What I Have Learned

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds (any format and any length).I would hope that we could all learn a lesson in our various cultures. I think that because I come from a very diverse family, not only will I be bringing my diversity to the children and their families, but I will be learning about their cultures and tradition, which in turn will be an  asset to our anti-bias curriculum.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice (any format and any length) Respect all cultures, ethnicity, religion, race and remember to leave all personal biases out of your classroom.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues. Thank you to all my classmates and instructor. I enjoyed sharing in our discussions and wish you all the very best as we continue on our educational journey. Remember to always continue to advocate for children and their families.

Creating Art

Where, Oh Where has the carefree days of childhood gone?

Where are the days of being on a playground, with friends and no worries?

Where are the days of running behind the ice cream truck to get the last orange creamsicle?

Where are the days of listening as you played for the sound of mom’s voice calling you in for dinner?

Where are the days of being excited about finally starting school and drawing that picture that mom would 

keep on the fridge til the paper turned dingy, but still smiles when she looks at it?

Where are the days when you walked into your classroom and proudly presented your teacher with the BIGGEST, REDDEST APPLE that you selected from the grocery store.

Sadly, those carefree days have been taken away from our precious gifts from GOD (Children).

They have been replaced by metal detectors in our schools, drive by shootings of innocent children.

Even sadder is the ability of a person to walk into a school and start shooting staff and children.

Children who have just began to learn to read, write, and create precious artwork that will forever adorn household refrigerators.

Where, Oh Where has the carefree days of childhood gone?

"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 recalled a time when I was a Job Coach and I took a group of students to Target to work. A lady was shopping with her daughter who I would guess was about three or four years old. She needed assistance finding a certain item and because my students were required to wear what Target employees wore, they had on their khaki pants and red shirt, they also wore their Target name tags. So, naturally she assumed they were Target employees. She asked one of the young men if he knew where she could find a certain sale item. Well, he stuttered and did not speak clearly because of his disability, and the daughter listening ,automatically looked at him and said in a loud voice, “WHY  YOU TALK SO FUNNY AND MAKE THAT FUNNY SOUND ?Her mother  said “That’s not nice to say “and instantly took her daughter by the hand and they went down another aisle. I was standing nearby and witnessed the whole thing .The student was obviously upset and asked me why that little girl made fun of the way he talked. I told him that sometimes parents have a hard time explaining why people are different .I assured him that he did not do anything wrong. He continued to straighten up the shelf he was working on. I went to find the lady and her daughter, when I did, I introduced myself as the job coach and told her that the employee she asked for help was a special need High School student, learning a job skill to help him get a job when he graduate. She immediately apologized to me for her daughter’s behavior. I accepted her apology on my student’s behalf and she continued her shopping.

What messages might have been communicated to this child by the adult's response. The mother’s action could have sent the message to the daughter that they don’t like the idea of associating with people who talked funny or have a disability. The mother could have used that situation to teach her daughter about people with disabilities, rather than taking her daughter away from the situation.

An example of how an anti-bias educator might have responded to support the child's (or classroom's )  understanding An anti-bias educator might have responded by introducing the student to the daughter and having the student actually tell the daughter about his disability. The anti –bias educator  might even have invited the mother and daughter to come visit the student’s class and meet some of his friends. At that time they might want to have information for the mother about biases, disabilities and how to talk to young children about being different.

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

   How you would respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child. The first thing I would inform them of is that ALL our staff members are very highly qualify to care for children. I would also let them know that we are a diverse learning center, we have a variety of cultures, race and religion present among our staff. Children and their well -being come first and foremost. Our Anti-Bias curriculum is one of the best in the state. All staff members are protected under the Equal Opportunity Employment, and although I cannot share personal information about any of the staff , I will assure them that ALL staff have been cleared  through a thorough background check. I would provide them with a list of resources for them to learn more about various alternative lifestyles as well as reminding them to attend our parent meetings where a variety of subject/concerns are addressed and discussed.

  If you have ever used or heard homophobic terms such as "fag," "gay," "homo," "sissy," "tom boy," or "lesbo" as an insult by a child toward another child? Or, by an adult toward a child? Describe what occurred. How might these types of comments influence all children? (Note: if you have not had a personal experience, ask a family member, friend, or colleague) This question is one that hits home with me. I have an Uncle who is gay and I have heard some of these terms as well as “sweet ums “used towards him. I have heard adults, who you should think would know better use some of these term when talking about certain children. Mind you, these are just their perception of the child based on mannerism alone. Children are innocent and although they go through phases of dealing with their identity (this usually lasts through adolescence), do not deserve this kind of treatment and least of all by adults. These adults would usually refer to the child (usually a boy) when they saw him dressing up in dramatic play or playing in housekeeping with dolls and cooking. This would usually encourage the other children to start calling that child names,just because they heard an adult doing it.

T H A N K Y O U

I cannot believe how fast these 8 weeks went by. I believe that my communication and collaboration skills have greatly improved from our weekly discussions. Our group also was honored to have a facilitator who not only brought her professionalism, but allowed us to express our various opinions about the ways we communicate not only with our families  but with the precious lives we’ve been entrusted to teach as early childhood educators. As  we continue on with our various specializations, I wish you all the best and always remember to be an advocate for those children and their families who depend on us as early childhood professionals to communicate on their behalf.

ADJOURNING

            Thinking back to my volunteering days with the band, the part that made for the hardest goodbye was when I left after ten years, I had seen students come from the middle school band to our high school band and then on to graduate. I enjoyed seeing them mature over the years from scared freshmen to aspiring seniors with dreams and goals of going to college. The rapport I developed with the band director, parents and students was something I cherish to this day.  
            I believe the more involved a person is with a group, the harder it is to say good-bye. It was past practice for the band to have an end of the year party, as a way to thank the students and volunteers for all their sacrifice and hard work they put in during the year. It was also a ritual for the band, to line up or form a circle and say their ritual which was usually led by the drum major or a section leader in a loud voice drum major says...FEET band responded...TOGETHER,  drum major.. CHEST… band… OUT drum major  ...SHOULDERS... Band...BACK… drum major ELBOWS …band… FROZEN … drum major... EYES... band WITH PRIDE, drum major. EYES… band… WITH PRIDE …drum major EYES...band ….WITH PRIDE, then they would be dismissed, this gave all of us a sense of pride in our school and selves. Spectators would stopwatch in awe.
            As I near the end of my academic journey at Walden I will remember the many colleagues I have had the pleasure of working with in class, although we never met face to  face I feel as though we as online students have a special kind of bond .I really enjoyed signing into a classroom and seeing familiar names. As this is my last before starting my specialization, I hope that my colleagues and I will continue to be in touch through e-mails. I feel like adjourning is an essential stage of team work because once you’re a part of a team, there is an unexplainable bond /relationship that is formed and that is what makes adjourning from a group the hardest.