The Sexualization of Early Childhood

As an early childhood educator, I am exposed to some many different things; some good, some bad, and some disturbing. Sexualization in early childhood education is becoming more and more prevalent. I am always amazed and how much children are exposed to at an early age when it comes to sexuality and the over exposure of gender identity when sexuality is concerned.  Now, it seems to be a norm, which is sad to say, but with the TV, Internet, advertisements, and radio, children are going to be exposed to sexualization at a young age regardless.

When watching television, you see children doing things that adults should be engaged in. for example, the toddlers in tiaras show is about pushing little girls to parade around like a woman with big hair, make up, and to exude sexiness to be in a pageant for people to judge them on their beauty. Children at this age should be being children and not worried about how they look, and how society perceives their looks. Girls have a lot of pressure from media and the Internet to look and be a certain way, why start this at such a young age?

As a teacher, I do see children who are exposed to sexualization in different ways. For instance, girls come in in dresses and heels with make-up on, and I have had little boys come in with cologne on and are allowed to ‘shave’ which I found very alarming. Children already have gender roles in their head at the age of 2.5-3, which is the age I primarily teach. They believe girls have to be thin, with long hair, heels, dresses and makeup, while boys believe they have to be strong, no crying and to ‘man up’ and where manly or boy colors. Children should be allowed to wear colors that make them happy, and to understand that at any gender, you can do anything; the sexes should be presented to children at a young age as equals and not greater than or lesser.

Children want to be the stars and actors/actresses they see on television as well as in animated movies. I had a little girl, who was listening to kids bop, and the song she was listening to had adult content, but children were singing it, and she knew every word. Also, the way she danced was that of an adult. She was moving her body in a provocative way. It is so hard to try to intervene to let children know what is and what isn’t appropriate, but once they leave and go home, or are around peers in another setting, things will change and the children will pick up on things that are overly sexualized.

The implications this may have on a child’s healthy development is that they can grow up with a warped sense of self image and this could lead to low self-esteem, low self efficacy, as well as depression.  It is important as an educator to always allow for children to see the positive side of being who they are and positive outcomes of genders. I want girls to feel empowered to be and do whatever they want regardless of how they look, and for boys to feel empowered to do the same and to feel emotions without the negative stigma that comes with it. Having books and different literature, as well as videos and images of positive behaviors and self image will help children to ask questions, but also to gain an understanding of the world around them in positive ways that foster healthy development.

My awareness has been modified by this week’s topic is by always keeping a close eye on how children interpret the world around them. Also, I want to be able to always bring in positive images of men, women, and the LGBT communities that allow for children to see social roles as positive and to allow for acceptance, tolerance, respect, and understanding. Children are curious, and we have to make sure we are explaining these curiosities in the most positive way as possible.

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

When working with children, there is always the assumption that whatever we are experiencing outside of work, we need to leave it at the door, but sometimes, it is hard to leave the things you are going through and experiencing outside of the work environment. I have been experiencing some sexism while looking for another job. It is very hard to be taken seriously in the workforce by men, and it shouldn’t be, but sadly, it is. Women have to work much harder to prove themselves to male counterparts. I recently went to a job interview and I felt like I did extremely well. I had a guy interview me, and it was a simple interview. He asked me ten questions that were about my work experiences, so not hard, right? Well, as I was interviewing, I answered his questions in detail as he asked, and also explained how education is an extractable skills set that can be used in many professions. The interview ended well, and I felt confident I would be getting a call back. The following afternoon, I received a call stating that I was a very strong candidate, and had a very substantial background, but my answers to the questions being asked went off in unrelated tangents and were repetitive. Unfortunately, I did not get the position. I felt immediate frustration, and did not understand why someone whom I had interviewed with for 20 minutes would say I went off in a ‘tangent’. It made me sound like what men think of with women in the work place or the stereotype as being talkative and talking about things that have no relevancy. The feedback was offending, but also let me know that is what most men think of women who can be verbose or explain things thoroughly. I am at an interview, so I am not going to go off in a tangent as put by the hiring manager. It was just another form of sexism that is unfair, but it opens your eyes to sexism and you try to stay positive and move forward. 

This experience could affect the way I interact with children and families by making my outlook dim or make me feel like the male parents have the same mentality as the ones I may have encountered in my job search. I may also try to extend my personal feelings to the boys I teach to try to make them understand how to be fair and equitable to all, regardless of gender. These personal experiences could also make me have unconscious behaviors that may rub off and affect the individuals around me in negative ways. In the article Individual and Situational Factors Related to Young Women’s Likelihood of Confronting Sexism in Their Everyday Lives, “Sexism can take various forms and can be enacted by different perpetrators in a variety of settings. Moreover, sexist discrimination can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and depression and decreased achievement in a variety of domains (Ayers, Friedman, & Leaper, 2009, p. 449). I could be expressing stress, anxiety, and depression, which in turn, could be felt by the children and parents, which is not a good thing. It is important for me to always stay positive and try to find the learning moment within every situation I come across; even though it was negative. My children and families feed off of my energy as a teacher, and the last thing I want is to display stress or negativity towards them, but rather, enlighten and try to incorporate positive teaching moments from what I learned within my curriculum.

Reference:

Ayres, M., Friedman, C., & Leaper, C. (2009). Individual and Situational Factors Related to Young Women’s Likelihood of Confronting Sexism in Their Everyday Lives. Sex Roles, 61(7/8), 449-460. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9635-3

Observing Communication

I work in a childcare facility, so I get an opportunity to see adults conversing with children on a daily basis. Earlier this week, I took an opportunity to come in early to sit in the back of the class next to me to observe how the children interact with their parents during drop off time in the morning. I observed a little boy come in with his mom and sister. The mother always brings breakfast and sets up the breakfast in the morning. The mom always gives choices to the child as to what he would like as his fruit, if he can pour the milk into his cereal, where to sit, and how he wants to say goodbye. The boy is 2.5 years of age, and is very “independent” so he wants to do everything, as well as since he is the youngest, he always wants the affection and attention his mother gives. When the mom was done with breakfast, she gave him a kiss and was about to take his sister to her classroom. The little boy was not happy about that, and he cried and screamed, and the mom was trying to calm him down, and that wasn’t working. The mom was saying that he needed to dry it up and stop acting like a baby or she was going to take him to the bathroom. I can only imagine what that meant, but the boy still was upset, so the teacher took him away from the mom to try to make it an easier transition and the mom left. A few minutes later, the mom peaked into the window to check on him, and the boy was fine.

The mom seemed a little distracted that morning, so I feel that the child could pick up on the mood of his mother because it was not the same as it normally was. Also, even though she gave him choices, she seemed rushed in her attempts to give him choices that morning, so this could have also made the child feel as if the mom was not listening to him or making him feel comfortable as she normally does. One thing I feel is important and necessary when talking and conversing with children is the art of listening to them; the way they talk as well as body language. In the article Conversations With a 2 Year Old, Researcher Alison Stephenson, “This experience taught me lessons in how much children are telling us, if only we can hear them. In particular it taught me about the art of “stepping back”  (Stephenson, 2009, pg. 90) Children can tell us so much, but we can miss it if we do not pay close attention to the clues they give us when communicating with them. The mom should have stepped back and re-adjusted her tone and mood. This could have changed how the child reacted to her. Also, telling him in front of others that she will ‘take him to the bathroom’ is also ineffective in my opinion, especially in a school setting. I feel that the mom could have told him to calm down, or offer for him to go on a walk to take his sister to her class, but in order for her to do that, he had to calm down, no tears, and he could go with her. He probably would have liked that because it gave him a choice, which he is used to getting, and it would have kept him calm.

The interactions with his mother that morning did affect him throughout the day. I know this to be true because he is a student in my classroom, and his mood was altered all day. The interactions made him feel like he was not being listened to, as well as made him cranky throughout the day. How adults interact with children plays such a huge role in how they feel not just about themselves, but how they feel about others in similar social situations. Children need to feel just as valued and that you are acknowledging their feelings, wants, emotions, and needs. I try to respect all of the children I come into contact with, and also give them boundaries. I always can improve my communication skills by continuing to find different ways in effective communication, as well as not allowing my mood to not affect the children I teach. I am guilty of having a day where I am not 100 percent, and I notice how the children can react when I am not at my best, so making sure to be calm and respectful goes a long way when talking and dealing with children.

Reference:

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database. http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=37131016&site=ehost-live&scope=site

What I have Learned

I truly love learning about diversity, especially in the education field. I have enjoyed learning about different biases and how to incorporate the learning aspect into the classroom as well as approaching it with others. What I am most thankful for is what I have learned about myself in the process. Everyone has a bias that they are either open about, or do not share with others. These biases affect us more than we know. Understanding what our biases are and confronting them head on will help us to be free of biases, as well as to teach in an anti-biased environment. I hope to always be open to all diversity that comes my way, and to always teach children how to embrace and learn about diversity, and not to dismiss it because it is different from what they know. I want to always incorporate different ways for us to explore our diversity, and to bring in diversity from the families I serve into my classroom on a daily basis.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is to hopefully in the future, that all schools and programs would allow for diversity training to teachers, as well as parents, and to make sure that diversity is included within the program with the necessary resources needed.

I would like to say congrats to everyone for making it thus far in our program, we are almost done! I would also like to thank you all for your support, comments, and wisdom. I love to read the comments and read other people’s post because all experiences are learning ones, and I thank you all for teaching me along the way. I would also like to thank Professor Klein for being such a kind, insightful, and understanding professor. Your enthusiasm made me want to dig deeper and deeper into diversity, and I thank you as well!

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: Creating Art

My Diversity Poem

Diversity is all abilities co-existing together

Anti-Bias Education is teaching how differences is what makes us special and unique

Being able to recognize your own biases takes strength, courage, and the ability to learn from them and make the necessary changes

I love who I am a little more, despite my differences; it is what makes me unique

I love to teach children about how we can bond over similarities as well as differences.

I am diversity, my classroom is diversity, my students are diversity, and my educational standpoint is diversity.

This class has opened me up even more to not be afraid to tackle those hard questions and biases

Stand up and Stand out!

  

This was a poem I created based on my own personal emotions and feelings. I also found a poem about diversity that is also meaningful to me wrote by a child. It is a perfect reflection of how children feel. This poem to me is raw emotion about culture and diversity, and I love it!

But in French I shine
I look around the room, take in the sea of faces, different cultures, different races all from different places.
We speak the same, but in French I shine, because of all the time
I spend in France with the sun on my back, my back to England, my back to English.
My first day at school I couldn’t speak a word, I felt so alone, I couldn’t make a friend, but then the sun broke through the clouds!
I learnt to speak, I learnt to sing!
Now my friends all ask me for help,
and I know if I did the same, they’d say yes.
I can’t believe how lucky I am,
to live in a world with so much things to learn.
I’ve known my friends for what seems like forever,
but still so much to learn about their culture so different to mine, so get out there and learn!
Learn the colours of the flags! Learn a different language! Learn a way in which to be at one with all the community!
Learn to sing and dance and act! Learn to call a bird!
Learn to paint and laugh and be as happy as you can be!
Go out and learn! Go out and shine!
Emma Helliwell (13) Bradford Academy, 1st prize 

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

When I was a child, my mother had a friend who's husband stuttered. I was about 7 years old, and had never heard anyone stutter, so when i heard him for the first time, i laughed and pointed, and said, 'why does he sound like that? he sounds funny!' My mother did tell me before i got there that the man will sound different, and not to make fun, but of course, being a child, i did that anyway. When my mom silenced me and reprimanded me, i felt ashamed; like i did something wrong, which i did, but i also felt like i couldn't ask any questions. My mother was embarrassed, and I seen it all on her face, which made me feel embarrassed as well. As an educator, I think the best way to respond to a child pointing out something different is to say that pointing out someone's differences is not nice, and that can hurt someone's feelings. I would also tell the child how we live in a world where everyone is different, and being different is a good thing, not a negative thing. I would give an example of how I am different, and allow for the child to think of a way they are different and bring it together by saying, see, being different is what makes us unique and interesting, and that we shouldn't make fun of people we think are different because we are all different.