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

 

I teach preschool at a community college. There was a little girl in my preschool classroom who was very talkative.  She loved to greet every parent that comes into the room.  All the parents love her because she is always asking questions that were off the wall. She is five years old now and has established a very big vocabulary. One day a parent came in as she was getting ready to leave for the day with her mother.  The parent is a little bit on the heavy side and had on a tee shirt that was a little  small and every time she moved you could see her stomach...  She did it a couple of time and one time the little girl said you have a fat stomach. The little girl’s mother did not like what the little girl said to the parent. She started scolding her immediately and said that we do not talk to grown ups like that.  That's not very nice to say...say that you are sorry. The little girl looked at her and didn’t say anything. The mother started counting 1... 2... 3. . She took the little girl out in the hallway and returned two minutes later.. The girl was crying and said sorry to the parent. The mother told the parent she was sorry that her daughter said she had a fat stomach and that she didn't tolerate that from her children. 

When children are in these type situations they may become scared or intimidated because they were scolded.  She may feel that it is not okay to say anything about the way a person looks. They may be afraid to talk with adults because it can get you in a lot of trouble. Children may also feel that they cannot be honest and say or express their feeling. Most of the time when young children act up or misbehavior it isn't something that requires yelling or punishing but, instead, some understanding and a frank parent-child discussion. 
            First and foremost we don’t tell parents how to discipline their children. One of the most common mistakes parents may make when disciplining children are speaking in a harsh and angry tone, or even insulting their children. Giving and asking for respect in return is one of the important to remember when it comes to disciplining children(Don't Shame Children In Pursuit Of Discipline, n. d).
     As an early childhood teacher I would have talked to the child and explained how some people have different body shapes and sizes. The child might not realize that what she said may be hurtful to the other person. Instead of yelling and causing the child to feel bad, I would have pulled them to the side or away from the other children. We get down on children's level and talk to them directly instead of raising my voice. We provide positive guidance and redirection to correct inappropriate behavior.( Derman-Sparks, & Olsen Edwards, 2010).

                                                       

                                                       References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children       and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC

 Don't Shame Children In Pursuit Of Discipline. (n.d.). Retrieved August 06, 2016, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/our-gender-ourselves/201304/dont-shame-children-in-pursuit-discipline

 

 

 

 

      

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

All children and their families who differ from the traditional family makeup should feel included and welcomed into the early childhood classroom and have the opportunity of experiencing the richness of diversity (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). We have to encourage and introduce children as soon as possible to diversity, including family diversity, as one means of stemming prejudice. "Family diversity, however, is no longer an exception;  it is the  norm (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010)."  Our families in the classroom are made up of many cultures,  ethnicities,  religions,  and sexual orientations.   Every family that it is the class must be included and represented in the classroom environment. In the media segment ( Laureate Education, n.d.)  the narrator reflected on ensuring that the inclusion of diversity and validating our program with photographs drawing and stories  reflecting the different families in our program.  We cannot omit books and materials because of our bias.

 Growing up and even today, I hear homophobic terms such as “faggot,” “sissy” and "tomboy" being used on a daily basis. I remember using the word “sissy” to relate to other children who were always scared to try new things or afraid of everything. I would say “stop being a sissy and come on”. Parents used the term frequently when children would cry and whine all the time.  I didn’t think of at the time as a bad word or demeaning word because I heard it in my environment every day. I  now know that this may cause children to feel bad and may have lowered their self-esteem.  Most young children become upset if they are called a name or ridiculed in any way. I used to be called a tomboy all the time because I rather play sports than play dress up or play with dolls all the time. At the time, because I was young, I took it as a compliment rather than an insult because I didn’t know any better.

We can help children understand that teasing cannot be prevented, and they can’t control what others say. However, they can learn to control their responses and reactions. When children realize that there are effective strategies that they can use in teasing situations, their coping skills are strengthened(Freeman,1999). 

                                                         References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Freedman, J. S. (1999). Easing the teasing: How parents can help their children. ERIC Digest. Champaign, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED431555)

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Start seeing diversity: Sexual orientation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

                                    

Thank you!!!!

To all my colleagues in EDUC 6165-1 with Dr. Parrish,

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with me over the last eight weeks. I have learned so much. I value your thoughts, opinions,  perspectives and look forward to continuing my journey with those who are specializing in Teaching and Diversity in Early Childhood Education. If you are going on to other specializations I wish you the best in your future endeavors.  I welcome everyone to continue following my blog and share any new information that we can use to guide and help children grow and develop to be successful  in life. 

Anita

                                       

 

Adjourning

The last stage that we encounter when we are building teams is the adjourning phase. The adjourning stage is the time when we have finished up any task that we have been working on or our time with a group has finished, and it’s time for us to move on(O'Hair, Wiemann,   Mullin, & Teven, 2015).

The hardest group that had trouble adjourning from is my military units during Permanent Change of Station moves (PCS). You build up incredible friendships and relations, but you know that they will come to an end because you will have to go to another military unit at some point. You may have deployed to war with people and developed close bonds that can never be replaced or replicated. A PCS move is hard and challenging, but now with social media, you can keep in touch with the friends that you have made and know what they are doing every day.“Adjourning” from military teams is something I had to do every three or four years over a twenty-six year period. You work with people from a wide diversity of cultures and learn how to respect, value and develop trust to form lasting relationships

The rituals that usually happen when I  PCS from a unit is that they have an awards ceremony where they recognize all the accomplishments I have made at the unit.  The particular section of the unit ( i.e. food service section} may throw a farewell lunch or dinner on your behalf. In the adjourning phase this is sometimes called a "termination ritual"(O'Hair, Wiemann,   Mullin, & Teven, 2015). Sometimes, they will give you a gift or plaque which will remind you about particular section or unit.

The adjourning is an important stage because it is important to achieve closure for the group on a positive note.It's a time when we may feel a sense of loss and motivation may decline because we are coming to an end work of working with a  team that we may have become accustomed to working with over time. I felt this every time that I moved, and never experience a negative departure from a military unit. One of our Army motto's was "One Team, One Fight".

Over the course of my Master's program I have not personally met any of my classmates face to face but feel we are connected because of our professional interests. I have learned so much and I plan on continuing to posts items to my blog and invite my classmates to still follow me if they choose.  

Reference:

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.