Reflecting on Learning

My most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional is to be the best anti-bias educator possible. I want to provide the best education to all young children, no matter what their disabilities, ethnic backgrounds, and family structure may be. I also hope that I use the best strategies when working with children and their families.

To my colleagues,

Thank you for your feedback and advice on my blog and discussion assignments. As we continue on our journey in the early childhood education field, I hope that our knowledge regarding working with children enhances and make us better professionals. I wish the best for each of you and hope that you achieve your goals.

Farewell......

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

West and Central Africa is the area I chose to share with my colleagues.  I 

chose this area because I wanted to learn the many challenges that children face in this region. I also wanted to share my findings with family and friends who are professionals in the field. 

The challenges that the children are facing in this region is very uncomfortable to discuss. Some of those challenges include sexual abuse and violence in the school environment. School is suppose to be one of the safest place for our young children. Children in the region are also being abused and exploited in many ways: child trafficking, child labor, children in armed conflicts, children victims of harmful traditional practices (UNICEF, 2011, para, 2). How unfortunate is this? How can the children concentrate with all of this going on?  Poverty is also a challenge that the children face. Poverty and traditional beliefs keep 40% of children out of school (UNICEF, 2011, para, 2). The children in this region are dying rapidly due to various diseases and malnutrition. 

Indeed, these experiences will have an effect on children's emotional well being and development. It will be difficult for children to concentrate on their academics. Children will be afraid to socialize with others which will result in unhealthy relationships. 

Personal and Professional Reflection

I am very saddened by the challenges that the young children are facing in this region. It is unfortunate that a large percentage of children in this region do not live to see their 5th birthday. Not only are children facing these challenges in West and Central Africa, but they are facing them in every parts of the world. I would more than likely be very sensitive to children who are experiencing this in my classroom. I would be eager to build relationships with families to help children cope with their experiences. But I cannot help but wonder, what if the parents feel that they do not need any help? Any suggestions colleagues?

Reference

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/english/overview_4544.htm

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The Sexualization of Early Childhood

I am really happy to finally have a discussion about sexualization. I have always felt that the media, industries, and others influence children's identities and what they deem to be the appropriate way to be and behave. Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media and popular culture (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009, p. 2).


Three examples of the issue:

I had a conversation with my 5 year old nephew a couple of days ago about girls. He stated, "Pretty girls wear makeup and short skirts." I asked, "Why do you say that? Do you really think girls have to wear makeup and small clothing to be pretty?" He replied, "Yes! That's how the girls dress on the cartoon I watch. They always have on makeup and the boys like them. The girls who don't wear make up are ugly."

I enjoy spending the weekends with my nieces and nephews. They are full of surprises and I learn a lot from their behaviors. One day, two of my nieces were in the living room playing with their toys. While in the kitchen washing dishes, I noticed the room became very quiet and I could hear Beyonce's, "Drunk in Love" song playing on the television. I walked in the living room and saw the two of them singing the words to the song and begin grinding on the floor. They were trying to do every dance move and movement that Beyonce made.

Lastly,

While browsing on Facebook, I saw two girls "twerking" to a rap song. The two girls appeared to be about 5 years old and seemed to enjoy the attention they were receiving from their loved ones. I overheard adults in the background saying, "That's my baby! Show them how it is done!" The girls had on tight, short shorts and shirts that showed their stomachs.

Indeed, this is very unhealthy to children's development. Children will assume that dancing sexually, wearing makeup, and tight clothing is acceptable for young children. Children may feel that they are not worthy or good enough if the do not mimic what they see on television. I would communicate to children that this type of behavior is unacceptable. I would further discuss the importance of respecting ourselves as young women and men and to respect others as well.

My awareness of sexualization has definitely been influenced. I am more encouraged to teach young children to love and appreciate themselves and not be influenced by certain things that they view on television, social media, and others. Also, I find that it is important that I set a positive example for young children by wearing clothing that is appropriate.

And by the way, I instantly turned the television channel when I saw my nieces dancing inappropriate.I told them that this type of dancing is bad for young children. I encouraged them to continue to play with their toys and focus on being little girls.

Reference

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Professional Practice

Indeed, ism(s) that we experience can impact our lives. We often times do not realize that our past and present experiences with those ism(s) can affect our work as professionals. It is important to reflect on ourselves and focus on being fair and positive role models to all of the children that we work for. Although there are multiple dimensions to an engaging learning environment, teachers are the single most influential factor (Burnett, 2008, p. 185).

The one specific ism that I can recall experiencing was racism. A young, Caucasian woman I use to work with disliked me because of the color of my skin. I asked her several times for guidance about responsibilities on the job and she refused to help me. She would make statements such as, "Oh, I'll help you later." or "I am busy right now, ask someone else." At first, I did not understand her frustrations towards me until I over heard her conversation with one of her friends, "I hate that John hired the black girl in the front. I am thinking about finding me another job because I refuse to work with them." I was devastated. Until this day, she never knew that I heard her conversation. However, I continued to be nice to her and figured out how to accomplish my responsibilities on my own.

This experience will and has affected my work with young children. As an African American woman, one would conclude that I would be more sensitive to black children. However, I am more sensitive to Caucasian children, especially since the classrooms that I have worked in were predominately black. I find myself paying more attention to the white students than the blacks. Reason being is that I noticed that some of the white children felt a little uncomfortable and distance themselves during activities and play time. As a result, some of the African American students felt unappreciated and felt that I was being unfair. In fact, this made them dislike the white children even more.

Reference

Burnett, N. (2008) Education for all: An imperative for reducing poverty. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 43 (2), p.181-187.