Practicing Awareness of Microagression

Examples of microagression are everywhere.  When I watched the video for this week, I immediately began self-reflecting to see if anything I do would be considered microagression.  The first thing I thought of was when I deal with people who speak another language.  At my preschool there are several families who speak Spanish as a first language.  Unfortunately, I do not speak Spanish.  Sometimes my teachers are available for translation, but most of the time I try to communicate with them on my own.  I find myself speaking very slowly, but also much louder than I normally speak.  Although this is not something I do intentionally, I am sure they notice this.  I imagine it may make them feel as if I think they are stupid, or hard of hearing.  I will definitely be more conscious of this in the future.

Some other examples I can recall are girlfriends talking about guys they have dated.  I have heard statements like, "police officers are abusive", "latin men are controlling", and "jewish men are cheap".  These comments really irritate me.  I think classifying all people based on the actions of one or two you may  have come into contact with is a true sign of ignorance. 

The Definition of Culture and Diversity

The Definition of Culture and Diversity

RYAN: 

 Culture - the unique lifestyle, beliefs, and customs of a society.

Diversity - is different

HEATHER:

Culture is how we act based on how we were raised. Different people from various parts of the world or even the country are exposed to all kinds of experiences that shape us. Ways of thinking, acting, or even expressing ourselves is going to reflect our culture. Our parents pass onto us their culture and then when we have children we pass it on to them. The more culture we are exposed to the richer our lives can be!

Diversity is the variety of life and is what sets us apart from others. What a boring world we would live in if everyone was exactly the same.

LYN:

Culture is a way of life. It is a group of people. It is based on how people behave, their actions and values. Culture is shared and passed down through communication in actions. Diversity is knowing and accepting the variety of characteristics that make people. For example, age, gender, culture economic background, education, ethnicity, religious beliefs and political views all make up what makes people diverse.

Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples?

This course has taught me that culture does consist of the unique lifestyles, beliefs and customs of a society.  It also consists of the values that are embedded in us from how we were raised.  Our parents and surroundings influence the pieces of our culture we carry with us.  Diversity consists of differences and what sets us apart from others.  Examples are age, gender, economic background, ethnicity, religious beliefs and political views.

Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission?

I think what's truly important and is not emphasized in these definitions, is the fact that culture means something different to everyone.  Our circumstances and choices determine our own culture.  The way we were raised plants the seeds of our culture, but our personal decisions and life experiences formulate the way culture manifests in our lives. 

In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics?

We all view culture and diversity in a different light.  It is not only important to appreciate cultural diversity, but to respect the opinions of others in regards to the topic.

Family Culture

If I was being uprooted out of my country and was only allowed to bring three items to preserve my family's culture, I would choose the following:

• Family photo album
• Shoebox of cards and letters from family over the years
• Celtic Cross

The family photo album would allow me to look at the photos anytime and share them with those around me, as well as future generations.  The shoebox of cards and letters would express the sentiment and love we always felt for each other.  The Celtic cross would remind me of my Irish heritage and the fact that God is always with me.

If I was told I could only keep one of the three items upon arrival I would be hurt and angry.  It would be extremely hard to make such a decision.  I guess I would choose the photo album.  A picture is worth a thousand words, and no one can ever take God away from me, because he lives in my heart.

This excercise only reiterated the fact that the two most important things in my life are God and family.

After completing the course "Building Research Competency", I have determined there are many facets to the field of research.  Even for professionals who do not plan to conduct research, there is a vast array of information that must be learned in order to understand research.

I have always been a bit intimidated by research.  I took an Ecology course in college and that was my first real taste of research studies.  We had to analyze a few studies, and then create our own study, including writing each component of the research report.  I became familiar with the abstract, methods, and conclusion sections, and also learned how to create charts and record data.  It was all a bit overwhelming and to be honest, I was glad when it was all over!  I didn't think I would need to utilize any of the information after the course.  To my surprise, this course was actually an in depth study of what I had experienced.  And, I was grateful for my prior knowledge in the area of research, although it was only the tip of the iceberg so to speak.

What I have learned in this course is that research is a complex project.  There are many things to consider before even beginning with just a simple research question.  I learned that as soon as you spark an interest in something, the best thing to do is to search for research studies that have been done in the past and compile as much information as possible.  This will help guide you through formulating some questions.  Once you have the questions in mind, the design of the study can begin.  Several factors, such as who will conduct the research, who the participants can be, where the research will be done, the type of study that will be conducted (ie. qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, etc.), and how the conclusion of the study may contribute to the field, are very important.  Aside from that, clearly articulating information and proving the validity of the experiment are important, especially for replication.

I definitely see the field of early childhood education vital to the research field.  As I said before, I did not feel I would ever conduct research beyond college.  I wanted to run a preschool.  However, any contribution I can offer my colleagues based on my findings will benefit the profession and I fully intend on doing so when I have the opportunity.  I am thankful for the knowledge and understanding this class has provided me with, as well as the enlightenment.

Early Childhood Australia - A voice for young children

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Today's society provides us with the opportunity to learn more about the world than ever before. The internet is our key to endless possibilities.  Without ever stepping foot outside of our home we can see the world!  Not only can we explore and embrace cultural diversity, we can band together and share our knowledge in order to enhance our quality of life.  Education is a field every culture is equally concerned about; especially the early childhood profession.  It seems to have become increasingly prominent all over the world, and educators and researchers are sharing their findings.  I am excited to expand my mind and explore the work of early childhood professionals in Australia this week.  This is what I found when on the website for Early Childhood Australia.

What are some of the current international research topics?

This website offers a page dedicated to "Resource Themes".  Currently, there are clickable options under the following categories:  Being Belonging and Becoming, School Readiness and Children's Transitions, Sustainability Global Warming and Climate Changes, Baby and Toddler Sleeping and Childhood Health and Obesity.  Once you click on a link there are several research articles, books and credible quotes available on each topic.  The sources are listed, as well as additional links to help you find the sources.  There is a place on the homepage which lists current news and popular items.  Some of the recent popular items include the early years learning framework, and learning and teaching through play.  Several media releases are also on the homepage including ECPs responses to current issues, such as national standards and budget initiatives.

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

In all honesty, I was shocked to see one of the resource themes was global warming and climate change.  I agree this is a very important issue we all must face and act on, I was just surprised to see this organization had information pertaining to the early childhood field.  I began the topic through the clickable links.  I found this organization is promoting what they call, "transformative education" that values, encourages and supports young children to be problem-seekers, problem-solvers, and action-takers in their own environments.  This involves including education about nature in the early childhood curriculum and encouraging children to play outside and become deeply engaged in the natural world.  There are several bullet points listed about what childhood professionals can do from modeling green housekeeping within their centers, to becoming advocates for neighborhood outdoor play areas for children.  I was very happy to read this and plan on implementing some of the suggestions offered by the organization.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

There is a section called "Supporting Best Practices".  This is broken down by categories and then several subcategories.  Each subcategory leads you to a brief explanation and then includes a country afterward.  I was a bit confused so I clicked on the final subcategory.  What this meant is that the organization found a credible educational resource on each topic and many of them are from organizations located around the globe.  I thought this was a really cool feature.  Although I was researching an Australian organization I was able to learn from organizations all over the world.  The website is really an extremely organized portal to pertinent information in the early childhood field.  

I am so impressed by this website and plan to utilize it from this day forward.  Often I find myself overwhelmed when doing searches online and cannot seem to find credible sources.  This website will help me so much.  

Concsious Discipline for Educators and Parents

"Conscious Discipline" is an evidence-based program that was named as a national model for character education by the Florida State Legislature.  There are two models: The Connected Family and The School Family.  The county I live in has adopted this program and I have seen it in action in my son's kindergarten classroom.  It is truly amazing.  Read below:

The Connected Family creates healthy relationships between parents, between parents and children, between siblings, and between extended family members and the community at large.

The good news is that the seven skills of Conscious Discipline you will use to guide your children to being successful are the same skills needed to enhance relationships. The Conscious Discipline Brain State Model will help you understand the science behind behaviors that will serve you well in any chosen field of work. The Seven Powers for Conscious Adults will highlight for you your ineffective behavioral patterns that get in your way of being successful at whatever you do. The Conscious Discipline program is a 3 in 1 powerhouse. Discipline your children in such as they become self-disciplined, improve all your relationships with adults and children, and become successful in your career. The catch in this wonderful news is you must have an authentically connected family base from which all this manifest.

Connection, not attention, is what all people seek. Loving moments of genuine connection literally wire the brain for impulse control and willingness. The biochemistry of love allows us to move beyond power struggles to a willingness to cooperate, fosters forgiveness instead simply trying to forget, and provides the willingness needed to repair ruptured relationship moments.

The Connected Family is
 fostered through predictable routines, nurturing rituals
 and specific Conscious Discipline structures in the home.

The Connected Family creates a fundamental shift of power in our homes. All members in the family are empowered to have their needs met and a voice, not the final voice, but a voice. We must leave coercion, fear and external rewards behind, and step into a new worldview where intrinsic motivation, helpfulness, problem-solving and connection govern our homelife. We move from attempting to control our children and make them behave to helping them be successful in following the rules. We move from correction to connection from compliance to alliance. All else falls in place!

The School Family builds connections between families and schools, teachers and teachers, teachers and students, and students and students to ensure the optimal development of all.

These connections provide the three essential ingredients for school success:

A willingness to learn: Without willingness, each interaction becomes a power struggle instead of a learning opportunity. The School Family brings all children, especially the most difficult, to a place of willingness through a sense of belonging.

Impulse control: Connection with others is the construct that literally wires the brain for impulse control. Disconnected children are disruptive. External reward/punishment systems cannot improve a child’s ability to self-regulate because they are not designed to teach new skills. The School Family uses connection to internally encourage impulse control and teaches self-regulation skills in context.

Attention: Our attentional system is sensitive to stress and becomes engaged with positive emotions. The School Family reduces stress while creating an atmosphere of caring, encouragement and meaningful contributions. These components are essential for children to develop and apply sustained attention.

The School Family is
created through routines, rituals
and structures.

The School Family creates a fundamental shift in education and classroom management. Leave coercion, fear and external rewards behind, and step into a world where intrinsic motivation, helpfulness, problem-solving and connection govern your classroom.

Check out this link to see how implementing the Conscious Discipline model transformed one Florida "D" rated school:

http://consciousdiscipline.com/about/ferncreek.asp

There are several research papers and statistics as well:

http://consciousdiscipline.com/about/research_papers.asp

I highly recommend this program for any family or school.  

Research Focus - Formal Assessment in Early Childhood

Throughout this course we are required to choose a research topic.  I chose the topic, "How to perform formal assessments in early childhood".  This has been something I have been struggling with over the past few years within my own center.  As a director, evaluating the program to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses is a top priority.  Our primary objective is kindergarten readiness, so the best way to determine program quality is through the analysis of student achievement.  This process involves initially testing children for prior knowledge, performing assessments throughout the year, and then re-evaluating at the end of the year through a formal assessment to determine the knowledge the children have gained throughout the year in comparison to what they already knew.

Each year I work with my faculty to develop a pretest, mid-year evaluations, and a year-end assessment. Every year we improve this process through revising the tests and administering them in different ways.  It is always a challenge.  This year we still administered our own pretest, but decided to adopt the progress reporting system developed by the state of Florida to coincide with the learning standards developed for 

four year-olds.  In our opinion, there are still changes that need to be made.  

I believe the art of assessing early childhood students is yet to be discovered.  It's not as simple as giving them a scantron and asking them to fill in the bubbles.  Children who learn through play must demonstrate their knowledge in the same fashion.  I am excited about researching this topic, but more importantly, I feel secure in having the guidance and support of my instructor and colleagues in learning HOW to do this research.  As I mentioned, I have been digging around in this topic for the past several years in an attempt to create the perfect assessments.  It has been extremely overwhelming.  It seems I always begin researching and give up because I am inundated with information overload.  I would welcome any advice or resources in this area as I begin my journey.  If you have answers to the following questions, please feel free to share!

• Do you feel the pre-test and post-test should be the same in order to compare then/now results?
• Do you feel children should be separated from the classroom and taken into a private environment to be tested, or should they remain in the classroom setting among peers?
• Should parents be provided with their children's results in conjunction with where they rank in their group of peers (not revealing identities of course)?
• Do any of you have a valuable resource or tool you are currently utilizing to assess 3 / 4 year olds?

I am looking forward to this journey and am exciting to hear about your topics!  Happy researching to all!