EDUC 6990 Week 8: In conclusion….

The journey into anti-bias education was enlightening to say the least.  It taught me about how children can thrive diverse environment when given the proper tools and language.  It also taught me to first look at myself and my own biases when responding to others in the early learning environments as well as in the world around me, which partially led me to Conscious Discipline.  I have also learned many ways in which I can advocate for young children to ensure that each one receives a high quality early childhood education guided by caring and responsive adults.

One long term goal I have is to become fluent in Spanish.  I have planned to begin teaching myself after graduation.  There is a great need for Spanish speaking ECE professionals in the state of Alabama, and becoming fluent will help me assist immigrant and ESL students and families.

Classmates, YOU DID IT!!! This has been an amazing journey and I want to thank you all and all of our instructors for the wonderful dialogue and support!  I wish each and every one of you all the blessings you can handle and success as you begin a new chapter in your life.

 

 

 

EDUC 6990 Week 6: International Organizations

 

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund or UNICEF, was the first organization to come to mind before I got to the list of suggestions .  UNICEF works with partners in 190 countries throughout the world to ensure all children have access to protective services. They are part of several initiatives that include address issues in gender equality, child protections, communications about development, and issues related to disabilities and inclusion. Internship opportunities in several areas, including adolescent development are offered to those who have a masters or above, have excellent academic performance, and have no relatives working in any UNICEF offices or as a supervisor.

 

UNICEF

 

Save the Children proclaims to advocate for children’s rights that promote their over-all well being.  They help to provide children and families living in poverty with the nourishment and medical need that ensure a healthy start in life, education and protection from harm.  I would like to work within the Save the Children Action Network, or SCAN. SCAN seeks to provide all mothers and children with preventive services and children with early childhood education.  I have looked all over for some job descriptions and cannot find any, but I did find a link to learn more about how to join SCAN on the website that only asked for general information.

SCAN

 

Defence for Children International works towards protecting children’s rights through an world wide program of 36 national organizations. DCI works through grassroot movement to promote the regional needs of children. Currently there is a position as a Communications and Fundraising Officer which is based in Geneva and involves travel.  “The Communications and Fundraising Officer is in charge of internal and external communications of the DCI Movement, outreach activities and resource development. The International Secretariat communicates in three official languages(English, French and Spanish)” (Defence for Children, 2019). It requires knowledge in project management, fundraising and media production skills.  That is way past my realm of understanding and skill set. But it did interest me for a minute!

 

DCI

 

 

EDUC 6990 Week 4: National Organizations of Interest

 

Of course I have to name NAEYC. The National Association for the Education of Young Children is a leading authority on developmentally appropriate practices in early learning settings. I have looked to NAEYC’s collection of position statements as a guide throughout my teaching career.  They provide accreditations to early childhood facilities that provide young children with the highest quality of care.  They also support creating trauma sensitive classroom in early learning settings.There is a Director  for Corporate Alliances job posted on the website that involves overseeing funding for various projects that promote marketing. Not really my thing, and I defintely do not have the experience for the job.  I rather work with teachers and other ece professionals that work DIRECTLY with children.  So while I love NAEYC, I would respectfully pass on applying for this position.

The Administration for Children and Families is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The mission of ACF is to “foster health and well-being by providing federal leadership, partnership and resources for the compassionate and effective delivery of human services” (U.S. Department of Health ad Human Services, n.d.).  ACF have produced several webinars about early trauma and promoting resilience and school readiness in young children and have a plethora of other online resources that are available to anyone.  I have seen the resilience and school readiness video as it was required as part of my pd this year.    ACF also partners with local and state service providers to identify problems and implement solutions that improve the quality of life for children and their families (U.S. Department of Health ad Human Services, n.d.).  There are several jobs in DHHS that I will qualify for once I receive my degree, however I am not interested in working in this area.

The Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health is an awesome organization whose states their mission as being  “To build and sustain a reflective, skilled, culturally competent, and relationship-based workforce that supports pregnant women, infants, young children and their families” (AAIMH, n.d.).  They also give out something called an Endorsement to professionals in the field who have completed several specific areas of trainings, reflective consultations and educational requirements .  I chose the AAIMH because I am in the application process for an Endorsement.  If everything goes as planned I will be receiving it at the end of March!

I chose all three because they support the implementation trauma informed services for children as well as their families.  They also have helped early childhood professionals better understand the impact of trauma in the early years and how to create and implement trauma informed approaches in early learning settings.

The Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.allianceaimh.org/

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.) retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.) Resources specific to early childhood programs. Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/trauma-toolkit/early-childhood-programs

 

 

Conscious Discipline Webinars: Becky Bailey- The Power of Perception

For anyone who made be interested in Conscious Discipline.  Conscious Discipline Webinar: Perception

Week 2 EDUC 6990: Exploring Roles in the ECE Community

The first organization I thought of as an effective community of practice  was the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (DECE). DECE is separated into several other divisions which include the Office of School Readiness and The Department of Early Development.  Alabama has led the nation for the last 11 year in providing young children with a high-quality preschool education through their grant funded First-Class Pre-K Program (Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, n.d.).  There has also been an growing interest and emphasis on using trauma informed approaches in their grant funded  classrooms like those found in Conscious Discipline techniques.

Another organization that appealed to me was First 5 Alabama.  First 5 Alabama is the operational name for the Alabama Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (AAIECMH). According to their website, AAIECMH and First 5 was formed in 2017, and seek out to promote the healthy overall development of infants and children from conception to age five through the promotion of professional development and education of ECE professionals across several disciplines. First 5 is also striving to increase the amount of early childhood mental health consultants that can assist various programs of care in providing prevention and intervention services to children and their families. In order to increase the number of early childhood mental health consultants, Five 5 has partnered with the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health, a global based organization that provides mental health endorsements to infant and early childhood development professionals (First 5 Alabama, n.d.2019). I am in the process of creating my professional portfolio for that application process and expect to receive my endorsement shortly after graduation.

Alabama’s Project LAUNCH is another organization that appealed to me as a community of practice. Alabama Project LAUNCH is a partnership between The Alabama Partnership for Children, The Alabama Department of Mental Health, The Alabama Department of Public Health, and Child Development Resources of The University of Alabama. According to the Alabama Partnership for Children website,  Project LAUNCH is a “federal initiative funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration” which focuses on helping children ages birth through eight develop the skills they need to be successful in school.  Project LAUNCH sets out to improve the quality of evidence based programs  anas well as to improve collaborations among organizations that serve young children.  They also help provide universal screenings for families and “integrate physical and behavioral health services and supports” (Alabama Partnership for Children. n.d.). I learned about Project LAUNCH in their first year which started in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.  When my center, Hightown Academy, was chosen at one of the pilot sites for the program.

I have been claiming a job with DECE since I began pursuit of my masters in 2017.  As soon as I get my degree, I am applying for an Education Specialist.  I specifically want to work within the Department of Early Development.  This position would require me to travel to various grant funded sites to work and train teachers in the classroom.  I believe my ECS degree and experience in the classroom, along with my past work experience in the mental health field will make me a valuable asset to the department. I am currently unaware of any specific job opportunities with Project LAUNCH or First 5, however, a career with either would be appealing to me since they both would require me to work with children, teachers and families to address developmental and/or mental health concerns.

My work experience and educational background would make me more than qualified to work at any of the three organizations mentioned above.  I have had previous collaborations with ECE professionals at all three organizations as well.  All three are lead by professionals who are passionate about helping young children and lead teams of equally as passionate women and men to help makes sure every child has the tools he or she needs to reach their maximum learning potential.

Alabama Association for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. (n.d.). First 5 Alabama.  Retrieved from http://children.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/05/FFAMembership-form-with-logoFinal.pdf

Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://children.alabama.gov/

Alabama Partnership for Children. (n.d.).  Alabama Project LAUNCH. Retrieved from http://www.smartstartalabama.org/pages/?pageID=62

 

EDUC 6357 Week 8: Hope, Dreams and Well Wishes

My most passionate hope for my future as a ECE professional is that I am able to work for the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education as a Education Specialist.  Alabama leads the nation in high quality early education  and a career within the DECE will allow me to help children and families from a wide variety of diverse backgrounds, along with their teachers, handle behaviors and mental health issues that impact the child’s development and learning.

I want to thank all you for helping me grow and learn as a anti-bias educator in this incredible journey.  We did it!  I wish you all the best in you future endeavors and chosen careers!

Carmen

EDUC 6358 Week: Impacts on Early Emotional Development

 

I chose to explore the UNICEF site for Latin America and the Caribbean.  I selected this region because it is on that I have not explored in previous assignments in other courses related to my degrees. The regional office for UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean coordinate and supervises 24 national programs in the 36 countries of the region to help promote the rights of all children and adolescents (UNICEF, 2011).

Children in Latin America and the Caribbean face many challenges that can impact their over all development and well- being.  One such challenge is the access to education. According to the UNICEF Latin American and Caribbean website, 14 million children and adolescents are not in school, many of those living in rural or  indigenous communities of the region are not receiving any education .  Furthermore, children with disabilities and from different high risk families and communities, as well as those that are discriminated against for their gender of ethnicity also have more challenges in receiving a quality primary and secondary education socioeconomic backgrounds.  UNICEF works to address these challenges in part byby recognizing that in addressing early development we have to address the needs of the “whole child”.

The first few years in a infant/toddler’s life are the most important.  The interactions and experiences the child has will lay the foundation for all future development. When a child is in a chaotic home environment or has caregivers and/or parents that are unable to meet their child’s needs, for  whatever reason, it can have a detrimental impact on the child’s health and well being. Cavoukian proclaims,  “Often, the most disadvantaged children are least likely to have access to the essential ingredients for healthy development” (UNICEF, 2011).

Reading about the Early childhood development program UNICEF supports in Latin America and Caribbean gave me insight into how those countries are looking at their futures.  They, like many other developed countries are recognizing the importance of  high quality early education for ALL children goes a long way in ensuring their success and the success of the future economy of that country (UNICEF, 2011).   It inspires me to continue with my pursuit of a career that recognizes the importance of and  will allow me to address the needs of the whole child as I  work with children and families with varying abilities.

 

UNICEF. (2011). Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org

 

EDUC 6358 Week 6 The Sexualzation of Early Childhood

 

 

As a mother of a daughter and a early childhood professional the sexualization of young children is something that disgusts and frightens me.  However in the last couple of decades it seems to have grown more acceptable by society. I don’t understand wanting to make little girls look older, or what is cute to adults about very young children dancing seductively or “looking grown”.

There is a little girl who has been going to my center since she was 6 weeks.  At 1 and a half years old, her mom started putting lipstick on her every day.  Not lipgloss, lipstick.  BRIGHT. RED. LIPSTICK. Now the little girl wears bright pink lipstick everyday.  I am glad I’m not the child’s teacher because I just don’t believe I’d allow lipstick in my classroom.  It is not appropriate for children, period.   I believe the mother’s actions are sending messages to her daughter that in order to be pretty she needs lipstick.  I think it also sexualizes her child in a way that makes her stand out to sexual predators more as well.  Children’s clothing lines like Gap and similar companies also glam up their child models in a way that makes them look older than they are.  Much of today’s clothes for adolescents and teens is made to mimic adult styles that again, I believe are just too adult for children.  Tell me why a 10 year old needs or would want a thong?!?!  The media also is constantly sending overly sexual messages to young children.  Music videos and regular TV programs are filled with sex and violence.  As we all know when children are exposed to these types of messages it can cause confusion in a time where they are already questioning much about themselves and learning how to appropriately interact with others around them.  My 8 year old came home and told me a 3rd grader told her she would be cool if she kissed his friend.  She told me she didn’t and told the boy that her daddy said he will beat up any little boys who try and kiss her.  Can’t lie ya’ll, I was proud of her.  And yes, say what you will, but that is exactly what her father told her to say in those situations. For now it works.  On a more serious note, it is scary to know that she is already being pressured so young.

Young children need to be given positive messages about relationships and intimacy.  When this is done by trustworthy caregivers and family members, children will be more likely and willing to ask questions they may have about the physical differences between them and others as well as help them process the things they see and hear in the media that may be causing them to have misconceptions of what is acceptable and “right” verses what is not appropriate.  As a parent and a teacher, I talk to my children frequently about respecting others personal space, and about using appropriate language to describe body parts. I don’t allow neither to do any inappropriate dancing in my presence, and as far a my own child is concerned, I better not catch her acting like she is pole dancing, or we are going to have a problem!  I do not allow her to watch any tv or videos that have sex or violence, nothing past polite kisses for her eyes! Parents have to monitor their child’s media intake as well as keep up with who their friends are.  Just because you don’t let your kid watch or talk about certain things, does not mean her friends parents do! As a professional, I would try to establish a bond of trust with all students and let them know that they could talk to me about anything.  Persona dolls would be a great way to open up dialogue about personal space and appropriate interactions.

 

I have always looked at this subject from the view of me having a daughter.  Honestly I have never given too much thought to the impact that sexualization has on boys.  However this week I learned that boys are impacted just as much as girls.  In fact, it has been found that boys who are exposed to over sexualized culture are often bad partners and sometimes put those they have relationships with in danger (Levin & Kilbourne (2009).  In today’s society we adults have become so desensitized to sex and violence, so much to the point that we are totally missing what kind of messages are kids are receiving and are learning is “normal”.  We have to be willing to have those tough conversations with children and to let them know that it is ok to talk about it in a responsible way.   Start by finding out what they know or think they know and go from there.

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).

EDUC 6358 Week 5: How Would I Feel?

 

I began this interesting experience earlier in the year when Sam enrolled at the beginning of September.  Sam and his family are African American.  Sam was a handful when he first came to us.  By handful I mean spitting, trying to run out of the classroom, and general tantrums. On day two my co-teacher and I talked to the mother and asked her if Sam demonstrated the same behaviors at home, and under what circumstances.  She told us he did not act like that at home and she would talk to him.  We talked to her about some strategies to positively promote school to Sam and we ended the conversation on a good note; or so we thought. Within 10 minutes, during music and movement, my director called me to the office.  She told me that Sam’s mother had came to her in tears and told her that I “intimidated her” and that she was worried about her son being in my classroom.  Ya’ll  I am serious. This really did happen.  This lady didn’t know me from Jane or Sara or Jill! She said she asked her how and the she replied, “I just don’t trust that white woman!”  The next day Sam’s grandmother came and sat in on morning large groups.  She works in the rural county I am from and we found out we know many of the same families there.  She texted a lot while she was there.  The next week my OSR Coach shows up and tells me the grandmother saw her at her school and complained about me.  One specific complaint was that I said I was from Gordo but I talked like I was from up North and that I couldn’t be trusted.  She also took pictures of the things on my walls and complained about some letters that were a little crooked because the painters tape lost its sticky.  My director and coach did not believe anything either of the women as they both know me.  My director and I have worked at the Academy for almost 7 years, and my coach has worked with me for two years.  They both know my character and knew that Sam was safe with me in my classroom.  Honestly I felt like her issues had something to do with me being white. I was also confident that I had not done anything to intentionally offend her in any way and that her feelings towards me could very well be related to what she was raised to believe or negative experiences with white people.  Both Harro (2008), and Derman Sparks & Olsen Edwards (2010) discuss the long term influences our first socializations have on us as adults. However, anyone that knows me knows I do not have any biases towards Black people, and would laugh if someone told them that.The entire situation is just crazy to me.  My director and I even went back and viewed the cameras (we have a HD camera system) and there was nothing in my body language that either of us could be considered intimidating.

I was angry and hurt. Because of the craziness of the whole situation,  my director, coach and I agreed that my co-teacher would be the primary one to communicate with Sam’s mom; at least until we could sort whatever the issue was, out.  That was fine with me, I focused on building a relationship with Sam.  Within 6 weeks Sam and I had a strong bond.  He would come in and come straight to me to get a hug and he began to have less instances of negative behavior.  The mother came up to me with him one morning and talked about me all the time at home and told her that “Ms. Carmen loves me!”   It took her seeing that I genuinely cared about her sons well being before she could begin to believe I was some mean white lady trying to intimidate her.  Our relationship and communications are getting better, but I tread lightly with her for the most part. Neither her or her mother have made any further complaints on me.

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.  

Harro, B. (2010). The cycle of socialization. In M. Adams, W.Biumenfeld C. Castaneda, H.W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (Figure 7.1 on p.53, 2md ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. 

 

 

EDUC 6358 Week 3: Observing Communication

Last week I was at my local “super center” and witnessed a young mother interacting with her son “Freddy,” as  in the children’s clothing section as I looked for a baby gift for my sister in law. Freddy appeared to be around 2-3 years old.  I pretended to look at some outfits a couple of racks away and listened to Freddy’s Mom talk to him.  “Freddy look at this shirt! Do you like it? What about this one instead?” She held two shirts up with the Grinch on them, one red and one green, “Which one do you want? The red one or green one?” She held up each color as she said it. Freddy looked at the rack and pointed to a shirt, “I want the blue one!” But Freddy, it’s a snowman, you want the snowman?” Mom asked.  “Yes! I want the blue one!” After a few seconds the mom put the blue shirt in the buggy, and said, “o.k., blue snowman then, now let’s go get some stuff to make spaghetti!” Freddy laughed as she put the shirt in the buggy behind him and they went their way.

In this short interaction between a mother and her young son, I thought the mother demonstrated positive and effective communication strategies with her child.  She addressed him by name; and directly asked him to make a choice about which shirt he wanted using descriptive language as well as with the non-verbal gestures of holding each shirt up as she said the color. As ECE professionals, we all know both of these are great strategies that promote language development in very young children. She listened and honored his choice of shirt as well.  I was reminded of Stephenson’s research on communicating with toddlers, in which she  listed strategies for effective communication with 2 year olds  like asking questions and letting children express their likes and dislikes,  and listening to their answers (2009).  The mother used those same strategies to interact  with her son and even went as far to allow him to make a completely independent choice from what she had picked out from him.

I believe her decision to let him get the blue snowman shirt made Freddy extremely happy. It also boosted his self confidence in his ability to express his likes and dislikes, which lays the foundation for knowing how to speak up himself in future situations that are more serious than a blue snowman shirt.

I communicated with my own daughter in a similar fashion when she was a toddler.  I agree with what Stephenson said about the insight one gains in being able to effectively communicate with young children; she referred to them as “unexpected moments” of insight (2009). As a pre-k teacher, I find that I learn more in my daily 5 minute informal conversations my students. Every day I choose 3 students to go play with and talk to during center time.  I learn about everything from their family, favorite color, and their learning abilities, they also have the opportunity to learn about me on a more personal level, which opens up opportunities to make connections with students that strengthens our bond and enhances the quality of these unexpected moments. i started doing this last year when I noticed I had the tendency to get closer to some students compared to others.

 

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95. Retrieved from https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=001bf742-d1ac-415d-ad6e-ef50a4f54765%40pdc-v-sessmgr02