Creating Affirming Environments

What I Have Learned

It is my hope that as a professional in the early childhood field working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, I will become a better anti-bias educator who will affect children and families in a positive way by helping them becoming confident in who they are and where they come from.

My goal for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that I share my journey with my colleagues in hope that they too will begin to think about their biases they hold so they can also join me in the journey of becoming an anti-bias educator.

Thank you so much to my colleagues for your kind words, encouragement and also sharing your own journeys with me. I have enjoyed this course and learned some important lessons that will stick with my throughout my teaching career. Good luck to you all as we are nearing end of our time here at Walden! I'm so thankful for you all!
Jessica

Creating Art

I would love to know if there is anything you think I should add, that maybe I missed in my slideshow! What are your thoughts? I have really enjoyed this course and can't wait for our next one!

"We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

In the summer for 2012, I got a part time job working at a local gym in the child care center. One of my co-workers, had really short hair, wore long basketball shorts and t-shirts and shoes that were gender neutral. I will call her Erin. At first glance, most people thought Erin was a boy. But when you began a conversation with Erin, you could tell that she was a girl. Before I began this course, I would have described Erin as a "tom-boy" or "butch." I worked with her a lot that summer and we got a long great. I personally wondered if she was homosexual, just based on the way she dressed and sat in a chair (leaning back with legs open like men tend to do), which I now understand was holding stereotypes about women who are homosexual. (I thought about his internally, but never externalized my questions.) I overheard a group of girls who were working in the infant room talking about Erin and calling her a lesbian and saying degrading things about her. It really upset me because I really enjoyed working with her and she had a great personality. She also had a twin sister who had really long hair and wore similar clothes and wore make-up.

One day, we took the kids outside to play. A little girl came up to the Erin and told her "You look like a boy! Are you a boy?" (but her tone was very snubby.) Erin turned red in the face and said "I'm a girl." So later, I took the little girl aside and I got down on her level and told her that was very rude to ask and that she should go apologize for saying that. I told her sometimes girls have short hair, but we don't need to call them a boy. She apologized to Erin and then went back to playing.

Looking back with my new knowledge of anti-bias education, I would have asked her, "What makes you think she looks like a boy?" It has been found that people seem to rely on hairstyle as a
noticeable facial cue in determining a person's gender  (Eyssel & Hegel, 2012). I would then further the conversation by asking her "Did you know that some girls have short hair? We call them pixie cuts. Like Tinkerbell." As an anti-bias educator, I would also tell her that thinking all girls have long hair is a stereotype that that in fact, some girls have short hair. I would use this as a teachable moment later on and even use the game "Stereotype or fact" as mentioned in week 3's media segment on gender stereotypes (Start Seeing Diversity: Sexual Orientation)
This assignment has caused me to reflect on my own beliefs and consider how my perspectives influence their teaching and interaction with students from diverse sociocultural backgrounds (Eyssel & Hegel, 2012). 

References

Eyssel, F., & Hegel, F. (2012). (S)he's Got the Look: Gender Stereotyping of Robots1 (S)he's Got the Look: Gender Stereotyping of Robots. Journal Of Applied Social Psychology, 42(9), 2213-2230. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2012.00937.x

Han, S. H. (2010). Sociocultural influence on children's social competence: A close look at kindergarten teachers' beliefs. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 24, 80–96.

Laureate Media.  (n.d) Start Seeing Diversity: Gender [media podcast] Retrieved from Week 3 resources of EDUC 6357 at https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4197932_1%26url%3D

Seeing Diversity: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

I found this week's topics really interesting. Working in a diverse elementary school, I believe it is important that I am current and up to date on best practices when it comes to working with diverse families and children. I feel that this week's resources has really helped me do that. While focusing on gender identities and sexual orientation in early childhood, I can see how becoming a true anti-bias educator will help me serve all students and families better. There is much work to be done when it comes to improving society's views on gender roles and identity, as well as sexual orientation. But it starts with children because they are the future. If we can teach and show them by example what it means to be anti-bias and aware of the stereotypes and prejudices in this world, maybe one day they will be the generation that rids the country of it all.

I have noticed that homophobia and heterosexism permeate the world of young children through books, movies, toys, stores, culture of early childhood centers, and schools. For example, when watching commercials for toys, you never see a boy playing with dolls. It is always girls. Lego toys also show some heterosexism with their toys. They have created legos that are pink, purple and other pastel colors for girls with princesses. Suggesting that the girls should play with these legos because the original legos are for boys. I grew up playing with legos and cars because I had an older brother who had them. So when he grew out of his toys, he lets my sisters and I play with them. They happened to be as much for me as my barbies and dolls did. I didn't care what color they were. I also grew up watching Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles with my sisters before school, which were meant to be for boys.

One of my sweet little girls in my kindergarten class has a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle backpack. At the beginning of the year, I mistakingly asked the boys one day who's backpack it was (because she left it on the floor). And then the little girl raised her hand and said "It's mine!" I giggled and told her, "Oh! That's cool! I used to watch this show when I was little too!" Then some of the boys said "That's a boy's backpack!" I really wish I would have taken this class earlier so I could have had a better discussion with my students like exhibited in the Seeing Diversity: Gender video and ask them why they thought that. But I did make it a point to tell the boys that I used to watch that show when I was younger and there is no reason why girls can't like it too. It makes me wonder where children learn these gender stereotypes.

In response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex partnered families, I would inform them that
using terms like "gay" as a put down is not fair for anyone (Start Seeing Diversity: Sexual Orientation). It makes people fear of being affectionate with friends. Also, if children of same sex parents attend a early childhood center, what is that telling that child? What is that doing to their identity? We must not hurt a child's identity by making them feel that their family is wrong or unwelcome. We must give children the positive message that everyone is safe and welcome in our facility. And honestly, if someone has a problem with that, I would show them the door. The same goes for parents/family members who do not want anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child. I would remind them that homosexuality is NOT contagious nor will it hurt a child. I am interested in hearing other's responses to these scenarios as well.

I have enjoyed the media segments this week and it has really opened my eyes to how I can better serve the children and families in my care by making everyone feel welcome and appreciated no matter what gender or sexual orientation they are/have.

Communicating in Groups

After learning about the phases of how teams develop, I have reflected on the many teams I have been a part of in my own life. I realized that the hardest good-byes are the teams that made it to the high-performing levels. With those groups, we went though all the stages together. We had our ups (performing) and downs (storming), but we made it through and learned how to function well together.

The hardest team to adjourn would be my current one. I have been wanting to move closer to my family the past few years. Last spring, I decided to apply for some jobs near my family and told my principal that I may be leaving after the past school year. She was very understanding. So I was really excited with the potential of moving closer to home. But then I started thinking about my kindergarten team, the amazing colleagues in my school and how supportive our administrators and community are. That is SO rare. I was driving to school one morning and began to sob in tears thinking about leaving. As soon as I got to school, I went to my principal and told her that I couldn't bear the thought of leaving, so I was going to stay. She was so happy and my kindergarten team literally jumped and screamed in excitement over my decision. It was at that moment, I realized I am going to savor every moment I have at this school before some of us leave. When that time does come, I know it will be very hard to say goodbye because of all that we have been through together.

The job I had before my current one was at a preschool called Primrose Schools. The only reason I left that job was because I could not make a living off of it. I was still living with my parents and looking for a public school job so I could move out and pay my own bills. I worked there for a year and half before I found my current job. On my last day, I remember my boss hugging me tightly and crying. She told me that I was so good with children that she knew I was going to do great things. The owner of Primrose hugged me and actually gave me a gift. It was one of those little wooden angels that was holding book. (Made for teachers.) That gift meant so much to me because she didn't buy gifts for everyone that left. People came and went all the time there, but they knew how much I hated to leave b/c I loved working there. Parents brought me gifts and cards to wish me good luck and telling me thank you for taking such good care of their children. I developed great relationships with the children and families, as well as with my team members I worked with. I went back a few times after I left, but now all the children that I taught have left and are in kindergarten and above now, and most of the co-workers have moved on to new jobs. I tell myself if money wasn't a concern, I would go back to that job in a heartbeat. I loved it so much.

Most of the experiences I have from the teams I was a part of, ended with a ritual of some tears and hugs, going to dinner together or having a goodbye party. I have kept in touch with many of those people through Facebook.

To adjourn from the group of colleagues in the master's program, I think we will all have a time to thank our professors and each other for the support and challenges we overcame. I enjoy reading everyone's blogs and at the end of each course, thanking everyone for reading mine. I believe the adjourning phase is an essential phase of teamwork because it gives you that sense of closure. You won't hang onto any feelings that may have been left unsaid. It also gives people who may have had some negative feelings at one time, a chance to make a mends and move past the conflict they went through.

I can't believe in a just a few more months, we will be nearing the end of the master's program. But I am so excited about my future and the possibilities that lie ahead.

Managing Conflict in Relationships

"Healthy debate serves a real purpose in that it helps individuals and groups make smarter decisions. By skillfully working through conflicting ideas about how to solve a problem or reach a goal, we identify the best course of action" (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012).

I could definitely relate to the portion of our text that discussed attitudes towards conflict. I am one that dislikes arguing and debate. I tend to gear away from politics, leave a room when I am upset and scream into a pillow when I am angry. One of my close colleagues says this is exactly why I have so many stomach issues, because I bottle everything up and the "negative energy" stays in my system. 

Recently I experienced some productive conflict with my colleagues during one of our planning meetings. My kindergarten team consists of 5 teachers (including myself) and we consider ourselves pretty good friends. I was nervous at the beginning of the school year because we were having some disagreements on what to teach the first week of school. I had all these great ideas in my mind, but they were squashed by my colleagues because it didn't follow the certain skills we had to cover. So I felt frustrated and upset that no one took my ideas into consideration. The next few planning days were equally as frustrating. I felt like I couldn't teach how I wanted and I was being told what to do.

So one day, I finally had enough and expressed my feelings to the team while our administrators were in the room. I didn't go off on a rant or tangent, but I expressed my concerns that clearly our classes were on different levels of learning. (Some of us felt some activities were too easy and some thought they were too hard for their students.) My administrators told us that as long as we are teaching the same skill, we can do whatever activities we want with our students. So I can put my own flair on my lessons and the same with my colleagues. This made our planning the rest of the month go much smoother because if we were a huge fan of a certain lesson, we knew we could "tweak it" to fit our teaching style and our students' learning needs. The great thing about this resolution is that we can share with each other how our lessons went and if they went really well, usually the other teachers will try it out with their kids too! We are very supportive of one another and that gives us a supportive climate to discuss our frustrations or concerns.

Strategies that I have learned about that might help me manage or resolve the conflict more productively would be cooperative strategies. We all benefited from agreeing to teach the same skill, but in our own ways. We also keep our focus on the issues. We don't take it personally and attack each other's teaching abilities. We all respect each other and work as a team so that we can do what is best for our students. 

Resources 

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St.Martin's.