Evaluating Impact on Professional Practice

“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” -JFK

                We all experience “isms” in our personal lives at one point in time or another.  Through our anti-bias work, we have be taught to closely examine our own biases and try to eliminate such thoughts from our personal and professional lives.  When we are confronted with biases toward us, it becomes more difficult to remain impartial and untouched by such feelings.  When we are going through a situation where we feel that we are being discriminated against, it can be hard not to let it affect our performance in the classroom and with families. 

                The most common “ism” I have experienced is sexism.  At a former place of employment, I was being spoken to by a male staff member in an aggressive, sexual manner.  When I presented the situation to my principal, his reaction was less than satisfactory.  He laughed at me and told me that it wasn’t harassment if it had only happened once.  In addition, after speaking to the male staff member, my principal told me that I had “misunderstood” and that he was very good friends with this man, and he wouldn’t do that and I shouldn’t be accusatory toward his long time staff.  Three days later, I was laid off for the following year “due to enrollment.” 

                For the rest of the year at that school, (two months), I was very uncomfortable working on the same floor as the man who harassed me.  I was also very angry with my principal for his lack of empathy and poorly constructed investigation into how I was being treated in his school.  This had a large impact on my performance in the classroom.  I began to become lazy with my lessons, feeling that it didn’t matter how I performed.  I lost sight of what was important, as I was so focused on how awful I felt about losing my job and the circumstances under which it happened.  My students began to recognize my frustrations and they also began to care less about their work.  “Children’s daily interactions with their teachers and other adults are at the heart of anti-bias education.  Children are very keen observers of adult behavior; they pay attention to even very subtle clues about how people feel and about what is and isn’t considered acceptable behavior.  Moreover, children are quick to notice double messages—what adults do teaches as least as much as what they say.  Children also pay close attention to the interactions among the adults in a program” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p. 32).  Children will pick up on issues among staff and it will affect them in a negative manner if we allow it. 

I have always been a believer that it’s important to leave your baggage at the door when you walk into the classroom.  I have been through bad personal times since then, and have worked very hard to be sure that my students never knew about my personal hardships.  It is not an easy thing to do, but it’s important in order for the classroom atmosphere to remain positive and productive, and for relationships to stay intact. 

Reference:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. Washington D.C. : NAEYC Books.

Observing Communication

I was in the mall the other day, when I came across three young girls with a child who was approximately one and a half years old; possibly two.  The three girls appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties and one of them was clearly the mother.  They were walking and talking and the young boy was running in front of them.  He was jabbering away to them, but they didn’t seem to be paying much attention to what he was saying and continued in their own conversation.  As the girls were walking behind him, the little boy ran directly into a glass door and fell backwards.  The mother ran to pick him up.  She was laughing and talking to her friends; “I can’t believe he just did that!”  One asked if he was okay and she checked his head and responded that she believed he was fine.  The mother kept exclaiming that she “couldn’t believe he did that!”  Not once was the child addressed in this conversation, or asked directly if he was okay.  He was then given a pacifier and the girls continued walking and having a conversation while the little boy walked behind them.

I don’t believe that this situation was handled properly at all.  First, I don’t believe that such a young child should be running so far ahead of his mother while she has a personal conversation with friends; he was left basically unattended, which led him to become injured.  After sustaining an injury, the mother did rush to his side, but failed to address him directly to see if he was okay.  “Talking about babies instead of to babies discounts them as individuals. Babies need to be part of the communication process. When you communicate with babies, it validates their self-worth. They will also have a better chance to understand what is occurring. Language provides a model for babies about how to communicate, and it serves as a vehicle to convey thoughts and feelings” (Kovach & Da Ros-Vaseles, 2011).  It is important to speak directly to young children, regardless of their age.  This young boy should have been directly addressed and asked if he was okay.  His mother should have spoken to him about running ahead of her, and why that can be dangerous.  Then, instead of speaking about his injury and the fact that what he did was “unbelievable” with her friends, she should have spoken to her child about it. 

I feel that the child could have been negatively affected by the way in which the scenario was handled.  The mother seemed to be more fascinated with the fact that the child ran into the door than she was genuinely concerned about the child’s well-being.  By not speaking directly to her child about the incident, yet speaking about it with her friends in front of him, she was not recognizing her child as an individual.  It would have been wonderful if the mother had asked her child if he was okay, or what had happened that he hurt himself.  Children have a great deal to say, and talking out his feelings could have been beneficial to the child’s self-esteem, as well as his need to get over the injury at hand.  “Repeated social encounters that are rich and spontaneous are what fosters the relationships between babies and caregivers” (Kovach & Da Ros-Vaseles, 2011).  Giving her child these experiences early on in his life will benefit him in future communication with adults in school settings, as well as social situations. 

If I could re write this scenario, many things would have been different.  First, I would have been walking with my child and my main focus would have been on his whereabouts.  If he had gotten away and ran into the door, I would have immediately ran to his side, got down on his level, and addressed him by name, asking if he was okay.  I would have told him that I was going to check his head to make sure that he didn’t hurt himself too badly; and to be sure that he wasn’t bleeding.  I also would have asked him to follow my finger to be sure that he didn’t have a concussion.  After checking to see if he was okay, I would have hugged him and given him physical comfort to reassure him that he was alright and that I cared about his well-being.  I would not have laughed with my friends about his incident and would not have spoken about it indirectly.  I then would have held his hand and continued walking with him to be sure that he was alright.  If I thought he was injured badly, I would have taken him to see a doctor.  Head injuries in young children can be serious. 

After this observation and others, I have come to realize that my way of communicating with children seems to be effective.  I believe that I make children feel that they are important and that their words and experiences are important to me.  If a child feels that their feelings are important, they will be more likely and willing to communicate them.  In addition, I believe that I speak to children, of all ages, as individuals, and that this is important to their developing identities and sense of importance.  “When you ignore babies, you tell them they are not valued.  When you do not talk to babies, they are unlikely to understand what is happening with them” (Kovach & Da Ros-Vaseles, 2011). 

I also believe that it’s important to listen to the response of young children; however, I feel that this is something that I can improve on.  Sometimes, it is difficult to understand young children, and as busy teachers, it is easy to discount their words and continue on with our day.  “Listening to children seems so simple. But when you’re fetching water to clean up the paint area, wondering where the CD has disappeared to, and waving to a mother coming in the door, trying to listen to a child following behind you can become challenging. It is easy for listening to become just one more task that a busy teacher must tend to” (Stephenson, 2009).  I would like to become a better listener for my students and let them know, that not only do I care about their well-being, but I truly care about what they are saying to me and what feelings they are trying to convey. 

References:

Kovach, B., & Da Ros-Voseles, D. (2011). Communicating with babies. YC: Young Children, 66(2), 48-50. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database. http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=60001533&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database. http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=37131016&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Creating Affirming Environments

“Early childhood teachers want children to feel powerful and competent.  They strive to welcome children and to show respect to their families as best they know how” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen-Edwards, 2010, p. 3).  In developing an anti-bias program in my Family Child Care Home, I would begin by establishing positive relationships with families.  I would begin by sending out a survey to families to fill out to explain their family culture and heritage.  This will make it possible for me to accurately display family’s cultures in my classroom.  In addition, I envision having a family tree on one of my walls; a painted tree decorated with pictures of children with their families and descriptions of their favorite family activities.  I would also be sure, as shown in the media segment, that all families would be invited to participate in the classroom so that they can get to know the other families and children, as well as me.  I also love her idea of having families rotate months of bringing in artifacts from home that represent their family culture.  Thus, creating a loving and caring community where all families feel safe and important. 

In addition to representing my family culture, I also want to represent diversity throughout my classroom through the use of books, toys, posters, etc.  I will provide my children with diverse, anti-bias materials through the use of books, music, DVDs, dolls, dramatic play props, puzzles, drawing materials, blocks, and pictures and posters on the walls.  For example, I will have dolls of different ethnicities and will have posters that display different languages, such as sign language and Spanish.  I want all families to understand that people are different and unique.  I also enjoy the idea from the media segment of having different skin colors available for the children to compare, whether through paint samples, construction paper, or dolls.  It is important to introduce this early on so that children are naturally looking at others and seeing different shades of skin; but not having it be a strange thing for them.  I would play different music every morning from various cultures; being sure to include any music that families would like to share that have been favorites in their households. 

In addition to representing families and diversity among people, I think it’s important to introduce young children to the environment and the importance of nature in our lives.  I want to utilize natural materials and have regular interaction with animals; as I feel this is developmentally appropriate and important.  I feel that by creating good global citizens early on, we are teaching our children that they are important, as well as are those around them and the world we share together. 

There are many different aspects that will create an anti-bias community.  I feel that this is something that will evolve overtime.  The more families that are included in our programs throughout the years, the more diverse our materials will become.  We need to be conscious to represent our students, as well as other cultures that they will encounter throughout their lives.  We want them to be comfortable with themselves and those around them, and interested in asking questions about things they do not understand.  I want to open up my home to families to make them feel that they are a part of our community.  “Ensuring that every family feels welcome and comfortable creates a crucial foundation for mutually respectful relationships.  It is an essential first step in an anti-bias classroom.  As families develop trust that you care about and believe in their child, they come to feel that they, too, ‘belong’ in your early childhood program” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen-Edwards, 2010, p. 37). 

I am excited to hear about other’s ideas of what their anti-bias program will look like.  We can work together and incorporate one another’s thoughts, as well as those from our resources, to build the best possible anti-bias community. 

Resources:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. Washington D.C. : NAEYC Books.

Course Media: "Welcome to an Anti-Bias Learning Community" (approximate length: 24 minutes)