Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

     This week I noticed that a person in authority critical analysis of most of her staff was a form of microaggression because each time she would say that she meant no harm. She said one lady was like a dumb blonde, this young lady is African American with very light skin. She told her how smart and forgetful she was, if her head was not attached she would be looking for it.  A compliment before the insult was my first clue of the microinsult form of microaggression (Laureate Education, 2011). I first thought she was unaware of the effect of the things she would say, but as soon as the individual was out of her view she would insult them again. These little insults are almost constantly hurled out of her mouth, as if they were pearls of knowledge. Dr. Wing Sue said that:” …. everyday individuals who are unaware of their biases who indeed do the greatest harm…” (Laureate Education,2011). But I wonder if knowing how to use microaggression by people in authority is a close tie in being harmful.

 Words are powerful, and it is the responsibility of all to use their words to encourage and uplift, with respect. I know that I have used words carelessly in my past, but I hope my future words are more caring and sensitive to the hearer. I must be responsible and diligent that I use my words to heal and not harm intentionally, I am ashamed to recognize that I have unintentionally use my words for harm. Moreover,I am encouraged that I will remember to be:"swift  to listen,slow to speak, and slow to anger"( James 1:19). The tongue is one of the smallest members of our body, and the hardest to control. Microaggressions can be stopped, one mouth at a time, one thought to do no harm, and recognition that we all have feelings easily hurt. Prejudices and biases are a part of our world and we have the choice and chance to push it out individually with self-reflection, and respect for all.

                                                   Reference

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Video file].

      Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

     I asked a Madam Clerk, a Broker, and, a first-year college student their definitions of what diversity and culture meant to them. And the Madam Clerk said diversity means a variety of people, culture means a familiar atmosphere. And the Broker said diversity means people from different races and gender, he said culture means where individual grew up, their religion, foods they eat, customs they have. And the first-year college student said that diversity is when there are different people around, from different countries, and she said culture is the way people do things in their countries or families.

  All three individuals answered with understanding mentioning several things that have come up in my studies. Such as their familiar atmosphere which I deduced means their homes, religion, foods, and customs all are partial answers. Just recently I learned from listening to our webcast from Gonzalez-Mena, Derman-Sparks, and Benavides that culture is everything about a person (Laureate Education,2011). As Gonzalez-Mena (2011) said:” …. it’s like an iceberg, that only the tip shows…”.  We all are learning every week more aspects of what culture is, so I was not surprised by the short answers I received. The one answer that omitted much was “familiar atmosphere” that was a surface answer because it left out the depth of an individual. It was the answer used in times past by most ;it did not touch the innermost person perspective, but the  surface of what is viewed like foods, holidays, and music. In fact, that was the answer I would have given if I had not taken this course.

   I think that the answers show that most people are not going deep into the culture of others without a personal reason. It is a superficial way which keeps up the barriers and lets people off the hook from investing their time and understanding. And I want to be different from that, I would like to genuinely care enough about others to consider what is important to them.

                                               References

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Culture and diversity [Video file]. Retrieved from

          https://class.waldenu.edu

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Family cultures: Dynamic interactions [Video

        file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

My Family Culture

If I was being taken from my country to live with only three personal items, I would take my bible, a family portrait, and my kindle. If I had to explain why those three items, I would say one is my life and future my bible, the other is my heart , my family, and the other is my joy,  the kindle with my favorite books.

Given a choice of taking only three items from my home and country, to only be told that I had to give up two would truly hurt. Because, I would have adjusted to the fact that I only had three things that belonged only to me. Taking two items that apparently meant something to me after losing my home and country, and this would make me want to fight to keep them.

My grandparents reverence the bible as the words of God, which shaped my parents and their children.  I remember my grandmother saying: ‘family is important” and that statement never left me.  My father liked to read, and I took it up a notch and became a lover of books. As a child I would read, and when I became a teenager, I would read and miss cooking lessons but  I could not avoid  washing the dishes.

One thing I learned from this, is that everything I love is a part of my family. Also that I love my country with all it problems, and would not want to live in any other country.

When I Think of Research....

The reason my simulation is important to the field of early childhood is that teachers should never forget the influence they have on children developing their social-emotional skills. It is essential that we never lose sight of modeling the behavior we want to see in our children. Because the reward of their growth is amazing to behold.

If educators remember that every facial expression, their body language, and words can and will impact a young child’s ability to develop their own facial expressions, language, and words; that will be a powerful motivator. Families would also realize that not only teachers influence, but they do too, and I think it will encourage all to try harder to remember there are little ears and eyes learning from what they see. I think the research to reinforce that will benefit us because it will inspire.

We are natural researchers, and this course gave us skills and information to help us grow beyond.  If we ever have a burning question, or a desire to inform, or change we have a platform “research”.

I thank you all for each time you shared your thoughts, your passions, and your encouragement. This was not the easiest course I have taken, but you have made it one of the most  memorable. And I hope and pray that we all meet again in the Discussion room.

Research Around The World!

 I selected the international community of Europe. One research was “Being a Professional or practicing professionally”, which was about educators having obtained the degree still lacked the professional status to:”…claim such higher status for their role”.  I think this is what has happened for me in Georgia, I obtained my Bachelor but since I did not have the certification, I am not considered a teacher in the school system.  The next research I looked into was about the Finnish, whom I have a fascination with because of their free ECE and their global rating as to having the smartest educated students. In Finland the research was about “Enhancing Peer Interaction during Guided Play in Finnish Integrated Special Groups”. This research used seven without and five with special education needs (SEN). They wanted to see how the teachers were able to influence interaction between the two groups. And the most controversial to me was what the Germans were researching “What do Pedagogues in Daycare do? The study revealed three things “Care”, “Education”, and “Management”, well that is surprising. Since so many countries have discovered the importance of early childhood education and are investing funds, I imagine this study was to ensure the investors what educators are doing.  This website combines the different countries in Europe and their research speaks of what is important to them. Europe has realized the importance of giving their children the advantages of having early childhood education. These countries are investing in their children's future and early childhood educators are the means to achieve that goal.

                                     Reference

European Early Childhood Education Research Association(EECERA) 

    Retrieved from https://www.eecera.org/journal/

Imagine This!

I would research the reasons educators changed their career choice to other fields.  We are losing teachers at my center, and there is a shortage of teachers in the state of Georgia. My next door neighbor has a degree to teach early childhood, but that is not what she does. The research I would do is to find out the reasons we are losing teachers right out of college and others who change after working a short time in the classroom. Some would say that the field was not for them, and I am sure that is true for some. But I would be looking for answers to be used to save our teachers from leaving our field. One young lady told me she was done working with children because of her experience at a center. I persuaded her to not give up because of one bad experience, I explained that when you work with people there can be issues of some sort everywhere, but to give the field another try and she did.  She has been on her new job for two years, she is a good teacher, and loves children. If there was a study to find a common link, perhaps we could change the statistics, eliminating the shortage in Georgia. I would like to know if it was their training, their direct supervisors, the stress, children, whatever the reason to leave the field of their choice.  And maybe we can begin to address some issues with solutions before they result in loss of teachers. I think this research contribution to Early Childhood will be beneficial to our field, what do you think?

I thought this research was something I imagined, but after I wrote it I googled the idea and found that I am not the first to think of doing research about the shortage of teachers. I found several scholarly research articles all about the shortages of teachers.

                         

My Personal Research Journey!

Why does one child accept instructions, disappointments, or violence without resorting to their basest nature of screaming, cursing, or fighting? That is the dilemma I faced when several different children were brought to me because of the disturbance they created in the classroom. I asked each one to tell me what happened, one started to whine, and I said please use your real voice so I can understand.  He said they were laughing at him, the other child said he could not make the letter, and the last child said he was trying to help the teacher by telling the class to be quiet. In each of these circumstances, I was able to calm the children, enough to verbalize why they threw a chair, attacked a child, and ran at the teacher as he said “on ten”. These are Pre-K children who I think lack emotional intelligence. One of my subtopics is “The influence of family on the emotional intelligence of early childhood”. In one’s family, there are multiple interactions with parents, siblings, cousins, grandparents, and so forth, which member is likely to be imitated? Does the older sibling react to obstacles to their desire through tears, screams, cursing, or calm, or perhaps it is the mother? In the Pre-K class, this behavior by the first child has been an issue almost from the beginning of school, but the other two or three have begun to manifest these outburst in the last several months or weeks. Should my subtopic be about children mimicking other peers, or should I try to narrow my subtopic more?  I know this is a mock research, but since my topic is actually a concern, I am looking for a solution, understanding, while trying to focus on what is most important in emotional intelligence in early childhood.

     Being competent in research is a valuable skill for teachers, for anyone, and I am genuinely striving to get the information I need to become competent in research. I have learned this week that all information found on the internet is not valid, that research has to be searched for verification of its validation.