My Professional Hopes and Goals for the Early Childhood Field

I would like to begin by thanking my 6164 Perspective Diversity community for all their support and guidance throughout these eight weeks. This course has been a very interesting one, and I wish my 6164 community all the best as they continue to strive for greatness throughout there MSECS program.

One hope that I have when thinking about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is providing these families with a level of acceptance and compassion beyond words. I always tell my husband, "actions speak louder than words", and providing diverse families of various backgrounds with a spirit of humbleness, acceptance and gratitude is the first step. The reason I say gratitude is because, without the diversity of these families, coming here to america and their willingness to expose and share their cultures with us, we would only have access to a limited level of diversity to display and share within our classrooms and amongst our children, so we should also be thankful that our multi-cultural families are open to sharing their cultures and levels of diversity with us.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is the hiring of more adequate and qualified teachers, who are open and humbled by the leverage that each of these variables hold. Diversity within a classroom is the epitome of our social world today. The level of inequity displayed in society today is the very reason why knowledge, comprehension and deliverance of equity in early child care is imperative today. We as teachers, often times become so engulfed in our biases, personal issues and internalized privileges that we disregard how our personal social injustices affect the social justices due to our children. It is time that we all jump on the same bang wagon and strive for the best for our young children, in the field of Early Childhood Education.

Welcome to America !!!

The country of origin that I chose is Comoros. Comoros is an African Island, located on the Indian Ocean, found between Mozambique and Madagascar. In this country, the known religion is Muslim.

One aspect of the Muslim religion is the importance of time spent with a child's mother. In response to this, as the child is away from his/her mother for a substantial amount of time, I will make it my duty to make the child feel as comfortable as possible by showing much more extra attention.

I will also encourage the other children to make the child feel much more comfortable by encouraging interactions with the child.

As the child is out of their element and away from home and familiarity, I will place photos and pictures of Comoros, as well as families dressed in Muslim and Comorian attire to help make the child feel a little more comfortable.

We will explore as we dissect different aspects of the country and the dominant religion of Muslim by learning about Ramadan, and reading books about the Comorian island. .

As the child explores the classroom, and becomes much more acquainted with the different areas in the classroom, I will also place familiar clothing in the Dramatic Play area. Clothing such as the Shiromeni worn by women and long color skirts and Koffia hats worn by the men.

Lastly, Comorian people are known for their fresh fruits and vegetables. We will also incorporate such activities into the classroom, through cooking experiments and other various activities.

I believe these preparations will benefit both me and the child , as I learn more about this country and its' dynamics, while he/she learns to adapt to this country. We will help one another as we provide one another with diverse information to be shared in the classroom. The level of diversity will be beyond measure and dynamically used for the enhancement of his/her's education.

My Personal encounter with Biases and Prejudices

In all honesty, I can not recall any incidents where I was exposed to biases or prejudices. However, my brother has been exposed to this. My brother was walking with his friend, to the bank, in the afternoon. On his way to the bank, two police officers walked behind my brother and grabbed him by his shirt. They placed him against the wall, and placed hang cuffs on him. My brother's friend, dumb-founded, stood helpless as he sought to find out why my brother was being arrested. My brother continuously asked why was he being arrested, but nothing was told to him. All he was told was to be quite. When he arrived to the precinct, the officer told him that they received a call from a woman who's purse was stolen, and he matched the description given. After being given further information, my brother explained to the officers that he was no where near that vicinity. I vividly recall the day my mother received the call from my brother that he was being held in "county" for something that he did not do. After much paperwork and deliberation, they released my brother with a simple, "oh, sorry". I recall how livid I was, and even considered pressing charges. My brother, however, felt completely different. He did not argue with the officers, but accepted the apology and even shook the hands of the officers. I learned a lot from my brother in this situation and I truly applaud his humbleness and his lack of aggression.  

Has this ever happened to you?

This week, I have been carefully monitoring and observing any evidence of microaggression in my classroom. To my surprise, my first encounter with microaggression happened to me. As many of you know, my family is of Jamaican decent. Many of the foods we eat are considered "unappetizing" to others. This week, I decided to pack lunch, from left over dinner cooked the night before. As I arrived to work, I was unloading my bags, as to refrigerate my lunch. My assistant teacher just happen to walk over towards me. I noticed that she was making up her face, as to suggest she smelled something foul. I asked her what was wrong, and she replied, "what's that?". I asked her "what's what?" She replied "what's that in the container?" I said "Oh, it's my lunch. I made dinner last night". She asked "What is it?" I told her it was pig's tail with red peas, but in Jamaica we call it Stew Peas and rice. While making up her face she said "Eww, why ya'll eat that? That's nasty?". At this point, I was quite tempted to respond in a very inappropriate way, but recollecting back to this course, I maintained my objectivity and explained to her that all cultures are different and not everyone eats the same foods that she eats. For example, in my culture, we do not eat chitlins', fat back, lard, or any other foods along the same lines, all of which is common in her daily diet. In explaining this, I reiterated "It still does not give me the right to make you feel like what you eat is disgusting or unacceptable". She calmly shook her head in agreement and, to my surprise, she apologized.

I found this experience to be a positive experience, in the sense that she recognized her microaggression and was willing to take responsibility for her actions. There were so many angles that I could have approached this situation, but in taking this course of Perspectives on Diversity and Equity, I acknowledge that ignorance begets ignorance.

...Please feel free to respond and share how you would have handled this situation differently...

What Would You Do?

In the case of a major catastrophe, the three items that I would take with me, besides the other important items that I would not be able to take are, (1) my bible, (2), my cellphone and (3) my baby pouch. 

(1) My bible is extremely important to me. It is the one thing that keeps me grounded in my faith, my family, and as a child of God. My scriptures are what set the foundations for me as a wife, a child, a mother, a professional and a christian. I love my Word and I love reading my Word. 

(2) My cellphone is important because in this new age of technology, cellphones have become almost universal. You can go just about anywhere with your cellphone and be able to communicate with the one's closest to you. Also, cellphones have become the main source of communication in just about every area possible. This may be the only source I hold to keep communication with my family. 

(3) I am currently seven months pregnant and I would definitely need to keep my son close to me, especially in a new land, with new people and a whole new culture. This would be one of the hardest things I've done, to have one of my children with me and separated from my other child. Having this pouch would provide a secure level of security for my son, as we both adapt to this new world. 

If forced to only take one item with me, it would have to be my cellphone. I chose my cellphone, because I would still have access to my bible, through my Bible app, as well as, be able to view photos  and videos of my family taken on my cellphone. While in this new country, I'm sure I can make my own baby pouch to keep my son close to me. Just thinking about this scenario actually scared me to my core. I can not imagine being away from my family, especially my children. This blog assignment really caused me to realize how much I take having my husband, my children and my parents for granted. I am quite thankful for this assignment.  

Thanks and Farewell to my Research Building Competencies Community

I would like to thank my Research Buildind Competencies community for all their support and guidance during this course. This course was one of the hardest courses I have taken thus far in the
Masters of Early Childhood Studies Program.

 

I have always had a difficult time with the concepts and dynamics of research. After taking this course, I have gained much knowledge and some understanding of research. I am still not 100% in the comprehension aspect of research, but I do have a better understanding of the concept and what it means to conduct research about a particular topic. As I mentioned in week 1 regarding the skills needed in order to conduct research, those still stand, with an even stronger emphasis on the necessary skills of patience, commitment and dedication. Although I still do not obtain a love for research, my nature regarding the purposes of research, particularly in Early Childhood Education has changed. The vital steps in reassuring the  minimizing of measurement error, the use of deductive reasoning and the crucial role of Informed consent have helped me in my understanding of how research should be conducted. In conducting my own form of research, during this course, into the necessity of early reading amongst two year olds, in efforts to promote language acquisition and vocabulary development, I have gained a much greater respect for the pioneers who have taken the time, energy, dedication and devotion required in order to prepare a foundation of research based knowledge for us teachers to apply in our classrooms and in our careers as ECE’s.

In the conduction of my own research, I have vowed to apply those very tactics studied and researched in my research simulation into my lesson plans. I hope to design a foundational outline for teachers in my facility that could be used in each classroom, as we focus on the aspect of Reading provided by programs such as School Readiness.

I was unaware of the challenges associated with creating a specific research topic that could be transformed in a hypothesis. I often figured that any research question would be acceptable, not considering the challenges associated with broad research topics. The most difficult portion for me is the ability to transform a broad research topic into a narrow topic, without changing the dynamics of the research as a whole. Through taking this course, I have gained the ability to alter research topics while maintaining the integrity of the research study.  

Early Childhood Australia: Research In Practice Series

Early Childhood Australia is an early childhood advocacy organization, advocating in the interest of young children, their families and those associated with early childhood field. The vision of the Early Childhood Australia organization is that every child is thriving and learning. The organization strives for champion outcomes in effective quality early childhood education and care.

• The mission of the Early Childhood Australia organization is to advocate to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from ages birth to eight (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/position_statements.html).

The organization currently holds eight branches is different parts of Australia, all integrals parts of the organization. They all play a helping hand in identifying issues and priorities for state and national actions, while influencing policies regarding young children.
There are no current projects posted on the website as yet, however, there is a plethora of interesting information provided.


One innovative practice effectively being used now is the Research In Practice Series, RIPS. Research In Practice Series is a practical, easy-to-read resource that offers effective new approaches for those challenging issues that arise in the care and education of young children (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/position_statements.html). These practices can be used in the classroom to help promote effective learning practices in spite of  the challenges that arise in the early learning field. Some of the topics discussed in the RIPS are:

• Learning positive behavior through educator-child relationship
• Critical reflection as a tool for change: Stories about quality improvement
• Respecting diversity: Articulating early childhood practice
• The Code of Ethics: A guide for everyday practice
• Understanding children's feelings: Emotional literacy in early childhood
• Aggression and young children
• Managing difficult behavior in  young children

Each section in the book covers a distinct questions many teachers seek answers for. For example, in the section entitled 'Learning positive behavior through educator-child relationship', questions addressed are:

1. What do we mean by "positive" behavior?
2. Reasons for behavior: Children's perspectives/Educators perspectives
3. Understanding children's feelings and intentions

The website also allows its' viewers to download sections of the RIPS, enabling immediate access.


Overall, the website is extremely informative, providing a plethora of innovative ideas and programs that can be integrated into the classrooms all around the world. In response to the work being in Australia, I am very motivated to incorporate some of the ideas and programs viewed on the website into my classroom. I am also very interested in learning more about how to approach and handle the many challenges that arise in the early childcare field.