The Art of Listening  

The show I chose to watch was Golden Girls, with four women a show, one older woman and three younger women.  As I watched the show in silent mode, I was able to see that the four women same living arrangement.  It was kind of difficult to know exactly what was going on, however I come to the conclusion that there was some disagreement going on.  It seemed that the argument was having to do with the older woman going away on a trip.  In further viewing the show I came to the conclusion that it was not a happy discussion because of the facial gestures the women were having.  I assumed that the women were not related, just friends helping each other economically and to help each other not be alone in life.


Upon turning up the volume I was able to see what the discussion was all about.  The older woman was the mother to one of the other three and the other two were friends.  The daughter was having to make the   decision of sending her mother to a retirement facility because she thought this would be better for her.  One of the friends did not agree with the older woman’s daughter because she said she would become lonely and die all alone in that place and that no one could take better care of her that her own daughter and friends.  The second friend agreed with the daughter because her argument was that the mother would be able to meet more people her age and she would have different activities to fill up her days.  At the end of the show it is decided that the older woman will continue to live with her daughter and two friends.

I truly believe that if I would have watched this television show previously I would have known what the show was all about and how the characters were all connected and I would have probably know a bit more about the plot of the show.

I found out that it was difficult to get the information about the show because of their nonverbal behaviors, however I was able to make out that there was some disagreement going on.  I also found out that without verbal communication I was missing some clarification to what was causing the disagreement.   What I have learned from this experience is that it is very important to listening very carefully when someone is talking to you.

Communication Skills/Professional

The person who I believe demonstrates competent communication is Mr. Jack Damron. Mr. Damron just retired as our Executive Director, but he has the communication skills that I want to follow.  During his time as Executive Director he made sure that he went around each morning to the different departments to say good morning and ask if there were any concerns.  He made sure he complimented his employees in a positive manner and remembered every little detail of each one of us (there are over 200 employees).  During our staff meeting he made sure that he praised his employees and stressed the fact that his job was made easier because he had the competent staff to make sure the job was done.  

He made himself accessible to all employees and never had a negative attitude, no matter what the problem was.  He made sure he gave his employees his fullest attention when discussing any topic, never gave the impression that he was bored.

I would want to model some of my communication behaviors after Mr. Damron because I believe his method of communication was very effective.  I saw how every one of his employee had the respect and admiration for this gentleman.    I want to be able to have the same positive effect that Mr. Damron had when he went around inquiring about how our day was going.

 Professional Hopes and Goals

The one hope that I have is that all children and families, no matter what their culture/background is will be treated equally and that they in turn will do the same. We must as educators understand the different cultures/customs that the families we work with and not be judgmental.  We must do this in order to provider these children and their families with the most effective and appropriate services they need without making them feel inferior or not want to ask for the assistance their child needs.  We must teach our young ones to respect each other, however, in order for this to succeed we as adults must show them the way and respect each other also.

One goal I have after this course is that all educators become educated in the issues related to diversity and to understand the different customs/traditions we will be working with.  We must stand up for the rights of these children and become advocates for them and make sure that we don't become judgmental when a child comes from a low economic status family.

I would like to thank my colleagues for providing the support in this course..  I realize that educational journeys become successful when we support each other and provide positive feedback.  A big THANK YOU for being the role models that I know I will continue to exercise in my professional and personal life.  I would also like to thank our instructor for always providing the positive feedback on our discussions and class work.  Hope to see some of you again in my next journey.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The family I have chosen to learn more about is a family from Vietnam.  We have had families from this area, however I have never worked with them before and I would like to learn more about their culture in order to provide the appropriate services.

The first thing would be to learn more about this country, its traditions, religious beliefs, language  and the culture of the Vietnamese people.  This will insure that I don't do or say something inappropriate to the family.  After learning this, I would share the information with my co-workers and administrators just in case someone else has to step in and help with this case.  I belief that if we all work together and learn about each other's caseload it will make our program a success.  I would look into contracting with a language interpreter in order to provide the best and appropriate services to the family.  I would look at our present caseload and see if we are serving any families from Vietnam and maybe visit them to see if I can learn more about their customs and traditions.  The last step would be to set up  a visit with the family to learn more about their family structure and prepare them of what our program consists of in order to provide the appropriate services.

I belief that in preparing in this manner will assist me in providing the services to the child and family.  This will also help in teaching the family how they can also help their child after I am gone from the home.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

The memory that comes to mind is that of when my sisters and I were small (about 7 years of age) my parents took us shopping and just like little children we were just looking around the store.  One of the store clerks noticed us and started following us all throughout the store, not saying a word.  We started walking out the store and my Father noticed the clerk followed us and so he decided to approach her to ask if there was a problem, had his children taken something without paying.  Her answer was no, but because we were Hispanics she had to be double sure that we were not taking anything.

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

The incident of prejudice diminished equity when the store clerk put all Hispanics in the same category of "if you are a Hispanic then you must be someone who steals from others". Without really knowing what type of persons we were, she put us in the same level as maybe someone else she had had a bad experience with.

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

It brought feelings of being uncomfortable in the stores, however, my parents made sure they explained very carefully the reason the store clerk had done what she had done.  I guess because we were still young children it didn't affect us much and the way that my parents explained the situation also played a big part on how we developed as adults.

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

I think that how everyone in the community think and act would change this way of thinking. We must continue to educate everyone in this sort of topic.  

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

The microaggression I witnessed  was from a previous director at our program, she was originally from North Dakota and she would always say "is this how you all do things here in South Texas"?  It was always disturbing to hear her say that, however, no one ever confronted her about how she was stating things.  What made me think was how dare she stereotype the people from South Texas and ask if this was the way we do things here.

I think that this week has opened up my eyes a little more and has made me think more about how others  see the people from South Texas.  I felt discriminated by her remarks, but was not about to confront her because that might mean my job.  It is sad to realize that this sort of thinking still goes on.  Maybe if we were to move to another state we might see how the residents of that state do things and think the same way that my former director did.  However, we must work very hard to try and stop any prejudice feelings we may have towards other races.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

In looking at the definition and how different persons define culture and diversity, I chose to call some of my close friends to ask them their perspective.  The persons I called were Levi Steptoe, Jr. (African-American State Soil Scientist), Kathy de la Pena (retired ECI Director) and Dahlia Alvarez (retired diagnostician for school district), and asked them to define culture and diversity.  I asked the same questions that are in this week’s assignment:

1.         What is your definition of culture and diversity?

2.        What affects have the two had on your professional career?

Levi Steptoe, Jr. defined culture and diversity as: “Culture and diversity are actually interconnected because of how they cannot exist or relate without the other.  You have to look at the big picture and understand how culture deals with the various groups of people in one society and diversity is the mixture of all the groups. I certainly believe that culture and diversity has influenced my professionally career for the better and I have learned to work with different cultures in the different places in which I have been assigned to work at.”  I can honestly say that it has not been easy learning and understanding the different cultures I have worked with however, I have managed to get ahead in my professional life by doing so.

Kathy de la Pena defined culture and diversity as: “Diversity is what makes our world and further defines the many individuals who you come into contact every day. I feel that culture is the whole that makes all persons humans and explains everything that we do, we say, how we dress and our way of thinking. When I first arrived in South Texas, it was very hard understanding the people and their different culture because I was raised in South Dakota and things were very different.”  I learned as much as I could about the children and families I was working with and it was a big eye opener for me.  I grew to understand the culture and was able to provide appropriate services to these children.

I decided to ask my best friend (childhood friend and from same culture as me) to define culture and diversity and her answer was the following:  “In working as a diagnostician in the elementary school setting made me understand that even in our own culture there was differences.  Going into the early childhood education field I had to know about the background of the families I was working with in order to provide the testing and services the children needed. As a professional I have learned to see how the effects of culture and diversity affect the children’s learning abilities and can I know that culture and diversity if used accurately are teaching tools to understand all types of people and their backgrounds.  I learned to identify with these children and their families even though they came from the same culture as mine, yet there were significant differences.”  I do agree that culture and diversity made an impact on my professional career and I grew in a positive manner in order to provide adequate services to the children entrusted to me.

In asking my friends to define culture and diversity it is really something to see how they all define culture and diversity in just about the same way.  It is very important to me to understand how we all are very different, yet we work for the same things, making sure that we are able to provide adequate services to children who need them.  It is very interesting how when you start asking questions and digging deeper into the thoughts of others, we all really think alike just in a different manner.

My Family Culture (Imagine the following):

The three items I would choose are a family picture, because family plays a major dynamic in my life.  I have instilled upon my own children that family is very important in our lives, without family, I feel that we would be lost.  This belief was instilled to me by my own parents.  The holy bible would be the next item I would choose because of the religious beliefs my parents have instilled upon me.  I have come to believe that without prayer and the presence of God in our lives, our lives would be meaningless.  The last item I would take with me would be whatever money I have in my possession.  This would be used to be able to get whatever necessities my family would be needing in order to survive in this new environment.

I would explain the importance of keeping the family alive and by carrying the picture would be an indication to anyone who wanted to know who your family is.  The Holy Bible would be represent the importance of my religious beliefs and the reason why I must continue to teach this to my family.   In explaining why I chose money, would be to be able to provide whatever necessities my family would be needing in this new country.

I would feel very sad, however, I would keep the money because pictures we can carry in our minds and our hearts.  The Holy Bible would be carried in our teachings and continue to practice our religious beliefs.  It would sadden me in having to give up these two items, but as I explained we can carry the images of our loved ones in our minds and hearts.  Without money, we would not be able to provide for the well-being and safety of my family.

The insight I have gained about myself is that family comes first and I must do whatever it takes to provide for them and keep them safe.  That my family culture is very strong and that I continue to strive in making sure that my own children continue with this cultural beliefs.

When I Think of Research.............

What insights have you gained about research from tang to this course?

After taking this class I was able to understand the process of research and why research is so important in our everyday happenings.  At first, I thought I was going to have major problems in following the whole research process, however I soon found out it was starting to be very interesting and I really enjoyed looking up information for this class.  I found out how beneficial research is to the participants involved in the research and that it takes many hours in doing research.  I learned the whole process of what it means to understand, evaluate and apply the research findings successfully.  After taking this class I find that I am able to read research information and understand what it is I am reading and how to put this information to good use.

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

 I believe that my ideas about the nature of doing research have changed in a positive manner because I have learned about the importance of collecting and analyzing research information in order to understand what the study entails.  I also learned that the research process is not a simple process however it takes several steps in order to complete the process. I learned that research has many sides to it and the researcher/examiner can come up with different conclusions and that ethical procedures must  be adhered to.

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

In taking this course, I learned that it is very important when conducting research in early childhood that the researcher/examiner must plan accordingly, must have patience in conducting the research.  I learned that it is also very important that we take into account the rights of the children involved in any research along with the rights of the parents.  I learned that I must look at all sides of the research information and be objective.

What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

I think that some of the challenges I encountered in taking this class were that I had to really pay close attention to the different ways research is conducted, understanding all about qualitative and quantitative research.  I found a challenge in the questions at the end of the chapters, however I was able to tackle this and met it head on and researched for the answers in order to understand the lessons.  I challenged myself to using the Walden Library more effectively in order to get my assignments completed.  Another one of the challenges that I was very happy in overcoming was with the blog assignments because in my previous class, this was my major problem.  I finally overcame it by researching and not giving up.

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

In taking this course I learned the importance of conducting research, the importance of collecting data and looking at this information in an objective manner.  I also further learned that I must be aware of not violating the rights of the children involved in any research I conduct.  That I must make sure that the child’s parents are well informed about the research being conducted with their children.  My perception was further modified as a result of this course by supporting the evidence that we as educators must put the children first even if it means that our research is jeopardized.  We must do everything in our power to work towards the same goal which is to put children first and work to make a better world for them.  There are many philosophies and ideas in early childhood, however we must make sure that all the right ethical manners are used in conducting research with children.

Research Around the World

The link I chose to discuss is: Early Childhood Australia: This is the Australian equivalent to the U.S. based NAEYC. You can access several links to early childhood research from the menu on the left side of the home page.http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

What are some of the current international research topics?

The Research in Practice Series is a practical, easy-to-read resource, offering effective new approaches for those challenging issues which arise in the care and education of young children.

Early Childhood Australia's Research in Practice Series is an essential resource for those involved in the early childhood field. The books are idea-rich and to-the-point.

The Research in Practice Series focuses on the practical, 'hands-on' aspects of early childhood – making them ideally suited to early childhood workers.

However, the wide range of topics covered throughout the series offers something to anyone interested in children's

Early Childhood Australia has many print and online resources to assist parents, carers and educators in helping children make the transition from child care to preschool, and from preschool to school.

These links and resources on school readiness and transitions are quality-assured by Early Childhood Australia.

School readiness links in ECA's Supporting Best Practice web directory

• School readiness
  A great selection of links to fact sheets and websites. For carers to understand and support parents and children in getting ready to start school.
• About preschoolers
  A more general topic providing connections to sites that discuss the growth, learning and support of preschool-age children.

Best-selling Early Childhood Australia parent resource

Your child’s first year at school: Getting off to a good start is the ideal book for parents facing the often daunting task of navigating through the first year of school. Packed with helpful tips, written by early education experts and endorsed by the Australian Principal Primary Association Your child’s first year at school: getting off to a good start is great value for only $19.95. To read more or order your copy now for the 2013 school year, please click here. If you are a teacher or principal and would like to order bulk copies for your school, please click here

Climate change and sustainability: 'Reaching the tipping point'

Thank you for your informing me about [Early Childhood Australia] and the work you do. We are all part of a network of people and groups that make up a huge movement.Let's hope we reach a tipping point soon.
–respected environmental activist David Suzuki, in response to the Sustainability issue of ECA's Every Child magazine (vol. 13 no. 1, 2007)

Sustainability is about creating a safe and secure future for every child

In her President's Message in the ECA Voice newsletter (vol. 7 no. 3, 2007), Margaret Young wrote:

Climate change and global warming are gathering more and more public exposure – it is an issue which reaches across so many aspects of our lives. Early Childhood Australia echoes the hope of David Suzuki: that we may soon reach a tipping point, in which widespread understanding of these issues leads to universal support for living sustainably on our planet.

This issue of Voice includes a sample of some of the great work being done by ECA's Global Warming e-Group. At the ECA Board of Directors meeting in June, ECA reconfirmed its commitment to the issues of climate change and sustainability.

'Climate change' refers to the varied effects of global warming, such as increases in extreme weather events, prolonged droughts and heat waves, melting ice caps, retreat of glaciers, higher sea levels, acidification of the oceans and changes to marine life cycles (Lowe, 2007).

'Sustainability' refers to a way of life in which humans – individually as well as collectively – lessen the negative impact upon each other and the world in which we all live. Sustainability is a holistic concept which seeks to create positive outcomes, socially as well as environmentally.

References

Lowe, I. (2007). A brief summary of the science of global warming and climate change. Retrieved 17 April 2007, www.envlaw.com.au/newlands4.pdf.

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

What I learned from this website is that early childhood topic is just about the same in every nation, the main focus is that early childood is very important and we must continue to work at providing the appropriate services to our young children, no matter where we live.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

What I found from this website is that there is very good resources that I can use when further researching my topic.  It will be interesting to find out how other countries address the response to intervention process.

 

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The article that I chose to share with classmates is on "Response to Intervention" and it states the following:

The purpose of the Research Support for Response to Intervention section is to present a summary of the nature and extent of published research conducted on Response to Intervention (RTI) to assist the reader in making informed judgments about the evidence base for RTI. To that end, we have identified studies examining the efficacy of RTI programs as well as research focusing on typical components used in the RTI process.

Although essential components of RTI programs are presented and described in more detail in the Include Essential Components section, we present them here to establish the parameters of our review. These components include: a) Universal screening for all students to determine their status against academic and social benchmarks; b) Scientifically based instruction for all students (Tier 1); c) Secondary prevention interventions (Tier 2) for students not responding adequately to Tier 1 instruction; d) Monitoring student progress, and e) Tertiary prevention instruction (Tier 3) for students making insufficient progress in response to Tier 2 instruction.

Based on our analysis of existing research and the component analysis above, we have broken our review, and thus this section, into several articles. These articles will include reviews of the following:

1. Field studies of RTI programs/models;
2. Procedures for selecting scientifically based instruction/curricula used in Tier 1;
3. Studies of the technical adequacy of universal screening measures used in Tier 1;
4. Studies of secondary and tertiary interventions within the context of an RTI framework;
5. Studies of the technical adequacy of progress-monitoring procedures used across tiers, and
6. Studies of the methods for identifying those who have not achieved the desired results in response to the interventions used at the different tiers.

www.rtinetwork.org/learn/research/researchreview

 The field of early childhood field is so broad, however, the topic that interests me is on “Response to Intervention in Early Childhood”. I am employed at an education service center in Texas as a Child Find Educator (for the past two months, previously I was the secretary for the Early Childhood Intervention Program for 20 years). We work with babies, birth to three years of age who have developmental delays or a medical diagnosis by going to their homes and providing services in their environmental setting. As the Child Find Educator, I will be providing services to all children between the ages of birth to 21 years of age. I know that research will play a very important role in my position now with the knowledge gained through this class and my classmates I hope to make a difference in the life of these children.  I have found that using the NAEYC website helps me enormously in researching information for this topic.  Are there any other resources you might think that is also credible and will help me in finding more information on my chosen topic?  Any information will be helpful and appreciated.

After reviewing the different topics in the Early Childhood tab,  I was very interested in how other countries coordinate and integrate different sectors of education.  It appears to me after reveiwing this tab that all countries share the same interest in providing the best early childhood education for all children.  We have all  determined that learning starts at birth and we also know that the underprivileged children need the benefits to early childhood care and education.  We must be able to make sure that a healthy environment is provided for the early childhood population in order to ensure that they are given the opportunity to reach their potential.

The website states the following:

 Coordination and integration

Early childhood care and education is often the concern of several government sectors and usually these are education, social affairs and health. The multi-faceted nature of early childhood care and education gives rise to the challenge of effectively coordinating provision of policy development and implementation across the different sectors.

Coordination issues include coherent regulation, funding and staffing schemes and a common vision of care and education. Effective coordination must exist among sectors at both national and local level, and also between public and private establishments.

Cross-sectoral coordination is difficult, especially at the national level. It is one of the main challenges facing governments of both developed and developing countries trying to promote a holistic approach to early childhood. Responses vary and some countries have sought to remove the problem by integrating sectoral responsibilities into a single ministry.

Other countries divide sectoral responsibilities according to age range and services. For countries where the responsibility for early childhood is divided, policy and administration coherence are sought through coordination mechanisms (COMs). Generally, COMs are effective when they focus on a particular early childhood programme, target population or specific task but their role is limited in promoting a coherent overall policy and administrative framework across different sectors. 

 It would be very interesting to visit other countries to research how the coordination and integration of early childhood education and care are targeted.  How do other countries work with their policymakers in making sure that appropriate funding for early childhood education and care are addressed and approved?  

 http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

NAEYC Website:


Again, I looked up the information on the National Association for the Education of Young Children because the organization’s mission and vision interest me very much.  NAEYC works to make sure that the services needed by our young children are being met and the educators are ready professionally to serve these young children.  I looked up more information on one aspect of providing services to young children which is as follows:

Developmentally appropriate practice, often shortened to DAP, is an approach to  teaching grounded both in the research on how young children develop and learn and in what is known about effective early education. Its framework is designed to promote young children’s optimal learning and development.

DAP involves teachers meeting young children where they are (by stage of development), both as individuals and as part of a group; and helping each child meet challenging and achievable learning goals.

Developmentally appropriate practice is the foundation for all of NAEYC's work including—publications, training programs, conferences, accreditation of child care programs, and more.

The three (3) core considerations of developmentally appropriate practice are the following:

Knowing about child development and learning.
Knowing what is typical at each age and stage of early development is crucial. This knowledge, based on research, helps us decide which experiences are best for children’s learning and development. (See “12 Principles of Child Development and Learning” from Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8.)

• Knowing what is individually appropriate.
What we learn about specific children helps us teach and care for each child as an individual. By continually observing children’s play and interaction with the physical environment and others, we learn about each child’s interests, abilities, and developmental progress.

• Knowing what is culturally important.
We must make an effort to get to know the children’s families and learn about the values, expectations, and factors that shape their lives at home and in their communities. This background information helps us provide meaningful, relevant, and respectful learning experiences for each child and family.

The five (5) guidelines for effective teaching through the

Through the decisions they make, excellent teachers translate the DAP framework into high-quality experiences for children. Such teaching is described in NAEYC’s position statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice, pages 16-23: "Guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practice." These guidelines address five key aspects of the teacher's role:

1. Creating a caring community of learners
2. Teaching to enhance development and learning
3. Planning curriculum to achieve important goals
4. Assessing children's development and learning
5. Establishing reciprocal relationships with families

Let’s  think of these guidelines as five points on a star—a “mariner’s star” to guide our journey to help children learn best. Each point of the star is a vital part of good practice in early care and education. None can be left out or shortchanged without seriously weakening the whole.      I strongly believe that if we start working to provide these services to our young children before they start school, they will be better prepared to succeed in their future endeavors.  By working together as a community we will be able to provide the tools these young children need to reach their educational goals.  We must provide all evaluations and assessments on these young children from the very beginning that we see they are having learning difficulties.

For more information about DAP, the 3 Core Considerations, the 12 Principles of Child Development and Learning, and the 5 Guidelines for Effective Teaching, read the NAEYC position statement "Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8" (PDF), adopted in 2009.

www.naeyc.org