TIME WELL SPENT-FINAL POST

I have learned and experienced so much since beginning this journey.
These are just a few of my most deeply felt learning's.



My view of culture has expanded. Culture is not just someones race or religion, it can be anything, such as how often they see their family, what foods a family eats, and the way you greet someone. I am much more aware of the fact that everyone has their own unique culture and we must respect this.



I learned about my own hidden biases and 'isms'. This deep reflection made me more aware of my words and actions. It helped me to reflect on my own life and my own feelings on these issues and how they came to be.



Learning about the unintended consequences of our actions was meaningful for me. I now am able to examine my intended consequences and expand my thinking to the unintended also. Also, I learned a great deal about how consequences do not always have to be a bad thing, there are also good consequences.



My long term goal is to work on a project that involves making education more equitable.



My farewell message for Dr. Tammy Shephard is a big THANK YOU!!!! You were my instructor in my last two classes and I appreciate all of your insight. I saved many of the links that you posted in the discussions. I thank you for that.

My farewell message and wishes for all of my colleagues is that you go for your dreams and you accomplish all that you dream of. Some of my colleagues have been in the majority of my classes and I thank you for your support.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

For this week's blog assignment, we have been asked to look at jobs/roles in the international community.

The first organization that appeals to me is FHI 360 (The Academy for Educational Development, 2011). I chose this organization because of their belief that all individuals and communities have the opportunity to reach their highest potential. I also like that they take a 360 degree approach and with this approach they have a large community of practice to help them fulfill their belief.
There are many job listing for the United States, as well as outside of the United States.
One job that is in the United States is a project manager/early childhood specialist. "The project manager would provide assistance and training to Head Start Grantees in areas related to school readiness, training and career needs of Grantee staff, and collaboration activities".  http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm
Some of the requirements for the applicant are: need at least 5 years of experience serving young children, theoretical knowledge of child development, and preferably a masters degree in the early childhood education field.
There are many job openings under the education title in other countries. They include: project managers and technical advisers. Some of the skills and experience that are needed for these jobs are: ability to adapt to a high pace working environment, at least 5 years of prior work experience in an international non-government organization or foundation setting, and the ability to interact with diverse groups.

The next organization I chose is Save the Children (2011. Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world. I chose this organization because of their commitment to children and how much work they do to help in a child's future. http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6146405/k.C7E9/About_Us.htm
One job that interests me is a coordinator for early steps to school success. This program provides early education programs to pregnant woman and also to children from birth to age 5. Some of the skills and experience that are required are: experience leading parents groups, experience collaborating with early childhood programs in the community, and experience with rural families.

The last organization I chose that interests me is Unicef. http://www.unicef.org/  I chose this organization because I have heard so many wonderful things about Unicef, beginning when I was in grade school. I collected money on Halloween night as I went trick or treating. I knew back then that they are active in helping children, across the world. \
One job that is available in several countries is a child protection specialist. The skills and experience for this job are: able to develop strategies, data collection, and fluency in English.

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



The first organization that interests me is Zero to Three. I first read about this in a previous class. Zero to Three's mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers. I chose this organization because of how much support they offer. They not only offer support to parents, but also professionals and policymakers. They have many organizations and individuals in their community of practice.

Careers that are currently available are higher level careers. One of interest is a Senior Director of Programs. This person would be responsible for the oversight of Zero to Three programs. Some of the skills that are needed are the understanding of broad early childhood issues, strong skills in building coalitions among diverse stakeholders, and strong oral and written skills. The website is http://www.zerotothree.org/.

The next organization that is of interest to me is Head Start. Head Start is a federal program that promotes the school readiness of children ages birth to 5 from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development. I am passionate about early intervention and how early intervention helps children to succeed.

Careers are available in all states. Some of the careers that I thought were interesting were family outreach worker, home visitor, and family child educator. All of the positions require excellent communication skills. They also require you to monitor the families and being knowledgeable of various local agencies to help the family. The website is: http://www.nhsa.org/

Another organization I found that may not necessarily have careers, but offers a community of practice is called The National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS-SDE). I chose this organization because when you become a member of this association you become part of a community of practice that shares ideas and solves problems. The association promotes high-quality services to young children and their families through improvement of instruction, curriculum, and administration of programs.

There are three categories of membership.

Full membership in the Association shall be open to those persons with major responsibility for programs in early childhood education, serving in state departments of education or other state early childhood education agencies in the United States and its territories.

Associate membership shall be open to retired or former full members. Any early childhood specialist holding full membership in the Association is eligible for Associate Membership after leaving state agency employment .

Affiliate membership shall be open to related professionals who hold a current state-focused position in—or providing services for—a national not-for-profit organization related to the purpose of the Association

The website is http://www.naecs-sde.org/membership

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Children and Youth Services is a local agency that offers many supports for children. They offer many services for children and their families. A few of the services they offer are placement into foster care, family and individual counseling, intake services from mandated reporters, support services for children from abusive households, and help for truant students. I chose this organization because they offer a huge variety of services and they are strong advocates of children. Advocacy for children is a passion for me.

Some of the job opportunities are: Family Group Decision Making Coordinator. Some of the skills needed are ability to understand and form relationships with families, youth, and external stakeholders; excellent communication skills (written and verbal). Another job opportunity is a youth counselor. Some of the skills that are needed are excellent interpersonal skills, pass a training of safe crisis management, and facilitate group activities.
http://yorkcountypa.gov/health-human-services/children-youth-and-families/services.html

Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is a state agency. They offer early intervention services, which is called The Pennsylvania Early Intervention program. This program is for children with developmental delays and disabilities. This program involves a community of practices including a state supported network of parents, service practitioners, and others which builds upon the natural learning opportunities that occur within the daily routines of a child and their family. I chose this agency because I currently work in early intervention and I believe strongly in the benefits of early intervention. I feel the earlier we can intervene, the better chance the child's outcome will be.

Some of the job opportunities are: Case workers and Social Services workers. The skills that are needed are communication skills, able to work unconventional hours, such as evenings and weekend, able to create good relationships with families and children.
http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/forchildren/earlyinterventionservices/index.htm

Family Child Resources is an agency in my local area, but also has agencies in other areas. They are recognized locally, statewide, and nationally.  They offer services such as intervention, education, and counseling services to children, adults, and their families. This agency interested me because of the work they do with early intervention.

Some of the job opportunities are: Counselor, Behavioral Specialist, and Social Worker. Some of the skills that are required are: must be knowledgeable in Positive Behavior Supports, Childhood Behavioral Health issues, Autism Spectrum, have strong parenting skills, knowledge of sensory integration issues and skilled in working collaboratively on grants with other agencies. http://www.f-cr.com/index.htm

Reflecting on Learning and Thank You

Believe you can and you're halfway there.

Theodore Roosevelt

My most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional is to help children believe that they can be anything they dream they can be. Regardless of diversity, they can dream big and overcome any obstacles in their way. I also hope that the early childhood field embraces anti-bias education and anti-bias thinking when working with children and their families.

I would like to thank my instructor, Dr.Tammy Shepard for her input in the discussions. I learned a great deal, especially the links that she posted in the discussions. Thank you for all of your support.

I also would like to thank my colleagues. As usual, you were very supportive. I have had many courses with these colleagues since the beginning of my program. I always look forward to reading and discussing many issues with you. Thank You.

Impacts on Early Emotional Development in South Asia

I chose South Asia. I looked at a few different regions and I felt strongly about reading more about this region after learning about the hardships that the children have to endure.

Children in this part of the world have many challenges. This area has the largest number of children living there in the world. Poverty and deprivation in South Asia are among the worst in the world. One of the challenges is that only a small portion of children go to school. So the majority of children lack a proper education. Their intellectual development is directly effected and the experiences that school has to offer is not available for these children.

Another challenge is the high portion of children who have HIV. Not only is there a high portion who have HIV, but the medicine that can help them is not available to almost all of the children. I would imagine that this has a strong effect on them. Emotionally, they may know that they may not live very long without the medicine, so they may give up hope and not care if they accomplish anything.

There is still a great deal of disregard for females. Many times, if a fetus is a female, the mothers have an abortion. I think that the self-esteem of females would be low, because they are not treated very well and not looked upon as important members of society.

Another issue that the children have to deal with is many of their births are not registered. This makes it difficult to get services made available to them that would help their well-being. Also, there are many areas that lack food and water. So these children do not have their basic needs met. This would mean that they must have these needs met before they can begin to grow emotionally.



After reading about this, I was very sad. I always hear about poverty in other countries and the way children are treated, but when I actually read it and reflected on all of the issues, it was heartbreaking. These children have so much to deal with just to get their basic needs met. It also makes me realize that some of these issues occur close to home. There are children that are living with HIV and poverty. There are children right here that have heartbreaking stories, also. It is important to understand the challenges of all children.

Source:
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

This week we learned about Sexualization of Early Childhood. "Today’s cultural environment bombards children with inappropriate and harmful messages. As children struggle to understand what they see and hear, they learn lessons that can frighten and confuse them" (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009 p.4). This does not surprise me. The article discusses the exposure to advertisements, media, and even toys that promote sexualization. I see this and have realized for a long time that external factors are majorly responsible for children behaving and dressing provocatively at an early age.  

The lyrics that children listen to at an early age often surprise me. Many times, the children do not even understand what they are singing. What is more disturbing are the adults who think it is cute. I have seen adults point and laugh and think it is funny. I have also seen this occur when very young children are dancing and swaying their hips in a very sexual fashion. Another example that I have seen are children who wear shirts that are tied in the back or front to expose their bellies. I am often surprised that their parents allow this. I can understand when a teen does this, but when you see a 6 year old or 10 year old do this, it is even more inappropriate. Also, it seems to be acceptable for young girls to take pictures of themselves in provocative clothing or poses and put it on their facebook page. Again, I wonder why the parents are not making them remove the pictures. Media plays a big role, but adults need to take some of the responsibility for the outcomes.

The ratings on movies are disturbing also. The ratings for PG have changed a great deal from when I was a child. The movies that are PG now, would have been rated R when I was younger. I think it becomes more accepted to allow our children to watch the movies, due to the rating. I think we as adults accept that television shows have more nudity and cursing.

Early childhood professionals can reduce some of this by keeping the children young. Do not play "sexy music". Let children dance to songs like The Hokey Pokey. Let children be children and if dolls are in the classroom, make sure they are not inappropriate. I think the impact on young children is they feel pressured into being "sexy" at such a young age, when they are not even sure what it means.

I was aware of this before I studied this topic this week. But I now have more of an understanding of why this happens. I also realize that I need to find ways to counteract the negative effects.






Source:

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

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

When a professional experiences an 'ism' directed at them or someone close to them, it can be difficult to keep this separate from your professional life. Because I have experienced classism, when I was younger, the consequence if I were in a classroom, would be that I would be more compassionate towards the children who also experience classism.

I also have experienced ableism, when my son, who was 7 years old at the time, had hip surgery and had an external fixator in his right leg/hip. He was in a wheelchair. Again, the consequence is a positive consequence. I am understanding of a child who has special needs and needs accomodations. I have an understanding how difficult having accomodations put into place can be. I have been an advocate for other children and families who have gone through the same surgery as my son.

I would have to be careful of my own bias against others who are on the other end of the 'ism'. For example, if someone is making comments towards someone else and using 'isms' towards that peson,  I would have to put my own personal feelings and experiences aside.

Observing Communication

I observed a childcare teacher and a child who was approximately 4 years old. The child was playing in the dress up area. The child was putting on high heels and attempting to put on a dress. The child could not get the dress on correctly. The teacher walked over and asked the child what she is doing. The child said "I am going to be a princess." The teacher sat down on the floor and said, "you will be a beautiful princess." The child then asked for the teachers help putting on her dress. The teacher invited another student over and asked her if she would like to play with the princess. The other student said that they would like to be a princess also. The teacher remained quiet and the first child helped the other child pick out the outfit. The two played together and talked to the teacher. The teacher told the children that they were doing a good job playing together and imagining. The teacher also asked both of the children if they would like to create a castle. The children said that they wanted to. The teacher said they can make a castle out of blocks or draw a castle on a big piece of paper. The children stated that they would like to draw a castle. The teacher then invited several other students to join the two girls in drawing and creating this castle. One girl helped the other two and two others watched and spoke about the castle and princesses.  As they were drawing, the teacher told the children how beautiful the castle is and gave many compliments.

Some of the effective communication that I observed was: When the two children observed the drawing of the castle, they were encouraged to talk about the drawing, even though they were not drawing. Also, the teacher asked the children if they wanted to add anything to the picture and said that they can glue other things onto the castle. This helped to encourage communication among the children, who then spoke to each other about what ideas they had for adding other things. Another effective communication tool is getting onto the same level as the child. This occurred when the teacher sat down and could look at the child on an equal level. I think more opened ended questions may have helped the communication even more.

I heard a great deal of positive reinforcement by the teacher. I also liked that other children were included. I think that this had positive influences on the child's sense of self worth. Their ideas for the extra material were encouraged and children who were not actively participating in the physical part of making the castle, were still encouraged to talk and be part of the project.

This week, I gained confidence in the way I communicate with children. I feel that I communicate on their level. I always try to find out what their interests are and build on those interests.

Creating Affirming Environments

If I were to open my own family child care home it would look like this:

I would personally greet each child in the morning. This would give me an opportunity to talk to the person dropping the child off in case they have to fill me in on anything. I would also have a moment to talk to the child to see how they are doing. Some children have a difficult time being dropped off and as Adriana points out that sometimes children have a difficult time. I feel this is important, I think it builds trust in the families that you care and understand that the child may not want to be separated.

I like that Adriana realizes some children need time away from others when they are crying or upset. She goes to them and does not make them stop crying, this area is a place that they can be upset. I would create a quiet space for children, it would be a separate area and if they need a break due to frustration or crying, I would take them to the quiet space. Even if they are crying there, just the name of the area being called quiet space, I feel will help them to calm down.

In order to promote an anti-bias environment, I would invite the families to share parts of their culture with the other children. Adriana invites families into the center. I would do this and I would let the families know that we are interested in getting to them and their child, so if they are not  able to come visit during the day, they can send in items about themselves to share.

I would make sure that I include visuals and materials that represent all children. "Starting With Who Is, By Julie Bisson really inspired me with the question, "Do I feel comfortable here?' I would look around and put myself in a child's shoes and look from their perspective and see if the environment seems inviting. I can only imagine what a child would feel like if they did not see any reflection of themselves.

There are many examples in the Anti-Bias Education book. Some of the things that I would include would be posters, pictures of the families in my care,diverse dolls, and books.

Sources:

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

Laureate Education, Inc.  (Producer). (n.d.).  Welcome to an Anti-Bias Learning Community. [Course Media.] Strategies for Working with Diverse Children. Baltimore, MD. 

What I Have Learned

My  is that when I work with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds that I can make an impact in their lives. I will use what I have learned about anti-bias education and my own biases and continue to be open-minded and constantly exploring new ways to work with diverse families.

My for the early childhood field
related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is for all individuals who are in this field to understand the importance of an anti-bias education. I think it is important for every professional in this field to understand that children need to learn about people who are different from themselves and children who are different need to know they are just as important as anyone else.

I would like to sayto my colleagues for their support during this course. We shared personal information and I always felt comfortable being able to share personal stories about myself. This helped me to develop both personally and professionally. I appreciated my colleagues input and their honesty about personal details about their lives. Also, thank you to Dr. Ferrari for your openness and honesty during this course. I have learned a great deal from you.

Creating Art-What I have learned...

I have learned that anti-bias education is essential in the early childhood field. We need to support children and their differences.

 

I have learned that each family is unique. We cannot judge a family because they do not fit into our idea of what is "normal".

 I have learned about "age-ism". Early childhood professionals can teach children that the stereotypes of older people are not always true. 

 I learned about "sexism". Anti-bias education enables us to teach children that they can be anything they want to be. Boys do not have to do "boy" jobs and girls do not have to do "girl" jobs.

I learned that early childhood professional staff must put their biases aside in order to support all families.

 I learned about "class-ism". Children can learn through stories about various classes. This can help to eliminate bias.

I learned about able-ism and racism and through discussion with children many of these biases can be eliminated.

Anti-bias education helps everyone respect one another for their differences.

 

"We Don't Say Those Words in Class"

The question is what is the correct response when a child asks you why someone is different and that someone is within earshot. I think many times parents/adults become uncomfortable. My own personal experience was when my son was in 2nd grade, he had a hip problem and had an external fixator drilled into his leg/hip. It was a huge device and he got around in a wheelchair and also a walker. I remember a few times when children would ask the adult they were with what that thing was. The adults would avoid the question, or say that is not nice to ask. I remember one time, I said its okay that he asks, its fine. I think from this personal experience I realize that its okay for children to ask. Children do not mean any harm, they are curious. My son told me that he thought it was funny when so many people would stare but then turn away.

I think when we hush children and tell them not to ask then they realize that something is different and it is a taboo topic. If adults openly tell the children then the children probably just move on and say okay.

I believe an anti-bias instructor would support a child's question by using this as a teachable moment. They could teach the entire class about what it means to be different and what it means to them.

My son missed three weeks of school and the day before he was going to come back to school, the teacher arranged for us to come in and the children could ask any questions they wanted. I explained about my son and the surgery and then the children asked questions. They also thought about when they may have had surgery or knew someone who had surgery. That year was tough for us, but his classmates made things so much easier for us. My son is now going into 7th grade and all of this is behind us, but just last month his friend who was one of the boys who pushed him in the wheelchair made a comment. He commented how fun 2nd grade was because he got to go to adaptive gym with my son and got to miss class and how they threw around a ball.

"Start Seeing Diversity Video" Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

This week in class we are learning about anti-bias education as it is related to sexual identity, homophobia, and heterosexism. I think it has to be hard for a young child to begin to feel that their self-identity is not what society deems as appropriate. I would imagine for a child who has a gender identity different from what we physically see or for a child who likes someone of the same sex, they are confused because most of their everyday things do not take into account a child that is not heterosexual. The books, toys, and movies all assume that each child is a heterosexual. I did not come across any books or movies about two moms or two dads. Storybook endings always end with the handsome prince and the beautiful princess living happily ever after.

If a parent or family member informed me that they did not want anyone who is perceived to be a homosexual or transgender caring for or educating their child, I would listen to what they are saying. I would have to take a few moments to compose myself, so I can carefully choose my words. Inside, I would feel like a confrontation was going to occur since my views are the opposite, but I would maintain composure. After I listened to their point of view, I would let them know my point of view, but I realize this will not change their mind. Next, I would let the person know that I would like for them to meet the person whom they feel uncomfortable with. My hope would be if they could meet this person as an individual, face to face, they would open up their mind. If these attempts did not work, I would have to let the person know that the person will not be let go due to their sexual orientation. I would leave it open at that point, it would be up to the parent to find other arrangements.

I want to take a moment to thank all of my colleagues who have been with me through this journey. It is hard to believe that we are all branching off into our specializations. I don't think this really hit me until I started thinking about writing this blog. There are many of us who will not be in the remainder of the courses together. I will miss the support that each and everyone of you have given me. Some of my colleagues have been in most of my courses and some have shared in only one or two, but everyone has been so supportive. I hope to stay in touch with many of you as you go through the rest of your journey. I wish you all the best.

Adjourning Phase of Groups

The adjourning part of the group is the last step of a group. This is the time when things have come to an end and it is time to move on. In most cases, I have always felt the adjourning part awkward. Sometimes, I am relieved to be done and other times it is difficult and I just want the adjournment to be over.

There are many groups I have belonged to over the years. In my undergrad classes, there were several times that I participated in group projects. Sometimes, I felt sad to see it come to an end. The aspects that made it hard were the times that I formed a friendship with one or more members. I found the more productive the group was, the harder it was to say goodbye. When I was in a low performing group, it was a relief to adjourn.

Another group that comes to mind is when my children were younger and I was in the group of moms from my children's classrooms. I was involved in parties, going on field trips, and volunteering. Each year, we had to adjourn and I knew that I would not be part of this group again. The group would change. I got to know these moms and it was always difficult to adjourn. Sometimes, the goodbyes are awkward for me, so I do them quickly. Looking back now, it may have been a good idea to recognize the adjournment and go out to lunch and talk about our accomplishments and what we could have done differently. This would have helped each of us for the next year, whether we were working with the same people or not.

Soon, I will have to adjourn from my group of colleagues that I have worked with during my master's degree program. There are many colleagues who I feel close to and have been in most of the classes with. Although, we will no longer be colleagues, I imagine that I will correspond with several of my colleagues. I imagine this will be on facebook or through email.

I think adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork so your group can discuss the successes and also the challenges. This makes way for growth.

Conflict Resolution

This week, I have been learning about conflict resolution. I am applying what I have been learning. One strategy that I am applying is nonviolent communication. This week, I have focused on trying to be aware of what I am feeling and the other person is feeling and not judging the other person or the subject of the argument. When I am focusing on feelings, this helps to calm the conversation. I believe this has been effective because I can show compassion and this makes the other person less defensive.

Another strategy is becoming aware of verbal aggressions. I have tried to focus on the issue and not the individual. It is easy to get into a heated conflict and start name calling or bringing up things from the past. But when I have redirected my focus to the issue, this has kept the tone calmer.

Communication, Who Am I?

This week, my husband and my son evaluated how they perceive me as a communicator. The one thing that surprised me the most is that my husband thought that I rarely like to speak out in small groups. The opposite is true, I frequently and almost always enjoy speaking in small groups. I do not like to speak in public, but when he took the assessment, he placed my anxiety about small groups and large groups as one.

I have gained many insights about communication this week. One insight is the concept of self-disclosure. This self-disclosure must be something that you reveal about yourself that is of great importance. This is important to remember in both my professionand work and personal life. When someone is self disclosing information to you this may be a way for that person to reveal something about themselves in exchange for reassurance or comfort. The person is attempting to trust you by revealing private details to you. This is the first step in building a relationship.

The other insight that I gained this week was the concept of sensitivity levels. This describes how well someone takes feedback. The person may become defensive, ignore, or become receptive to the feedback. This is important to remember in my professional life, because there are times when people in the early childhood field try to change certain aspects of a child's behavior. The child may ignore the adult and the adult may think the child is being rude, but the reality is that the child may have a low sensitivity level to feedback.

Communicating With Others

I have learned a great deal about communication in the past few weeks. I do find myself communicating differently with different groups and cultures.I talk to children in a different way than I talk to adults. I talk softer and my proximity is often closer. I also find myself talking differently based on the educational level of the person. If the person is not speaking proper English and using slang, I tend to stay away from bigger words. Also, I am more passive if I am communicating with someone who has political and ethical viewpoints different than my own. When I meet someone of a different culture, my communication changes and I am more cautious until I get to know them, so I do not offend them.

Three strategies I could use to help me communicate more effectively with diverse groups:

1. Never assume that others are different or similar to you. Get to know the person when you are communicating.

2. Have as much knowledge about other cultures so you can communicate appropriately.

3. Ask questions of the people you are communicating with, so you can better understand them and know how to communicate better with them.

Observing Non-Verbal Behavior

This week's assignment was to watch a television show that I do not normally watch. I chose the Big Bang Theory, because I have never seen this before and I had no idea what it was about. The first part of the assignment was to watch it without sound and the second part of the assignment was to watch it with sound.

Without Sound

There are four male actors and one female actress. I assume they are all friends. I am not sure of the female relationship, she seems irritated with them, but towards the end she is lying in bed with one of the males and holding hands and talking, so I now realize that this may be his girlfriend.

The first scene is in a restaurant with the 4 males. One of them is laughing and smiling, and moves his fingers a lot. He looks like a goofball-a jokester. Another one looks very serious. He never smiles and has an irritated look on his face. There seems to be a lot of confusion because then one guy runs out of the restaurant and two of the men look confused. In the next scene, two of the men are in a house with the female character. One man is standing and the other one is sitting next to one of the men. She looks annoyed and looks like she does not want to be there by her facial expressions. There is a scene in the car and one of the men is staring straight ahead and looks mad. He glares at the man driving the car. There are a few more scenes and they all just look puzzled. In one scene, the female is in the laundry room with one of the men and her arms are crossed while he is showing her something on a computer. She does not smile and looks mad and she walks over and turns on the lights. The final scene shows one of the men and the female on the couch with blankets around them sipping on soup. I assume they are sick and two of the men are in a hotel room so I assume they all were supposed to go and the two got sick and could not go or the two were going in their place.

With Sound

One of the men is happy that I thought was happy, and the one who looked upset is upset. One has a girlfriend, the other doesn’t. The discussion they are having is about where one is taking his girlfriend for Valentine’s Day. The one who is so happy, I thought was a goofball but he is just happy about his girlfriend.  I had no idea that the female was the girlfriend of one of the male characters. I thought they may be roommates and she did not really like him. The one male and the other male are best friends. The power point that is shown in the laundry room is why he should go on vacation with his best friend vs. the girlfriend going. At the end, the best friend and girlfriend of the man are both sick so he takes his other friend.

I learned that you can tell a great deal from non-verbal cues. I could tell the way people were feeling by the cues they were giving. The lesson learned is to be aware of my own non-verbal cues. I was not sure what to expect when I first read this assignment. I was surprised to see how hard it is to figure out the relationships between the characters based on non-verbal behavior.

If this were a show that I knew well, I would already know the relationships between the characters and the storyline, so it would be easier to be correct when watching the television show without sound. I have watched shows without sound, while I am on the computer or talking on the phone.  I can pretty much tell what is going on by just glancing up and every so often I unmute the show.

Competent Communication

Who do I know that is a competent communicator? The first person that comes to my mind is my sister, Tobi.

I have always been envious of her communication skills. She seems to know exactly what to say at the right moment. She is a great listener, because she has a calm and caring voice and makes you feel like your problems are important to her. She empathizes, but because of the relational context of  our sibling relationship, she also is honest about what she feels. I think she can say more to me, because I am her sister and although I may get mad because of the honesty, it ends up being okay. She always seems interested in what I have to say.

Also, when I was getting ready for an interview for a job, I called her to ask for her advice. She told me about questions that were asked of her and how she responded. I was so impressed, because I never can think of responses that quickly.

One of the communication behaviors, I would love to model after her, would be to communicate better in expressing my feelings. Also, to be a more active listener, sometimes when someone is talking and they talk for too long, I become distracted and do not really want to continue listening. 

Professional Hopes and Goals

This is my last blog post for the course, Perspectives on Diversity and Equity.



One hope that I have when working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is to learn as much as I can about their diversities, while showing compassion.



One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice would be for each person in the field to do everything possible to make the world more equitable and socially just. We can do this through education and also through learning more about diversity in the world. 



I would like to say thank you to my colleagues. I have learned so much from reading the discussion posts and the blogs. The most important thing that I will take away from this course in regards to my colleagues is the experiences that they have gone through. I have learned so much from these experiences. My colleagues come from diverse backgrounds and I thank each and every one of you for sharing private parts of your lives and your experiences with me. I wish you the best of luck in your future courses and careers.

I also want to thank Dr. Morgan for all of his insight and information he has provided for me. I have a much deeper understanding of myself, my bias's, and diversity because of you. I enjoyed your questions on the discussions because it really gave me time to challenge myself and reflect about my feelings and thoughts. Thank you.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

If a family from another country were to come to an early childhood classroom that I worked in, I would want them to feel as welcomed as any other family that has a child in the classroom. So I imagine... what if a family just moved here from Iceland, how would I make them feel welcome? How could I prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards the family?

Five ways in which I would prepare myself:

1. I would read as much as I could about the cultures of Iceland.

2. I would begin making contacts with teachers in Iceland to understand what the early childhood education is like in Iceland.

3. I would send a getting to know you questionare and I would meet with them to get to know the family better. I will make every effort to express to this family that I may not know everything about their culture, so if they find that the classroom or staff are missing an important point, to let me know.

4. I would ask the family to spend a day in the classroom with their child. After, I would initiate a conversation in which they compare our classroom to the one that they are used to in Iceland. This will help me to understand areas about their culture that are different than the culture in our classroom.

5. I could talk to other centers and schools in the United States that have children from Iceland to find out what ways worked for them.

I hope that these preparations will benefit the family and make them feel welcome. If I understand more about their culture, I can be more respectful of their culture. The preparations will help me because the child will have a smoother transition.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression



Unfortunately, prejudice still occurs on a daily basis. I recall a parent sharing a story with me about her son who is black, who was called racial names during school. This was very upsetting to the child. This child and other children who go to school and are victims of racism do not have the same equity in their education, as other children who do not have to deal with racism. The child has to go to school in fear that they will be called names or even worse, harmed due to their race.

I get angry when I hear of these incidents. It reminds me of times when I was picked on for being Jewish.
When this occurs in a school setting and the administrators find out about the incident, it is a good teaching moment. This incident can be turned into not only a teaching moment, but an opportunity to find ways to make school more equitable for all races. When incidents like this occur, it helps to open up the doors of communication and hopefully then, change will come.