Week 8 : Maraming Salamat Po sa Inyong Lahat (Thank you very much to all of you)

As an educator we always plan ahead and think about the things we can do to help our children learn things about themselves and things around them.  This course has given us a the importance of anti-bias setting and the implementation of programs that promotes equity and diversity no matter who you are or where you came from. It has given us tools or strategies to use to create an anti-bias setting and programs that will help children speak up for themselves, be proud of who they are and do something to eliminate stereotype or biases.  For us it is all about our families and our children which is a very good thing, then I stopped and started asking myself, what else is there to write about the lessons learned from this course? As I reflect upon the things we do for others, something came up and thought about myself as an educator. I remember that I should do something about myself first before I can help others. It is true that we have to know ourselves better, understand our own responses to children and families I worked with.  I need to learn about my own biases and make some changes on the way I perceived families and children. I have to be open minded and learn how to respect and accept other cultures that are different than mine and only then that I can create an anti-bias education.  It also takes a lot of passion and commitment to create it.

Now that this course is about to end, I am hoping that we continue to reflect on the things we do for our children and families and it is my strong hope that we do not forget what we learned here on this course. Giving our families and children an opportunity to share who they are and work together  for the benefit of our children. I hope we continue to seek learning about ourselves as well as about the children and families we serve and learn how to deal with them in many different settings.

I would like to thank you all for your contribution in making this course very educating and interesting. Your discussion post and remarks or comments on our discussion board and blogs inspired me to keep on going and finished this course with you. I am really grateful to have met you and the bonds we share is like friendship in reality-supporting each other and working together even if we do not see each other  in actuality. I wish you all good luck and hope you will have a happy holidays to come.

To Tammy, thank you too for all your responses to our discussion board and your positive comments on our grade book. Your encouraging remarks made a lot of difference. You also kept us from going and going until the end of this course. I wish you good luck and hope you continue to inspire more educators to pursue their quest for higher education.

To all of you, Maraming Salamat Po (Thank you very much)!

Blog Assignment: Impacts on Early Emotional Development

I had chosen the East Asia and the Pacific because I would like to learn more about the current events that is affecting the families and children in this region.  My roots came from the Philippines and whatever happens in this part of the world greatly affects my family and the country I grew up in general. I have never been concern in a wide scope before and this course had opened my mind to a lot of things most especially – awareness on how social issues such as poverty, war, terrorism, abuse, calamities and other challenges the family faces could impact the child’s well-being and development .

The challenges that children in this region faces is the child protection because there is not enough law or implementation of the law that protects children. The challenges children in this region faces were the use of children in armed conflict, the sale of children and child prostitution and child pornography. I felt like children were treated as shields and commodities and not as human beings worthy of respect and love.

These experiences will have a lasting effect on children’s social and emotional development as well as the totality of his or her whole development. I could not imagine the pain and suffering for both the families and children experienced being taken away and never knowing where you are going and what are they going to use the children for.  Nurturing parenting is first and foremost a philosophy that emphasizes the importance of raising children in a warm and trusting environment. I believe that children who are cared for can learn to care for him or himself and can transfer their caring for others and to the environment.  What they are given is what they will give. To nurture is to promote the growth and development of all positive traits, qualities and characteristics. So how can these children develop into good and positive children if they did not learn how?

It is really saddening to hear that this is still happening on this part of the region or probably all around the world.  New technologies continue to improve, developments in land and construction are expanding and commercialization of a lot of merchandise continues to grow, everything focuses on financial growth of each person or country but there is one important growth we have forgotten in our lives- the value of human life and well-being especially our children.

Having learned about the issues and challenges facing the future of our children, I felt committed to do something to advocate for children’s and family’s rights.  I will start by keeping myself updated on what is happening around the children in my care, their families, then my community, my country and the whole world and see what I can do to help protect our children’s rights.  

The UNICEF has done a great job in advocating for the rights of children, although they are faced with lots of challenges, the steps they do such as informing the world- they are here and something has to be done to protect these children is already a big contribution in preventing if not totally eliminate the use of children in harm’s way.  

Child protection is among our highest priorities in the region. When they are given the best start in life, children grow up to be healthy and well-adjusted, both intellectually and socially (UNICEF).

Reference:

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/eastasia.html

Blog Assignment: The Sexualization of Early Childhood

I never thought about the sexualization in early childhood until we studied about this topic. I thought I am just getting older and the conservative views I have was influenced by the culture I came from. I am really concerned about the influences of  media and other types of communication including social networking because I do not have a control anymore on what my children can and cannot view or listen.

In the book excerpt, So sexy, so soon, made me confirm - it is not only me who has a problem with the messages that our children receive but the focus on commercialization rather than education of media has taught our children to focus more on the superficial side of their identities rather than the deeper understanding of who they really are. It is really saddening to see that the values and morals of our children were no longer the most important thing in raising our children but rather how their looks or what they have can make them survive life in the future.

Television, computer and technology and print media greatly influence the lives of our children. I was surprise to see it on children’s shows and cartoon movie. I was so naïve and thought that everything that is in a form of cartoon or anime is considered appropriate for children. This also includes the television station such as Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network- all stations attract young viewers. I was watching the other day with my children and I cannot help but wonder what the story is about and I wonder how it going to end. As I was watching, I cannot help but make a comment about the show. I was thinking to myself, is it me who has a problem in understanding the words or the story or it there is really no story at all? When the show was done, I told me children, it seemed like there it does not make any sense. I did not know what happened. My daughter said, “it is how it is mom…that is why it is funny and more kids are watching it because it does not make any sense”. I cannot help myself but say: “What?” Another example is the social networking which nobody has control off. Whatever people post or whatever the other person related to, whether it concerns you or not can reach to our children. It is really difficult to scan and filter every messages or pictures that come out of that site. Some may be informative, some are very helpful in expressing what we feel inside and to some simply destructive. The third example is the music that were being played on the radio, you tube and other computer site. Some artist make music whose beats are really good and catchy to the ear and attracts more people to listen to it and even dance to the beat of it. I even catch myself dancing to the beat and when I ask my daughter to teach me the lyrics of the song, I cannot helped but be amazed how the messages of sex, violence and inappropriate words are being taught and delivered to our children. 

If everyone in these businesses thinks about how they can benefit from these markets-our children, I would say that our children’s future will be dark and scary. Our children will lose their sense of connection to their families and to the people who cares about them. They will merely rely on the material things that connect to them every day and lose their relationship to real people who care for them. Their foundation will be weak because the roots where no longer there.

I believe we can no longer stop the development or the progress of every country in the world but these changes should work for the benefit of our children and families rather than against it. Parents and  educators should work together to improve and strengthen our relationship with our children within our home so that when they go out, no matter what change they face, they know they have a family who cares about them and who will always be there to strengthen and support them. I consider the family and the school greatly influenced our child that is why it is very important to build a positive, strong and trusting relationship with our children.

My awareness of the topic of sexualization during this week’s lesson has made me realized I am doing the right thing of supervising my children when they watch television or videos and guiding them in choosing a show or movie that will send positive messages and be appropriate for their age – shows which are educational and which promotes good moral values and character to my children.