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

 

 

 

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

            I can recall greeting my Hispanic neighbor Maria about a month ago with my 5 year old niece Haidyn in tow.  Neighbor stopped down and in a friendly manner she greeted Haidyn and said “Hi! How are you doing?”  Haidyn remarked “I can’t understand what she’s saying because she talks funny”.  Maria explained to Haidyn that she was not talking funny and that she was speaking English.  I was so embarrassed and shocked at that moment but I did correct Haidyn and I told her that what she said was inappropriate and not nice.  Haidyn had a puzzled look on her face because she felt that she was just being honest but now she realized that she did something wrong but really had no explanation of why what she said was wrong. 

In retrospect I guess I should have shared with Haidyn different examples of various people who speak English with different accents explaining the beauty of diversity.  According to Harro’s "Cycle of Liberation" there is a continuous cycle that we endure when we are trying to break down our stereotypes and trying to rid ourselves of oppression (Harro, 2008).  As an anti-bias early childhood educator the teacher needs to listen to children and when they voice stereotypes it is helpful to address the issue right away and supply the student with resources (books, movies, recordings) that will help children to analyze the issue (Laureate Education, n.d.).   If a group of Caucasian girls announce that they are excluding an African American girl from playing with them because they feel she is not pretty enough.  The anti-bias teacher needs to step in and show them pictures of multicultural children playing together and do role play with persona dolls of various cultures in order to show these girls the correct way to welcome children that may not look like them.  Teacher’s can utilize read-alouds in the classroom to promote cultural diversity by selecting books that represent different cultures in the classroom and beyond because children really pay attention to what books teachers select (Hall, 2008).

 

 

References

Hall, K. W. (2008). Reflecting on our read-aloud practices: The importance of including culturally

            authentic literature. Young Children, 63(1), 80–86. Retrieved from the Walden Library

using the Education Search Complete database.
        http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=28334270&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Harro, Bobbie (2008). Readings For Diversity and Social Justice, Figure 7.1 on p. 53

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Start seeing diversity: Race/ethnicity [Video file].

            Retrieved from https://class.waldenu

 

 





Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

 

 

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

            Children start to formulate ideas about sexual identity as young as 3 years of age and they attach certain attitudes and behaviors to what toys should be played with for boys versus girls (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  Universally gender anatomy is viewed as the same but the designated roles that males and females associate can differ culture to culture (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  Early childhood teachers should encourage children to explore freely in the classroom without gender biases in order to become emotionally and academically prepared for the world (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).

·       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:

      The family structures are rapidly changing in the US and the early childhood field needs to be welcoming to all diverse families gay, heterosexual, and lesbian in order to uplift children.  Classrooms should have books that portray diverse families in order to show validation to the children that it is perfectly fine to come from a diverse family (Laureate Education, n.d.).  When teachers have an open discussion about sexual orientation in the classroom it opens the students’ mind to universal acceptance.

·       If you have ever used or heard homophobic terms such as "fag," "gay," "homo," "sissy," "tom boy," or "lesbo" as an insult by a child toward another child? Or, by an adult toward a child? Describe what occurred. How might these types of comments influence all children?

       I remember several years ago when I had a little boy in my classroom that loved to put on a pink hat and play with dolls.  When his mother would come into the classroom she would demand that he remove the hat because she did not want a “sissy” and she would also fill the same way about him playing with doll.  I explained to her that he was just practicing his parenting skills and learning how to be a caring father.  After a while the boy would sneak to play with a doll and to wear his favorite hat until one day he stopped playing with both items because ultimately he wanted to please his mother.  There were also teachers at the same school who would talk about my student in a negative way because he liked pink hats and dolls.  So while parents need to be educated about anti-bias play, some teachers also need to be educated about the anti-bias classroom so they will not perpetuate such bias and harmful attitudes that stifle our children.

References

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

            ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Start seeing diversity: Sexual orientation [Video file].

            Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

 

 



Collaboration Appreciation

 

 

 

Collaboration Appreciation

            I would like to express my appreciation to my classmates for inspiring me and supporting me throughout this course.   I really enjoyed reading about the experiences of others and appreciating the similarities and differences that we all have endured.  We all have become professionally richer because communication and collaboration skills are the key to our success.  Dr. Darragh has given us helpful insights into our learning and now we should be great leaders of collaboration teams.   We have formed a great collaboration team amongst ourselves and we have all fulfilled our goal/vision by completing this course.  I wish everyone continued success and I look forward to joining you all on the next adventure!!!!!!!



What Qualities Make a Great Adjoining Process?

 

 

 

What Qualities Make a Great Adjoining Process?

          A couple of years ago I volunteered to be on the Teachers Retreat committee at my school and I was filled with excitement to be able to contribute to the school as a whole.  The committee consisted of six members and we actually worked well together.  Our goal was to come up with a place to have a teacher’s retreat at a place that most of the teachers would be committed to go.  Our team leader was already selected from the principal and she explained the various roles that needed to be filled by committee members. 

So in the forming stage we talked about what roles we would fill and we already knew each other so there was no need for introductions.  Two of the members created a survey that listed possible retreat locations, possible dates, and a list of activities and this was distributed to all of the teachers.  At every meeting our leader would provide us with a list of duties, goals, results, and what the next plan of action would be which is defined as the agenda (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012).  The place that was chosen for the retreat was Ocean City, Maryland which is a beach town. We were allowed to select a luxury hotel that had balconies with an ocean view for every room, and each teacher was provided with a $50.00 American Express gift card.  We left on a Friday morning and returned on Sunday evening.  There were team building activities, beach games, trivia games, night socials, and shopping outlet trips that were planned.  Our project was an overwhelming success because we had a strong vision, we established mutual respect and we trusted each other.  Great teams value the opinions of team members and display trust and mutual respect (Laureate Education, 2011).  Our committee displayed these great qualities and we grew to be fond of one another.

The adjourning process was a joyous occasion because we were a very effective committee and we were excited about the upcoming retreat.  Our leader had secretly ordered mugs that read “Working Together Is Success”; to be given to all team members.  The adjoining stage signals the end of a project and a time to reflect on the team experience (Abudi, 2010). During the norming (working as a team) and performing (functioning at an elevated level) stages we were highly effective because we finished our assigned tasks on time and we also helped out on other tasks when needed.  During and at the end of the retreat we received many compliments on how well the activities were run.  The committee members were proud of the accomplishments and we all vowed to work together on future projects together.
Upon completing this Masters program I will miss the informative discussions that we have all had and the helpful information and suggestions from our instructor.  We have become a helpful collaboration team and I will always remember this meaningful experience.  I wish everyone continued success in this program and beyond.
 

 

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

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Team building strategies [Video file]. Retrieved from

            https://class.waldenu.edu

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St.

            Martin's.

 

 



Resolving My Personal Conflicts

 

 

 

 

Resolving My Personal Conflicts

          When two or more people are entangled in a disagreement it can be defined as a conflict (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012).  Conflict is often unavoidable because often people have difficulty seeing eye to eye on various issues.  The conflicts that can be most challenging are the disagreements that we may have with family members because these are the people that you will be stuck with most of your life and there is an emotional bond that exists.  So the task at hand is how do we resolve conflicts in a peaceable manner and leave all parties feeling satisfied.

          The major conflicts that I experience constantly are with my husband who I have been with for many years.  He has the awful habit of taking off his clothes at night and dropping the clothes on the floor when he changes into his night attire.  This really irks me because I feel that it is unsanitary and he does have a clothes hamper that he rarely uses.  I am constantly telling him to pick up his clothes off of the floor and he refuses to do so until he is ready to wash his clothes.  Our next argument is over the television remote and when and where that one can watch television.  I often like to work on my laptop computer on a small dining table in our den and watch television at the same time.  He often complains about me having my computer on the table and he thinks that I should not be able to watch television and use the computer at the same time because he believes that I am monopolizing two devises at the same time.  So he will often come in the room and change the channel on the television and tells me that I am not allowed to do both.  I automatically get in an argumentative and defensive mode because at that point I believe that my rights are being violated.

          When thinking about the ways that I could resolve these pressing conflicts I start pondering about what techniques could be successful.  I could implore the escapist strategy which means to try to avoid all conflicts at any cost (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012).  My husband   often uses the Challenging strategy because he becomes very assertive and feels that his way is the only way.  So we have to find a way to come up with some cooperative strategies which is defined as creating solutions that would appeased both people when a disagreement occurs (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012).   I think my husband and I should use the 3R’s strategies to solve our conflicts which are to be respectful of our feelings, share our thoughts, and respond to the others needs (The Center for Nonviolent Communication, n.d.).  Sometimes I will pick up his clothes off the floor and wash his dirty clothes to avoid conflict.  When I am on the computer and the television is on I will also ask him if he would like to watch something else and he will respond “yes” or “no thanks” so we are moving toward more peaceful solutions.  We are now moving to more productive conflicts which ease tensions on a thriving relationship.   

 

 

References

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New

          York: Bedford/St.Martin's

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent

          communication. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/