As an early childhood educator I realize the role I play in the lives of the children and families I work with. The way I interact with them can impact the way they perceive education and educators into the future. I have taken time throughout this journey to think about my own biases and how they affect these relationships, but until now I haven't thought about how it would affect me if I was experiencing the same biases. Where I live and work I am part of the dominant culture, so I haven't often experienced many biases or -isms directly. However, I have experienced ageism.
I graduated from college and obtained my first teaching job at the age of 20. I taught kindergarten and had no idea I would face criticism for my age. I had parents double guess my strategies and recommendations, because they didn't believe I had enough life experience to give them advice. This caused me to double guess myself. I struggled in the classroom, and took out my frustrations on the children by not providing them enough time to explore and learn. I was told by several parents and even colleagues that I was too young and naive to realize that play wasn't appropriate in kindergarten, and that the children needed more rules and assigned seats. They needed worksheets and homework. When I stood up and said that wasn't what research said, they all said, "Well, when you grow up you will realize the error of your thinking." This ageism really caused me to struggle and do things that I knew weren't developmentally appropriate. I look back that this year and cringe at some of the things I asked those children to do. I had them using worksheets and took away much of their free play time. I was so bombarded by the thought that I was too young to know how to teach that I allowed others to make decisions for me.
As I look back on this experience I realize that I allowed an -ism to overcome me. It caused me to be drained emotionally and I wasn't able to provide the best environment for the children in my classroom. With almost ten more years of experience and years in my life I do realize that I have matured and learned a lot about myself and education, but I also recognize that had I not been bombarded with ageism my first year of teaching I would have provided a much more appropriate environment and relationships with the children and families in my classroom.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Observing Communication
I chose to observe an art class for
four and five year olds at a private art gallery. I watched for approximately ten minutes
focusing specifically on the interactions between a five year old and the
assistant instructor. The instructor
delivered an interdiction and gave directions for making the art project. Then one child needed some extra help getting
started and the assistant came over to assist him. The dialog was as follows:
Assistant, “Do you need some
help?”
Child, “Yes, I don’t want to make
a tree.”
Assistant, “Well, this is the
assignment for today, but when you finish you could work on another project if
you would like.”
Child, “I don’t really want to
make a tree.”
Assistant, “How could I help you
get started?”
Child instructs on what he would like
to do instead of the tree, and the teacher helps child to realize how the tree
and his plan could work together.
During the process I observed the
child silently working, and the assistant consistently giving the child
praise. The praise was very general; “Good
job. That’s it. I like that.”
The child finished the tree
project, and looked at the assistant and said, “Did I do good?”
The aspect of effective communication
that I thought stood out to be glaringly missing was, the lack of specific
feedback. Dangel and Durden (2010)
stated the importance of specific feedback to, “let children know their teacher
values their efforts and accomplishments” (p. 76). However, the assistant did make a connection
to the child’s life when she showed him how the tree assignment was similar to
what he wanted to do (Dangei & Durden, 2010).
The
communication interactions with the general feedback may have negatively
impacted the child’s self-worth, but I also believe her attention to what he
was interested in positively impacted his self-worth. Overall, I believe the child had a positive
feeling towards the project and the assistant, by the look on his face and his
body language towards the assistant.
I
believe we can always improve in our communication with children. I believe it is something that can always
evolve and grow. However, this has been
a goal of mine over the past two years.
I have working on the simple parts of language such as self-talk to
model language and vocabulary to specific feedback, to listening and following
the lead of the child in conversations with children. Each child is unique and learning their
communication preferences is the key to successful communication.
References
Dangei & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of
teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81.
Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete
database.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Anti-bias Family Daycare Center
In my child care home I would have several areas to for children and families to explore. Below I will outline the areas, the materials that would be in the areas, and why I would choose these things.
Entrance:
On the outside front porch of my house I would provide a similiar environment to Adrianna's. I would have a dramatic play kitchen with pots, pans, and plates. I would have an area with blocks with pictures of the children and families taped to some to allow children to interact with thier own characters. I would have a writing area with child and family pictures with words to describe each. I would provide various writing utensils and books that I have made depicting the children and thier families, community members, as well as some other appropriate pictures that depict other cultures (Derman-Sparks and Edwards, 2010). I would also provide a basket with photo albums for each child with pictures of thier families, pets, and also pictures of them playing at school. There would also be an area of cubbies with each child's name, pictures, and picture of their family. This would be their area and would be where parents and children would hang cloths, store backpacks, and other materials from home. I would also have my sign in and family information board by the entry way. During inclement weather I would move this area into the entry of our home. These two areas are homey and have enough room for easy movement, but aren't too big and overwhelming to scare children and families away.
Quiet Area
This area would be accessible at all times for children. It would be an area with soft furniture, blankets, stuffed animals, family photo albums, and books for children to look at. This area would be an area that would be welcome to all children and families and a place where children can be alone if they want to be, or where a parent or caretaker can come an have some one-on-one time with the child.
Dramatic Play Area
In this area I would have household items such as kitchen items and accessories, bedroom items such as beds, blankets, living room items such as couch and chairs, babies and dress up cloths. Each of these items would need to be taken into consideration in relation to the cultures of the children and their families. Babies would be of various ages, genders, and colors. Dress up cloths would represent different genders, cultures, and occupations. Even the kitchen items would need to represent the cultures of the children and those of other cultures. This area is a great place to explore the cultures of our families and those that we may encounter in life. I would discuss with families their decor and traditions when it comes to setting up their household to try to incorporate them into this area.
Group Area
In this area I would have carpet squares with children and their families on them. This would give children the opportunity to take ownership and responsibility in where they sit, and bring their family into our group times. This area would have a book of children in our class that we can use to see who is here and who is at home. It would have music that is representative of home cultures, and wall hangings that also represent the cultures of our families.
Sensory Area
This area would have different sensory activities that go along with what the children are interested in exploring. Whether that be water, sand, seeds, playdough, etc. I would ask families to share recipes and traiditions for this area to bring familiar items into the classroom as well as pieces of family culture.
Puzzles and Games
This area would have a mix of puzzles and games that are both representative of the cultures of our families as well as traditional games that families play. I would have puzzles made of the child's photos as well as puzzles that have pictures that represent other cultures and concepts making sure all are respectful and not tourist curriculum. I would also include a match game of faces of children in the care home. This would allow for discussion of similarities and differences as well as being interesting for the children whose faces are on the game pieces.
I would also incorporate other areas in to the daycare home, but they would probably have to rotate as I don't think I could fit anymore into my house. I would just ensure that families are a constant part of the care of their child and the set up of the center. To be anti-bias and culturally sensitive I would have to partner with families to ensure each is being represented equally and correctly.
Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. NAEYC. Washington, DC.
Entrance:
On the outside front porch of my house I would provide a similiar environment to Adrianna's. I would have a dramatic play kitchen with pots, pans, and plates. I would have an area with blocks with pictures of the children and families taped to some to allow children to interact with thier own characters. I would have a writing area with child and family pictures with words to describe each. I would provide various writing utensils and books that I have made depicting the children and thier families, community members, as well as some other appropriate pictures that depict other cultures (Derman-Sparks and Edwards, 2010). I would also provide a basket with photo albums for each child with pictures of thier families, pets, and also pictures of them playing at school. There would also be an area of cubbies with each child's name, pictures, and picture of their family. This would be their area and would be where parents and children would hang cloths, store backpacks, and other materials from home. I would also have my sign in and family information board by the entry way. During inclement weather I would move this area into the entry of our home. These two areas are homey and have enough room for easy movement, but aren't too big and overwhelming to scare children and families away.
Quiet Area
This area would be accessible at all times for children. It would be an area with soft furniture, blankets, stuffed animals, family photo albums, and books for children to look at. This area would be an area that would be welcome to all children and families and a place where children can be alone if they want to be, or where a parent or caretaker can come an have some one-on-one time with the child.
Dramatic Play Area
In this area I would have household items such as kitchen items and accessories, bedroom items such as beds, blankets, living room items such as couch and chairs, babies and dress up cloths. Each of these items would need to be taken into consideration in relation to the cultures of the children and their families. Babies would be of various ages, genders, and colors. Dress up cloths would represent different genders, cultures, and occupations. Even the kitchen items would need to represent the cultures of the children and those of other cultures. This area is a great place to explore the cultures of our families and those that we may encounter in life. I would discuss with families their decor and traditions when it comes to setting up their household to try to incorporate them into this area.
Group Area
In this area I would have carpet squares with children and their families on them. This would give children the opportunity to take ownership and responsibility in where they sit, and bring their family into our group times. This area would have a book of children in our class that we can use to see who is here and who is at home. It would have music that is representative of home cultures, and wall hangings that also represent the cultures of our families.
Sensory Area
This area would have different sensory activities that go along with what the children are interested in exploring. Whether that be water, sand, seeds, playdough, etc. I would ask families to share recipes and traiditions for this area to bring familiar items into the classroom as well as pieces of family culture.
Puzzles and Games
This area would have a mix of puzzles and games that are both representative of the cultures of our families as well as traditional games that families play. I would have puzzles made of the child's photos as well as puzzles that have pictures that represent other cultures and concepts making sure all are respectful and not tourist curriculum. I would also include a match game of faces of children in the care home. This would allow for discussion of similarities and differences as well as being interesting for the children whose faces are on the game pieces.
I would also incorporate other areas in to the daycare home, but they would probably have to rotate as I don't think I could fit anymore into my house. I would just ensure that families are a constant part of the care of their child and the set up of the center. To be anti-bias and culturally sensitive I would have to partner with families to ensure each is being represented equally and correctly.
Reference
Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. NAEYC. Washington, DC.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Start Seeing Diversity Blog: Creating Art
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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?
Monday, August 5, 2013
"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
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.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
"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.
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.
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