard to disagree.  I have some solid opinions, and if I can model his mode of communication I could get my point across more effectively.  

Diversity Looking Ahead

 

My one hope in working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I would be more sensitive to their culture.  That I can recognize my own biases and respond to the family in the ways that is acceptable to their culture.  

The goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that the field would work to accept all children by recognizing the dominant culture as well as the many cultures of the world.  

Thank you all for the comments and the great blog posts.  It is always refreshing to see how passionate you all are about early childhood.   

Welcoming Families from Around the World

The country of origin I chose is South Africa.  The  steps I would take to be culturally responsive is first to talk with any professional connections I have that have experience with familys from this country.  I would then contact the early childhood collaborative from that country that we learned about in a previous class.  I would then do some basic internet research, and collect some books both for young children and adults from the native culture.  From there I would try to prepare myself with the information I collected, and use the family to collect more culture information.  With all of this information I would hope that the family would realize that I wanted to welcome them in and work with them to help thier family acclimate to their new home.  This would hopefully help to make a bridge between school and home and allow me to be more effective in preparing their child for school.

Predjudice

A time when I experienced prejudice was when I was in high school working in the summertime.  I worked at a canoe rental business, and looked forward to the chance to work outside in the summer heat.  However I was quite dismayed when I was told that only males were allowed to work outside.  They told me women were to clean, cook, amd provide support in the store.  Men were to work outside because a that wasn't a woman's place.  This provided no equity between the sexes.  The men and boys working there would expect the girls and women to wait on them with cold drinks and snacks.  The attitude of the staff and customers reflected a superiority of men over women.  Now as a teacher and mother I try to ensure the boys and girls I work with realize that although men and women have different strengths , one is not superior to the other.

Microaggressions

This week I paid attention to my interactions with others, as well as the interactions of the people around me.  However, I did not have any situations with microaggressions.  So, I had to think of one I had seen in the past.  

As a high school volleyball coach I had the opportunity to coach many players with varied family cultures.  One player I had was a tall African American girl.  One day while practicing a player's dad came over to this young lady and said, you should play basketball, you are bred for it.  I didn't hear the whole exchange, but the player later mentioned what was said.  Her first question was, what does it mean to be bred to play basketball?  Was he saying that because she was tall, or because she was black, or both?  He meant it as a compliment, but it had caused her to think twice about what was said.  This is a perfect example of a microinsult.

Diversity in my Community

For this blog I asked three people about what diversity and culture meant to them.

I asked my husband, my friend, and a coworker.

My husband defined culture as who we are, and diversity as how we are different.

My friend defined culture as what makes us tick, and diversity the same things that make up our culture.

My coworker defined culture as those things that make us fit in with others, and diversity as the other attributes that make us

I was supprised that the definitions that each of them made were very similiar to the definition I have learned.   It made me think about how much I had shared about what I was learning throughout the last couple of weeks.  I asked the three people I interact with the most, and I think my conversationbs with them may have influenced their responses.  Each definition includes the comment that culture makes us who we are.  This goes right with what the women in the multimedia presentation said. Each of these were simple definitions, so they omitted any deeper defintions including much differetiation between cultures or diversity.  

In asking others about their definitions I realized how much what I am learning influences the other people in my life.  This may be part of my culture, or possibly diversity.

Family Culture in Crisis

Faced with the situation of having to evacuate the United States with only my family and three items to represent our family culture.  The three items I would take would be a Bible, our family yearbook, and a quilt we have had handed down in our family for years. 

My first item the Bible is the road map for my family.  It is what drives us to be the people who we are.  The second item the family year book is a book of our years as a family.  It is something that we can look back on to give our family perspective.  The third and final is the family heirloom quilt.  This represents generations that have come before us and paved the way for how we live now.

If when I arrived we could only keep one I item it would not be difficult for me.  It was actually difficult for me to think of three items, as I feel most of our belonging are just that simple material objects.  I can live without almost all things I have, but the one item I would want to keep is the Bible.  This is the one item that defines my life, and gives my family the road map for how to live.  Given the circumstances for being relocated the Bible and my family are all I need.

This exercise showed me that my family is all I need.  With faith and family I can go through anything.

Insights from EDUC 6163

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
Insights I have gained about research from taking this course is that not all research is created equal.  There is so much that goes into a research study, that each is unique, which allows for a lot of interpretation.  This can be both a good thing as well as a cause for concern.  It is refreshing to see safe guards in place to ensure ethical studies as well as to ensure validity.
In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?
 My ideas about the nature of doing research have changed because I now know what goes into a research study.  There is so much in just the planning and beginning research let alone the actual collecting of data and then the interpretation of the data. 
What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?
Through this class I have learned a lot about what goes into a research study including the planning, designing, and conducting of the research.  I learned the difference between equity and equality as well as how validity is achieved through triangulation.  
What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?
Some challenges I encountered are learning the difference between qualitative and quantitative.  The two words are so similar it was difficult for me to differentiate between them until I looked at the root of the word.  Then it became much easier to remember quantity verses quality.  

As always thank you to all that have read and commented during this class. Your comments and insights are always helpful. 

International Research

I decided to look at the Early Childhood Australia website (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/).  
 

Some of the current international research topics on this website were autism, quality standards in early childhood care, and preschool mental health.  These are quite similiar to the research topics we have in the United States. 

I found some great insights in under a link, everyday learning.  I was not able to access the articles without paying for them.  However, the titles of each seemed as if these would truly relate directly to everyday classroom activities.  Bullying, sensory integration, play and learning, as well as emotional needs of children are just a few of these titles. 

A noteworthy section of this website was under the supporting best practices area.  Below this topic were three subtopics curiosity, imagination, and persistence.  When I clicked on these links I found there was a large amount of research related to these three ideas.  I will use this research in the future.


 

The Dream Study

If I could study any topic in the early childhood field, and I was not restricted by the reality of the present I would research the methods of involving parents in their child's education.  I would specifically look at the theory of parents being involved versus parents being engaged.  I would attempt to uncover the true difference between the two, and how to best engage parents to help children to accomplish their highest potential.  



I believe the positive contributions would be immense.  Children would be more prepared for elementary school, and their parents would be better equipped to support their children through the elementary grades. Programs would have more support, parents would learn more about being educators themselves, and families would have more tools.  The child's first and most important teachers could partner most effectively with the child's classroom teacher to provide the child with the best possible foundation for their educational career.  

My Research Journey

The topic I have chosen for this simulation is the effect positive teachers-child relationships has on child outcomes.  As a Head Start teacher we use the CLASS observation tool to evaluate our classroom environment, management, and interactions.  Since we began using this tool a few years ago it has improved the outcomes of all of our 90+ classrooms.  I have found that it has helped to focus teachers on how to interact with their students form the positive and negative interactions to more in depth interactions that cause children to dig deeper and think through what they are doing when playing.  I want to look more specifically at how these interactions affect outcomes. 

Through the first two weeks of this class I have found it difficult to decide what to research.  There are so many questions I have about early childhood.  It is difficult to narrow it down to one.  It is also difficult to get a concrete topic that isn't subjective.  When looking at relationships the data that is collected is a lot of asking people how they feel.  One person's good feeling is anothers mediocre feeling. 

I would appreciate any help in narrowing down my topic.  Sometimes when doing research my mind becomes focused on one hypothesis, but if an outsider takes a look it may help me to see the obvious.