Creating Art

I am young, and she is old.
I see the beauty in it now.

I have brown skin, and she has black skin.
I see the beauty in it now.

I am short, and he is tall.
I see the beauty in it now.

I am a professional, and he is a custodian
I see the beauty in it now.

I am Christian, but she is a Muslim.
I see the beauty in it now.

She has a mom and a dad, but he just has a mom.
I see the beauty in it now.

I am right handed, and you are left handed.
I see the beauty in it now.

You are different, and so am I!
I can have started to see diversity now.

Start Seeing Diversity: "We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

My five year old son says all sorts of things all the time! I never know what he will say, and I never know when he will say it. It is hard as a parent to teach him not to say these things because he will go to school sharing them. At the same time, I can censor what my son says, but he also comes home with new words or sayings that were inappropriately said by his friends. As an educator and parent, I will do my best to make sure to teach my children and students to be unbiased. “If we want children to thrive in a diverse world, and choose to stand up for themselves and others, then we must choose to help young children make sense out of the confusing and often emotionally charged messages they receive about themselves and other” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 87).

Recently, my son pointed out in public that one family was black and white. He was so confused and said that this man was could not be this girl’s father because he was a different color. He mentioned that his friend Kaitlyn is Black, but her brother and parents are also Black. I was so embarrassed, and I do not know who heard because I immediately grabbed him and walked away. I can only hope that the family did not hear since they did not stop me and give me an ear full of their opinions. I told my son that everyone’s family is different. I said that families can come in all different colors, and he just said ok. He was content with my answer. He still notices what color people are, but since that day he has not verbally said anything.

I think I did a great job of answering my son in an anti-biased way. If he were older, I could have elaborated more about the many types of different families like blended, single-parent, and guardians, etc. If this occurred in my classroom, I could have read books or used puppets to talk about diversity like seen in, “Start Seeing Diversity: Physical Ability and Characteristics” (Laureate Education a, 2011). One teacher in, “Start Seeing Diversity: Race/Ethnicity,” used photographs of people of different colors to teach about diversity (Laureate Education b, 2011). We have learned a variety of ways to teach in an anti-bias way, and I really plan to implement newfound knowledge starting with my own children.

References:

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

Laureate Education a, Inc.. (Producer). (2011). EDUC 6357: Diversity, Development, and Learning. [Video]. In Start Seeing Diversity: Physical Ability and Characteristics. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6060948&Survey=1&47=7996221&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Laureate Education b, Inc.. (Producer). (2011). EDUC 6357: Diversity, Development, and Learning. [Video]. In Start Seeing Diversity: Race/Ethnicity. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6060948&Survey=1&47=7996221&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

This week we were asked to share our thoughts with our colleagues on at least two of the questions posted.

1.)Share some of the ways you noticed that homophobia and heterosexism permeate the world of young children including books, movies, toys, stores, culture of early childhood centers, and schools.

As I look around, I can see that toys and movies focus on heterosexism today. Nearly every little girl has a Barbie and Ken. Most girls even begin to fantasize about meeting a real Ken one day. The summer movie hit “Toy Story Three” included this Barbie and Ken scenario in their script recently. Today children also look in their classrooms and see posters of two parents including one male and one female, so children begin to assume that this is what is right (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). I have to personally set aside my opinions towards homophobia and expose children to all types of families because what they see through mass media is not what they may be getting around them in reality. The classic picture of a nuclear family is quickly fading, and it is being replaced with a blended, single, or homosexual families.

2.)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.

I decided to answer this question because I one day hope to be a Principal, so this is a situation I will without a doubt encounter. I would first start off by telling this parent that we need to step back and examine the bigger picture. The bigger picture is that my teacher is very qualified to teach thus why she was hired here. I may not agree with her lifestyle choices, but her heart has not changed and her passion and experience in teaching still remain. I need to bring to the parent’s attention that it is not the teacher she has a problem with, but it is her own personal bias she needs to work on. It is ok to not agree with her lifestyle choices, but she needs to learn to accept that we are all different. I would go one step further to say that this teacher’s homosexuality does not interfere with the children’s education, and I would gladly connect this unhappy parent with former happy parents to tell her how pleased they were with having her. I would also offer to have this parent back in my office again to really sit down and dig deeper to find out why this situation bothers her as well as offer resources to help her work through her personal bias. If we want our children to thrive in this diverse world, then we first need to expose them to it first, and we may have to help some adults unlearn their biases as well (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).

Reference:

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

Good-bye EDUC 6165

I honestly cannot believe that another eight weeks have past again! On top of that, I cannot fathom that we are three classes away from graduation! I want to take a moment to thank each one of you in my group for taking the time to read through my blogs and discussions each week. I was challenged by my colleagues to dig deeper for answers, and I have been verbally supported by each of you each week. I have no doubt that most of our paths will cross again in our future courses. If you wish to keep in touch, you should find me on facebook! I am on their every day. Until we meet at Graduation, good luck and thank you!

Communication In Action (Week 6)

According to O’Hair & Wiemann (2009), there are five stages of team development which consist of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. The last stage can be difficult for many. As a military spouse, I have had to say good-bye to my husband too many times. As an educator, I say good-bye to colleagues, families, and students yearly and sometimes more than that.

I do not think high-performing groups are hard to leave because the journey is truly just beginning. I have said good-bye to my fellow classmates every two months, but I have reconnected with many of them throughout our master’s program. Graduation is closely approaching, and this adjournment is going to be bittersweet. We will be saying good-bye to each other, but the doors to our future are about to open so much wider! High performing groups like our class seem easier to adjourn.

I find that the hardest groups to leave consist of ones that seem like family. After living with my college roommates for so long, it was so hard for me to say good-bye. We all still keep in touch, but my heart truly ached unlike when I say good-bye to my classmates. I find it is harder to adjourn with groups whom I intimately know or have known for a long period of time.

Every group that I have been a part of has had some sort of closing ritual. In our classroom, we say good-bye to each other via our blog accounts. As a military wife, I say good-bye with tears, kisses, and hugs. As an educator, I say good-bye with a hug and a big smile. Most people typically adjourn with a celebratory dinner or just a simple thank-you and good-bye (O’Hair & Weimann, 2009).

Adjourning is an essential part of teamwork because it means that our work is done, and it is clearly time to move on. It is necessary because it is a time to reflect on our accomplishments as well as failures (O’Hair & Weimann, 2009). I like to think of it on a positive note which is that I rather leave while things are still good, but every good thing must come to an end.

Reference:

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Communication in Action (Week 5)

            This week we were asked to share a personal conflict we are having with someone that involves communication.  Then we were asked to reflect on how we could solve this problem based on some newfound knowledge we have learned in our course recently. 

I have really been struggling communicating with my son’s Kindergarten teacher.  A lot of parents are unhappy with how she is handling a few things.   His teacher sends home apples with students if they behaved during the day.  The entire first week of school went by, and my son did not bring home one apple.  I emailed her the following week only to find out that my son had a horrible week and, she literally had nothing good to say about him.  I was angry that she did not even let me know that he was having problems, and I was disappointed that she could not think of one good thing to say about him.  I am a firm believer that when I communicate with parents about a problem I am having, I must share something positive first.  She also sends out emails about twice a week if our student has not mastered a topic.  Our students are about to be assessed, and I have tried to seek guidance from her.  She simply told me to just go look at the standards online.  There is no way that she is going to test over all of them at one time, thus why I was seeking a short list.  I have confided in many parents, and they are also upset with the emails they are getting.  If so many of us are receiving them, then she needs to go back and re-teach!  Overall, the teacher is not slowing down and it seems like she is sticking to her agenda and not the children’s. 

Our course in communication has really taught me a lot of new knowledge and tips that could help me mend my problem.  One solution is to change the power dynamic.  I feel that his teacher is on a power trip thus why she is refusing to listen to parents because she feels that only she knows what is best.  I know the Principal well because we use to go to church together, so I have been considering setting up a conference with her and my son’s teacher.  Sometimes, we do have to seek higher authority.  I just do not want this to backfire and my son suffer because of it.  Another solution is to simply compromise which is what I have been doing.  I understand that she is my son’s teacher, so I am spending a lot of extra time at home tutoring him over everything that he is bringing home as well as rewarding him often for good behavior.  I do believe it is my job as a parent to reinforce what is happening at school.   

I would love to hear what my fellow professional colleagues have to say as well as parents!  Should I compromise and continue to do what I am doing, or should I go one step above the teacher and seek counsel from the Principal?

Who Am I As A Communicator? (Week 4)

     The three tests that we took this week that measured communication anxiety, verbal aggressiveness, and listening styles were really beneficial!  I scored a 36 in anxiety which seems like a good balance, and I scored a 77 in verbal aggressiveness.  I ended up in group one which is people-oriented in my listening style. 
     The one thing that surprised me the most was that the two people who measured me in these areas were so similar!  I was really anticipating some differences.  My closest friend had the same score as me in anxiety and listening, while my husband was just a few points off of my score in verbal.  The similarity really surprised me because I expected that I was going to be more critical of myself as a communicator when in reality I was right on target. 
     I did learn this week that I need to work on my verbal aggression.  I had no idea that I was aggressive until I took this test, and I was stunned when I saw my score!  I can specifically recall two events this week when I did resort to personal attacks, and I really can't recall if I said anything hurtful.  Since I am an educator, I am really going to work hard on biting my tongue because next time this incident could involve a small child.
     Since my scores were nearly identical among all three tests, I turned to facebook to poll my friends.  I asked them what they thought of me as a communicator as well as to share any weaknesses or strengths.  I was really shocked that only a few responded.   I think this could have been because they did not want to hurt my feelings.  Anyhow, the ones that responded shared that I am very direct, informative, and I am not afraid to share anything. This could be similar to my verbal aggression.  They continued to say that I am a really good listener which coincides with me being people-oriented.  Overall, everything that was said directly reflected my scores!