Observing Communication

This week I was in the store and I observed a mother and maybe 4-year-old little girl walking around and shopping. The little girl was asking her mom to look at something she saw. She tugged on her arm and shirt and really wanted her mother to look. She said look mom look mom over and over again. The mother replied, “yeah, that’s neat” but never even looked. “Words shape our attitudes, feelings, and thoughts. Yet language is such a part of our lives that we often take it for granted” (Rainer Dangei & Durden, 2010, p. 7).  The mother never took the time to see what the daughter wanted to show her. The mother should have paid attention to her daughter. Built upon what she wanted to show her. It would have validated the daughter’s thoughts and feeling. It could have been a wonderful teaching or mother/daughter moment.

The mother should have first of all paid attention to what her daughter wanted to show her. I know we all get busy and I am a mother of two myself and I have those times when I just want to get in and get out of the store as quickly as possible because I have a million and one things to still get done. But it is always important to remember the little moments that happen in life and if you are so focused on completing tasks and getting things done you are going to miss out on them. The daughter more than likely felt that what she had to say or show her mother wasn’t important, therefore she wasn’t important. No parent wants their children to feel this why and it is unintentional. I know I have been guilty of this in the past. I try to slow down and see the world through my children’s eyes as much as possible. It is such a wonderful vantage point and you can learn so much about your child and how they view the world around them. All it takes is a moment.

Brandie

References

Rainer Dangei, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=db75cb2a-0326-42f1-859a-8dc88af172b9%40sessionmgr4004&vid=1&hid=4112

Creating Affirming Environments

Imagine that you want to open your own Family Child Care Home. Reflect on what your setting would look like, what elements you think you might want to include and for what reasons, and the various ways that you will strive to ensure that every child and family feels welcome and respected.

In my Family Child Care Home, the setting would be inviting and welcoming. The toys, materials, equipment, posters, pictures, books, art materials, curriculum and furniture and the arrangement of the room will be chosen with care. All of these things can influence what and how children learn. I will carefully select these things to make sure they are age appropriate and anti-bias. “An environment rich in anti-bias materials invites exploration and discovery and supports children’s play and conversations in both emergent and planned activities” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 43). My classroom will have a unique look catered to every family’s culture.

To ensure that families feel welcome the environment will reflect their cultures. Children need “materials that honor diversity both within and beyond their own identity groups. This includes learning materials that accurately and nonstereotypically reflect all the children, families, and staff “(Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 43). with in the program in their daily lives. I want to make sure families whose culture differs from the majority are just as visible within the classroom.

Brandie

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2012). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

What I Have Learned

My one hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds it that I have the knowledge about others and myself to help them feel welcome. I want to provide them with a place where they feel comfortable and a part of. I want to provide an appropriate and safe environment for children to learn, develop and grow. An environment where all families feel welcome and a place that represents each of my family’s cultures. To do this I need to understand myself first. I need to peel away my layers and figure out who I am and how I became the person I am. “No one escapes learning stereotypes and misconceptions…These lessons begin when we are very young, taught initially and most powerfully by our family…all of us still carry inaccurate and negative messages-even if we no longer believe they are true-that can keep us from seeing each person as a unique, whole person fully deserving of our respect” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 23).  If I want every one of the families in my care to feel excepted and welcome I need to uncover my personal biases, discomforts and misconceptions.

A goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to educate parents, caregivers and other professionals on anti-bias education. What it is and how you can accomplish it. Every person has misconceptions, biases, and discomforts, no person can say they are free of these things. Many people do not even realize they have misconception, biases and/or stereotypes. Anti-bias educators hope that the “day will come when the ‘anti-bias’ part of that journey is no longer needed because all children are growing up fully nurtured and able to be fully who they are, with no barriers of prejudice, discrimination, poverty, or war. Then learning about and valuing one another’s diversity will be a natural part of growing up” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 157). It all starts with ourselves. If more people looked inward at themselves they would begin to stop the perpetuation of biases, stereotypes and misconceptions.  

I would like to say thank you to all of my colleagues. These last 8 weeks have been a very rewarding learning experience from me. I have enjoyed reading your blogs and discussion posts. They have helped me look at many topics from a new perspective. A perspective I would probably never have thought of! Thank you again and I wish you all success in your educational journey for your Master’s Degrees and in life!

Brandie

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2012). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Creating Art

Take time to think about what you have learned in this course about children's identities and development and the ways in which each is impacted by bias, discomfort, and trauma. What you have learned about anti-bias work, yourself, and others. Then create a piece of art that illustrates your key learning's from the Start Seeing Diversity media segment and your blog discussions. Art means very different things to different people and you are encouraged to create art in a median most comfortable to you. The sky is the limit with this assignment as long as you can upload your artwork with your colleagues (co-artists). You have the freedom to define what art means to you and select your own medium:

Some live in a world of darkness and pain
Not having enough to eat
Were will they sleep
Who will take care of them
Dad is drinking again and mom is gone
Please look at me, I am right here in front of you
Please don's hurt me again
All it takes is a little light in the darkness
I can be that light
Light is hope
A little kindness goes a long way
Cope, work through issues and succees
Resilience
Break the cycle
Happiness, love, kindness, and patience
By Brandie Madrid

"We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

• A time when you witnessed an adult (or yourself) reprimand or silence a child after he or she pointed out someone they saw as different (e.g., "That lady talks funny," " That man only has one leg!" "Why is that man so pretty!"). Include what the child said and what the adult did or said in response. (Note: If you cannot think of a specific time ask a friend or family member.)

     I was walking through the store one day, it was before I had children, and this little girl points at a man that has a prosthetic leg and says "Whats wrong with his leg?". The mother turned really red and rushed the child off, scolding her as they went about how it is not nice to point or say things like that to other people. I was shocked that the mom handled it that way. The mother made it seem like their was something really wrong with that man.The message communicated to the little girl was that their was something "wrong" with people who are different than her. "Stereotyping and bias influence children's self-concept and attitudes towards others" (Pelo, 2008, pg.7). How we act and react to the people around us can influence a child's beliefs and attitudes with other people. We need to make sure we are send children the right message and not perpetuate bias/stereotypes and discomforts.

  As an anti-bias educator I would have handled that situation totally differently and have so with my own children. Children are so curious about the world around them and we need to feed that curiosity. I would have first told the child that it really is not nice to point and that there was nothing "wrong" with his leg. Each of us are born different and some difference you can see and some you cannot. That man has a difference that we can see. Just like I need help to hear so I wear hearing aids, that gentleman had something happen to his leg and now he has a prosthetic (fake leg) to help him walk. We need to teach children about how each and every person is different and that different is not wrong or bad. "It is not the differences in themselves that cause that problem, but how people respond to differences" (Pelo, 2008, Pg. 9).  We need to teach acceptance and understanding. 

Brandie

Resources

Pelo, A. (2008). Rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Basic Book

EDUC 6357 Blog Wk. 3 Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

·     ·         Your response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families.

My response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families is that you are you do not have to agree with it you just have to respect it. Many people confuse that teaching or including books on different types of families with teaching about sexuality. “But learning about gay/lesbian-headed families is no more about sexuality than learning about a heterosexual-headed family is” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 123).   We live in a very diverse world and we will encounter many different family structures we may or may not agree with. For example, I may be in the mindset that mothers are the ones that stay home with their children and fathers are the breadwinners and go to work. If a family came into my class where the father was a stay at home dad am I going to exclude them, no. If there were single parent families am I going to exclude them because I believe each child should have two parents at home, the answer is again no. So why should a family be excluded or made not to feel welcome if they have two moms your two dads. The answer is they should not. As early childhood professionals it is our job to make children’s potentials a reality. “Family is central to the life of every child. It is through this earliest relationship that children come to view themselves and others and find their place in the world. To truly reach all children, early childhood educators must acknowledge, make visible in their programs, and respect all the family structures that are real in children’s worlds” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 112). For children to thrive within our classrooms we need to not exclude books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families but to include them with books about all the other types of family structures.

·         Any other related situations, thoughts, concerns, questions, and/or areas of discomfort you would like to share related to children, gender, and sexual orientation.

If you have every walked into a toy store you would see the aisles situated by gender. The “girls” aisles are all dress-up clothes, dolls, Barbie’s, girl Legos and things to play house. In the “boys” aisle you have cars and trucks, action heroes, Legos, tools, and kits to build things. This separation is not just found in stores. This is not only found in stores you can find this separation of the sexes in many homes, centers and schools. Boys who play dress-up or with dolls are frowned upon. They are told they are girls toys and that they should play with cars or blocks. I have been very gender natural with my children. I have a boy and a girl but I have even herd it out of their mouths. “This shirt makes me look like a boy” and “That toy is for boys”. They are picking this information up through what they see on TV and what they hear from other adults and children at school. “By age 3 or 4, children’s comments and interactions reveal the influence of family and societal attitudes about gender behavior, coupled with children’s own developing attempts at understanding the world. These ideas about what is and isn’t ‘normal’ for a particular gender are powerful” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 92). Many times adults can inadvertently convey messages of stereotypical gender behavior in their communications with children. It is important for teacher to “model a range of roles and interests that transcend traditional gender stereotypes, they encourage and support children in exploring a wide range of cognitive, social, and emotional learning experiences” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2012, p. 93). Children should be encouraged in activities that interest them not on activities based on gender. I want my son and daughter to grow up to be well rounded individuals. I do not want them to be limited by societies predetermined gender roles of how and what they should do.

Brandie

                                                             References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2012). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

EDUC: Blog Wk. 8

I would like to thank my fellow classmates and Dr. Pickens for making these last 8 weeks so much fun and interesting. I really enjoyed reading your discussions and blog posts. I loved being able to read everyone’s different takes on the same subject and questions. I have really learned a lot from this course and I know I will utilize this new knowledge about communication in future endeavors. I wish everyone luck as they continue on their journeys for their Master’s Degrees and hope to see you all in future courses.

Thank you again for making this course so enjoyable,

Brandie