As I sat and thought about this topic, I became sad and a little overwhelmed with it. Children that are this young should not be thinking about sexualization; rather, they should enjoy being a child and playing. Sadly, children are viewing sexual images as well as sexual encounters way earlier than they should. They are viewing things on video games, watching older siblings, as well as seeing and hearing things from their parents. Instead of seeing others in "regular" clothes, children are viewing women as sexual objects that are dressed in very little clothing, excessive makeup and very thin. Sadly, even children in preschool want to be just like the women they see on television and video games. This is not healthy development; I believe this is taking away children's development by pushing sexualization.
This topic made me think of my own daughter, who is almost 15 now. It makes me truly sick to see the people on television that some of her classmates are idolizing. Thankfully, I have instilled in my daughter to be her own person and never try to be something she is not. She is very classy, has high standards, and refuses to act like something she is not. She does not like the trashy clothing or the messages it sends out. I also realize I cannot shelter her from everything; she will see and hear things she should not hear or see, but I have to hope she will make the right choices based on the way I have brought her up.
When I think of all of these things both for my students and my daughter, I want to protect these sweet babies and my teenager from all of the negativity! These children should be allowed to be just that-children. They should not be exposed to sex at such an early age! I remember, several years ago, one of my preschoolers talking about the "sexy" women and naked women he seen on a video game. I let him talk for about a minute about how hot she was, and how good she looked with no clothes on. I was SHOCKED! He was only 4, but he was talking like this. I was beyond appalled at what I was hearing. I pulled him to my table and had a discussion with him. He told me overheard his brother and dad talking like that, so he was repeating it. I told him I understood he looked up to both his brother and dad, but those types of things were inappropriate for our classroom and he would not be allowed to discuss those things. I even called his mom in for a conference and expressed my concerns. This mother was as shocked as I was, and he was not allowed to play that video game again.
Because of the influx of technology, I do not believe we will be able to reverse this trend. I believe our children will continue to see inappropriate images and sex. We, as educators need to feel comfortable collaborating with parents and families when topics of this nature come up. We must allow children to be children who enjoy playing without brining up the topic of sex or sexualization.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice
This week's blog assignment has me thinking quite a bit about different -isms. Throughout my time in this program, I have become more compassionate with my teaching as well as ensuring I am not using any -isms myself. However, this has also allowed me to watch others closely.
When I see discrimination taking place among other educators, I am so saddened! Children should not have to feel any type of discrimination because of their skin color, their class, or their beliefs. I believe, if I was to begin having discriminatory thoughts I would become an educator that forced children to feel shame and inequality; that would make me feel horrible as I in the classroom to build children up and help them succeed. I believe I would be an emotional roller coaster and never succeed in helping children feel loved, nurtured, or safe. Not to mention force families to feel ashamed of their life, their cultures, color, etc. and not want their children to come to school because I would be viewed as a negative educator that is harming their children instead of helping them. I certainly could not be this type of educator.
In order to help build family relationships, allow children to succeed and be nurtured we, as educators need to be positive ourselves and never form biases or discriminatory thoughts or actions. We need to allow ALL children to feel a sense of pride, no matter what their race, class, sex, etc. may be. We need to instill love an acceptance for all children and families within the classroom.
When I see discrimination taking place among other educators, I am so saddened! Children should not have to feel any type of discrimination because of their skin color, their class, or their beliefs. I believe, if I was to begin having discriminatory thoughts I would become an educator that forced children to feel shame and inequality; that would make me feel horrible as I in the classroom to build children up and help them succeed. I believe I would be an emotional roller coaster and never succeed in helping children feel loved, nurtured, or safe. Not to mention force families to feel ashamed of their life, their cultures, color, etc. and not want their children to come to school because I would be viewed as a negative educator that is harming their children instead of helping them. I certainly could not be this type of educator.
In order to help build family relationships, allow children to succeed and be nurtured we, as educators need to be positive ourselves and never form biases or discriminatory thoughts or actions. We need to allow ALL children to feel a sense of pride, no matter what their race, class, sex, etc. may be. We need to instill love an acceptance for all children and families within the classroom.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Observing Communication
I witness many conversations throughout the day with my students, other students as well as adults, paraprofessionals and parents. However, I recall watching one of my students and his mother have a conversation about his behavior at school. While I thought about what conversation I wanted to recall, I chose to discuss the positive interactions of this particular conversation.
This student had a difficult day at school; he refused to follow directions; he was pushing other students; and he slapped a girl on the playground during recess. Because of his behavior, he had consequences. I marked this in his discipline folder, and when school was dismissed, I spoke with his mother about his behavior. During our conversation, he tried to interrupt, but his mother politely asked him to remain quiet for a few moments while we spoke. She was very sweet and showed no anger.
After the parent and I were finished, she began talking to her son. It was not a "You are in trouble when you get home;" rather, it was a question and answer time. She asked her son to explain to her why he had this type of day. She listened to him without interrupting him, and she let him explain to her why he displayed this type of behavior. She never got angry or irritated with him, but she let him talk and then explained to him why it was wrong to hit and not behave. I was so impressed with the gentle nature of this mother, and equally impressed at the mutual respect among the two.
This conversation taught me a valuable lesson; to always show respect to children (even if they are only 4 years old0 and let them actually have a voice in the conversation rather than make them feel as if they are not allowed to communicate. In order to gain respect, it must be given as well. I realize I need to do a better job of communicating, and allowing my children to speak more while I listen more.
References
Laureate Education Inc.(Producer). (2011). Communicating With Young Children. Baltimore, MD: Author
This student had a difficult day at school; he refused to follow directions; he was pushing other students; and he slapped a girl on the playground during recess. Because of his behavior, he had consequences. I marked this in his discipline folder, and when school was dismissed, I spoke with his mother about his behavior. During our conversation, he tried to interrupt, but his mother politely asked him to remain quiet for a few moments while we spoke. She was very sweet and showed no anger.
After the parent and I were finished, she began talking to her son. It was not a "You are in trouble when you get home;" rather, it was a question and answer time. She asked her son to explain to her why he had this type of day. She listened to him without interrupting him, and she let him explain to her why he displayed this type of behavior. She never got angry or irritated with him, but she let him talk and then explained to him why it was wrong to hit and not behave. I was so impressed with the gentle nature of this mother, and equally impressed at the mutual respect among the two.
This conversation taught me a valuable lesson; to always show respect to children (even if they are only 4 years old0 and let them actually have a voice in the conversation rather than make them feel as if they are not allowed to communicate. In order to gain respect, it must be given as well. I realize I need to do a better job of communicating, and allowing my children to speak more while I listen more.
References
Laureate Education Inc.(Producer). (2011). Communicating With Young Children. Baltimore, MD: Author
Friday, September 13, 2013
Creating Affirming Environments
My vision for an anti-bias classroom is actually quite simple. All families and children would be represented, as well as displaying pictures of all cultures and races. I would ensure my students as well as their families knew we were all a big family. This is actually what my classroom currently looks like. I have several ELL students; any and ALL information I send home is translated into their home language. This has always made my parents of the ELL students feel good about sending their child to school because they know I am going to communicate with them regardless of their language.
Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) reminds us we are to have materials that invite children to explore and discover. An ideal anti-bias environment embraces this. Many cultures are represented through play, music and movement, puzzles, and reading material. (As well as all other centers)
Books should be a wide variety with much diversity, but engaged students to want to explore. Many books about different races, traditions, as well as languages should be purchased and used.
Puzzles should be diverse, as well. I have witnessed my students having discussions about the puzzles I place out. They will begin to explore the puzzles, but then I find them in conversations about the differences of the people and the "parties" they are having. This is so amazing for acceptance, learning to appreciate diversity, as well as oral language development.
A wide variety of music should be used. Again, I have several ELL students who only speak Spanish, so I make sure I play songs that are in Spanish. It is absolutely wonderful for all of my students as they begin to appreciate each other and the language spoken.
These are a just a few of the centers that should be culturally diverse; all centers should be this way. Dolls should be all ethnicities that are present in a classroom or center as well as dress up clothes that represent a variety of traditions, cultures, and races. It is important to remember "The look and sounds of the room reflect the family cultures and daily lives of children" (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 43). I want all families to know we represent everyone, accept everyone, and embrace each other daily.
References
Derman-Sparks, & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias education for young children and ourselves.
Washington D.C. National Association for the Education of Young Children( NAEYC).
Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) reminds us we are to have materials that invite children to explore and discover. An ideal anti-bias environment embraces this. Many cultures are represented through play, music and movement, puzzles, and reading material. (As well as all other centers)
Books should be a wide variety with much diversity, but engaged students to want to explore. Many books about different races, traditions, as well as languages should be purchased and used.
Puzzles should be diverse, as well. I have witnessed my students having discussions about the puzzles I place out. They will begin to explore the puzzles, but then I find them in conversations about the differences of the people and the "parties" they are having. This is so amazing for acceptance, learning to appreciate diversity, as well as oral language development.
A wide variety of music should be used. Again, I have several ELL students who only speak Spanish, so I make sure I play songs that are in Spanish. It is absolutely wonderful for all of my students as they begin to appreciate each other and the language spoken.
These are a just a few of the centers that should be culturally diverse; all centers should be this way. Dolls should be all ethnicities that are present in a classroom or center as well as dress up clothes that represent a variety of traditions, cultures, and races. It is important to remember "The look and sounds of the room reflect the family cultures and daily lives of children" (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 43). I want all families to know we represent everyone, accept everyone, and embrace each other daily.
References
Derman-Sparks, & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias education for young children and ourselves.
Washington D.C. National Association for the Education of Young Children( NAEYC).
Monday, April 22, 2013
Farewell and Good Luck
Hello, everyone!
This has been a wonderful, eye-opening course for me in communication and collaboration! I have learned so many new insights and ideas, as well as what I need to work on to become a more effective communicator that can collaborate. I will carry these resouces with me in both my professional and personal life. Oftentimes, (for me, anyway) we get so caught up that we forget we are not communicating effectively, and our families seem to suffer the most. I have learned some valuable tools to ensure I am communicating well with my own family as well as my co-workers, students and their families.
Each person in this course has supported me in ways they may not not know. The support has come from comments on discussions and blogs; the initial postings have given us all different aspects on communicating and collaborating, and we can use the other thoughts and comments to ensure we are doing the best we can for our students and families when collaborating with them.
I wish each of you good luck as you continue your courses at Walden. We only have two more courses, and we will be officially graduated with our graduate degree. I hope you all can utilize in the way in which you hoped. I am hoping I can use mine to teach online courses. I love early childhood and want to ensure everyone is giving each child the education they so deserve.
Again, good luck to you all and God Bless!!
Blessings,
Susan
This has been a wonderful, eye-opening course for me in communication and collaboration! I have learned so many new insights and ideas, as well as what I need to work on to become a more effective communicator that can collaborate. I will carry these resouces with me in both my professional and personal life. Oftentimes, (for me, anyway) we get so caught up that we forget we are not communicating effectively, and our families seem to suffer the most. I have learned some valuable tools to ensure I am communicating well with my own family as well as my co-workers, students and their families.
Each person in this course has supported me in ways they may not not know. The support has come from comments on discussions and blogs; the initial postings have given us all different aspects on communicating and collaborating, and we can use the other thoughts and comments to ensure we are doing the best we can for our students and families when collaborating with them.
I wish each of you good luck as you continue your courses at Walden. We only have two more courses, and we will be officially graduated with our graduate degree. I hope you all can utilize in the way in which you hoped. I am hoping I can use mine to teach online courses. I love early childhood and want to ensure everyone is giving each child the education they so deserve.
Again, good luck to you all and God Bless!!
Blessings,
Susan
Friday, April 12, 2013
Development of Groups; Week 6
This week there has been a wealth of resources that will be of great assistance to me both in my professional career as well as my personal life. I have learned what successful communication looks like, but also how to make a group excel in communication. The 5 stages of development have been quite helpful and I will ensure I have each stage readily available when I am in group settings in which we are working towards a goal.
As far as saying goodbye to groups, I would say the high-performing groups would be difficult to leave because you know everyone has a desire to work towards their goal, and the group does what they can to achieve that goal. When you are in a high performing group, you develop expectations and you carry those with you. Should you end up in a group that is not working for towards the goal, and do not bond with one another, you can be let down and are more than willing to say goodbye to the group. I believe the same would apply for the groups that had the high norms because everyone felt so comfortable with one another and they worked diligently to achieve their goal. They put aside their individual thoughts and desires to work towards the goal. I can remember working with a group of friends on an assignment in my undergraduate work, and I could not wait to get out of that group because I was doing the brute of the work. I had no help, but everyone reaped the benefits of the A we received. It was not a comfortable group to be involved in.
I can remember a group I worked with during my undergraduate studies that was very high performing and clearly stated objectives and goals. I was the president of an organization, the Student Education Association. I had officers that worked extremely hard to accomplish what we needed to do, and I loved working with this group. We became very close during that year, and I was saddened when we had to say good bye to one another. We had worked so hard and I knew we had formed such close bonds and communicated very well. We would have many dinners outside of school where we could come up with great ideas and thoughts about what was best for the students involved in education. It was truly a memorable group. When we finally did adjourn, we sat down and discussed how we worked as a team and all of the wonderful things we accomplished. We just said our goodbyes and wished each other well. Those goodbyes bring closure and allow everyone to feel accomplished.
During my time here at Walden, I have been in classes with many of the same people. However, because I took a course out of order, I am not longer in the courses with anyone I started with. I am somewhat saddened because I feel like I developed some "personal" relationships through blogs and discussion postings. However, it is another lesson to put in my pocket because I have learned so many new ideas for early childhood education. I have received feedback from old and new colleagues that I will use during my time as an educator.
Abudi (2011) reminds us the adjourning stage is the closing of the project and the movement on to other projects. During this time, group members are able to analyze successes and failures, and make notes of what would aid in better success in the next group. O'Hair & Wiemann (2009) also remind us some group members can remain friends even after the group has adjourned. This is certainly the truth as 2 of the members of my group and myself have remained friends.
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
O'- Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.
As far as saying goodbye to groups, I would say the high-performing groups would be difficult to leave because you know everyone has a desire to work towards their goal, and the group does what they can to achieve that goal. When you are in a high performing group, you develop expectations and you carry those with you. Should you end up in a group that is not working for towards the goal, and do not bond with one another, you can be let down and are more than willing to say goodbye to the group. I believe the same would apply for the groups that had the high norms because everyone felt so comfortable with one another and they worked diligently to achieve their goal. They put aside their individual thoughts and desires to work towards the goal. I can remember working with a group of friends on an assignment in my undergraduate work, and I could not wait to get out of that group because I was doing the brute of the work. I had no help, but everyone reaped the benefits of the A we received. It was not a comfortable group to be involved in.
I can remember a group I worked with during my undergraduate studies that was very high performing and clearly stated objectives and goals. I was the president of an organization, the Student Education Association. I had officers that worked extremely hard to accomplish what we needed to do, and I loved working with this group. We became very close during that year, and I was saddened when we had to say good bye to one another. We had worked so hard and I knew we had formed such close bonds and communicated very well. We would have many dinners outside of school where we could come up with great ideas and thoughts about what was best for the students involved in education. It was truly a memorable group. When we finally did adjourn, we sat down and discussed how we worked as a team and all of the wonderful things we accomplished. We just said our goodbyes and wished each other well. Those goodbyes bring closure and allow everyone to feel accomplished.
During my time here at Walden, I have been in classes with many of the same people. However, because I took a course out of order, I am not longer in the courses with anyone I started with. I am somewhat saddened because I feel like I developed some "personal" relationships through blogs and discussion postings. However, it is another lesson to put in my pocket because I have learned so many new ideas for early childhood education. I have received feedback from old and new colleagues that I will use during my time as an educator.
Abudi (2011) reminds us the adjourning stage is the closing of the project and the movement on to other projects. During this time, group members are able to analyze successes and failures, and make notes of what would aid in better success in the next group. O'Hair & Wiemann (2009) also remind us some group members can remain friends even after the group has adjourned. This is certainly the truth as 2 of the members of my group and myself have remained friends.
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
O'- Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Communication Disagreements
Currently, I am not experiencing any type of conflict with anyone. I am normally a very easy going person, but I do not always compromise. So, instead of thinking of a current disagreement, I would like to discuss the way I was at one time.
I can remember several years ago I was not the ideal communicator. In fact, I would say most people would probably dread speaking to me! Not because I was mean or nasty, but because I refused to compromise and my way seemed the best possible way (in my opinion of course!) and I always wanted to control the situation. For so long, I could not figure out why some of my closest friends would avoid certain topics with me. Finally, I just decided they thought I was right and did not want to argue with me. Little did I know I was wrong about that thought!
Through the 3Rs and non-violent communcation, I now know why people did not like to communicate with me! I was not being respectful, repsonsive, or reciprocating whatsoever. I was trying to control the entire conversation and was not allowing my listeners to see I was an empathetic listener; rather, I was being disrespecful by not giving them respect by listening to their ideas and forming a compromise.
This week's resources have showed me I should avoid conflict and always incorporate the 3Rs. Oftentimes, I would be so controlling of a conversation that conflict would arise and I would not budge on my thoughts and ideas. I now know I certainly was not a victor in these types of conversations, but an egotistical, disrespectful, controlling communicator that had no regard for others.
I cannot say how thankful I am for this course on communication because I want to be the very best communicator I can be with my students, their families, as well as my own family, friends, and co-workers!
I can remember several years ago I was not the ideal communicator. In fact, I would say most people would probably dread speaking to me! Not because I was mean or nasty, but because I refused to compromise and my way seemed the best possible way (in my opinion of course!) and I always wanted to control the situation. For so long, I could not figure out why some of my closest friends would avoid certain topics with me. Finally, I just decided they thought I was right and did not want to argue with me. Little did I know I was wrong about that thought!
Through the 3Rs and non-violent communcation, I now know why people did not like to communicate with me! I was not being respectful, repsonsive, or reciprocating whatsoever. I was trying to control the entire conversation and was not allowing my listeners to see I was an empathetic listener; rather, I was being disrespecful by not giving them respect by listening to their ideas and forming a compromise.
This week's resources have showed me I should avoid conflict and always incorporate the 3Rs. Oftentimes, I would be so controlling of a conversation that conflict would arise and I would not budge on my thoughts and ideas. I now know I certainly was not a victor in these types of conversations, but an egotistical, disrespectful, controlling communicator that had no regard for others.
I cannot say how thankful I am for this course on communication because I want to be the very best communicator I can be with my students, their families, as well as my own family, friends, and co-workers!
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