Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Children learn from their environment. This includes how they view others in terms of race, gender, socioeconomic status. As a educator it is important to be aware of the differences among children and respond to their actions concerning different -isms. I also have to be aware and prepared to face my own personal challenges as a educator. I come from a racially divided town that is still separated by an invisible "track". Within the black sections, their are subsections that have their own unique characteristics. I was raised in "eastgate." It is known for poverty, crime, dropouts, and high birth rates. As an educator, I must be ready to face those predetermined stereotypes about my community and show how not all people fit the mold that society placed on that section of the town. I have to be prepared to handle my personal issues and not let them affect the way I interact with my students or parents. some parents may have questions or concerns that htey feel they could not address with me. I have to keep the lines of communication open so that they are able to talk to me and see me as an educator. This may not always be easy but I think educating not only the children but even the parents about the effects of discrimination and stereotyping could help with some of the assumptions of my neighborhood.

Observing Communication

This week's topic discusses observing communication. I observed the communication between my sister and her daughter. My niece and sister have a great relationship. They talk about everything and are very open about their feelings. During this observation, my niece was telling my sister about an incident that occurred at school. They were very open with each other about their feelings and my sister allowed my niece to express how she felt about the incident. My sister asked her probing questions so that my niece was able to think about her thinking and why she felt a certain way about the topic being discussed.
    My sister did a great job in communicating with her daughter. She supported her daughter's opinions and gave her the opportunity to express her ideas. This is very important when communicating with children (Laureate Education, 2011). My niece is a very outspoken child and this can be contributed to the encouragement my sister gives her to be herself and be proud of who she is and how she feels. My sister is an educator and she understands the importance of communication in young children. My observation of my niece and sister made me reflect on how I communicate with my own children. I often don't do a good job of supporting their opinions and allowing them to freely express themeself. I no realize how important that is after this week's lesson.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children:Communicating

            with young children. Baltimore, MD: Author

Creating Affirming Environments

When setting up the learning environment of an early education program it is very important for teachers to choose the toys, material, and equipment that ill invite exploration and discovery. I will choose things in which the child is able to see himself in the learning environment. My center itself (welcoming stations and offices) will have posters of different types of families including those from different ethical backgrounds. The way in which parents view the center is very important. The video in this week's resources showed how important it is to support and welcome families inside the program. They should be aware of the things that are going on in the center including the antibias curriculum. Parents and children will be able to relate to the families depicted. These visuals will also depict things such as stereotypes, disabilities, and other nontraditional families.

The materials I will use in my class will follow the same guidelines. My materials will be anti-bias and will include things such as books, music, puzzles, dolls, and drawing materials. I will encourage all children to participate daily in activities and to openly express their thoughts and feelings about different subjects. The timeout/quiet room was also a good idea for a center. When children get frustrated it is important as a teacher to support their feelings and allow theme to express them comfortably.

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.