The Comeback Kid Strikes Again

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...

     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 rememb...

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 w...

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...