My middle and high school years played a significant role in the formation of my emotional development. In my middle school the majority of my friends on the basketball team were African American. With long days at practice and weekends together, I grew to enjoy my time with the basketball team, however after a few times getting together comments were made in reference to my race. Some comments such as " your just a little white girl." began to make me feel like I was not as important or as strong as they were because of my skin color. I found myself becoming very removed from conversations, not standing up for myself, and simply not believing in myself anymore. These feelings continued a year or so into high school, until I joined a new basketball team and other activities in which I felt I belonged.
I know I still carry those experiences with me even though I have moved beyond the impact it once had on me socially and emotionally, however I find that when similar comments happen in my class I become very defensive and discuss the impact those comments have on other people. This past year a Caucasian girl in my classroom was experiencing some of the same comments I did growing up. When the mother informed me about the comments her child was receiving a recess or on the bus, I immediately thought back to the impact it had on me, and knew it was a situation that needed to be handled immediately. Also, a common comment in our school now is calling someone " ugly little black girl" " ugly like black boy." We talk about how hurtful these comments are often in our small meetings in class.
Due to the 'ism" I experience as teenage I feel like I place more importance of the words we say about each other in the classroom, and never letting even the smallest comment regarding someone's looks and skin color go unaddressed. I try to remind my student often of how hurtful our comments are, and talking out the reasons why we make those comments.
Derman-Sparks & Edwards provided a wonderful reminder to us; " if we want children to thrive in a diverse world and choose to stand up for themselves and others, then we much choose to help young children make sense of the confusing messages they often receive" (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010 pg 87).
By not letting these negative comments our children say slide, we are able to make it a teachable moment in which we make sense of it, and how it hurts others.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Observation of Communication
Each morning my students eat breakfast at school and immediately go to support class (music, art, P.E, library, or computer lab). My students were in PE while I went to talk to a fellow co-worker at the door. I was able to see a range of communication occur within a matter of minutes with one of my students. The PE teacher was trying to introduce his lesson, and all the children were sitting in a circle. All children were doing pretty much the same thing: talking with friends, and spinning around. The one thing they were not doing was listening to the PE teacher. One particular student that was not paying attention, was yelled at by the PE teacher and asked to stand on the wall. The student stomped his feet and yelled as he went to the wall. Therefore, he did not get to participate. Thankfully, the art teacher, who did not have a class, saw this take place and immediately went to the young boy. She bent down at his eye level, and calmly asked him what was going on. The response of the child was so much better than the response he gave to the PE teacher. He told the art teacher what happened very calmly. It was from this point I was able to hear some of the response the art teacher provided. She stated, " I believe you and I know what happened made you very mad. I know it did not seem fair for you to be put on the wall and not the other people doing the same thing." The next part of the conversation was really important for this particular student because over the past two years with him we have learned a great deal about him emotionally and are trying to improve on him not letting one thing ruin his day. The art teacher went on to say, " I want you to do your best to not let what has happened define you. When you leave PE today, I want you to leave what has happened here and have a fantastic day. I will talk to Coach. It makes me sad to see you upset and we want to fix that."
I found this to be a significant observation in adult conversation with children because of the different effective communication qualities the art teacher displayed. Dangel and Durden (2010) identify the importance of getting down on the child's level, using simple words and sentences, and the tone of voice as critical factors in effective teacher language. It is in this observation I was able to see how the eye contact, level and tone of voice greatly differed between the PE teacher and the Art teacher, as well as the response of the child in each of these interactions.
To make this more effective, I feel communication with the PE teacher and student would have been great. Rather than the Art teacher talking to him about it, the student could have also talked about it too. Then, he could share his feelings with the person directly involved.
In this situation, it is evident that this child felt cared for, and that the Art teacher believed in him. As the teacher who spent the rest of the day with the child, I can say that this situation was truly left at the door, and he was able to continue with his day. Past experiences have also told me, that had the Art teacher not stepped in, this situation would have impacted his entire day and make him feel excluded from the group and not "liked" by the PE teacher.
Observing this scenario, I am aware that my communication with children could be improved. I am always rushing from one place to another, and probably do not take the time to slow down and handle situations like I should. Even though it is hard for me to slow down and have a calm personality, it would still be possible to have a classroom that allowed for more conversation and effective teacher language such as Mr. Max and Mrs. Mollie (Dangel & Durden, 2010).
References:
Rainer Dangei, J., & Durden, T. R. (2010). The nature of teacher talk during small group activities. YC: Young Children, 65(1), 74-81. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database. http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=47964033&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Friday, November 9, 2012
Creating Affirming Environments
The environment each child enters sets the stage for their understanding of other cultures, respect for others cultures as well as developing a strong positive sense of self. Children are not the only ones who need to feel welcome and accepted in the environment, but also the families. We need to talk with the families to show and better understand their family culture. Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) state that when we reach out to families to include them in aspects of our classroom they feel as though they are teachers' true partners. This is a critical foundation to set for children so they make the connection between home and school.
In creating my a classroom environment, I would first make sure it represents all the cultures within my classroom. I would make sure family pictures were placed on our classroom walls, to show the importance each of them play in our classroom community. I would also ensure that the pictures on the walls were not limited only to the cultures within the classroom, but others cultural groups as well. Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) state that during exploration of the classroom children are given a sense of the issues and people the teacher thinks are important and those who are not. Providing a large range of social and cultural identities helps children recognize the important placed on accepting everyone as as individual.
The classroom library is an area I find many children we gain as sense of who and what the teacher feels is important. The classroom library should display a wide range of cultures, class, abilities, family structures, and interests. I also like the idea of creating small personalized books possibly of the families within the classroom. (Derman- Sparks & Edwards, 2010). What better way to display respect and importance towards each child's family culture than creating a book just about them in the classroom library?
Another aspect I find very necessary in an anti-bias environment, is the use of community and group activities that involve working together, talking with each other and helping each other. Having a morning circle and share/exploration time is one way my school has made some progress in building the sense of community. By doing this we are also better able to display, and talk to each other about who they are, and display respect and acceptance of each other.
Finally, I feel a critical look at all materials is significant in developing an anti-bias environment. Dolls, games, dramatic play, puzzles, and art materials are all components that can impact a child's sense of self in either a positive or negative way. For example, children would feel more comfortable knowing that as they color a picture of themselves they can use a tone close to their skin rather than simply black, brown, yellow, or white. Even the smallest aspects such as this can play a role in a child's thinking towards others and themselves.
References:
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).
In creating my a classroom environment, I would first make sure it represents all the cultures within my classroom. I would make sure family pictures were placed on our classroom walls, to show the importance each of them play in our classroom community. I would also ensure that the pictures on the walls were not limited only to the cultures within the classroom, but others cultural groups as well. Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) state that during exploration of the classroom children are given a sense of the issues and people the teacher thinks are important and those who are not. Providing a large range of social and cultural identities helps children recognize the important placed on accepting everyone as as individual.
The classroom library is an area I find many children we gain as sense of who and what the teacher feels is important. The classroom library should display a wide range of cultures, class, abilities, family structures, and interests. I also like the idea of creating small personalized books possibly of the families within the classroom. (Derman- Sparks & Edwards, 2010). What better way to display respect and importance towards each child's family culture than creating a book just about them in the classroom library?
Another aspect I find very necessary in an anti-bias environment, is the use of community and group activities that involve working together, talking with each other and helping each other. Having a morning circle and share/exploration time is one way my school has made some progress in building the sense of community. By doing this we are also better able to display, and talk to each other about who they are, and display respect and acceptance of each other.
Finally, I feel a critical look at all materials is significant in developing an anti-bias environment. Dolls, games, dramatic play, puzzles, and art materials are all components that can impact a child's sense of self in either a positive or negative way. For example, children would feel more comfortable knowing that as they color a picture of themselves they can use a tone close to their skin rather than simply black, brown, yellow, or white. Even the smallest aspects such as this can play a role in a child's thinking towards others and themselves.
References:
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).
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