Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Throughout my coursework in this Early Childhood Studies program I have learned that situations that have occurred in my personal life, regarding issues related to diversity, can have a positive or negative impact on the way I function in the workplace and interact with children and their families.  I have had to confront issues that I thought I had buried as well as address and deal with any bias I had.  With the insights and strategies I have gained from this course and program, my hope is that I can make all interactions with children and families positive regardless of what I may be experiencing, or may have experienced in my personal life.

An “ism” that I have experienced in the past is racism. Because of the pain I still carried due to racism, I did not allow myself to develop relationships with white people.  I always had my guard up when I was around them and I carried this into my classroom.

I will be honest and say that if I had to deal with racist behavior on a daily basis it would be very difficult for me to do my job.  I work at a predominantly white school and I not sure if I would be able to separate my personal feelings from work.  Thank God that is not the case!

If there was an issue amongst the children in my class that involved any “ism”,   I would encourage discussions, using persona dolls, that would allow me and the children in my class to discuss any racism that we feel we have experienced and how it made us feel.  I could also ask families to send in pictures of them with their child or children to post on bulletin boards or the wall and talk about how each family is different.  These activities and discussions, as well as providing books and other materials for the learning environment, would help me to effectively communicate with children and their families, as well as help children learn to accept and respect racial similarities and differences.

Observing Communication

My observation took place yesterday at Target.  I was shopping for a friend's baby shower and I observed a conversation between a mother and her son.  I am not sure how old he was, but he could not have been any older that 3 or 4.

I overheard her the mother talking to a friend and learned that she was also buying a gift for a baby shower.  The little boy asked her if the baby was a boy or girl and his mother answered that it was a boy.  She told him that the baby's name was going to be Landon and he asked her who picked that name.  He then went on to ask who named him.  Before his mother could answer, he answered his question and said that he was born with his name.  His mother's friend looked at the child and told him that he was being stupid and that the reason he was born with his name was because his mother had chosen it before he was born. His mother said nothing.

The two women continued looking around the baby section and talking about the baby shower.  The child became really quiet and followed behind them.  I continued to observe them from afar but was having a constant battle with myself as to whether i should continue to be silent or speak up for this innocent child.  After a few minutes of being silent, the child asked if he could get a toy and the mother's friend answered first and told him that if he didn't say anything else she would buy him two. His mother laughed and told her that she was crazy.  Again, I watched this precious child withdraw and not utter another sound.

I could not watch them anymore because I was becoming more and more upset.  I kept playing the scene over in my head of this child being told he was stupid.  Honestly the only stupid person I saw was the one doing the name calling.  The definition of "stupid" is lacking intelligence or common sense and in my opinion anyone that would call someone, especially a child stupid fits that description .

The only effective communication I observed was at the beginning when the mother and child were talking about the sex of the baby.  That all changed as soon as the mothers friend became involved.  I don't know the nature of their relationship, but I can't believe this mother stood by and allowed her child to be called stupid.  She should have stood up for her son as soon as the word stupid left her mouth.  My heart broke for this child and I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about him.  I kept asking myself why did she bring him with her if all she was going to do was ignore him.  I pray that this doesn't happen often, but something in my gut tells me that it does.

My communication with children is much better than what I observed.  I strive to be accepting, respectful, and sensitive in my communication with children (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  The one thing that I am working on is to be a more effective and reflective listener.  I want my verbal as well as my nonverbal behavior to reflect that I am interested in what they are saying, and that I am willing to see and try to understand situations from their perspective.

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Communicating with young children. [Course media].

Creating Affirming Environments

When I open my Family Childcare Home, I will strive to provide an anti-bias environment where children feel safe, welcome, and supported in all areas of development.  Children will be engaged in one-on-one conversations and interactions as well as group activities to promote that they are valued.   The families will be an integral part of the program with an open door policy and family members will be encouraged to volunteer and share their abilities and talents.  Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) convey “when we reach out to families to include them in every aspect of our program, families feel that they are teachers’ true partners” (p. 42).   Respect and appreciation for individual sociocultural factors will be a priority.            

Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) explain that children need materials that reflect and honor diversity not only from their identity groups, but also from identity groups that are different from theirs.  This will help children, and families, to appreciate, respect, and value similarities and differences.  The large family room will have a dramatic play area with clothing and uniforms representing various careers, diverse foods, and dolls reflecting different racial and ethnic background.  The block area will have various kinds of block and block play people with diverse abilities.  The music center will have diverse child musical instruments and music representing different cultures.  In the art area, there will be construction paper, crayons, multi-colored paints and an easel, as well as play dough for children to express their creativity.  There will also be an area where children can display their artwork.  The goal of my Family Child Care Home will be to promote a child’s healthy self-image and self-confidence and provide optimal opportunities to build a strong foundation for lifelong learning.    

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).