TIME WELL SPENT

"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."                                                                                                           

                                                                                                Nelson Mandela.

This has been a worthwhile journey, full of fun and learning. I have become a better early childhood educator through the great learning opportunities that this program offered to me and there is no doubt that my career will be more fulfilling as a result. It was Isaac Newton that said “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” I want to thank all giants, beginning from Dr. Darragh and all of you my colleagues for making it possible for me to see further by allowing me the use of your ‘shoulders’ in this course.

There are many things I have learned in this course. These include but not limited to: For effectiveness and relevancy in the field, an early childhood educator should be a continuous learner; All children, in order to be successful should be well fed and provided with nutritious meals in the early years of their lives; and An essential part of my job as an early childhood educator is to advocate for the well-being of children.

Taken from this course, my long term goal is to be  a caring early childhood educator who inspires and advocates for the well-being of children in words and deeds.

Job/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The three international organizations that work for positive social, economic, and educational change for children and families and that appealed to me are United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF); International Early Childhood Education Association (IECEA); and FHI360

These organizations appealed to me for a number of reasons and chief of which is that of being concerned with issues that affects and promotes the well-being of the child. For example the UNICEF is passionate and committed to the promotion of equal rights for children and supports their participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities. The International Early Childhood Education Association, an organization of experts from many countries is equally committed and seeks to strengthen way of cooperation and collaboration internationally for the sake and purpose of providing quality and standard education for the child. The vision of IECEA is that all children regardless of their races and places enjoy a standardized and high quality early childhood education. FHI 360 is an international non-profit human development organization that is made up of experts in the field of health, education, nutrition, environment, economic development, civil society, gender, youth, research and technology. While the vision of FHI 360 is a world in which all individuals and communities have the opportunity to reach their highest potential, the mission statement states that it seek to improve lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions for human development.

The following are the job opportunities that interest me:

1.Capacity Building Technical Director (Education Sector), Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Position Description:

The Capacity Building Technical Advisor (CBTA) will provide technical guidance to the local government and communities to protect and provide for the most vulnerable, including OVC, PLHIV and adolescent girls in Cote d’Ivoire in support of a USAID-funded, 5-year, multi-million dollar program in West Africa.   Availability of the position is contingent upon issuance of an award of a USAID Request for Proposal (RFP), and selection of final applicant is subject to USAID approval.

The CBTA will provide in country direction for all capacity building development program activities to ensure timely implementation of project deliverables.

Key Responsibilities:

• Train community service providers in OVC best practices, needs assessment and group facilitation
• Provide support to strengthen all structures and programs of the GoCI Social Centers – including

Early Childhood Development Centers, Specialized Education Centers, Legal Units and Support Groups

• Provide technical assistance in documenting and scaling up best practices
• Provide technical support and coordinate the development of relevant tools for the most vulnerable; share tools with other stakeholders and the GoCI to strengthen community system
• Strengthen SOPs and training materials for OVC service delivery and quality improvement
• Assist civil society organizations to protect and provide for OVC in line with national standards
• Develop training materials, capacity building for OVC staff and data management system
• Strengthen capacity of Legal Units to address GBV
• Work with local partners and USAID to develop a capacity development plan based on an assessment of GBV and needs
• Provide technical guidance and coordinate the integration of OVC support into other care and support programs, especially ECD and Specialized Education services

Anticipated % of Travel: More than 25%

Qualifications:

• At least 10 years of experience in designing and implementing operations and research projects in Africa targeting the most vulnerable including OVC, PLHIV and adolescent girls
• MA/MS in Social Science/Education/Gender
• Demonstrated experience in OVC program quality improvement working in partnership with CSOs and Government entities at all levels
• Demonstrated leadership, strategic planning, and technical skills in programming for orphans and vulnerable children with a focus on PLHIV
• Demonstrated experience in the design and use of training curricula
• Solid skills in data analysis, synthesis, reporting and presentation
• Skills in research design, research methods, quantitative and qualitative data analysis and management
• Excellent organizational, writing, communication and negotiation skills
• Experience managing analysis, synthesis, documentation and dissemination of lessons for a range of stakeholders
• Fluency in speaking, reading and writing both English and French

2. Child Protection Specialist, Bamako, Mali.

Major duties/responsibilities

·         Provide the UNICEF Chief of Protection with technical advice on the MRM in order to support UNICEF’s co-lead role of the MRM Country Task Force.

·         In close collaboration with the MINUSMA Child Protection Section, co-chair monthly meetings of the MRM Technical Working Group, and follow-up on recommended actions.

·         In close collaboration with the MINUSMA Child Protection Section, draft MRM reporting requirements including the quarterly Global Horizontal Notes (GHNs), the Mali chapter of the UN Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, and the country-specific UN Secretary-General’s Report on Children and Armed Conflict.

·         In close collaboration with the MINUSMA Child Protection Section, establish and manage the MRM database.

·         Work closely with the Protection, Education and Health clusters, and the Child Protection and GBV sub-clusters, to coordinate the gathering of MRM-related information by NGO partners and to strengthen the response to grave violations.

·         Conduct trainings and capacity building of UNICEF field staff and NGO partners on gathering MRM-related information, analyzing trends, and on prevention and response to grave violations.

·         Ensure coordination between the MRM and all other programs within the UNICEF Protection Section, particularly child protection in emergencies.

·         Contribute to UNICEF’s advocacy strategy on child protection and children’s rights, as it relates to the MRM.

·         Work closely with the UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) and the UNICEF country offices in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger, to roll-out a regional MRM approach.

·         Liaise closely with the MRM Specialists at UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO), UNICEF HQ, the Office of the SRSG CAAC, and the DPKO Child Protection Focal Point on the MRM in Mali.

Qualification:
• Advanced university degree, preferably in the social sciences, international relations, law or other relevant field.
• Five years of professional work experience at national and international levels in child protection, including child protection in emergencies.
• Previous professional experience in human rights and/or child rights monitoring and reporting
• Advanced technical knowledge of the MRM, including on the specific role of UNICEF within the MRM.
• Strong analytical and communication skills (both written and oral)
• Fluency in French and English.
• Knowledge of the Malian context will be an asset.

Competencies:

• Core Values
- Commitment 
- Diversity and Inclusion 
- Integrity    
            
• Core Competencies
Communication [ II ] 
Working with People [ II ]      
Drive for Results [ II ]  
 
• Functional Competencies
- Leading and Supervising [ I ]                      
- Formulating Strategies and Concepts  [ II ]
- Analyzing [ III ] 
- Relating and Networking [ II ]
- Deciding and Initiating Action [ II ]
- Applying Technical Expertise [ III ]

References:

Academy for Educational Development. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.aed.org

https://jobs-fhi360.icims.com/jobs/14662/capacity-building-technical-advisor/job

United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF). (n.d). http://www.unicef.org/

http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_74736.html

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

According to Wenger (2006) communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor: a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a clique of pupils defining their identities in school, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope. The focus of any community of practice is that of sharing knowledge and experience in order for members to become better and more effective in their particular area of knowledge. It also helps in gathering and using collective knowledge to solve problems.

The three such national/federal organizations that appealed to me are:

1.      Turkey Early Childhood Education Project: This is a collaborative effort that involves Turkish educational institutions including a university and a preschool, the aim is to exchange information and knowledge on materials, high-quality preschool curricula, intercultural comparisons and approaches to early childhood education.  The work of the community of practice is positively impacting early childhood education in Turkey.

2.      The Early Childhood Community of Practice (http://www.tapartnership.org/COP/earlyChildhood/resources.php):

The Early Childhood Community of Practice (COP) provides a platform for discussion, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas and resources related to young children between the ages of birth to 8 who have mental health challenges and are currently being served by system of care communities.

3.      Association of Early Childhood Intervention (is EÇOMD ) http://www.ecomder.org/hakkinda.asp This is a government backed association with the purpose of improving early childhood intervention through research, support for professionals, creation of awareness about issues in the field of early childhood education and research.

In my last blog posting I wrote about my passion for children and that the only job opportunity that interest me in the field is that of a classroom teacher. I have come to realize after that posting that I am also interested in the position of a program supervisor in early learning center. I am interested in this post as it will give me a great opportunity to oversee and guide child care teachers and staff to ensure best practices and be able to share and deploy knowledge gained over the year as an early childhood classroom teacher and from this course.

Skills and experience I need to completely fulfil this role include but not limited to the following: relevant academic qualification; ability to develop and maintain strong working relationship; ability to manage and inspire staff; exceptional organizational and time management skill; ability to effectively communicate with and present information to parents, peers, and all other stakeholders; and ability to lead by example, build relationships, and influence others.

References:

Wenger, E. (2006). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. Retrieved from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The blog assignment this week has in addition to other expected learning benefits opened my eyes to many associations and organizations here in Turkey that by their nature, organization and vision will be of great benefits to me as an early childhood educator. Among various early childhood organizations, associations, governmental agencies and communities of practice that I found the three that appealed to me most are:

1.     Association of Early Childhood Intervention ((is EÇOMD) http://www.ecomder.org/hakkinda.asp This is a government backed association with the purpose of improving early childhood intervention through research, support for professionals, creation of awareness about issues in the field of early childhood education, and research.

2.     OMEP Turkey. OMEP is an international, non-governmental and non-profit organization concerned with all aspects of early childhood education and care. It holds a consultative status with the United Nations and UNESCO. The Turkey chapter is organized along this line by promoting and defending the rights of every child to quality education and care as well as supporting activities aim at improving access to quality early childhood education and care by all children.

3.     Turkey Pre-School Education Development Association: This is a non-governmental organization established for and serving the purpose of improving preschool education through research aimed at revealing problem and challenges in pre-schools.

As an early childhood educator one truth I hold so dear and that always fuel my passion for the field is that childhood development is vital to human development. The more early childhood is developed and progressed, the more of progress and success that will be seen in the society.  I choose these three associations because they provide support, information and necessary assistance for practitioners and other stakeholders in the field of early childhood education.

I love been with children and inspiring them to develop high achievers qualities through learning activities that will bring out the best in them and make free from prejudice. Therefore, the only job opportunity that interest me is that of a classroom early childhood educator. Among the skills that I need to be able to fulfill the role of an early childhood classroom teacher are relevant academic qualification; ability to develop and sustain strong working relationship; and ability to design and implement age appropriate lessons and activities.

My Wordle

REFLECTING ON LEARNING

            “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

                                                                                      Martin Luther King. Jr.

We contend that students who interact with diverse students in classrooms and in the broad campus environment will be more motivated and better able to participate in a heterogeneous and complex society (Gurin, Nagda, & Lopez, 2003).  Early childhood educators have deep faith in the principles that all people deserve the opportunities and resources to fulfil their complete humanity (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). Now I am convinced more than ever before that there are many benefits that an individual and indeed the society gained when diversity is embraced and valued.

As an early childhood educator, my most passionate hope for the future is to see children from diverse backgrounds and differences in my class and in the society interacting amongst themselves and with people around, flourishing and blossoming. A hope for the true fulfillment of Martin Luther King's dream that one day little children will live in a nation- in a world- where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, by where they come from, by the circumstance of their birth, but by the content of their character.

My learning in this course has been of great benefit to me and has helped me in setting some goals which I know if I pursue, I will be a better and a more effective anti- bias early childhood educator.  Having said this, I will like to say a big thank you to our professor for facilitating such a wonderful and highly beneficial learning activity that this course is. I also thank my dear course-mates for the privileges and benefits of learning together, the valuable learning experiences that you shared through weekly discussion postings, valuable comments and responses are cherished, valued, and highly useful. I wish you all success in your future academic and career pursuits.

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).

Gurin, P., Nagda, B. A., & Lopez, G. E. (2003).  The benefits of diversity in education for democratic citizenship. Retrieved from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pgurin/benefits.html

IMPACTS ON EARLY EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The early years of a child is very important as it lays the foundation for healthy development and growth or otherwise of that child. For example, if a child experience neglect, inadequate medication /health care, and imbalanced nutrition from age 0 to age 6, the child stands the risk of having an increase in overall poor physical health as well as having the potential to develop permanent physical disabilities. Research on early childhood has underscored the impact of the first five years of a child’s life on his/her social-emotional development, negative early experiences can impair children’s mental health and effect their cognitive, behavioral, social-emotional development (Cooper, Masi,& Vick, 2009). What happens to a child in early childhood (socially, emotionally, and physically) matters and can influence the child’s development later in life.

For my blog post this week with the above heading, I explored Middle East & North Africa Region and specifically took interest in Syria as a country. My choice of Syria is deliberate. I live and work in a country very close to Syria and with the situation presently in Syria we’ve had an influx of children from Syria, not necessarily Syrian children but also children from other nations whose parents are relocating from Syria joining my school. It will be a useful learning experience for me to know and gain a deeper understanding of what children in Syria are going through and having an understanding of how these is affecting them will be of great help to my teaching and classroom relationship with these lovely children

The war that has been going in Syria constitutes the major challenge that children faced in that country. Schools are being attacked and even when other places are attacked, children are the more vulnerable and the major victims. As recent as April 29^th this year mortar attacks at Al-Shaghour, a suburb of Damascus killed 14 children and left more than 80 other children seriously injured.  That same day two other incidents, another mortar attack and a car bomb, caused the death of more than 100 people with the majority being children and women. According to Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, every day, across Syria, children who are simply trying to go about their everyday lives are being killed and maimed by indiscriminate attacks on populated areas. Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, the country’s UN representative recent statement on the situation is both revealing and a wake-up call, he said, “The children of Syria continue to pay the heaviest price of the conflict. The recent escalation of attacks makes this cost unbearable.”

Another issue that is affecting children in Syria is scarcity of safe water. “The scarcity of safe water-adding to the impact of the ongoing conflict and the intense summer heat-raises the real risk of more population displacement and the spread of disease among vulnerable children.” Maria Calivis. A desert country, Syria is experiencing her worst drought in about 50 years with lowest levels of rainfall. This situation is having a serious effect on more than 4 million children by putting their lives in greater risk than the war.

What children suffer both during war and after war can be devastating. When the war is going on children are being killed, maimed, displaced with some even recruited as soldiers thereby damaging, permanently, the kind, innocent and empathetic nature of the child in them. The psychological effects of the war linger on with children even after the battle is over, many children will be unable to forge healthy relationships and some will turn to alcohol or drug misuse as a coping mechanism. Yet, the gravest effects of war on children is that it disrupt their healthy development by disrupting and destroying their education and also by removing and sometimes completely destroying supportive, caring and responsive relationships meant for their healthy growth and development.

The insight I gained based on the information I got from my exploration this week will go a long way in helping me to provide necessary and effective support for children that recently came from Syria to join my class. I realized and now understand why one of the students always wanted to discuss issues about what is going on in Syria even at that young age (5). I have resolved that I will encourage her and others to discuss their feelings, concerns and the experiences they have regarding the situation in Syria. I will also be an empathetic listener.

References:

Cooper, J.L., Masi, R., & Vick, J. (2009). Social-emotional development in early childhood: What every policymaker should know. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_882.html

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/syria.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

“Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media and popular culture.”

                                                                                      Levin & Kilbourne

Perhaps there has been no time in human history when children, indeed very young children are inundated, dangerously overwhelmed and flooded with explicit sexual messages. From simple advertise messages on products to adverts and programs on TV, to video games, movies, music and even toys children see and get messages that are embedded with sex and sexualized images. Unarguably, the sexual messages that children got from the media is second to if not at par with violence messages.

The media remains a powerful influence that shapes the young ones. From my experience as a preschool teacher, young children got their information about sex mostly from the media. As captured by the Deseret News, "Kids learn from many sources (Steve Thomsen communication professor at Brigham Young University). It's true they learn from parents and other socializing agents like church and school, but they also learn an awful lot from media. They rely on media as a way to learn about their world. What they see is what they assume is normal."

Sexualization is to make something sexual in character or quality.  It refers to the process whereby a person or group of people comes to be seen or interpreted as sexual in nature. Sexuality and sexualization of children is not the same thing. Sexuality in children refers to children developing a healthy curiosity and awareness of their bodies as different from sexualization which occurs when a child sense of value is solely based on his or her sex appeal. The other day a child in grade two was been teased by her friends for not having a boyfriend, she told the parents to find a guy for her as life is meaningless and dull without a boy-friend.  A child in grade 1 as told by a colleague of mine reported that a classmate pull down his pant and “he asked me to do a disgusting thing, to lick his private part!”

The pains and depravations caused by sexualization of children are evident everywhere. Sexualization, experts say, devalues accomplishment, intelligence and character (Deseret News, 2011). Children are been exposed so earlier and are demonstrating sexual interests, behaviors and actions at earlier age. Could the broken homes, unwanted pregnancies, and such that are prevalent in our societies not be the results from sexualization of children?

As a parent and an educator I feel something needs to be done and I am deeply concerned. Sadly enough it seems the adverts, the exposures cannot be stopped. It is case of the fact that you cannot stop a bird from fly over your head but you can stop it from building its nest on your head. If we take it upon ourselves as parents and educators to speak and educate the young ones honestly, with care, love and concern about the sexualized world around them and counter the negative effects of it, we would succeed in not allowing the evil birds of sexualization build their nests on the heads of our young ones.

References:

Deseret News (2011). The end of innocence: The cost of sexualizing kids. Retrieved from http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700180194/The-end-of-innocence-The-cost-of-sexualizing-kids.html?pg=all

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

“You called me monkey, but you got mad when I became champion with Galatasaray and the saddest thing is you called me monkey and forgot that you jumped when my ‘monkey’ brother scored twice yesterday ... and you call yourself a true fan?”

The  above is a response by the renowned football star Didier Drogha to racist attacks on him and another African footballer in Turkey during a match between his team, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, the two were insulted and were subjected to vile racist chants from fans in the terraces during the match with some fans throwing bananas at them. Funny enough Fenebahce won that match 2-to-1, and ironically both goals were scored by Pierre Webo, another African who is from Cameroon.

Derman-Sparks & Edwards define racism as an attitude, action or practice of an individual or institution, backed by societal power, that undermines human and legal rights or economic opportunities of people because of specific physical characteristics, such as skin color. Some racist actions can be hidden while some are so glaring. While some actions that portray racist inclination might be deliberate, some are unintentional. Working here in Turkey, I have seen and experienced all of these. Of particular mention is a situation where a child asked me “where is your tail?” Shocked, angry but I was calm and decided to know what informed that question and where the child is speaking from.

Though I used that incident to teach my class about the evil effects of racism, it took me some times to be able to get over it and have normal relationships with the child and the family especially when I discovered that the child got that message from home. She actually said her parents told her that Africans live on trees and eat bananas like monkeys.

Racist comments and racism incidents like the one I mentioned above do have some consequences on the teacher, the student, the school and even families. It might portray the particular student as a racist thereby ostracizing him/her in class which will affect his/her ability to have friends in the class. This can results into the student having trouble learning and concentrating in class. For the teacher, it might have effects on his/her work, attitude and expectations in the class which will consequently affect the atmosphere in the class. Truth is, the academic and general classroom atmosphere is greatly influenced by the expectations of the teacher. For the family it can cause a schism between the teacher and some families thus affecting their relationship. It may result in conflict between the teacher, the student and the family thus turning the school environment into an unfriendly one.

OBSERVING COMMUNICATION

Observation is a powerful way of learning. I believe this is the reason behind schools organizing peer observation for teachers as being done in my school. The idea is to pick good practices and look for information that can be of use and help to both the observed and the one observing. Through this practice new behavior and practices are noticed and learned. However, observation does not mean imitation per se as the behavior seen exhibited does not necessarily have to be duplicated.

As part of the requirements for this week’s assignment, I spent some hours observing a child, her parents and health workers communicating at a hospital I visited yesterday.

Children are powerful communicators and depend a lot on communication for expressing their needs and for learning. I realized as soon as the little girl and her mom entered into the waiting room where I was already seated that the girl was calm, careful and conscious of the environment. Her response to my greetings was by nodding her head and signaling to me that I should be quiet. Her response to the nurse’s attempt at getting some needed information from her was in the same way, the mother had to answer the enquiries of the nurse herself even in some instances that the little girl’s answer could have been more appropriate and highly essential.

It was apparent that the little girl must have told that ‘you do not make a noise at the hospital and that the hospital is a special place’ which explains her strange behavior and her unusual quietness (as I learned from the mum later). Communicating with children needs to be detailed, clear and positive. It is better more time is spent telling them what to do and less time telling them what not to do. Like in this scenario instead of telling the girl “No talking in the hospital” a statement such as “It is expected that one talks softly in the hospital so as not to disturb other patients” could have been well understood by any child and serve the intended purpose.

Communication is unarguably fundamental to human interaction and relationship. It is a two-way process that involves sending, receiving and decoding messages. For children, just as the message been sent is important and must be the right one it is equally important that effort is made especially by adults that the message is been sent in a way that the child correctly understand, receive, and interpret the message sent for it to be effective.

CREATING AN AFFIRMING ENVIRONMENT

My church is starting a children’s church next month, the idea of the church is that the center should be run like a family care home and I have been given the responsibility to lead the committee for the planning and running of this center. This is indeed the right assignment at the right time for me as it will give me a golden opportunity to put into practice some of the things I am learning in this course. The first consideration and priority therefore is the environment of the children’s church.

For effectiveness in setting up any early childhood education program the learning environment is very important and should be seriously considered. It should be such that is learning friendly for children by allowing them space, time and appropriate materials to move, interact and use for their learning. It is a known fact that children learn best when all areas of an integrated, carefully planned, curriculum are implemented formally and informally in learning environments that are interactive, practical and enjoyable. Children should have opportunities to experience much of their learning through a well-planned and challenging environment (CCEA, 2003).

The environment will be such that reflect diversity as we have in my church and in our immediate environment. My church has members from more 30 countries and is located at the part of the city populated by foreigners as well as the citizens of the country. Research has shown that prejudice is curtailed and reduced when educational environments foster critical thinking, empathy development and self-esteem in children. 

The following will be considered:

·        *A general environment that is welcoming to all children and families irrespective of where they are from, belief and culture. The core value of anti-bias education is that all children, irrespective of their differences should be valued, respected and flourish.

·        *A welcoming/nap room similar to that of Adriana (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).

·       * Materials on display and bulletin board will be such that are inclusive of all people.

·       *Furniture, play materials and other classroom equipment will be the type and arranged in such a way that it will aid children’s exploration, curiosity and interactions so as to reflect and promote diversity.

·        *Artwork, books, toys and other learning materials in the center will be such that reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of children in the church and our community.

According to Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010), creating and assessing an effective anti-bias learning environment is an ongoing process that is subject to changes, addition and improvement in order to accommodate and reflect each new group of children and families. The above considerations and plans will be subjected to review as such.

References:

CCEA. (2003). The revised Northern Ireland primary curriculum foundation stage. Belfast: Author

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

WEEK 8 WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

            “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

                                                                                      Martin Luther King. Jr.

We contend that students who interact with diverse students in classrooms and in the broad campus environment will be more motivated and better able to participate in a heterogeneous and complex society ( Gurin, Nagda, & Lopez, 2003). There are many benefits that an individual and indeed the society gained when diversity is embraced and valued. When I see children from diverse background in my class and interact with their families what I see is the hope of a better society- a hope for the fulfillment of Martin Luther King's dream that one day little children will live in a nation- in a world- where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, by where they come from, by the circumstance of their birth, but by the content of their character.

As an early childhood educator, one goal I will like to set and pursue vigorously as regards the issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to constantly create and maintain a classroom environment that truly appreciates and values diversity by allowing every child irrespective of any differences (race, gender, color, age, religion, ability, disability, sexual orientation, national origin) to blend, belong, learn, thrives, and succeed.

I know that it easier said than done and anyone can get carried in the midst of talking. To ensure that I walk the talk of my goal, one of my action points is to continue with reflective journal that I started in this course. I sincerely believe this will help my planning, evaluation, analysis and achievement of my set goal.

My learning in this course has been of great benefit to me and has helped me in arriving at the above goal which I know if I pursue, I will be a better and more effective early childhood educator and successful anti-bias educator.  Having said this, I will like to say a big thank you to our professor for facilitating such a wonderful and highly beneficial learning activity that this course is. I also thank my dear course-mates for the benefits of learning with you, your valuable learning experiences that you through weekly discussion postings, valuable comments and responses are cherished, valued, and are highly useful. I wish you all success in your future academic and career pursuits.

Reference

Gurin, P., Nagda, B. A., & Lopez, G. E. (2003).  The benefits of diversity in education for democratic citizenship. Retrieved from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pgurin/benefits.html

Young children are meaning makers – perpetually learning from their environment.

Our views and perspectives in life are often formed by our experiences as children- firsthand experiences. Sometimes what a child experiences through the environment and from people around him/her gives positive effects and thus leads to life-affirming and anti-bias thoughts and actions. However at other times, the experiences of a child do give negative effect thus a child develops and adopts a mindset that is biased, racial and highly prejudiced. As adults, how we interpret differences when a child discovered it, how we act on such occasions and our responses to a child’s natural inquisitiveness are life forming experiences that can shape the perspectives and views of that child.
When my family moved to a new location some years ago we went to visit a colleague who actually invited us to come for the birthday of his son. The party was going well with children until we got there. On seeing my family (we were the only black people there that day) a particular boy started screaming and would not play with anyone again, it was so embarrassing. I learned later that that was the first time the little boy was meeting with a black person in real life. Every efforts made to placate the boy was unsuccessful. What the mother did was to pick him up took him to a separate room for them to eat and after some minutes left the party with the boy.
Children do have experiences like this that do cause them, shock, discomfort, dissatisfaction and even pain. Deductions from such experiences may lead to stereotypes, bias and prejudice as they make children to live with fear, discouragement, distrust and such of others. Adults in children’s live, especially those of us in early year programs therefore have to be very careful and mindful of the messages we communicate to children through our words and actions/inactions on occasions such as mentioned above.
Considering the background of the child at the center of this story, I think it is natural for him to have some reservations and expressed it. His action on that day I think provided a very good opportunity for the mother and other adults around him that day to help him understand, appreciate and celebrate differences. A good opportunity it was to let the boy know that life would be boring and dull if we were all the same. One of the ways an anti-bias educator would have provided support for the child at the center of the incident above I think is to demonstrate or put up actions that is welcoming to diversity and respect for the differences on display that day. Actions such as a hug and a discussion between us and the mother are the types that an anti-bias educator would have displayed to help the boy’s understanding and acceptance of diversity. Acceptance of differences in others can be taught in a subtle but visibly way. Children in such circumstances have their fear allay and develop the right attitude towards diversity by learning from attitudes, actions and values they see important adults in their lives displayed at such occasions.

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

One of the realities of time we are in now is the growing children living with same gender couples. Aimee Fisher (2008) mentioned that in United States of America alone over 2 million children are being raised by gay and lesbian parents. With children from these homes as pupils in our classroom, the implication is that children awareness of gender differences and sexual orientation is on the rise. When it comes to diversity few issues are as controversial to children as the issues of sexuality and sexual orientation. Robinson (2002) reports that in the context of children and, by association, early childhood education they are areas that are fraught with many obstacles and cultural taboos that operate to silence, marginalize, and/or limit any dialogue or representation of this form of difference.

Many cultures and indeed many individuals see and confine these two issues to the realm of adults with children been perceived as too young to dabble into it and therefore introducing them to such topics is regarded as not proper. It was in the light of such believe that the proponents are advocating that early childhood center should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individual such as same-sex partnered families.I do not subscribe to this position that such materials should be banned from early childhood centers. I believe that children need to learn about these issues from early stages just like other issues too. Invisibility does not mean absence or irrelevancy. That such things are not allowed will not translate into children not having it in their subconsciousness or that it will not be something that they will have to battle with later in life. Some children are actually from families that have gays or lesbians as members and I think addressing issues related to sexuality and sexual orientation rather than hiding it will make for understanding by the children.

There seems to be a conspiracy of silence about sexual orientation and marginalization against lesbians and gays in our schools. It is not uncommon to hear words that are pejorative been used daily in our school against lesbians and gays but with teachers doing nothing about it. Some educators are scare of taking any action because in some countries (for international educator especially) there is a perception that talking about sexuality and sexual orientation in the classroom means a teacher is talking about sex with children and are therefore unprofessional.

However, since such classroom discussion does not necessarily involve human reproduction and in view of school obligation to make every child safe, supported and ready to learn I strongly believe that it is time for teachers and other stakeholders in early childhood to see it as both professional and moral obligation to check sexual discrimination in early childhood as well as ensure that the conspiracy of silence and marginalization is removed by encouraging a critical understanding of sexuality and sexual orientation in early childhood level of education.