Impacts on Early Emotional Development

This course has really brought out the inner feelings that I have hidden when it comes to certain biases, but it has also given me a cure to overcoming them. This is my hope for the future, to continue to overcome the challenges that I will face regarding biases. I have learned that although I may not agree with their views or decisions, I must still respect their children and families. This past school term, I was encountered with a same-sex family, but this did not stop me from treating the child like all the others, nor did it hinder me from teaching their child to the best of my ability.

The hope that I have for my families, both current and future, are that they see that I am an anti-bias teacher who loves to work with children no matter their race, abilities, or family structures, I will always be there for them to ensure that they receive the education, attention, love, and care needed to have a successful year. In order for the child to succeed, the family must also be in a position to help them succeed. So not only will the child be my priority, but the family as a whole.

I will like to thank my cohorts for all the encouraging words as well as the criticisms, because they have helped me to see ideas from different perspectives of life. So again, thank you and I wish you all the best in the LAST course of this program!!! WE DID IT:) 

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area of the world that I chose is East and Southern Africa, with the focus on the country of Ethiopia. From the home page of the region site, various countries are experiencing various crisis such as Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia, and others. But there are many people around the world working to help them make the most of the unfortunate situations and circumstances. Ethiopia has a huge problem with malnutrition and undernutrition in their children. Although they have managed to get the percentage down, there is still a lot of work to be done. 

When children are malnutrition and undernutrition, it not only causes problems with health, but with cognitive and developmental stages. Health in Ethiopia is detrimental. The UNICEF Ethiopia's website makes a statement that says "we say NO to lack of access to healthcare; water, sanitation, and hygiene; and basic nutrition (UNICEF, 2011). It also says we say ENOUGH to children at risk of death in the first 28 days of their lives (UNICEF, 2011). These two statements alone explain the circumstances of children in Ethiopia who suffer from malnutrition and also the extent of its effects on children. 

Reading about the circumstances that affect the children of Ethiopia and the hardships that they endure makes me help children that I encounter both in my professional life as well as personal. There are children right here in my very own region and town that are dealing with food scarcity; and reading about the severity in Ethiopia as well as other countries in the region opens my eyes to the importance of helping others, especially when there are children involved.



Reference
UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The information provided in the article was not so much of a shocker to me because as a head start teacher I have witnessed some of these examples. Children making remarks and dancing in perogative ways is something that parents find joy in. Instead of redirecting them to put that energy into sports, they instead promote them by laughing and encouraging them. At school on the playground, I have witnessed children dancing on the swing poles as well as on boys thinking that it is cute and the thing to do. When I witness such activity, I immediately stop the children and tell them that this is not appropriate and little boys and little girls do not behave in this way. I explain to them that they can remain friends, just not dance together, but instead play together.

When you google "twerking" and other grown-up things on the internet, videos including children pop-up as well. In order for children to behave in this manner, they have to get the behavior from somewhere and it comes from mainstream. Children are on youtube just as much as adults are these days watching and learning from various videos. Girls think that because mom twerks it is okay. Boys think that it is cool to dance with girls and call them all kind of names because their "daddy" does so. 

In order for children to be successful, we have to build partnerships with our parents and guardians so that we can keep the children active in the right things and not just watching television and other electronics all day. It is okay to engage in some electronics but we must monitor them more and push more academics instead. 

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

In my professional life as an educator I have experienced ageism. Ageism is discrimination against a certain age group and in this particular setting it was millennials. I am the lead teacher in the three year old classroom and I have a teacher assistant who is in her mid thirties. Before the parents come to me, they will first approach my assistant. When there is a problem, they will go to my assistant before coming to me. I believe this has a lot to do with her years of being at head start but most importantly her age. 

I will admit, yes I can be a little shy and this is something that I am working more on each and everyday I step foot into that classroom; but even if I wasn't such a laid back teacher I believe that they still would approach Mrs. Pinkney before they approach me. There are already request for children to be in her class and as I forestated I believe this is due to the longevity of being on the job as well as her age. 

Older adults seem to believe that anyone under 30 can not do the job as well as someone who is 30 and older so they cling to the one that is older. I have been a head start teacher for two years now and experiencing ageism has showed me that being bias hurts and leaves a huge impact on the victim. It makes you feel that you are not good enough although you have put in much time and effort to get where you are. This is why I practice being anti-bias daily. Not only professionally but personally as well.