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.   

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

We talked about the -isms each of us experienced in our lives and most of the time it is caused by the people outside of your group. There are situations wherein you also experienced -isms form the same group you belong. This experience is quite painful because you will think that "same feather flock together". We learned about prejudice, stereotype and discrimination which is caused by people who believe that they are better than the others. Other behavioral problems such as pride,  greed, selfishness and enviousness also caused people to treat other people differently. 

I have notice the most common negative trait of the people in my culture were making fun of people who speak differently  such as strong accents, wrong grammar and inability to speak up or reason out.  I traced back and realized that this hidden biases came from our experiences we had when we were little. Some challenged themselves to be better and some just refuse to speak or exclude themselves from a group. I would like to share with you the experienced I had growing up in a school environment.  To some of you it may sound unthinkable but to the culture where I belong, this is really happening.

I experienced being corrected and laughed at all the time when I speak the English language because of the accent and my grammar. I would say most of the people who belong to my culture experienced this because of the way we are taught in school. Teachers in our school were very particular about the way we speak, and the way we write especially our spelling and grammar. I remember when I was little and my  teacher called me to recite a poem and I could not remember anything. Sometimes I could not pronounce the word right and I was laughed at and was asked to stand for the whole time. My teacher even  told the whole class:" this happened because she did not study her lessons". 

 The impact of educators in the lives of the children is really important. Children absorb stereotypes and attitudes about other ethnic and cultural groups from their family and larger society. These biases are easily absorbed because very  young children lack accurate information about the lives of other people (Derman-Sparks & Edward-Olsen, 2010). To the children who had experienced the same way I did, I am hoping they will be inspired to do better and be challenged to reach their full potentials and to those whose spirit was crushed, I wish them great things in life.

 I would say I am fortunate to have great support of my family and the communities which helped me become the person I am today.  It has affected me in my professional practice because this experienced made me see the importance of  family support and the continuity of this support in school and communities.  I have seen the importance of my role as an educator and opened my mind to the reality that -isms is still happening in our society and there is something we can do to lessen or eliminate it by reaching out and offering  my help to the children who uncomfortable and excluded. Making sure that they are treated fairly and valued so they can feel good about themselves and appreciate others as well.

Reference:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Blog Assignment: Observing Communication

A grandmother was sitting at a restaurant with her grandchild waiting for their food. The child seems very happy and excited. Her grandmother was hugging and kissing her. The little girl looked at her grandma's face and pointed to her lips and then her hat. The grandmother asked her what does she wants. The little girl said she like the same as grandma. The grandmother  pointed to her lips and said : "like this", the child nodded. The grandmother looked inside her bag and took her lipstick out. The little girl's eyes got bigger and begun to clap her hands. Her grandmother applied the lipstick  on her and gave her a small mirror. She also took off her hat and gave it to her grandchild to wear. She asked her why she wanted it, The grandchild said wanted to be like her. The grandmother laughed and said that she was even prettier than her. The child said again: "just like you grandma. I look pretty". The grandma smiled and gave her a hug and kisses. Her grandmother took out her camera and took a picture of her. The child asked her grandma to wait and made a pretty pose. Her grandma asked her to seat properly and not to cover her knees. The child said I have to cover this (pointing at her scar), grandma laughed again and the child giggled. The child made a thumb up sign and grandmother smiled and took a picture of her.

I seldom see situation like this wherein an elder get along this close with young children especially in my culture. Usually children has to sit still and quietly on the table and wait until your grandma or grandpa talked to you. In this situation, I learned the importance of listening and looking at non-verbal cues from the people you are communicating with and because of this a positive relationship has been formed. The grandmother allowed her grandchild to have her lipstick and dug deeper into finding the reason why she wanted it and in return the child unknowingly complimented her grandmother by telling her how much she wanted to look like her. The child was able to express herself and appreciate her grandmother by showing how happy she was with her. At the same time the grandmother gave the child the opportunity to be who she wanted to be at that moment and be proud of her own self.  

I would say that the grandmother did a wonderful job in communicating with her grandchild. She listened and was very supportive of her. She opened herself to the idea of what her grandchild wanted to do instead of discouraging or ignoring her request.  As what Holbeck said :"children communicate, really , all different ways and use their bodies so much that if you're sensitive, you can really pick up cues about how to communicate. Just like her grandmother did.

This week lessons taught me how to look more deeper into what children has to say and what verbal and non-verbal cues they have to get to know them better. I will try to acknowledge what they have to say and not just listen for the sake of being listening but to understand the message and the reason behind the things they do. I will also put myself in their shoes and allow myself to be a kid again and have fun with them every day.

Reference:  

http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/Walden/EDUC/6358/03/downloads/WAL_EDUC6358_03_A_EN.pdf

Creating an Affirming Environment

I was a former child care home provider and back then I know nothing about anti-bias education, all I know is I wanted my families to know how appreciate and value them as well as share my own culture to them. When I read the Anti-bias education in a family child care home and watched Adrianna's video about her anti-bias environment, it brought back wonderful memories and affirmed that I have that kind of an environment which I never knew. I felt good knowing that I did a good job in setting up my environment as well as building positive relationship with my families.

Just like BJ Richards, I tried to unlearn the biases I have while instilling anti-bias values in the children I care.  When I was starting I have this feeling of getting intimidated by families from other race and ethnicity not because I felt I am superior  than them but the feeling of inferiority that they are better people than me. Being a person from a different culture, I have this feeling of being on the oppressed side because I cannot speak the English language well but as I get to know the families well, I built a sense of pride knowing that I did a good job in providing positive and nurturing environment for their children. Now that I am in a child care center setting I tried to incorporate the things I have in my environment when I was a home care child provider  and  set up my environment  the same way or even better - representing different family structures and cultures using the resources or materials I have in my classroom today.

My welcome board includes The pictures of the teachers in my room as well as their cultural background and experiences. It also includes policies and procedure of our organization, daily routine schedule, weekly planning base on children's observation and children's individual needs, menu which varies every week and everyday food reflecting different cultures. A poster of the USDA is also displayed sending the message to the families that everyone is entitled to a nutritional food no matter what race, color, ethnicity, religion , gender you are.

I have a family board which represents the different families we have. They are encourage to bring photos of their family and I let my children talk about their families. If they cannot bring their pictures, I ask permission to take their photo with their children. This is a good way of showing our families that I welcome and appreciate them. I also encourage families to share their culture to us by bringing some things from their home that represent their families , just like Adrianna, she has her own corner to display it. I also asked them to teach the children how to say good morning or goodbye, thank you and common words they use at home using their language.

In my dramatic area, I have dress up clothes of different cultural background and pictures of the children dress up like them and explaining where and when they wear it. Musical area, I have CD's and tapes about diversity which  use to transition to another area. One of their favorite is the music "The world is a Rainbow which explains how the world is like a rainbow with different people (Different colors). Even if we were different , it makes the world a better place just like the rainbow, it has different colors and when you put them together ,it is a beautiful sight to see. Another way to represent other cultures are the instruments we use. We have some musical instruments used by local Hawaiians, African- Americans, Asians , Hispanic and Americans.

My block area has different toy people representing different races and ethnicity . I also have displays of dolls with wheel chairs, guide dogs and dolls with crutches and canes representing people with different abilities.  My library contains books that are inspiring  and fun to read. I try to provide books that represent multi-cultural background and stories that make children feel good about themselves and be proud of who they are. I also display pictures of different military branches representing which branch of service their mom , dad or their families are from. In manipulative area, I have puzzles with pictures of people depicting different family structures,  different profession and ethnicity. For art and writing area, I provide materials such as papers and crayons or colored marker and pencils representing different shades of colors for children to use and express their family and culture. When doing art , I get the idea on how a child see herself and the people around her without having to ask them.  These are just some of the ways I will and have created an affirming environment.

 In my own opinion, no matter how a teacher arrange or fix her environment or what materials she puts in her environment,  it is always the relationship of the teachers, children and families is what matter the most. Showing respect and valuing our families is the most important thing a teacher can do to have a successful program. A program that promotes respect , acceptance of other culture as well as ours , empowering our children to reach their full potential  and having an environment that nurtures children is what I call an anti-bias environment.

Reference:

 Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/Walden/EDUC/6358/02/downloads/WAL_EDUC6358_02_A_EN.pdf

What I Have Learned

This course has taught us a lot about the importance of promoting anti-bias education and diversity  and equity in the classroom. This is an ideal place for children to learn about themselves and others, learn to have value within themselves  and  learn to respect others  but none is more important than learning it from the primary source of information which is their own family. Family is the prime source of information about cultural diversity.   As an educator I would like to help families encourage their children to recognize that there are differences among people and these differences do not make them superior or inferior to others. I hope that our families will continue to teach their children to be proud  of who they are and the culture where they come from  as well as learn to accept and respect other cultures as well

To my colleagues, it is my sincere wish that after we finish this course that we continue to work for the benefit of our children and families towards an equitable and diverse classroom environment . Although we came from different families and cultures- we became one in our goal and our advocacy.  It is sad to end this journey with all of you but I know that there is more journey ahead of us that we need to face.   

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for all your  wonderful comments on our assignments, discussion board and blogs. You made our journey easier, fun and very interesting.  Again, Maraming Salamat Po Sa Inyong Lahat (Thank you very much to all of you)!

Start Seeing Diversity - Abstract Drawing entitled " Ang Buhay sa Mundo" (Our Life on Earth)

I would like to share with you the abstract drawing I made using sharpie and colored pencils. This drawing represents different family structures and racial groups in our society. I used variety of colors to show how colorful and interesting our life here on earth. The colors gray, black and blue around the house represents the challenges and obstacles that affects our family, while the bright colors represents the happiness and joy in our lives.  I also drew some material possessions which may benefit as well as cause problems within the family.

I drew the house using continuous line ending on the door knob signifying that life is affected by the environment and the people around us, whatever happened inside the house can have a significant effect in the society as well. The patches on the wall of the house as well as the tire on top of the roof, the spider and different cracks on the roof represents how families work so hard to make ends meet and how they resolve problems within the family.

The house were surrounded by different groups of people which I colored differently from each other representing different family structure such as blended families, families with special abilities, multiracial and single and the traditional family. The people are connected to each other to show there is unity in diversity. I colored the background from dark to light color showing how other ethnic groups are being discriminated or excluded because of the color of their skin and how other groups were born with hidden privilege. I also drew the sun on the roof as well as the rainbow representing good life and hope for people who believe and work hard to reach their goal.

The other drawings outside of the rainbow represents the nature that provide us with resources which allow us to live on this earth. The mountain, the tree and the flowers represents our food as well as the fish in the sea, the falls on the left which gives us water to drink and the skies and the birds which represents the air we breathe and the leisure or fun things we do in our lives. On the bottom left of the drawing represents the importance of education in our lives. The middle part of the drawing represents the bad choices we make, polluting the sea with trash- this is what sometimes we do with their lives. I also put the spool of thread and the needle, pair of scissors and the glue representing how each of us try to patch our lives to have a better future. No matter what kind of material we use or how we do things to fix things do not matter, for as long as we work together and treat each other with respect- that is what matters.  I included the cross in the bottom of the sea which represents our faith. It is hidden within us and to my culture - the basis of our existence.

I was inspired to do this abstract drawing because this course has given an importance to those people like me - showing how America is working so hard to promote diversity and equity around the world. This course may be a little step towards changing the world's perception on other culture and group of people but if you put the collaborative effort of all the people concerned will make a big leap - reaching the minority as well as the privilege ones.

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

I would like to share my personal experience with you regarding my youngest daughter's response to her classmate who thought I was a gay. I remember hearing my daughter having a casual conversation with her classmate and I can see a very confident little girl in her. Her classmate asked my daughter : " Is your mom a gay?" My daughter said: "Yes, my mom is a gay." Then she started giggling because her classmate looked like she was confused. Upon hearing the comment made by her classmate, I approached my daughter and asked her if she was ok with having a mom like me. I also asked her if she was embarrassed or would she be more proud of me if I dressed up in a nice dress and fancy shoes. She said to me : "Mom, I like you the way you are and I am just having a good time fooling my classmate."  My daughter made me a very proud parent because she is very comfortable with who I am and it seems nothing matters except my love for them.

If I was the parent of the child who made that comment, I do not know how I am going to react but in real situation I would probably be looking at my daughter's eyes and tell her it is not polite to comment or judge people by the way they look. I would cite some examples of people who does not dress-up in skirt or blouse and dresses  to be called a woman. Some woman like to dress up in a way they are comfortable and appropriate for their job. Just like men, there are some men who love to do woman's work and wanted to stay in a home to take care of their children and it does not make them less of a man. With proper guidance and understanding children will be able to identify different gender roles and eliminate the bias perception. Children should also be allowed to express what is inside them, and there is nothing wrong about having other preference. Children need to understand -there is more of a woman than in the needs to know that you do not have to look like woman to be called a woman and same also applies to men.

As an educator , I will encourage a child to speak up to understand what made her to conclude or see a person as a gay or straight. I will also encourage children to learn about gender roles and provide resource materials in the classroom to teach them about groups of people who are different by the way they look  from each other but performs their job/ responsibility just like anyone else.