6358 week 3 blog post

I took a few minutes off from my classroom and went to visit another teacher’s 3-4 years old classroom. I noticed that the teacher always bent down to children when they spoke, and listened to what the children had to tell her. She seldom interrupted what the child had to say, and she waited very patiently until the child finished talking. Some children were English language learners, but she never cut them off when they tried to express something with their broken sentences or simple words. During circle time, she gave everyone chances to speak out, and she gave the children a long time and never rushed them to finish their sentences.

I really like the way she listens to children and makes sure everyone has the same opportunities to express themselves. I also remember in the this week’s video segment, Lisa talked about children needed to feel respected and secure to speak out, and heard. She also mentioned that she waited and didn't take away children’s words (Laureate Education, 2010). The teacher I observed has used similar ways to communicate with children.

I believe communication is very important for both children and adults. Like Lisa mentioned in the video, teachers need to pay close attention to children’s body language as well, and this is something I have been working on because sometimes I focus on the spoken languages and didn't pay enough attention to children’s body languages, as their body languages can also tell me their stories and thoughts about what they are doing. As I work at an international school, more than half of the children speak languages other than English. As a result, observing their body languages becomes crucial to understand their ways of communication. I like this activity as being able to observe other teachers in their classrooms, because I seldom have this opportunities to sneak out from my own group of children, and I learned a lot from observing other teacher’s communication styles with children.


Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). “Communicating with Young CHildren” (Video webcast). Retrieved at https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2652530_1%26url%3D

6358 week 2 blog post

If I were to open my own family care home, I would try to create an anti-bias environment and use anti-bias curriculum. I would include books from various cultures and backgrounds. As Derman-Sparks and Olsen stated in the textbook (2010), selected children books should include all the children, families, and staff in the program. The books should reflect diversity in cultures and languages, and help children get to know other people in the society to prevent stereotypes (Derman-Sparks & Olsen). I would carefully select various posters to be hung on the wall reflecting diversity of both majority and minority of people. Open-ended materials are important so that children can use their creativity and imagination to create their own artworks. Different colors of paints should be provided with children’s skin tones as well, so that children it is okay to have different skin colors and they all look beautiful. There should be a parent board and updated information is to be posted regularly for parents to know the program better. It is a good way to maintain positive communication with parents. Puzzles need to reflect different groups of people to avoid prejudice and biases. One important thing I learn from the textbook is to first include the majority group of children and families in the materials, and then expand to other children and families who might not appear in the program. These include people from different races and/or ethnic identity groups, various economic status, people with various abilities, and also diverse family structures. Making sure that the environment and the program provides an equal and diverse learning for children is very important and both children and their families would benefit a lot from the program.

Reference

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

6357 week 8 blog post

When thinking about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, I should be more aware of their different values and cultures. Getting to know more about the families can help me a lot when setting up goals and expectations for the students. Each family is unique, and I hope I can be more open to the parents so that parents are more willing to share their values and thoughts with me as well.

One goal that I would like to set in the field is to continue to provide an anti-bias program and environment for children. I would also like to start having regular parent sessions to discuss different issues of diversity, equity, and biases so that parents can also be more aware of the influences from these topics.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues for sharing your valuable thoughts and comments on the discussion board and the posts. I have learned new ideas and gained useful knowledge by reading your discussions. Thank you again and wish you all the best for your future.