Reflecting on Learning

As an early childhood professional, my most passionate hope for my future is to be able to model and teach my children and their families how important it is to not only understand, but respect each other for who they are and where they come from. I want my children and their families to know that we are here to protect their child from bias behaviors. Valuing and supporting families no matter what is important to building relationships and partnerships as we work together to provide the best education for them that we can.

I would like to thank each of my colleagues for your encouragement as we come to the close of another course here at Walden. You truly have blessed me with some very valuable information and your support has been wonderful. I have enjoyed hearing of your personal and professional experiences which will help us as we continue working in the early childhood field. I wish each of you the best as you continue in your next class, and for most of us, our last one!

Impacts of Early Emotional Development

•Share with your colleagues the area of the world you chose and why.

I chose to focus on the region of Latin America and the Caribeban and more specifically, Guatemala. I chose to investigate Guatemala because we have formed a partnership with some missionaries in Guatemala and I am very interested in learning about the children and families in this area.

•Describe in detail some of the challenges that children in this region of the world are confronting.

Upon reviewing of this region, I found that the quality of education is not meeting expectations. The ever increasing poverty and unemployment, natural disasters, violence and civil conflict continue to threaten the progress made. Even though the countries of Latin American and Caribbean have advanced significantly in both the recognition of human rights of children, and effectively improving their living conditions, we still have millions of children living in situations of violence, malnutrition, exploitation and discrimination which is seriously putting their growth and development at risk. It is estimated that in Latin America and the Caribbean more than 2 million children, mostly girls, are working in private households as domestic servants (Unicef, 2011).

•Explain how these experiences might have an effect on children’s emotional wellbeing and development.

Guatemala has the highest rate of chronic malnutrition in children under five in all of Latin America. Some areas experience 49% up to 78% and can be linked to stunted physical and mental development. These challenges can also affect their self-esteem, how successful they are in school (If they even attend school), their social skills and how they communicate as well as their behaviors. In rural Guatemala, many children (particularly girls) do not complete their basic education, speak only their native Mayan language, and grow up functionally illiterate. Adolescent females marry as young as 12 years of age and have an average of seven children. All of these factors serve to reinforce the vicious cycle of poverty unless investments are made in children at a very early age (Save the Children, 2014).

•Include a personal and professional reflection. Explain the insights you gained and the influences they may have on you as a person and as an early childhood professional.

Unicef’s website offered great insight into the various regions and information about each of them. I have learned that children in the Latin American and Caribbean region suffer from poverty related issues, which includes health care. They also suffer greatly with education because of the poor quality of education in this region. Personally, although we do have families and children that experience poverty related issues, here in the United States, we have many resources available to us for health and education. Professionally, reviewing websites like this encourages me to become a better, and more informed teacher. I think we never should become comfortable with what we do. Although it can be challenging at times, we must utilize the resources that are available and always strive to learn more so that we can make a difference in the lives of our families and children.

References

Save the Children. (2014). Guatemala. Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

It is shocking to hear children of these ages say such things. I teach in a fifth grade class, and I have been shocked by some of the things that they say and do. These children have no filters on their mouths, they are allowed to watch and play movies and games that are way more mature than they are, and the way these children are dressing is very inappropriate. Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media and popular cultures (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).

Three examples that I feel illustrate the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment are marketing provocative clothing geared for young girls, lyrics of music, and television shows. Fueled by influential media and an overly provocative clothing market, today's young females are rocketing into adult behaviors at young ages, and multiple risks are along for the ride (Hawkes, n.d.). I have seen girls that have developed anorexia because they want to maintain that “thin, skinny” look and be able to fit in those clothes that girls find as “popular” yet are very inappropriate and do not leave a whole lot for the imagination. I heard about a parent that went to Pac Sun and purchased all the T-shirts that were being sold that were inappropriate so that other children would not buy them. I would like to see parents stand up and make a statement to their children that we are not going to have that “provocative clothing”, “explicit music” and we are going to preview what is being watched in our homes, then maybe these marketing companies might get the hint. As parents and educators, I feel that it is our job to educate our children to show respect to themselves as well as demanding respect from others. We as a society have sexualized our children and have taken away their childhood. We are essentially forcing them to act and dress as small adults when they are just children. I will definitely be more aware of what is going on and being discussed among the children in my classroom. I will also throw my “two cents” in on what these children see and play at home. I think that hearing concerns from someone other than the parent can be a good thing.

References

Hawkes, K. (n.d.). Media and clothing market influence on adolescent girls: Warnings for parents.

Retrieved from http://foreverfamilies.byu.edu

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://dianelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

After reviewing the many different -isms, I chose to focus on gender roles and sexism. The reason that I chose this is because in the past, I received comments about some of the work I do being a man’s work, not a woman’s. Some have questioned my intelligence in certain areas while others have made comments about some of the work that I do and how it should be done by a male. Some people automatically label women that have children as a “stay at home mom” who should be cooking and cleaning rather than working outside the home. I have never been one to want to stay home and raise my own children twenty-four seven. I love my children and my time with them, but feel that I was given the opportunity to go to school and become an educator and offer my time and talents with other children in my community. It truly bothers me to hear families talk about the girls in their families doing “women’s” work. I feel that because of the stereotypical comments that were made to me, I try even harder to prove them wrong. I have a hard time with parents who communicate these stereotypical ideas to their children separating “men’s” work and “women’s” work. This could cause me some conflict as I try to teach children to respect others when it comes to gender roles and sexism. This post reminds me of a media segment that was shown in one my classes at Walden. This mother worked hard to make sure that her son did dishes and laundry just like her daughter. I grew up mowing the lawn, taking out the trash, doing dishes, doing laundry and helping clean the house. I now have three boys of my own and they do each of these chores as well. Some women were meant to be stay at home moms and some were not. I want children to know that chores, no matter what they are, are meant to be shared and not to be categorized as women’s vs. men’s work.