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.

Goodbye and Farewell

This has been an amazing journey. I am so grateful for the feedback of my colleagues and professor Parrish. I learned a lot about myself during this course when it comes to communication, and I have gained a lot of great skills that I can take with me in both my personal and professional life. It is great to share this experience with others because our experiences help shape who we are, and others can learn from what we have experienced and gained over time. I wish all of you the best in your academic journeys, and hope to keep in contact with you throughout our academic journey. I thank Professor Parrish for all of her great feedback as well and encouragement. Good luck everyone!

Adjourning Phase

I have been in several groups in the past, and the adjourning phase has always been simple. The group of individuals where the adjourning phase was the hardest is in situations where the adjourning phase is abrupt. When you work with people, you are a team; you have a common goal, and you form bonds that last outside of the work day and group you are in. even though I have not had a job where I had a specific project and team members, I count my jobs with team members as my teammates as well as groups I have worked with in the past while working on academics.

 One of the jobs I had when I lived in Georgia, I was an early preschool teacher for this company for over two years. This was a big accomplishment for me because I had never been at a company that long, and I loved the children, families, and colleagues I worked with; well, the teachers at least. There were new owners that took over, and soon started to ‘clean house’. I remember coming in on a Monday and working that day, and that day seem to be off for me. At the end of the day, the owners told me to come into the office, and they fired me for reasons that were made up and false, and I had to leave without saying goodbye to my coworkers, children, and families. I was so distraught and hurt by this action because I had been with these ladies for over two years, and we had formed a wonderful bond, and we worked on being the best educators we could be, and to have it ripped away from you, and not be able to say good-bye or have what you have done celebrated makes the adjourning phase more difficult.

I wish that I could have left on terms that were my own, and have been able to talk to my families and children and coworkers so that it wouldn’t have been such a shock. My families in my classroom were so hurt and disappointed in the management team. I even some parents pull their children from the program because of my abrupt departure. I did work for a school that celebrated me leaving by throwing me a surprise going away party. That brought tears to my eyes, and it is something I will never forget because it was special and made me feel appreciated and special; it made me feel part of a team.

I think I will take a lot away from the individuals I have worked with and met via my online program, but I imagine the adjourning phase to be simple and sweet because there has been no face to face meetings. I think that adjourning is an important phase because it is completing and ending properly. You can sit back and discuss things on terms that puts what you have done into perspective, as well as any last or final thoughts so that you can truly learn from your peers.

Conflict Resolution

I started a new job about a month ago, and I had a classroom that had absolutely no structure. I was told by the director to follow the schedule that is set for my age group, which is 2 1/2 - 3. The children are set to go outside at 11 am, and there must be no more than two classrooms out at a time, and in particular, my class can not be out with the younger class, which is understandable. Before I came, the children did not get a lot of curriculum, and now they do, which means I take them out at the scheduled time at 11 for 45 mins. The younger classroom of toddlers used to go out at that time, but that is not their true schedule, just something the teacher does. The toddler teacher wants me to not follow my schedule to allow for things to stay the same, and I disagree, and follow my schedule set by the owners and directors. The teacher and I do not see eye to eye. What I could possibly do is compromise and maybe go out at 1130-1200, allowing for her to take her children out at 11, or I could use the 3 R;s by respecting the teacher by empathizing, yet explaining the need to stick to the schedule set by the director, reciprocate by compromising or alternating the play schedule, and be responsive to the needs of not just the teacher, but the needs of my students.  As of now, it remains that I follow the schedule, but possible, once we can communicate more effectively, we can compromise and make a decision we are both happy with. What do you all think I should do?