Observing Communication

This week I observed a preschool classroom at a local day care center. The children in this class are a mixture of children who just turned three, have been three for a few months, and recently turned four. So as you can imagine their was a variety of abilities and personalities that filled this room. There was one lead teacher and about 17 students. Occasionally, during my time there, another teacher came into assist the teacher. As I sat and observed it was hard to notice the routine of the class. It seemed in the morning the children were allowed to pretty much run wild in the classroom. During center time, the teacher was busing putting pictures on the wall, while children ran from center to center, fought with one another, and screamed blood murder. At times while the children were playing, the teacher would stop and yell at them to stop whatever it is they were doing. After center time they did a small group activity. By this time the second teacher had returned to the room. He took a group while the lead took another. The male teacher had his kids on the carpet as he begin to go through the letters of the alphabet by pointing to the letters on the wall. The lead teacher had two groups at the tables doing an activity using shapes. For this activity she had the children glue different shapes onto a piece of construction paper. During the activity I remember thinking to myself, what is the teachers purpose. She provided the students with no additional information as to why they were gluing the shapes onto the paper. She hardly engaged with them while the completed the activity.  The day pretty much when on in the same manner. I hardly remember the teacher having a conversation with any of the students throughout the day.

The teacher did not effectively communicate with the students and it missed out on several teachable moments throughout the day due to her not paying attention or communicating with the children. Its hard to say she knows anything about her students because she hardly interacted with them. During my time their I did spend some time with a 3 year old named Olivia. As the children played during center time, I sat down and talked with Olivia who was drawing at the table. Olivia is very well spoken and loves flowers. She drew several flower and each was a different color. Olivia also like to play on the swings and write her name. It was amazing what I was able to learn about Olivia through watching her play and communicating with her.

It seemed as if the teacher never really communicates with the children in a way that they are able to direct or initiate the conversation. Sometimes the body language and words of the teacher can seem harsh and unfair. One student had an accident and the teacher responded by scolding instead of speaking calmly to the child. I could tell the child was embarrassed and upset because he went and set in the corner with his head down. I don't think this teacher is aware of how her lack of interaction and harsh tone effects how the children feel about themselves and even school. I feel that this teacher needs to spend more time working one on one with the students. She needs to hold conversations with them and adjust how she responds to them and the things they do.

Creating Affirming Environments

Imagine that you want to open your own Family Child Care Home. Reflect on what your setting would look like, what elements you think you might want to include and for what reasons, and the various ways that you will strive to ensure that every child and family feels welcome and respected.

In creating my own Family Child Care home, I would want to be sure that my center makes my families feel comfortable and welcomed. The setting would be inviting and reflect the different cultures and backgrounds of the families and children in our community. I want to ensure that I create a learning environment that is secure and supportive for all families. In order to do so I will make sure that I provide my parents with a school/family handbook that will explain the inclusive approach of my program. In our text, they mentioned the idea of creating an equitable enrollment form. Using these forms would remove and "replace the usual labels Mother and Father with more open-ended and inclusive ones (Derman-Sparks &Edwards, 2010)"
The text also suggest finding out how the various families in your program refer to their immediate and extended members. Taking the time to get to know your families individual helps make them feel appreciated and welcomed. I would provide my families with resources and referral materials and also make sure that the classrooms are accessible.

In thinking of how it would look, my entrance would have a photos of the different children and their families. I would also have children's art work displayed all throughout the center. The classes could be filled with multicultural materials that will help provide an anti-bias learning experience. I would use family photos to create materials for students to use in housekeeping and block area. I would provided photos of children and families of different cultures that can be found throughout the world.

Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. (2010) Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. Washington, DC. NAEYC

What I Have Learned

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds.

I hope that through my working with children and families from diverse backgrounds, I can help change how society views people from different cultures and backgrounds. I hope to build lasting relationships with my family by continuing to learn more about them and their culture. Through my interactions with these families and children I can increase my knowledge while bridging the gaps between different cultures. 

One goal you would like to set for early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice. 

I would like for the early childhood field to continue its efforts in making every classroom embrace the cultural diversity of today's society. I would like for educators in this field to continue educating ourselves on these issues that effect the development of children. My goal personally would be working in areas were children struggle with equity and social justice. The areas were children need the most guidance and support.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

I would like to thank all of my colleagues for your support and comments throughout this process. I have learned so much from each one of you and I wish you the best. 

Start Seeing Diversity:Creating Art

Here is my collage of what diversity and anti-bias education means to me. It did not turn out like I had wanted but this is what I was able to accomplish.

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

A time when you witnessed an adult (or yourself) reprimand or silence a child after he or she pointed out someone they saw as different (e.g., "That lady talks funny," " That man only has one leg!" "Why is that man so pretty!"). Include what the child said and what the adult did or said in response. (Note: If you cannot think of a specific time ask a friend or family member.)

Children are very observant and will always say what they are thinking, especially when they encounter people or things that are unusual and strange. In thinking about a moment when a child pointed out someone they saw as different and was reprimanded would be when I was out with my an acquaintance and her kids. On this occasion, we were at a mall in a very diverse area of Atlanta. We were walking through the mall when the children saw a women who was a dwarf holding hands with a man. The little one tugged on his mothers jacket and said, "that little girl has some big legs and arms." At first we did not know what he was talking about and disregarded what he had said. A few seconds later he tugged again, repeating what he said before, this time a little louder as he pointed in the direction of the couple. His mother immediately turned around, popped him on his head and then began yelling at him saying, "What I told you about talking about people and pointing?" The little boy began to cry. My jaw dropped. For the rest of our time out he did not say anything.

What messages might have been communicated to this child by the adult's response.

Her response made the child shut down. I don't think he fully understood what he did wrong when you was only explaining what he was observing. I think to the child it communicated that what he was saying was wrong. He may began to feel like that about everything he thinks and may begin to hold in his thoughts and ideas. I think she should have addressed the situation better and explained to the child that the lady was a dwarf and that she was not a child but an adult. She could have explained to him what a dwarf was and how everyone is different instead of reprimanding him in the way that she did.  


An example of how an anti-bias educator might have responded to support the child's (or classroom's ) understanding. 

I think the same explanation that I suggest the parent give would be an appropriate response by an anti-bias educator. I think by explaining to a child what a dwarf is will help children build an understanding of what it is they are seeing and why that person looks the way the do. We need to challenge bias about physical characteristics by providing images of lots of different body types. The video, "Start Seeing Diversity: Physical Ability and Characteristics", suggest the use of children's books. "Children's books are another important tool in anti-bias approach. Some stories model anti-bias behavior or provide opportunities for children to think about how they can act against bias."

Reference:
Laureate-Media. (2014) "Start Seeing Diversity: Physical Ability and Characteristics.

"Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

How you would respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child?

If I was in a situation where a parent informed me they did not want anyone who is perceived homosexual or transgender interacting with their child, I would first ask the parent why the feel that way. Sometimes people feel negative towards homosexuals or transgender because they are scared it will impact their child in a negative way or they are afraid of someone who is different from them. In this case I would ask the parent how the feel about other diverse people interacting with their child and what would be the difference between someone who is homosexual educating their child and someone who is from another country or disabled. I would try to help them see that interactions between children and people from diverse backgrounds helps children acknowledged that everyone is different and should not be treated different because they are not like everyone else. In the video segment, the group of teachers said that, acknowledging the existence of families with gay and lesbian parents will prepare children to be respectful when they meet people who are lesbian or gay. I feel the same applies to those who educate and care for children. It teaches children to be open minded and more excepting. By a parent not wanting their child to be taught by someone who is homosexual or transgender continues the spread of homophobia throughout generations. In all, I would try to help the parent see who this type of discrimination can have a negative impact on the child.
Any other related situations, thoughts, concerns, questions, and/or areas of discomfort you would like to share related to children, gender, and sexual orientation.

In watching my students interact with one another, I have heard statements for the children referring to what boys and girls can and can't do. I have heard the comment, "boys are faster than girls" and even comments about boys playing in the housekeeping area. I think it important to teach children that boys and girls can do whatever they put their mind to. Just because someone is a boy doesn't mean they can play with doll and just because someone is a girl doesn't mean she can't be a construction worker. Its important not to limit a child's ability just because of gender. I do have a question I would like to pose though, how do we introduce the topic of diverse families if the children don't raise questions or concerns? In particular families with two mothers or two fathers. I would you introduce this topic without upsetting your parents, especially when their are no students from those backgrounds.

THANK YOU

As we end this class, I would like to thank all of my colleagues for the knowledge and experiences they have shared with me throughout this course. I have learned so much from each one of you. You have encouraged me and inspired me to continue the work I am doing in this profession. I know this will not be the last time we all cross paths but I wish you all the best.