Observing Communication

Currently, I work in Head Start and I see children communicate with adults on a regular basis.  In one conversation, the teacher was explaining to a three year old child that hitting was wrong.  The child kept saying that “he hit me first”; however, the teacher kept implying that hitting is wrong and it was against school rules.  In this situation, I realized that the conversation was one sided, and the teacher was failing to listen.  Stephenson (2009) stated that “stepping back meant not only slowing down and really listening, but also consciously shifting my mind from the immediacy of the conversation to consider it from other perspectives” (p. 90). The teacher never looked at the situation from the child’s perspective.  Some parents tell children to hit back.  As a result, the teacher should have asked the child, “What should you do if someone hits you?”  This would have given the child a chance to further the conversation.  In this case, I believe the teacher insulted the child and made the child feel ashamed and threatened.   I do not like it when teachers do not consider the child’s feelings and stick hard to the rules.  Sometimes, you have to hear the child out and find out why the behavior started.

References

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95.

Creating Affirming Environments

I would create an environment that had images of diverse families and people on the wall.  For example, I would have images of a group of people in different fields from different races.  I currently have this poster in my class and it shows minorities in a range of jobs including women in jobs typically assigned to men.  Derman-Sparks and Olsen Edwards (2010) stated that it is important that “an anti-bias environment is culturally consistent for the children and families it serves” (p. 43).  The majority of the children are from minority families.  Therefore, it is necessary to have positive images for the children.

I would also have diverse reading materials that can be used at reading time.  I would create a play area that had a range of toys and games.  I would not limit children to a boys’ or girls’ area.  Instead, the toys would encourage play for all students.  I would also have arts and crafts in the class to encourage students to draw pictures relevant to their culture and cultural diversity.  Derman-Sparks and Olsen Edwards (2010) stated that “an environment rich in anti-bias materials invites exploration and discovery and support play and conversation in both emergent and planned activities” (p. 43). Therefore, I would use play to teach diversity and anti-bias education in the class.

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

What I Have Learned

My hope is to work with diverse families and children to help them understand the importance of diversity and inclusion, and to provide them with the services and assistance that they need for their children to be productive in school and society.

My goal as an educator is to provide more diversity training and education in the classroom.  I realize that I have a chance to impact the lives of students and to provide them with a better understanding of diverse families and biases in society.  I also plan to incorporate more anti-bias education into the classroom.

I would like to send a personal thanks to everyone that has contributed to my blog and worked with me on this journey.

Debra Morgan.