Reflecting on Learning

 

My most passionate hope for the future as an early childhood professional is to be successfully. I want for every child and family that I encounter to leave my class and presence with a better sense of themselves and the world around them. I want those who I come across to have learned ways to become better people and better educated. If this only happens to one child and family, then I will have succeeded in my goals.

I am one course away from graduating and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with each and every one of my fellow Walden colleagues. This journey has been a roller coaster and what got me through a lot of the courses is realizing that we are need in our profession to help others discover their goals. Thank you everyone for allowing me to grow personally and professionally with you, and if this is my last note to you, I want you to truly know how much I appreciate all of your input, comments and believe. It has made me a better professional and person. So Thank You.

Impacts on Early Childhood Development

 

I area of the world I chose to share is West and Central Africa. I chose this region because being an African American woman professional I would like to know what it would be like to teach and learn from their point of view. One of the places on my bucket list is to travel to Africa, and when I do, I want to visit every possible school type system possible.

One of the first challenges I noticed was how the children of the region have medical issues that have been cured or handled such as polio, AIDS and everyday things such as maternity services. Another challenge is food. The lack of food to feed the families and children plays a major role in their lives.

These experiences can affect the children in many different ways. When it comes to their emotional well being, the lack of health care and food, could make them feel as though they are not good enough to be healthy if they see others eating and getting better. If their family or themselves could not find ways to live their day to day lives as “normal” as possible it could cause them to have low self-esteem or not find value in their lives.

A professional reflection I have gained is that on a professional standpoint the children of Africa are lacking in the developmental department. This development could be emotional and cognitive. As a society or even just merely in our profession not matter where the child is, we should want to figure out ways to better the child. This website influenced me to continue to reach my goals, because I have the ability to be more to just one child.

My personal reflection is that children around the world need me. I know that sounds impossible, but it is not. Who is it know if one of the students that I provide anti-bias education to won’t be the next Ghandi? The insights I gained from looking through this website is that not one country is perfect. Every country needs becoming better. The answer I look to find is what generation will it be to make the greatest contribution to the society.

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

My reaction to sexualization is like a light bulb going off. I did not realize there were separate words for the idea of sexuality. From the society we live in which makes the idea of sex such a glamour idea, it seems as though children are confusing the notion of healthy relationships with bad relationships. The notion of sexualization, which has to do with treating other people and oneself as objects of sexual desire, is becoming more common in today’s society.

One example of sexualization I overheard was early this week at school. A couple of 2^nd grade girls were discussing how sexy they were going to be for their husbands one day. It gained my attention because instead of these girls talking about what they want to be when they grow up or the latest show on Disney, they are talking about being sexy.

Another example of sexualization is looking through my personal facebook and seeing all of my friends post pictures of their 3-5 year olds, who are dressed like 20 year olds and even worse wearing make-up and fake nails like grown women.

The last example is of some guys thinking that women are only there for their sexual desire. This is best shown in bars and or clubs. Some men don’t go to find a woman of their dreams; they are looking for someone pretty and willing to have sex. This situation can be a very sad thing to watch and be victim of.

Examples like this may have negative implications on children’s sense of healthy development. Children may view themselves only on the notion of sex instead of actually viewing their self worth being and its value. Children could view today’s media as being the norm and once it’s time to have a realistic relationship they end up learning the hard way that it is not the same, which could lead to unhealthy developments.

This week’s topic helped raise my awareness that sexualization is not the same as sexuality and or sex. This clarification will help me in the long run know how to hand the different situation I may come across.

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practices

The consequences that I expect to have when dealing with children and their families will be straight to the point. An –ism I anticipate encountering is sexism. For example if a group of boys don’t let a girl or two participate in their play time because they are girls, then I would have to intervene and explain why it is okay for boys and girls to play together.

As the youngest of 3 kids and the only girl, my brothers never let me use being a girl as an excuse. They coached me in softball and basketball, and they always told me that I was the best. And when I would try and use being a girl as an excuse to be lazy and not finish my workouts or drills, they would tell me that I could do anything that a boy can do and maybe even better.

So when it comes to consequences for the children and families in our environment when it deals with sexism, the consequence will be to have the child do a book report, on the opposite sex showing the role that sex plays in society. For the families of the children who enter the environment with misconceptions, I would simply just ask them to put themselves in the other sexes’ shoe and evaluate the problem or issue in that manner.

As a female in a profession that is majority female, it is great to see male professionals teaching and providing great role models for young boys. It is an encouraging experience, and I am glad to be a part of it.

 

Observing Communication

There is this little at my school that is in his first year of preschool. He is somewhat of a trouble maker and his preschool teacher doesn’t know how to handle him. So just about every day he is being sent out of the classroom. One of my colleagues though has learned how to calm him down and get him to do as his teacher ask of him. I have noticed that Ms. Shockey doesn’t get mad at Michael; she tries to do more comforting. Ms. Shockey always starts the conversation by asking him what the problem was and asks him how he handled it. She then proceeds to tell him that if he wants to attend school like his big brother, that he is going to have to learn how to listen to his teacher. My favorite thing to do when Ms. Shockey is having these conversations with Michael are how calm and quiet. She never threatens him or seem to make him feel embarrassed. She just talks to him, which seems to reach him better, then when his teacher constantly yells at him.

I think the communication between Ms. Shockey and Michael is very effective. It is almost like he knows that she is there to help him and not get him into further trouble. She has opened up her arms and ears to him and told him at anytime he needs a hug or just to talk to come and find her.

Just from the way Michael acts when he sees or converses with Ms. Shockey, I know that she has made a positive influence on him. I think even though Michael’s teacher doesn’t show a caring side with him, he knows that Ms. Shockey does. She may have even provided a strong beginning in his career in school. It seems as though he now knows that not every teacher is mean and shows affection. He knows that there are nice, friendly and affectionate teachers in the building.  

The interaction that I see constantly between Ms. Shockey and Michael remind me that some children may need more than just education when they walk through your doors. They may also need extra special attention which could consist of hugs, smiles and maybe even hand holding.  I take the observation from these two and keep it fresh on my “useful information” list I have.

This week I have learned that my passion for early childhood truly is more than the lesson plans. I know this because seeing a child scarf down 2 bananas and 2 milks because they didn’t receive dinner the night before really makes me sad and strive to help these kind of children in any way possible. Even if helping children mean coming out of my personal pocket to provide a “snack closet” in my classroom. I want to be able to positively affect every child I encounter in some way of fashion. I will listen to children not only with my ears, but with my heart as well. I will do everything in my power to be a positive outlet for the many different students I will come across.

Creating Affirming Environments

    In my own Family Child Care Home, I would be mindful of the type of things I want the children to learn and how they learn everything. I would do a theme such as a jungle theme where monkeys, snakes and such would be everywhere to promote a different type of thinking or environment where learning may take place. I would like for there to be tables which have crayon boxes of all colors on them so that each child can choose what color they prefer. In the center of the room would be the desk or most commonly used learning positions. I would also have a carpet which would allow children to join together to have meetings and conversations.

    The walls would be full of inspirational posters and helpful reminders, and there would be posters that contained daily helpful hints. Those posters would include the multiplication tables, or the Pronoun chart, and comprehension tools. I would make sure to provide a location for a library. Where I would include books of all genres with many different cultures represented.

    I would be sure to provide a curriculum that has themes of self-discovery, family and community (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010).  I want the children to draw pictures of themselves and what they want to be and of what their family at home look like and to explain them. I would also like for them to draw their favorite place to go outside and what are some things they would find there. I would be sure to explain to the class as a whole that a family can look like anything not just a mommy and daddy and such. I want to make sure every child is comfortable with expressing themselves.

    I have created my environment by reading through the suggestions of the reading materials and realizing that even your classroom presentation can show your biases. I have an idea of what I would want my classroom to look like from the colleagues I work with it. Some of my colleagues’ classrooms are not very inviting with not much on the walls and then there are those that just seem so warming and welcoming. That is the kind of classroom I want to have.

 

Reference:

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).

What I Have Learned

My hope that I have for children and families that come from a diverse background, is to create several learning environments to where they feel as though they are at the utmost importance no matter what their circumstance. I want to give everyone that I come across the motivation to be a better person in all aspects of live.

I would like to set a goal for the early childhood field to put aside each and every bias the professionals may come across and be better people, and educators for children and families to look up to. We as professionals set the standard for expectations and how can we expect others to succeed if we ourselves are not successful.

I want to say thank you to all of my colleagues here at Walden and at my Elementary. Being that I am so young in this profession, I truly can say I am learning a lot day by day. I wouldn’t change anything about my experiences. Thank you all for helping me grow into a more aware professional. This journey will soon come to an end for me, yet the everyday experiences will remain near and dear to me. Again thank you.