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.

Observing Communication

Observing others is a very powerful tool. It allows you to recognize positive and negative outcomes of situations. This week, I observed a mother and daughter communicating at a park. The daughter appeared to be around 2 years old. The mother asked the child various questions such as, "Do you want to walk over here? Do you want to play on the swing? Are you having fun? Are you too hot?" The child responded by shaking her head either yes or no while running around her mother laughing and playing. She seemed very happy and safe while interacting with her mother. The mother would smile whenever she talked to her and the child smiled back.

What I noticed and learned about their communication was that the child was engaged with the conversation because the adult's body language was positive. One of the connections I made between my observation and the learning resources was that asking young children questions makes for effective communication strategies. However, the communication would have been more effective if the mother had asked questions that require more than one word answers. Questions that promote children's thinking require children to think beyond one word responses to make connections, compare, and hypothesize (Rainer Dangei and Durden, 2010, p. 78).  Another connection I noticed is that adults should talk to children directly. A behavior that help you give the baby clear messages include speaking directly to the baby (Kovach and Da Ros-Voseles, 2011).

I believe the communication that I observed influenced the child's self worth a great deal. The child more than likely felt appreciated because of the attention she was receiving. This observation also compares to the way I communicate with children because I often ask children questions to challenge their thinking. I ask questions in a positive manner so that they will feel comfortable answering them. Further, I have learned that my communication with children is fair but it could be better. In one of the readings, I have learned that acknowledging the child's name and talking to them before touching them should be considered (Kovach and Da Ros-Voseles, 2011). I will definitely use these insights to improve my communication with young children.

                                                                      References

Kovach, B., & Da Ros-Voseles, D. (2011). Communicating with babies. YC: Young Children, 66(2), 48-50.

Rainer Dangei, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81. 

An Affirming Environment

If I had my own Family Child Care Home, I would make sure that all families feel welcome. First, I liked the idea that Adriana greeted the children and their families outside of the home. Many child care centers and homes that I have been to do not greet their children outside. By using this idea in my setting, I believe the families will feel welcome, wanted, and appreciated. In addition, I also liked how Adriana used a poster of the families titled, "Our Family Community," (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). The children will feel comfortable if they saw images of their loved ones in the home. I think this will really help the children transition as they leave their families and will also show them pictures of other families.

I will also create personalized books of the children and their families. Books can focus on a theme ('We All Have Families: Our Families are different," (Derman-Sparks and Edwards, 2010, p. 45). I believe this will grasp the children's attention as they will discover images of themselves and their families inside of a book. I will make sure that the books are very colorful because it amazes young children. 


                                                                       References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and                               ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).   

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Welcome to an anti-bias            learning community. Baltimore, MD: Author

Final Thoughts

Is it that time already?? Time sure does fly when you are having fun!

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is eliminating any biases that will effect my work as a professional. I now understand the significance of reflecting on my personal biases and finding ways to overcome them. Also, one goal I would like to set for the early childhood field is for all professionals to present fairness and treat everyone equally. We often stereotype others based off thoughts of family and friends. The media and society play a huge role as well.

Lastly, I would like to thank each of my colleagues for your inspiring words on my blog and discussion post. Each of you are very strong individuals and I hope that you continue to work towards giving our children the best education possible.

Photo Collage

In this course, I have learned a great deal of valuable information about bias and how it affects children's identities. I will share the key highlights in a photo collage:

In the media segment, we heard how Tina 's thoughts about race was influenced by her family. Her parents did not approve of her interacting with children of color and she could not understand why.

Because of this, Tina was left confused. This interfered with her later in life, as she used a term that was disrespectful to the African American race.

Also, in the media segment, I was very touched by Quinn's story. His father abused him often, leaving him with emotional scars that could last a lifetime. Because of his abuse, Quinn's behavior begin to change and he became very violent. Children who experience child abuse struggle with low self-esteem and a profound "sense of inner badness," which often leads the child to engage in behavior that is not congruent with true self (Reyome, 2010, p. 225).

Quinn mentioned that the abuse left him lonely and afraid. I am sure Quinn felt that he was alone in the world and unprotected.

I have comprehended that young children's book can be very bias. These books rarely show images of African Americans as heroes/heroines. The books also depict beautiful people as nice and unattractive people are shown to be evil. 

Another key highlight for me is the importance of defining family. We define family as any relatively stable group of people bound by ties of blood, marriage, adoption, or by any sexually expressive relationship; or who simply live together, and who are committed to and provide each other with economic and emotional support (Schwartz & Scott, 2007, p. 3). I learned that many families are diverse and have close relationships with people who are not blood related.  It is important to respect the people who children consider family. 

                                                                      References

Reyome, N. D. (2010). Childhood emotional maltreatment and later intimate relationships: Themes from the empirical literature. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 19, 224–242.

Schwartz, M. A., & Scott, B. M. (2007). Marriages and families: Diversity and change (5th

             ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Don't Say Those Words!

I can recall when I silenced one of my nephews because of a question that he asked concerning someone. He asked, "Why is that little girl so fat?" I blurted with anger, "Be quiet and do not say anything else!" I was upset and embarrassed by his question because the little girl was watching him, as he began to point his finger at her. After watching him pointing at her, she held her head down with sadness. I believe the messages that he received from my response included: that was not a good question to ask, I should keep my comments to myself, never question why a child is a certain size, and I can get in trouble if I ask the wrong questions. Looking back at it now, I should not have responded that way.

I believe one way an anti-bias educator could respond to this situation is by explaining to the child the affects this could have on the person being talked about. For instance, the educator could tell the child or class that asking a question out loud about their peers' differences could hurt their feelings. The educator could also explain that this could cause the child to have self-esteem issues and distance themselves from everyone. Also, I think it would be wise for the educator to include that all children are shaped differently and should be accepted and treated with fairness. 

I believe responding in a positive manner will build relationships among teachers and students and they will be comfortable asking questions that they may not feel they could ask their parents. Edelman (2004) stated that, "A relationship-based organization is one in which quality relationships characterized by trust, support, and growth exist among and between staff, parents, and children; these relationships form the foundation for all the work that is done," p. 7).

                                                             Reference

Edelman, L. (2004). A relationship-based approach to early intervention. Resources and Connections,   3(2). Retrieved from http://olms.cte.jhu.edu/olms/data/resource/1144/A%20Relationship-                  based%20Approach%20to%20Early%20Intervention.pdf

Homophobic Terms

I can recall hearing a student calling one of his peers a "fag" while I was a mentor for an after school program in college. The child who did the name calling was upset that the other child would not share his snack.The other children in the class begin to laugh while the child was being insulted. I believe this influenced all of the other children to believe that this term is a joke and is not hurtful to others. I also believe that they feel it is okay to call other children offensive names. Young children begin to pay attention to what others say and do: in part they mimic what they see and hear and they also internalise ways of acting, ways of speaking, and ways of being (Smidt, 2006, p. 94).

When I was younger, my peers would call me a "tom boy." I hated the term because I felt that they were actually calling me a boy to make jokes so that others would laugh. Indeed, this made me feel less of a girl after they called me this.

I do not recommend anyone referring a child or an adult as "fag," "homo," "sissy," "tom boy," "gay," or "lesbo." These words can be very offensive and hurtful to others. Some people feel that calling a girl a "tom boy" is okay and not insulting. However, from my experience, I had a hard time accepting my identity because adults and children called me this term.

Let's protect our children's feelings and identity!

                                                                    Reference

Smidt, S. (2006). The developing child in the 21st century: A global perspective on child development. New York, NY: Routledge.