International Awareness

Giving the opportunity to learn about early childhood on the international level as has been a eye opening experience; however, there were some consequences that followed:

·         Unfortunately I was unable to make a personal international connect and because of that I was unable to engage in a full conversation about issues that I listened to on the podcast.

·         More information created more questions; however, because of time constraints, new questions remain unanswered.

·         I was unable to challenge the views of those who spoke on the podcast.

One goal I have is to continue to reach out to international contacts through use of the NAEYC website.

Insight

In looking at the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation website, I had the following insights:

·         The early childhood profession began with two types of services in mind.  One was to serve poor children and the other was to provide education for children from middle class families.  These two services also created, unintentionally, two types of professions---an early childhood teacher and a pedagogue.  The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (2004) define the early childhood teacher as a professional who work with children birth to three and a pedagogue work is based on theory and practice. 

·         In 2002 a decision was made in Vietnam to increase access of early childhood programs to disadvantage families (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2005).  This change increased the number of teachers with social insurance by 51% and even higher for those with health insurance (UNESCO, 2005). 

·         Public resources has a tremendous effect on inequity and excellence in early childhood.  UNESCO (2004) reported that public resources that is not distributed effectively contributes to inequity while lack of public resources contribute to the inequity of early childhood education in Indonesia (UNESCO, 2004).

References

UNESCO. (2005). Supporting the poorest:  Vietnam’s early childhood policy. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001425/142585e.pdf

UNESCO.  (2004).  The early childhood workforce in developed countries:  Basic structure an education.  Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001425/142,585e.pdf

UNESCO. (2004).  Access, public investment, and equity in ECCE:  The nexus in nine high-population countries. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001374/137408e.pdf

Additional NAEYC Resources

The NAEYC newsletter I received include a link to the online journal Voices of Practitioners.  This online journal provides early childhood teachers with the opportunity to publish their research.  The article decided to read was titled “Reflection in Action:  An Infant’s Teacher’s Journey of Discovery”.  This article discussed the importance of reflection as an infant teacher.  I found the article to be very informative and help put into words what most infant teachers may feel. 

The current newsletter did not include information on the issues discussed this week in class; however, the website continues to provide an opportunity to show support to The Strong Start for America’s Children proposal by providing an open letter to congress that can be signed by anyone.  This link can be found at http://strongstart.naeyc.org/.

Teacher Turnover---Equity and Excellence

Teacher retention plays a major role in equity and excellence The NAEYC podcast on high teacher turnover provided some interesting information on the effects of teacher turnover on teachers and children; in turn affecting the quality of programming provided to families.  Positive relationships are at the heart of early childhood programming and when teachers leave the program, the teaching team can feel a sense of uncertainty (NAEYC, 2010).  This sense of uncertainty can lead to a team of teachers who only go through the motions of teaching, creating an atmosphere of teachers who are not intentional in their teaching or lose the motivation to challenge themselves or others.

When teachers leave, children experience a lost.  When we think, again, how relationships are at the heart of early childhood education, it becomes clear that just as it’s hard for us as adults to have a love one no longer be a part of our life, the same is true for children and the loss of their teacher.  When programs experience consistent turnover, the equity and excellence of programming is greatly compromised.  In fact, children that experience the loss of a teacher can experience a lapse in learning (NAEYC, 2010). 

Teacher turnover in early childhood education is a critical issue across the country (NAEYC, 2010).  This trend contributes to the inequity of programming.  NAEYC (2010) provides some ways to try to decrease turnover:

o   Keep staff interested in things they love about early childhood education

o   Create a team that feels like a family

o   Work on communication within the team

o   Have children books about emotional intelligence

o   Introduce new people to children and discuss the fact that losing people is a part of life.

References

National Association for the Education of Young Children (Producer).  (2010, March 1).  Curtailing high turnover among early childhood educators.  NAEYC radio podcast.

 

 

NAEYC as a Resource

The NAEYC website has two sections that I provided information that is relevant to my current professional development.  The NAEYC blog gives me an opportunity to stay up to date with what’s going on in the field and to hear a fellow professionals take on the issue.  The family section is a great resource for me as a parent, but it also provides me with resources and ideas with families that are a part of my programs.

The NAEYC newsletter introduced a new book titled “The Power of Emergent Curriculum:  Stories from Early Childhood Settings”.  This made me think about the curriculum we currently use and our teaching practices.  I’m interested in reading the book as a way to increase my professional development, as well as my staff.  I recently received an alert from NAEYC about Start Strong for America’s Children, a bipartisan-sponsored legislation.  The bill shows continue interest of politicians in investing in our children’s future.  A new insight for me while exploring this website is ways to help children cope with disaster, which included a disaster preparedness kit for early childhood education programs.

Childhood Poverty

 

I did not have luck with connecting with a conversation partner or listening to a podcast, so I study the childhood poverty website and focused on China.  Three insights that I gained from the website is:

·         Unemployment or lay-offs are is the major reason for poverty;

·         Families who live in poverty access educational opportunities for their children, but at a financial cost;

·         Childhood poverty has declined

The website consisted of a story of young girl whose parents moved into the city in efforts to make ends meet.  It was interesting to read about how the young girl felt about the school she attended.  Although her parents wanted to send their child to a great school, she did not like the school and didn’t have friends.  This makes me wonder how much relationships effect what she is learning, and if sending her to this school is worth her parents hard earn money. 

NAEYC

The name of the name of the organization I am studying is the National Association for the Education of Young Children or NAEYC.  The website is www.naeyc.org. One current issue/trend that caught my attention was the discussion of newest research on language and vocabulary on their blog.  The blog also had a post related to the topic this week, the blog is discussed dual language learners and how early childhood professionals can support children who are dual language learners.  The one thing that stood out for me in this post was the thought that every child should be a dual language learner.

Connections and Resources

I used the Global Alliance of NAEYC in my efforts to connect to other early childhood professionals.  I emailed the Step by Step program in Haiti and Rev Charles Arko-Nunoo from Ghana.  The email I sent to Rev Charles Arko-Nunoo bounced back so I attempted a third, Sandra from El Salvador.  At this point, I have not received any responds and I am curious how well others are doing. 

I will study the NAEYC website because of the information available for teachers and families.  Does anyone use the information located in the family section as a professional resource?

Importance of Child Development

Early childhood is the only time in life that the greatest and most rapid development occurs across all developmental domains.  During early childhood, these developmental domains intertwined and it is critical that parents and early childhood professionals provide need support, such as scaffolding leaning, to help children learn, develop, and grow. 

“The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six.”

- Maria Montessori

Assessing Young Children

Viewing children holistically is important to understanding early childhood development.  Looking at the whole child is a way to support and meet the individual needs of every child.  When looking at the whole child, all areas of development should be assessed.  All areas should be assessed because each area of development intertwines with each other and to fully understand a child’s development, you have to understand how each part of development contributes to the whole child.  Looking at children holistically is equivalent to connecting the dots to complete the entire picture.  Understanding children’s culture and families is also an important step in looking at the whole child; understanding children’s culture and families adds color to the picture. 

In Northern Ireland, children enter primary school at the age of 4.  At this age children are assessed cognitively; children are assessed on reading, writing, and arithmetic.  This type of assessment has proven to be a disadvantage for some 4 year olds because of the lack of attention to other developmental areas such as social and motor skills. 

I am concern with how children are assessed.  The example provided about Northern Ireland shows how focusing on one are of development can be detrimental to the learning and development of a child.  We need to figure how to truly embrace the idea of viewing the child through a holistic lens  connects the dots so we may truly support each child's learning and development. 

Chidren of Incarcerated Parents

The act of violence has a tremendous effect on children, in particular when the child’s parent is incarcerated.  As a young child, my cousin witnessed his father being handcuffed and placed into a police car.  His father was sentenced to 20 years and was released just after my cousin turned 26.  Growing up, my cousin had lots of questions about where his father was and when he was coming home.  My family provided support to him and his mom, making sure they had the essentials they needed to get by.  I remember as we got older, my cousin struggled with how to talk to others about his dad.  His mom used the support of school counselors, but it seem to fail and my cousin began to “act out” in school.  Unfortunately as an adult, my cousin followed his father’s footsteps in ended up incarcerated and later murdered. 

Children of incarcerated parents don’t have a lot of resources, particularly when the incarcerated parent is the child’s mother.  These children are in desperate need of how to deal with the situation from a personal and social point of view.  In China, it is estimated that there are 600,000 children with incarcerated parents.  China also has a difficult time with providing resources for families; however, there are some non-governmental organizations that started basic foster care and education for children of incarcerated parents.  My hope is that we take a deeper look at what is happening to children of incarcerated parents so we may be able to keep those children from going down the road my cousin went down.

 

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression often goes undetected; yet postpartum effects 1 in 7 women. My sister’s postpartum depression went undetected until it became so severe our family had to develop a plan to prevent her from suicide attempts.  When I think back to when my nephew was born, there was so many signs that we missed.  My sister lived with my mom and my nephew’s father lived out of state.  My mother always made sure my nephew was feed and diaper was changed, but we all thought it was just my mother smothering her new grandchild.  When my sister sent her 8 week son out of state with his dad, we couldn’t understand how a new mother would send her newborn out of state.  I remember being upset, I remember looking at my sister with confusion as she told me her son needed his dad more than he needed her.  We never asked her how she felt about her son or if she was happy, I now know my sister was crying out for help and we all missed the signs.

In the UK, postpartum depression is the leading cause of maternal suicide. Just like mothers in the US, mothers in the UK report the feeling of lack of social and emotional support and/or martial unhappiness as some reasons for unhappiness.  In the contrast with the US, mothers in the UK who are diagnosed with postpartum depression are not prescribed any antidepressants and instead are encourage to seek therapy.

The information I have learned about postpartum depression increases my desire to see more done in terms of screening.   I think as early childhood professionals, it’s important that we check on the mother’s well-being during the child’s first year of life.  The best way to do this is checking in during home visits and simply asking the mother how she’s doing.  It is critical to understand signs and have resources available for a mom who is struggling. 

Childbirth in My Life and All Around the World

People always told me that your second child comes faster than your first child and my son proved them right.  My first son was 3 weeks early.  I recall the morning I began labor and I kept trying to breathe through it because I figured it was another bout of Braxton Hicks.  By the time I got to work, I realized that something else was going on.  One of my employees drove me to the hospital and I was quickly admitted.  I was so afraid of pain during my first pregnancy that I went in to the hospital with the mindset of getting an epidural as soon as the pain was bad.  Throughout my second pregnancy, I decided that I was going to try and make it through without the epidural.  Well that didn’t happen!  As soon as the nurse told me it was my last opportunity to get the epidural, I jumped right on it.  A couple of hours later, my son was ready to make his appearance; however, the doctor wasn’t there yet.  The nurses encouraged me to try not to push and hold on until the doctor came into the room.  After waiting for what seem like eternity, the doctor finally arrived and my son made his entrance.

I would say that both of my deliveries were pretty common deliveries in America.  I choose to talk about the birth of my second son because I remember having discussions with several different people about giving “natural” birth.   I remember wanted to fill like I could accomplish what other women did before me.  But when it all came down to it, I had to do what was best for me and what allowed me to mentally bring a child into the world.  Epidurals are not as uncommon as I once believed, as matter of fact, I found Australia was similar to the United States, with a lot women delivering babies at hospitals and receiving epidurals.

Meaningful Code of Ethics

Three ideas in the NAEYC code of conduct that is meaningful to me are:

·         Creating and maintaining safe and healthy settings that foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions.

o   This is meaningful to me because it stressed the importance of caring for the whole child and respecting them as individuals.

·         Ensure that each child’s culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and valued in the program.

o   This is meaningful to me because it is critical that each child’s background is respected.  When children feel they are welcomed or an equal part of the program, they have a greater opportunity for learning more.

·         Develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with families we serve.

o   Partnerships with families is the cornerstone to helping children become successful through sharing information.  Relationships with families allows professionals to learn more about the child.

Resources

National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/

The Division for Early Childhood
http://www.dec-sped.org/

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
http://www.zerotothree.org/

WESTED
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm

Harvard Education Letter
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85

FPG Child Development Institute
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/

Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/

HighScope
http://www.highscope.org/

Children's Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/

Center for Child Care Workforce
http://www.ccw.org/

Council for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org/

Institute for Women's Policy Research
http://www.iwpr.org/

National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/

National Child Care Association
http://www.nccanet.org/

National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/

Pre[K]Now
http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067

Voices for America's Children
http://www.voices.org/

The Erikson Institute
http://www.erikson.edu/

World Forum Foundation
http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
World Organization for Early Childhood Education
http://www.omep-usnc.org/
Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/

Additional Resources

New America Education 

http://newamerica.net/

 

Early Childhood News
http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/?utm_source=pmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=060713_NEWSlink

 

Center on the Developing Child
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/?utm_source=Center+on+the+Developing+Child%27s+mailing+list&utm_campaign=6ba97b03f6-May+2013+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b803499e01-6ba97b03f6-11026885

Personal Childhood Web

My childhood is filled with all kinds of memories, happy and sad, that contribute to the person I am today.....

 

 

 

 

My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader, giving me encouragement to push myself to success....

 

My dad died when I was six and I have only one memory of him.  I will always cherish that memory and I know he is still with me.....

 

I was the oldest of three and being the oldest meant I had to make sure I was a good role model.  These two people are the reason I love helping people....they are also responsible for me having great debate skills!

 

My uncles stepped in to help my mom out after my dad died.  I spent a lot of summers visiting them in California and Arkansas...

 

 

Corby Keith was my favorite cousin.  He passed away when we were 16, but he taught me a lot about self confidence and was the first person who was truly my best friend....

 

My grandmother is the cornerstone of our family.  She made sure every holiday was full of fun and laughter....

 





 



  



Early Childhood Makes an Impact

A couple of years ago, we had a little girl in our Center who had some pretty challenging behaviors.  At the age of 3, she had already been kicked out of 6 centers.  The mom came to us because she appears that our program will work with families and kicking a child out was not an option.  We enrolled the child and within the first three days she displayed some pretty aggressive behaviors.  Throwing chairs, running around the Center, hitting other children, and at times even threading the teachers.  We pulled all of our resources together and for the next two years we worked intensely with her and her mom.  Today, that little girl is a successful third grader!  I have walked into basketball games where she was politely selling Girl Scout cookies.  It was amazing to see how much she had transformed!  When I spoke with her mom she told me her daughter was in sports, had lots of friends, and the teachers enjoyed her.  She thanked me and my staff for not giving up on her daughter.  It's stories such as these that makes me realize the impact that high quality care, positive relationships, and family partnerships can have on a child.



I love this quote because I believe that in order for us to continue to move coward with accepting each other as individuals and celebrating  diversity, we have to start teaching about diversity at a young age.



One of my favorite children's books is Shades of Black:  A celebration of Our Children.  I love this book because its shows the differences within my own race.  Growing up I can remember countless stories of people within my race determining beauty based on the shade of a person's skin.  My hope in having book available for all children is to show that ALL shades are beautiful!

Professional Hopes and Goals

My hope for children and families from diverse backgrounds is to be apart of an environment that respects, encourages, and celebrates differences.  My hope is that children and families are able to feel comfortable to ask questions and provided a safe environment where differences are seen as an opportunity to grow and learn from each other.  

My goal for early childhood education is to continue to have open and honest communication about diversity and it's affect on children and families.

A special thanks to all of my classmates!  Your stories, thoughts, and ideas help me in my journey to focusing on social justice.

Welcoming Families Around the World

The little girl who will begin in my program is from Sudan.  She comes from a tight knit community where the saying "it takes a village" is very much a reality.  Being able to communicate and to be understood sets the stage for families to feel comfortable with a program.  The first thing I would do, is determine if a translator is needed for me to communicate with her and/or her family.  This must be established before she begins.  If it is not possible to find a translator, every attempt would be made to communicate in a way that lets the family know I am open and willing to do what it takes to communicate with them.  I would learn more about her community.  I would do this by talking with her family and using additional community resources to get an understanding of her community.  I would ensure that what I have learned from her family and community resources are reflected in the program.  I would invite her family to participate in programming and share ideas in how to improve programming.  I would hope that I provide a environment for her and her family that is comfortable, familiar, and encouraging.

The Personal Side of Biases, Prejudices, and Oppression

When I was pregnant with my first child, I worked in a small center as an infant teacher.  Our center had grandparents who were volunteers and were a huge part of our program.  However, there was a grandparent who always rubbed me the wrong way.  He would always make inappropriate jokes about teacher's bodies.  When I complain to my supervisor, I was told that it was just his personality and he was harmless.  I kept my distance from him and tried hard to ignore the jokes.  Once I had my daughter and enrolled her in the program, I requested that he not be apart of her classroom.  My supervisor honored my request, but one day he walked into my child's classroom, knowing I was next door, and stood over her basinet as if to taunt me.  That was the straw that broke the camel's back  I met with my supervisor and told her either he goes or I would be forced to hand in my resignation.  He was quickly moved to another center.  I was disturbed that he was only moved to another center but even more hurt when I learned that the company I worked for named him Volunteer of the Year!  It was only after the all white teachers at the other center complain of the same complaints I had earlier did the company ask him not to return.

This experience made me feel unheard and as if I was the one who created an uncomfortable environment for him.  For him to receive recognition also made me feel that I was the bad person and he was the good one.  I felt that my company let me down.  I think this experience was about both race and gender.  I was complaining about a white male and their was no way I could have been right.  

Practicing the Awarness of Microaggression

This week I had a conversation with a friend who was selling her house.  She began to tell me how she understood that she could not have complete control over who buys her house, but she wanted a “normal family” to buy her house.  When I asked her what she meant by “normal family”, she responded by saying “a two-parent home with maybe a dog…you know a typical American family.”  She continued to say “I’m not racist or anything but, I’ve only had families who are Arab look at my house.  They have multiple families living in one house and they are taking over the neighborhood”.  My first respond to her was usually when someone has to start a statement with “I’m not a racist, but…” it means they are about to say something that is offensive.  I continued by telling her that there are numerous definitions of a family.  The subject was quickly changed.

I thought about this conversation for a couple of days.  There were so many hidden messages!  My friend, who is a white woman, gave me the message that the definition of a “normal family” is a white American, two-parent home.  She also sent the message that a home is made up of immediate family only and those who have extended family does not belong in the neighborhood.  It felt like there was a sense of entitlement, a sense that she wanted to protect her neighborhood from anything or anyone outside of what she considered to be normal.

Perspecives on Diversity and Culture

It's really interesting to hear people to give the definition of culture and diversity.  Over the course of this last week I was able to ask three different people their definition of culture and diversity.  What made my conversations interesting is while responding to the question, it appeared that each person was careful in their definition. As I spoke to a colleague about her hesitation, she responded by telling me she wanted to make sure her definition of culture wasn't offensive.  However, her definitions didn't seem to differ from the other two.  Culture was defined as a shared set beliefs and experiences, food, clothing, and child rearing.  Diversity was defined as respecting the differences of others.

The definitions provided are supported by what I have studied in this class thus far.  Janet Gonzales-Mena reported that "culture is learned from the people around you".  A culture can be created from a shared experience and how a group of people respond to the experience.  For example, how the birth of a child is celebrated.

My Supports

Life can truly be a roller coaster; sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down.  Luckily for me, I have emotional and practical supports filling the seats of my roller coaster.  Seating next to me is my family.  They hold my hand through the unexpected twists and turns and share my joy of feeling on top of the world as the roller coaster hits its highest peak.  My family provides an environment where I can scream, cry, or laugh without judgment or fear they will get off the ride.  Several seats are occupied by friends.  My friends may not always be right beside me, but they are close enough for me to know they are there.  I can hear them cheering me on to open up my eyes so that I don’t miss out on what’s in front of me.  My value and beliefs ensures my roller coaster is safe and receives necessary maintenance.  Without any support, my roller coaster would be unstable.  Life would be full of mistrust and confusion.

When I think about what my life would be like if I was blind, I imagine a roller coaster ride where I would depend on others to describe to me what the world looks like when you are off the ground.  I would want family and friends to provide me encouragement to take risks.  I would want society to be sensitive enough to help push me towards to success but not so insensitive that I’m not given an opportunity to succeed. 

My Connections to Play

“Play is our brains favorite way of learning”--- Diane Ackerman

“When you asked me what I did in school today and I say, 'I just played.' Please don’t misunderstand me. For you see, I am learning as I play. I am learning to enjoy and be successful in my work. Today I am a child and my work is play”--- Anita Wadley

 

 

 

Growing up, playing outside with my sister and cousins was the best time of my life.  I can clearly remember hot summer days when my grandmother would tell us to go outside and play.  There was only three reasons we could be in the house: the weather was bad, it was time take a nap, or time to eat lunch.  We didn't have a lot of money, so my grandmother would encourage us to use things around us.  From turning our grandmother's porch into a car, to designing and performing concerts, to playing kick ball in the street, we were able to freely express ourselves through play. 

 

 

Today, children aren't given the three reasons to be in the house.  Video games and apps have taking over as the free time choice of many children.  Unfortunately, parents are busy working and some view a math app as something more important because of the focus on academics; therefore, the encouragement of going outside to play isn't there. 

 

 I realize that during those times, I learned how to be a leader, be mindful of others, and think outside of the box.  All of these things have help me become who I am today.  As an adult, I sometimes wonder what my grandmother was doing while we were outside all day, but I always go back to the crazy adventures that went on and it doesn't even matter. 

 

 

 

Relationship Reflection

Relationships. Love songs, poems, and the celebration of anniversaries are some of the many ways people have tried to explain how important special relationships are to them, my love songs and poems are often about my family. My husband and two children each hold a their own special relationship with me but together, have provided me with a safe haven where I can be myself without the fear of being judge.

Because of my relationships with my family, I have been encouraged to step outside of my comfort zone. I'm able to do so because I know that no matter what the outcome, my family will be my safety net.