Reflecting on Learning

My most passionate hope for my future while working with young children and their families is that every child be afforded the opportunity to receive high quality education, regardless of race, gender, economic class, language, culture, religion, etc. And also to continue to make every effort to create an anti-bias setting that is rich in possibilities for exploring cultural diversity.

Thank you colleagues for sharing you most inner thoughts, hopes and dreams. The knowledge and information I've gained from each of your experiences has truly been an inspiration.  Over the course of the last several months I've cultivated friendships beyond the classroom and I look forward to continuing those friendships and collaborating with those of you in the near future.

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

Impacts on Early Emotional Development 

The region of the world I chose to investigate was West and Central Africa.  After investigating the region I elected to focus on the country Guinea.  Guinea is located on the west coast of Africa, its population is approximately 7.5 million with almost half of the population under the age of fifteen.  Guinea is one of the world's poorest countries. Despite its natural resources and abundant rainfall, Guinea has low life expectancy, a low doctor-patient ratio, and a high rate of infant mortality. The country remains largely rural, and 80 percent of the population is involved in agricultural production. Many people can afford to eat only once a day. Their meals are frequently low in protein, and many children and adults suffer from malnutrition.

Guinea was one of countries that was effected by the worst Ebola outbreak on record, 773 children in Guinea alone have lost both parents to the disease.   And the fate of these grieving kids and those in other parts of West Africa who were orphaned by the virus, were in jeopardy when family members abandoned them or refused to take them in due to concerns that they could spread the disease, which has claimed more than 9,000 lives.  According to the aid organization, an estimated 16,000 children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone lost one parent, both parents or their primary caregivers to Ebola.

The experiences of these children watching a parent die, and having to worry about who was going to take care of them or where they were going to stay no doubt had a tremendous effect on the children’s emotional wellbeing and development.

As an early childhood professionals, we should all take the opportunity to help improve child protection services for all vulnerable children.  Become a voice to address other forms of vulnerability that some of our young children may be facing on a daily basis.

References

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/guinea.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The mere fact that there is actually a topic such as sexualization of early childhood is just unthinkable. Growing up in the early 1960’s as a child, we were not exposed to the sexually explicit terms and images that our young children are exposed too today in a world that I consider as being oversexualized world.   It wasn’t until deregulation of television in the 1980’s which allowed an increase in violent and sexually explicit TV programming that depicted little boys as being told they have to be macho and ready to fight and sending the message to girls that being just pretty and sweet is not enough but they have to be sexy and sexualized as well. As much as parents and/or early childhood educators would like to protect our children from these sexually explicit terms and images at such an early age, children are sure to encounter sexually explicit photos and lyrics from the media, their peers and the school environment.  

Our goal as educators and parents should be to help keep them safe first and far most and keep an open dialogue with our young children to allow them to ask questions about what they see and how they feel about themselves in regards to the sexually explicit terms and images they may encounter.  Help them to understand the images they see and come in contact with does not define who they are as a person, or what they should wear, or how they should or should not look. 

Because of the growing age of technology, it’s nearly impossible to protect children from exposure to sexual imagery in the media and popular culture.  Most children as early as the age of three have hand held computers or access to computers in their home, videos games and their own TV in their bedrooms with little or no parental guidance as to what type of music they are listening too or TV programs they watch.

In order to counteract sexualization in early childhood both parents and educators will have to narrow such stereotypes of boys and girls in commercial culture by helping boys learn alternatives to tough and violent behavior and encouraging girls to be physically active and independent, rather than focusing on their appearance and sexiness.

Reference

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

There are no words to describe how racism feels. Everyone deals with it differently. Some people lash out verbally, others withdraw into themselves. Some people can talk openly about how it feels, others hide it deep within. It’s imperative that we talk to our children and prepare them for the possibility that they might experience racism. 

Most ethnic minority parents teach their children about their culture by passing down information and traditions from their country of origin. However, research suggests, with the exception of African-American families, they are less likely to talk to their children about what it means to be a minority in a country that is primarily Caucasian and discuss experiences related to discrimination and racial teasing they might experience because of their ethnic differences (Caughy, Nettles, O’Campo, and Lohrfink,  2002). Preparing children for racist interactions is important because it allows them to attribute the discrimination and bullying to the bully, not to a personal defect within themselves or with their culture, and will encourage them to talk about it, if when it occurs.  

As early childhood professional young children look to us as role models, so by being assertive it teaches them to find their own voice and to stand up for themselves and others who are being teased. My girlfriend, who is Korean, constantly experienced racial slurs at her job as pet groomer from co-workers to point where she quite a job.  It’s important that we, the community as a whole get involve and stand up for what is right. 

If we as educators know racial teasing or discrimination is occurring in our school, in our neighborhood, I believe we should get organized and get support to stop it.  Don’t ignore racism if you see it. It doesn’t go away if you close your eyes and don’t look.

Reference

Caughy, M. O., Nettles, S. M., O’Campo, P. J., & Lohrfink, K. F. (2005). Racial socialization and African American child development: The importance of neighborhood context. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.