Farewell and Congrats!!!!

The journey to my Master’s has been a remarkable process of learning new things for me as an Early Childhood professional. One thing I learned from this program is to utilize various resources in my community to help with issues that may surface in the profession. I was able to see that actually researching and linking with organizations can give me key answers to things that I may endure in my future. Another thing I learned from this program is make sure that I recognize and am willing to change any biases, misconceptions, or stereotypes I may have gained and find ways to learn about the diverse group of people I encounter on a day to day basis. A final thing I learned is to may sure that I respect and encourage a welcoming environment in my classroom and to meet the goals they have for their children. I realize how important family partnerships can be for the child, family, and school environment. My long-term goal is to continue to redefine myself in the Early Childhood profession, to use the knowledge and skills I have obtained and apply them to any career I hold in the present or future.

I wish all my colleagues the best in their future. It has been such an amazing journey and I am glad to have shared who I am with everyone. You can keep in contact on my blog page or email tazmon01@gmail.com.

I wish everyone continued success and let’s continue to make a difference in children’s lives. Also big thanks to our instructor for helping mold and shape us into better Early Childhood professionals. We can and will continue to be a blessing to young children and families.

international roles/jobs

 The Division for Early Childhood, http://www.dec-sped.org/, is an organization I chose because it helps support young children with delays anf/or gifts and talents. It also works to provide best practices for families and promotes policies for support the children with delays. I did not see any job opportunities available. They do list career opportunities for other businesses in various states.
 The National Association of Early Childhood Teacher's is an organization I found. I geel that it could provide support to EC educators. I was unable to find current positions open by this organization. They do list job opportunities for other corporations on its site. I did notice an ideal position for me in the future as a Regional Representative. In this position you share insights and experiences, get answers to questions, and overall support were needed.
 A final organization I found is National Child Care Association. It works to provide policies that will help children and families with high quality care. I was again unable to find any positions open. If I could choose, I would be apart of the professional development team. I could help put together needed training for educators, help organize events and conferences, and extend my experiences were needed.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE community-national/federal level

The National Association of Early Childhood Teachers is an organization I found during searching for national organizations and possibly a member of my ideal CoP.  You can access their webpage at http://www.naecte.org/. I was not able to find current positions available for NAECTE, but they do post job opportunities for other companies that have positions open in many states. As I scrolled through their officer positions, I did notice an opportunity for a position that could be ideal for me. It was a position as a Regional Representative for the organization. Regional representatives share insights and experiences, gets answers to questions, and overall provide support as needed. I believe this type of position would allow me to share my own experiences merged with the organizations mission to help support early childhood teachers in a particular region.

A second organization I found interesting was National Child Care Association, https://ncc.site-ym.com/, which helps support child cares by fighting for policies that will make sure children and families are provided with high quality child care. I was not able to find any positions open within the company, but maybe I could try contacting them to see if there are any available. If I had to choose an area to start in, I think I would choose to be a part of the conference and professional development team. I would want to start by helping put together the training information with the team, helping organize thoughts, relevant research, personal experiences, and such to extend new insight to EC professionals.

The third organization I came across was Early Childhood Intervention, http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ecis/, which is under Department of Assistive and Rehabilative Services in Texas (aka DARS). I think this organization intrigued me the most, especially because it’s in Texas and they support children ages 0-3 that have disabilities or developmental delays. I would love to serve in this type of federal program. The position of Early Intervention Specialist caught my eye because I would basically work with the child and family to create an IDP (Individualized development plan) and make sure the family goals are being met, almost like case managing and family partnering together. I would also provide parent education and follow up until the child is discharged from services.  Skills and experience include a Bachelor’s degree in a field of Child Development or Childhood Special Education, a year human experience with children 0-3, copy of transcripts for educational background, and valid driver’s license. I really feel enlightened to say that this may just be the next step for me in my career opportunities. Also this organization is ideal to my CoP in helping teachers learn how to help children self-regulate and gain self-control.

Reflecting on Learning and a Note of Thanks

“Anti-bias work provides teachers a way to examine and transform their understanding of children’s lives and also do self-reflective work to more deeply understand their own lives” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p.2 ). 

My hope for the future is to continue to provide support and respect to all children and their families that I work with in my classroom. I hope to continue to gain knowledge to be able to become a resource for the community to help share anti-bias work I feel will be valuable for any early childhood classroom or professional.

This class has been very instrumental in helping me inspire to reach and connect with a diverse group of people. It has also helped me form my own positive thoughts about how to build partnerships with families in my years as an Early Childhood professional. It is with great thanks I have to say to my colleagues as we also work in partnership to brighten the lives of any diverse child and/or family we encounter. Thanks for your support, comments, discussions, feedback in this course. I wish you continued success on the journey to our Master’s.

Reference

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).

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area of the world I chose was West and Central Africa. I chose this area of the world because I was curious to learn more about people of African descent. I also wanted to know what is happening with young children in this area of the world. Some challenges of the world children in this region face is malnutrition, AIDS/HIV, risk of early death due to preventable cause, poor health and hygiene (poor water resources), low food supplies, female genital mutilation (with babies as young as 3 months), wars within the country.

With such devastating challenges, it can have detrimental effects on children’s wellbeing and development. Children likely will be malnutrition or sickly due to poor nutrition, water supplies, and no help with stopping preventable diseases. Also they may be subject to emotional instability. What I have learned personally and professionally is that children all around the world are dealing with circumstances that can leave a scar on their development and emotional well-being. This assignment was a great eye opener to what is taking place around the world.

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

I believe that sexualization is on a high in today’s society. With the vast promotion of social media and technology, children of all ages are introduced to the overly sexualizing that we see happening in the world around us. It’s sad that children are introduced to such provocative and inappropriate messages that make them think that boys/girls should look a certain way to be happy and appreciated by others.

Three examples I can share to illustrate the exposure of young children in a highly sexualized environment would be the following:

1.       Girls in pretend and play center wanting the long, blonde hair because they think it makes them look prettier.

2.       Toys that are sold to boys/ girls send messages about what shows femininity or masculinity. Barbie dolls and Bratz dolls with makeup and provocative clothing on.  Wresting figurines that show guys ripped with muscles.

3.       Little girls wanting to walk in mommies’ heels, put on make-up, and a wig to look prettier. I have seen this on the show “Toddlers and Tiara’s.” Were toddler girls are put in pageants and are covered in makeup, heels, short dresses, and wearing tons of hair pieces.

With young children being exposed to things such as these examples provided, they are subject to learn messages of what defines ‘femininity’ or ‘masculinity’ in our society. They are also taught that these types of images are what portrays what it means to be “pretty,” beautiful,” “tough”, or “a ladies man.” Being aware of these issues as a professional means that I need to provide opportunities for children to become happy with whom they are. Find ways through curriculum, songs, books, etc. to teach children that it’s okay to be you and its okay to be me. Learning how to appreciate differences amongst people, as well as, using teaching methods of persona dolls, songs, books, etc can help with concept of positive self-images.

Impact of "isms"

An "ism" I have experienced is that of race. I can remember being called the n word when I was younger and even being singled out because of my race. I hope as an educator to allow children to understand that we all come in different colors and shades, but that does not mean you are less or more than because of that. I want them to understand we all are humans that bleed the same color blood.

Another "ism" I have experienced would be with ageism. Starting out young in the profession, I was often looked down on as inadequate or inexperienced. I want to ensure students in my class realize that have a voice and they can speak up for themselves. It does not matter how young or old a person is they all can share something special that someone else may not have known or experienced.

Serving as an anti-bias educator I will continue to work to foster positive relationships with the diverse children and families I have the privilege of educating and caring for.

Observing communication

I observed a mom interacting with a child on a cartoon. The cartoon was Doc McStuffins. During the cartoon I feel the mom interacted with the child in a positive way. She was listening to the child after they finished visiting an exhibit. Feedback from mom was positive and showed Doc Mc Stuffins that are thoughts was important to the family.

I learned from this week’s resources and videos how effective communication should be. Reading this week’s resources and listening to the media segment reassures me that what I have been doing in my classroom is shaping a positive environment to communicate and develop language skills. I will continue to utilize the guiding principles of having ‘teacher talk,’ expanding critical thinking and cognitive skills with ‘challenging talk’, and creating moments to ‘step back’ will be a way I continue to communicate effectively with children.

Creating Affirming Environments-My own family child care home

“Relationships and interactions with children and families, the visual and material environment, and the daily curriculum all come together to create the anti-bias learning community” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p.51). Reflecting on this statement from our text helped me see what pieces are essential in the development of an early childhood setting that makes every child and family feel respected and welcome.

My Family Child Care Home will include the following, but is not limited to:

1.       Photographs, books, posters, dolls, puzzles, puppets, dramatic play clothing, and other supplemental materials that are reflective of children and staff represented in my classroom. Also other less dominant cultures so that children will become familiar with others that are different from their own culture, race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, family structure, abilities, etc.

2.       Occasional snacks, meals, and music that reflect various cultures. This will allow children and families to share their culture, connect with others, and also form a way for children to notice and start respecting differences amongst people.

3.       A family bulletin board that will reflect all children and staff in our community. The family bulletin board is a way to share our personal family experiences amongst children, family, and staff to create diversity in the child care home.

4.       Notes, progress reports, handouts, etc. in child’s home language. I will respect the child and families home language and find ways to accommodate them appropriately as they transition into an English speaking child care home.

5.       Incorporate the child and families traditions and honor holidays/traditions reflected in the facility. Acknowledging and showing interest to learn something new about others shows respect and makes families feel like they belong in our school family.

6.       Incorporate a curriculum that teaches children about respecting others, acknowledging fairness vs non fairness, diversity, and ways to connect with others. A curriculum that teaches respect of oneself and others will help start the connection of creating an anti-bias education.

7.       Respecting children’s feelings and offering them a place to express them appropriately. Incorporating a safe place to feel comforted at any time of the day (drop offs, tantrums, etc.) helps teach children how to resolve conflicts and work with others in appropriate ways.

8.       “Teaching to strength” will be a principle incorporated for teacher’s to use inside the classrooms. “And if we spend as much time thinking about what kind of a learner is this child, where are their strengths, where are their interests, where are their natural motivations, as we spend thinking about where could they go next” (Laureate Education Inc., 2011).  When we scaffold for our children we start at where the child is but offer temporary support that will help build that child’s educational or social need to their particular greatest potential (zone of proximal development).

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. Baltimore, MD: Author

What I have learned

My hope is that I continue to strengthen myself to be an anti-biased educator to help support all learners of any background. I will continue to support diverse children and their families to form a partnership to help their child reach their fullest potential in my classroom.

A goal I set for myself is to continue learning ways and insight about issues related to diversity, equity, and social justice. My goal is to engage in professional development, trainings, or webinars that will give me knowledge so that I can strengthen myself as a well-rounded Early Childhood professional.

Thanks to all my colleagues for your support during this journey. It has been a great experience to link up and share ideas, comments, and new knowledge as it relates to the early childhood field. I wish you all continued success and happy holidays.

Warmest Regards,

Tierra Jackson

Creating Art

I ndividually                                            

D eveloping

E xplicable personalities and characteristics

N otably

T hru traumatic experiences, biases, and discomforts

I nto

T he

Y oung child

I created this poem entitled “IDENTITY” to define how young children start developing diversity early on. As we have been learning from this course, these early experiences of trauma, biases, and discomforts will shape how we start to view the world around us. It plays a significant part on how we develop and form identities as a young child.

References:

Image from-

Rubashkyn, E.R.(2014, March 14). Eliana’s Blog.

Crossing Borders [Blog post]. Retrieved from

http://elianabutterfly.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/gender_identity_mtf_story.jpg

Start Seeing Diversity

An instance I can recall happening when a child pointed out something they noticed different was with my little cousin. We were out shopping in the mall and I can remember seeing a shorter than average person coming towards us. I was hoping my little cousin would not comment or even notice the difference, however, she did. As the lady was approaching she stated, “Why is that lady so little?” I really was in a moment of shock. I just was like “Shhh, Be Quiet!”

                The message I communicated to my cousin was that this person is different. Not only that, but that we should now respond to what we see. Now when she sees another person that is of shorter than average height, she may think that something has to be wrong with that person. Professionally, it would have been best not to just “shhh” my cousin, but perhaps explain to her that there are many different people in the world. People come in many shapes, colors, and sizes. Later, I may even share some books about differences in people.

Seeing Diversity-Gender and Sexual Orientation

“Bias related to sexual orientation, also called homophobia” (Laureate Education, n.d.). Heterosexism in my own words is the strong beliefs people have that heterosexuality should pervade in our society. I decided to observe a children’s TV. show and view children in an early childhood setting for any stereotypes or biases related to sexual orientation or gender roles. While watching the Sophia the First, I noticed that the girl characters wore lots of pink and were very well mannered. Spoke sofetly and seemingly nurturing and caring characters. I noticed the boy characters were more dominate and wore darker colors. In the early childhood setting, I noticed the boys seemed to only play with trucks, cars, and blocks. The girls tended to be interested in dress-up and taking care of baby dolls. However, there were some boys that did enjoy pretend play, but I did not seem them interact so much with the dolls. It seems as if societal views on girl’s vs boys have had some influence on our young children.

The “need to validate all the kinds of families children are coming from” (Laureate Education, n.d.) is the main reason early childhood educators should include classroom materials that depict same-sex partnered families. I think we should remember, as children we don’t get to choose the family we’re born into, so we could at least acknowledge that these types of families do exist. It helps the child not to feel bad or singled out because of the family that they were born into. For parents that have strong feelings against homosexual or transgendered individuals caring for their children. I would share the importance respecting differences in others. Also to remember that we would not want to be singled out because of choices we made in life, but maybe consider the child take part in the classroom. If there are still any discomforts I would respect the parents’ choice and just place the child in another room.

I have heard the term “tom boy” said to a little girl that likes to dress in pants, tennis shoes, and shirts vs dresses and skirts. She preferred rough play and doing more building in the block area. I think it may have caused the little girl to start thinking she was different in some way, although she continued dressing and playing the way she preferred.

References:

Video: Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Start seeing diversity: Sexual orientation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Thanks for Supporting Me

This course has been so helpful for me both professionally and personally. With support from my colleagues in the discussion boards and blogs, I was able to gain feedback to strengthen my communication skills. Also with weekly resources, video segments, and text readings I was able to extend my knowledge about how to communicate effectively. Overall, I appreciate all the support as I continue my journey into my master’s degree. I know that I have learned about the type of communicator I am and am continuing to build skills to become competent as a communicator. I wish all my colleagues continued success.

Adjourning!

       “The adjourning stage is when the team is completing the current project. They will be joining other teams and moving on to other work in the near future. For a high performing team, the end of a project brings on feelings of sadness as the team members have effectively become as one and now are going their separate ways” (Abudi, 2010). I would say teams that are high-performing and have established norms are the most difficult to leave. I believe this may happen because you a have built relationships amongst team members to obtain goals that have been set. The bond created becomes strong as the group moves from the different stages of team building. At the end, when the goal or project has been accomplished a relationship has been built with lasting memories for what has been accomplish by the team.

     One group I can recall being hard to leave was when I was Moral Dance Coach for Dance Marathon when I was a student at Texas Woman’s University. Dance Marathon committee was made of a team of up to ten students that put together a fun filled, theme packed 14 hour event to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network to help support local hospitals in Dallas- Fort Worth area. We would start with our own simple ideas once each person had their position on the team. Then we moved to storming, figuring out how we would want ‘dancers’ to be able to push through the event. We would come up with a theme for the night, decorations, music, group dance, games all to motivate our ‘dancers’ to stay on their feet for the event. Also fund raiser events to help raise additional money. Once the event happened we could see how effective our team had been at planning and now executing our event. Adjourning was fun, but yet sad because we had worked for months on this event and now we would be moving forth with our lives. We would still see each other on campus and still engage in conversations. A closing ritual we did was have a meeting to discuss how much money was raised and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the night. Also discuss what could we add to improve the event and encourage more ‘dancers.’

                As I adjourn from colleagues during my Master’s coursework, I am sure I will have the same feelings. It will surely be a bittersweet moment. I will be happy to have accomplished my goal to obtain a Master’s. On the other hand, I will miss the connections and discussions I have had with colleagues during the course of my studies. As I move forward, I will have a sense of longing to still be a part of this college community of learners.

References:

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

                

This takes the CAKE!

A recent conflict I dealt with was between someone in my personal life. We were figuring out things for my son’s third birthday party. The big deal was who would drive the birthday cake over to the venue. The cake was one of those two layer cakes made with fondue, jungle themed. Now I asked this person to drop me off with my mom, and they could take the cake and pick up balloons and I would meet them at the venue. Well, apparently this caused a disagreement that I COULD NOT comprehend at the time. The other person was very reluctant to take the cake and I couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal. Needless to say, we ended up going in the same car and we BOTH transported the cake and balloons. I think a strategy that could have helped us would be actually explaining why we either did or did not want to transport the cake. I think even showing empathy would have supported our conflict in a positive manner, as NVC suggest. The bottom line was that the other person just did not feel comfortable transporting the cake because anything could have happened during the car ride and that person would have felt responsible for any damage done to the cake. Had I shown more empathy and even asked” Why do you feel so opposed to taking the cake?” we could have resolved the issue sooner and more positively. Colleagues feel free to add any additional advice.

Who am I as a Communicator?

Doing this week’s assessments on communication anxiety, verbal aggressiveness, and listening styles was very reflective way for me to see how I communicate. Also it allowed me to see how other’s perceive my communication skills. Similarities I found for my personal evaluation and from other’s are that I prefer one-to one communication situations. Also I will do small groups, but have a strong dislike to speak in public.  Another similarity I found is that I often get tense when asked to speak publicly or with individuals whom I don’t know very well. Also I found that I had a Group 1 listening style as a similarity. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the details for this to pull up, but I know that I prefer to listen vs talk. Also I am empathetic and am often concerned with how the other person feels. I also never show impatience or a press for time. Differences I found is that in my more personal relationships I am more verbally aggressive. I tend to voice more of what I feel. I think this shocked me the most. I never really noticed how verbally aggressive I was with family members; I thought I was the same in any communication situation. I think I learned that I need to find ways to be positively verbally aggressive in my personal relationships to show more empathy towards close love ones without being defensive.

Communicating with different cultures

Sometimes I do find myself communicating differently with people in different groups and cultures. Some ways I communicate differently is that verbally I use more simple words and shorter sentences. I do this because I feel that the person may not be able to comprehend if I start becoming too complex with my words and dialogue. Non-verbally, I tend to look away often and sometimes posture start becoming more slump. My listening skills may tend to become in a passive state, showing a sense of mindlessness. I think this happens because it’s hard to understand them and more than often we need a translator. I feel that I am really NOT making a connection with the individual and this may be why I am not fully engaged and active in the communication situation.

Three strategies I can use to communicate effectively are to do the following:

1. Not exhibit cultural myopia. Understand that my culture is not superior to others, but to understand that we live in a diverse country.
2. Follow the ‘platinum rule’ and place myself in the other person’s shoes. Develop more empathy for those that are culturally different.
3. Practice actively listening and showing respect during communication situations.

Communicating via t.v.

This was a eye opening opportunity to reflect on communication amongst characters in a t.v. program. A show I chose was "Mountain Man" on the History channel. This is definitely a show that I would not watch. Watching the show with no sound or captions did make it complicated for me to understand what was going on. One thing I had to rely on was non verbal cues. I noticed when the men where in the mountains they were isolated by themselves and their was little communication. However, when they connected with family outside of work, their were smiles, hugs, and eye contact amongst family. When I watched with sound on I could better comprehend what was happening and grasp an understanding for the characters on the show. This was my 'aha' moment.

Joyce Meyers- A Competent Communicator

  When I think of a competent communicator I think about Joyce Meyers. She is an inspirational speaker that is well known across the world for giving her motivational and inspirational speeches, books, devotionals, etc. Behaviors she exhibits is great ethics. She has good moral beliefs and shows cultural responsiveness. She communicates in a positive manner and offers genuine advice and support to those who may be afflicted, hurt, broken hearted, stressed, lost, etc and offers God's word to provide peace. She is always posed and wears a smile that speaks life into the souls of others. With the behaviors she exhibits as a competent communicator, I would definitely model myself after her. I feel that it would allow me to be the caring and supportive person that people need to hear from. I would be able to enlighten myself and others that are around me.