Week 8 EDUC 6358 J.M. Barnes Reflecting on Learning

 

As an early childhood professional, I am passionate about the growth and overall development of young children. As an educator I am aware of the importance of identifying my own bias and strengths, and I know that those biases and beliefs must be cast aside in order to be effective. These strategies will allow me to assist children and families and help them feel comfortable regardless of ability, culture. I would also like to possess the sensitivity needed to talk to others about the importance of being dissimilar and distinctive, because only when addressing unique differences will we all be capable of accepting the fact that we are all different but have many similarities.

Finally, I want to thank to my colleagues and Dr. Kien for their collaborative efforts to assist me with the enhancement of my professional endeavors and my personal growth. The interactions that I have had through post, emails and social media helped me enhance my viewpoints, and realize my faults.  For those of you who went the extra mile when I didn’t have power and as I recovered from surgery or just needed to pick up the phone and vent in the middle of the night, I take my hat off to you. I extend to all of you an overwhelming abundance of gratitude. In closing, I encourage all of you to continue being the positive forces in life that touch the hearts of young minds and inspire them to do great things in life! 

Wishing you all the best in the last course of this program degree and in future endeavors and look forward to meeting you at commencement!

Week 7 EDUC 6358 Posting J.M. Barnes

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The region I chose to explore was South Asia.  I chose this country because I have family friends that originate from that region and their family still lives in South Asia. Some of the recollections that they have and the stories they shared with me about their relatives and the experiences that they have gone through are very harsh.UNICEF (2014) sites that in Nepal there are many negative factors that impact the wellbeing and development of young children including:

• In Nepal, types of violence include domestic violence, rape, carnal violence and abuse, childhood matrimony and dowry-related viciousness, homicide, assault, trafficking, among others.
• Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2011 shows that as many as one in every five women experience physical violence and one in 10 experience sexual violence. Nearly one in 10 adolescents aged 15-19 experience physical violence during pregnancy. Most often the violence is perpetrated by the victims’ relatives (www.unicef.org).

In addition to the violence in Nepal, UNICEF also notes that there is a scarcity of food and poverty. As I explored the site, all of these factors would hinder positive growth and development of young children and increase the levels of stress and traumatic experiences in Nepal.

In other parts of the region like Pakistan, there are natural catastrophes like flooding, health concerns related to communicable disease and malnutrition, and a large differences among boys and girls in school participation and attendance.  According to the UNICEF website “large disparities remain between boys and girls in school attendance as well as in the quality of education between urban and rural areas and across ethnic groups”(www.unicef.org).

These experiences could have a profound impact on children’s social/emotional well-being and growth. Limited access to a regular school regiment or health care, decreases social interactions, language development and the ability to secure a promising future. Not having proper dietary supplements, can also disturb a child’s well-being and development as this can make them more vulnerable to sickness.

Advocating for children is important in every region of the world. As an early childhood professional and as a parent I found this information to be very heart wrenching. We often take the little things in life for granted not knowing exactly how others struggle for the little things that we take for granted. I watch young children run past my classroom windows throughout the day like they are invisible to the naked eye, because they are skipping school as young as 8 years-old. While these children take the simple things for granted there is a child in another region praying and wishing that they can one day attend school. As a society, we must continue to lead by example and fight for change. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “We must be the change we want to see in the world.”

References

http://www.unicef.org/nepal

http://www.unicef.org/Pakistan/

Week 6 EDUC 6358 Posting J.M. Barnes

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

Reading the book excerpt from “So sexy so soon” was not shocking. The excerpt provided a distasteful glimpse at reality. While the truth can sometimes hurt, it is often necessary to discuss uncomfortable topics in order to bring reality to the forefront of society’s busy agenda. Society as we knew it is no longer censored and children are exposed to vulgar language, graphic picture, and sexually explicit pictures in print, on billboards, on the big screen, on the radio, and in everyday life. This adult content sends the wrong messages to young children and has a major impact on their self-esteem, and self-identity. Levin & Kilbourne (2009) indicate that “They learn at a very young age that their value is determined by how beautiful, thin, “hot,” and sexy they are” (p. 2).

Early childhood professionals can promote positive self-image by attempting to decrease the effects that Sexualization has on today’s youth. One way to counteract the effects is by empowering parents to decrease exposure to Sexualization that young children have by reducing television viewing time and limiting exposure to vulgar and explicit music. In accordance with this thought, Levin & Kilbourne (2009) state “This is when you can make the biggest difference in reducing the negative impact of the Sexualization of childhood on your children” (p. 7).

References

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). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Week 5 EDUC 6358 Posting J.M. Barnes

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

            During my undergraduate preschool rotation, I accepted a challenge to work in predominately white learning center despite the fact that none of my classmates would accept the assignment. While I was apprehensive, about the assignment I went in with a positive attitude ready to learn everything I could about the preschool environment. I was placed in a classroom with a seasoned educator and looked forward to learning from someone who had been teaching for 17 years. Instead, I had my first encounter of racism and was bewildered because, the teacher and I were the same ethnicity. Yet, she made it perfectly clear that she was and would always be the only African American teacher at the center. I was belittle, talked about negatively and even made to stand in the hall until she was ready to let me into her room each morning. To add insult to injury whenever my supervisor came to monitor or observe my ability to teach, she would either not allow me to lead a lesson or she would point out every negative aspect of my ability to be effective. This made my experience very stressful and uncomfortable.

           This impacted my work with the students and families because they could see how uncomfortable I was. I think that they could also see me becoming gradually more frustrated. I saw myself losing confidence and questioning my ability to do my job. Several staff members noted her demeanor towards me and began helping me with lesson plans and offering advice to help me complete my assignments. I really think that I began to feel like everyone had pity for me and I opted to leave my assignment. However, after meeting with my supervisor and the administrator of the school, I was encouraged to stay and complete my rotation. This only infuriated the lead teacher more and instead of meeting with me to provide insight or help me develop my skills, she would announce on any given day that she didn’t feel like teaching and that it was my responsibility. The first time she made the statement, she caught me off guard but, I was always prepared after that. Even though it was not a perfect experience, it opened my eyes and allowed me to see that hatred can come from anywhere at any given time. As educators, we must always be prepared for the unexpected and equip ourselves to deal with anything. This experienced allowed me to discovery my inner strengths and overcome my adversities. “The better you know yourself, the better you can understand your own responses to the children and families you work with” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p. 21).

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.