What I Have Learned

      When working with children of diverse backgrounds, I hope that I am able to make them feel comfortable in the classroom. I hope that they are able to accept their diversity and open to sharing with others in the class about their families.

      In the field of early education, I hope that curriculum inside the class will focus not only on intellectual growth but on social issues that are faced daily. Children must be taught how to live in the world together with respect and love for all. 

    I would like to thank all my colleagues who supported commented on my post, left thoughtful insights, and shared their thoughts on the different subjects throughout the course. I also wish the best of luck to you all as we end this class and start the next!

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: Creating Art

These pictures represent the way I see cultural diversity. 

We Don't Say Those Words in Class

   I can recall a trip that my children and I took to Washington, D. C. This was the first trip I had taken them on outside of the south. They were so excited about going. Before we left, we discussed the different things that we would see including the buildings and historical places. It never crossed my mind to discuss the culture differences that they would experience. On our first day there, I had to go to the mall to get some items that I had forgotten to pack. As I hurried through the store, my youngest as mesmerized at how big the mall was and more amazed at the people. She began to say things like "O Mama! What language are they speaking?" and "O Lord! That black man is kissing that white woman." Quickly, I cupped my hand over her mouth because she speaking loud enough for everyone to hear her. I scolded her and was very upset with her.
  I now realize that she was simply not accustomed to the diversity that can be seen in bigger cities. She had never really heard different languages and experienced interracial dating. My reaction made her feel as if she had done something wrong by merely pointing out some differences. An anti-bias educator would have used this moment to teach diversity and how different areas of the country have different characteristics. This was also a chance to discuss interracial dating and the diversity of some students in the class.

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

I am torn between my opinion of including books dealing with sexual orientation in early childhood centers. One side of me feels that sexual orientation is a natural occurrence that most children that young have not considered and that including books like that would only confuse them more. On the other hand, there are many children who live in homes that may have two moms or two dads. Because of this, I think that it is important to educate all children about society and how families come in different ways. Including books like this will also help a child who live in a homosexual household. They will feel accepted and not different because of the sexual orientation of their parents. I compare this also to children who come from single parent homes. These children are embraced and this type of family unit is taught in early childhood curriculum.; therefore families that have two moms/dad should be shown as a type of family in today's society. 

I have experienced a situation in which an adult called a small child "gay." This irritated me and I automatically went into defense mode for the child. I asked the adult what made him say these things and how he would have felt if he was in that child's position. The things that the child was doing were inappropriate (playing with baby dolls, putting on girl jewelry, and women shoes) for a little boy; but instead of insulting him with name calling, I told the adult that it would be more effective to tell him/teach him  what little boys should do. I think that this situation itself did not effect the young boy because he had no idea what "gay" meant. From that point on, I began to teach gender specific things such as women wear high heels, and little girls wear costume jewelry. 

Collaboration Appreciation

This has truly been a great 8 weeks! I have enjoyed reading the posts and personal experience of each of my classmates. I am very appreciative of the feedback that I have gotten on my blog and in the discussions. I have learned so much about communication and the need for effective communication.

 I hope that I have said something that will inspire each of my classmates to continue of the this journey of education. I know that I have learned things about myself that will help me as I aspire to be a educator in this field.

I hope that your journey here continues to be successful and that we get the opportunity to EFFECTIVELY communicate again in the future.

Adjourning

Sometimes we become members of groups that are effective and efficient. These groups are often hard to say goodbye and are very rare in life. I have had the privilege of being parts of groups that I wish I did not have to say goodbye to. The adjourning part of team development was emotional. I was a volunteer at a soup kitchen. During this time I worked with a team to provide meals to less fortunate people. I enjoyed every minute of it. We faced some difficult times during the summer but the team I was working with made it worth while. At the close of the program, I was recognized as a shining star. This made me feel so special and made it even harder to say goodbye.
Leaving a team can be just as hard as being part of a team. I think as I finish my courses here at Walden leaving my team will not be as hard but will always be apart of me as I continue my career and education and as professional educator.

Resolving Conflict

I recently had a conflict with a close friend of mine. I asked her to help with a church program that I was unable to attend. I did all the behind the scene work and communicated with her throughout the process. She never said that she had a problem with helping but when it was time for to print the programs she came up with every excuse. This really made me mad and I have not really talked to her since. After this week's lesson I hope that the skills I have learned in conflict resolution will help me mend my friendship. The skills taught in the Third Side article may be effective her because I may need to look at it in a different way and hope to find a resolution so that our friendship can be saved.