My hope...

My biggest hope for the future is just to be able to make a difference in a child's or families life.  I have been taught so much in this last year or so, and with every class my heart just wants to go out there and do something to make a difference to someone.

I want to thank all my class members and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.  May each of you continue to make a difference in the lives of the children you are teaching and families you are helping.

Central & Eastern Europe-Commonwealth of Independent States

I didn't really have a reason for picking this particular region, I just chose one.  One of the first articles on the website was about children under the age of 3 being placed in an institution.  An estimated 31,000, just under the age of 3, are placed in institutions because of the family being either in poverty or in an emotionally stressful situation that they cannot handle.  Doing this places the children "at risk of severe developmental delays" (Call to action).

I think placing children at such a young age in an institution away from their families will cause some developmental delays in their emotional development.  Just because a family is in poverty doesn't mean we take away the kids, we need to find ways to help the family out of their situation.  I also feel that taking the children away will prevent them from building resiliency.

Another article stated that children with disabilities are also placed in institutions, away from their families.  I am not sure why institutions seem to be the answer for these countries.  I suppose they look at it as being a quick answer rather than really facing the problem head on.  Children with disabilities are people as well, and as the article states, "disabilities are not the impairments themselves, but rather attitudes and environmental barriers that result in disability" (Changing attitudes).

http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/media_21074.html

http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/media_21000.html

Prejudicial impacts on professional life

One of the first things that came to mind is that when I have experienced things in my past that may have me having prejudice feelings towards others, I may overcompensate so my true feelings don't come through.  For example, I have had bad experiences with men throughout my life, and so I am not very trusting of them.  I may overcompensate by overreacting with trust in order to hide my true feelings, if that makes sense.

On the other hand, I may also may be very blunt in my feelings, which will of course cause problems.  I think knowing what your prejudices and biases are, and either paying attention to how you react or even asking the opinion of others will help you when working with families and children.  I will be able to gain a better perspective and be more careful of my words and body language.

Early sexuality for children

I have been thinking and noticing that children dress way to sexy and provocatively.  It even bothers me when I see two or three year olds with mini skirts on because it makes me wonder how are they going to want to dress as they get older.

I have also witnessed two young boys, about ages 5-7, talking about seeing their parents having sex, and it didn't even phase them.  I was just in shock that it didn't seem to bother them.  Just walking around the mall, you see middle and high school girls leaning all over their boyfriends wearing tight and see through clothes and it just makes you wonder if they have any pride in themselves.

I think this has implications on both boys and girls.  The girls are taught that how they dress is how they will get noticed, and boys are taught to treat girls who dress provocatively a certain way.  There is one thing in teaching how to dress and look nice and another when looks take priority over everything else.

Working with diverse children

This class has been good and has opened my eyes to what many children have to face, such as poverty, war, and parents who are incarcerated.  Not only that, it has opened my eyes to my own biases and what I am willing and not willing to do to change these.  While there are some things I am willing to work on, some things go against my beliefs, but I hope that this will not impact my work with children.

I hope that when I work with children and families coming from diverse backgrounds I am able to make a difference.  I hope that I can show that families need to stick together, and regardless of your circumstances, you can still love and support your children.

A goal I have for the early childhood field is to try and focus more on those families that are having a hard start.  I have a friend with two children who just cannot seem to get a break.  I realize that it varies from state to state as far as what is offered, but it seems she can't get the help she needs.  And she just needs that boost to help her get on her feet and get on her own.  I would like to see more programs designed for these types of families.

Thank you so much-to the class-for your comments and support and I wish you the best of luck in your future classes and your work with families.

Why does that guy look like a lady??

I know my son has asked me questions where I have had to explain why he couldn't ask, at least not out loud like that.  Of course, because I had to think of an example for this, none came to mind!  So I asked a friend of mine if her nephew had said anything, and this is what she told me.

He had asked why that guy looked like a lady.  I asked what her response was, and she said she didn't say anything out of fear, because the lady looked "hard."

By not responding, or at least explaining later, it might have just left more questions for her nephew to answer.  Also, depending on her nonverbal language, if her face showed any fear, it might have stopped him from asking questions in the future, and instead just form his own opinions and biases.

In a classroom setting, a teacher could have explained that some people just look different, and we shouldn't judge others off of how they look masculine or feminine.

Farewell and Good luck

This class was great, although I wish I had communicated more with the instructor on some things going on with me.  Lesson learned for next time!  I enjoyed reading everyone's posts, and I look forward to the next phase of our education.  Good luck to everyone, and I hope to work with some of you in future classes!

Who I am as a Communicator

I was pleasantly surprised to see that those that rated me as a communicator came up with similar ratings as I did.  The one that was different, but in a good way, was the communication anxiety.  I rated myself as mild, but my friends and colleagues rated me as low.  This shows that I do not come off as nervous as I may feel.

My verbal aggression was rated as moderate, but this is something I would like to work on.  I know there are situations where my emotions get the best of me, and I need to work on that.  I would like to also work on communication as a leader, because I hope to become a child advocate leader someday.

Do I Communicate Well?

I think that I communicate about the same with people, regardless of their background.  This is not necessarily a good thing, I just realized.  I may speak to everyone the same way, without taking into account their culture.  I may inadvertently offend someone.  But as far as my behavior, I act the same around people.

I do however tend to communicate badly when I get upset.  In order to help combat this, I need to step back from the situation and really look at how bad it may or may not be.  I also need to remember to have respect for the other person, even if I don't feel like showing respect, I know I would be the bigger person to do so.

Communication

There are a couple people at work who communicate well.  Not only are they respectful, but when you go to ask them a question or just talk to them in general, they will stop what they are doing and give their full attention.  If they do have work to do, they will stop long enough to let you know, and if it the question is work related, they will help; if not, they make it clear, nicely, that the conversation will have to wait.

One thing I can't stand, whether at work or at home, is trying to talk to someone while they are giving something else their attention.  When you are not fully engaged with the person, then you are not really listening to what they have to say.

This is something I would like to work on.  Although I have eye contact while I'm talking or listening, I know I have to really listen well, really do active listening, so I look forward to practicing that while in this class.

Hopes, Dreams and Goodbye's

One hope I have for working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I give them a sense of belonging.  I want them to feel like they are part of the group, yet they are able to still keep their social identities, which makes them special and diverse to start with.

A goal for the early childhood community in regards to diversity and equity and social justice is to continue to put children's and families needs first.  We can put children and families first without compromising our beliefs, because in the end, we need to treat everyone as Jesus would anyway.  I know this is a challenge but it is one we need to meet.

I have enjoyed working with and watching my classmates grow this semester, and I wish everyone the best of luck in their future endeavors!

My Family from Chad

I have to think of 5 ways to prepare myself to be culturally responsive to my family from Chad.  The first thing I would do is conduct some research on the internet and at the library on the country of Chad.    Since there are so many websites, I will need to be careful which ones I really pay attention to. 

Once I have found out about the country, I would then look into finding out about the culture and how families tend to work in Chad.  I would also find out how the family structure works, so when I talk to the family, I will not disrespect anyone.

Once I have educated myself, I will then put pictures up of the country in the classroom, that way the students will also be a little familiar with the country and be more open to the new student.  Once the family arrives, I will then ask to have a meeting with the family in order to get to know them.  I will have a sheet for them to fill out, and if they do not yet speak English, if I am not able to find out the words I need, I will look at getting a translator.  

Educating myself on their culture and their country, and putting pictures around the classroom and talking to the students about Chad will not only help me to feel more comfortable around the family, it will also help to hopefully show the family that I care about them, which will then in turn open more doors of communication.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107403.html

Prejudice

Of course, when I need to come up with an example, my mind goes blank.  I  know I have seen instances where someone has been prejudice against someone because of their color or background, such as Asians or the elderly driving.  I have been with people who constantly mention someone's race or ethnicity when they are telling a story, and it makes me wonder why they had to mention it, because it had nothing to do with the story.

In all these instances, equity was diminished when a situation was based off someone's race rather than just that specific person.  I have caught myself in the past judging someone's actions based off their ethnicity or age.  I am more aware of myself doing that now, especially since I have had my son, so that he doesn't get into those same "habits" of judging.  Now, whenever I hear someone mentioning someone's race or ethnicity when telling a story, instead of listening to the story, I wonder why the person's background was even important, and depending on the person, I will ask them that.

I think in order to turn incidents of this type around into an opportunity of greater equity, first we need to educate that race or ethnicity doesn't matter, and to ask people to try and really get to know somebody before judging, or to watch what they say when they are telling about an things that have happened or that they have seen.

Microaggressions

I had noticed this week at work that a couple of my co-workers, whenever he talked about people, would mention their race.  If something happened at work, they would notice that one person would be treated differently, and this was automatically because of race.  Since I didn't know either of them that well, I just listened, but it made me wonder why when we talk about people in general, why race has to be mentioned?

I wonder if for some people it is just a natural part of their conversation, to mention someone's race, as if the other person would understand what they were saying better.  Whether or not we mean to say something, or mention a person's race during a conversation, we need to keep in mind the damage this may do to somebody, especially a child.

Definitions of Culture & Diversity

Some of the definitions of culture I received:  ideas, experiences, music, art, philosophy, etc, that are important to a group of people; shared unique customs, foods, music, etc that differentiate a group from another; can cross racial, ethnic and gender lines; it is learned and helps you to fit in with/belong to a certain group of people.


Definitions of diversity:  the variables that make us all uniquely different from one another; differences among individuals that could encompass, race, gender, religious preference, culture, customs, age, economic status etc., the opposite of segregation. if a group is diverse, there is more interest as each person can bring something different to the table.


Some of the culture definitions from my friends were similar to what the book stated, such as ideas, experiences, music, art, etc.  It is hard to say exactly what was left out, because culture encompasses us as a whole person.


As for diversity, the idea that what makes us each different is what makes us diverse was right on point.  I was pleasantly surprised at the definitions my friends had given; they actually had more ideas about culture than I did when I first started!

If I had to leave the country...

If my family and I were the only survivors of a catastrophe that hit the states, and we had to move to another country, only allowed to take 3 things that would represent our culture, I would take music, books and art.  The reason for this is because all 3 of these things can represent who my son and I are.  I would take some CD's (or my iPod, I guess), because that contains a variety of music that makes us feel good, laugh, and represents our religion.  Books and journals can tell our history, which is why this would be the one thing I would keep, if I had to get rid of the other two.  Finally, art can represent so much of who we are, that which we can't express in words.

This was a hard exercise, because it is hard to really narrow it down to just a few things.  It made me realize that I may know plenty about what I like to do, but as far as history and my background, I don't know really anything, which means my son will not know anything either.

Building Research Competencies

This class has definitely been a challenge, but in a good way.  I didn't realize how much really went into planning, designing and executing research.  There are so many things to be careful about, and it is very important to remember that you working with people, not just subjects.  Planning research takes a lot of time, effort and ethics. 

One challenge I had with doing my research simulation was keeping in mind that this was just research, and not the answer to what my research question was.  In my end state at first, I was trying to teach the parents who were not spending enough quality time with their children what to do, rather than just keeping in mind that this is just research.  So that was a little difficult.

I enjoyed the class, and I thank everyone for their comments on everything that we did.  Good luck to all of you in your future classes, and with your final simulation!

Early Childhood Australia

One thing I noticed on this particular early childhood website is that they have articles archiving back to 2002.  One particular issue that caught my eye was that children were being sent to a detention camp in Malaysia while trying to seek asylum in Australia.  This was in August 2011.  Early Chilhood of Australia chief executive Pam Cahir was trying to talk with the governor in order to put a stop to this, and give the children and their families another option while seeking asylum.  I didn't see any up to date articles on this particular issue.

The Australia website has many of the same resources as some of the American websites offer, to include issues with baby and toddler sleeping, school transition and childhood obesity.  They also offer a Being, Belonging and Becoming learning framework, which offers several different ideas and resources for different learning topics.  It seems as if this would be something good to incorporate while working with families:  http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/resource_themes/eylf_early_years_learning_framework.html#EYLF_Principle_1_Secure_respectful_and_reciprocal_relationships.

Along with the above learning framework, they have a few others, such as how to build confident learners.  I think these are great ideas, and something I will save in my resource guide.

Helping Low-Income Families

If I could research anything, I think I would focus on the effects of positive parenting classes and programs on low-income families.  This would be a long study, with starting out from birth to possibly marriage.  I would have several families that would have the opportunity to attend these classes on a regular basis, and would (hopefully) have families participate that decided not to have the parenting class. The benefit I would hope to gain is to show that more programs need to be available for low-income families, and to show low-income families the benefits of really taking part in their child's life.

Typing it out it doesn't really seem like much of a study, and I am sure it has been done before, but this is something I would like to focus on.  Not just for low-income families, but parents in general, and the benefit of spending more time with their children.

Family time and emotional development

I chose this topic for my simulation because I believe that parents may not understand just how important spending time with their children really is for their child's development, especially emotionally.  I really would like to do more research on this topic, so I can feel more educated about it when discussing it with family members.

I have enjoyed reading some of the articles I have found so far, one of which I will use at home, in order to help Matthew with understanding and recognizing his emotions.  The hardest part for me so far is just being able to really concentrate and put it on paper what I am finding and reading about.  Any advice with this would be helpful!

The research chart has been helpful in really understanding the terms we have been reading.  I like how it is organized, and how we have to put the definitions in our own words, which makes it easier to understand.  Reading about the research process in general has been interesting as well.  How is everyone else doing with the readings?  I do wish we could actually do a research project, with watching children, but I understand why we won't be able to.  Maybe in the future we can find someone who is working research and would allow students to help.

International Connections

There are several positive consequences, both professional and personal, that came from talking and connecting with my international colleagues.  One is that I learn about a different country.  I can actually talk to and hear from someone that over there right now, living and working with children, and can tell me how they are working to improve children's lives in their country.  Another positive outcome is that I get to meet someone new, someone with the same goals and passion that I have.

I would like to have an international organization for children and families that can really help to change how we support and take care of our children.  Many countries have support systems for healthcare and single parents and other types of programs that are really truly helpful, and if we could not only just listen and learn about these programs, but also find a way to implement them here in the US, that would be progress.

More about the Children's Defense Fund

This whole website is relevant to developing my profession as an early childhood educator.  The research library will help me to stay up to date on current issues and trends.  The CDC has conferences, where I can network and continue to grow and learn.  They have ways in which I can get involved, which will help me to make a difference in a child's life that I might not even be able to meet.

One part of the website that really had me thinking about poverty was a new series on Children of Hard Times.  With this, there are many stories about children living in poverty.  In one state, Ohio, families that receive temporary assistance need to work community service hours while they are waiting for a job.  I think this is a great idea.  Unfortunately, the system has its flaws, and the one family I read about had to wait 3 months before they could receive any money again.  This is something that other states should look into; not only the community service, but maybe making sure that families are not unnecessarily being "punished" for something.

The CDF works with many different politicians, from the local to state to national level, in order to help out children.  They include research from neuroscientists and economists in their research library as well.  The CDF has many good resources, and I look forward to learning more about this organization with each future newsletter.



http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/ending-child-poverty/children-of-hard-times-9.html

Children's Defense Fund

This month in the newsletter the first headline was about inequities for children.  I liked the one line:  children only have one childhood.  So true, and so sad when you think of what some of their childhood's are like.  Below is the link to this month's newsletter:

http://cdf.childrensdefense.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=26401.0&dlv_id=26061

There were not too many outside links on the website.  Some of the outside links were just to give more information on different groups and organizations that support the CDF.  The only other ones I found were links to the foundations that support the CDF.  I looked at the W.K. Kellogg foundation, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the founder set up this foundation specifically to help children.  I didn't know that this foundation existed, and now I have an even better reason to continue buying their cereal!  They do offer grants, so this is something I will keep in mind for later.

http://www.wkkf.org/Default.aspx?LanguageID=0

The section I chose to read more about was on Early Childhood Education and Care.  The CDF is now pushing for all kindergarten's to go to full day care.  My concern with this is that they want our children to "be able to compete in this global economy."  This should not be our first concern with our children.  That is putting pressure on them that they don't need.  If they switch to full time daycare, is play still going to be a major factor?  What about outside play time?  Or is the focus going to be academics?

Also in this section was information about the fiscal year 2012 budget, and how many of the programs, to include Head Start, received an increase in funding.  Also, President Obama announced that there will be more competition for grantees in the Head Start program.

In the newsletter the first headline was 7 Actions for 7 Days, which talked about what we can do everyday for 7 days to help child poverty, hunger and homelessness.  However, there was no link, so I will email and find out more about this.

On the website, there is a video of a girl that went from Head Start to Harvard.  I think this applies to what we learned this week about immigrant families, because her father came to this country without speaking English and came to work and take care of his family.  And when he picked his daughter up from head start. she was always excited about what learned and the projects they had done in class.  I think this would be a great example to others for why you should put your child in head start.

http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/early-childhood-education-care/

I learned this week that there are many organizations out there working towards helping children and their families.  I think I will look and see if there is a CDF organization in my state so I can start being involved.  There was not anything on children from immigrant families that I could find.  And I am concerned about the full day kindergarten and what impact this will have on play.

UNICEF Contact

I finally had someone reach me from UNICEF.  Her name is Mariavittoria, and she is the Education Officer for 24 countries in the WCARO region.  She has sent me a link with some interesting reports and facts about the children living in poverty over there:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/reports/2007-early-childhood/

The poverty line for families is $1 a day, and most families do not even make this much.  I can't imagine living with only that much, even in an underdeveloped country.  I have emailed her back and asked her a few more questions, this time along the lines of equity in the early education field.  I am excited that she has emailed me back, and I look forward to hearing from her again.

Poverty

I was astonished at the number of children and families living in poverty here in South Carolina.  You can't help but wonder what is really being done to help families?  When the state average is above the national average, then something isn't right.

Listening to the World Forum Podcast, Susan Lyon was speaking.  She brought the Innovative Teacher Project from Italy to San Francisco (http://www.innovativeteacherproject.org/).  She started working with children at the age of 22, with children with disabilities and emotional problems.  One of the children in her 1st grade class really made an impact on her.  When trying to teach him the word "city," he responded "such a small word for such a big place."

What Susan liked about the project above is that it portrayed a progressive image of children.  She also liked the 100 Languages of Children.  Susan wanted to prove that this kind of public work can really make a difference.

In addition to the podcast, I also read about poverty in India.  In 2001, out of 1.03 billion people, 260.2 million lived in poverty.  Over the last several decades, India has tried to reduce the number of families in poverty by increasing economic growth and providing "participatory and empowerment based approaches."  Although this has helped to reduce the number of families in poverty over time, the number today is still high.  As for the children living in poverty, it is difficult for India to place these 33 million children into primary school, and just as difficult to keep the children there.

http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=countryo#11


My eyes have really been opened to the number of children and families living in poverty.  I see all these programs that are around to help families by giving them food and shelter, but it seems as if something more needs to be done.  I have been thinking quite a bit on what else can be done, something to educate families and parents...hopefully I will be able to come up with something to contribute and make a difference.

Children's Defense Fund

The Children's Defense Fund is a nonprofit organization that has been around for about 35 years.  Its focus is to advocate for children and youth, particularly those in low poverty, minorities and children with disabilities.  Their mission is to make sure "no child is left behind," and that each child receives the head start they deserve in life.

The organization has a monthly newsletter that can be emailed.  The main issue that was brought up in December's newsletter was the lack of funds for early childhood education, and that with people in Congress are worried about the federal budget and the deficit, and therefore education is taking a backseat, and the children are the ones who are hurting.  To me it seems as if people do not realize that our children are our future presidents and Congressmen/women, and what are we doing when we are not putting them first right now?

In regards to how this article relates to changing demographics in the early childhood education field, the article did state that one in three African American boys and 1 in 6 Latino boys will end up in prison during their lifetime, and the implied reason was lack of education.  The Children's Defense Fund will be holding a convening in July to discuss this topic as well as many others, and what we can do as advocates and professionals to make a change.

http://cdf.childrensdefense.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=26081.0&dlv_id=0

Early Childhood Education Around the World

I picked about four different countries to try and contact other early childhood educators, from the list given by the Global Alliance of NAEYC.  I am hoping that I will be able to get in contact with one of them, and am trying stay optimistic about that.  I didn't realize that there were so many educators around the world, and I think that is great!  So I am really keeping my fingers crossed that I hear back.  If not, then I will try and access the podcasts that were given to us in our class.  I am going to wait a few days though, I figure some of the countries may not have access to the internet on a regular basis.

As for the websites that we were able to choose from, I chose the Children Defense Fund in order to learn more about it, what its purpose is, and anything else I can find out.  I know it is about giving children a head start in life, and I would like to see the ways in which this program does that.

I have to say, I didn't realize there were so many websites and organizations around the world working towards helping our children.  Hopefully we can make a difference with everyone working together the way they are.