Homophobic Remarks in the Classroom - Adult to Child:
During my first bout of teaching, I really didn't know what I was doing. I was student teaching so I had the guidance of my cooperating teacher, but other than that, it was definitely trial and error. In my program, I run a preschool in my high school classroom, so I have a number of high school students in the room. It happened to be a day when everything was going smoothly... you know, one of those days where too many things were going "right". This all quickly ended with a simple remark from one of my high school male students.
It was clean-up time, which then means it's circle time. Many of the children were still cleaning up, but this male student and his preschool student were done a bit early so they headed to find a seat in circle. The male student sat down, and the preschool student sat near him, but then got up and walked to sit with someone else. The male high school student, upset by his change of seat said, "Come here, you little faggot."
My jaw dropped. I had never heard such a derogatory term used in front of children. To this day I still wonder if anyone heard his response... I kind of don't think anyone did because not even the other high school students reacted to this (and I know they would have). He did say it under his breath...but I just was not sure. Also, the child seemed to be far enough away that he didn't hear either... But I will never be sure.
However, if this child (and ALL the children) would have heard, this could be highly influential in a most negative way. Children easily pick up on tones and words - especially words that they know they should never say. It also opens children up to stereotypical and heterosexist terms and slang that children should not be exposed to. Even hearing one word can influence children to feel a particular way about certain people.
An area of insight that I gained this week is regarding sexism and the traditional gender roles that many children hold. In the video "Start Seeing Diversity: Gender" the narrator spoke of an activity to perform that I would really like to complete (n.d.). She talks about reading a story without using the pictures... Also, while reading the story, the teacher should switch out the names of the characters with new names that are gender nonspecific, such as "Alex" or "Chris" (n.d.). Then, have the children draw and talk about the characters they envisioned throughout the story. By performing this activity, teachers will be able to see the stereotypical views that the children hold in regards to gender roles.
Personally, I look forward to seeing what my students will show. I feel as though this will also give much insight into who does what in their own family household. By doing this, we could also discuss that even though their moms may do this, and their dads may do that, it's not like that in every household. This will give us a chance to open the conversation of differences among our families and our culture.
References:
Laureate Media, Inc. (n.d.). Start seeing diversity: Gender.
Friday, March 16, 2012
EDUC 6358 - Observing Communication
The observation that I decided to conduct was in a preschool childcare center. In this scenario, the teacher is down on the ground playing legos with a girl student. The student is making a design on the lego board, when the teacher says, "Look! You made a symmetrical pattern! That's when something is the same on both sides!" The student gives a big smile and goes back to her design. She then places some pieces on the left side of the design, and then teacher asks, "Do you know what you would have to do to keep the design symmetrical?" The girl student thinks about it for about three seconds, and then adds the same pieces to the right side of the design. "Look!" she exclaims.
I thought that this example was very much so an example of teachers speaking with children in small groups. By adding dialogue and vocabulary into play, children are easily able to pick up this information simply by thinking about its meaning through play (Dangei & Durden, 2010). I thought that this communication technique was very effective because the child not only learned what "symmetrical" meant, but she also learned how to make a design or picture reach the criteria of being considered symmetrical.
As for the student's sense of worth, I can imagine that this boosted her self-esteem. She knew from the beginning that "symmetrical" was a big word... and not only did she inadvertently make her design symmetrical to begin with, she also used the simple definition provided in order to continue keeping her design this way. After this scenario, she truly beamed with joy and excitement...she even showed several other students.
After reading the resources and performing several observations this week, I have determined that I do believe that I communicate well with children. I oftentimes do add words and concepts to their free play, allow them to convey their thoughts and feelings to me, and give them the opportunity to problem solve through speaking and role playing without providing them with the answers. These are only a few ways in which effective communication skills are utilized, and I now know that there are several more techniques I can use in the classroom.
References:
Rainer Dangei, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74–81. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.
I thought that this example was very much so an example of teachers speaking with children in small groups. By adding dialogue and vocabulary into play, children are easily able to pick up this information simply by thinking about its meaning through play (Dangei & Durden, 2010). I thought that this communication technique was very effective because the child not only learned what "symmetrical" meant, but she also learned how to make a design or picture reach the criteria of being considered symmetrical.
As for the student's sense of worth, I can imagine that this boosted her self-esteem. She knew from the beginning that "symmetrical" was a big word... and not only did she inadvertently make her design symmetrical to begin with, she also used the simple definition provided in order to continue keeping her design this way. After this scenario, she truly beamed with joy and excitement...she even showed several other students.
After reading the resources and performing several observations this week, I have determined that I do believe that I communicate well with children. I oftentimes do add words and concepts to their free play, allow them to convey their thoughts and feelings to me, and give them the opportunity to problem solve through speaking and role playing without providing them with the answers. These are only a few ways in which effective communication skills are utilized, and I now know that there are several more techniques I can use in the classroom.
References:
Rainer Dangei, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74–81. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Creating Affirming Environments
For this exercise, we are to imagine that we are opening a Family Child Care Center. With this center, I will strive to implement an anti-bias setting by using several materials and practices.
Setting:
First, the setting will be very similar to that of Adriana Castillo from our video resource: I loved the idea of having the front porch/walkway as the entryway into the school (Laureate Education, Inc.). Here, there are several areas in which to communicate with parents in order to ensure that they are a “partner” with the program such as the sign-in binder where they provide information about the child and a whiteboard with messages. After coming from the entryway, if a child is having a particularly difficult time separating from the parent, they are to go into the napping or resting area. In this area, they are able to calm down with a staff member until they feel as though they are able to interact with the rest of the group. The resting area also gives the children the opportunity to self-regulate their emotions, especially by the use of the calming environment with pillows, blankets, and a rocking chair. Another area that I would like to have in my center are two large play rooms for the preschoolers and the infant/toddlers. In this room, I would provide many materials that would incorporate anti-bias curriculum (as spoken about in the “Elements” section), as well as a large dramatic play area within each room.
Elements:
According to Derman-Sparks and Edwards, great ways to implement anti-bias materials into your program is using a variety of books, puzzles, dolls, games, and music (2010). With this in mind, I would love to utilize a variety of these materials, especially the use of music and stories. Furthermore, I would love to promote anti-bias theory into my dramatic play area by using several different clothing pieces, play food/dishes, and much more! This would give the children a chance to learn more about others through play, as well as learn from one another in regards to how their own family uses the materials. Last, by using anti-bias materials such as posters and bulletin boards, children will have the opportunity to see children and families from other cultures.
Feelings of Respect:
In order to promote respect and feelings of welcoming, I would incorporate parents as partners. I want to work alongside parents and know about the goings-on of the families, as well as the traditions they experience. One idea that Adriana shared was that of “Family Culture Share” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). This idea allows one child each month to bring in artifacts or other items that the family considers important to them. For example, the child’s family in the video brought in a Kilt because of their Irish background, as well as a cowboy figurine; these articles were important to them and because of their opportunity for “Family Culture Share” they were able to display them with pride (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). To me, being able to discuss and learn about family’s culture will undoubtedly lead to feelings of welcoming and respect.
References:
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer) 2011. Welcome to anti-bias learning community.
Setting:
First, the setting will be very similar to that of Adriana Castillo from our video resource: I loved the idea of having the front porch/walkway as the entryway into the school (Laureate Education, Inc.). Here, there are several areas in which to communicate with parents in order to ensure that they are a “partner” with the program such as the sign-in binder where they provide information about the child and a whiteboard with messages. After coming from the entryway, if a child is having a particularly difficult time separating from the parent, they are to go into the napping or resting area. In this area, they are able to calm down with a staff member until they feel as though they are able to interact with the rest of the group. The resting area also gives the children the opportunity to self-regulate their emotions, especially by the use of the calming environment with pillows, blankets, and a rocking chair. Another area that I would like to have in my center are two large play rooms for the preschoolers and the infant/toddlers. In this room, I would provide many materials that would incorporate anti-bias curriculum (as spoken about in the “Elements” section), as well as a large dramatic play area within each room.
Elements:
According to Derman-Sparks and Edwards, great ways to implement anti-bias materials into your program is using a variety of books, puzzles, dolls, games, and music (2010). With this in mind, I would love to utilize a variety of these materials, especially the use of music and stories. Furthermore, I would love to promote anti-bias theory into my dramatic play area by using several different clothing pieces, play food/dishes, and much more! This would give the children a chance to learn more about others through play, as well as learn from one another in regards to how their own family uses the materials. Last, by using anti-bias materials such as posters and bulletin boards, children will have the opportunity to see children and families from other cultures.
Feelings of Respect:
In order to promote respect and feelings of welcoming, I would incorporate parents as partners. I want to work alongside parents and know about the goings-on of the families, as well as the traditions they experience. One idea that Adriana shared was that of “Family Culture Share” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). This idea allows one child each month to bring in artifacts or other items that the family considers important to them. For example, the child’s family in the video brought in a Kilt because of their Irish background, as well as a cowboy figurine; these articles were important to them and because of their opportunity for “Family Culture Share” they were able to display them with pride (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). To me, being able to discuss and learn about family’s culture will undoubtedly lead to feelings of welcoming and respect.
References:
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer) 2011. Welcome to anti-bias learning community.
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