Respected Communicator

As I reflected on the blog question for this week I thought of many friends, family, and previous colleagues. I asked myself who is the one person I could always understand. While I had a some great supervisors and co-teachers who always communicated well and listened to me, I would like to share thoughts about one of my mentors. Kay is an instructor/trainer for the local Child Resource and Referral Association and I work with her on a regular basis. Through her model, I have learned an abundance of communication skills that have helped me personally and professionally.

Kay speaks eloquently and pays particular attention to relating to her audience. She makes every effort to provide examples when speaking to groups of people to enable them to make the changes needed in their programs. Kay helps shift individuals thinking. I always ask for her opinion on special projects because she I know she will bring and objective eye and an honest response. In my professional role as an instructor/trainer, I have adapted some of my adult learning techniques due to her tutelage. Like Kay, I try to foster individual thinking and growth in the professionals I train. Kay's passion for adult learning and growth has impacted me in various ways and I continue to give back as I communicate with early childhood professionals.

Professional Hopes and Goals

I hope that all early childhood teachers provide a classroom environment and experiences in which children's diversity can be celebrated. Children and families culture and identities should be welcomed, honored, and celebrated.

My goal is to instill a passion for discovering culture and identity in the professionals that I teach. Because culture has become one of my strong passions over the last few years, I include aspects of culture within every workshop I design. It is vital that teachers see how culture and identity affects how children communicate and learn.

I want to send out a note of thanks to all my peers on this journey. You have played an important role in my learning and discovery over the past eight weeks. I wish you the best of luck and continued discovery on your academic and professional journey.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

For this discussion I chose England.

First, I would contact my cousin who is an early childhood professional in England. She could provide me with some first hand experience about a day in the life in England. She could help me get a good grasp of what expectations families in England have on the early childhood teacher.

Secondly, I would re-connect with a website I have visited in the past, Early Education. Through this website I could learn the resources that are made available to early childhood teachers in England. I would check out the electronic resources that I would be able to access.

Third, if I had an address of the family I would send them a hand-written note, reflective of their language and print. Some of the numbers and letters are written in a slightly different form than in the U.S. 

Fourth, I would examine our daily schedule to see what ways we should made additions or adjustments to include traditions from England, such as tea and crumpets at 4pm.

Lastly, I would search out learning materials and props that are reflective of those in England (puppets, food, art and science materials). Including such materials would hopefully help the child and family feel welcome and give them a sense that we care for them and respect their culture.  

With this plan in place, the teaching staff and I would feel more at ease and have the background needed to help this child and family feel welcome and important to our classroom. Furthermore, typically, when families immigrate to a new place they have much transition and uncertainty to encounter. Once this family saw what we had in place to accommodate and help their child learn, it would ease/alleviate this one transition for them.

The Personal Side of Bias

A bias or prejudice of sorts that I have witnessed over several years in the classroom is the removal of children from an educational program. I continue to be distraught at how frequent young children are dismissed or kicked out of early childhood programs because they cannot act “appropriately.” I also know of several children who have been judged because they take prescription medicine to help them regulate their body rhythms.  

These instances diminish equity because all children deserve quality care and education. This includes the respect of being who they are and protecting their social and emotional development. When children are treated differently because of prescriptions or are allowed to gain a reputation from others perceptions that practically pushes them out of the program, their self-esteem and education begins to fail. 

In every case of children being dismissed I believe the teachers, and especially the program director, need to take time and learn the needs of the child so that every effort can be made to keep them in the program. One particularly challenging year as a Head Start teacher I was working day in and day out to figure out how to help calm a child down. He did not stay focused on any one task or activity for longer than about 3 minutes and he was almost in constant action. My assistant teacher and teachers in a nearby classroom said, “He has ADD they just need to get him on some medicine.” I did not believe this and got upset every time I heard this. I continued to observe and went to my director to obtain some additional materials for the classroom. When I added a few, more challenging materials to the classroom, I saw a difference in this child. It appeared he was not challenged enough. This was his second year in Head Start and he appeared bored with the same materials. Had this child been kicked out of the program, he would have missed out on advancing his skills to be ready for Kindergarten, and we would have missed seeing the growth in this child.

It is crucial to advocate for children in every avenue possible!

Practicing Awareness

I have been reminiscent this week in my interactions over the past few years and a couple of microaggressions have become apparent to me. Several months ago I and a colleague were discussing various languages. I was shocked to hear that she was born in Okinawa, Japan.  I was shocked because I had presumed she was born in the United States. She is African American and speaks English affluently. Although I didn’t verbalize this presumption, I had thought this microassault. 

This morning in a staff meeting we were being assigned child care programs who have contacted our agency for assistance in applying for Ohio’s quality rating system. When one program was mentioned, Me maw’s, a colleague said, “She must be from the south. You know people in the south use that term frequently.” I was astonished to quickly realize that these types of statements, or microassaults, have been said around our office in various contexts over time. 

My studies and reflections this week have rendered a new awareness in myself and others. I am saddened that these microaggressions are thrown around so freely and without intention. I am reminded of Dr. Sue’s mention of the psychological dilemmas regarding microaggressions, “Unintentional invisible nature of microaggressions” (Laureate, 2011). In a field as widespread and community-based as early childhood, we must work to stamp out the use of these microaggressions to break down barriers and cultivate relationships.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in every day life. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1340816_1%26url%3D

Perspectives

For this blog, I asked 3 individuals with varying backgrounds in education and life experiences.

40 year old Canadian born living and working in the US:

Culture – someone’s values and beliefs, the collection of what they believe, their actions and behaviors based on their upbringing, ethnicity, religion etc. 

Diversity – the different types of cultures and ethnicity, genders, religions, all the things that make us different from each other.  Diversity means there are different characteristics in a common group of people such as at work or school.

53 year old African American female:

Culture – the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people of experiences, beliefs, values, and attitudes.

Diversity – recognizing and appreciating the variety of characteristics that make individuals (people of different races or cultures) unique in an atmosphere that promotes and celebrates individual and collective achievement.

21 year old Caucasian college graduate:

Culture – the race, beliefs, and values of a group of people.

Diversity – seeing differences between the people of the same culture.

The responses from these individuals captured many of the terms that I have studied thus far in the course (race, beliefs, values, upbringing, differences, and individuality). Some definition that was insightful for me was “promotes and celebrates individual and collective achievement.”

This exercise gave me a chance to “see” others perspective on such broad terms. At the start of this blog I mentioned that these individuals have experienced diverse journeys and activities in their life; I believe their definitions demonstrate such. With each year we live and each experience, we build our knowledge on any topic. I am positive that my 40-year-old and 53-year-old friends define culture and diversity as they do as a product of their experiences.

My Family Culture

I enjoy packing for trips. A friend of mine jokes with me often because I can pack for a week's trip in about 15 minutes and I usually pack at the last minute. When I imagined packing for a trip in which I could take only three things with me, it took me a little bit longer to determine the three most precious items that represented me and my culture. To leave everything behind can be such a determent.

First, I chose a family picture. Of course, anyone would, I would guess. We have had many family pictures taken over the years; however, as we have all grown up and raised our own families, we have not taken time to take a family portrait lately. Holding this picture would offer me support and memories to guide me through such a catastrophe as to leave my homeland.

Secondly, I would pack my bible. With the grace of my Heavenly Father, I know that I am always protected and any occurrences that I encounter are meant to be on my life journey. The faith that I hold in God is what guides me through life experiences, whether they are positive or negative.

In closely reflecting on the last item to pack for this journey, I chose my Girl Scout sash. Most people are familiar with Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Troops of young girls and boys are created in which they participate in adventures and projects to learn life skills and strengthen their persistence. My Girl Scout sash, full of merit badges, would remind me of the camaraderie and relationships I had with the other girls in my troop over the years. The sash represents my determination and success in work and service projects.

If I were told that I could only take one item with me, I would be even more distraught. In this event I would certainly take my Bible, as it is the cornerstone of my existence and all I have ever known in faith and unconditional love.   

One insight this exercise provided is that we must hold true to our core being and not be so wrapped up in commercialism and having possessions. This is a revolving lesson for many people I know, including me.