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.