Time Well Spent

Wow! As I come to the close of this chapter in my life, I can’t help but look back over the last twenty months and think about the new friends that I have made, the instructors that have supported and challenged me, and the knowledge that I have gained that will continue to encourage me and drive me to promote change and success not just in my life but in the lives of others as well. I have learned how important it is to communicate with our children and their families, and to begin this as early as the infant years. I have learned how to identify my biases and the strategies that will help me overcome them. But most of all, I have learned that there is a community of professionals and organizations, not just local, but nationally and internationally that surround me and that I can turn to them for the support that I may need as I continue to seek change in my own professional life.

A long term goal that I have identified for my professional and personal life is to continue teaching families as well as children on the important part they play in the lives of their own children. Parents are as important as their teachers and when working together we can serve as a great team for the success of all involved.

To my colleagues, thank you for your kind words and support. I wish you the very best! Keep learning and following your dreams. Who knows where they may lead you! Thank you to my instructors for the many resources, the professionals that have been shared with us through media segments and for the support, encouragement, and comments along the way!

Job/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

After visiting some of the international organizations, I chose the following three as ones that I thought I would most like to work with and for.

Save the Children

Save the Children gives children in the United States and around the world what every child deserves – a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. It is an independent organization for children working in 120 countries. We save children's lives; we fight for their rights; we help them fulfill their potential. We work together, with our partners, to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. We have over two million supporters worldwide and raised 1.9 billion dollars last year to reach more children than ever before, through programs in health, nutrition, education, protection and child rights, also in times of humanitarian crises.

A job opportunity that interested me was in the City of London, United Kingdom. It is a full time, 12 month position as an

OPERATIONS TEAM SUPPORT MANAGER

The Role

The role of the Operations Team Support Manager is as follows:

•  Responsible for day to day operations of the Operations Management team
• Serves as a liaison with Save the Children members to play a key role in ensuring operations and humanitarian response are appropriately resourced - including leading on proposal writing and negotiation
• Ensuring effective administrative systems are in place and that processes and planning are closely coordinated
•  Lead on the coordination of the Centre EPP and in the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal job description and vary working hours accordingly.

Qualifications and experience

Essential Skills Necessary

• Proven writing and numerical skills and experience in basic financial information systems (e.g. Excel), budget monitoring, editing of proposals and drafting of summary reports and briefing documents.
• Proven attention for detail and ability to effectively manage a high volume of data and information
• Excellent interpersonal and verbal / written communication skills in order to deal tactfully and sensitively with a wide range of people in a large organization, very often at a distance.
• Previous experience of working in a program management department in the humanitarian sector
• Previous international operations experience
• A flexible and initiative-taking attitude with the ability to manage an unpredictable workload
• Good project management skills related to the development of information products.
• Excellent computer skills including word processing, presentation and use of spread-sheets combined with the ability to develop and maintain office and management information systems.
• Highly developed communication skills.
• Experience of problem solving.
• Willingness and ability to travel abroad at short notice.

Desirable

• A second language preferably French, Spanish, Portuguese or Arabic.
• Knowledge of Save the Children's key sectors
• Strong presentation skills.
• Commitment to Save the Children values.
• Knowledge of international humanitarian systems, institutions and donors.
• Ability and willingness to change work practices and hours in the event of major emergencies including travelling at short notice and for extended periods of time.

I would possess the appropriate necessary requirements and have had experience with international operations; however, I am not fluent in a second language (though this is not a necessary but desirable skill).

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF):

UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. We have the global authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality. We believe that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress. UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. We believe that we can, together, advance the cause of humanity. We advocate for measures to give children the best start in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future. We promote girls’ education – ensuring that they complete primary education as a minimum – because it benefits all children, both girls and boys. Girls who are educated grow up to become better thinkers, better citizens, and better parents to their own children. We act so that all children are immunized against common childhood diseases, and are well nourished, because it is wrong for a child to suffer or die from a preventable illness.

Communication Specialist (Donor Relations & Fundraising), P-3, Kigali, Rwanda

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

• Advanced university (Master`s) degree in Business Administration, Communication, Public Relations; or equivalent professional work experience in the donor relations area combined with advanced university degree in related discipline.
• Five years of relevant work experience in fund raising, donor engagement, donor reporting and two years of which should be in developing countries.
• Fluency in English and another UN language. Working knowledge of French would be an asset.
• A first level university degree with a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

• Has highest-level communication skills, including engaging and informative formal public speaking.
• Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
• Sets high standards for quality of work and consistently achieves project goals.
• Has good leadership and supervisory skills; co-ordinates group activities, ensuring that roles within the team are clear.
• Quickly builds rapport with individuals and groups; maintains an effective network of individuals across organizational departments.
• Translates strategic direction into plans and objectives.
• Negotiates effectively by exploring a range of possibilities.
• Demonstrates and shares detailed technical knowledge and expertise.
• Seeks and proposes opportunities for advancing UNICEF`s mission.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organization.

I love that UNICEF is specifically points out its dedication to the education of girl’s and makes sure that immunizations are given to all children, as well as being an advocate for nourishment as these are preventable illnesses.

FHI 360

VISION

FHI 360 envisions a world in which all individuals and communities have the opportunity to reach their highest potential.

MISSION

To improve lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions for human development.

We believe:

• A 360-degree perspective is required to address complex human development needs.
• Sustainability comes from building the capacity of individuals, communities and countries to address their needs.
• The key to improving lives is in generating, sharing and applying knowledge.
• Partnering with governments, civil society organizations, the private sector and communities leads to success.

Our values:

• Innovation to meet the evolving needs of our beneficiaries, funders and partners.
• Mutual respect for diversity and cultural differences.
• Passion driven by a personal commitment to make a positive difference.
• Accountability for our work, measuring, reporting and continually improving all that we do.
• Commitment to excellence assured by the highest ethical, quality, operational performance and scientific standards.
• Teamwork across disciplines and geographies, within the organization and with our partners.

Education Team Leader, Mozambique-Maputo

Project Description:

The goal of SFCS-OVC is to reduce the socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS on OVC and their caregivers in Mozambique. The overall objective is to enhance the capacity of families and communities to support, protect, and care for OVC and caregivers.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Provide technical leadership to the project on improving school attendance
• Provide technical leadership to the project on learning outcomes for vulnerable children, especially girls.
• Provide technical leadership and direction for program interventions related to improved learning outcomes; define and implement activities in a manner that achieves the greatest coverage and impact;
• Lead and facilitate an effective partnership with local education institutions and other education stakeholders at national, provincial and district levels;
• Supervise relevant technical staff to ensure timely achievement of program results;\
• Monitor progress of education components of the program
• Ensure synergies with other elements of the project to ensure comprehensive programming
• Review and provide technical feedback on results and project reports to donors in order to ensure quality and full compliance towards achieving results.
• Identify successful practices in the project that can be showcased in publications, communication materials and conferences.
• Prepare communications materials that highlight the Project’s successes and lesssons learnt in girls education
• Contribute to M&E

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in education with experience in girls education
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience working on reading assessment, instruction, upper primary and lower secondary development (specifically 5th , 6th , 7th , and 8th grades) block grants and training especially in developing countries.
• Demonstrated ability to work with government and cooperating partners in implementing a complex project under challenging circumstances.
• In-depth knowledge of Mozambican education system
• Effective communication skills, both orally and in writing to make formal and informal presentations and to develop professional and analytic reports and program documents.
• Excellent interpersonal and team work skills.
• English and Portuguese is highly desired.
• Ability to navigate politically sensitive terrain and maintain constructive relationships with a diverse set of key stakeholders;
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and transmit his/her vision to partners and colleagues.
• Expertise in education, with a focus on gender, vulnerability and inclusion
• Experience in upper primary and lower secondary development (specifically 5th , 6th , 7th , and 8th grades)
• Experience in research publication to develop the evidence-base for lesson learning and achieving results
• Knowledge of and experience with the design, management and implementation of OVC programs.
• Sensitivity to cultural differences and understanding of the socio-economic and political situation in Mozambique and the ethical issues surrounding OVC programming.
• Ability to organize systems to monitor results.
• Well-developed written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work well with others and to develop and maintain compatibility among project staff, subcontractors, consultants, and recipients of assistance.
• Ability to travel as needed

This job appealed to me on different levels – but mainly because of the work, support, and communication opportunities with families and communities. I am not fluent in Portuguese, but have worked with girls, specifically with 5th – 8th grade girls on different levels.

References

Academy for Educational Development. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm

Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National and Federal Level

NAEYC – Early Learning Director

One of the national organizations that I found and have turned to for support on many occasions throughout my classes here are Walden is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). 

The NAEYC promotes the quality care of children birth to 8 years old through educational and developmental services. A position that is offered through the NAEYC is the Early Learning Director. The skills needed for this position are:

Ø  Preferred candidates will have at least five (5) years’ experience in early childhood education field including a minimum of 2 years classroom teaching and 2 years managing staff and program. Directly experience with ages Birth-to-3 years is strongly preferred.

Ø  BA in Early Education or Child Development, or a degree in a related field with at least 45 credit hours from an accredited college or university in Childhood Education. Must have current CPR and First Aid Training. Experience with children with special needs is wonderful, but is not required.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Head Start Director

Department of Health and Human Services is the United States government's principal agency for protecting health and providing essential human services to Americans.

Head Start Director - The director of any Head Start program is responsible for:

Ø  directing, managing, planning and coordinating programs

Ø  supervising teachers and students

Ø  coordinating and planning with other Head Start agencies

Ø  working with other employees to correct any problems and evaluate programs

Ø  choosing and training staff

The Director of a Head Start Program must have a master’s degree in Child Development, Human Development, Public Administration or a similar field. Directors must also have a Child Development Program Director Permit.

The Children’s Bureau – Community Liaison

On a federal level, The Children's Bureau is a Federal agency for children, and its’ primary responsibility is administering Federal child welfare programs. The Children's Bureau seeks to provide for the safety, permanency, and well-being of children through leadership, support for necessary services, and productive partnerships within the state and communities. A position that sounds interesting to me is a Community Liaison. This liaison would serve in The Community Partners program which is a home based program that offers case management services and who will assist families in developing and meeting specific family centered goals. The liaison also helps families find and will help families discover and bond with local community supports and services, as well as providing families with assistance as needed, and being an advocate and support for the family. I love to go and work directly with parents and children in and out of the homes and feel that this would be a great fit for me.

Community Liaison requirements are:

Ø  Bachelors' Degree in a human service related field requires.

Ø  Minimum of 2 years experiences in with child/families

Ø  Must have a valid driver’s license and insurance.

Ø  Ability to work independently.

Ø  Good verbal and written communication skills.

Ø  Trained in child development.

Ø  Knowledge of community resource services and program.

Ø  Knowledge in areas of abuse/neglect.

Ø  Demonstrate an ability to handle any situation that arises during visitations.

Ø  Experience in empowering families, setting goals for clients, and assisting them in the process to change required.

Ø  Experience/ability to respond appropriately to culture differences in the community, staff, and clients is required.

Ø  Ability to perform general operations in computer word processing, email and texting, copier, telephone, and other various office machines is required.

References

Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2014, from

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/status/mission/mhhs.htm

National Association for the Education of the Young Child (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2014, from

http://www.naeyc.org

The Children’s Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved July 21, 2014, from

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

In searching for communities of practice within my area, I found the following organizations to be of interest to me.

http://www.taeyc.org

The Tennessee Association of Education of Young Children seems to offer many professional development opportunities with membership availabilities. This community of partners is made up of a board of members and I believe that this could open up an avenue for relationships with a community of learners that share the same interests and concerns. On a more local level, the AAEYC, located in Anderson County, works directly with Roane County and offers that same type of assistance. While you can become a member of these organizations, at times there are opportunities for working as a board member. There are opportunities to work as an advocate for early childhood education with other members of this organization to help become a voice for our children and their families with a variety of issues.

TAEYC Mission Statement

TAEYC exists to provide members with professional development opportunities and to advocate for best practice in the care, development, and education of all Tennessee’s young children.

TAEYC Vision Statement

Reaching potential together.
Value Statement

TAEYC values...

Collaboration with all members of the community
High performing organizational strategies
Inclusive environments for all children and adults
Leadership in child advocacy and public policy
Diversity in the early childhood community
Relationships with children and their families
Early care and education professionals who use best practices
National, regional and local alliances

http://unitedwayroane.org

United Way – United Way is an organization the helps children and their families in a variety of ways. This organization works toward bringing the communities together while focusing on what is most needed. Every day, United Way supported programs help provide a nurturing environment for children, health care for seniors who might otherwise go without, food and shelter for those facing tough times, safe havens from physical and psychological abuse, therapy for those coping with special challenges and so much more.

I have served as the representative for United Way at my school and have had the opportunity to be a part of meetings where we discussed needs for our children and their families. United Way of Roane County brings people together to focus on the most important needs in our community. Through our allocation process, trained volunteers determine the most efficient use of the community’s resources to meet local needs. The money that we as a county give, when designated, stays in our county and helps our children and their families. This program has been able to provide monetary supplements for a number of programs that are used for our very own children and their families. I think that it is great to be able to serve as a volunteer with United Way and even more wonderful to be able to see the money that we have given help those right here in our community. As far as skills needed for this opportunity, as a volunteer working with United Way, I was responsible for bringing a list of needs to the meeting so that we could discuss them and make decisions based on what was brought to the table.

https://www.secondharvestetn.org/

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee - Food for Kids - “Food for Kids is a collaborative effort between Second Harvest and area schools, with the goal of fighting hunger among young children in our 18 County East Tennessee community. Food for Kids provides backpacks filled with kid-friendly food for elementary aged children to take home after school or on the weekends.”

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee - Kids Cafe - “Kids Cafe is a collaborative effort between Second Harvest and various youth service providers.” In Rockwood, the Kids Café is held on Mondays at 5 PM at the Rockwood Housing Authority with the collaboration of the Rockwood Ministerial Association and the First Christian Church. “On Mondays at 5PM you can find a group [of volunteers] serving a free meal, and offering homework help, games, and friendship to children and youth.”

As the wife of a minister in the area, I am able to work directly with the ministerial association that takes care of the Second Harvest Backpack Program for our children. This is all volunteer and my job for this program is to help identify what children would benefit from receiving assistance through the Second Harvest Food for Kids Program.

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. 

Observing Communication

The communication that I observed was our guidance counselor sharing in a conversation with a small child whose father had just died. She had a book that she shared that talks about a leaf and how that leaf passes through the seasons and eventually falls from the tree and dies. She talked this child through the story making connections to the different seasons that we see each year and how that can be seen in the story of this leaf. She had the child draw a picture showing the trees in the different seasons and how the leaves looked on the trees during those times. She then connected it back to her father who had passed away. She had this child share something that she and her father had done together during each of the seasons. I felt like this book was an interesting way to discuss the death of her father. I have always struggled with death and young children and how to explain it. Because we have had so many of our children in our schools parents/grandparents (who are the primary caregivers) pass away I think that she might benefit from using a persona doll and create a story line that would address this issue. Persona dolls are not the same as puppets, but they offer some of the same benefits. Children are extremely willing to talk with them, and group discussions that include the dolls are opportunities to reflect on important social issues in a safe and relaxed environment (Pierce & Johnson, 2010).

I have realized that I need to be more effective and creative when addressing issues that my children are dealing with. I think that learning how to use a persona doll would be a great way to address these issues while making conversation more comfortable.

References

Pierce, J., & Johnson, C. (2010). Problem solving with young children using persona dolls. YC: Young
Children, 65(6), 106-108.

Creating Affirming Environments

If I were to open my own Family Child Care Home, I would like to provide materials that show diversity and anti-bias. I love the idea that Adriana had with the first place that parents come into being an area where parents can sign their children in and allow them a moment to acclimate their children to the idea of mom or dad leaving. I also like the calm down room where you have the rocking chair and some books for those that may need a little extra attention for whatever reason.

As far as centers around the child care home, I believe that children need to see a home that is warm and family oriented. Pictures that show families that are diverse, centers that display differences as well as similarities; whether it is books, dolls, music, puzzles, role play clothing or toys, or drawing or coloring materials. Children need to develop a strong and positive self-concept and empathy for others through healthy intellectual, physical, social, emotional, and moral development.

Some of the strategies that I feel would be beneficial to the children when considering anti-bias education would be in discussing differences in language, gender, race, disabilities, and ethnicity. Children need to learn how to respond to differences in a way that is appropriate. By encouraging children to ask questions about differences that they see, we can model the right way to respect those differences. I would also incorporate children family traditions in my child care home. Children can learn a lot about cultural differences through activities such as this.

By involving parents in our classroom activities, we can create a partnership that will benefit both teachers and families.

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

What I Have Learned

As I come to the close of yet another course, I can’t help but think about the many media presentations that I have listened to, the articles that I have read, the interviews that I have conducted and how these have all helped me as I think about children, their families and diversity.

I hope that I can be that teacher that helps families feel welcome and secure. I want them to know that I value their ideas, their culture and their backgrounds. I am already looking in to adding books to my book collection in my classroom that reflects differences in race, ethnicity and ability.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to diversity, equity, and social justice is more learning opportunities for teachers where you can seek knowledge in learning best practices for communicating with parents and children who live with parents that are LGBT, incarcerated, alcoholics, drug addicts, and disabled. My experiences thus far with the children that I have encountered have been difficult because they do not know how to share their “family” with others. I want them to feel comfortable with sharing and discussing their families and things that they get to do with not only me as the teacher but with their classmates as well.

I want to say thank you to all my colleagues who have helped me throughout this course. Your responses have been most helpful and encouraging. I wish you all the best and hope to see some of you in our next course!

Creating Art: Embracing Diversity

As I desire to become an anti-bias teacher, I believe that it is important to recognize how we can support and embrace diversity. Diversity is defined as differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and other human differences (Green, Lopez, Wysocki, Kepner, 2013).

E is for Equity - we are all equal
M is for multicultural – we learn from each other
B is for Building – relationships and trust
R is for Respect – everyone is important
A is for Acceptance – no matter who are what we are
C is for Communication – an important factor
E is for Educate – learning to appreciate our differences

D is for Differences and Disabilities – we are all unique
I is for Identify – with the perspective of others
V is for Value – valuing diversity is important to who we are and who we want to be
E is for Ethnicity - relates to cultural factors such as nationality, culture, ancestry, language and beliefs
R is for Race – physical appearances should not matter
S is for Sexual Orientation and Stereotypes – be careful that you do not disregard any diverse groups
I is for Inclusion – all should feel welcome, respected and valued to participate
T is for trustworthy – You can be trusted with what you say and do!
Y is for You – You have the ability to make a difference!

"The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences." – Embrace Diversity

References

Green, A., Lopez, M., Wysocki, A., and Kepner, K. (2013). Diversity in the workplace: Benefits, challenges, and the required managerial tools. Retrieved from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

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

I can remember taking my son to Wal-Mart when he was about two years old. My husband is a pastor and has a friend that is an African American pastor. As we were walking in to Wal-Mart, we ran in to Mr. Rue. We all spoke, and my son looked at him and then back as us and said, “Why does he have that dirt all over his face?” Of course I was absolutely petrified. I could not believe that my son had said that. I apologized and Mr. Rue kept saying it was fine and not to worry. I never had thought about it, but my son had probably never really seen anyone that was African American before and certainly did not know any better. I grew up playing with African American children; therefore, I thought nothing about it. After we said our goodbyes with Mr. Rue, I turned to my son and proceeded to explain that God makes us all different colors. Some people are white, black, and brown, and we are all made in our own special way.
He initially thought he was in big trouble because of my verbal and my nonverbal cues. He knew right away that I was concerned about what he had said.
An anti-bias educator might have used books or pictures to show and talk about people of different colors to a child that made a comment like this. I love the idea of having dolls that are both white/African American as well as girl and boy dolls. These are great ways for children to learn about diversity. I knew there was a video on television called Little Bill, and I chose to show him that video, just to make a connection to Mr. Rue. He loved the show, and as he has grown up, he has learned to be more careful of what he says to and about people. Although race and racism are difficult topics, it is important to educate ourselves and discuss them with children in an age-appropriate way (Winkler, 2009).
References
Winkler, Erin. (2009). Children are not colorblind: How young children learn race. High Reach Learning.
Retrieved from http://www.4uwm.edu

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

As a fifth grade teacher, the word "gay" and "homo" have come up on many different occasions. When I have questioned the children about it, they generally know a very basic definition about what the terms mean. A couple of boys called a couple of girls “lesbos” because they went to the bathroom together. I simply pointed out that girls go to the restroom with other girls on a regular basis and that they also went to the restroom with other boys as well. So did that mean the same thing? Of course, they said, “No!” I think that most children use these terms for a shock factor. Most don’t know the complete definition, but they know something. Therefore, they use it to be “cool.” When the girls were called this, it bothered them because they know that it is a term that is used to describe girls doing sexual things with other girls. Kids that bully other children by using these kind of terms can lead to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and can make children become afraid to come to school. We must step up and take this type of situation seriously. Because it is not something that we see a lot of in elementary school, we tend to brush it off and not really discuss it. GLBTQ students are also at risk for not getting the support they need when they are being bullied due to their perceptions that adults at school may have intolerant attitudes or may not provide confidential help in which to deal with their situation.10 Four out of five GLBTQ students say they know of no supportive adult at school (Riese, 2014).
As I thought about material that I have seen throughout our school, I would say that we do not do a good job of representing the different family structures in our classroom libraries. It is not just homosexual families but we do not do a good job of representing heterosexual families either. We are a small school, and I only know of two children that come from families with two moms and two dads. We do have several single parent homes and those where the grandparents or other family members are raising them. If we are going to represent one type of family structure, then I feel we should seek material that would depict as many family structures as we can.
References
Riese, J. (2014). Youth who are bullied based upon perceptions about their sexual orientation. Retrieved from http://www.violencepreventionworks.org.

Post of Appreciation

Just a note to say thank you for the support and wonderful posts that each of you has shared over the course of this class. I think that becoming a more effective communicator is a goal that I am going to work toward as a professional in the early childhood field. The examples that you all have shared and the responses that you have posted will be useful to me as I continue on my journey. I wish each of you success as you continue and maybe I will have the privilege of working with some you again in our next class. Thank you again!

Adjourning Phase - 5th of the Five Stages of Team Development

When considering the different groups that I have been involved in, I would say that the group that I had the hardest time saying goodbye to was the church building committee. Although I still saw the group of people that I served with on the committee, the fact that “we” did not complete the project that we had set before us left me with a feeling of failure. It was hard to have worked so diligently on this project with this great group of people and not get to see what we had worked so hard for happen under our watch.
Another group that I would like to share is the cohort that I was a part of at Tusculum. During our forming stage – where we met each other for the first time, we were able to get to know each other and figure out which group we fit more closely with. (Where and who we would sit with.) We were to get into groups of six and the group that I ended up with made for a great team. We communicated well with each other and each of the members had something that they could bring to the table. We were very fortunate to have a “tech savvy” man in our group that really brought things to life. He was usually the leader on our group. We all worked so well together and each took our part in the group very seriously. When it was time to say goodbye, it was truly a hard thing to do. I spent 20 months, and countless hours with this group and we had become so close. Most of us still keep in touch with each other today. The adjourning phase for us in this situation was a success. Over the course of those 20 months, we produced some great projects and each of us worked together to make it a great success.

I think that the adjourning phase is kind of like the icing on the cake. It is done and you feel that sense of accomplishment. The fact that we did not make it to this phase while on the church building committee left me feeling like we failed. I think that seeing your hard work completed leaves you with a feeling of accomplishment and we did not get that.

Adjourning from this online cohort will be different from the adjourning phase I experienced with the cohort where we attended class together, because although we are in groups, we don’t really get to know each other on a real personal level. I do feel that upon completion of this degree, even though we do not know each other on a personal level, we have provided each other with some great feedback and ideas that we can each take with us.

Communication Conflict

This year, I was involved in a conflict with a representative from a company that our school had invited to represent us for insurance purposes. I hate conflict and this whole incident was very difficult for me as I tried to be positive and open about what was going on. I am unable to share some of the details of this incident, but basically, this representative came in and took my personal information in order to present me with a quote of how he could help me. This information was promised to be back to me within a week. After three weeks, and no responses to my phone calls, I started inquiring about this representative. Come to find out, I was not the only one that was experiencing this same kind of treatment. As I said, I struggle with conflict, but am now growing more and more concerned with the fact that I have not heard from this representative and my personal information is out there somewhere. I am still considering checking into identity theft. The two times that I did speak with this person, all I could get was personal sob stories. Being the person that I am, I bit, hook- line- and sinker. When I saw this representative at my school, I made it a point to speak with my principal and she brought us both in to her office where we could discuss what was going on. I think that I was able to get my point across in a way that was non-threatening, but after I explained why I felt the way that I did about this situation, I turned the tables by asking how this would have made him feel. I also asked if he would not have had some of the same thoughts had it been his personal information floating around out there with no communication whatsoever? My papers were finally returned, but am still concerned about my information being stolen. I do think that the way that I handled my part of the situation was in a productive way, and it involved a lot of probing and playing of the devil’s advocate. I think that I did use the 3 R’s in order to help with this situation as I was not demanding, but respectful and responsive in my interactions with him.
If you were in my position, would you be concerned with identity theft? Just curious.

Communication Evaluation

After completing the three tests this week and having my husband and a colleague evaluate me as well, I was surprised to find that each of us were pretty much on the same page when it was all said and done. I was not surprised on the verbal aggression scale that I was in the moderate level. I do feel that I maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for other’s viewpoints, and the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than the person holding that position. I have always maintained that I am not a person that enjoys and thrives on conflict and I believe that this evaluation has supported this. The two that evaluated me were within 1 point of what my original score was on this test, so others must see this in me as well.

I believe that professionally and personally my listening styles profile says a lot about me and who I am. I am empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others, both as a professional and in my personal relationships. I do feel that I build relationships fairly easily and I have had to deal with the trust issue when it comes to others as well. I have always said I will trust someone until they give me reason not to. I know that this can come back to bite me sometimes, but I genuinely believe, and my husband has said the same thing as well, that I do tend to read people pretty well.

Communication Strategies

When I think about communication and if I communicate differently depending on who I am communicating with, I think that I would have to say yes. I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, teacher, and a pastor’s wife. Each of these groups that I am assembled with produces a different style of communication. I do not communicate with my students the same way that I communicate with teachers or even the parents of my students.

Some strategies that I feel will help me when I communicate with these different groups is to first of all remember the how important it is to communicate. I also need to make sure that I am paying close attention to body language and facial expressions so that I can make adjustments in our communication. Last, making sure that I am not forcing opinions on others is an important strategy as well.

I think that we must understand that people are unique and we should strive to develop communication with each person that we communicate with. It will not always be an easy task, but listening to what others have to say is very important.

Television Episode - Communication Skills and Styles

The show that I chose to watch was Friends. The characters in this episode spent much of their time with each other and due to the title of the episode, would identify their relationships as friends. It was actually very interesting to watch them without hearing what they were saying, but could by their body language that they were trying to hide something from each other. During most of the episode, the characters facial expressions could be described as looking shocked or surprised. They seemed to be focusing on something between two of the characters which lead me to believe that they were hiding something.
After watching the episode, I was correct in that there were some secretive things going on. A couple of the friends that seemed to be the two hiding something had decided to engage in a relationship and they did not want the rest of their friends to find out. They snuck around until finally, each of the friends caught on and their secret was out. Their body language was very on target with what was actually taking place in the episode – sneaking, peering, and listening while not able to be seen.
My middle son loves Friends and though I have seen a couple of these tv show episodes, I feel like I was pretty on target. If this had been a show that I watched regularly, I probably would have had no doubt of what was going on much quicker than I did. I feel that my assumptions were pretty accurate, although I was unsure of what was going on exactly.
I do believe that alot can be determined by not saying anything. Our body language and our nonverbal communication can share messages that we might not want to be shared. We need to really pay attention to these when we are communicating with others!

Effective Communication

Considering the past courses that I have taken here at Walden, I have had the opportunity to hear several professionals share through interviews their past experiences within their profession and I was impressed by the knowledge that they expressed in their areas of work. They were not only good communicators, but also were confident in what they shared. They did not give the impression that they were better than anyone else and always expressed the importance of sharing their knowledge with others, but also shared the importance of listening and learning from others as well. I remember reading an article about effective communication and about it being more than just an exchange of information. Effective communication is also about understanding the feelings behind the information being communicated. Through effective communication, we can improve relationships whether it is at home or work by strengthening connections to others and improving teamwork, decision-making, and problem solving.
One professional that I always enjoy hearing from is Louise Derman-Sparks. I love to hear her share her passion and love for learning and working with parents and their children. She demonstrates care and concern for the overall wellbeing for all involved. She also shows that she is a good listener when communicating with her parents and colleagues. I think that she models some very good behaviors that would be beneficial to all when considering effective communication skills.