THANK YOU ALL

Dear Colleagues,
I know that the assignment this week was to pick two people to post a note of thanks to, but I also had to let all of you know how very important you have been in my journey and how appreciative I am of all of your support, guidance, and wisdom.  All of you have  a great deal to offer not only the field of early childhood education but the world in general.  Please know that if you would ever need anything in the future I am here to help in any way that I can.  You can always contact me through my Walden email.  Thank you so very much for everything and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and nothing but happiness and blessings in the New Year!

God Bless,
Valerie  

Adjourning

     I have had the opportunity to be involved in many different groups both in my personal life and in my professional life.  I have been involved in groups where I have known all of the members of the group and also in groups where I met people for the first time by joining the group.  In my opinion what makes a group the hardest to leave is the people.  I don't believe that it always has to do with whether the group is high or low performing, but rather the people that you are able to build bonds with.  I believe that if a group joins together and builds trust and works well together towards a common goal, then it makes it sad when that group is over.  I think of a couple's group that my husband and I have been involved in at our church.  We get together with other couple's from our church and have a small group meeting about different topics affecting our lives and how to handle them from a biblical aspect.  Each time that we have left this group we have come away feeling sad yet anticipating the next group session that we would hold and seeing all of these people again.  It was sad because we had gotten to know these people really well, trust them, and confide in them.  These  people became our friends and anytime you know you are not going to see a friend again, it is sad.  I can on the other hand think of a group that I was involved in with some of my colleagues at school.  It was a group that was formed to discuss the results from assessments that had been taken by the students.  I was actually relieved when this group was over because there was a lot of bickering back and forth between certain people in different grade levels blaming other grade levels for poor test scores.  To me it was not difficult to leave this group because it was a negative atmosphere and one where I did not feel that I could build trust with the other members.  I actually looked forward to this group ending because I felt like I had better things that I could do with my time and energy.  The difference between the way I felt in the adjourning phase in these two groups is that in the first group I was able to build a trust with these individuals and it was a positive atmosphere to be in.  In the other group I was not able to build trust with the group members because many of them displayed the negative attitude of not wanting to be there from the very beginning.

     Some of the closing rituals that I can remember having and enjoying were parties that celebrated not the end of the group but the relationships that were formed from the group and also celebrated the victory of reaching a common goal.  After each of the couple's groups(that I mentioned above) ended we always had a game and pizza night where we would all get together and just have fun.  Many times get-togethers are ways that I have been a part of ending a group.  I think that these are the best rituals because it gives you something to look forward to, but also memories that you will take with you after the group ends.  I think these types of rituals also help give you the initiative to want to start another group sooner than later and it gives you something to look forward to with these people that you can now call your friends. 

     I envision adjourning from my groups of colleagues with thank you notes and exchanges of postal addresses and email addresses.  It would be nice to be able to have a chance somehow to meet these people face to face and maybe there is a celebration of some sort that Walden has for the online participants.  I would definitely want to make sure that they all know that I wish them the best, have cherished their outlooks, and would like for them to remain a part of my life.  I think adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because it gives the team the opportunity to look at all that they accomplished and celebrate it.  It is also a part of self-reflection in knowing what went well and what could have gone better.  Most often when we become a part of a well run group that trusts and encourages one another then we build friendships that will last a lifetime.  Adjourning allows for team members to take pride in all that they have accomplished and give thanks for the bonds of friendship and dedication that will carry them beyond the group and into life. 
    

Conflict Resolution

     The most recent disagreement I had was with my grandmother.  I hate to say that I have ever had a disagreement with my grandmother, but it has happened.  It was the night before Thanksgiving and we(two of my sisters and myself) were at her house trying to get all of the tables ready and things cleaned up.  We were having around 38 people who would be at this meal.  My grandma's sister was due to come and her son with his wife and three sons.  My grandma was complaining about her coming and saying that she didn't understand why she wouldn't just have dinner at her own house with her children.  I could only listen to so much until I turned around and said to my sisters "It would really hurt me if I knew you would say things like this about me."  They asked me what I meant and I said "You know Aunt June is gram's sister just like we are sisters and you guys are all complaining about her.  It would really hurt me if you ever talked like this about me and not wanting me to come to dinner."  My grandma then heard what I was saying and told me that I didn't understand, that she was just taking advantage of the situation.  So I told my gram that I did understand and that Thanksgiving was about being thankful for the people who are in our lives and she should be more gracious because the more gracious you are, it will come back in blessings to you.  I then told her that it might not happen today and it might not happen tomorrow but you will be blessed for how you treat other people.  She ended our conversation by again telling me that I didn't understand how my aunt is and she walked away. 
     After doing the readings this week I realize that I could have handled the situation differently.  First of all, I should have listened longer and been a more active listener instead of jumping right in with my two sense.  I then could have asked my gram some probing questions about her reasoning for not wanting my aunt to come to dinner and really listened to her response.  I know that the whole thing had my gram upset and I had just made it even worse and so I probably should have kept my thoughts to myself.  I could have reassured her with my feelings and came to a compromise with her to agree to disagree instead of letting her walk away upset with me.  Fortunately my gram and I do not ever stay upset with each other and by the time I was leaving that night she had apologized to me and said that she hasn't been feeling well lately and she just lets little things upset her and then she lashes out at people.  She told me that I was right and that we should want the people that we love with us at Thanksgiving.  I know now that I could have avoided the conflict if I would have just listened better the first time and changed my tone with my gram.  Conflict resolution strategies are very important in our lives and it is so beneficial to learn what they are and practice the effects they can have on a situation. 

Colleagues:
What are some ways that you think I could have handled this situation better and what did you learn this week about conflict resolution that you feel makes you a better communicator now?

Communication Insights

                

                                                    WOW!!

                I chose my husband and my twin sister to evaluate me this week.  I chose my husband because he is the one person that has lived with me for the past 15 years so he knows me really well.  I picked my twin sister because we are identical twins and so we have always shared a special bond.  She now lives 5 hours away from me and so we no longer see each other like we used to.  I thought it would be interesting to see how she would evaluate me because of the closeness that we share. 

                The one thing that surprised me in their evaluations was the difference that we had in the communication anxiety assessment.  I scored myself at a moderate level meaning that in some situations I am anxious about communication.  My husband scored me as mild meaning that I do not really get anxious when communicating.  My twin scored me as elevated meaning that I often get anxious in communication situations.  I found it surprising first of all because they see me differently than I see myself and also that their evaluations were the exact opposite.  When I asked them about it, my husband said he answered the questions by thinking of me in our small group settings in our church.  I also sing with our worship team and he said that in both situations I seem very calm and comfortable in communicating.  My sister on the other hand said that because she is not around me that often anymore she thought about me when we were younger and that is why she answered the items the way that she did.  She also said that she thought at times she was thinking of herself and because we are so much alike, that is the way I would answer.  I think that if I would have thought of myself when I was younger,   I would have definitely scored myself the same way that she scored me – as being anxious in almost all communication situations.  Now that I am older I have become more comfortable with who I am and so I find my anxiety more situational now. 

                One insight that I gained about communication this week is the way in which our self- perception is directly linked to our communication.  I don’t think that I have ever had a very strong self-concept and that is why I get anxious in communication situations.  I am always worried about what someone else is going to think of me or if I am saying the “right thing”.  I know that when I was in high school this was really a problem for me and I would rarely speak in small group settings and if I had to I found it horrible.  As I have grown my self-concept has gotten a little better and now I don’t think about it as much and I am more comfortable with myself so I’m not as concerned about how others see me. 

                Another insight that I gained this week is that the way we see ourselves can be completely different than the way someone else sees us.  For me this was really eye-opening because I really liked knowing that my husband sees me as someone who does not have a problem at all communicating with other people.  It is not physically obvious that I am nervous in front of other people in certain situations and this makes me feel more confident in my communication skills.  I think that because I feel more comfortable I will now be more willing to speak in front of large and small groups.  We are sometimes so hard on ourselves and so busy being our own worst critics, that it is nice to see that someone else might actually shed a new light on the person that is portrayed to others. 



Communicating Differently

     When I thought about whether or not I communicate differently with different people I came to the determination that I do.  Although I feel that I am friendly to everyone that I meet, I know that I am definitely more comfortable talking to people who I know than someone I have just met.  I get nervous about meeting and talking to new people because I am never sure as to what I want to say.  I always feel as if I am not going to say the right thing and I will come off sounding unintelligent.  Also I feel that I communicate differently with children than I do with adults.  I feel very comfortable carrying on a conversation with children whether I have just met them or not.  I think that it is because I have a very nurturing spirit and I always want children to feel comfortable and not scared when interacting with adults.  I use different communication styles with children based on their personality but I ask them questions and joke with them.  I think that I talk to children in my school the same way that I speak or would speak to my own children.
A final group that I feel I communicate differently with is elderly people.  If feel that I communicate differently with them by listening better and letting them talk more than what I talk.  I think that sometimes people believe that the older generation doesn't have anything left to offer, that they have lived their lives and that is it.  I believe that it is important to make our older generation feel as if they are valued by listening to their wisdom and taking advice that they are willing to give.  Spending time with my grandmother is one of the most cherished parts of my week and I find communication with her to be open and honest.  I also know that she is going to "tell it like it is" and I have to be ready to accept whatever it is that may come out of her mouth.
     I think one strategy that would help me communicate better with people that I don't know would be to use "small talk" and wait for responses from these people(Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).  When they respond then I can respond back and communication would be easier.  I need to remember that it is about interacting with other people and not about how intelligent I sound.  I need to place the focus on the way the other person would like to communicate in order to make communication easier in these situations.
     A second strategy that I could use when communicating with children would be to adapt my behavior in communicating with the personalities of each of the children in my class.  I have to get to know each child so that I know the best ways that I can communicate with them.  When we adapt our communication to meet the needs of the people with whom we are communicating then we are able to experience more positive communication (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).
      A third strategy that I can use is in communicating with elderly people is to put myself in their mental position and emotional mindset(Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).  I truly believe that elderly people want to feel that they are still valued and that people just don't overlook what they have to say because they are getting older and they may feel as if their minds are not as sharp.  If we put ourselves in someone else's shoes and think about how they may be feeling or the way they may see a topic, we can find better ways of communicating with them where they will feel respected and valued for what they have to share. 

References:

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Nonverbal Communication Assumptions

For the assignment this week I chose to watch the TV sitcom Raising Hope.  It is not a show that I have ever watched but I was able to access the pilot episode of it on Netflix (which also allowed me to watch the episode without sound and with and not have to record it).  In the beginning of the show I could tell that there was a family involved and I assumed that the characters were a mother, father, two sons, and a grandmother(who by her expressions seems a little out of the ordinary).  I was able to deduce from their body language that the one son was irritated with his family.  The young man from my assumption had a one night stand with a girl who ended up being wanted by the police and then it showed him visiting her in jail eight months later and you could tell she was pregnant.  He had a look of complete shock on his face but then you see him with the baby and he is taking it home.  The parents' facial expressions and hand gestures said to me that they did not want the baby around and I could tell by what the son was doing that he was intent on keeping her.  In the next few scenes I saw a flashback to when the young man was little and it showed how the parents had raised him(not very well - no car seat with him hanging his head out underneath a moving car).  He then takes the baby home and the next thing you know the baby has a stinky diaper (you could tell by facial expressions) and then when they try to change it, both the mother and the young boy end up throwing up on the baby.  Then it cuts to a scene where it is obvious that the baby is crying and the young man is trying to get it to sleep.  It shows many different scenes of him trying different things that don't work and by the baby's face you can tell she is still crying.  The mother and father then come in and you can tell that the mom starts singing because the dad has a guitar and she puts her hand on the baby's belly.  The baby then stops crying and looks content and then goes to sleep.

After watching this show with the sound off I then went back and watched it with the sound on and I was amazed at how easy it was to figure out what was going on without the sound.  The only thing that I had wrong was that the one boy who lives there is not a brother but a cousin.  As I watched this I thought about what a good job these actors and actresses do with their nonverbal behavior such as eye contact, facial expressions, and body language.  I was able to understand just about everything that was going on and I knew when people seemed upset and when they seemed happy.  The only thing that was lacking was the actual words that they were saying that would have filled in the story completely.

This assignment showed me the true power of nonverbal communication and how often it can be overlooked.  When I thought about whether or not it would have mattered if I had been watching a show that I already know well I think that it would have.  Although I believe it was easy to pick up on the nonverbal communication in this sitcom I don't think it is as easy in real-life because we are not actors and actresses and no one gives us a script and tells us how to behave.  I think that when you know someone well you learn their nonverbal communication and it is easier to communicate with that person.  When you don't know someone as well you have to learn those nonverbal cues that show the emotions that they might be experiencing.  I also think that we don't always pick up on nonverbal skills because we cannot so to speak "turn off the volume" when we are talking to people and just focus on those skills.  This assignment also showed me that nonverbal and verbal communication skills are most effective in communicating when they are used simultaneously.  Communication does not just involve words we can hear and understand but also being able to interpret the way someone feels about something by the actions and expressions they display.  This was a great learning experience that fully brought the idea of true communication to light for me.

Effective Communication

     When I read the assignment for this blog about who we believe is an effective communicator I automatically thought of the pastor of my church.  I feel that he is effective for many reasons.  The first reason he is effective is because of his knowledge basis.  He really knows the bible and that allows him to be able to effectively communicate what is in it to the congregation.  Another reason he is effective is because he communicates with us on a personal level.  He does not stand at the head of the church and preach "at" us as if he believes himself to be better than we are.  He preaches "to" us and relates what he is teaching to every day life events that we are going through.  His communication is respectful but he is also willing to share his beliefs with us without fear of what someone might think of him.  He is always there to lend advice if someone needs him and he also listens which in turn makes for a good communicator.  He shows compassion in his speech and is willing to help out and do things for other people without a second thought.  This makes him effective in not just his verbal language but also his nonverbal language as well. 
     I would definitely want to model some of my own communication after Pastor Jim because I want to be able to stand up for what I believe in without coming across as being judgemental.  I want to be able to communicate in a respectful and caring manner in all of my daily speech and just like Pastor Jim I want people to know that I am always there to help them out if they need it either by listening or by lending advice.  I definitely look up to my pastor and his communication skills and I will continue to learn from him so that I might be able to incorporate these skills into my own daily life.   

Professional Hopes and Goals

My Hope                                                                     

My hope for working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I will always remember that we are all connected to one another because of our humanity and not because of any outward characteristics that we have.  I hope to always show children and their families that they should celebrate their diversity and that their diversity will be celebrated and respected in the classroom they have become a part of.  My one true hope for this world is that we could all learn to love and respect one another through our differences.  That we can take the love of a God that created us and spread it around the world... until the whole world hears!

                                                    
My Goal                                                                         

The goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to the issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that all early childhood educators and workers would be afforded the opportunity to learn about these issues in their college classes or trainings.  I know that when I went to college I did not have any classes related to these issues and I know now that it would have helped me tremendously.  I think that diversity training/education should be a requirement now in any early childhood training.  We cannot live or display that which we are not aware of.  Knowledge is power and I believe it is important that all early childhood educators become armed with the true understanding of diversity, equity, and social justice if they want to make a difference in the lives of every child and family they will meet. 




THANK YOU                                                        

Thank you never seems like enough to say for all of the wisdom, ideas, and advice I have gotten from all of the people who are on this journey with me.  I just want you all to know that I appreciate all that you share and all of the many issues you have helped me to see more clearly.  I am truly a better person from getting to know and learn from each one of you.  You will each remain in my prayers and may God bless you and the work you are doing with others always! 

Welcoming Families From Around the World

                                                         

BURUNDI

                                                                                                                                                      

In order to prepare myself for a new family coming into my classroom from the country of Burundi I would need to do many things.  I would first of all need to research the country in order to find out as much information as I can about the people and the cultures that lie within the different existing communities.  In order to be culturally responsive to this family I would need to do the following five things:

1).  Create a culturally rich and welcoming environment.  I would make the classroom comfortable for this student and the family by hanging posters or pictures up of landscapes or scenery from the country.  I would add to my books and learning materials that would represent the country that this child is coming from.  We could do a class study on this country so that the other students would also be aware of information that they can talk to the new student about.

2).  Develop a way of communicating with the student and the family.  I would need to understand that there is a good chance that this child and the family are not going to speak English.  I would need to be sure to have a translator to communicate with the family and I would also begin to take ESL classes so that I can better equip myself with ways of communicating.  I would also put common words from their language next to pictures of the items in the classroom along with the English word.  This would allow the student to become familiar with the items in the classroom easier while also teaching English to the child. 

3).  Understand Cultural Differences.  I would need to research the culture that this family would be coming from and support that culture within the classroom.  For example what type of clothing do they wear (and have this available in a play area), what types of food do they eat (and have this available during snack), what holidays are celebrated (and make sure to talk about these and even perhaps celebrate them within the classroom), how is respect demonstrated in their culture ( and allow the child to show respect in this way).  

4).   A Plan to Include the Parents in the Classroom.  I would want to honor and value the parents in this by making them feel welcome at anytime within the classroom.  I would extend an invitation to come into the classroom and share their culture with us.  I would maybe have a "culture day" where all families would be involved in a celebration of their culture.  I would have the families share their similarities and differences and teach us about life in Burundi.  I would also have to make sure that I am able to honor them by creating a way of communicating with them outside of school.  I could do this by making sure they have assistance in filling out paperwork for the school and finding a way of communicating with them on a daily basis in a way that a language barrier won't hinder.

5).  Provide Resources for the Family.  I would make sure that the family was connected to any resources within the school and outside of the school that would make their transition into this country a pleasant one.  I would want to make sure they knew about health care, extracurricular programs,  and community programs.  I would provide them with all that they would need to not only be a part of our classroom, but a part of the community as well.  

I would hope that these preparations that I would make to help this family would benefit both me and the family that I would be working with.  I would hope it would benefit them because they will feel comfortable and excited about being in a new place.  I would have made preparations that would allow them to transition into the classroom and community environments with ease and the ability to share their culture with people who are willing to accept it.  I would hope that it would benefit me in the fact that I would be learning about a new country and culture and this preparation would also allow me the chance to get better at being culturally responsive.  I would also be able to self-reflect during the process and see if I have any biases and if I do I would be able to work towards dispelling them while I am expanding my knowledge about the variety of gifts another culture has to offer.   

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

     About 12 years ago I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. while visiting a friend who lived near there.  As we were discussing places that we wanted to visit while we were there, I told him that I wanted to go to the Holocaust Museum.  He asked me if I was sure because he had been there and said it was a very difficult experience but one that was worth enduring.  Ever since I had been in high school and watched a video on what the Nazis did to the Jewish people I held a very special place in my heart for this situation.  I told my friend that it was something that I needed to do but I didn't realize just how deeply I would be moved by the oppression and prejudice I witnessed while in the museum.  This was not something that I was directly a part of but when you began the tour, they gave you a booklet with a person's name and picture on it.  During different parts of the tour we were able to read information about what had happened to the people that we were given.  We read about how they were captured and tortured for long periods of time.  The horrors that these people were put through because of someone else's prejudice is indescribable.  At the end of the tour and on the last page of your booklet you were able to read whether or not your person had made it out alive or if they had been killed in one of the many concentration camps.  I can remember crying as I read that the little girl on my card had died without any of her family with her.  In my opinion the bias and prejudice that Adolf Hitler had towards Jewish individuals is one of the most horrific forms of oppression that our world has ever seen.  During the Holocaust microassaults happened every day and they were not the unintentional kind.  They were the kind meant to physically and psychologically harm people.  This trip for me is something that will stay in my mind forever and the images that I saw while in the museum are seared into my memory forever.  It was a truly sobering experience and one that truly clarified for me the kind of person that I always want to be and that is someone who does not judge other people based on their outer appearances and characteristics.
     The ways in which this specific oppression and prejudice diminished equity is because the Jewish people living in Germany never had a chance.  They were being kidnapped, tortured, and killed because of their outer appearance and for their religious background.  There was not equality involved here at all.  The mindset was that the Germans were the greatest and the Jews were not worth the dirt that was under their feet.  The Jewish people could not go out of their homes and many had to hide away for fear of being captured or killed.  Equity for these people was diminished the very first day that Adolf Hitler came onto the scene and there was never a chance for them after that.
     Every time that I see something about the Holocaust, think about it, or talk about it in any way, I have feelings of extreme sadness and anger.  I get angry at the fact that so many people bought into the prejudice of this group of people and went along with the killings and torturing that went on.  I get angry that this was even allowed to happen to other people and that America and other countries didn't get involved sooner to try and protect these people.  Then I get extremely sad.  It makes me so sad to think about what these people went through and the feelings of unworthiness that they must have had.  I can barely stand to think about the little children who were taken away from their families and then left alone to die in cold, dark, and dirty places where they were not fed and not clothed.
                                        
     I believe that what needed to change in order for this incident to turn into an opportunity for greater equity is exactly what happened.  The person that was in charge of creating the bias, prejudice, and oppression had to be taken out of the equation.  I think that in any form of prejudice or oppression the thing that will make things change is for someone to stand up for the weak and let a voice be heard about ending the prejudice and biases that are occurring.  I don't know if there is any person who could read or learn about the Holocaust and not be moved to be someone better than they are towards other people.  Equity can only happen in our world when we give every person walking on Earth the same chance and opportunities.  It takes people willing to stand up and fight for what is right to cause change and to bring about equity for all of us. 
 
                                                        
  

Awareness of Microaggressions

                 I did not come across any forms of microaggression in my daily life this week but I do have an example that happened to my family this summer.  We had been at the beach for a week and we were on our travels home when we had to stop at a gas station.  Now, my family is Caucasian but my husband and my sister’s boyfriend tend to get very dark when they tan and they both have dark hair.  We were walking in the door of this gas station as this lady was coming out and she said “Wow, I feel like I’m at the Jersey Shore, look at all these guidos.”  I remember looking behind us to see if there were any other people coming in the door because I was certain she couldn’t have been talking to us.  I didn’t see anyone and when I asked my husband if he heard what she said, he said yes and was she talking about us?  I remember being very appalled at what she said but the funny thing is, I wasn’t offended by the fact that she had called us “guidos”,  but by the fact that she had compared me to someone from the Jersey Shore.  Now I think that if we had been Italian, this would in fact have been very insulting to my heritage because she was using a white person’s derogatory term to describe someone with darker skin and black hair.  She was also comparing all of these people to the ones that are on the television show “Jersey Shore.”  Now I’m not sure if this lady was trying to be insulting or if she was trying to say that we were all pretty good-looking young people.  I think in looking back now and after learning about biases, what really surprised me is my own bias that I have towards the people on “Jersey Shore.”  I have only caught parts of the show (in flipping through channels) a couple of times but I have seen the characters on other TV shows.  The way they are portrayed to me comes across as not very intelligent people who live crazy and wild lives.  I was offended that this lady would compare me to that even though it couldn’t be farther from the truth.  This shows that I have built a bias towards those people because of what I have seen and heard and in fact I’m sure that most people who live in Jersey Shore do not act the way that these people do.   These people are stereotyped by their behavior and because a couple of them happen to be Italian they are even being stereotyped that way.  These stereotypes lead to the microaggressions that this lady displayed to us.  

                Through the readings and reflecting this week I have learned that I had a very narrow perception of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes.  I think that I always assumed that these things had to be done or said intentionally to hurt someone.  I didn’t think about how just little comments can show discrimination or prejudice and can sometimes hurt someone even more than if they would have just called them a name.  It has opened my eyes that we all probably have formed certain stereotypes by the things that we have heard, seen, or read and that it is these stereotypes that lead to prejudice against people.  Our prejudices will then lead us to discriminate against other people and to make hurtful comments both intentionally and unintentionally.   As human beings, this is not the way in which we should be interacting with one another.  It is education like what I got this week that opens our eyes to the things we say and do and will hopefully lead us down the path to realization of the microaggressions we may be a part of.  It is important when interacting with other people that we are always talking with respect and dignity and are making empowering statements instead of hurtful ones.  It is then that we will see people for who they really are and treat them the way they deserve to be treated – like human beings! 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

         

            I found it very interesting that the assignment this week was to find out what other people thought about the meaning of culture and diversity because it just so happened that in my second grade classroom our Language Arts story this week had the word culture as a vocabulary word.  I was able to ask my entire class what they believed culture means and I actually only had a couple of children raise their hand.  The first student that I called on (a boy) told me that culture means when people are from different countries.  I then took it a step farther and asked them if they could tell me what diversity means.  This seemed much harder for them and the answer I ended up getting was that it meant they spoke a different language.  I was able to use this assignment as a learning tool for my second graders and teach them what the two words actually mean.  We then did an activity where they had to look through magazines and find pictures that show what each vocabulary word means.  They put pictures of all kinds of things (people celebrating, people talking with each other, people eating together) on the poster for the word culture.  I could tell by the end of the activity that they now knew what the word meant. 

            I then came home and asked my son (who is also in second grade but in a different school from where I teach) if he could tell me what either word meant.  He thought for a long time but was not able to give me a definition for either word.  He told me that he had never heard of them before.  This led me to ask my 9 year old daughter.  She also had to think about this for a long time but finally told me that culture means where you live and what’s around you.  When I asked her about the word diversity, she said she didn’t know because she had never heard of that word. 

            Next I talked to my 17 year old niece and asked her what she thought culture was.  Her first words were “That’s a hard one; I need to think about it.”  She then said that culture is something in a certain group of people’s history that affects the way they live, their religious beliefs, and the way they raise their children.  I then asked her about diversity.  She said that diversity is people from different cultures joining together.

            After talking with these kids, I realized that I needed to speak with someone from a different era so I called my 87 year old grandmother.  I asked her what culture is and she paused and had to think and then she gave me a couple of things that she thought it was.  She said culture is different names of things and then she said that it means the different things you do.  When I asked her about diversity she said she didn’t know about that without having to look it up. 

            In reflecting on these responses I can see that the definitions that people had about culture was mostly the surface culture that we discussed.  They talked about people from other places and religious beliefs.  I think my grandmother had it the closest to what we have learned when she said that it is the different things that you do.  This reminded me of what Janet Gonzalez Mena said in the video when she said that culture is the unconscious rules that govern everything that we do (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  I have learned so far through this course that diversity is the ways in which we are different in all of the aspects of our lives and no one that I talked to said this for a definition.  Actually most of the people I talked to were not able to give me a definition at all because they didn’t know or had never heard the word before.   

            I think that most of the answers that I received omitted things that I learned like the true definition of diversity being how we are different and that the cultures that we have are what make us diverse.  No one talked about how culture is everything about us from our race and religion to the traditions and customs that are shared within a family.  No one also mentioned how everyone comes from a different culture and can suffer or soar because of it.   There was not one response about people not being accepted because of their culture or mention of biases related to culture.

            I was extremely surprised by the responses that I received about culture and the way it has influenced my thinking is that we are not doing an adequate job of educating our youth about what culture truly means.  I think that there is the misconception (especially in my area) that culture is basically when someone is from a different country or speaks a different language.  I realize now that as a nation in general we need to be aware of culture and the depth of it.  Many people are just seeing the surface of culture and not seeing how deep it goes within a family and also how it can help to shape the people that we become.  I have seen from these responses that I need to educate my own children more and teach them that their culture comes from our family and the way that we do things together.  I also need to make sure that they know that diversity means the way in which we are different and the differences that people have need to be celebrated.  This assignment really opened my eyes to how important it is to talk about these two topics and teach them as well.  Knowledge is power and everyone (especially our youth) needs to be armed with the knowledge that we are all diverse and that diversity makes up the cultures that shapes us as human beings. 

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer) (2010). Culture and Diversity. [Course Media].

            Baltimore, MD: Walden University.

My Family Culture

First of all I have to say that I dislike even thinking about a major catastrophe happening to our country and the thought of having to leave this wonderful nation in which we live.  It was very difficult to think of three items that I would have to choose but after much thought, this is what I came up with.

My Bible:

The very first thing that I would take is my Bible.  It is very important to my family's culture because we live by the principles that are within it.  I would know that I was alive by the grace of God and although I wouldn't need the bible to pray, reading God's word is the basis for my everyday life.  It is the roadmap by which my life is designed and being able to read it on a daily basis would bring me comfort during what sounds like a very difficult time. 

My Photo Album:
I would definitely want pictures of my family members that would not be with me.  I know that I would always have them in my mind and heart but we all know how time works on the mind and forgetting things is a natural process that we have to deal with.  I would want my photos so that I would be able to look at them each day and remember the people who were so very dear to me.  Being able to look at these photos would refresh my memory each day and also keep these people alive in my mind's eye.  The pictures would also allow me to remember family events that had occured and were special to me. 

The American Flag;

The final item that I would bring would be the American flag.  In not knowing what country I would end up in I would want the flag as a reminder of the wonderful nation that I was a part of.  Seeing the flag would always remind me of what our country stood for and the freedoms that we enjoyed while living here.  It would make me appreciate all that I had while giving me peace in knowing that Americans are strong and can overcome many things.  The flag is the root of our culture and a symbol of all that we know and love and having it with me would provide comfort and peace.

If when I got there they told me that I could now only keep one personal item the feelings that I would have would probably be sadness and anger.  I would be angry because they had misled me and now I would have to choose between three items that are very important to me.  The next would be sadness in knowing that I would have to leave some very important items behind.  These emotions would not overtake me though because first of all I have my immediate family with me(that's the most important thing) and I know that God would bring me peace about all of the rest. 

This exercise was a little difficult for me because as I sat and thought about it, my first reaction was that I didn't really need to bring anything else if I have my immediate family with me.  I then thought about living without a Bible and knew that I would not want to do that for fear that the country that I was going to would not have a basis in the same spiritual being.  I then thought about the idea of not having an America anymore and that thought was so very scary to me.  I think the very thought leads to feelings of the fact that I don't appreciate the country that I live in enough because we have so many freedoms that we take for granted.  This led me to wanting to have the American flag with me.  I then began to think what immediate family might mean.  To me immediate family means my husband, children, mother, grandmother, and sisters.  If I had all of these people, I would be fine where I was going because next to God they are my strength and foundation.  I then thought that it might not mean all of these people and so if not, I would definitely need pictures of them with me to bring me comfort in times that I missed them which would be everyday.  This exercise was really enlightening because it reaffirmed for me the things that are truly at the heart of who I am - a Christian American whose family is the most important thing next to God!

When I think of Research...

Insights Gained:

            The greatest insight I have gained about research from this course is that it is a very complex process that requires a great deal of thought and planning.  Researchers have to determine the type of research they want to complete and then develop a design that will aid them in conducting and analyzing the research.  Along the way the researchers need to be aware of ethical issues that could affect the results of the research.  I also gained the insight that in the field of early childhood education research is very important to understanding and or explaining certain issues that are prevalent. 

Changed Ideas on the Nature of Research:

            I used to believe that in research you picked a topic, collected data, and reported on the data.  I now know that research is far more intricate than that and there are several issues that have to be considered when planning and conducting research.  I had never truly understood the nature of completing research before this class but I am now aware that research is built around a very specific design based on the type of research being used.  I also had never considered the ethical issues that have to be addressed in the planning stage of research.  In completing the research simulation for this class my ideas about the nature of research changed because I realize what a daunting task developing a research design can be but how each step will be worth it for the end result. 

Lessons Learned:                                               

            The most important lesson I learned about planning research is how aware a researcher must be of the feasibility of a research project.  Answering questions like what kind of participants will be used, where the research will be conducted, and if there will be enough time and money is very important in the planning stages.  I learned that once a topic has been decided on and the research has been planned then the design must be made.  The most important lesson I learned about design is that there are many different designs that can be used.  It is at this point that all aspects of the research need to be considered in order for the right design to be chosen.  I also learned that sometimes there is value in using mixed design research because the different designs offer beneficial steps in the research project.  The most important lessons I learned about conducting research is that a researcher has to be sure that the subjects are treated with respect and caring during the research process.  The subjects have to be made aware of the research objectives and must give consent while being assured of confidentiality.  Researchers need to take the appropriate steps in conducting research to be sure that ethical conditions are met and that their research can be proven valid.  I think the greatest thing that I learned about research in general is that it is a very complex process that takes a LOT of work and dedication.

Challenges:                                                    

            I think that the greatest challenge I encountered was in trying to figure out what type of design to use in my research simulation.  I knew the topic that I wanted to study but determining how to study it was a different question.  I could see the value in using each type of design.  In the end I met the challenge by using the design that I felt would lead my research to be the most reliable and valid and would make it easier for other researcher who might want to use the results.  Advice from Dr. Dartt and my colleagues helped to make the class and the decisions that I had to make about my research simulation easier as well. 

Modified Perceptions:

            I never really looked at an early childhood professional as being a researcher as well but since taking this course and being involved in a research simulation myself, I realize what a difference an early childhood professional could make to the area of research.  This course has shown me that an early childhood professional could be at the forefront of evidence based research that could change the field of early childhood education.  It is just another way that early childhood professionals can work toward making the future brighter for the children of this world!

Heartfelt Thanks:                                         

            Some days I become so overwhelmed by my work load in school and in life that I’m not sure how I would be able to go on.  Then I get on the student lounge or read a blog posting from one of my colleagues or a good comment from the professor and I realize that I can do this.  I am truly blessed to have had the privilege to work with and learn from each and every one of you (Dr. Dartt and colleagues) and I will take the advice, knowledge, and kind words with me and use them as my rainbows on those cloudy days when it seems there is no end in sight.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I wish all of you many blessings and the best that this life has to offer for your future.  God Bless!!

Research Around the World

I chose for this assignment to research the Early Childhood Australia website which can be found at: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Current international research topics
     This website is full of information about early childhood in Australia and provides several links to resources that are filled with even more information.  Some of the current international research topics I found were in a link on the website for Voice which is the Early Childhood Australia's newsletter.  In the most recent newsletter I found that they are researching the relationship between their Early Years Learning Framework(which is the framework that was created for early education programs and care settings) and the Australian curriculum for schools.  Educators wanted to know how the framework for early learning is connected to the learning curriculum for older children and so an information paper called "Foundations for Learning" was created to answer this question.  In this information paper they establish the fact that the early learning that is created in the Early Years Learning Framework creates strong foundations for success with the Australian curriculum(Early Childhood Australia, 2012).  The research is about how the Australian curriculum builds on their early learning system. 
     Another research topic that I found in the newsletter was that of professional standards for teaching and how having professional standards in teaching will create higher quality teachers and in turn increase student achievement.  The program that they are using to show that standards are important for teachers to follow is called the Annotations project.  It requires that professional consultants go into early childhood settings and make record of what standards are being followed and the quality of that program because of the standards.  The consultants will observe each teacher in their daily work and determine what strategies they are using that make a positive impact on children's learning(Early Childhood Australia, 2012). 

Facts/Insights/New Ideas
     I was interested to read the Code of Ethics of the Early Childhood Australia organization and I really liked the way they have their code organized.  They have 8 different categories of ethics that professionals agree to follow.  Those categories are each started by the phrase "In relation to..."  The eight categories are children, families, colleagues, communities, students, my employer, myself as a professional, and to the conduct of research (Early Childhood Australia, 2012).  I found it very interesting that they have a code of conduct listed within their code of ethics for research.  Within this code of ethics for research they discuss how the importance of safety and privacy for children is very important and how the research must meet ethical procedures such as consent and confidentiality (Early Childhood Australia, 2012).
     Another interesting insight I gained about Australia was about refugee children.  Refugee children are children of asylum seekers which I had never heard of before.  Asylum seekers are people who enter Australia looking for protection from the Australian government and want to seek refugee status (Early Childhood Australia, 2012).  Early Childhood Australia takes extreme measures to make sure that the children of these asylum seekers (or refugee children) are treated in the same way as all other children in Australia.  Many times these people and their children are held in detention centers and this organization does all that it can to make sure that they do not have to be in a detention center for very long.  They only believe that children should be put in detention centers as a last resort and not for an extended period of time.  Reading about refugee children and asylum seekers was a new topic for me but I was glad to see that many steps are being taken to ensure that these children and their families are treated with respect and caring.

Noteworthy Information
     One very noteworthy link that I found on this website was the link: mychild.gov.au which is Australia's online childcare page.  On this website, people in Australia can find information on the different types of child care that are available.  They can locate services and find ways to get assistance in paying for the costs of different programs.  There is a database where they can search for centers in their local area which I thought was very useful.  This web page also provides links to other useful websites about children's health and well being.  Another interesting fact I found on this page was that it gave details on the Australian government's early childhood agenda.  In this it provided information on governmental policies that are being implemented to improve early childhood education. 

I found this website to be very informative with a great deal of information and many links to resources.  If you get a chance, check it out!

Resources:

Early Childhood Australia. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Research that Benefits Children and Families

Option 2:

                If I had the means and the knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field it would be the importance of play in the early childhood classroom.   This would be a two part study and would consist of both structured play and free play opportunities.  I would use children in the preschool and kindergarten setting (ages 3-6).  The goal of the research study would be to show that children can learn important concepts just as well with play involved as they do from structured classroom experiences.  The first study conducted would be of a classroom where there is little to minimum opportunities for play (most kindergarten classrooms today).  The second study would be of the same classroom but where there are optimal opportunities for play.  I would complete the research study over the course of a school year.  I would spend half of the school year on one part of the study and the second half on the other.  I would then compare the results of the research to see if children were able to learn a topic when allowed time for play (free and structured) as well as they would learn it from direct instruction.  I would involve parents in this research event by having them sign a consent form for it and I would make the children aware of it as well.  I would use anecdotal records, video recordings, and the help of classroom aides to gather data.  I would do pre-research testing on a topic to see what the children know and post-research testing to see what they learned with play and without. 

                                                                    

              

         

   I feel that the positive contributions to do a research assignment on the benefits of play would be great.  It would first of all show administration and policy makers that play is an important part of learning and should not be removed from the classroom.  It would show parents that it is ok to let children be children and that just because they are in school, they are not there to just be filled full of knowledge.   It would give teachers the joy of teaching back and they would no longer feel as if they are just there to “teach to the test”.  They would once again be able to see children learning in experimental and fun ways that promote cognitive, social, and physical skills.   It would demonstrate to all professionals in the field that play is not a waste of time but an actual means to learning.  Most of all, it would show children in the early stages of learning that learning can be fun.  This will give them an internal motivation to want to learn at a time when they are very influential.  They would then carry this attitude with them throughout their school career.      

My Personal Research Journey

Chosen Topic
The topic I ended up selecting for the research simulation is the effect of stress on brain development in early childhood.  I chose this topic first of all because I find brain development to be a very interesting and fascinating topic.  I also believe that if we learn about the development of the brain and the areas in life that affect it, then we will be able to create strategies and interventions that could allow us to better help children.  I personally believe that the stress and trauma that children undergo in early childhood has a direct link to their developing brain and my hope is to find out the ways that the brain is affected by stress and if there are any strategies or interventions already in place to help manage these effects.  Understanding the brain and its development helps us to understand children which will help educators become more effective in their jobs (at least I hope it allows me to become more effective).

Personal Experience with the Process
So far my experience with the simulation process has been really informative.  I am learning about different areas of brain development and how these areas affect the brain.  I think the hardest part of the process so far was to narrow my subject down into three subtopics and then to have to pick one out of those three.  I believe that all of the subtopics are of importance so it was difficult to pick one.  In the end I just picked the one that I had the most interest in and the one that I thought played a direct role in the development of the brain.  I have found it helpful to study the Practical Guide to Reading Research Articles because up to this point I have dreaded reading research articles.  I am always ok at the beginning and the end but in those middle sections where they list all of the charts and numbers, I tend to get lost.  The Guide has been really helpful in telling me where to look to find the information that I need.  The literature review section was also helpful because we were given examples to look at and study and examples help me learn.  I can definitely say that my experience up to this point has been enlightening and educational.

Insights Gained
The insight that I have gained from constructing the research chart is that there are always terms in research that we might not understand and it is important to figure out the meaning and then see how that meaning relates to the research that is being done.  I enjoy learning, so studying these new words is interesting to me.  I think the greatest insight I have gained so far in this course though is in evaluating web pages.  I am not a very technologically advanced person and so I just assumed what I read online was fact based.  I am so glad that this course has taught me other wise.  I have learned a great deal from the criteria we were given to find validity in research articles and especially credibility of web pages.  I am keeping this paper right beside my computer so that I can now use it whenever I go online to search anything.

Advice to Give or Any to Share?
If any of you would have advice or insight to share that could help with this process of research, I am open to any that you have.  I have completed research before but with the advancement of technology I am finding that there are new seas I have yet to charter.  I am working my way through it but if any of you are technology whizzes I would appreciate any resources you can offer.  I think the best resource that I can offer so far in this journey for research is Google Scholar.  I found this website very helpful in finding articles that I could use.  I also think that in making references or citing references, Son of Citation Machine is very useful because it gives you the recent APA format.  You can find this at: http://citationmachine.net/index2.php

Good luck everyone in your continuation with this process and if I can be of any help please don't hesitate to ask!