Evaluating Impact on Professional Practice

When it comes to thinking about the ism. I would have to say that the one I sometimes find hard is racism. That is being a little prejudice about people coming from other countries. I sometimes feel that if you come into my world that you should be able to speak my language and learn how to do things in my world. I know that others are sometimes moving into our world for a better life but I sometimes find myself getting frustrated when I call somewhere and I get a person who doesn't speak my language and I can't understand a thing they are saying our they don't fully understand what I am saying. I sometimes also see when others from other countries move here it is like they can get a lot of free government assistance before the ones of us who have lived here all our lives and paid taxes can't get a thing but hard times. I do find myself trying harder to look past this issues as I do work in a field where I do sometimes serve families that are from other countries. I know that it is my profession to serve those and make a difference in their lives. I just sometimes have that hard time dealing with people coming into our territory and getting everything free and then those of us who have worked in the U.S. struggle and can't receive any kind of assistance when needed. We have paid our dues and we should have the right first before someone from another country. I know I really need to work on this issue and I do see myself working toward getting better but I will get there eventually. We all struggle with something and we have to work hard to overcome those things sometimes and that is what I am trying to do.

Creating Environment

When thinking about how I would set my family daycare up I have many things to come in mind. First, of all I want to make sure that my environment serves the families and children in my care. I want to make sure that all of the equipment that I use in my daycare influence the way my children learn. I want them to have the best learning experience possible. I want to make sure I have enough equipment to serve the amount of children that I have in my care. I want my space to make the students and family feel warm and inviting. I will make sure that images that I use show not only one race doing something but showing all races. I want to have learning games, bulletin board displays, have pictures of the children and pictures of their family on display. I want to make sure that I have enough toys to provide each of the children. When displaying books I want to make sure that I have a variety of books dealing with many issues and cultures, puzzles can also reflect the different diversity that may be in the classroom and also provide different types of music for the students to experience. I will make sure that the children I serve and that the materials I use are age appropriate for the ages I serve. If will make sure that I get to know the families I serve by doing a conference with them and getting information that will help me better serve their child. I want all the material that I would need to serve my families. Relationships and interactions with children and families, the visual and material environment, and the daily curriculum all come together to create anti-bias learning community(Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). I do believe when building a daycare no matter what type it is it takes time to create the type of environment you want to have but each thing we do gets us a step closer to reaching our dream because we are building a learning environment that nurtures and supports all the children and families that we serve.

What I've Learned!!!

Throughout this course I have learned many new things. My mind has changed alot about things as I have gained new knowledge about as "diversity" and "bias" has taken a new meaning. I want to make sure that I serve all the students and families with the best learning experience possible and I want them to feel welcomed when they enter into my classroom. I want to make a difference in their lives and guide them down the great path of learning and being a team member. I want to continue to be the voice for those who may feel they can't openly epxress their opinion. I want to work with those and help make a difference. If we don't help take a stand then who will. Again, we want the best for our students as we would want for our own children. I also want to take the time to say to each and everyone of you I wish you the best of luck in whatever you may do. I hope you all reach your dreams and goals and life carries you to the fullest. Again, God Bless You All and Best of Luck!!!!!

What Do You Say?

I remember when my boys were younger we went a family gathering out of town and a family member who my boys had never seen was there. Their child had celebral palsy. My boys had never been around anyone who had a disability such as this and they really did not know what to think. They were scared at first but then through alot of talking they were a little bit at ease before we left for the day. I explained to them that everyone is differnt and that God did not make us all the same. Even thought someone may not be like you they still want to have friends and be loved just like you do. I explained that the person will not hurt them but when they act scared of that person how it might hurt that person's feelings. I explained we need to treat everyone the same regardless of how that person is. As the years went by my boys never had that fear anymore of seeing someone with a disability. I have always taught them you don't make fun of anyone and if you can't say anything nice about someone then don't say anything at all. Being a classroom teacher and explaining this to my students I will tell read stories and talk with them about how each and everyone is different. We have a saying in our classroom and we say it often "Everybody is different, nobody is perfect" and they understand this. Some of the things I would incorporate in my classroom when discussing with students someone who has a disability would be no two people are the same -- some differences are just more noticeable, a disability is only one characteristic of a person. People have many facets: likes and dislikes, strengths and challenges,children with disabilities are like all children in that they want friends, respect and to be included, children can be born disabled or become disabled from an accident or illness. You can't "catch" a disability from someone else, just because someone has a physical disability (when a part or parts of the body do not work well) does not mean they necessarily have a cognitive (or thinking) disability and children with disabilities can do many of the things that they can do, but it might take them longer. They may need assistance or adaptive equipment to help them. When talking to children about peopel who may be different I try to use clear, respectful language when talking about someone with disabilities and most of all listen and talk with my students.

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

How you would respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did 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 let them know that a person's sexual orientation has no effect on how a person does their job. I also feel that a person's sexual orientation in a personal issue and if that person does not want to discuss their sexual orientation then they should have that right not to. As long as a person is doing their job to the fullest and children are learning on the level the should be it doesn't matter what a person is. People have a right to be private if they choose. I do know that children need to be exposed to diversity because as we all know we live in a very diverse world. If you have ever used or heard homophobic terms such as "fag," "gay," "homo," "sissy," "tom boy," or "lesbo" as an insult by a child toward another child? Or, by an adult toward a child? Describe what occurred. How might these types of comments influence all children? (Note: if you have not had a personal experience, ask a family member, friend, or colleague) I have heard the term "that is so gay" used by young people in society. I have often been told that this is reference to something that is stupid or ignorant behavior. I often hear children use this term to refer to others who they think are gay. In today's soecity alot of times young children really don't know what these words mean, they are simply using them because they have heard an adult use them. Young children really don't have alot of concept to what "fag", "gay, and all of those words mean unless they have been taught in their home environment what those words mean. As an educator I think we need to explain to children the correct way to use these words and approach others when using these words. Again, as we all know we live in a very diverse world and chidlren will be exposed to alot of diverstiy in their lives but we must be prepared to help them understand.

Farwell

Time has went by quickly these last few weeks. I have gained so much from this class be reading everyone's blogs and discussion. I plan on taking some of this new information back into the classroom and use. I have enjoyed meeting everyone in the class and hope to continue to share some classes with some of you later on down the road. I want to wish each and everyone the best in their journey to complete their degrees. I have quite a few more classes to go before I finish but my experiece with Walden has been great. Best of Luck to all my classmates!!

Adjourning!!!!

When I think about adjouning I think about this stage as being essential to teamwork because I feel that it allows for some closure in certain situations that we may face in our everyday lives as well as in the workplace. Thinking about this I would have to say the hardest good-byes are the ones where everyone has worked as a team. I also feel that it may be difficult to leave the high performing groups because those are the groups you have worked together especially in my workplace to acheive the goals we have set for your families and children this school term. I feel that at the end of each school year we have our end of the year gathering with families and childreon, we pack our classrooms up and turn in all of our reports to center manager and we prepare for the next school year to come. Having to say those good-byes even though it is only for 3 short months it seems hard, especially when you work with co-workers who work real close together and set goals to acheive throughout the year with you children and you work hard to make sure those goals are acheived before May comes. I feel that adjouning is a essential stage of teamwork because as we finsih one task we prepare to move on to the next one. Also as I leave Walden in the end of my journey I feel it being hard to do because along the way we have formed a mutual respect for each other online. We have formed and stormed in building with our peers online. I wish everyone the best in whatever they do. Best of Luck to all!!!!!