Reflecting on Learning

Hope for Early Childhood Education

My hope as an early childhood educator is to provide the best learning experience for all children.  My goal is to estabish effective relationships with families to better understand their needs and the needs of children.  I plan to teach anti-bias education, and to act as an advocate for all children.  I believe that children need to understand and embrace diversity.  Therefore, I will apply what I have learned in this course to improve the quality of my classroom.

Personal Thanks

I would like to thank every one of my fellow scholars for contributing to my blog. I wish you the best in your future courses and your goals as early childhood educators.

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

I chose to investigate the regions of West and Central Africa.  These regions are exposed to high rates of poverty and disease.  The site reported that “nearly 2 children out of 10 never reach their fifth birthday. They die from malaria, diarrheal diseases and vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, and Malnutrition is widespread in the region” (UNICEF, 2013).  I chose to review this region because of news and information I had previously studied about Africa.  After visiting the site, I have learned a lot of information about the area.  As a result, I was shocked to learn how disease and poverty has limited the educational opportunities for children, and poverty and traditional beliefs keep 40% of children out of school” (UNICEF, 2013).  Thankfully, UNICEF is working to combat these challenges.

Poverty and disease impact children’s health and wellbeing.  As an educator, I have seen how poverty and disease affects children in schools in Mississippi.  Educators have to step up as advocates for children and work with families to connect them with services to help them overcome poverty.  Poorer families do not always provide the best nutrition or health for children.  This impacts the physical, emotional, and mental development of these children.  Therefore, reviewing the site helped me to understand how these challenges can stifle the development of children.

Reference

UNICEF. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html.

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Working with a diverse group of children and families, I encounter various consequences when "isms" surface in the classroom and in parent interactions.  In one case, a child used classism to degrade another child. Classism occurs when people discriminated against others because of social status.  In this case, the child told the other child that his clothes were cheap and dirty because he was poor.  The child comes from a low socioeconomic background and does not have the best shoes or clothing.  As a result, the child’s feelings were hurt.  I immediately addressed the young girl who made the comment and explained that it was not nice to talk negatively about other people.  I also explained to the class that bullying and teasing was inappropriate behavior.  Although I addressed the situation, the child was still hurt.  I attempted to comfort the child and explain that he was a good student; therefore, he should not allow others to tear him down.  I also explained that his parents were doing the best for him and that some people will always have negative things to say. 

Another “ism” is LGBTism.  Sue (2010) stated that “LGBT-ism creates oppression for LGBT parents” (p. 187).  I can relate to this because I have had subconscious thoughts about gay parents.  This can hinder my ability to communicate with them, especially when I have hidden issues about homosexuality.  I do not openly discriminate against homosexuals; however, I do not agree with the lifestyle or practices.  I have learned that I must accept others and create change in myself.  Therefore, I must continue to work on this to avoid negative situations in the classroom.  I understand that slang and slurs can occur in the classroom, and children are often brutally open and honest about things they have learned at home.  As a result, I have heard children call other children’s parents “homos”.  I have always addressed this as bullying and made every effort to explain the differences in society to children.  Therefore, I must become more aware of diversity for myself to become a better educator.

Reference

Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions in everyday life: Race, gender, and sexual orientation. New York, NY: Wiley