What I have Learned

Week 8 has arrived already! This has been a very busy, challenging, and quick course in this Master's program at Walden University. In our final week, we were asked to reflect on our experiences in this course. In doing so, we need to share one hope we have for working with children and families from diverse backgrounds; one goal for the field of ECE in regards to diversity, equity, and social justice; and a note to our classmates and colleagues. 

First, my hope for working with children and families in the future is to continue to learn methods and strategies to competent communication and appropriate and effective anti-bias education practices. I hope I can create a foundation for acceptance and tolerance, in which we celebrate our unique differences and learn from one another. I hope I can communicate with families of any background to make them feel equally important and included in their child's education. I hope I can make a difference in their lives by helping them to learn from bias and stereotype in a positive way, discussing and overcoming the challenges they may face. I hope I can provide an environment in which EVERY CHILD and EVERY FAMILY feels welcome, appreciated, important, and understood in every way on a daily basis. By practicing anti-bias education and competent communication, I will be able to continue to learn and grow and create such an environment for such hopes to come true. 

Secondly, my goal for the field of ECE is to promote and successfully integrate anti-bias education practices into all classrooms. Additionally, my goal for this field is that ECE will eventually provide affordable, appropriate, high-quality educational opportunities for every single child in our country. All children are entitled to such opportunities, yet so many suffer with less than suitable accommodations and environments. I hope that we can eventually create socially just environments in which all children, regardless of diverse background, have the ability to participate and learn in a high-quality learning environment, suitable to nurturing and positive development. 

Lastly, I would like to extend my gratitude to my classmates and colleagues for another successful journey coming to a close. We are finishing another chapter of this journey, with just two left to go before we complete the journey at Walden University. I cannot thank each and every one of you enough for helping me, supporting me, encouraging me, motivating and inspiring me, and challenging me to do, learn, persevere, and survive in these past eight weeks. This is a difficult time of year for me emotionally on a personal level, as well as being the "back to school" time of setting up a new year of craziness. All the while, I have found peace with working with each of you because I felt relieved to know we would always support one another and help each other through this course's challenges. I loved learning with and from each of you and hope we see each other again in our final two courses.

Best of luck one and all! Finish strong! :)

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: Creating Art

As yet another course begins to wind down and slowly come to a close, we are asked to take time to reflect on the learning that has taken place throughout the past 7 weeks thus far. Reviewing information learned about anti-bias education and diversity in all shapes and sizes allows me to appreciate how far I have come in my journey of anti-bias education, while also understanding and appreciating how far I still have to go on my journey ahead. In reflecting upon such, I chose to express my learning through art in the form of photography and collage, as well as in music. 

First of all, I have posted the links to youtube videos on songs I feel truly describe my outlook, understanding, and appreciation on diversity at this point in my anti-bias journey. I feel as though these songs and lyrics truly describe my thoughts and passions about the topic. I hope and pray someday we will live in a world of peace, where every individual, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, or class will be accepted, celebrated, and treated equally and with respect. I hope and pray that someday we will live in a world where I am no longer a dreamer, but happy with the reality of how far we have come and how hard we have worked to get there. Therefore, the first and most important song, which means so much to me in so many ways, is "Imagine" by John Lennon. "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one," (Lennon, J., 1971). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwUGSYDKUxU

Secondly, I think of another powerful song that means so much to me, gives me goosebumps, and tears in my eyes when thinking of the power of the message, which is "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. My favorite part is near the ending, when he sings, "I hear babies cry, I watch them grow, They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world," (Armstrong, L., 1967). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yCcXgbKrE 

The third and final song I would like to share is from my all time favorite movie, The Wizard of Oz. The song is "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" sung by Judy Garland. This song once again reminds me that there are better opportunities for all of us - regardless of who you are - and we need to come together to celebrate and help one another reach our dreams and goals. This song once again means so much to me on so many levels, as it reminds me of family, my best friend who I lost 10 years ago, to follow my dreams, and of diversity and my journey in anti-bias education, in it's own way. My favorite line states, "If happy little blue birds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why can't I?" showing that we all should and could have the same opportunities in this life, we just have to push ourselves to pursue and achieve them (Garland, J., 1939). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSZxmZmBfnU

Lastly, I have created three collages of important words and quotes, as well as photographs to help showcase the importance of acceptance, tolerance, understanding, and celebrating our differences as I have learned on my anti-bias education journey. 

References:

Armstrong, L. (1967). What a wonderful world lyrics. Retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/louisarmstrong/whatawonderfulworld.html. 

Garland, J. (1939). Somewhere over the rainbow lyrics. Retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/judygarland/overtherainbow.html. 

Lennon, J. (1971). Imagine lyrics. Retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnlennon/imagine.html. 

Start Seeing Diversity - "We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

Welcome back!

This week in class we have been discussing children's literature and the underlying concerns and isms found either positively or negatively influencing a child's acceptance and understanding of others similar and different from them. This is another great step in our journey towards anti-bias education. Additionally, over the past few weeks we have been analyzing and learning more specifically about various types of diversity regarding race, gender, class, ability, and more. Therefore, our assignment calls for us to remember or recall a time when I or someone I know had quieted a child in class for pointing out someone's differences. We are to analyze the message this sent to the child being silenced, as well as an example of how an experienced anti-bias educator may have responded to this situation differently and more effectively.

This topic and scenario takes me back to my first experiences out of college within the field of education when I was working in a low-income school/district in the preschool department. I worked as a permanent substitute for the year in which I was half-time a classroom assistant and half-time a co-teacher between three different preschool classrooms in the building. I had the chance to work with a regular education class, as well as two inclusion classes of 3-4 year olds. During my experiences in this setting, I fell in love with Early Childhood Education and even more in love with Special Education, which inspired me to eventually go back to this program for my Master's in ECE. During my time in preschool in Lindenwold, I was working with an extremely diverse population. I recall several instances in which diversity was discussed in the classroom, treated as teachable moments when things came up; however, I also recall a few moments when children were silenced when the teacher was unsure of how to respond to the situation. For example, during circle time in one of the inclusion classrooms one morning, a young Latino girl asked, "Why does HE always act that way? He ruins our circle time because he doesn't know how to act like we do." She was referring to another young child in the class named Joshua who was extremely emotional and had several behavioral issues. He acted out in hopes to get any kind of attention as he did not receive much attention at home due to his mom being a single-mother trying to work and take care of three children under the age of 6. Joshua would constantly disrupt circle time and centers, often purposely, in order to have someone with him one on one. Again, any attention was good attention to Joshua. In this scenario, the teacher created an opportunity for discussion with the class, talking about how things can be challenging sometimes and how to deal with emotions when we become frustrated, to help show that it was not because he was a boy or because he was different from her (Latino female versus African American male) as this young girl was accusing and questioning. This was a wonderful way to help create understanding.

However, I had also experienced a similar concern in one of the other classrooms in which a young Caucasian boy and young Latino American boy attempted to ignore and remove another young Asian American boy from their play time. They refused to let him play with them as Daniel, the Asian American boy, frequently had meltdowns when playing with the other students because he would become fixated on one particular toy and had trouble sharing. He was being observed and tested to which we later found he was autistic and certain situations were extremely difficult for young Daniel. When encountering this situation, the teacher intervened to see what the problem was as Daniel was screaming and stomping while the other boys yelled for him to go away and said it's "because he doesn't share and doesn't play right like other kids do". The teacher responded by saying "Boys, we do not tell people they can't play with us because they don't play the way we like. He is playing with you. Thats enough" and proceeded to walk away and work with other children.

In the first scenario, the children had an opportunity to learn and grow, becoming more accepting and understanding of others by allowing them to discuss and relate to this child. However, in the second scenario the boys were quieted in their judgments and concerns and told to let him play and move on. This did not help the children in any way and could serve to enable an ism such as ableism within the students beliefs and perspectives. When the teacher in the first scenario took time to discuss and learn with her class, she was helping children to understand the importance of bias and how to overcome it. "This process empowers children to take action themselves by giving the message that responding to bias is important. It models cooperative problem solving and creates concrete suggestions for what to do," (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). If an anti-bias educator were in the room in either of these scenarios, the discussion would have taken place, as well as possible role play and stories to further the discussion and learning about such concerns and isms. I believe the first teacher acted as an anti-bias educator, which I had the pleasure and honor of witnessing and learning from continually throughout the school year. I believe the second teacher had good intentions but tended to struggle with ways in which to follow through in such "touchy" scenarios with the children. She would inconsistently address concerns such as this in the classroom with children but always wanted to help create and foster acceptance and tolerance in her diverse environment.

These courses are helping to teach me the ways to learn from such examples I have listed and to become more of an anti-bias educator myself. I love learning about how I can improve for the better and look forward to continuing on this journey!



References:

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d. b). Start seeing diversity: Physical ability and characteristics [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu.

"Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

Welcome back!

Week 3 of the Diversity, Development, and Learning course is under way! This week we continue to tackle isms in light of learning the impact of family influence along with isms. We read and discussed racism, sexism, and heterosexism or homophobia in this week's content. Our assignment calls for us to choose 2 questions or scenarios to respond to in regards to this topic, as you will see below. The two i have chosen to respond to are as follows:

1. Some of the ways you noticed that homophobia and heterosexism permeate the world of young children including books, movies, toys, stores, culture of early childhood centers, and schools
2. Your response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families

First of all, we live in an ever-changing society with individuals of varying genders, races, ethnicities, cultures, beliefs, abilities, and sexual orientations. Therefore, the dynamic of families have changed and expanded in a variety of ways over time, as well. This will impact the children who are in your classrooms each day and each year as they are raised in families of a variety of forms and styles. As stated in last week's multimedia presentation, "There's so many different ways to be a family. It doesn't matter who's in the family, but it matters that you love each other and take care of each other. That's a family," (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). These words ring true in my heart as I appreciate and respect their meaning greatly. As educators, we need to be aware that there are a variety of different types of families in today's world and the children we work with in our classrooms can come from any of them! There can be single parent or two parent families, racially mixed families, extended families, blended families, adoptive families, families with two mothers or two fathers, and more. Being aware of the different types of families is not the only step we can and must take; rather we must also be sure to acknowledge, accept, include, and appreciate ALL types of families as there is a "need to validate all the different kinds of families children are coming from," so that no child or family feels invisible or unimportant as compared to others (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). 

Based upon this understanding, educators and professionals must recognize that there is limited literature and examples of promoting, accepting, and appreciating ALL types of families in this society. Resources for promoting all types are limited at best, especially for families with same-sex parents. Like it or not, this is an increasingly common family formation that we must acknowledge and accept to ensure the positive development of the child from such family. Personally, I feel it is wonderful that same-sex parents are becoming more common as these couples should have the rights of any other couple and family. Therefore, heterosexism and homophobia that permeate children's literature and media needs to be remediated immediately! We need to find more examples of books, videos, movies, etc. that include this type of family in it's context. While I understand this is a hot topic for debate amongst many individuals, including educators, I remind you to consider these words and actions from a teacher who also was against utilizing and promoting such relationships and families: "Although this was difficult for her, the teacher said she knew her role was to help all children develop a positive identity, regardless of her own beliefs" about same-sex marriages and families (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). 

Furthermore, to all the individuals who believe such examples of family and relationships should NOT be included in the early education of a child, I ask you - WHY NOT? The common myth that educating a child about such relationships and families will make them show such tendencies is completely false. Tina Reynolds is the perfect example of such. She raised her children to be equal. She allowed her daughter and sons to be who they wanted to be, to explore and learn and play with whatever they wanted, regardless of what her family had to say about it. By doing so and by being a lesbian woman in a same-sex relationship, she did not impact the sexual orientation or choices of her children's lives due to this. Her children are straight and married with children and families of their own; she simply allowed them to explore and become more whole by allowing them to respect and understand all gender roles and opportunities. Therefore, I challenge the nay-sayers to think and ponder the fact that "it is still important to acknowledge the existence of families with gay and lesbian parents so that children are prepared to be respectful when they do meet people who are lesbians or gay," (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). Allowing educators to teach about and children to learn about ALL types of relationships, identities, and families will allow your child a positive, nurturing, and fulfilling opportunity for development in the Early Childhood years. 

As I know this topic can be controversial, I am passionate about equal rights for all and truly stand by my belief that all individuals should have the right to marry and create families with whomever and however they see fit, as long as it does not harm any individuals in the process. This example does not and will not harm individuals, rather it will strengthen and enlighten all individuals, including children, teachers, families, and community members, along the way. I apologize if you are offended or do not agree with my beliefs, but I stand by my word. The world would be a much better place if ALL individuals could take the journey towards an anti-bias life that each of us are currently working on through these courses. <3

References:

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d. a). Start seeing diversity: Sexual orientation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu. 

Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d. b). Looking inward. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6357/CH/mm/audio_player/index_week1.html

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d. c). That's a family! [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu.

Redefining Family :)

Hello friends!

For week 2 of our newest course, we had to create and/or share a collage, photograph, video, song, etc. about our childhood and family. Additionally, these items had to represent what our definition of family is and what we think of or consider to be family. I love photos and collages. I chose to make a variety of collages of varying individuals to represent what family is to me, who is most important to me, etc. These individuals have shaped my childhood or life in some way, shape, or form and continue to be a huge part of my life to some extent. Below are each individual collage I have made, as well as a description of who is in the collage, what it means, why, etc. The collages are in no particular order, just how they uploaded.

^^The collage above is of my younger and only brother, Ryan, and I through the years. He is one of my best buddies and I still remember the day I found out about being a big sister. I couldn't stop talking about it because I was SO excited! He has been my little buddy ever since he was born and the protectiveness I have over him is because I care so much. He is one of the greatest people I know. He has made my childhood and life so much better. Even though he drove me BONKERS at times, he always made me laugh, too!^^

^^This collage is of some of my cousins and I through the years. There are two quotes about cousins that I have always loved. One says, "Cousins are the siblings God forgot to give you." The other is, "Cousins are the first friends you will have in life. Cherish them always." My cousins and I have always been close and most of my childhood memories revolve around Friday nights at Aunt Sue's, summer vacation filled with swimming, Barbies, bike riding, and trips to the park with all of my cousins, family vacation to Wildwood and Sea Isle every summer, and much more. My life would have been SO different without the love, support, and laughter with my cousins. ^^

^^My immediate family is my foundation. My mom, dad, brother, and I are all close. We may drive each other crazy but we would do anything for one another. We have had so many ups and downs and been taught so many lessons through the years that formed and shaped my childhood in many ways. Additionally, my grand mom (mom's mom) was one of the most independent and strongest women I have ever met. A true role model and heroine to each of us females in the family. Always looked up to her and even though she has been gone 5 years this October, we all always will. ^^

^^Friends are truly the family we choose for ourselves, I am a firm believer in this philosophy. This collage is filled with friends through the years who have been a second family to myself and my brother and my family as a whole. Senior year of high school, going on 10 years ago, I lost two of my best friends to a brain aneurism and leukemia. I still miss them every single day and wish they could be here but am so very grateful I had the chance to have them in my lives as long as I did to shape my childhood and outlooks on life. Jessy was my very best friend from 1st grade to 12th grade before she passed. Kelli and I met in middle school but connected instantly. Other friends from college and high school who are still in my life are pictured. They continue to be my second family, no matter how much time, distance, or life gets in between we always will be there for one another and pick right up where we left off! ^^

^^ My cousin, Jacki, and I are extremely close and she is one of my best friends in the world. Her three daughters are like the little sisters I never had. Her youngest, pictured three times with just me, is my goddaughter. I was there for the birth and raising of each of the three girls. I was each of their first babysitter. I have always been like their big sister and will always be there for them, as their mom has always been for me. ^^

^^Lastly, my very best friend and love of my life, Mike, cannot be forgotten. We have been together for over eight years and he has helped me through some of my most challenging times, tough transitions, and changes within my life. He has truly shaped my life for the better. His continuous support and love keep me going even in the toughest of times. While we did not experience childhood together, he has reminded me yet again what the true meaning of family and love and support can be and reminds me daily of how we will raise a family with our own definitions and ideals together. <3 ^^

Teamwork & Team Building Experiences

In week 6 of our Communication course, we have been discussing the concept of teamwork, team building, and leadership. Each of these three concepts work together to create a whole: a team or group of people working together to accomplish a vision, task, goal, etc. Successful teamwork does not develop or take place over night; rather it takes commitment, dedication, trust, respect, focus, and determination to work together to accomplish a goal to complete a vision. Team building and development takes place through five stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.


From this week's learning, it became evident that the foundation of teamwork is mutual trust and respect. Without this as the foundation, a team will never be able to bond and be successful. A team needs to build a strong foundation of trust so they know it is safe for them to commit to the cause and know that they will be supported through the journey by their teammates. Each stage of the development of a team has it's own important milestones and markers, but the final stage can sometimes be the most important. The final stage is called adjourning or adjournment, which means "the project is coming to an end and the team members are moving off into different directions," (Abudi, 2010, p. 3).


This week we needed to consider our own experiences with the stages of team development and team building, focusing on our experiences with the final stage mentioned previously and answer the following questions: When was it hardest to leave a team at this stage? Why? What closing rituals and goodbyes have you shared with your team? How do you imagine you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree program? Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?


In my opinion from my own personal experiences with teamwork, I think it is hardest to leave a team that is successful and formed a close bond. When you build a team, you must learn to trust one another and support one another - this becomes a major support system in your life - whether it is a team of family or friends, a sports team, a work team, etc. Once you build a strong foundation based on trust and respect, you build strong and powerful relationships and possibly friendships with the other team members. Therefore, a successful, supportive and well bonded team will be most difficult to adjourn from at the completion of the task at hand. From my own experiences with adjournment from a team, closing rituals have ranged from celebrations to handshakes to hugs and tears. Depending on the context and relationships of the team will depend upon the closing ritual utilized. For example, I played softball for 12 years of my life and some of my fondest memories are the end of the season celebrations we shared together in adjournment. Someone was always moving on to a new age group or team or college so it was always time for someone to adjourn to a new team, which was bittersweet. However, celebrating together with a pool party, yummy BBQ food, and games with friends was a great way to commemorate superb teamwork.


As our seventh class begins drawing to a close over the next two weeks, it is interesting to consider how I imagine my adjournment from this program and my new colleagues will be in just a few months. I once again was filled with bittersweet feelings of appreciation, gratitude, excitement, and sadness. I am so thankful to have met and learned from each of my colleagues in each of my courses thus far. I feel as though I have learned something special and been encouraged by every single one of you and for that I am thankful. I feel excited in anticipation of meeting each of you at graduation next summer! I think it would be lovely to celebrate our conclusion next summer at graduation together over lunch or dinner or a drink as we have all worked so hard and grown so much through this experience together as a team. I am also feeling sad to think that I will not be able to speak with each of you so frequently yet hopeful we can remain colleagues and contacts both professionally and personally after the adjournment from this team in a few months. :)


Lastly, I think adjournment is a very important stage of the team development process in that it provides conclusion and closure to a chapter of your life and the completion of a journey. I think it helps us to celebrate our victories and achievements while reflecting on our mistakes, failures, and challenges overcome. This stage can be a relief for some if the team was not successful or compatible but a dread for others who have grown close with their teammates. Either way, adjournment helps us to memorialize a special experience in our lives in which we have learned and grown greatly for the next step of our journeys in life - personally and professionally.




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

Conflict and Communication

This past week in class we have been discussing the influence and impact of conflict and negative communication skills on the effectiveness of communication between individuals. We learned about the 3 R's created by Magda Gerber, which include respectful, reciprocal, and responsive interactions. We also learned about Nonviolent Communication (NVC), which provides strategies and principles for avoiding or overcoming negative conflict. After reading and discussing such issues with communication, we needed to consider and examine our own experiences with conflict either in our personal or professional lives. How did this conflict impact the communication? More importantly, what are two strategies learned that could help manage or resolve the conflict more effectively and productively? Why and/or how are they effective?


Considering the topic at hand, I recollect an issue with a colleague from this past school year. This colleague is an individual who is very loud and likes to be heard by all, very frequently interrupting or speaking over others to get her point across or share what is on her mind - whether related to what is being discussed or not. She believes that she has the right to speak her mind to anyone, including administrators, as she often yells at them to get what she wants. She claims that she is "defending the children" in her classroom, yet she admits that she "enjoys making waves" to see what can come of it. While we work in different grade levels as this individual is a preschool self contained teacher and I am a fourth grade teacher, we are in the same building and have the same lunch period in the faculty room. During the lunch time, I would see this individual daily for 20-30 minutes. Almost daily she would interrupt my conversations or questions, along with any other individuals in the faculty room. On one particular day, I had posed a question to my colleagues regarding something my cousin who was in 1st grade in another district was experiencing. In New Jersey, we now have HIB laws against bullying. HIB stands for Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying and is taken very seriously within the schools in our state. My cousin had been encountering several instances of being bullied by two other students - one in her grade and class and the boy's older sister who was in 5th grade. I had asked my colleagues about the HIB laws just to confirm that I had the correct information before helping my Aunt and Uncle who asked for my advice on how to handle the situation with the principal since nothing had been done thus far, despite their requests. During this conversation, my colleague described previously, interrupted and began to practically yell at me about how to handle the situation. When I reminded her that I was inquiring to confirm I had the correct information and that it was not my own child, she still reprimanded me for how I was handling the situation and how her school was handling the situation. Once again I reminded her that I was attempting to help my Aunt and Uncle prepare to handle it appropriately to which she completely became angry and started to yell that I should not allow a child to be treated that way. This became an infuriating experience very quickly during a time of day in which I like to rest and recharge my batteries for the afternoon with my students. While I wanted to simply lose my cool and say things I should not say, I instead took a few deep breaths and allowed her to finish her rant before finally responding to say, "Thank you for your thoughts on the matter. Again I was just inquiring about the policies. I appreciate your passion and concern about the issue and I will help my Aunt and Uncle to handle it appropriately." After that I turned to another colleague and began discussing something from our fourth grade classes that we needed to finish that week in order to move on from the conflict.


Reflecting back on the scenario, I feel as though neither of us were being appropriate or effective communicators. Strategies that I have now learned in hindsight that could have helped could be to use questioning techniques and nonverbal cues to show I understand and care yet am curious why she is so worked up over the issue; and be willing to talk through and hear her side to compromise and take advice from her, as well. During both strategies, I could remind her to take a deep breath to help her remain calm, as well. I think both of these strategies could help both of us to be more effective communicators because it is allowing us to be more aware of the other individual's emotions and thoughts on the matter, utilizing empathy. Additionally, it would help us to utilize and perfect our listening skills to communicate more clearly and effectively with one another and later on with our children and families, as well. I think the principles of NVC and the 3 R's are helpful information that I now have as a resource in case an issue such as this were to take place again in the coming school year.