Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Wow! Much learning and self-reflection has taken place this week.

Awhile back, I heard a male coworker compare a soda machine to a woman in the break room.  His soda got stuck in the machine so he hit the machine and the soda fell down. He got his soda, laughed, and stated, “its just like a woman, you have to hit it a time or two for it work right.”  I was furious along with a few other women and men. I can’t speak for anyone else, but the remark was quite hurtful for me. I felt disrespected as a woman, devalued, and as though women should be subservient, and were below men.  This was clearly a sexist remark and he may have been joking and did not intend any harm, however, it was hurtful to me and had no place in the work environment. I had just ended a marriage in which I was hearing such remarks from my husband and being physically abused so I was already questioning my value and place in the world and this incident did not help at the time.  I overcome with the help of supportive family and friends, but it took some time.

A microaggression that I observed relates to having different expectations for a black male child’s behavior than for a white male child’s behavior. One little incident involving the black child and he was disciplined by being sent home by a white teacher. White male children engage in many of the same behaviors and they are redirected.  I really think this is the result of stereotypical ideas. It has been pointed out to administration and they are investigating. I am sure the child feels devalued and marginalized. He is disciplined so much for what seems like everything he does, he is probably wondering what is wrong with him and has low self-esteem.

The effects of micro-aggression  can be emotionally and psychologically harmful, deter learning, and hinder one from reaching his or her full potential. It can lead to self-fulfilling prophecy as the targeted assumes the stereotype.  That is a big concern in racial and gender microaggression such as my examples above. I think I will be engaging in even more self-reflection to identify and be mindful of hidden biases. I do not want to cause anyone harm jst because they are different than me.

Perspectives on Culture and Diversity

I contacted several friends and colleagues  asking them for their definitions of culture and diversity. The first defines culture as family background or their heritage, ethnicity, race, and gender and diversity as the differences among culture.  The second defines culture as the beliefs and customs of an individual, or a group of people, or of a society and diversity as the differences among individuals, groups of people, and societies. She adds that diversity also involves incorporating the different cultures into a group of people or society.  The third defines culture as the heritage, traditions, and beliefs of a particular group of people and diversity as recognizing unique qualities or characteristics of people or groups.   If I were to combine these definitions,  I would come to the definition of culture as family background, heritage, ethnicity, race, customs, traditions, and beliefs of an individual, group of people, or society.  Diversity’s definition would be recognizing the differences, unique qualities, or characteristics among the various cultures of people, groups, or society and perhaps incorporating the differences into a group of people or society.

Our readings includes aspects of family background, heritage, ethnicity, race, gender, customs, traditions, and beliefs in defining culture (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). These aspects are closely intertwined with culture playing important roles in who people are. However, they do not give a complete picture of a person’s culture. My friends and colleagues omitted aspects of culture that our readings do discuss including language, economic status, class, gender and sexual orientation, abilities/disabilities, religion, values, relationships, migration, work, and ideas about education, health care, roles, expressing emotion, to name a few (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). 

To see who families and children truly are and understand them, we must move beyond surface culture such as artifacts, dress, foods, holidays and aspects that are easily identifiable (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). We  must realize that their culture influences everything about them including their lifestyle, how they think, attitudes, and behaviors, how/where they live, their work, organizational affiliations, family and community relationships, ideas about education, health care, gender roles, roles of children, parenting practices, recreation, religious practices, expressing emotion, ways of communicating and interacting with others, and more (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). 

The cultural group that we belong to begins shaping the way we live at birth through a process called cultural socialization.  As we grow, we learn how to name, describe, and feel about our cultural membership. As we mature, enter adulthood, and establish an adult life and family, we  choose aspects of our cultural socialization that we wish to continue, modify, or reject (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). Therefore, time, place, and historical context are also aspects of culture.

Yashika Wilson’s who is a colleague shared her ideas with me on culture a few months ago. I feel that it sums up our discussion on defining culture quite well and is in line with our text regarding the dimensions of culture discussed in the preceding paragraph.  Ms. Yashika states (2016),

            “…Culture is similar to the sticky side of masking tape. In life there are traits that we are born with, traditions we become accustomed to ,things instilled in us, and things we've learned.      Additionally as we grow and adapt to our environment, there are other things that we accurate and we add those things to the sticky side of the masking tape and it too becomes a part of who we are; thus accumulatively becoming the total make up of our culture" (Yashika Wilson, personal communication).  

Now for a word about diversity.  The combined definition of diversity from  my friends and colleagues would be the differences, unique qualities, or characteristics among the various cultures of people, groups, or society. They all acknowledge the importance of  recognizing and incorporating the differences  - for example in early childhood education.

It is worth noting that everyone has culture that influences their way of life, thinking, attitudes, and behaviors.  Children come to our classrooms from all walks of life and are becoming more and more diverse. While there are similarities, many differences exist due to the complexities of culture and the many differences that lie within the culture of our children and families. When we begin to recognize the differences in deep culture that exist, this is when issues related to diversity will raise its ugly neck. Even then we must realize that it is the differences that create unique abilities, qualities, and characteristics in each individual, group, or society. Diversity is rich, a benefit, and a necessity (Laureate Education, 2011). A deep understanding of culture and its relation to diversity is the first step in creating environments that will lead to helping all children and families feel visible, valued, accepted, and empowered.

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)

 Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Culture and diversity [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Wilson, Y. (2016). Personal Conversation. Yashika Wilson, MA in Early Childhood/Educational Psychology

My Family Culture

In the event that My family was evacuated to a new country or refugee camp, the three things that I would take that represents our family culture are our family Bible, family photo album, and recipe box.  I choose these items because they reflect   my family values, beliefs, traditions, practices, and culture. The Bible reflects our religious practices, beliefs, and guidelines for living a Christian life that are important to our family culture.  My family finds much comfort,  peace, and hope from reading many of the passages especially in times of adversity. Within my Bible are pages for recording information such as outlining a family tree, births, deaths, marriages, baptisms, that I have completed that gives some history about our family. My family photo album includes pictures of family that has passed on,  pictures of my children and grandchildren as they grow, graduations, marriages, births, baptisms, holiday celebrations,  family vacations, special events, accomplishments, and more. It represents the importance of family, values, traditions, and more as well as a good deal about what my family sees as important. Much of my family culture revolves around southern tradition, coming together cooking, and enjoying southern food especially during holidays and special events, which is why I would take my recipe box that includes recipes for my family’s favorite foods.

It would be very hard to choose just one artifact and I really pray that this exercise never becomes reality.  Being the elder in my family, I would probably choose the family photo album as my family and our values are important to my life.  It could be used to teach my grandchildren about our family culture and to help them understand their family history.  I believe I could keep our religious practices, and beliefs alive giving them comfort in the event my Bible was taken because its teachings are engrained into my life, heart and mind.  As far as southern cooking, I have been doing this my entire life and can do from memory and so can my older children. The pictures offer a visual for discussion about our family to its youngest members and can play a huge role in keeping our culture alive throughout generations.

I have learned from this exercise just how important passing my family’s history  and its values down to the younger generation in my family really is to me. I think I have taken this for granted.  I’m sure the family photo album along with discussion will become a new tradition in future family gatherings. I also learned how important these artifacts are to who I am as well as how blessed I am to have easy access to these things and that it would be devastating to lose anyone of these representations of my culture. 

When I Think of Research...

I have learned the importance of research to the field of early childhood education. Through investigation we can answer important questions related to who, how, why, and what. Probably the most beneficial insights gained are how to read research articles, the various research terminology definitions, and the differences in research designs. I am convinced this will prove very useful in future courses and in my career.
I still find that a great deal of work goes into designing research. As I progressed through the course and learning the various aspects of the process using the charts, I don't feel as overwhelmed completing the final project. . Designing and conducting research requires a great deal of careful planning; is time consuming, and can be overwhelming at times, however much knowledge is gained. Managing my time and choosing the design for the final project proved to be the most challenging. The most helpful part of this course that helped me deal with these challenges was insight and feedback from Dr. Dartt as well as support from colleagues and the charts. I have a new found respect for those in the field committed to the arena of early childhood research. I have come to realize that everything we know about children, how they grow and learn, and what we do in the classroom to encourage their healthy development and learning is based on research. Our work and the field depends on it.
We are coming to the end of our journey through this research course. Much learning has taken place and we did it together. Best wishes!

Research Around the World

I chose to explore the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) which was developed by and is maintained by the University of Victoria, Canada. This virtual university is the international gateway for early childhood research worldwide. Through the link below, you can access ECDVU’s Sub-Saharan Africa portal. The second link provides a list of current early childhood research conducted by students in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The links are:
 http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php
http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php

Some of the current international research topics listed on the website are related to school-parent relationships, early childhood needs and quality care, involving fathers in early care and education, assessing school readiness, curriculum development, teacher training and education, parent education, and Indigenous studies to name a few. What I noticed these topics for research are universal and relating issues are experienced throughout the world. The research topics listed  are final major projects and theses of master early childhood students. In all honesty, I did not gain any surprising facts, insights, ideas from exploring this website. It is a virtual online university dedicated to further developing African ECD leadership capacity as a key strategy in support of child, family and community well-being and broader social and economic development and committed to improving the quality of life for children and their families in SSA. I did not find any other noteworthy information other than the fact there is a coomon thread around the globe related to ECE professionals and organizations comittment to children and families. We have spent so much time here at Walden, exploring international websites that I have come to realize that the issues related to the early childhood field and research topics are universal around the globe.

Research Benefiting Children and Families

Some time ago as part of my educational journey, I discovered the Center of the Developing Child which is a multidisciplinary team committed to driving science-based innovation in policy and practice located at Harvard University and led by Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D.  As I explored the research related to early experiences and brain development, I found research related to three core concepts of early development which include: Experiences build brain architecture, Serve and Return Interaction Shapes Brain Circuitry, and Toxic Stress Derails Healthy Development. The basic architecture of the brain is constructed through a process that begins early in life and continues into adulthood.

 (Center for the Developing Child, 20 2011).

One of the most essential experiences in shaping the architecture of the developing brain is “serve and return” interaction between children and significant adults in their lives. Learning how to cope with adversity is an important part of healthy development (Center for the Developing Child, 2011). I find these research topics interesting and exciting because as a infant/toddler teacher I realized I play an important role in providing positive early experiences for the very young children in my classroom that have the potential for positively shaping their brain architecture and  also the potential to educate their parents on these topics and to provide them with resources and support helping them to do the same. 

Advances in neuroscience, molecular biology, and genomics now give a much better understanding of how early experiences are built into our bodies and brains, for better or for worse. This research is important to the field of early childhood education in creating positive changes in policy and practice as well as to encouraging the youngest of children to develop the necessary foundations for future educational achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, strong communities, and successful parenting of the next generation (Center for the Developing Child, 2011). Please view the videos I am attaching as they are quite insigtful.

References

Center for the Developing Child. (2011). Multimedia Series: Three Core Concepts of Early Development.  Harvard University. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/

Personal Research Journey

Light-Up Baby Touch Tablet from Vtech

As an early childhood educator and grandparent of infants and toddlers, the impact of electronic toys on infant and toddler development is both a professional and personal interest. As seen in commercials and advertisements, the companies that make these toys with flashing lights and sounds make the claim that their toys foster development. Of course, parents and others run out and buy these toys for their young children, relatives, and friends. As a child development specialist and early childhood teacher of the youngest of children, I have my doubts that these toys actually foster development significantly; therefore,  I would like to explore this topic further. I seek to answer the general question, “What is the impact of electronic toys on infant and toddler development?” I have narrowed my general topic down to three subtopics which relate to the quality of young children’s play, the importance of child/adult interactions in the early years, and language development. Research show the importance of active, imaginative and explorative play to children’s development across all domains of development including developing language (Levin & Rosenquest, 2001).  Studies also find that the characteristics of child and adult interactions are important to the quality of young children’s play and development.  Since the  characteristics of child and adult influences the quality of play and what children learn, we can assume that the characteristics of children’s interactions with toys also influence the quality of play and development (Levin & Rosenquest, 2001). The topic I have decided to explore for my research simulation is:  In what ways do infant and toddler’s interactions with electronic toys influence the quality of their play and development?  

http://vtech.com

 So far, the information in our textbook, assigned readings, research charts, and applications as well as our discussions have been helpful in understanding research as a tool, in choosing a topic, as well as in narrowing it down, and in understanding reading formal research. I expect this will continue as the course progresses and I work on the simulation. The problems I am experiencing are locating credible resources related to the ways that infant and toddler’s interactions with electronic toys influence the quality of their play and development and managing my time as locating resources can be time consuming. If anyone knows of credible resources on this topic, please share them. Also, any suggestions for managing time and for locating resources is much appreciated.

Reference

Levin, D.E. & Rosenquest, B. (2001). The increasing role of electronic toys in the lives of infants and toddlers: Should we be concerned? Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood. (2) 242-247, doi:10.2304/ciec.2001.2.2.9. Retrieved from http://cie.sagepub.com/