Time Well Spent

What I have learned over the last 20 months that true dedication and hard work can in fact get you to that end goal of yours.  I wanted my MS in Early Childhood Studies because I wanted to help student’s transition from early childhood programs to school aged programs. I felt like there was a disconnect that left parents very confused.  I learned that there were so many more goals that I had, such as educating other people about inclusion and how it can be done appropriately and learning about how to integrate and be an anti-biased teacher.  The first deeply felt learning I had through out this program was that it is not just me that wants to make a difference in the lives of young children and their families.  Second, I learned that my capstone project could in fact be reality.  I often feel so overwhelmed about how you start to complete a project that I was unsure of what to do, but now I have learned (through the guidance of this course) how you go about starting an idea.  Lastly,  I learned how important it is to collaborate and support each other.  I do not think that it can be reiterated enough that we must work together; whether it be at work or online we have to support each other.

My long-term goal is to put my capstone project into action.  There are many aspects of my job that already apply to my project, but I have yet to create a formal community of practice.  Once that has been created then we will be able to work together to help general education teachers and paraprofessionals with inclusion. 

Farewell message:

It has certainly been a journey over the past months.  At times it felt stressful and overwhelming, but here we are, we made it!  I am so proud to be apart of a learning community that has such dedication to the field.  It is not everyday that people from all around the country and even the world get to come together for a purpose, a purpose to learn and grow.  Together we have pinpointed a variety of different projects that we all hope to complete, how amazing is that?  We are the difference in the lives of young children and their families. I cannot wait to hear about what people have accomplished. I wish you all the best and please keep in touch!

My favorite quote:

"Have courage enough to accept what you can 

not change, but yet courageous enough to stand 

up and fight for what you can." 

- Robert M. Hensel

Contact information:

abbyjliedtke@gmail.com

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Gates Foundation

The first organization that I knew I wanted to research was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation because of their philanthropic work all over the world and their particular interest in education.  Their four core values also resonate with me, they are optimism, rigor, innovation and collaboration.

They have so many job posted on their site. I chose to look at Policy and Advocacy in Education.  There are several Program Officer positions both in Seattle and Beijing. This job works with teachers and students to make sure they are working together to get all students to graduate high school.  Qualifications for this position is a Bachelor's degree and 5-10 years of professional leadership or classroom experiences directly supporting, managing and implementing education programs. You also need to be able to travel 30% of the time.

Another position that looked interesting was the Director of Family Planning and the Educational Effectiveness positions.  Both require extensive experience as an employee of an NGO and graduate level schooling. Also, it would like to see a progression of leadership responsibilities with prior work. 


UNICEF 

I then chose UNICEF (United Nations Children Fund) because I believe in the work that they do for our world.  I like that they not only focus on education but hunger, equal rights, basic human rights, protections and emergency help.  

I looked at their Junior Professional program, which is for young professional women and men who are seeking to gain skills in international development. 

I also looked that their New and Emerging Talent Initiative, this is an entry point for professionals looking to work with UNICEF. Some of the requirements for the program are a university masters degree, know another languages, have relevant work experience (another country or work with diversity) and preference is given to candidates under 35 years of age. 

UNESCO

United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization I have always enjoyed their work to bring people and cultures together through shared values. 

Like the UNICEF they have a young professionals program which is for young professionals who have recently graduated.  You may be able to apply for a professional position with an advanced university degree, known either English or French and be knowledgeable of Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Spanish.  You also need anywhere from 2-15 years of experience depending on the positions.

What I found interesting is that both UNICEF and UNESCO have junior professional programs and that often you need to go through this to get higher level positions.  All three would be great organizations to work for.

.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

http://www.aecf.org/MajorInitiatives/KIDSCOUNT.aspx

The first organization I looked up was Kids Count- The Annie E. Casey Foundation. This foundation is a private charitable organization that has a focus on public policies, and providing community supports for children and families who are vulnerable.  States, cities and neighborhoods can get grants from the Foundations to help respond to the needs of the community.

One Job that I found interesting was in Washington DC a Program Associate, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.  The Program Associate works with the Grade-Level Reading staff and they track the work of the grantees and is a consultant.  They also coordinate communication and outreach activities. The minimum qualifications are to hold a BA in human services, social work or a related field, they also want you to be started in some kind of postgraduate work.  Also, candidates should have 3-5 years of community based experience.

http://www.dec-sped.org/index.aspx

Next, I looked that the Division of Early Childhood (DEC) to see what kinds of jobs you could find through their website.  I found one that looks really interesting, however a lot more schooling would be necessary.  It requires a doctorate degree in one of the following areas: child development, developmental psychology, clinical child psychology, family studies, or a related field. Also, you must have an interest in working in diverse early childhood settings.

The DEC is a division of the CEC-Council for Exceptional Children. The CEC is dedicated to providing the best educational outcomes for people with disabilities.  The division of the DEC focuses on the work with children from birth to age eight.

http://www.nccp.org/

As I was searching through organizations I kept coming across organizations that really focused on families and children living in poverty.  I came across The National Center for children in Poverty (NCCP) it is a public policy center wanting to provide positive outcomes for the following generations.  They focus on economic security, health and the well being of low-income children and their families.

Currently, they have one job posted.  But I would assume that with time they would have more. As of right now they are looking for Research Scientist. They are looking for someone with a Ph. D or equivalent in the following fields: sociology, economics, public health, public policy or a related discipline.  Also, they would like 5 years of experience. Another important qualification is being proficient statistical software. 

I am surprised when I research organization that are working with the wellbeing of children is how many other fields relate back to early childhood.  For example, a lot of these organizations want research scientist or even business people.  It is a great reminder that you need people with all different skill sets to create the most effective organizations.  

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community

The first place I went to look is our local ESD office, which is located in the town I live in.  I often use this website for professional development opportunities and to find local organizations to help my families that I work with. For this assignment I looked at the ESD and specifically the Southwest Washington Child Care Consortium (SWCCC).  The consortium is the largest community-run childcare system in the United States; the consortium is made up of our local Educational Service District 112 and local businesses, educators and civic leaders.

http://web3.esd112.org/swccc

Job opportunities are a plenty with this consortium because they sever more than 1,600 children and employ 200 people. There is several teachers’ assistant position where you need to have at least twenty hours of early childhood credits.  There is one position to work for the local ESD as a childcare training specialist. Where the minimum qualification are to have an AA degree or 90 quarter hours and working towards your degree in ECE, elementary education or a related field.  You also need two years experiences working with children AND being the director of a childcare center.  They would prefer a bachelor’s degree, experience in adult training and knowledge of Early Achievers program.




The next organization is DEL (the Department of Early Learning for Washington State).  I often reference this website, especially for their early learning checklist.  The strive to focus on the earliest years in children's communities, which includes childcare, school and homes. They provide a wide range of information to teachers and parents to help create a safe, nurturing and healthy learning environment for all children.

http://www.del.wa.gov/ 

They have a few jobs that are posted; several jobs have to do with technology within the department.  However, there are two postings one for early learning and childcare licensing administrator and one for child care center licensor.

The childcare center licensor requires a bachelors degree, prior licensing or CPS experience, ability to manage a large amount of work, use web-based applications and to type.


The early learning and childcare licensing administrator requires a bachelor’s degree in sociology, education, early learning, or public administration. It requires experience in managerial work preferably in the state government. Experience and knowledge of several policies and project within the Washington state system and ability to manage conflict.


The third organization I found was SELF (Support for Early Learning & Families).  This is a new organization and it looks pretty wonderful.  It is a partnership organization and their mission is to help create a community where all children can thrive.  They have participation from educators, health and mental health, preschool and childhood programs and professionals.

http://www.selfwa.org/

Their career council section has information regarding job training and information to be an occupational therapist, SLP and physical therapist, which links to our local Innovated Service NW.  For any of those positions that are currently listed you would need your degree (Masters) in one of those fields. 


I think that it is important to constantly look up organizations and agencies that are available in your areas.  Often there might be merging of a variety of organizations.  Most importantly it gives you an idea of services that you may be able to hook your parents up with.  Often my parents want to know where they can locate services and sometimes I am at a loss, so doing this simple exercise has allowed me to explore what is out there.

From Passion to Action

Reflecting on Learning

My most passionate hope for early childhood is that pre-schools become more inclusive of those with varying abilities and that teachers are more open to the idea.  I know the idea is great to have this inclusive pre-school where all different types of children and families are represented, but the truth is is that is is hard.  Some students can be challenging, especially when you are trying to figure out all their uniqueness's.   My hope that is teachers use their resources, talk with the community/friends/families and remember to breath because you will figure out how you can best support the child in your classroom.

I am very impressed this semester how everyone has really jumped on board with anti-biased education.  I am proud to be apart of our learning community and I am excited that everyone will be out in our world teaching our most precious children. We are really in the home stretch now and I am sure some of you are getting ready to start up another great year hopefully with lots of new ideas and plans for your students. 

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

I chose to look at China and South East Asia because I have taught and traveled in those areas.  Traveling to countries that were so outside of my comfort zone really opened up my world to life outside of my own. 

After exploring the website it was clear that a big challenge children face is physical abuse and even sexual abuse.  It was reported that 1 in 10 children experience abuse that resulted in a physical injury and sometimes up to 33% of children are suffering. Nearly 9% of children are suffering from severe phycial abuse, or 1 and 4 children, this might include, beatings with fists or implements.  There was also a report stating between 14-30% of girls and boys have been sexually abused, forced intercourse (UNICEF, 2012).

These experiences can have a negative impact on children's emotional well being.  The damage can last a lifetime, children who suffer abuse, neglect, and re exploited are more likely to be depressed.  They also may experience mental health problems, attempt suicide, and may engage in high risk behaviors (UNICEF, 2012).

My personal experience was while I was in Vietnam. I never witnessed physical abuse in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos or Cambodia but what I did witness was manual labor.  I saw people paying children to message their feet or carry wood for miles out in the villages.  It was interesting when people paid for services, because to me they should have known better.  In the villages it was their way of life, I understand helping out the family but it was a bit much to me.  Although, it is hard for me to understand because it is not a culture that I am apart of.  So I guess this goes to show how much we have to learn about others. I hope that I can continue to travel and be opened up to new insights.

Resource:

UNICEF, (2012). "Child Maltreatment: Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences: A Systematic Review of Research, ." Retrieved http://www.unicef.org/eapro/Child_Maltreatment.pdf>.

Week 6- The Sexualization of Early Childhood

I have often thought about the topic of sexualization of early childhood, perhaps because I was exposed to many shocking comments or behaviors.  It is shocking to read some of the scenarios, but when I think back to my childhood I think that all those things did happen.  The biggest thing that I have noticed over the years is what girls are wearing and toys that children are playing with.  In the article there was a fourth grade girl writing a love letter, though I do not think this is untypical, I believe that her comments were untypical (even though they were not all shared).  I can remember having “boyfriends” in Elementary school but there was nothing sexual about it, I was still wearing stretch pants in the 5^th grade and would have cried if I had to wear something uncomfortable (like a short skirt).  Girls dress so proactive to me now a days, I want to cover them up.  But it comes from the messages they are receiving from the media (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). I thought about all the media messages that we receive even as an adult. I thought about how when you get to be in your upper twenties or thirties that people expect you to get married, even close friends have said to me “when are you getting married?”  And I always respond, “not until I am sure.”  There is this expectation to get married and have babies and not I try and filter through if it really is something that I want or if I am feeling just the societal pressure (but I am sure that I do want all of this, just not as fast as some people go after it). So of course young girls feel they need to live up to something because it is ingrained in our culture to always be wanting for the perfect body/clothing/boyfriend/relationship/job, etc. 

I have so many examples…

- When I was in high school I worked at an after school program.  Each day we ate lunch with our students and a 4^th grade girl was going on diet because she felt fat and that no one would like her that way.

- A student of mine started to sing “All the single ladies” and then would do a dance and would shake her booty (she would say “I am shaking my booty).  My cheerleading in high school was not this proactive and she is only 5.

- I also have a student who is so attracted to violence, which he wants to act out.  He is five and has Autism, he has a very difficult time filtering though what is expected vs. unexpected.  His father allows him to watch adult movies, movies that are PG-13 or R. He is only five.  His mother has talked with his father about this and he doesn’t see the problem, even with the example of him acting out in the classroom.  He is not intentionally trying to hurt someone but he ends up punching a teacher or a student and then will say it was in the movie. 

I can see the negative impact on children right in front of me.  I can see the skewed views of expectations vs. reality.  Children think that one thing is okay and then being told that it isn’t.  For the little girl singing the song and doing the booty dance.  I showed her a cheer that was appropriate to do at school.  Then I got her to make up her own dance to a song in our classroom, and no, in her own dance she did not do a booty dance.  We talked about the words in her song and I said that is wasn’t appropriate for school.  As for the little boy and violence, his mom talks with me about it and has handled the situation by providing his father with examples.  She says that it might take him awhile to understand. 

As the school year is about to start up, I think that I will pay close attention to where a child may have gotten something.  I feel very out of the loop, in regards to toys and children’s TV shows.  I think that I need to take the time to familiarize myself so that I can react more appropriately to my students. 

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- Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

There are always consequences of peoples actions.  I have experiences some sort of ageism at my school for being so young from an older male teacher.  It is constant, until I recently told him I thought that his comments were not funny (ignoring them did not work, good reminder to be a more open communicator). His comments about how young I was made me feel at times that I was not "old enough" to hold the position that I have (negative consequence), however it did make me feel that he has no idea what he is talking about (positive consequence) and that I know what I am doing (and I would never treat a person that way.   

When -isms show up it is mind-consuming, so I was spending less time thinking about teaching. I thought about his words often for along time and about what I could do differently to make him change his mind.  Then I realized I need to do nothing differently (besides tell him to stop) to change who I was to make someone else see me differently.  I am who I am (a very young looking teacher). 
Having experience gives us examples when we are working with young children and their families.  It is interesting that I have never had a parent question my age, however it was not until this year that they really started to ask me for advice with their children.  I am not a parent, but I do have some pretty great experiences that I like to share with people.  Most often when parents are really concerned with their child's academic progress I tell parents about my brother.  He has severe dyslexia (ex. didn't read his first book until college) and he just graduated with his Masters from Tulane University (proud sister). My story about him seems to give the parents just a little glimpse into my life and how we are are all so different from one another, we have no idea people's stories until we ask or find out. 

I could not imagine what it might feel like for a family or a child to experiences racism or class-ism.  From my experiences I thin that it would play havoc on my emotions and certainly it would be more difficult to perform at work.  When you feel inferior about something it an be more than difficult to try an prove yourself, because often the person who you are trying to prove yourself to has their mind made up.  Not to say that you cannot help teach everyone around you.  I think that if people around me were having such stereotypes it would be so hard for me to come into school everyday.  Teachers are not just supported from their co-workers but also from their parents (I could not imagine if they had stereotypes against me).  I think that physically it would wear me out and I would feel incompetent to do my job. 

So, if I think about my reaction, I could not imagine what young children and their families potentially could be thinking.  Especially, if you think about a child's performance at school.  If I think that it would emotionally, physically and cognitively wear me down... it probably would do the same for them.  This is SUCH an excellent reminder of how important anti-biased education is for our communities.

Week 3: Observing Communication

I chose to observe at a recent wedding that I attended.  There was a huge group of people there that I have known for 26 years.  I chose to observe my sister-in-law and niece.  My sister-in-law is so good at communicating with her daughter (she is three).  My niece is one easy child, but occasionally acts very appropriate for her age. This was her first wedding and my sister-in-law has obviously talked with Ainsley before they came to the wedding.  She reviewed that we could be silly now but when people started to walk down the isle it was time to be quiet, Ainsley had heard this before, she nodded her head in agreement.  She was also allowed to play with the doll she brought.  When the ceremony started, Ainsley no longer wanted to sit, she was allowed to go to the floor with two rules, you have to be quiet and stay with us.  She was on the floor trying to get our attention, but my sister-in-law ignored or reminded the rules.  Ainsley wasn’t scolded for being on the floor; she was doing what she needed to do at the time but at the same time adhering to the rules that her mom had provided her with before coming to the wedding.

What was so good about this observation is that Ainsley was given the expectations before she arrived and she knew them.  She knew she needed to be quiet and stay with us.  Often I think that parents and even teachers forget to review expectations and therefore you get behaviors because children are not sure of the expectations. 

This was a really good reminder for my how often I need to review expectations in your general education classroom you review them often but in my classroom is daily/hourly/every activity.  I can notice the difference when I review the expectations at each activity.  It changes everything.  I also just started extended school year with some of my students and we reviewed those expectation at each new activity and it just goes so much smoother. It gives the child some background to what they are going to be doing.  There are times where, GASP, I forget to go over expectations and then I get frustrated with students running all over the place or hitting their neighbor.  Then I remind myself that I did not tell them what I wanted them to do.  We can learn a lot by observing, especially a lot about ourselves.

Week 2: Creating Affirming Environments

It is hard for me to think about what a in-home childcare facility would look like for me because I have my own classroom, but after watching Adriana I came up with some ideas on how I could envision it looking like.   

Derman-Sparks and Olsen Edwards (2010) suggested that having authentic representations of the community that you are serving (p. 45).  I like what Adriana did in her center, she had a family community wall that showed pictures of the different families that were in the center.  I also enjoyed that she posted pictures of the children playing in the infant and toddler area (Laureate Education Inc., 2012).  I do this in my classroom now and a) my students love it, b) I use it as a reference tool for my students ("Look how nice you were playing with ____").  

Something that was brought to my attention after watching the media segment this week is a transition area. What a great idea for the children before they start their days, especially when it can be a hard transition at times.  Adriana provided the children with a transition area, this helped with "good byes" to the parents.  She followed this time with circle time (which is something that I would do) and allowed the parents to stay if they wanted (Laureate Education Inc., 2012).  This is a great way to have the parents feel apart of the community.  

If I ran an in-home childcare facility I would probably base my planning on themes (monthly), which is what I do now in my classroom.  This would allow me to integrate anti-biased curriculum into all my themes (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, pg. 47).  I would like to provide a sensory area and I liked the ideas of including dolls in that area to allow children to express their emotions (Laureate Education Inc., 2012). 

Something that I have been working hard at is getting away from the tourist curriculum.  I would like instead to have one family each month either share cultural items with the class or come into the class to do some sort of activity.  This would be a great way to incorporate everyone and really get that community feeling. 

As for materials for students I like to include a variety.  Some of my favorites are random pieces that can be fashioned together, I love seeing what students create (robots, monster trucks, dump trucks, super hero's). I have never used persona dolls but I am thinking that this would be a great thing to introduce.  Currently, I use social stories and draw out scenarios and feelings.  It would be great to transition to dolls for addressing issues especially during circle time. 

There are so many things to consider when you are setting up a center/classroom.  I am sure that as I hear from eveybody else that I will get some great ideas!

Resources:

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

 ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Laureate Education Inc., (2012). "Welcome to an Anti-Bias Learning Community". Retrieved

 from Walden University.

What I Have Learned- Week 8

My hope is that as I continue on my journey of working with young children and their families is that I continue to address biases that I am feeling.  We never are going to get anywhere if we are not seeking information on something, so I hope that if I am questioning something that I will stop to ask the questions, so that I can gain knowledge and directly address an issue I may be having.  With that being said I think the most helpful thing that I learned throughout this class was to consider the cycle of socialization and liberation.  Both of these figures have really stuck out in my mind.

My goal for the early childhood field is that our work with young children and their families continues to be valued work. My other goal is that each year we learn new information and I hope that where ever life takes us we are able to continue to grow for the benefite of young children and their families.

I would like to thank all the wonderful colleagues that I have been working with, some of you I have known since the beginning of the program.  It is amazing the learning that is taking place.  I hope to see you in the next class!

 References

Harro, B. (2010). The cycle of socialization. In M. Adams, W. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda, H. W.

Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (Figure 6.1 on p. 46, 2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Harro, B. (2010). The cycle of liberation. In M. Adams, W. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda, H. W.

Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (Figure 7.1 on p. 53). New York, NY: Routledge.

What have I learned...

All week I was thinking about what I would create for this assignment.  I love to create but I was having a hard time focusing on what exactly I would make. 

Reflecting on what I learned I kept going back to the Cycle of Socialization and the Cycle of Liberation (Harro, 2010, p. 46, 53).  Both of these images has stuck with me.  I see myself when I begin to judge something to this about what internalized messages I have received that is causing me to judge.

Our world is not defined by our boarders,  there is interaction between worlds.  Our world is not defined, it is a continuum, we continue to learn, grow and change.  

In order to CHANGE we have to have knowledge, we use that knowledge to feel empowerment, we then create experience and finally we take on a leadership role to make the CHANGE.  Nothing can be done with out the other. If I can remember this, then I will have the ability to make the difference I want to make with the young children and families that I work with.  This is a cycle that never stops.

Resource

Harro, B. (2010). The cycle of socialization. In M. Adams, W. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda, H. W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (Figure 6.1 on p. 46, 2nd ed., Figure 6.2 p. 53). New York, NY: Routledge.

We Don't Say Those Words in Class!

I have a whole world of differences in my classroom.  I have students who are very verbal and students who do not communicate verbally.  All my students notice each others differences and always point out differences amongst each other.  The biggest learning curve for them is last year when we got a student who had Autism but was also blind (her eyes were removed when she was three and has glass eyes, that come out every once in a while).  It was very hard for them to understand when she would come to school without her eyes in.  They would say things like "AHH! She can't see" (even though we have already talked about how she cannot see with her glass eyes).  I have had countless discussions with my students about this little girl.  We talk about how we use our senses for different things and that she is not using her eyes like we do.  We use our eyes to learn about things and she may use her mouth or hands to learn about things.  We also do some exercises to see what it is like to be blind and try to walk around out hallways blindfolded.  

I also have another student who does not use verbal communication to communicate, but he does make some vowel sounds and hums.  Previous we talk about how he doesn't words to talk with with his friends and teachers, but he might point to pictures or make a choice between two objects. Recently, he has learned all of our song tunes and hums them with the rest of the class.  The whole class was so excited the first time he sung at circle time they screamed" ____ is really singing, he is talking to us!" Melted my heart, they understood that though it wasn't exactly the same it was his way of singing with the whole group! :)  

I remember vividly when I was younger the first time I saw a little person.  I was at the old spaghetti factory, I think I was maybe four.  I was staring and my brothers told my mom.  My mom started to talk with me about how some people are born differently and that some people are born with dwarfism.  They are just like us but shorter.  I can remember thinking "oh okay"  and that is the end of my memory. 

I am sure if it wasn't for my mother being very aware of the surroundings I could have gotten a different impression.  My parents where so aware of difference, since they were both special education teachers. But because of my parents responses throughout my whole life it empowered me to take action myself (Laureate Education Inc., 2012).

From my experiences, it is best to be honest with your students/children.  Do not ignore what they are asking about because they can begin to form bias.  I think that addressing what students have said with little lessons is also a good idea, like doing a picture sort (Laureate Education Inc., 2012). Derman-Sparks & Ramsey suggest using teachable moments (Pelo, 2008, p. 44).  Often I might hear a child saying something and pretend to make a mental note to discuss it later, when honestly I might forget about it.  I also like the suggestion of "spark children's empathy about the hurt that stereotypes can cause" (Pelo, 2008, p. 47). Some of my students struggle with any sort of perspective taking, so empathy towards another person is usually the last thing on their minds.  However, my ticket into helping them is they don't want to see you or friends with a sad face.  So they might not be able to read the emotions on my face but they can very much read a sad face.  With this being said it does take time away from our daily routine but I have to use the moments when they are happening and not come back later, because I know they have forgotten about it.   

Resources

Laureate Education Inc., (2012). Start Seeing Diversity: Physical Ability and

      Characteristics. Retrieved from Walden University [video].

 

Pelo, A. (Ed.). (2008). Rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking

 Schools.

Week 3 Blog post- ALiedtke

The biggest thing that I notice in children media is that typically books, movies, toys, stores promote male/ female relationships.  While this may not scream a message of homophobia it does reinforce the idea that their are male/female parents.  So, if a child who did have two moms or two dads it may be confusing, when we look at the Cycle of Socialization, because there is the idea of how families are suppose to look in books.  One really simple example is a recent book that I read in my classroom.  It is called the "Pout Pout Fish"  it is not that it has an underlying message of homophobia but it does depict a male/female relationship.  The blue fish is very pouty and then eventually this pink fish comes gives him a kiss and he becomes a kiss kiss fish.  I use the book as a social story for appropriate touching and how we can help people would seem sad.  Something so simple obviously shows male/female relationship in "normal" therefore reinforcing the Cycle of Socialization.

My response to anybody who felt that early childhood centers or to parent and family members who informed me you should avoid people who are homosexual or transgender would be...  There are many different types of people in this world, that all contribute differently to our society.  This is what makes our country so special and so unique.  Many children comes from homes that are very different from our own.  They could be living in poverty, have one parent, two moms or two dads or they could be living with their grandparents.  In early childhood settings it is our job to help create confident students who are connected to their own culture.  Culture is different for everyone and by including all different types of families and talking about our different as people I can help create an environment where everyone is included because of their differences and how they contribute to our classroom/society. 

I have heard homophobic terms... a lot.  My family had a friend who was gay who we knew our entire lives.  Homophobic terms were NOT allowed in our family and our parents did a great job of informing us why.  However, I would have never considered "tom boy" as a homophobic term and I considered myself a "tom boy" growing up because I enjoyed playing with GI Joe's and X-men and my brothers.  Now that I read it on the paper and reflect on why I called myself that I can see where it comes from but something that I had never thought of. 

I guess I would like more ideas on how to approach people/situations where people do not agree with homosexuality.  I do and I always have agreed with homosexuality and to me it seems like all families are different and we must support all different backgrounds.  So, how would you approach people who come to you, as a teacher, to talk about a child who has two of the same sexed parents?

Then again... maybe I could just show them this video :)

http://youtu.be/yMLZO-sObzQ

 
Resources

Harro, B. (2010). The cycle of socialization. In M. Adams, W. Blumenfeld, C. Castaneda, H. W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zuniga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (Figure 6.1 on p. 46, 2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Pelo, A. (Ed.). (2008). Rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.

Week 8- Reflecting on Communication in the Early Childhood Field

WOW! Can you believe that we only have three classes left? I am excited! I am thrilled that there were so many familiar faces/names throughout the last 7 classes.  It has made it easier to communicate and "get to know" people in our virtual classroom.  I think that our next classes will be great ones, for whatever specialized area you are going into.  I am going into Diversity... let me know if you are too! :) I hope that everyone has enjoyed our journey and realizes what an accomplishment going through school again is!  


I am sure most of you know, but I do teach special educaiton, specifically high needs.  I work towards inclusion will all of my students and if you ever have any information feel free to contact me! I super love my job and love to talk about strategies for working with children with extreme behaviors.  Here is my e-mail address feel free to contact me anytime... abbyjliedtke@gmail.com.

Week 6 Adjourning

This week you read about the five stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Consider the adjourning phase for several of the groups in which you have been involved. Think about which aspects of the groups made for the hardest good-bye. Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? Groups with the clearest established norms? Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why? What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced? How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master’s degree in this program? Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

Well, March has been a very interesting month.  I have kind of been on an emotional roller coaster.  I went from telling my school I was leaving (and I love my school) to deciding I was going to stay.  I have a unique classroom being that yes, I am the teacher of specially designed instruction but I work so closely with my Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapist, and Psychologist. When I told them I was going to leave we were all in tears.  I think that it was so hard to tell them that I was leaving is because we all shared the same vision and goals for all of our shared students.  So, I think that over the years we have established our performing stage and worked hard to solve problems together. But, I am no longer leaving so I get to save all my tears for something else. :) 


Also, when I was working with Camp Adventure on our last day we flew home to all around the United States and I wish there was some sort of Adjourning or reflection period.  I think that when you put so much into something you need to be able to reflect on what went well and what did not, it is important/essential stage of teamwork.


It will be odd not to be around our Master's peers, we are very connected working for the same goal.  When our program is over it will be harder to keep in contact with professionals from around the world and country.  I feel like it will be important for us to have some sort of closing farewells.  I am not sure what that will look like being that we are in a virtual world but I think that it is all something we should ponder!

Week 5-Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

Recently, I have been struggling to maintain my report with a Parent.  Her daughter has had temperature well over 100 and our school policy is to send that child home for 24 hours when it spikes like that.  The mother feels her daughter is not sick, while the school sees something different (temperature and extreme behavior that is untypical).  She was so unset when we called the second day when she had a fever that she showed major resistance to picking up her daughter.

My Principal took the brunt of the verbal attacks and I ignored.  I knew that she was not mad at any of us, but mad at the situation.  It is very difficult for her to take time off of work and I cannot imagine doing that as a single mom with 5 children.  Yesterday, there was a family team meeting and I used some strategies I learned this week from the Nonviolent Communication website.  I was very clear and specific in my concerns and expressed what I/the school needed. I focused on my main concern and expressed how a plan needed to be in place.

So... my two strategies were
1) Ignoring until the person had time to calm down (aka taking all their concerns into consideration), therefore leading us to both engage in effective communication.
2) being very concise and specific in my concerns. 


How have you learned to be more effective communicators as it relates to conflict resolution skills?

Week 4- Who am I as a communicator?

I ended up having more than two people evaluate my communication because each score I received was within 2-4 points of how I scored myself.  I wanted to see if I looked beyond family and colleagues if people perceived me differently. Well all the scores that I gathered where nonetheless the same, but this did come to a surprise to me. 


The verbal aggression quiz was the most interesting.  I think of myself as a passive person and I try to avoid conflict.  I came out in the moderate section, which I am glad that I did.  I thought that I might score in the no verbal aggression. I was happy to see that both my scores and my colleagues/friends scores were the same, I guess I am not as passive as I thought I was.  This is good for me to know because sometimes I lack the confidence to stand up for what I am fighting for, this quiz shows me that I am using effective strategies to get my point across without demeaning the other person. 


I was also not surprised that I fell into group one on the learning styles quiz.  I am very trusting of people that I am working with, parents, friends, etc.  I have noticed that sometimes this does not treat me very well.  For example, this year I fully trusted a parent and we had really great communication about her son.  One day the physiologist that I worked with came to me and that parents had called her to express how much she disliked me and everything I was doing.  I felt we had built a strong rapport and we were communicating the way she wanted to communicate.  I ended up referring to my notes in all of our communication and responded to her with dated information on all of her complaints about me.  Since then I feel that I have lost trust in her and I cannot believe what she is telling me because she could just go behind my back and do it all over again. 

Week 3- Communication and Culture

Thinking about the way I communicate is very appropriate at this time in my life.  Recently, my very long term boyfriend and I broke up, while we had a fabulous time together, we decided to no longer continue our relationship because of his lack of communication.  



 I thought about our two families and how polar opposite they were from each other in the way we communicate with each other.  My family very open, mushy gushy in how much we love and respect one another.  We always keep in contact no matter where we are in the world, whether it be skype or taking pictures of something that reminds us of them. 
My boyfriends family, whom I love, was not super into each other lives.  No serious conversations about life with them.  It was mostly just surface level joking around, fun, yet not intimate.  This is obviously a cultural difference, yet it became an issue between the two of us.  
I found that I was trying to not get into deep conversations with him and his family.  I was communicating differently  in a way that was comfortable for them.  After months of working on communication I told him how I needed to communicate and it was just too hard for him to open up.  I understand that it can be uncomfortable to talk about future hopes and dreams, but it was something that I needed and he could not do it.



After reflecting on this I do change the way that I communicate with people based on several variables.  I often change the way I communicate based on how I am viewing their communication.  For example, my God-Parents have a very different political affiliation then I do.  I love them so so much, that I do not want to get into political conversations with them because their beliefs are very strong. 
I communicate differently in different settings.  With friends I am very relaxed and even my closest colleagues at school.  With parents I am fairly formal, but I also try to show them my real side, kind of a quorkie humor. I do this to help them realize that I am a real person and to try an make connections with each of them. In other groups where I am new I am more formal.  I think that it would be impossible to communicate the same with everyone because we are all so different.  I think that I also adapt my communication style to suite the needs of the people I am with.  This is good when you are meeting new people, but just like with life communication with a person needs to evolve over time to help build strong relationships. Think about the cultural diversity you see in your colleagues at school, in your neighborhood, in your workplace, and also, possibly, within your family. Consider all the aspects that make up culture, including race, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, varying abilities, and so on.

Three strategies that I use when communication with different people:
1) Keeping it formal at first, as I slowly get to know individuals I open to my humorous side. 
2) Listen to what people are saying, when I first meet families I write down in the students files anything important they told me (what they liked to be called, special interests, etc).  I hope that this helps me build a unique relationship with each of them.
3) I try not to make per-judgements on the first meeting or second or third, etc.... I do this because last year I was told I was getting a hard to work with parent.  Before our first meeting I dropped all of what I heard, listen to her and we build a relationship.  She is one of my most favorite parents and is absolutely delightful. It is hard to take away our per-judgements, but it turns out it is a way better feeling to have that relationship instead of the negativity.
 

Week 2- Communication Skills: Language, Nonverbal, Listening

 I picked a video from the Disney Channel, one that I had never heard of.  I wanted to look at a video that was directed at children, so that I could see how some of my students might interpret the show.

I chose the show Austin & Ally.  I started to watch it without sound, Austin dropped his ice cream on his pants and then took off his pants and make an ice cream sandwich with it (and then ate it). Then it showed him with another girl on the computer and they had a conversation and walked around the music store.  A girl in a pirate outfit came in followed by a boy in a pirate outfit.  The girl was animated and it looked like she did not like the other boy in the pirate outfit.  All four of them talked.  It showed photos of Austin running into walls and having broccoli in his teeth. Then the girl with the pirate outfit laughed and Austin looked sad.


I had no idea what the show was about but what I found out after watching it with sound that Austin was being targeted by a bully and embarrassing pictures where being posted of him by a girl on her blog. Hearing Austin talk it was clear that he was upset during the show but without the sound he did not look very upset until the very end. It was confusing without sound as to why people were dressed up as pirates but with sound is was obvious it was for their jobs. Also, the girl dressed as a pirate was clearly making fun of Austin the whole time she was talking.


If I knew the show well I might assume that Austin gets himself into pickles all the time or would have known his relationships with his peers.


What I got from this assignment is first, how valuable language can be and second, how difficult it must be for people who are not speaking the native language to pick up on nonverbal cues if they are not obvious.  For example in the show I could not tell Austin was sad until the end.  This is a good reminder to choose your facial expressions wisely and use them in appropriate ways.

 

What Is Communication? Week 1

When I think of excellent communicators I envision my IEP meetings that I conduct so very often.   I know exactly who demonstrates competent communication.  The Occupational Therapist that I work is very articulate, knowledgeable and has a great demeanor. He is an effective communicator because he is able to literally back up each comment or suggestion with research. This really helps when we are in meetings with Parents who are very concerned about their child because he is able to share so much information with them. He also is very personable with each set of parents that we work with and strives to make connections with each of them.  Being calm is another way he is an effective communicator, he can quickly shift the meeting from a heated one to a happy one.  I feel that he is so knowledgeable about our field that he is able to back up everything he says.  I would like to model my own communication behaviors after him.  I can get flustered and stumble over my words and I wish that I could remember research that I have read so that I can share it in a meeting. 


I also think that being a competent communicator takes time and with each meeting I get better at communicating my thoughts and ideas.  Do you agree?


***Side note




Dr. Seuss' birthday is my absolute favorite (okay really it is Dr. Seuss week)! I love love reading all of his books to my students!   


AND


My favorite quote! :)

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

Week 8- Professional hopes and goals

I hope that I will continue to reach out to all my students and families.  I am moving at the end of this school year (from the job that I love) to relocate to be closer to friends and family.  I will be moving to a urban city (Seattle) and I plan on working in the thick of everything.  This will be different from my more rural community that I am working in now.   I know that I will be working with a more diverse population and I hope that everything that I learned throughout this course I will take with me and use with all my future students and families.

My goal from early childhood is that everyone who is in the field continues to advocate for the profession.  Continued progress in advocating for all students and families will help make programs more equitable across the nation. 

I would just like to say how thankful for everyone in our program.  I feel fortunate that everyone brings such insightful posts each week.  I am happy to be apart of our early childhood culture and it is fantastic to watch everyone grow!

Week 8

I am pretending that I am in my current position as a special educaiton teacher and my new student and family are from Bulgaria (more specifically from the Roma population). I talked with my brother because he is a Peace Corps volunteer in a very small village in Bulgaria. 

For me to be culturally responsive I would need to consider the following information:
1) Children often do not have any concept of color or numbers or have any writing skills.  The first time they are introduced to these concepts are in kindergarten, which in Bulgaria is a year later than in the United States.
2) Roma people have their own language and different dialects depending on the region they are from.  
3) Currently, there has been an several missionaries in Bulgaria that have been Seventh Day Advent.  My brother noted that often the Roma population will follow the prevailing religion and look at is as protection to follow that belief. 
4) In a school setting (meetings, conferences, family nights) include all members of the family.  Often the grandmothers (Baba's) are the caretakers of the grandchildren and they are highly regarded. 
5) Kid's are not regarded as high importance (as there typically many children in the family).  Roma populations are very male dominated and an example of this being that when food is served fathers eat first and then he decides when others (wife and kids) can eat.  Most of the time it may just be the scraps. This would be very important to be aware about as a person from the outside it could be considered neglect. 

 I would hope that taking these considerations in before my student arrived would help me be more culturally responsive.  I would be able to prepare for a student who might not have been taught academic certain skills yet.  I would be able to know that this would be a cultural thing and not a disability.  I would know that they whole family should be included in the meeting and events.  I would also know to do a little bit of research to know where the family came from specifically in Bulgaria, so that I could hopefully learn a few words (although I may not be able to if it is a dialect not recorded). 
 

Week 6-The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

When I was getting my BA I was part of a program called Camp Adventure and we were highly trained camp counselors that worked on military bases around the world.  My first summer I was in Landstuhl, Germany working at a teen center.  At once point during the summer a young boy got into a fight with another.  He was hit in the face with a ping pong ball and wanted to get after the boy who accidentally hit him.  I immediately asked him to turn around and go for a walk and then he hit me.  Our protocol was to call a meeting with his parents.  I thought that it would be a meeting to discuss strategies to deescalate discuses where we would go from here.  Well, it turned out that his mother walked into the meeting and called me a " rich, white, racist.” Equity was diminished as soon as she walked in the door, she had assumed that I played apart in the reason her son hit me, even though he was mad at the other boy and not me. I had no words that could come out and it was the first time I had felt that my skin color was defining who I am and why something had happened. I felt that there was a bias towards me before she even knew me.  

This particular young boy was not the easiest boy in the center and at times it was challenging to deal with the behavior he was exhibiting.  Even though this was the most in your face incident I had ever experienced, it turned out to be a wonderful experience.  I changed the way I worked with this teen.  I saw the way his mother acted with me and I had a feeling she might act this way with her son.  I started to act in a more caring way towards him and we worked out what had happened and ended the summer on a great note.   

Week 4-Microaggressions

I have a perfect example of a microaggression that happened this week.  Each week I have nursing students who come in and observe students in my classroom.  This is part of their pediatric unit and the  hope is to get some experience with students with disabilities. I enjoy having nursing students because most of them do not have any experience with children with disabilities and I feel that my classroom gives them a great opportunity to observe a wide range of students. The nursing student this week was maybe 45, not untypical of other students.  The first thing he said when he walked in was "I expected you to be 40-45ish because people tell me your so good."  I never know what to say when people make comments about my age.  I know I look young. I am young. I was offend he assumed that a good teacher must be older.  I am just not sure what to say when people, co-working included, make comments to me and call me "kid." 

I know that there was no harm behind this comment, but it did make it a microinsult. It also invalidated that I was not going to be good.

This was a very interesting week. I now have more information on discrimination, prejudices and stereotypes and what it looks like.  I now know that the littlest comments can truly offend someone and with this new knowledge I hope that I can be more aware of what I say and what could potentially be harmful. Dr. Sue offered some great ways to prevent microaggression, I hope that I can use this in my teaching career and continue to make great relationships with my students and their families.

• In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people 
•  
•  

Week 3-Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I asked three different people to give me examples of culture and diversity.  I chose these three people because they all had different upbringing and their family life is unique.

Penny-A Unitarian Reverend and a mother of 3:

“Hmmmm. Off the top of my head, I think that culture is largely defined by geography and the influence of the life of our times. Being physically proximate with a group of people and sharing certain activities that could be construed as a 'cultural norm' (habits and social behaviors that are absorbed from a wide base of people) For example I would say that there is a defined "American culture" and a "French culture", a "South American" culture, etc. that extends beyond income, gender & race and is framed by commonalities that those outside the culture would recognize as belonging to that specific group of people...it could include basic human rights (freedom of speech, right to vote) or it could be something as pedestrian as food preferences (Brats in Germany, fast food in America). This is more of a collective term that embraces a large population of folks.

I think that "diversity" exists WITHIN culture and includes specific individual differences like race, gender, ethnicity, sexual preferences, tall, short, old, young, income levels, etc. All of the things that set an individual apart from another within a specific culture. Diversity could (for me) be defined as a continuum of possibilities of the human species within each culture.”

Barb- Moved around the US all around US while growing up, Peace Corp Volunteer and Graduate Student at Tulane University in the College Global Heath:

“So how I define culture and diversity...

CULTURE: I would say that culture is unique commonalities or characteristics shared by people within a population. It could be anything from art and music to language and religion, but these things tend to enrich or define a certain subset of people.

DIVERSITY: I just think of diversity as a wide range of something or an all-encompassing representation. In terms of people, I think of diversity as a group of different people from various backgrounds. This encompasses not only race (like traditionally defined) but education, socio-economic status, ethnicity, language proficiency, age, occupation, life decisions, etc.”

Alan first generation Vietnamese American and Buddhist:

“Culture to me is a set of beliefs that a certain social group or ethnic group share. Often it can be expressed through the arts, manners and even academic pursuits. Culture is an amazing thing as it can often help to define a person, to better understand their background and where they come from.

Diversity can mean variety in a number of different ways. When we talk about people and diversity, people can represent a variety different cultures, ethnicities, sexual orientation, so on and so forth. I feel it is important for people to be accepting of people's diversity.”

I thought they all had very similar answers.  I really liked what Penny said that “I think that ‘diversity’ exists within a culture and includes specific individual differences.”  I think this gave a great example of what we are studying in this course. 

I think that what is omitted the individual culture that each person has created.  From the first journal reflection on defining our own culture and how specific we got, to me their responses were more surface level. 

To me this exercise teaches me that with everyday conversation this is what a variety of different people feel about culture and diversity.  So, with this in mind some of my parents (who all come from different backgrounds) may also be thinking of diversity and culture on the surface, in regards to other peoples culture and diversity.  So… how do we dig deeper with the students and families that we work with?  We know or are in the process of discovering our own culture, now I need to move on to helping all my students and families be accepting of all backgrounds and cultures.

This past week I had a parent come to me and request a busing change for her son.  Currently, he rides the special education bus (as all my students do) she wanted to change to the big bus, but this would not of been appropriate for him.  At first she said that he could handle it, then it was her son and daughter wanted him to and come to find out she felt the bus driver was being standoffish. She also said well she is from a different country and we just don’t get along.  I was a little shocked, because what does being from a different country have to do with not getting along? I also know this bus driver and she is more than nice and patient with all of the students riding her bus.  I guess I need to figure out how I can address with the parent who is upset. Obviously, there is a misunderstanding somewhere and the fact that “from another country” was brought up could very well make this a cultural misunderstanding.  Something I will need to ponder over the weekend.