Professional Hopes and Goals

A hope that I have when I think about working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I can play an important role in celebrating their diversity. I hope that celebrating diversity becomes contagious and it gets passed from child to family. I would like to see some of the areas of concern with regard to diversity, diminish over time.

One goal that I have for the Early Childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that these issues become  discussed in more and more early childhood settings. I did not know of many of the issues that the early childhood field faces until I began my course of study. I would like to see more early childhood educators informed on the issues and willing to make changes.

I want to say thank you to all my colleagues in this course! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and stories with me! It was a pleasure to learn such a diverse group of people. I appreciate your feedback on assignments and  I wish you all the best in your future courses! Maybe we will meet again! Thank you! I have really enjoyed this class!

Welcoming Families from Around the World

My new family's country of origin: Greece

5 ways I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive:

1. I will research Greek family culture and traditions
2. I will prepare the classroom and make sure that culturally appropriate materials are visible so that the child can feel welcome in the classroom
3. I will speak to the class about Greece and the upcoming arrival of the new student
4. I will find out as much information about the student as I can prior to their arrival
5. I will do anything else that I can to make sure the student and the family feel comfortable

In doing all these things in preparation, I hope to make the family and child feel comfortable and welcome as much as possible. I want them to realize that we are educating ourselves on their traditions and customs and will respect them. I think that doing all of these things will be a great benefit because, if the family feels comfortable, we can communicate about their child and education. This will also help the student and family's transition to be a smoother one into a new school. This will also benefit me as a caregiver/teacher to speak honestly and openly with the parents and feel comfortable in doing so.

The Personal Side of Prejudice, Bias and Oppression

1.      What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression?

I was teaching a Spanish class one summer to inner city youth in my area. Over 80% of my class had some sort of Spanish background. I remember the kids who were Puerto Rican, Dominican, or Cuban, always made fun of the kids who were Mexican. It was an everyday occurrence. I would hear “It’s because he’s Mexican” or “Don’t listen to him, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he’s Mexican!”

2.      In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

In this case, equity was diminished by the other kids making the Mexican students feel that they are not important. This could lead to internalized oppression for the Mexican students. If they are constantly put down by their peers because of their ethnicity, they may try to disown their heritage and their culture.

3.      What feelings did this incident bring up for you?     

This incident made me upset and I felt sorry for the Mexican kids. I did not understand why the other students felt this way about Mexicans. Everyone in my class spoke Spanish at home and they had this in common. I just did not understand.

4.      What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

I think that the mindset needs to change. The non-Mexican Spanish students should not feel that they are entitled or better than the Mexican students. Everyone should have an equal chance. They should celebrate all the things that they have in common.

Awareness of Microaggressions

One example of a microaggression that I experienced this week was during a conversation with my co-worker. The week before the conversation, I went to the hair salon to have my hair done for a banquet. The hair dresser added a few small extensions in the front of my hair just for some color. So, my co-worker asks me "Tina, did you get your hair colored?" I, not wanting to come right out and say that it was extentsions, say " Not exactly". She continues to say, "Oh! I should have known!" (I still did not mention the extensions.)

I smiled and did a small laugh and we continued on with another conversation. I felt a little bit irritated. I wondered why she felt that she should have known without my mentioning it previously.

My observation experiences show me that microaggression is a part of everyday culture that we are surrounded by. It is on TV commercials, shows, etc. These can have a negative effect on the targeted group. No one wants to wake up and go through their day feeling judged and discriminated against. The microaggression may not be noticeable at first, but once it is, it can really have long term effects on anyone.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Definitions from family and friends:

Marcia: Diversity: An expression for several different people
Culture: An expression for groups or places that shape an individual

Nicole: Diversity is different qualities, races, or mix of cultures brought to one organization, community, area, etc.
Culture: is how you are raised. Culture is what your background consists of and what you grew up in and were exposed to, by your community, your family, your ethnic background.

Tony: Diversity: Is everything. You have to be a part of it. Its not a word, its a way to be.
Culture: the views and practices of a certain group of people; ethnic, generation, religion...

Carmela: Culture & Diversity: To me it is how one learns about other peoples culture and tries to understand the difference. That's why culture and diversity go hand in hand. If one learns about different cultures, they are exploring the true meaning of diversity. We are all diverse in one way or another, so understanding the difference makes one culturally competent.
 
Camara:

When I think of culture, I think of my family and ancestors. I think of my heritage on both my maternal and paternal side. Culture relates to all the things that make us who we are, the struggle and the ups and downs of everyday life. I relate culture to my religion, to my belief of the American dream and most importantly to how I raise my own children. My culture is unique to me because of my race, ethnicity, skin complexion, hair texture, height, build and so many other factors.

Diversity reminds me of a rainbow, each color is unique but when put together they complement each other. Diversity in my opinion gives you a variety; a variety of cultures, opinions, attitudes, beliefs, religion and ideas. You don’t have to change who you are, you just have to learn how to co-exist with other people who do not always think and feel the same way you do.

In the definitions I received, they did reflect what I have learned in this course. For example,  “Diversity is everything”, “Culture is your background”, "..Makes us who we are"..

 Individually, some definitions do lack some  factors in describing diversity and culture. If I combine all of the definitions, I do not think that they have omitted much at all.

By listening to other peoples definitions, it has influenced my own thinking about these topics. I see that their definitions stem from their life experiences. I could also combine all these definitions to make a well-rounded definition.

My Family Culture

The three items that I would choose to represent my culture would be my cell phone, my bible, and a pen with paper.

I know at first, a cell phone can seem superficial, but it has many family photos on it as well as numbers of friends and family. I do not know if phones would be working in this situation, but I would have to have hope that I can stay in communication with my loved ones if we get separated. Not a day goes by when I do not call my mom or my sisters and vice versa. So, my phone would help me to stay connected.

My bible is a symbol of my faith. Even though we may not be able to attend a church in another country, I would still want my family to hold on to their faith.

I would bring a pen with paper in order to write stories, songs or draw pictures. My family is very creative and we express ourselves in many ways. We may not have all the necessities, but we would have our creativity to express ourselves and share these with each other.

If upon arrival, I was told that I could only keep one thing, I would be very sad. I would think that our lives would not be very fulfilling. However, I would be happy to know that my family is safe and that we are together. Only having one personal item is not the end of the world and we would make do with what we have.

An insight that I gained about my culture is that it is very family oriented. Everything that we do is to make sure that everyone in the family is okay.  

Research Reflection....

I have gained numerous insights from this course about research. I was able to take a look into the research process and learn more about it. I learned a lot of research vocabulary. The chapter on Ethics was also a valuable read for me. I also feel that the course text will be a helpful reference for me in future research.

The ideas about the nature of doing research have changed for me. This course has showed me that doing research involving children, there is so much to consider. It is not so cut and dry.

As far as planning, designing, and conducting research in the Early Childhood goes, I have learned that a good plan is necessary. But you have to expect the unexpected when working with children. I have also learned that you may start out with one research question and by the end of your research, it could be a completely different question.

A few challenges that I faced were coming up with a research simulation project or question that I would find interesting and then narrowing it down into something that I could research. It look the first few weeks of the course until I finally felt that I had narrowed down my topic to something that I could work with. It seemed like every time I read a new topic about how to conduct research, I had to re-evaluate my question/topic. It was challenging but very insightful and I feel that I would be able to replicate it again.

My perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course. I can see that this field is wide open to issues that need to be studied and researched. I am grateful to those that supplied us with the knowledge that we have now about the field of early childhood.

Research Around the World

I chose the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) website to explore. I found interesting information.

What are some of the current international research topics?

• A few international  research topics that I discovered were:
• Aids
• Public and Private School Enrollment
• Infant and child mortality rates
• Child nutrition
• Health
• Early Childhood Development
• Poverty
• Education and Training

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

• I found that in Eritrea, they have "feeder schools" that offer free basic education. Through these schools, they help convince parents to send their children to school. The un-enrolled child rate is still high regardless.
• I found it interesting that the greatest concern with regard to schooling is participation of girls.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

• Some other noteworthy information I found is regarding children with special needs.
• In Uganda, children with special needs have been identified and programs were created to cater to these children and give them access to school.
• They have also trained over 5,000 teachers to handle children with special needs.

Reference
http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php

Uplifiting Stories

The issue of ethics and research on children can cause people to think of research in a negative light. However, there can be positive effects  of research on children. I could not think of a personal story but I considered what we know about children today. This information had to come from someone's research. Take the medical field for example. We have seen positive benefits. We can learn about rare diseases, symptoms of diseases and how to prevent numerous illnesses in children.
An example, with regard to the early childhood field, we have learned that children learn through play. We also know the various types of play and what and how children learn from them.

In considering these factors, I can see that positive effects can come from research on children.

My Personal Research Journey

The topic that I chose for my course simulation is : The Effect of Changing Demographics and Diversity on the Early Childhood Field.

I chose this topic because I find it very interesting and I have had experience with issues regarding demographics in the early childhood field. I would like to find out more ways that it effects the E.C Field.

I am excited and nervous to tackle the research process as it is a lengthy one. It was difficult for me to narrow down to this topic because I have many questions that I could ask regarding this issue. I hope to be able to narrow it down further.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could accomplish this? Or should I just start by studying the literature and the topic will narrow itself?

Thanks!

I look forward to hearing from you! :)

International Early Childhood Field

I believe that learning about the international early childhood field has positive consequences for my professional and personal development. First, as an early childhood professional, I believe it is important to stay informed. It is a plus to know of the early childhood field on an international scale. Second, it can be an opportunity to network. International early childhood professionals can ask for suggestions on issues in the field and vice versa.  Thirdly, on a personal note, a consequence of learning about the international early childhood field is that it touches my heart. My passion is for children and helping them grow. When I hear, for example, that children do not have access to quality care or education, I have a heart to help in any way that I can.

My goal for the early childhood field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations  is that we can continue  and even show greater support for international early childhood professionals. This support should be in communication of ideas and information about trends and allow for necessary change and benefit children.

Getting to know Early Childhood Education Internationally

I am sad to say that I have not had the opportunity to communicate with an international early childhood professional, however, I have had the opportunity to listen to podcasts from international early child hood professionals.

This time, I listened to podcast # 5, a speaker named Irma Allen. Irma lives in Swaziland which is a small place in Africa. There, she is doing great things in the area of early childhood education. She states that a challenge that they face in Africa is to train teachers and community people to become teachers. She says that where she is located, there are no classrooms. She has to use the environment around her as teaching opportunities. She states that they use the ground and the grass and water (on days where there is water) and there is so much to learn from the environment.

I also studied that UNESCO website for international information.
I found that the  UNESCO mission is in line with one of my professional goals. In their mission, "they support early childhood policy development with the aim to build a solid foundation for a child's life long learning."

Along with that, they also seek to improve the quality of teacher education in Africa.  I thought that this was great to read, especially after listening to the podcast.

The final insight that I have gained from this website is the knowledge that UNESCO exists. I am aware of other international organizations that are doing similar things, but I am glad to know that there are more. I hope to come to know more of them!

References
 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/about-us/how-we-work/mission/
http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/world-forum-radio/

Sharing Web Resources- Save the Children

The Save the Children Organization website contains a ton of information.

I did not notice any outside links. The links that are on the website take you to another location on the website. There are many reports to read and information about the activities  that the organization is involved with.

I decided to explore the interactive map of places where the organization is located. I was amazed when I studied the map. They are in 120 countries! The map is literally covered by the little figurines that show the various locations. Save the Children organization is helping children every where!

I do receive the newsletter from the organization. The majority of them, if not all, are asking for donations or to sponsor a child. I did receive a newsletter with the story of a child. At the end of the story, it asks for sponsorship. The most recent newsletter discussed poverty and what it meant for that child.

Through their efforts with education, Save the Children organizations seek to make sure that all children have access to high quality education. They train teachers, coach parents and caregivers to help children with being ready for school, and much more.

I see that they want to help all children have access to education. In doing so, they seek equity for all children.

The Save the Children Organization is doing wonderful things to help children. They are stationed all over the world and advocate for children in many areas that can help them to lead a great life.


Reference
www.savethechildren.org

International Early Childhood Issues

I listened to another podcast on the World Forum Foundation website. Susan Lyon was the speaker and she was responsible for creating the first Italian Immersion preschool in San Francisco.  She also is the director of the Innovative Teacher Project. This project brings together public and private school professors to discuss their schools programs and professional development.

In her podcast, she speaks of her passion for children and how she likes to see how children view the world. She states that she wanted to prove that quality work can happen in a public place.

I also had to go with the Alternative assignment and I explored the Global Children's Initiative from Harvard. There, I learned about activities that they were involved in. :

In Brazil, they are working on applying the science of early childhood. They seek to strengthen leadership around early childhood development by having a leadership course and much more.

In Africa, there is an early childhood development project in Zambia. This is a collaboration project to help the anti-malaria initiative on child development. They have also created an assessment, the first assessment, in hopes that the assessment will improve the understanding of child development.

The global children's initiative also has projects to help child mental health in Shanghai, China, also help children in crisis in Haiti and Chile and much more.

I think it is great that so much is being done to help children worldwide.


References:

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/

www.worldforumfoundation.org

Childhood Poverty

I have not had success contacting an international professional. I had to do the Alternative Assignment which was to listen to the podcasts. I listened to a few and I was inspired by one and I clicked the link to the school website and this person was no longer the principal.

The woman was the principal of the only indigenous school in Canada. The school was not doing very well and administration retention was not great. She was inspired to help the indigenous population and make sure that they had access to quality education.

 I went to the Childhood poverty and policy centers page to learn about child poverty in another part of the world.

I chose to read up on poverty in China. I gained a few insights on the topic that were new to me. The website stated that most of the urban poor residents are dependent on government aid. 98% of poor children are receiving an education. Their parents do not want their  economic status to affect the education of their children. However, this education is often times not a high quality program.

Of the findings on the website, the article suggested ways to help China reduce its poverty level. One of these suggestions is to increase parents' ability to guarantee a better current standard of living through enhanced re-training opportunities, business development and increasing minimum wage ( Childhood Poverty and Policy Center)

Reference
http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/
www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/radio.php

Sharing Web Resources

I chose the Save the Children Organization. I signed up to receive their newsletters also. The link to the website is http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6146355/k.24E9/Who_We_Are.htm

The organization's focus is on helping children and their families. They respond to natural disasters and conflict. They aim to help children with daily struggles such as poverty, hunger, literacy and disease. They advocate for child protection and survival, education, health and nutrition, and hunger and likelihoods.

The first newsletter that I received is asking for donations to help them reach their summer goal. When I signed up for the newsletter, the website stated that newsletters will contain personal stories about the children they help from the workers that help them. I look forward to my next newsletter.

Establishing Professional Contacts

To begin my search for professional contacts, I searched on the Global Alliance of NAEYC website. I wanted to search for a professional in Africa and one in Spain. It did not take long to find the professionals and I was very excited to contact them. I wrote down the e-mail addresses and attempted to mail them from my university mail. I wrote a e-mail and attempted to send it to both contacts. The e-mail I sent to a professional in Morocco was returned immediately. I check to make sure that I had the correct e-mail and I did. It was a bit discouraging. The second e-mail was returned a while after the first. So I re-thought my strategy and I looked on the organization website next to the professional from Spain. I found another name with contact information that I attempted to e-mail. It was not returned right away, but after 4 hours, my e-mail notified me that it was still attempting to send the e-mail.
I am not having the best luck with the international e-mail addresses. I will keep trying because I am looking forward to contact with an early childhood professional in another part of the world. However, if I cannot reach anyone soon, I may have to do the alternative assignment.

The organization that I chose is Save the Children. I was inspired by my past work with children in  a domestic violence shelter and also the article about early childhood and health. : The foundations of lifelong health are built in early childhood in our course resources section. I signed up to receive the newsletter from Save the Children as well. I am excited to learn about the organization.

Quote about Children/ Thanks

My quote about children is:

"Play is the work of a child"

I would like to thank my classmates from EDUC 6160 for your support of my blog and being able to support yours as well! I wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

Testing for Intelligence?

I know that to some people, the IQ test score is what matters. It lets you know "how smart you are". I think that testing for intelligence is not a bad thing; I just think that when one looks only at test scores, they can only see academic intelligence. Something is missing in the academic testing. I think that if you are going to test a child then you should test the child as a whole.

Testing should include intelligence/academic as well as social skills and maybe even physical skills. In doing this, children would test all over the board. All children are different and they have strengths and weaknesses in different categories. Is it more important to be "smart" without the ability to socialize with peers? I am not sure. If a child who tests very high skips a grade or even jumps all the way to college and misses the opportunity to grow with his peers, is it better for him to grow with students older. I think that social is just as important as academic.

As I was doing research, I found it difficult to find how children are assessed in schools. In developing countries, they have a problem where there are millions of school age children that are not attending school. Teaching standards are often low when children are attending school. As I continued to look, I found more child assessments on how children are growing physically as opposed to developmentally. A cause of this is high child malnutrition rates.

 

Reference

www.unseco.org

Stress and Child Development

The stressor that I chose for this week is violence. My mother grew up in a home with domestic violence. This was a huge stressor for her and her sister. Every night they lived in fear of the horrific fighting between their parents and many times, they left the house in the middle of the night running to a neighbors house. They did not cope with this stress very well. No one was there to help them and no one spoke of it. They had to wait until they were old enough to move out of the house before any relief came to them. The effects of the violence has stayed with them and it is something that to this day, hurts when they talk about it.
My mother has written a book about it. It is called "Do it for the children" and it discusses her life growing up in a home with domestic violence and how it effects children. I think that this book is both my mothers way of helping to educate others but it is also her way of healing.

I chose to look up stressors that children in Afghanistan face. I found it hard to find information but this just motivated me more to find something. I learned that many (about half) of afghani children  do not have an education. Many of them are forced to work in the streets. Savethechildren.org states that 1 in 4 children die before their 5th birthday from things that could have been prevented and from malnutrition. Afghani children suffer from one of the highest levels of maluntrition.
Save the children is working to help children in Afghanistan. They are trying to cut down on malnutrition, healthy and safety and many other needed areas.
Here is the website in case anyone is interested: http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6150517/k.8737/Afghanistan.htm

Child Development and Public Health

The public health topic that I chose for this week is Immunization.

I think that this topic is an important one. I am a mother and a wife and I see immunizations as a way to protect my children from getting sick and it also prevents me from getting sick and passing anything on to them.

I looked at UNICEFs website and found an artcile from October last year.
"Malawi introduces the rotavris vaccine to reduce diarrhoea illness & deaths among children"
(by the way, I have never seen such a spelling for diarrhoea)
Anyway, the artcile stated that diarrhoea and pnemonia are the 2 leading killers of children in Malawi accounting for nearly 25% of under- five deaths (2012).

I find this information exciting in the way that Malawi now has the vaccinations but also sad because they have not had it for a long time and those illnesses caused so many deaths.

I think that this information has impacted my future in that I will not take any vaccinations for granted and I think I will read more about UNICEF to see if there is any way that I can help.

Here is the website I found the article in case anyone else would like to read it: http://www.who.int/immunization/GIN_November_2012.pdf

Childbirth in my life and around the World

I have birthed 2 children, but the one that I will discuss is the birth of my son. While I was working as an infant teacher at a daycare, I found out that I was pregnant! My husband and I were so excited. I planned on staying at work until he was born and then go on maternity leave. Well because of the strenuous nature of carrying heavy infants (18mo+)  I started dialating very early(well this is why we think ), around 30 weeks. The doctors were very concerned. When they checked me, I was about 1cm. So they wanted to keep a close eye on me. I had a dr apt every week and I was still dialating. So, they opted to give me a shot of steroids that would help develop my sons lungs in case he were to come early. I had a few overnight stays in the hospital and was told to take it easy at home. So one night, around 33 weeks gestation, I woke up to a lot of blood and cramping. I called the dr and they told me to come in right away. Needless to say, my son was born that night. After 14 hours of labor and 6 weeks early we welcomed a new baby into the world.
He was immediately rushed to the NICU, I only got to see his face when the doctor carried him to me  and then he was taken away. He had to stay in the NICU for 2 weeks and he was able to come home. After visits with the dr went ok but they always seemed to mention that since he was a preemie, he wasnt really at full gestation. I was a little confused about that, he was born but they counted as if he was not really at term until his due date.

I chose this story because premature labor happens frequently and there is some concern about development and premature babies.

Birthing in India:

I found an organization called Birth India that strives to help women in India to have natural childbirths. The website stated that about 50% of women are being led into C-Sections and in some private hospitals, it is as much as 80% of women! They state that many women in India are given C-sections and other un-needed medical interventions that are harmful to the women and babies.
The world Health organization states that the C-section rate should be between 5-15%

This is very disconcerting to me. I know that in the US, C-sections are a routine surgery but many women are not coerced into having one. I find this interesting and I hope to learn more about it.
http://birthindia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=27