Diversity and Culture

Chanelle: She defined culture as the traditions, ideas, and customs that a group of people share. The group of people do not have to share the same race but share characteristics that are similar to each other. She stated that diversity means differences. These differences can be religion, ideology, customs, cultures, race and value.

Jay: Defined culture as way different races view the world and the ideas they hold. He defined diversity in the terms of different races and religions.

Sarah: She viewed culture as the unique characteristics associated with different groups of people. She gave an example about how different the culture of the South is when compared to culture in the North. She stated that diversity means differences. These differences can happen inside a single culture but are respected by all members of the society.

In my conversation with these three friends many examples of culture invisibility were given. Sarah discussed the culture of Mexicans as being only the language and food that they eat. This showed that she did not know much about the actual culture of the group of people and that there were many other unique characteristics to Mexicans.

In the definitions given the idea of how a group of people view the world was not given by any of the people I identified. 

The responses from these three people made me think of how people have their own working definition of what culture really is. Just like the people in our resource videos, these three thought of different alike but similar definitions of culture. I think that it is very important to understand the definition of culture because it is the first step in accepting diversity among different cultures. 

Family Culture

Family culture is very important to me. As a child, I was taught the importance of family and remembering the struggles my ancestors live through in order for me to enjoy the life I have today. My values and beliefs are not just my own but they were passed down from generation to generation.

My Perspective, Diversity and Equity course wants me to imagine that my family and I are survivors of a catastrophic incident. As a survivor we are being shipped off to stay in a foreign country completely different from my normal family culture. I am allowed to bring three items to remind me of my family culture. If my family and I were forced to leave this country and live in a place completely different from my culture it would not be hard to decide what three things I would take with me to preserve my family culture. I would take the family Bible, a picture of my great great grandparents, and a family quilt.

The Bible has been my key to life. I was taught using the Bible and I am currently training my children to live by the Word. Being in a foreign country could have a great effect of my family’s faith, but having the bible with us will remind us of our Christian beliefs. The picture of my great great grandparents would be a visual of my heritage. My grandmother would always tell me stories about her parents and I plan to pass these stories down to my children. The quilt I would take symbolizes my own children. I began to work on the quilt using clothes from my children. It is a way to remember their births and different mild stones in their lives.

If I had to choose which of the three items I would take with me if I could only take one it would be the Bible. I live by this book and anytime I need comforting or insight into my problems in life I can got to Bible. I was taught this as a child by my mom and grandmother.

I learned that many of my family values are in fact religious based and may not be so different as any other Christian of any other ethnicity. These values I have been taught are passed down and have been helpful to all generations of my family. 

When I Think of Research

After reflecting on all of the things that I have learned about research in this class, all I can say is WOW! Research is a very detailed and informative subject that provides so many people with different insights and data to help them understand and address issues that they may be experiencing, especially in the area of early childhood.  However, I have really enjoyed learning about the research process and hope that one day I will be able to conduct a research study of my own.

The resources, assignments, and discussions have allowed me to gain many insights on the topic of research.  When it comes to research there are many things that the research must consider and determine when approaching and addressing the problem at hand.  The researcher must carefully go through each step of the research process in order to determine some very important aspects which include the type of research, the research design, data collection methods, participants, and rules/ethics that must be applied throughout the entire study.  The researcher has a big job on their hands but have to remember it is all worth the work because of the impact that they will make on people in society.  Going through each week and learning about each part of the research process has made me feel differently about research.  I used to think that research was boring and took too much time, however, now I feel that research will allows the researcher to make an impact on people and develop solutions to problems that have been around for many years.  Just the thoughts of making an impact on the lives of children and allowing them to experience life in a positive way makes me want to share with everyone the benefits of research.

During this course the professor made sure that we were aware of different lessons that pertained to planning, designing, and conducting research.  Basically the researcher has to be patient and make sure that all research guidelines are followed and that they remain ethical throughout the process.  The researcher must also make sure that they carefully plan their study to make sure that it focuses on a specific problem as well as a specific population.  When it comes to designing the study, the research must make sure that every step has been addressed to make sure that no vital information is left out.  The researcher should also make sure that they have received consent from the participants and have explained every aspect of the study to keep from being deceitful and labeled as untrustworthy.  The lessons that I learned allowed me to get through my research simulation which was not an easy task.  While going through my research simulation, I experienced several challenges which were somewhat hard to overcome.  The one challenge that has given me trouble the entire time is the development of a topic and research question which is specific.  Every research question that I developed was deemed as broad and really made things frustrating for me.  Every time I changed the question, I was still stating it in a broad manner.  This is something that I have to work on in order to successfully complete my major assessment for this class.  This is a challenge that I am still facing and have not accomplished as of yet but hopefully I will be able to work through this challenge.             

This class has really opened my eyes to many of the issues that early childhood professionals, children, and families are experiencing.  This information has taken my perception of the early childhood professional to another level in which I am even more excited about becoming an early childhood professional and an advocate for children.  I feel that every child should experience a life where they do not have to deal with the problems that children are faced with today.  I want to be a part of this field and join forces with others to aid children in achieving the best education possible in order to develop into successful adults.   

As I close this blog and complete another class, I would like to thank the professor and my colleagues for such a wonderful time of learning.  I am so glad that I have such a supportive and motivating network of people, who are focused on the same goals and traveling the same road to success.  I wish you all the best of luck and I will see you all in the next class!

Research Around the World

After reading the directions for the blog assignment, I was excited to know that we were given the opportunity to explore different websites that allowed us to obtain information on research topics that were being conducted internationally.  We had to choose only one of the three websites that were listed so I decided to take a quick look at each of them to determine which website I would further explore.  After a quick search on each website, I decided to use the Early Childhood Australia website as the focus for this week's blog assignment.  This was the best choice I could have made because I was very pleased with the information that was shard on the website in which early childhood professionals could really benefit from the information that focuses on different issues and topics within the early childhood field.  

Just like any early childhood professional, Early Childhood Australia is an advocate for children in which the organization is developed to provide information on different topics, issues, and research in order to provide others, such as families and professionals, with quality information on the early childhood field.  Some of the quality information comes from different research topics in which the organization sheds light on different research that has been conducted in hopes of informing others about the studies.  One of the research topics that caught my attention was Early Childhood Flexibility Practices and Patterns.  This topic was a project developed by Early Childhood Australia that is funded by their government.  The purpose of the project includes the opportunity to detect groundbreaking practices that are being implemented or may have the possibility of providing flexibility the types of care families and children can receive, showcase how quality programs and services run effectively, and the identification of the different issues or problems that prevent the increase in flexibility through other sources (Early Childhood Australia, n.d.).  I feel that this type of research study will allow other childhood professionals the opportunity to address some of the issues and concerns that prevent them from becoming a high quality program.  IN addition, this will allow other programs to be reviewed to determine the path they need to take in order to provide flexibility in their practices and patterns that they develop.

As I continued to explore the website, I am across some other information that would definitely be valuable as I continue my journey to becoming an early childhood professional.  The new insight that I gained from the website was through the exploration of the supporting best practices section of the website.  Every early childhood professional wants to know the practices that exists that will allow them to better serve and provide resources to both families and children.  In this case, any professional can come to this website and view information on several best practices that include working with children of different ages, emotions and feelings of children, and their rights (Early Childhood Australia, n.d.).  This information can be considered noteworthy because the information I read in the different sections will allow me to become more informed on the different topics in which I will be somewhat knowledgeable on each of the topics.

References

Early Childhood Australia. (n.d.). Early childhood flexibility practices and patterns. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/projects/early-childhood-flexibility-patterns-and-practices.html.

Early Childhood Australia. (n.d.). Supporting best practices. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/supporting_best_practice/supporting_best_practice.html.

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

As an aspiring early childhood professional, I am willing to dedicate my life, time, and energy to helping children and impacting their lives in a positive way.  If had the ability to make things happen at the snap of my finger, no child in this world would experience any hurt, pain, stress, and would basically grow up feeling like they are on top of the world.  However, in the world we live in, children are placed in situations that they cannot control and have to deal with things that no child should have to go through.  Of all the things that I can name that a child experiences, I feel that child hunger is one that should not even be an issue.  According to Share Our Strength (2013), “48.8 million Americans - including 16.2 million children - live in households that lack the means to get enough nutritious food on a regular basis.  As a result, they struggle with hunger at some time during the year" (para. 2).  No child in this world should go with daily balanced and nutritional meals.  There is too much food in this world for children to go hungry and someone has to do something about it.  Therefore if I had the ability to conduct a study it would focus on the impact of hunger on children and ways to eradicate it.  

The focus of the study would be to show the world the harsh realities of child hunger and the fact that it is destroying the lives of children and negatively affecting society as a whole.  To see a child go hungry should not sit well with any human being who considers themselves a part of society.  Children are the most innocent human beings on this earth and deserve a fair chance at receiving the necessities of life.  The study would change the minds of every person in the world including the poor, middle class, the rich, the politicians, business owners, and every person that can make an impact on the lives of children will be affected.  This is an issue that cannot be changed by one person but the entire world.  According to the Food Effect (2014), “Fortunately, the issue is solvable. It will take a concerted, focused effort on the part of our society, our lawmakers, our charitable organizations and ourselves to feed our children and feed them well” (para. 2). 

Therefore in order to make positive contributions to the well-being of children and their families, I would have to get everyone on the same page and join the fight to end child hunger.  Once everyone is on the same page we would be able to make several positive contributions which would include no child going hungry, constant supply of foods, relieve of stress from families and children, uniting society as one, rebuilding the communities, and promoting the healthy development of children.  This will allow all children the opportunity to focusing on learning, enjoy life, and become productive citizens who are willing to give back to their communities.  In conclusion, my study will not talk about the situation of child hunger but actually do something about it.       

References

Share Our Strength.  (2013). Food insecurity. Retrieved from http://www.nokidhungry.org/problem/hunger-facts.

The Food Effect. All about hunger. Retrieved from https://www.thefoodeffect.org/all-about-hunger/.

My Research Journey

I am a person that loves to learn new things and seek new knowledge especially when it focuses on the well-being of children.  Since the beginning of this program I have been able to obtain information from many different sources that have given me an idea of the issues and problems that children, families, and early childhood professionals are faced with.  Also during my current course, I have been introduced to the research process and also given the opportunity to select a topic of interest that I have in regards to the early childhood field for my simulation.  After careful consideration of things that I have learned and resources I have read, I decided to select poverty as the topic for my simulation.  Poverty is situation that many children and families are living in which has a major impact on their lives as well as their development.  Living in poverty is very stressful for children in which it affects them in all areas of development.  This is a topic that every early childhood professionals should be informed on especially when it comes to the impact it can have on children academically.  Early childhood professional should be aware of the living conditions of their students and also be able to provide them with different resources and services that can help the families address their situation.  Basically my simulation will provide every early childhood professional with important information regarding how living in poverty effects a child socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically.  

The process of conducting research can be very difficult in which I must make sure that I keep my topic in mind at all times when going through the research process.  However, after being provided with information on how to identify scholarly resources, I feel more comfortable with selecting sources that will be used in my research.  In addition, I was able to gain an even clearer view of research by conducting the research chart in which I was able to identify different topics and terminology I did not understand and eventually convert it into information that is understandable.  I feel that going through each process individually and taking time to understand each part will allow me to successfully complete my simulation and have a stronger view and position on poverty and its effect on children.  I was also able to begin looking for resources on poverty in which I was able to identify several resources that will provide me with a great deal of information on poverty.  The articles I identified are as follows:

• The Effects of Poverty on Children retrieved from http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/07_02_03.pdf.
• The Effect of Child Poverty on Child Development and Educational Outcomes retrieved from http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=psycd_fac.
• The Impact of Poverty on a Child's Social and Emotional Competence retrieved from http://poverty.ucdavis.edu/policy-brief/impact-poverty-childs-social-and-emotional-competence.

I look forward to finding more information on this topic, learning more about research, and successfully completing my simulation.  I also look forward to sharing resources with my classmates and I encourage them to share resources with me as well as we continue to learn about the early childhood field.    

Networking in the Early Childhood Field

As I think about the experience I have had these last seven weeks, all I can say that it has truly been worthwhile.  The information that I have learned from my international contact has allowed me to view things in a different manner and has also informed me that children from all over the world are experiencing some of the same problems.  Stephanie has shared with me her views on the early childhood field and initiatives that the NAEYC has taken on to address the issues that the early childhood field is faced with.  I am honored to say that my international contact has basically given me that extra boost needed in order to achieve my ultimate goal which is to help improve the lives of children all over the world.      

As I reflect on the things I have learned and my experience networking with international early childhood professionals, I have developed several consequences of my learning on both a professional and personal note.

1. There are professionals all over the world that possess the same desire to address the negative issues that exist in the early childhood field in order to allow children to reach their full potential and develop into model citizens.
2. In order to become a quality early childhood professional I must make sure that I am aware of the issues, policies, and initiatives that currently exist within the early childhood field.
3. In order to make changes in the lives of children I must dedicated myself to a life to impacting as many children as possible and remember it’s not the number of children but the quality of the service. 

Communicating with Ms. Olmore has basically made my journey a little easier in which I know that there are many people out there already in the field waiting on new people to join in the fight for children.  However, as I continue my journey and work towards receiving my degree, I will always keep in the back of my mind the goal that I have to achieve which is:

1. To one day receive a position in the early childhood field that will allow to network with people all over the world in order to connect with them and develop a team that will be unstoppable and big enough to eradicate any issues that serves as a disservice to children.

 As I end my blog for this class I would like to leave you all with the following quote:

"I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!"

David Vitter, U.S. Senator

References

Compassion.  (2014). Famous quotes about children.  Retrieved from http://www.compassion.com/child-advocacy/find-your-voice/famous-quotes/.