WE MADE IT!!! EDUC 6990

We made it!!!!

     Wow, I cannot believe that this program has already come to an end. I feel like just yesterday I was finding out information and registering for Walden University. Through this course I have learned that diversity comes in many different skins, colors, sizes, and shapes. I have learned that even if we may all look the same, we are diversified and unique. Passing this information to my students will be one of my greatest challenges and goals. I feel like there is so much that needs to be shared and advocated for that this one goal may take me a while to complete or even begin to understand.

Another goal that has come from this program is to continue to bring awareness and voice to teaching diversity to my colleagues. If I can just start with my small community of practice then it can become a web of voices being spread across the field. I can begin small and then progress as I continue to learn and indulge myself more into the field. Through this course I have learned to focus on what is important and to let the little things develop and move on their own. I have also learned that we all need a CoP. This CoP is what is going to support us in the toughest of times as well as the best and worst of times. It is important to focus on the people around us and how they can help us and make us grow.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues for all of your creative and productive support. Even by sharing your biographies and telling a little about your lives, I learned that there are many people with bigger workloads working towards the same goals. Thinking of you guys made me keep going and working harder. A huge thanks to all of you and good luck in all of your future endeavors.

 

A quote to always remember: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. –Benjamin Franklin”

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally (EDUC 6990)

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

      For this assignment I decided to choose three international organizations that related to the field of ECE but on an international level. The three organization I chose were:

• Save the Children
• United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• Academy for Educational Development

     I chose Save the Children because they work in 120 countries, fight for children’s lives, and help them fulfill their full potential. They truly do save children’s lives. While investigating their website, I came upon a job opening as an Emergency Response: Education Manager. This position in stationed in the Philippines. The job expectations are to mentor and build the capacity of the education team in Tacloban. Looking at the job requirements I would need some experience in project managing, knowledge of established inter-agency standards and guidelines, and experience representing external forums.

     UNESCO is also a great organization that focuses on four major fields: education, science, culture, and communication. UNESCO aims to build peace in the world through knowledge, social progress, exchange and mutual understanding among peoples. Through their website I found a job as an Interpreter. Being completely bilingual I would only have to complete a sound training and confirm experience and broad cultural knowledge. I feel that by being an interpreter I can be in the center of the action getting informed of everything that goes on.

     The Academy for Educational Development believes that sustainability comes from building the capacity of individuals, communities and countries to address their needs. They give these countries the resources they need in order to reach their full potential. A job opportunity that I saw through this organization was that of a Program Assistant. I would be helping in projects the organization has like enabling citizens to solve their own problems and influence policy. As for experience I would only need program and administrative support experience as well as prior experience in a non-governmental organization.

I feel like all of these jobs have a different focus on a different aspect of the educational field. Opening my horizons to different fields as well as different places can be very educational and exciting.

References

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/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/introducing-unesco/

 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community (EDUC 6990)

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community

     While research on different organization and careers that are education based I came across three organizations that caught my eye. Each organization plays a special role within the early childhood field and the field of education in general. Looking for job positions available made me think about other branches of education that I might be interested in.

Three organizations that I chose were:

            – COTA (Children of the Andes)

            – NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children)

            – U.S. Department of Education

     I chose COTA because it hits close to home. COTA helps the children in vulnerable areas of Colombia that face poverty and violence on a daily basis. COTA helps these children get the education, healthcare, and special support that they need in order to survive and have more fulfilling lives. Since I am living in Colombia I thought this would be a great organization to be a part of. A job opportunity that interested me as part of COTA was to become a COTA promoter. There are no necessary skills or experience required for this position. COTA holds induction meetings where they give you all of the information you need in order to become a promoter. For many of these organizations, advocacy is the only thing missing.

     NAEYC is a huge national organization that has thousands of members from all over the world. I chose this organization because it covers many aspects of early childhood education and is a great resource to have. While reviewing their website, NAEYC has a link ‘Job Seekers’ that posts all jobs that are associated with early childhood in NAEYC affiliated childcare centers. Through these job positions I found a job opportunity to work at the University of Michigan CDL (Child Development Laboratory) as the head teacher, My responsibilities would be to be the head teacher in the preschool classroom but also training, supervising, and evaluating university students. Having my masters I fully qualify for this position. I would be interested because it is not only dealing with teaching children but also teaching university students to be better teachers as well. I think this would be a great combination in careers.

     The U.S. Department of Education has a variety of information that all surrounds education and what is happening all over the U.S. There are many resources for educators, administrators, and parents as well. Through this website I found a job that interested me. The position is for an Associate Education Research Scientist/Analyst. Required qualification for this position is a doctoral degree in the appropriate field, experience conducting research in education, and demonstration of research skills and knowledge. Although I would not be qualified for this position it seems like a side f education that could be exciting and informative. Working from the research side of education would be a great change and a new experience.

     These new positions have made me think about maybe expanding my interest in the early childhood field and maybe joining another branch like university teaching or leading professional development. This is definitely only the beginning.

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community (EDUC 6990)

 Exploring Roles in the ECE Community

     Before beginning this assignment I thought it would be something rewarding and exciting to find resources from the community that would help the early childhood field. After a couple of hours of investigation, this assignment turned out to be a lot harder than what I imagined. Three organizations that appealed to me were:

– Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar

– UNICEF Colombia

– SISBEN (Sistema de Identificacion de Potenciales Beneficiales de Programas Sociales)

     I chose these organizations because they are the ones that make the greatest impact in this country. The Bienestar Familiar is similar to the Department of Children and Families in the U.S.. SISBEN is a program that rates very low income families and depending on their ranking they receive certain benefits from the government. UNICEF has also made great contributions to the low income families and schools within this country as well as all over the world.

     Within these organizations there was not much information on job opportunities. The Colombian websites were very outdated and not very useful when it came to looking for information about the responsibilities and roles of the people who work within these organizations. I tried calling some offices in order to get information but all I got were automated machines where they just looped me around and was never able to speak to a real person. Some job opportunities that were available were basic teaching positions and teacher-aid positions. One job that I researched that interested me was that of an advocate for programs of first infancy. This program reaches out to families whose children are from zero to 5 years of age. They educate and follow these families in order to make sure that parents are contributing to their children’s education and well-being.

     For the teaching positions I would actually be way over qualified because they only require a teaching certification from a vocational school and one year experience with children in the classroom. For the advocacy program I would have to pass some computerized tests they administer in order to determine my skills in technical skills and financing. I would also have to have 2 years of experience developing and programing social and community programs. Although I would not be qualified for this position, I believe I would be able to start somewhere at the bottom of the line where I could just help relate to these families and offer them someone to talk to and share their experiences.

     This assignment was very difficult for me. I feel like if I wanted to get more involved in other aspects of the community, I would have to personally try and visit these offices and find out who the directors are in order to get more information.

Reflecting on Learning (EDUC 6358)

Reflecting on Learning

     The course, Strategies for Working with Diverse Children, has taught me so much in the past eight weeks. Although a lot has been said and done in regards to anti-bias education I feel like there is still so much to learn and practice. My most passionate hope for my future as an anti-bias educator is to be able to become a strong voice and advocate for the children and families I serve as well as to educate and inspire my colleagues and teaching community. The most important part of becoming an anti-bias educator is feeling confident and with enough knowledge to share and express the importance of ant-bias education.

     This has been a long and sometimes stressful journey and I could not have done it without the help and support of my classmates. Thank all of you for your words of encouragement and comments that have motivated me to continue to do my best. I wish all of the best of luck! For those are starting your last class to graduate, this is the final stretch and I know we can make it. Thank you for everything!!!

Impacts on Early Emotional Development (EDUC 6358)

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

For this assignment I decided to choose Colombia that is part of the Latin American region since it is where I am living now and also where my family is from. Living in this region and experiencing all of these difficulties first hand has definitely been a learning experience as well as an eye-opening experience for me.

Children in this region are facing many challenges. 40% of children are being displaced due to violence, natural disasters, and the use of landmines (UNICEF, 2013). Due to these displacements, children lose school time or an overall opportunity to attend school. Due to these hardships, many children have also been “recruited” for non-state armed forces. Children are taken away and armed with knives, guns, rifles, and led into the dense brushes to go and kill and seek out things they know nothing about. From these experiences many children also fall into alcohol and drug abuse to try and relieve the stresses of life at such an early age.

These experiences also alienate them from their neighborhoods, friends, family, and everything they know as true. This lack of attachments and consistency make these children vulnerable and with no expectations of anyone. When they have things that are constantly taken from them, they learn to not get attached with anything because they might lose it as fast as they got it.

From these experiences and resources I have realized the importance of continuity and persistence. For many of these children, school and school life might be the only constant in these children’s lives. Not only children in these countries but children everywhere need the consistency and support that the educational institution can offer their students. Knowing these issues that affect children everywhere, we can be prepared to handle these children and the issues they may enter the classroom with.

The Sexualization of Early Childhood (EDUC 6358)

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

Unfortunately, sexualization of early childhood is something that has become more common and less restrictive over the years. Usually parents are the first ones we want to blame but many industries make an obscene amount of money using sex and violence to market their products to children (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). How can we judge parents for exposing their children when the media and vast amount of industries shove themselves in the eyes of young children?

Something that I witness more and more every day is the exposure to children and music with very sexually explicit lyrics. There is a bachata song by Romeo Santos named Propuesta Indecente (Indecent Proposal). My students know ALL of the lyrics to this song. From the title of the song you can probably tell what it talks about. The song is about a man that sees a girl with another a man and straight off the back says that it doesn`t really matter who he is, but that he wants to get with her. He tells her to drink a Martini to take her shyness away and that it will calm her down. He goes into details about what he would like to do with her and that if she will accept his indecent proposal.   

Another example of these exposures is watching new episodes of cartoons on the television. A new show called Monster High shows really skinny girls in short skirts, high heels, colored hair, and a lot of make-up. These girls are supposed to be in high school but look like they belong on some corner. It sends very bad messages to girls about their appearance as well as high school expectations.   

Luckily for our school, and many schools around the country now, children have uniforms to wear to school. On special days children can come to school with “regular clothes” instead of their uniform. Here is where we can see each child`s fashion and way of dressing. Many times we have had to tell girls to change into extra clothes we have at school or to put their jacket on and zip it up. Girls come to school in some outfits that are not age appropriate at all. While we can try and blame the parents for buying it for them, the kid clothing company should not be making outfits and clothes like that for children of their age. Society is the one that pushes these fashions and styles on the children.  

Having these so called “role models” for children can greatly affect their self-worth and their understanding of what is valuable and accepted in society. Such lessons will shape their gender identity, sexual attitudes, and values, and their capacity for relationships, for love and connection that they take into adulthood (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). Knowing the damage it can have on children from such an early age, it is never too soon to start acting on society`s impact and implications.  

My awareness of the sexualization of early childhood has increased due to the resources from this week. Many times we also get tangled in society`s web of sexualization and bad examples that we don`t notice everything that is going on around us. The article this week made me think of a lot of things that happen right in front of us and we do not even notice. Being more aware and knowledgeable on the topic will definitely make the difference in the changes we make towards our children and their view on society`s traps.

References

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.

 

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice (EDUC 6358)

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

          When we experience isms in our own lives, it not only affects us but everyone around us. An ism is about the institutional advantages and disadvantages people experience due to their membership in certain social identity groups (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). Because of these isms we are treated differently and looked at differently within society. Even as adults we can be tormented with these isms and biases that bring us down. A specific ism that I have dealt with in the past has been with that of classism. As a child and even into my teenage years, I was bothered about the clothes I wore and the brands that I didn`t wear. While other people in my school dressed in Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, and Polo, my brother and I dressed in clothes from no-brand names. I was always looked down upon and talked about and bullied about my clothes and how I dressed. On top of this, I was overweight and not part of the “in” crowd. This ism definitely crushed my self-esteem and my self-worth. I felt like a `nobody` and therefore acted like I was a `nobody`.

            As educators, if we are supposed to support and encourage our students to build and establish positive and strong personal identities, how can we do this if we don`t feel it ourselves? Personal identity is what educators think about when planning ways to nurture children’s positive self-concepts (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). If we as the educators feel down and discouraged by what is going on in our personal lives, it is very difficult to portray this positive and uplifting part of ourselves to our students.

            If these isms are coming from the same community you work in or even closer as the same work setting, the work environment and confidence that you eradicate towards others will not be the same. For example, if there is a family that constantly looks down upon you, makes comments about what you wear or how you look, and makes judgments based on your appearance, there is a very little chance that you will be willing to open up, communicate, and want to participate with them. It is because of these issues that it is very important that we learn how to overcome these challenges and teach the children how to avoid but also overcome these isms if they are faced with them. Our negativity and past experiences cannot reflect in our work and that is one of the hardest things about anti/bias education, being aware of our own biases and past experiences and learning how to teach beyond them.   

Observing Communication (EDUC 6358)

Observing Communication

     This week I went to visit a colleague of mine and her 16 month old son, Mateo. During my visit, Emily (the mother) was playing with Mateo in the living room. The two were playing with a cube where you had to insert shapes. For every shape they inserted, she would say the name of the shape and hand it to Mateo. Mateo would smile, babble, then insert the shape where it belonged. They played this game for a few minutes until there was a stinky smell that needed some attention very quickly. As Emily changed Mateo’s diaper, she was talking to him and telling him what she was doing with him. When she would say “Now, UP!”, Mateo would push his pelvis up in order for her to take the diaper out from under him. He did not fuss or scream because he was being changed. Everything went smoothly. After the changing of the diaper, they went back to playing in the living room.

     Since my colleague is also an early childhood educator, I feel her interactions with her baby were very efficient. Describing your actions with words helps the baby to understand and anticipate your next move (Kovach & Da Ros-Voseles, 2011). This is definitely what was happening during the changing of the diaper. While they were playing with the cube of shapes, since she said the name of the shape every time, he knew she would say something and it was almost like he was repeating what she was saying before placing the shape in the cube.

     From their interactions, It looked like Mateo felt valued, seen, and a part of the process. Being talked to the whole time also gave him opportunities to interact and respond with babbles and even facial expressions and laughter. Through this exercise and the reading from this week, I realized that many times we do not look at babies as being able to respond and speak up for themselves. I hope to better that aspect of myself and direct myself directly to the child in order to give him/her importance and acknowledgement.

Reference

Kovach, B., & Da Ros-Voseles, D. (2011). Communicating with babies. YC: Young Children, 66(2), 48-50.

 

Creating Affirming Environments (EDUC 6358)

Creating Affirming Environments

 

          If I could create my own early childhood setting, there would be so much to consider and integrate. The first thing is that I would make sure that there are a lot of windows in the classroom. There are so many teachable moments that can come from nature and things we see happening outside. As for what goes in the classroom, there is so much to include. To begin with, I would try to include as many diverse and ethnic materials as I can. I would try to focus on the cultures and identities in the classroom first, then, build on others as needed throughout the year. These materials would include (but are not limited to) dolls that depict various ethnicities and cultures. I would include tons of books that touch on topics of different races, family dynamics, social identities, gender identities, and many more. Pictures and posters would also be included that show different abled children, different races, and places. One thing that I think would be really nice to have in the center is also different genres of music. It`s very important to include as many things as you can that reflect the children and families you work with. It alerts children to which issues and people the teacher thinks are important and unimportant (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). This is why it is very important to make every child and family feel ¨visible¨ and accepted.   

          From the media segment, seeing how Adriana had her home-center organized gave a few good ideas to include into my center (Laureate Education Inc., 2011). I like how she had the different colored bean bags that could be used to compare and discuss the different skin tones. I also like that parents have the opportunity to enter the center and take time to make their child feel safe and comfortable. I feel like when parents also feel included and accepted they are more willing to have an open relationship with the teacher where there is more of a connection and partnership to build on what we are expressing to the children. A cultural show and tell area would also be something that I would copy from Adriana`s home center. Giving families the ability to share and feel included into the center gives them and the children a sense of belonging. These artifacts that are brought in can also help boost a unit of that specific identity being shared. This will hopefully avoid the tourist curriculum.

          The most important thing that I can include in my center is visibility and acceptance. I hope to portray all the children and families that enter my center and make them feel as part of the center and the community. Working with the students on diversity acceptance and knowledge will be my main goal. Hopefully, with this goal in mind, all materials and curriculum will reflect that.     

References:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Building on children’s strengths. Baltimore, MD: Author.