Reflecting on Learning

      My hope for the future is to have an anti-bias classroom where everyone feels welcome, safe, valued, respected, and loved. Families and children can come in and learn about different cultures and people and interact with their classroom community. I think this is what most of us want coming out of this class. I know it’s not going to happen over night, and it will take baby steps. So to start myself  off I am incorporating more and more anti-bias curriculum and materials into my classroom, as I have been going through this program. Another hope is that I will get to work in a developing country and help bring an anti-bias education to them as well. I have learned so much and I think Julie Olsen Edwards said it best, “This is an important journey. It's a journey that will entice you, frustrate you, compel you. It's filled with new things to learn and it goes on for a lifetime. No matter how much you know, there's always more to learn” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). I am excited to continue!

      As for my colleagues, I want to wish you all the best! It has been great getting to know all of you and I really appreciate all of the support and feedback these last 8 weeks. Hopefully I get to work with some of you again and keep in touch.

Best of luck, 

Rachael

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area I chose to look at is Latin America and the Caribbean. I picked this region because I was recently in Mexico and some of the areas that we traveled through did not look like it was habitual, but we saw families living there. We had children coming up to us and begging for money. It was so sad that this blog post is a great way for me to research that area. 

What I found out is that “60% of children under 12 years of age and 50% of adolescents between the ages of 13-19 live in poverty” (http://www.unicef.org). That is one thing that I saw for sure. There were huts that barely had a roof, and didn’t look like it would fit more than 2 people. Some of the children who live in this region are social excluded because of disease and disabilities. “The Caribbean has the 2nd highest prevalence of AIDS in the world, after sub-Saharan Africa, and has an increasingly adolescent female face” (http://www.unicef.org).
Another challenge that children face is chronic malnutrition. “Children in these communities have lower levels of nutrition and limited or non-existent access to basic services” (http://www.unicef.org). The severe malnutrition affects one of five children according to the website. Violence is a huge factor also,“Nearly 85,000 children die annually as a result of violence in the home, violence affects over 6 million children and adolescents” (http://www.unicef.org). A final challenge that children have to deal with are natural disasters such as, floods and hurricanes. 

Those challenges that the children have to put up with, can have a huge impact on their development and emotional well being. If you are hungry and scared, it would be hard to focus on anything. If your house was destroyed by a flood or a hurricane then you would be wondering where your family is going to live. When any of the above challenges happen to a child, they might have a hard time sleeping, focusing on school, they might be anxious, scared, or even angry. 

As a person I feel lucky to have grown up where I did, and how I did. I had a nice home with loving parents and I never had to worry about if I was going to get supper or not. I can not even possibly imagine what they children go through that I saw in Mexico. I want to adopt them all, and help them grow, and so them love. I also want to do that as an early childhood professional because it breaks my heart that children have to go through that. However, I feel that it is very important for an early childhood professional to know about the challenges that children from this region face, if they are going to work with them. “Understanding how the issues are different for each family type makes it possible to adapt the fundamental approaches so we can be as thoughtful and supportive as possible” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p.116). If little Johnny can’t keep his eyes open in class, it might be because he was scared to go to sleep last night, and was worried about his family. Knowing about a child and what they might be dealing with is a huge part of educating children. This is one of my constant reminders that I have to give myself. 

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.

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

“Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media and popular culture” (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009, p.2). This is becoming more and more true everyday. I am sad that this is how society is turning, but I don;t think it is going to change, anytime soon, so we as educators need to find a way to understand it and be able to help children who are talking about it or going through it. 

I see it in my 8 year old niece when she dances.  I was like “what!”, and after watching some of her shows and even the music videos and Just Dance, I see where she gets it from. She is use to growing up with four aunts who she idolizes so she wants to listen to the same music and watch the same shows. We try to shield her as much as possible, but there are other sexual messages out there that she sees with her friends or in the mall. 

Another example is at school, I have kids in Kindergarten who are “kissing” on the playground and talking about boyfriends and girlfriends. I was so shocked when I first stared teaching and this is what I was dealing with. Children are getting these ideas from shows that are suppose to be kids shows, “no child growing up today can fully escape today’s sexualized environment” (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009, p.7).

A final example that just happen a couple weeks ago, when my class was working with their 5th Grade buddies. We split the classes up and I have half the kids and the 5th grade teacher has half. When the other half came back, the counselor was with them and told me that one of the fifth grade boys had asked one of my kindergarten girls if she new what a sexual gesture meant. I was so shocked and upset by it. The counselor talked to my student and she had know idea what it meant, and the boy was talked with also and had consequences to pay for his actions. 

I feel when children are exposed this way to sexual innuendoes and ideas, they feel that they have no value. They are only valued on how they look and act. They will get the idea in their head that they need to be skinny and wear makeup, or be tough. I think having discussions with children about what they see and hear, is a good way to show the kids that they don not have to conform to what society thinks or act in a sexual way. There is developmental appropriate ways to do this for all ages. 

I feel that I can talk about sexualization with my students now. Its not a taboo subject if done appropriately. Children are exposed to it all the time and until they get answers they will not know how to respond. 

Resources: 

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 on December 6, 2014