EDUC 6164: Week 8- Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds

 I hope to continue the journey of learning and celebrating our similarities and differences.  I hope to be able to work with my colleagues to create a wonderful learning environment that is welcoming and respectful of all of the children and families attending.  

One goal related I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice:

My goal is to develop skills and comfort in addressing hurtful comments or actions in the classroom.   My goal is to be mindful of my own behavior and words.  I recognize the messages my words and actions can communicate to the children and their families (or not communicate).   I admit that I have little experience talking to the children about bias, but I am willing to listen, to learn and ask questions (Derman Sparks & Edwards, 2010).

A word of thanks:

I have enjoyed reading and learning from our many discussion and blog postings. Thank for your insightful comments which helped to further my understanding.  I wish all of you the very best in your future studies.

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J.O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.  Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

EDUC 6165-Week 8-Reflecting on Communicating and Collaborating in Early Childhood

To my Colleagues in EDUC 6165,
The last eight weeks have flown by so quickly!  I have learned so much about communicating and collaborating.  I hope I can put all of my learning into action!  I know I am trying to be a more empathetic listener with my work colleagues, family, and friends.  Thank you for your wonderful insights, comments, and support over the past eight weeks.  I have enjoyed learning from each and every one of you.  I wish you all the best in your future studies.
Take Care,
Tamara

EDUC 6164-Week Seven-Welcoming Families From Around the World

The Scenario:

 I am working in an early learning and care program where I receive word that a child of a family who has recently emigrated from Costa Rica will be about to join my group soon.  In order to prepare myself to welcome the child and her family, I need to know more than the surface facts about their country of origin. 

Five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally response towards this family include the following:

a)       Take time to learn about the culture of the family through reading and researching to discover more information about their country of origin

b)     My preliminary research indicates that Spanish is the spoken language in Costa Rica (along with English).

c)      Take time to reflect the culture in the environment from welcoming signs in English and Spanish, to including artwork, posters, and books.   

d)      Post a map of the world in the classroom in order to promote discussion with the children about different places in the world.

e)      Learn some words of welcome in their language.  I do not speak Spanish so this would be a learning experience for me.    I will continue to promote the child’s home language.

f)       Prepare paperwork.  Be sure that the required paperwork is available in Spanish and English.  I would need to find someone who spoke Spanish to help with this process.

g)      Although I have done some preliminary prep work to help me feel more confident, I recognize that I cannot make any assumptions about the family’s background and culture and think I know the family before meeting them.

h)      I understand that it will not be easy for the family to leave their child at the early learning and care program.  I hope to spend as much time as possible with the family to ease their anxiety.  I will be sure to have an extra staff available on the day the child and family arrive (if possible).

i)        I will take time to find community organizations that assist immigrant families to access local resources and services (Derman Sparks & Edwards, 2010).

By taking the time to learn about the family’s culture, I hope to feel more confident in connecting with the family.  I hope the child and family will feel welcomed to the early learning and care program.  I think creating a welcoming environment will help to a build positive relationship with the child and family.  

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J.O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.  Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

EDUC 6164-Week 6-The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

A recent online news story caught my eye.   The story involves a ten year old boy who went home for lunch from school.  Upon return to school, he is ridiculed and teased by the children because he smells like fried fish.  The teacher rather than chatting to the children about different smells,  tells the child to go to the hall where she sprays him with Fabreeze.   

Here is the link to the news story:

http://news.sympatico.ca/oped/coffee-talk/teacher_sprays_student_with_febreze_after_fishy_lunch/53a114f3

The teacher did not treat the child fairly or with respect rather her treatment of the child served to make the child feel embarrassed and different from his classmates.    The child’s “developing sense of self is hurt by name-calling, teasing, and exclusion based on identity.  And children who engage in such hurtful behaviors are learning to be bullies” (Derman Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 6).  In this case the teacher is reinforcing the children’s attitudes to this child with her own behavior.

The boy’s mom wants an apology from the teacher.   As a parent and educator, I am upset that an adult would treat a child this way.    The incident makes me wonder why the teacher thought that spraying a child with Fabreeze would be acceptable.

In this situation, I believe the teacher needs to explore her own thinking, behavior and words.  She needs to consider how her behavior has impacted the child and how to turn the situation around.  “The better you know yourself, the better you can understand your own responses to the children and families you work with” (Derman Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 21).  Additionally, the teacher in this story needed to “gently but firmly intervene, support the child who has been hurt by the biased behavior, and help children learn other ways of interacting” (p. 6).  

References

Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J.O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.  Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

EDUC-6165-Week 6-Working in Teams-The Adjourning Stage

With many of the groups (committees and working colleagues), I have been involved in over the years, there has been a sense of accomplishment in completing the task or meeting our goal.    With each of the groups, at the end of the project, we have always done something special together to celebrate.    I find you connect with many of the people involved.  I always find it challenging to say good-bye to people that you may not see again or have become very close to over the course of the project.  Of course, there have been some groups where you are thankful that the project is completed.

 I think having lunch or dinner together helps to bring closure to the project (and a way to celebrate a job well done).   When we completed our curriculum project, we celebrated by having lunch together at a local restaurant.    Sometimes groups do need to meet after the project is completed to evaluate the changes and make adjustments if necessary.    With our curriculum project, we have taken the time to meet regularly to review the changes to ensure we are on target.

The adjourning stage makes me think of project work with the children.  When the project comes to a close, the children decide on a way to present what they have learned to share with others.   The adjourning stage is an essential stage of teamwork as it allows everyone to reflect on their contributions to the group and celebrate the accomplishments of working together.    Even if the group was unsuccessful, Abudi (2010) recommends that the group take the time to evaluate and learn from the experience.

As for how do I imagine that I will adjourn from the group of colleagues I have formed while working on my master’s degree in this program? I look forward to celebrating together at convocation with everyone for a job well done.  Actually, it will be wonderful to meet people face to face!

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

EDUC-6165-WEEK 5-Dealing with Conflict-Nonviolent Communication

I have overheard others talking about their teenage daughters and always wondered what the big deal was and now I know.  Living with a teenage daughter is dealing with conflict every day!  I wish it were otherwise as I do enjoy peace and harmony.   The fact is our daughter never takes responsibility for herself  and is always quick to blame everyone else.   It has been exhausting trying to reason with her about her actions. The focus on resolution skills this week will be especially helpful in resolving several issues with her.

Two strategies that I think will be especially helpful in resolving conflict with our daughter are the following:

·         With regards to my daughter, I think it is important to use “I” statements as suggested by The Conflict Resolution Network (n.d.).    The “I” message will be effective as I need to let her know how I am feeling about the issue (not attending school).  I like that the “I” statement is a clear statement of how it is with me and how I would like it to be (The Conflict Resolution Network, n.d.).  I believe that the “I” message will be a great starting point to having a productive conversation with my daughter.

·         Engaging in dialogue with our daughter requires patience and focus. After the “I” statement I hope we can have a conversation.  But before, the “I” statement,  I really need to use the “going to the balcony” strategy as suggested by the Third Side (n.d.).  I need to remind myself what is important, take a deep breath, take the time to prepare, to listen, and to identify my own emotions (The Third Side, n.d.).  If I take my time to prepare, I hope that I can remain calm, listen to her point of view, and be able to hopefully openly discuss the problem.  I know she will quickly become defensive, tell me not to worry, and try to brush me off, but it is important that I take the time to ask questions, and clarify what she is saying, and remained focused on her needs and my needs.  Hopefully we can come to a solution together.

Wish me luck!

Update:  I practiced what I wanted to say in the car on my way to pick up my daughter.   My "I" message was clear (I think...), and when she became defensive, I told her that"this is how I feel." It really made her pause before she started speaking....   I really tried hard to be empathetic, ask questions, and to paraphrase what I heard her say.  The challenge for me is to use the right words in responding (I found the whole process exhausting as you are listening more intently).  You really do have to focus on what is being said.   Although we did not come to a resolution, we did have a good conversation.    Do we need to have another conversation.....ABSOLUTELY!

References

Conflict Resolution Network. (n.d.).  CR kit. Retrieved from http://www.crnhg.org/pages.php?pID=12#skill_3

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.).  The center for nonviolent communication.  Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/

The Third Side. (n.d.).  The Third Side.  Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/