6165 Week 8. Preparing ourselves to move on

When I just started this program degree almost a year ago, I thought there would not be any kind of interaction with colleagues or instructors. As the courses went by, I learned that I was completely wrong. Now I know that my colleagues and instructors have been important part of my journey. Through their posts and comments I have had endless opportunities to learn from their unique experiences and perspectives. Without establishing relationships with my colleagues and Dr. Johnna, my professional and personal growth would not be as huge and fundamental as it has been.  

Being just few weeks away from starting our specializations, my best wishes are for all my colleagues and instructor Dr. Johnna. I would like to also thank everyone for being important part of this passionate, challenging, but always rewarding journey: our Master’s Degree.

Please feel free to contact me at catalina.duran@waldenu.edu, we will be just an email away.

6164 Week 8. Professional Hopes and Goals

I found incredible the fact that I have learned so much about who I am in only 8 weeks. I learned the importance of knowing myself in order to better work with others in my personal and professional fields.

When working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds in the early childhood field, I hope to be able to identify the uniqueness of their culture, value it, and include it in my practices every day. I also wish to be the bridge families and co-workers require getting the resources they need in order to thrive, and not being the barrier that makes them feel excluded with my wrong attitudes and practices.

A goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that everyone accepts others who are different from oneself, with an open mind that helps people to learn from one another at the time it enriches the own culture.

I would like to thank to all my colleagues and Dr. Shephard for being important part of my journey throughout this course, which has changed my life not only at the professional but also at the personal level. Without the insights I got from my colleagues and professor, my growth could not be as tremendous as it has been. Again, thanks to everyone and I wish you all the best in future personal and professional projects.

6164 Week 7. Welcoming a family from Montenegro

Being a teacher in an early childhood program, the child who is coming to my class is from Montenegro and in order to prepare myself to better work with him and his family I would research the different languages that are spoken in their native country. It needed, I would look for an interpreter or in the internet for ways to communicate with them.  I would also research traditions that are culturally representative, as well as some other practices that are common in Montenegro. Learning about the possible hierarchy that families in the country may have would help me avoid unintentional offenses or misunderstandings with the family. I would look for some posters or images related to Montenegro and post them around the classroom, explaining to other children that a new child is coming and those images are related to his native country. Adding some books and other materials –like musical instruments or alike traditional toys-related to their traditions and country, would make the child and his family feel represented at and more valued by the program. Learning about the way people dress in Montenegro would help me find some representative garments that can be added to the house area, in order for the child to wear.

My preparation would be like a broad overview that helps me better comprehend the new family. At the time, it may make the family feel valued and welcomed to the program. In addition, if the family sees how I prepared the environment and myself, this would help us build a more solid relationship that will benefit the not only the child, but the whole family, myself, and the program.

6165 Week 6. Adjourning

The first year I taught in Mexico, Ms. Claudia, a co-worker, shared her concern about the lack of participation some mothers and fathers showed about their children’s education. We knew these parents were not working, because they used to spend some part of the morning just talking to each other right in front of the school. Ms. Claudia suggested to organize some parenting classes, as well as a group in which the parents could share their strengths and knowledge with others. The school’s principal approved and supported Ms. Claudia’s project, while some teachers -including myself- got voluntarily involved in one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.

In our first meetings with parents and teachers we heard the interest and challenges parents had, as well as their plans for them and their family. Based on this information, all teachers organized in a team developed a program that served as our foundation. Despite the fact that professionals and parents used to meet only on Fridays after school, we all were a team in which the professionals were not the only ones who knew everything; the parents’ stories allowed us to learn from them too, and thus helped us to get more conscious about our students’ situations and needs.

By the end of our school year, each of us shared the most significant gain this experience provided to our lives. It was rewarding to hear that our efforts had produced varied and positive changes in the life of each person involved. Some parents shared they did not think they would be able to even talk in public as they were doing it while expressing their comments; being this one of the contributions we wanted to do: help parents realize they all had everything they needed, they just needed to make extra efforts in order to find support in themselves and those around them. Because I had the opportunity to see parents not only as the students’ parents but also as partners and friends, and my co-workers not only as professionals but as friends, this has been one of the groups that I have participated in that was hardest to leave.

Almost a year ago, I used to thing about this on-line program as just interacting with my computer. Nowadays, I am amazed with the continuous and varied interaction that has been possible through this program. Keeping in mind this is the last course before each one starts the specialization, I would like to maintain friendship with my colleagues, and hopefully we all have the opportunity to meet one another in person… in our graduation ceremony. J

6164 Week 6. The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

My last year working as a Head Start teacher, another teacher had 16 Latino children and only one Caucasian girl – this teacher was Caucasian too and non-bilingual. (I am going to call the teacher Ms. R. and the girl Margaret). When I was playing outdoors with my children, I observed that most of the time Margaret wanted to play with Ms. R. or children from other rooms, but never with her classmates. I asked Ms. R’s assistant –Ms. G.- the reason why Margaret did not play with children from her own room, and I sadly found out that no one wanted to play with her because the children say they did not like Margaret. Ms. G. also shared with me she was worried about Margaret because Ms. R. used to tell the girl she did not have to worry about playing only with children, because she –Ms. R.- would always be there to play with her. The way Ms. R. talked to and behaved with Margaret was completely different than how she did it with the Latino children: letting Margaret be the line leader every day and every time they needed to be in line; letting her pick the toys she wanted to use before everyone else could pick; calling Margaret sweetie or honey, and the other children by their name.

Every time I saw Margaret walking around the park by herself or begging children from other rooms to let her play with them, it was heartbreaking. I still think Ms. R. deprived Margaret from one of the most precious learning children can get in their early childhood years: the opportunity to play with other children of their age and gain all the knowledge their playing provides.

Despite the fact that other teachers, as well as my assistant and I organized games that let Ms. R’s children -including Margaret- play with other students, these opportunities were not enough to let all children feel they all had the same opportunities to play with anybody, the games or ways they wanted to.

I never knew, either understood the reasons that led Ms. R to make those distinctions among her students, but now I understand she made them because of her own biases. Sadly Margaret, the other 16 children, and all those who have been Ms. R’s students, were and have been the ones who paid for Ms. R’s lack of awareness of her own biases. Ms. R gave me an important lesson about the influence each teacher has on a whole group of children, for the positive, as well as for the negative things. I wonder how many other Ms. Rs are out there planting in children the seed of bias, prejudices, and oppression.

6165 Week 5. Strategies to solve my conflict

My husband and I are experiencing the following situation: We have planned to spend the next two or three months in Mexico, which is just perfect because we haven’t been able to spend the holidays with our relatives in Mexico for the last two years.  BUT we haven’t decided to whom we are going to ask to come to our home to check the pipes haven’t frozen, the heater is working, and to pick up and check our mail. Yesterday, we were talking about who the best person would be.

We have Pepe in mind, a friend of us whose wife is in Mexico and he is looking for a new place to move beginning January, which means he could stay living in my house until we come back. If Pepe stays in my home he would pick our mail up every day, let us know if the heater breaks down or he would unfrozen the pipes in case the weather gets bad –these are the three mayor concerns we have regarding our house. One problem with Pepe is that he would not be able to tell us what we have gotten in the mail, because of the little English he has learned. Another problem is if I have to come some when I would not feel comfortable sharing my house with him.

The other person is Claudia, another friend of us who is bilingual but does not live nearby my house. Sincerely, I do not know if Claudia would be willing to drive every single day to my house, pick up and check the mail, make sure the heater is working and check that the pipes haven’t frozen.

While talking with my husband about the pros and cons of Claudia and Pepe, he used to say something like “Pepe/Claudia would be perfect, or maybe not, because… you know?” Every time I heard his “you know?” I felt confused and tried to avoid misunderstandings with my husband by practicing the approach that The third side suggest when preventing a destructing conflict by addressing the tension of not knowing. So I told my husband that I actually didn’t know what he meant when saying “you know?” and asked him to please be clearer.

Keeping in mind “our relationships are defined by the way we manage conflict” (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012, p. 220), when I shared my points of view I tried to do it in a respectful and cooperative way, by not criticizing what my husband had just said and avoiding words that would sound like I was obligating him to accept what I have said, like the Center for Nonviolent Communication suggests.   

I would like to know the greatly appreciated suggestions that people who are not involved in this situation can have. Thanks in advance! J

References

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

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/

The Third Side. (n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/

6165 Week 4. My evaluation as a communicator

[After having a terrible problem with my other computer I am finally able to post this assignment :)]

Before taking this course, I was not aware of the HUGE influence that my communication style has on how other perceive me… But I am still glad that others do not see all the points I consider need to be strengthened.

The results I got in the verbal aggressiveness test were kind of terrifying because I am in the significant level, which means I attack a person’s position and can hurt the listener. Sincerely, I am still in shock about this result. Gladly, my husband and Gaby, who was my assistant, consider I am in the low level –this was a relief to me. When I did this test I felt kind of confused because there are some questions that would have different answer when being related to different context. [I think I am still looking for the logical reason -or an excuse- that helps me assimilate this result]

In relation to the communication anxiety inventory, I got into the mild level because there are contexts and situations in which I feel less comfortable communicating, more specifically when establishing communication in English :s But my husband and ex-assistant considered that I was in the low level because of the confidence they consider I communicate with.  Again, I am glad that my confidence is greater than my worry.

My listening style is people-oriented, as my results and the ones Gaby and my husband got. These results made me think on the importance of being empathic when communicating, but also helped me realize that being very trustful of others interfere with a proper judgment.

One of the insights I got throughout this week is that the way I perceive myself is going to influence the quality of the communication I establish in any environment. Another insight is the importance of being sensitive to the feedback gotten when communicating.

6164 Week 4. Awareness of Microaggressions

It is very sad to realize that despite the fact I am living in such diverse country as USA, people still make differences in the way they serve others in places where all different people attend.

A couple days ago, I was waiting in line to pay my groceries in an Italian market. The cashier was white and she greeted and thanked so kindly the white customer who was in front of me. When it was my turn, I smiled while getting ready to answer to her kind greeting, but… she said NOTHING to me, so I said “Good morning!”, and again she didn’t say a word. She just scanned my articles, bagged them, and waited without saying a word about my total amount. I know where to look for and find my total amount due, but I am used to hear the cashier saying the total to each customer; certainly this cashier was the exception that confirms the rule. I asked her how much it was and she FINALLY talked to me, I gave her the money and tanked her. While I was getting my bags I heard how kindly she was when greeting the customer behind me, of course this customer was white.

This experience made me feel ignored by the cashier. When things like this happens, I try to keep in mind my mom’s words saying that each person acts like they do because of personal reasons, which are just his/hers issues not mine. Still, I consider that an attitude like the one this cashier had with me can make some people feel bad -ignored, unimportant- for doing basic things, like just buying groceries.

After being more conscious about the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes on people, I am aware of the importance to reflect on our hidden biases in order to be empathic, and avoid treating others in a way we would not like to be treated.

6165 Week 3. Communicating with different groups and cultures

Until today, I had never thought about the way I communicate with my neighbors. I live in a townhouse, thus all houses are together, but this fact hasn’t been helpful to establish much verbal communication with my neighbors. However, I found out that I have sent messages that are not so friendly to the people who live around me, like being always in a hurry that I just greet my neighbors from door to door, or when I just smile and nod to a neighbor who is from India. Talking about this specific neighbor, I have never talked to him because he looks so serious to me and I don't know how to approach to him and his family.

I would like to share another personal experience. When I was living in Mexico, a friend of mine shared with other friends and myself that she had decided to change her religion, she would no longer be Catholic. In the first moment I thought she would not be able to be present in my Catholic wedding and her decision would be an impediment for us to be friends –taking into consideration that all my friends were Catholic. After thinking and reflecting on my worries I found out that my fears did not make sense, she was my friend and I had to respect her decisions so this was what I did. After all, she attended to my wedding, we are still good friends, and nothing has changed our relationship. This friend taught me that sharing the same religion was not what made us friends; it is just accepting who and how we all are what matters.

Definitely, I need to start behaving in a respectful way towards my neighbors and others, in order to be competent and establish intercultural communication (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011). I also have to pay more attention when other people communicate, in order to learn the different ways they use to communicate and address their issues. Something else I need to reflect on is my personality (Vuckovic), because it is a factor that influences my communication, especially now that I am aware that my shyness is keeping me away from relating to people who share about the same environment, like my neighbors.

References

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Vuckovic, A. (2008). Inter-cultural communication: A foundation of communicative action. Multicultural Education and Technology Journal, 2(1), 47–59.

6164 Week 3. Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

When I interviewed three people about their definitions of culture and diversity the first thing they said was “It is too hard to define those terms”, “I don’t know, but let me thing”, and “Why are you asking these questions to me?” Despite the fact that we all live every single day immersed in our culture and influenced by diversity, these are two terms that we rarely reflect on. Maybe it is because when we have something to close to our eyes we cannot appreciate what it is about.

A graphic designer in Mexico defined culture as the knowledge people gain when educating themselves in their countries’ traditions, history, and everything they see as valuable. She said diversity is getting to know and accept other cultures and their practices.

An African-American friend who is social worker told me that culture is who you are because of your traditions, beliefs, nationality, and religion. She defined diversity as relating with other people different from ourselves, she specifically mentioned relating with people who have different skin color and education.

A Caucasian neighbor, who is a truck driver ,considers that culture includes behaviors, practices or traditions, holidays, food, and the way people dress. He defined diversity as the mix of different cultures and mentioned that globalization could be a result of diversity.

After listening to the people I interviewed, I could identify that they conceive culture as only “the surface things that are easy so see, taste, and define” (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p. 56), like traditions, religion, food, and dressing. But I have learned that culture is something deeper than just the things our senses can perceive. Culture also includes the conception that people have about childhood, the roles people consider children should/not play, family situations like migration, gender roles, recreation, and the expression of emotions, among other facts.

After reflecting on my own culture I have valued it even more, at the same time I have opened more my mind in order to accept the practices that people with other cultures have and share with me… besides their delicious food.

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

6165 Week 2. According to Jim

The television show I watched was “According to Jim”. With no sound, it started with one dad and his little boy and another man with two girls; they were waiting to buy tickets for the movies. Because the boy’s dad read a sign that said that children under 4 were free, he held up the boy and showed him to the cashier. The boy frown and looked like if he was upset with his dad, maybe dad made the boy lie about his age in order to get him in for free to the movies. The girls talked to each other like criticizing the boy’s dad. Only the boy’s dad the other man laughed, the two girls looked at the man as if they were ashamed for being with him. At this point I thought the man with the two girls was his dad.

Later a woman was lying on the sofa in a house and a couple came in kissing, hugging, and laughing one to each other. The women on the sofa got up quickly and greet them, smiling and looking ashamed because she was asleep. When the man leaved, his girlfriend looked worried, she dropped her shoulders, sat sown on the sofa, put her head on both hands, and showed a note to the other woman. I had no idea about why the woman was worried and what the note said.

The two men and three children got into the house and the woman stopped talking, they two looked surprised because they stopped talking and hid the note. The little boy looked upset because he closed his arms and talked to one of the women, while his dad made hand movements while talking.

Now with the sound on, I found out that the man with the two girls was their uncle, I was right about the boy and man, they were dad and son, and the two women in the house were sisters. Danna, who was with her boyfriend wanted her sister to prepare a family dinner with her boyfriend, because she thought he is going to propose her and the note had the food that he liked.

I noticed that the way adults talked was different from the children’s talking. Adults made more hand movements than children, and when adults talked to children more visual contact was established. When children talked they raised their volume more frequently than the adults.

I think that if I had watched a show I know well with no sound, it would be easier to guess what the episode was about, because I would be used to the characters, how they express themselves, the relationships among characters, the places where the show is commonly developed in, and the general subject of the program.

This activity helped me to understand that communication is certainly not only matter of listening and speaking, because the context and previous experiences are important too, as O'Hair & Wiemann (2012) cited.

Reference

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

6164 Week 2. My Family Culture

If during an emergency I needed to choose three items that I hold dear and represent my family culture those items would be my bible, a photo album, and my cookbook.

My bible is significant part of my family culture because it represents my Catholic faith. It is because of my faith that I have been able to make decisions when I need to do it, the same in tough situations and every moment in my life. My faith also guides my behavior, because I avoid doing things that attempt against the commandments of my religion.

A photo album has been important part of my life because it has pictures that bring back and show memories about the life I had in Mexico and also about my current life in USA. These pictures show everything about the especial moments and people who have influenced me to become who and how I am today. Through these pictures is also possible to identify the places where I use[d] to go and the activities I like[d], being both essential part of my family culture.  

My cookbook is especially important to me because my mom wrote it and gave it to me when I got married. It is also meaningful to me because throughout the preparation of those recipes I recall my mom cooking the meals that my family and I enjoyed. These recipes are also important to me because when my mom was cooking she used to talk about her mom, how she cooked, as well as the modifications she made to the recipes.   Because the recipes in this book have been created by/ inherited from my great grandma to my grandma, then to my mom, and now to me, the cookbook reflects not only my Mexican food, but also significant family moments because some recipes were cooked mostly for holidays.

If I needed to keep only one item, I would choose my family album because it has images that show others and remind me what has been my life and how I have changed. These pictures also show the people, places, and activities that have influenced my life.

This exercise reminded me when I moved to USA from Mexico because I brought those three items, plus few clothes, and my laptop. In the very first days and having left behind my parents, siblings, friends, favorite places, language, and everything that up to that time had been my life, I realized the importance of being surrounded by supportive and caring people who have about the same practices I had in Mexico. In my case these people were my husband and my in-laws; they were willing to introduce me my adoptive country, by teaching me the practices that are common here and that would help thrive and settle down. Nowadays, I have learned to live missing my loved ones, but I also have learned to adjust my family culture to the opportunities what this country has offered me.

6165 Week 1. Competent Communicator

I am a person whose first language is not English and communicating, specifically in English, was one of my biggest challenges when I moved from Mexico to Illinois. I remember I was so afraid of using a drive thru because I was not able to see the person talking, I could not point to what I needed, or make movements with my hands in order to explain what I wanted. It was just my biggest challenge ever!!!

When I started working in Head Start Sue, my ex-supervisor, helped me a lot. At the beginning, she talked to me more slowly than to English native speakers (and talking to other co-workers who were Spanish speakers, we all agreed that she did that with all of us at the beginning). She always asked me if I had any question or concern after talking to me, I would also say that she looked for the words that made our conversations more understandable to me, because I was able to understand her messages and she understood and answered all my questions.

I consider Sue is a competent communicator because when anybody needed to talk to her she would stop whatever she was doing in order to focus her attention on the person, looking at the person all the time, and using hand movements that helped to understand her messages. Something I remember about our conversations is that she always asked me how my day was going; this fact helped me to feel important to her and feel that she cared about me.

Being supported by people like Sue helped me to improve my communication skills towards parents, children, and co-workers and in my personal life. The fact that English and Spanish speaking parents came and talked to me let me apply what I learned from Sue, paying my attention to them, repeating what they have said in order to make sure I have understood their ideas, and responding to their messages; these were all communication skills that allowed me practice and improve both my English and communication.

By the way, I was able to overcome my fear and use a drive thru after about a year since I moved from Mexico. J

My Thoughts about Research

First of all I would like to thank Dr. Davis and my colleagues for the feedback and support you all gave me throughout this challenging course.

The Building Research Competency course has been a big challenge to me because when I started it I realized that had very little knowledge about research. Throughout this course I deepened my insights about the steps of the research process, the qualitative and quantitative designs, and I realized the existence of a mixed method design. I also learned that the differences among the three methods make each one of them more or less appropriated to be used with certain research topics.

Before taking this course I used to think on research as a complex and tedious process. The course changed my mind because research it is not tedious, as the process it is it just needs to be followed step by step, like putting a puzzle together. After understanding each step the whole process makes sense and releases my thoughts of tediousness. On the other hand, I still consider that research is complex because it needs to be grounded in strong foundations or many difficulties can be encountered throughout the process, jeopardizing the research and undermining the validity of its results.

Because “the most advantageous method of ensuring that services are appropriate to the client is to consult them” (Whiting, 2009, p.32), planning, designing, and conducting research in the early childhood field is a delicate task that has to be conducted by researchers who are always attached to the professional ethics. The researchers need to take into consideration the safety of children, families, and paraprofessionals, avoiding having their interest in the data as their main goal (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).

Nowadays I know that being a professional involves being a researcher too. I am more conscious that through my ethical work with children, families, and paraprofessionals I can make findings that help me improve my practice, which result in benefits to the field.

Best wishes in upcoming courses and look forward to work with you all again!!!

Reference

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Whiting, L. (2009). Involving children in research. Paediatric Nursing, 21(5), 32–36.

Research around the World

The Early Childhood Australia (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/) is an association that advocates ensuring quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to eight years.  The webpage has a link called Research in Practice Series (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/research_in_practice_series/about_rips.html), which is an easy to read and practical resource that offers effective new perspectives to people related to the early childhood field.  Some of their research topics are related to:

·         Being Belonging and Becoming

·         School readiness and children's transitions

·         Sustainability, global warming and climate change

·         Baby and toddler sleeping

·         Child health and childhood obesity.

 

The Early Childhood Australia webpage has also a useful index where sample chapters of their titles in the Research in Practice Series can be reached. Sadly, there are subscription fees that need to be paid in order to have access to the articles but some sample chapters can be reviewed for free.

In addition, I found a link called National Quality Standard PLP (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/). It is a new initiative developed and implemented by Early Childhood Australia in 2011–2012. The support for early childhood professionals is their primary goal and this support is through online interactive forums, e-Newsletters, e-Learning Videos, as well as a social media community on Facebook, Twitter and other online platforms.

 

It was interesting to see that the research topics are about the same in Australia and USA. This means to me that every early childhood professional has the same interests regarding early childhood, which is their wellbeing. I also found amazing the important role that the internet has supporting the early childhood professionals when providing them the preparation they need as researchers.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

When we hear about English language learners in the early childhood field we usually bring to mind children who were not born in the USA, or those whose parents are the ones who were born somewhere else and speak a language different from English. But we may rarely stop and think that all preschoolers are English language learners (Garcia & Frede, n.d.), since they all are acquiring the language.

If I had the means to conduct research studies, they would be related to the importance of hiring more well-qualified bilingual teachers, because we all need to know how to support language acquisition for ALL children. At the same time, as early childhood professionals we are aware of the changing diversity in the early childhood programs, and we should look for strategies that help children and families to learn the predominant language. In addition, becoming bilingual teachers helps us to better understand how children and families may feel when they leave their family environment, in order to get into another one where their primary language is unspoken. This transition usually takes place through the early childhood programs and therefore the importance of hiring staff who better works with them.

Through this research more professionals in the field would understand the importance of hiring more well-qualified bilingual teachers by early childhood programs. Besides the benefits for families and children, it would reflect the program aims to become one of high-quality.

References

García, E. & Frede, E. (n.d.). Enhancing Policy and Practice for Young Dual Language Learners: What Is the Research Base? Retrieved from http://nieer.org/sites/nieer/files/Preschool_English_Language_Learners_Policy_and_Practice.pdf

My personal research journey

I had not realized the importance of the research process as part of my professional skills, until the first two weeks of the Building Research Competencies course. Nowadays, I am learning that the research process is not as scary as I thought, because through research I can make “a difference to the way [I] understand and practice [my] work with young children” (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010, p. 1). The difference in my conception of research is not because I have mastered the skill already. It is just that I am learning the whole process since the very beginning, throughout the analysis of useful materials that have helped me to understand what the research process implies, like the validation of a source or something more complex as the steps to follow when generating a research (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).

After reflecting on my personal and professional experiences, as an immigrant in the USA and as a Head Start teacher who has worked mostly with immigrant families, I have decided to focus my simulation research on the inclusion of immigrant families in early childhood programs. I think the research of this topic is important because of the changing demographics that conforms our society. Hernandez mentioned that “if you want to see the future face of America, visit a preschool classroom today” (Hernandez, 2009, p. 6), because the early childhood programs could reflect the current population in a community.

Choosing a topic to research about is not an easy decision, but counting on a supportive network of colleagues we all will be able to overcome our challenges, providing to each other enough resources to develop our simulation research. The support received from my colleagues is highly appreciated and is also as important as the resources I could find in libraries and online databases.  

References

Hernandez, L. A. (2009). Wake up and smell the demographics. Exchange, (190), 6–9.

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Final Blog Assignment

Throughout this course I have learned about different organizations that work on behalf of the early childhood, which most of them I was not aware of their existence. Learning about the different organizations, also let me realized which are the current issues, trends, and priorities related to the early childhood, not only in USA, but worldwide. Now that I have information about them, I can use it in my professional practice, at the same time I can share it with co-workers and families. The conversations with international contacts, not only mine but those of my colleagues too, helped me to appreciate, in particular ways, the practices and experiences I have gotten since working in the field, and influenced me to be more thankful for what I currently have.

With the past blog assignments I also got useful tools that will allow me stay abreast of what is happening in the field, with significant information I need in order to be the advocate that children and families need. In addition, I can help to make the change the field needs when joining to some organizations, supporting their causes, and practicing what they have found is more beneficial for the early childhood education field.

International contact- Part 3

First of all I would like to thank Fany for sharing her time with me and opening her heart throughout our conversations, which was not an easy task, because our times hardly matched. I know that I could not have found a better person who would talk about such personal topics as professional goals and issues at work. Thank you manigüita!

In my last conversation with Fany, she shared that one of her professional goals is to get a masters in pedagogy, she plans to start it on August 2013, because right now her husband is about to finish his, and they cannot afford to pay for transportation for the two of them, the masters, and the baby sitter for her 2 year old daughter. The SEP offers grants to those who want to study a master and the student has to propose a project that focuses on one of the current issues in the field, Fany wants to do it this way and is still thinking on the issue she would like to focus. Another benefit she has is that the SEP allows teachers to be out of the kindergarten classroom for maximum 2 years, so they can focus on the master. During these 2 years the teachers get their regular paid, as if they were working in the classroom, while a substitute teacher takes her position, and the teacher can resume it when she finishes the master.

A dream she has is to be transferred to a kindergarten in the city where she lives in, because she is currently working in a community and it takes her about 2 hours to get there from her house. She told me that many other teachers want to work in the city, and not in other communities, because the transportation is expensive. She would like to work in a specific kindergarten, which is considered the best in the city, despite she is aware of how demanding the director is, but she says that is because of the commitment that the director asks the teachers to have towards the program, that it has the positive reputation, which it has hold it since I was still doing my bachelors. 

One of the issues they are facing in her kindergarten is that there are not enough children to serve this coming school year. Up to date, they have only 40 children enrolled and they need to have more than 50 in order to open 2 classrooms, other ways the program will open only one classroom, with one teacher.  This fact means that either Fany of the other teacher may lose their job. Just in case this happens, Fany would start the masters this month.

Throughout these blog assignments and my conversations with Fany, I had the opportunity to learn about the current situation of the early childhood field in my native country, which sadly is not as optimal as I wish, but I am sure that with committed professionals like Fany and the opportunities the SEP is offering, some positive changes would come.

Sharing Web Resources 3

I have met teachers and other professionals working in the education field not only because of the monetary wage they get, that most of the time does not compensate their hard work, but because they love and are passionate about what they do. I consider that love is an important ingredient that in most cases makes a difference in our teaching, because when we love something we defend it and care about it, and that that is what we do for the early childhood. Is there any other way to advocate for and promote equity in the field than by defending what we do?

As part of their programs and events, the Association for Childhood Education International (http://www.acei.org/) has begun a campaign with such engaging name: Love Me, Teach Me (http://www.acei.org/programs-events/love-me-teach-me.html). Through this campaign the ACEI wants to promote the needs and rights of children everywhere, based on four cornerstones: See Me, Hear Me, Love Me, and Teach Me. The campaign is called Love Me, Teach Me since these two facts contribute most significantly to a child’s overall development and well-being.

The first cornerstone, See Me, is related to the children’s right to identity, which is aimed to ensure that children are consider visible members of their society, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, ability, family status, or national origin.

The second cornerstone, Hear Me, is about the children’s right to participation. This fact invites us to reflect on how we include children, when we listen to them and take their ideas and themselves into account when we make decisions. Sometimes adults forget that children have voice and we do not listen to them just because they are children. When they are excluded from group activities or when they do not have access to medical care, the message they receive is that their needs and ideas are not important. Let’s listen to what they have to say and ensure they can satisfy their needs. Let’s make them feel important, because they are!

The Love Me cornerstone is aimed to ensure the children’s right to security, stability, and protection, first of all through their parents and family, who are their primary caregivers. When we work with children it is easier for us to love them, but when people are not directly related to them the decisions made on their job affect children too, like the images created when designing commercial advertising campaigns to the development of public policy.

The last cornerstone, Teach Me, is related to the children’s right to education. The ACEI highlights the importance of having access to quality education, but in order to get it, parents, caregivers and community members have to make efforts to ensure the education promotes the development of the whole child, through engaging experiences not only at school but in their homes and communities too.

I think that taking these four cornerstones into account when we work with children, will help us to improve our teaching practices, while we ensure their wellbeing and development through experiences they  can freely chose in an environment that has been created based on their ideas and needs.

Let us promote this campaign by adding this cornerstones to our practice and posting the touching post card in our centers http://www.acei.org/images/stories/documents/lovemecard.pdf.

International contact- Part 2

After having a conversation with Fany, my contact in Mexico, I found out that the Secretary of Public Education (SEP) in Mexico released a new guide for the kindergarten programs on 2011, this one was an updated version of the 2004 guide. The difference between these two guides is that the 2011 has standards that focus the outcomes of the kindergarten education on basic skills of communication, recognition of the letters and numbers and their use, natural science and technology, and the 2004 version had only the foundations of the kindergarten.  Still, the main purpose of the kindergarten is not to teach children how to read and write, but some private schools have these as their primary goals, goals that influence the parents’ decision when enrolling their children into a kindergarten setting. The kindergarten standards have been aligned with the primary, junior high, and high school standards, in order to establish continuity in the education.

Even though the kindergarten education is mandated since 3 years old, not every child attends to it. Fany told me that the teachers make a census, every 2 or 4 years, in the community where they work at. This year when teachers did the census, they found out that there are some children who do not attend to school, kindergarten nor elementary, because they do not have their birth certificate, not even the one that mom was supposed to get from the doctor or midwife when the child was born, because mom lost it or parents did not have the money to pay the fee for the late birth registration; in these cases, the family needs to work with a lawyer. (Registration of the new born is for free when the child is registered before turning 6 months old. If the person is registered after 6 months old, the parents need to pay a 180 Mexican pesos fee, which is the equivalent of 14.40 American dollars.) Fany told me about a 5 year old girl, who did not have birth certificate and attended kindergarten because she, as the director, connected the family with a lawyer in order to get the birth certificate for the girl. This girl needed to be enrolled in the kindergarten, in order to be accepted in elementary school. By the end of the school year the girl did not get her birth certificate, but an elementary school in the community accepted her and they will continue working with the family and the lawyer.

Fany also told me that she thinks the system and buildings are not ready to provide a quality education, The SEP requires teachers to educate themselves, taking minimum 4 courses per school year and other required by the state. Some courses are offered in the afternoon, when the child care for the teachers’ offspring are closed, or the courses take place in schools that are far away in weekdays. Fany has taken courses on Saturdays or afternoons, but she needed to find a baby sitter for her daughter. She told me that would be better if child cares close later that 5, because this way teachers would have more opportunities to take courses without worrying about their own children.

It was pretty sad to realize that the improvement of the early education in my native country is going to remain only written on papers, because there is not enough support, not only economic, but related to their buildings too, that could offer quality education. Even though the kindergarten education since 4 years old is mandated, the reality is that there are communities that do not even have the building with materials needed to provide quality education, and this lack of materials make the parents think there is not important to enroll their children into school.  Some early childhood professionals have to make extra efforts in order to help parents understand the importance of their children’s education, which is the best way to ensure a bright future for the country.

Sharing Web Resources 2

I found two sections in the Association for Childhood Education International (http://www.acei.org/) website much related to the topics we have been discussing over the week. The first one is about the Institute for Global Education Diplomacy, and can be found under the programs and events tab. The second one is under the global action tab, and among other themes, it is related to play in early childhood and standardized testing.

On April 17-20, 2012, the Georgetown University Conference Center, in Washington, D.C. will host a professional learning event called Institute for Global Education Diplomacy (http://www.acei.org/programs-initiatives/institute-for-global-education-diplomacy.html), presented by the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI).  The ACEI recognizes the impact that children’s education, development, and well-being have on the social and economic situations of every country, and it is through this event that they want to encourage professionals in the field of education to become effective agents of change in relation to reforms, improvements, and progress.

In regard to the standardized testing, the ACEI has its position about the use of this way to assess the children’s progress; they also talk about what parents need to know about the standardized testing.

About the importance of play, the ACEI also published their position on play in early childhood, as well as these recommendations to take action and promote the learning in early childhood programs through play:

“1. Place an article in your local newspapers and community newsletters

2. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspapers and community newsletters

3. Send published letters and articles to your member of Congress

4. Write or e-mail to your state legislators

5. Write or e-mail to you national legislators

6. Organize a community forum” (http://www.acei.org/global-action/the-value-of-play.html).  These same recommendations are suggested for taking action on the standardized testing issue too.

After exploring this website I am more aware of the importance of taking action in the early childhood field, because as Dr. Grace mentioned we need to talk for children, not about them (Laureate Education, 2010).

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Economists, scientists, and politicians supporting the EC field. In Issues and Trends in the Early Childhood Field. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1341054_1%26url%3D

International contact - Part 1

Since I did not get an answer from any of the professionals I emailed two weeks ago, I decided to establish contact with a preschool teacher in Guanajuato, Mexico. In Mexico the SEP (Secretary of Public Education) is responsible for providing education to the population, but there are many private schools too that need to follow the guidelines of the SEP. Initially the SEP programs were free of charges, but now families are required to pay registration and monthly fees.

Fany Tierrablanca is a teacher who lives in the city and works in a public kindergarten in a community that is not considered rural, but has the same necessities as a rural program. There are 62 4-5 year-old children enrolled in the program and 2 teachers, being one of them the one that acts like the director and teacher too. Fany told me that there is power in the 3-room building, but there are no electrical appliances, if the teacher wants to play music she needs to bring her own, which is not an easy task when you have to ride the bus. In this kindergarten there is a 100 pesos registration fee, about 7.52 dollars, that all families had paid, but only the 5% of all families afforded to pay the monthly fee of 30 pesos, 2.26 dollars. The teachers ask those families who could not cover their fee to volunteer in the school, doing maintenance work such as plumbing, masonry, and landscaping or cleaning the rooms after classes, they had good participation this school year. Despite the poverty in which these families live, and the children’s malnutrition, their attitudes were not challenging or negative; some of them participated in the parenting and cooking classes that teachers offered over the school year, as well as in classroom activities they were invited to.

Fany has been working in this community since 3 years ago and wants to be transferred to a school in her city, nearest her house in order to take better care of her baby daughter. After talking to her and imaging some of the situations these families and teachers have been through, the lecture of “The myth of the culture of poverty” (Gorski, 2008) came to my mind, because these families work in whatever they need and can and still have not gotten better opportunities to thrive in their life, I think this is what poverty does.

After talking to Fany, I am just more thankful for all the good opportunities my program offers to families and staff, I am more aware of the effects that poverty can have on children and families, but also the way I can support families in this situation, like planning opportunities where families feel important and included in the program through classes and classroom activities.  

Reference

Gorski, P. (2008). The myth of the "culture of poverty". Educational Leadership, 65(7), 32–36

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I chose to learn about is the Association for Childhood Education International (www.acei.org ), which is a worldwide community where educators and advocates share their knowledge, experiences and perspectives. One goal of this organization is to support the development, education, and well-being of children in the changing societies. This organization is also affiliated to the United Nations, the World Forum Alliance, and other governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The ACEI has also the Global Gateway that serves as a starting point for exploring the diversity of educational systems worldwide, through PDF documents.

Among other programs and events, the ACEI has an interesting multi-year program called “The Decade for Childhood 2012-2022” that explores what is happening in the rapidly changing early childhood field, and seeks for the creation of new opportunities for the childhood’s future. This initiative also looks for insights that could serve as foundations to support the childhood in the healthiest, most vibrant and creative ways possible, within the economic, social, and technological changes of recent years. The Decade for Childhood initiative values children as agents of change and wants to find the way that communities listen to the voice of their younger members, who may have solutions for current problems and contribute their ideas for tomorrow’s world.

The Decade for Childhood has The Ten Pillars of a Good Childhood (http://www.acei.org/programs-events/the-decade-for-childhood-2012-2022/page-5.html), which are what they consider the basic requirements for an optimal childhood development. Some of those guidelines are related to the consistency of children’s social relationships, their education, participation in the life of their community, among other statements.  

In order to establish a network that support this program, the ACEI invites all concerned professionals to join them and work in the creation of optimal conditions that let children grow with hope, joy, freedom, and promise for the future.  I consider this is a wonderful program we all should joint today, in order to disseminate knowledge and support the early childhood in our rapidly changing societies.

Establishing professional contacts and expanding my resources

In order to establish professional contacts, I emailed some people who are representatives of their program, which is part of International Step by Step Association and The Global Alliance of NAEYC. First I decided to establish contact with Sarah Klaus in The Netherlands and Mr Hicham Moukram, in Morocco. My interest for the program in The Netherlands arose after reading the article “Early childhood trends around the world” (Neugebauer, 2007), and I chose the other contact in Morocco because it is an interesting country and culture to me.

As I said before, I sent those representatives an email, but all I got was another email saying that those ‘addresses had permanent fatal errors’, I admit that I felt disappointed, because I thought that information was updated and reliable. I looked at programs in other countries, emailed them, and, since I didn’t get the terrible message saying that those addresses have errors, I am hoping to get an answer from  Ruzanna Tsarukyan in Armenia, Hilda Pérez Forest in Cuba, Blesilda Rios in Philippines, Margarita A. in Colombia, Suzana Kirandziska in Macedonia, and/or Juan Sanchez in Spain. I also asked some of my co-workers, who are from other countries, to help me getting in touch with a professional they know is teaching in their native country, but I haven’t heard anything yet.

For the purpose of knowing how early childhood is supported by some organizations, I read their mission and vision, and I decided to study the Association for Childhood Education International (www.acei.org).  

I am very excited about this assignment, because I would like to know what is the perspective other countries have regarding early childhood and its education. Even though it is a challenge to get in touch with professionals in other countries, especially when we realize that their emails are not updated or correct, or because of their position they are always busy and haven’t check their emails, I hope to get in touch with at least two people; otherwise, I will have to take the alternative assignment.

I wonder what criteria my colleagues used to choose their contacts and the association they will like to study about, if they faced any challenges like me when I realized some emails were not correct and what they did about it.

Reference

Neugebauer, R. (2007). Early childhood trends around the world. Exchange, (175), 58–63. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.

My Supports

Since I decided to enroll into this master, I have valued even more the supports I have in mi life; considering that support, to me, is what holds and gives me foundations to achieve my goals. I can get the support I need from people who are important to me or from objects.

Even though my parents, siblings, and best friends are in Mexico, with their blessings and words, they give me emotional support when we get in touch with them, but my husband has been the greatest emotional, practical, and physical support I have. He has been taking care of household chores that I was in charge of, so I can use that time doing my school assignments; he also is the shoulder I can cry on when I feel tired or frustrated, and at the same time, he encourages me to keep going, reminding me that I am a capable person. It is because all the support I get from him that, every time I get another grade, I tell him that those grades are OUR grades.

My friends, co-workers and supervisor are the supports I have at school when working with children; as well as when they listen to me talking about my assignments and help me to broaden and clarify my ideas.

Another support I have is my computer, because it gives me the information I need in order to achieve my professional goals, as well as information that helps me to improve my work with children and families in my job. Through my computer I stay in touch with my loved ones too, and at the same time we support each other.

If I had to face the challenge of having a deaf student in my classroom, I would need the practical support of his family while learning the best way to communicate with him, in order to establish a relationship between the practices at school and at home. I would get the physical support of survival phrases (Macrina, Hoover, & Becker, 2009), images, and hand language, which I can learn through the internet or by taking a course. The emotional support would come from getting in touch with professionals who have worked (or are working) with deaf children, and by making a research about it. Another support I would look for would be my supervisor’s, when asking her to let me have an extra person the first days this child is in my classroom, in order to know him better by establishing a close relationship.

For sure, this would be an amazing challenge, but looking for emotional, practical, and physical support, I am sure I would learn how to work with this child, and this challenge would give me more confidence because I would realize that I was capable of working with him.

Resource

Macrina, M., Hoover, D., & Becker, C. (2009). The challenges of working with dual-language learners: Three perspectives: Supervisor, mentor, and teacher. Young Children, 64(2), 27-38.

We are a step closer to attain our goal!

-Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it.  ~Harold Hulbert

-Children need the freedom and time to play.  Play is not a luxury.  Play is a necessity.  ~Kay Redfield Jamison

-There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.  There are seven million.  ~Walt Streightiff

-A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer.  ~Author Unknown

Thanks to all my colleagues and instructor Dr. Kien, for your support throughout this course, I could not have finished this course without all of you. Looking forward to work with you and, more important, to learn from you again in future courses.

Whishing all of you the best!

Testing for Intelligence?

Every educative program follows its learning standards, which are the statements of what students, enrolled in that program, must know (Illinois State Board of Education, 2010). Teachers use those standards to assess what children have learned, but I think children’s learning assessment should not be determined by a test, because teachers should observe, or pay attention to, the child’s attitude, what if the child is going through a hard situation? What if he has been sick? What if the family structure at home has changed? These are things that affect the child’s learning, and as Benson stated “the child's actual behavior in the classroom and at home is often a better indicator of a child's ability than an abstract intelligence test, so children might get educational services that are more appropriate to their needs”  (2003, para. 23). These are some reasons why I think the assessment should not be based, or measured, only on tests that are the same for the whole group, because “even with a battery of tests, assessment may be inaccurate” (Berger, 2009, p. 325). 

On March 28, 2012, President Obama was asked about standardized tests, he shared a story about his daughters, who had just taken a standardized test without panicking about it, because they ignored they would be tested, he said that many times the standardized tests are used to punish students or schools, and suggested to apply these tests in a less pressured atmosphere (Univision.com, 2012).

Looking for different ways to assess students, I found an interesting article about Hungary. In this country the kindergarten coverage is over 90% of children 5 years old and older, keeping in mind that there is a low birth rate in this country, and its services have aimed at the balanced development of young children, emphasizing the acquisition of social and learning skills, rather than on rote learning and subject knowledge. School-based program for children aged 3-7 includes basic skills development, pre-reading, drawing, singing and school preparation.

Children are assessed by the kindergarten teachers throughout the school year. As from September 2004, their Act on Public Education stipulates that all children must be assessed in written, individual analysis. Kindergartens are staffed by kindergarten pedagogues who are required to have a tertiary degree of at least 2500 hours, of which 30% is of a practical nature including observations of kindergarten practice, individual and group sessions, and practical courses. They are helped by kindergarten assistants who provide support to the kindergarten pedagogues in the operation of the kindergarten class. Classes are therefore organized into groups with two pedagogues, and the support of an assistant/cleaner. The assistants do not have to have a secondary education and are able, but not required, to take a specialist examination. Currently some 80% of kindergarten teachers have a tertiary degree and a total of 97% have specialized training (Hidasi, n.d.).

I think the result of assessments in a program should not determine whether the child is promoted or not, but it can let the teacher know the kind of help that child needs at that moment. In addition, as President Obama mentioned, these tests should not only to judge whether a school is doing well or not (Univision.com, 2012).

References

- Benson, E. (February,2003). Intelligent intelligence testing. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/intelligent.aspx

- Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

- Hidasi, J. (n.d.) A successful kindergarten in Hungary. http://www.childresearch.net/PROJECT/ECEC/europe/hungary/report10_01.html

-Illinois State Board of Education. (2010). Illinois learning standards. Retrieved from http://www.isbe.net/ils/pdf/standards_qa.pdf

-Univision.com (2012). Transcript of President Obama's Town hall. Retrieved from http://vidayfamilia.univision.com/es-el-momento/obama-y-la-educacion/article/2011-03-29/transcript-of-president-obamas-townhall?page=6