The Comeback Kid Strikes Again

I feel that the three deeply felt learnings for me from were Issues and Trends in the early childhood field, Building Research Competencies, and Pratical Application in the early childhood field. My long-term goal is to enter into the political arena, to advocate for all children’s rights. Children are human-beings that need to be heard too. I would like to thank Dr. Dartt for all of her time and effort.  I wish the best for her and her family. I would also like to thank all of my colleagues to have a good journey, and I hope to meet and collaborate with you in the future. 

The International Step by Step Association appealed to me, because, they have a passion for all children in this world and for their families as well. Their mission is to “support professional communities and develop a strong civil society that influences and assists decision makers to, provide high quality care and educational  services for all children from birth through primary school (birth through 10 years old), with a focus on the poorest and most disadvantaged , ensure greater inclusion of family and community participation in children's development and learning , ensure social inclusion and respect for diversity” (Association, 2014) . Their mission statement appealed to me. ISSA is acting on the behalf of young children and their families. This is good for them because most cannot get their voices heard. Right now there no specific employment opportunities listed at ISSA, however, if there were job opportunities they might be Executive Director, Program Director, Seni

The National Association for the Education of Young Children appeals to me, because, their mission is to “serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources” (A Call for Excellence in Early Childhood Education) . I chose NAEYC, because, I am pursuing my degree in early childhood to serve, and act on the behalf of all children. A job opening for manager of child care operations interest me. The skills and experience included “responsible to the state licensing facility to ensure proper licensing requirements have been met, work to achieve high star ratings, and fulfill CYFD regulations. The manager hires and oversees staff workers including work study students, sets up work schedules and ensures state mandatory training is provided for all employees. The manager interacts with parents and young children and to create a safe and nurturing environment for children

I think any employment in an organization local, state, national, and international that fosters the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field as a whole is worthwhile in life. I think there are several roles I would like to take on now, and in the future.      The first community of practice that appealed to me was in Melbourne, Victoria. The Victoria Mission (2013) stated “to ensure a high-quality and coherent birth-to-adulthood learning and development system to build the capability of every Victorian” (Framework, 2013) . I was interested in “The Early Childhood Intervention Professional”, position that is currently available. The skills and experience that you would need to fulfill this role involves working with and through children’s families, caregivers and early childhood educators to provide children with experiences and opportunities that promote the acquisition of competencies that enable children to participate meaningfully in home and community env

I knew this course was going to be special for me. Not because it was a “specialization course,” but, because, as it has been said “save the best for last.” All of the collaborative experiences I have encountered have enriched my learning in this course, and has helped me to expand and deepen my understanding of effective ways in which to support children’s healthy development in a multiracial, multilingual, and multicultural world. Communicating with people through an online course gave me something to look forward to each week. Each week was like talking to new neighbors (colleagues) in a close online community. Hey! Come to think of it, this course had a group of “diverse” people (colleagues). We were a diverse group in our own community. We were building and establishing relationships just like we were learning how to do in our classroom with diverse children through this course. Wow, where do I start with my passions? As an early childhood professional, I hope to be committed t

Impacts on Early Emotional Development Larry D. Jackson Walden University Strategies for Working with Diverse Children EDUC - 6358 - 6 Dr. Lissett Bird-Pickens April 18, 2014 Impacts on Early Emotional Development      I chose the Middle East and North Africa area concentrating especially on Syria. I chose Syria, because, most of the time I think about the displaced children who will ultimately be orphans. I also chose this region, because, if I was offered an opportunity to help the children in the Syrian conflict, I feel I could be effective helping the children in an emotional, developmental, and educational capacity. I chose this area, because, the children of Syria are displaced, uprooted, orphaned, and killed. They are paying the heaviest price for this conflict. According to a Times Magazine news article “a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report published Monday calls Syria one of the most dangerous places in the world for children, 5.5 million

     Sexualization in early childhood could be an extension from something we overlook here in this country and abroad, and that is “materialism!” Chaplin & John (2007) stated “concerns over the rising level of materialism in children and adolescents are increasing among parents, educators, and social scientists. In a recent national survey, 95% of adults say that children are too focused on buying and consuming things, and almost 80% agree that limits should be placed on advertising to children” (Chaplin & John, 2007, p. 1) . Harro (2010) stated “we are consciously and unconsciously bombarded with messages. We are brainwashed by our culture: media, language, and patterns of thought” (Harro, 2010, p. 46) .       When they show a commercial of someone emphasizing their body parts below the waist, my son tries to imitate the same movement sometimes. I have to turn the commercial to something else or turn the television off completely. I remember a dance for the preschool stude

The consequences for children and families while I experience racism might make me create biases towards them. This will hinder me from forming and building relationships with children and families. For example, I would anticipate my connections with children and families would not be as strong as they should be. For example, some of the colleagues I work with have said some things that seem unintentionally bias towards me, so when I see children and families that resemble my colleagues, I tend to have misconceptions, and I feel distracted when I am trying to communicate effectively to them.

I was in an early childhood classroom at one particular school. It was circle time, and the children and teacher were on the carpet. Now I have been in this classroom before. One distinct thing I noticed was whenever a certain young child would get his turn to talk, the teacher would limit his conversation, by  telling him “we do not have time, please do not talk. I only want one word that begins with our letter of the week.” He just like to talk.  On this particular day the teacher was letting each child answer a question about the new letter for the week. She would go around the circle, and give each child a chance to speak. I noticed, and observed when it was this young boy’s turn, he responded again with more than one answer. Everyone in the circle looked baffled and all eyes were turn in his direction. For a brief moment the teacher was caught off guard, however, she quickly regained her composure before anyone except myself could noticed. The young boy kept giving her words that

Creating Affirming Environments Larry D. Jackson Walden University Strategies for Working with Diverse Children EDUC - 6358 - 6 Dr. Lisset Bird-Pickens March 15, 2014 Creating Affirming Environments First I would like to look at opening an authentic early childhood setting or a family child care home as a need for each individual child and family to develop and not for any other un-related reasons. I think it also really depends on the individual opening a family child care home. This individual would have to work towards accomplishing anti-bias goals, and to be an effective educator for children, and their families. This person would also have to have good strong ethics which includes ethical responsibilities to children, families, and colleagues. NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (2005) states “To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their

What I Have Learned The one hope I have about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to be a part of their cultural context and help them not to be disenfranchised. I hope to work with children and their families in ways that honor their multiple cultural identities, and build upon their many skills and strengths. One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to social justice is that the elected officials start to take children and their families more seriously. When you think about the numbers, children do out-number the number of adults on this planet. They deserve the recognition and equity as anyone else. My goal is that children are heard and not seen, and more people will be advocates for children and be a voice for them in any language, culture, and identity. I would like to thank my colleagues for being a part of my internet community. I have learned a lot from your discussions, and blogs. I hope one day we will

My key learnings from the Start Seeing Diversity media segments and my blog discussions was how learning about self makes it possible to effectively decide what to say , what to do , when to wait , and when to act  in many different kinds of settings. I have changed. I had to first find out who I am and where do I fit in this world. I feel as though being an anti-bias educator is a part of me now. I know it will not be instantaneous, but I know on my journey itis coming my way. I will embrace it with all my heart, mind , and soul.

One day a mother and her daughter were in a library and the daughter notice a middle-aged woman with a deformity. She was not born with all of her arm and hand. She was wearing a device on her arm. The tip of this device was shaped like a hook to help the woman to pick up objects. The young girl had never seen a device like this. This was her first time seeing someone wearing one. She immediately asked her mother with a loud voice while pointing to the woman , "mother what is wrong with that lady's arm?" According to the media segment "ableism, is biases based on a person's physical abilities"  (Media, 2013) . Her mother said quietly, “oh no, don’t point!” There are some messages that might have been communicated to this child by the adult's response. According to the media segment, “say positive statements about diversity”  (Media, 2013) . An example of how an anti-bias educator might have responded to support the child's (or classroom's ) unde

Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation Larry D. Jackson Walden University Diversity Development Learning EDUC-6357-1 Dr. Sylvia Klein January 26, 2014 Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation How you would respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child? From the very beginning of registration, everyone who would be caring for the child would meet the parent/family member before school has started. This way if there are any concerns about the care for their child, they could either talk to me about their concerns, or have a chance to go home and think about it. Every parent/family member has a right to decide what type of care is best for the development of their children. As stated in the NAEYC Code of Ethical Cond