Reflecting on Learning

  
                         

The most passionate hope that I have for my future as an early childhood professional is that I will be one person who will shine light into a dark world and help as many children that I can develop to be all that they can be.  I want to be an example to children of acceptance and love and I want to be able to teach them that they are so very important in this world and that they were created with a uniqueness that should be celebrated.  I want to teach them the difference between fairness and unfairness and I want to help them understand that it is okay to stand up for themselves and others when they feel that things are unfair.  I want to help families learn that their children are the most precious gift that they have been given and should be given every chance in this world to share their gifts with others.  I want to support families, educate them, and allow myself to be educated by them.  I look forward to being part of a future movement to open this world's eyes to the importance of uplifting children so that their future and the future of society will be nothing but brighter!

Once again, I can't say enough thanks for all that every person in this program has done to help me in my growth and understanding of anti-bias education.  I am a person who is changing for the better and I owe it in part to the people and professors that I have worked with in these courses.  May God bless all of my colleagues and Dr. Weems for helping me continue this journey and for assisting me in becoming the best anti-bias educator and person I can be.  I wish you nothing but greatness in all of your future endeavors and if I can ever be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me. 

   You are the light of the world.....let it shine for all.  Matthew 5: 14-15



Impacts on Early Emotional Development

East Asia - Cambodia                                

I picked the region of East Asia to learn about with an emphasis on the country of Cambodia.  It was coincidental that we would be asked to complete an assignment like this because I have recently been watching a program called "Life Today" where they have been highlighting certain countries because of sex trafficking and Cambodia was the one of the countries.  As I listened to the talks about this last week I can remember thinking that I would like to know more about Cambodia and the reasons for the conditions that these people are living in.  So, when given the chance to study more about a certain region, it was this region that I picked. In the following sections I will explain some of the challenges that children living in Cambodia have to endure on a daily basis.

Poverty                        
In Cambodia, children account for 46% of the population and around 5 million people are living in poverty, making less than 1 US dollar per day (UNICEF, 2011).  This makes even the poorest people living in our country seem rich.  Poverty is a root cause to many of the other challenges that the children and families living in these countries have to deal with.  Poverty can lead to an increase in how many children need special protection because they are orphaned or are living on the street(UNICEF, 2011).  Poverty also affects children with disabilities, children with HIV/AIDS, and can lead to childhood labor and sexual exploitation or trafficking (UNICEF, 2011). This impoverished condition leads many of the people without proper health care and they also do not have many health resources to fall back on. 

Maternal Health/Child Mortality                           
Due to the high amount of poverty in the country, the maternal health of the mothers and the health of the children is very poor.  Almost 5 women die every day because of complications from pregnancy and childhood and 69 % of those expecting do not have neonatal care or a skilled doctor there at the time of delivery(UNICEF, 2011).  The children who do survive find it very difficult to thrive in the impoverished conditions that they are born into and many do not make it to their first birthday.  The numbers about this were astonishing to me, especially when I read that over 110 children die daily because of the conditions in which they are living (UNICEF, 2011).   

Environment                     
Cambodia is a country that has to deal with severe types of weather that affect the environment in which these children and people are living.  There are many times when Cambodia has to deal with massive flooding because of the rainy season and also times when instead of lots of rain, there is none at all and a drought ensues(UNICEF, 2011).  These types of natural disasters leave these already very poor people without homes or the means to go to work.  Another environmental condition that these people must deal with are parts of land in the country that are filled with landmines.  Due to the many years of conflict that Cambodia has had there are many areas that hold unexploded  landmines which make it difficult because children can stumble upon these mines and be injured or killed (UNICEF, 2011).  The water and sanitation is another area of the environment that people living in Cambodia suffer with.  The water sources that most people have are very poor if existent and so children are drinking from unsanitary water supplies.  In fact, over 62% of the people there are using unsafe sources of water and over 78% can't access sanitation facilities (UNICEF, 2011).  In many of these places people are going to the bathroom on or near the very same source of water that they use for drinking.  This leads to many other problems.

Health Concerns
One of the biggest health concerns in this area of the world is pneumonia and diarrhoea.  The water and sanitation systems are the main cause of this problem and in many of the deaths that occur happen because of these two problems.  Due to the lack of health services, these children are not able to be treated quickly and adequately to overcome this massive problem.  Another problem with health is HIV/AIDS.  Many of the people living in this area have this disease and the same problem with health care applies to them.  The majority of deaths in Cambodia are due to pneumonia, diarrhoea, illnesses associated with malnutrition, and HIV/AIDS (UNICEF, 2011).

Sex Trafficking              
Another very scary problem for these children and for their parents is the very real problem of sex trafficking.  Many of the children who are living in these impoverished conditions have parents who want the best for them.  They are enticed by people from the cities who come into these very rural/poor areas and promise the parents that they are going to take their children and either give them a job to bring money back, or give them a better life.  They then take these children and place them in brothels and use them for sexual exploitation.  These children range in age and some very young children are used for this.  Many of the children are kept in these places for years but often times they lose their lives because they are killed or they die from the unhealthy environments that they are being kept in.

Emotional Well being and Development  

I can imagine that for children who are living in these conditions and dealing with these challenges on a daily basis, it must be very emotionally draining.  These children have to live with the feelings of being hungry, tired, thirsty, sick, sad, and depressed.  The challenges that they face are so numerous that they often don't have time to feel happy and healthy.  I think in most cases they are probably wondering why they have to go through this and why no one will help them.  Children are forced to have to deal with these issues and because of this some children will learn to repress their feelings and then they may not be able to express grief, loss, fear, or loneliness at all (Smidt, 2006).  This does not mean however that children cannot develop normally in their emotional development, but it does mean that they do need protection and they need people who are willing to stand up for them and help them so that their emotional well being can develop to its full potential. 

Personal/Professional Reflection                     
The insights that I gained from the research that I did was that there are so many challenges that children have to deal with all over this world.  I think we all tend to keep a closed eye to what is going on all around us because we are too busy with what is going on right in front of us to see the hurt and devastation that so many children and families are enduring.  I am saddened by the things that these children have to suffer with and although it is easy to see that UNICEF has made some strides in helping these children and families, it is also easy to see that a lot more needs to be done.  As a teacher this allowed me to see that I could do so much more to support the children and families that I work with, but also that I could do more to get my school involved in support efforts for places like Cambodia.  I would like to join efforts with these organizations that are attempting to make life better for these people because all children deserve to have an opportunity for a good life and only we can help these children that are dealing with these challenges to have this chance.  We truly need to be a light in this dark, dark, world! 

References

Smidt, S. (2006). The developing child in the 21st century. New York, NY: Routledge.

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

My reaction:                         
My reaction to this topic is one of sadness and disgust.  I am sad because of the way our society feels the need to exploit young people and sad about the fact that this is happening to children of preschool age.  I am disgusted that there are actually people who feel that this is an ok thing to do.  I am also disgusted because industries that are promoting this are making large amounts of money by using sex and violence to get their products to these young children (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).  I breaks my heart that people feel that it is acceptable to rob these children of their innocence and that parents are not doing more to protect their children but instead are promoting this sexualization.  You honestly cannot turn on the television these days and let small children watch without the fear that they are going to see or hear something that is related to sex.  Children are constantly exposed to images of sexual behavior that shows them that there is not a need for emotions or attachments and that sex is a defining activity in a relationship(Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).  Young girls are learning that they should try and be as sexy as they can if they want to have a relationship with a boy and young boys are learning to objectify young girls based on these characteristics.  It is sickening to me when I see images on television that are showing children that girls need to show as much skin as they can and act sexy.  It happens all the time to the young movie stars and singers and you can actually watch them go from young innocent children to objects of sexualization.  I truly wish that the people in America and especially those involved with young children would take a stand against these messages that are being sent and start teaching our children that beauty is on the inside and that love and trust are what should define a relationship. 

Examples:                                                         
As soon as I read the title for this week's blog assignment the first thing I thought of was the television show "Toddlers and Tiaras". I had never heard of the show until last year when I was talking with my sister and she was telling me about how these little girls are dressed up in these little outfits with make-up on and are being asked to parade around this way.  I really didn't believe her when she told me about it and so the next time I was flipping through the channels and I came across it, I turned to it.  Well, I didn't stay on that channel very long because I was appalled by what I saw.  First of all, all of these little girls had on more make-up or almost as much as Tammy Faye Baker and many of them did not seem happy about what they were doing or being asked to do.  Here are these overbearing mothers who are holding them down to put make-up on them, shove them into these outfits and tease their hair when all these children would probably rather be doing is playing.  These children then compete in these pageants where they are being taught that their physical appearance is what is going to get them somewhere in life.  I have needless to say never watched the show again and will not ever watch it in the future.



The next example I have that illustrates the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment actually did not happen to me, but happened to my cousin in a preschool classroom.  It was during nap time and she was there as an aid and had to sit down next to this little boy who was taking a rest.  She said that he grabbed her hand and put it on his privates and said "touch my c***".  She was completely shocked and went right to the teacher and told her what he had said and then she had to go to the guidance counselor and fill out papers.  As we talked about this she said that she couldn't believe that he would know that word and I said that it was very sad that he would know that word but also the action that he wanted her to do.  This just goes to show that he has seen this somewhere before or even sadder, that this is something that has been done to him.  We live in a society where child sexual abuse is everywhere and I honestly believe that much of this comes from the exposure that there is in the media.

A final example that I have of children being exposed isn't of preschool age children, but of preteens.  A few years ago I taught in a sixth grade classroom as a long-term sub and there was a girl in my classroom who fit the perfect example of a child who had been exposed to a highly sexualized environment.  She came to school daily in skirts that were way above her knees or in pants that were very tight.  Her shirts revealed cleavage and were also extremely tight.  She was very sexually overt with the boys in the grade and during the time that I was there, she got caught giving condoms to boys who were in fifth grade.  I can remember thinking that this girl was going to be pregnant before she ever graduated from high school and I'm sad to say that I was right.  She made it to I think 8th or 9th grade and ended up having a baby.  It is sad to me that at that young of an age(before 6th grade) that she was given the idea that she should dress in such a provocative way.  Often in today's society girls are pushed into this type of behavior before they can even understand what the deeper meaning of a true relationship should be and the implications of the sexual behavior that they are displaying(Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).  She should have been more worried about playing with her friends and sports than she was about making herself look sexy to the boys that were around her.

Implications on Healthy Development 
The implications of sexualization in today's society for children is that it is sending harmful and inappropriate messages that can not only frighten them, but confuse them as well (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).  These messages are teaching young girls that they should objectify their bodies and that if they are skinny, pretty, and wear skimpy clothes, then people will like them.  Young boys are not an exception either.  Young boys are given the message that they should be muscular and also that it is ok to look at the bodies of young girls.  Both genders are being sent the message that sex is the most important part of a relationship and the more that you "sell it" the more valuable you are.  This leads to ideas of poor self esteem, lack of self-worth, and can also lead to more extreme conditions like sexual abuse and prostitution(Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).  The best thing that I can do as an early childhood professional is to create a safe and caring place for these children and to teach them that their self-worth comes from the person that they are on the inside instead of what is seen on the outside.  I need to show them that I am a person that they can trust and be available to honestly (of course at their developmental level) answer questions that they may have about the things that they see in the media and possibly in their home environment.  I also need to make the parents and families aware of these issues and ask them to become advocates against the sexualization of our children.  Together we all need to fight the media and marketers of these messages because they are making money at the expense of the self-identities and futures of poor and innocent children. 

Awareness                   
The readings this week have increased my awareness to the idea of sexualization of children and how it impacts early childhood.  It is in early childhood that we need to start because the kinds or relationships they have when they grow up will be a result of the foundation that was laid about relationships in their early years (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).  If they are learning that relationships are based around everything sex related then they are not being sent the right message and their self-esteem, self-worth, and self-identity is going to suffer.  I think that I try not to think about how big of a problem this is today because I have always felt that there is very little that I can do about it.  I have learned this week that we all need to take a stand to fight against this sexualization of our kids and when we see or hear something that is perpetuating this, then we need to do all we can to advocate against it.  I can be a voice for these children and I can also be sure that I am raising my own children correctly and modeling positive relationships for them.  In my classroom I can be a strong support and a role model against all of the negative messages that children are receiving.  It really is time that we fight to take back society from the perverted and sexual monster that it has become and return it to the pure and wholesome country that it started as.     

Reference:
Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction] So sexy so soon. The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

      Two and a half years ago I was blessed with my fourth child.  His name is Jadon (which means "thankful") and he was born with a genetic condition called "Noonan's Syndrome.  This syndrome is a condition that causes short stature in children and our little guy is definitely little.  At two and a half he is still wearing 12 month pants and most people who see him think that he is one.  I guess the stereotype or "ism" that we deal with the most is ableism because many people comment about how little Jadon is and ask if he needs help to do things.  I remember one time when we were shopping and he was just six months old or so(but looked maybe a month old) and this lady asked how old he was and when I told her she said in a very snotty tone "Why is  he so small, is something wrong with him?"  I explained that he was born this way and she didn't say another word.  Since that time I can't count the number of times I have heard "Wow, he's really small" or "Isn't he little for his age?"  We have also gotten the questions that because he is so small does he have developmental delays and people automatically assume that he has learning disabilities.  Jadon also has wide set (kind of droopy) eyes and one time a person made the comment about him that "he isn't as dumb as he looks."  This was a very hurtful comment but I knew that it came from ignorance because this person did not truly know Jadon.  Our little boy has a personality that is so big that it will definitely make up for his lack of size and once people are around him for a couple of minutes, they can't help but fall in love with him.  He does not suffer from any mental or developmental delays and although we were given the option to give him growth hormones, my husband and I decided that we want to leave him the way God created him to be and teach him that he is special for who he is and not what society thinks that he should be.  I know that the road as he is growing up will be difficult but I also know that God brought this little angel into the world for a purpose that is bigger than any of us and He won't let society mess with that. 
  

                                          

       The year after I had Jadon I had a little girl move into our school district and join my second grade class.  She was a very tiny and sweet girl and very sad to leave her grandma (who brought her) each morning.  Every morning I would wrap my arms around her and tell her that we would make it through the day together because I missed my baby too.  This little girl won my heart right away and she would constantly tell me that I was the best teacher and how beautiful I was.  She had a really big personality and despite her size, she was full of life.  I think that because of Jadon I took extra special care to make sure that she was treated kindly and that she was not picked on.  There was just something about this little girl that won me over and I just wanted to make sure she believed in herself and her abilities even though she was so small.  She ended up moving before the school year was over and I was heartbroken.  We both cried on her last day and she gave me her address so that the class could write to her.  A couple of weeks after she moved, her grandmother came into my room (she still lived in the town and is an aide in our school) and said she needed to share something with me.  She proceeded to tell me that this little girl had gone to a geneticist because she was so small for her age and wasn't growing and they found out that she has Turner's syndrome which is the female version of Noonan's Syndrome.  I think that I almost fell over when she told me this because I couldn't believe it.  I was then able to share with the grandma that my son had a similar condition.  We both felt that it was more than a coincidence that this girl had been placed in my classroom.  It seemed that she had needed me and I had needed her.  She is doing well at her new home and the last time she came to visit her grandma she came to the school with her and I saw her standing at the end of the hall and she ran to me and gave me a great big hug.  It was my feelings at this moment that made me realize how this "ism" had influenced not only my personal life, but my professional life as well.

                                               

        As I have dealt with the consequences of the stares and comments made to and about my own son, I was also given the chance to allow this experience to affect the way I interacted with the children and families that I work with.  The consequences of "ableism" in my professional life have been that I have a deeper consideration for all of the children and families that I deal with.  I feel that I have always been considerate of people but since dealing with the consequences of people looking differently at my son because of a physical difference I have developed an even deeper consideration and accepting of the differences that people may have.  I noticed this in the way I interacted with the little girl in my classroom and how I noticed that she was different but I would not allow for her to be treated differently in my classroom and I built a relationship with her and her family based on trust and understanding.  This program has taught me so much about the way society looks at people based on what is represented on the outside but how as educators we should be modeling to look beyond physical, cultural, or ability differences.  It is our job to accept ALL children and families into our classrooms and child care centers regardless of the characteristics they may have.  In a truly anti-bias classroom, we are accepting, respecting, and valuing all those who come through our doors and helping each child to develop to their fullest potential.  Anti-bias education is a type of activism that we should all be incorporating into our classroom but we have to remember that this starts at a personal level (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  It is for this reason that it is important to reflect on the "isms" in our own lives and use them to help us become better anti-bias teachers.

                            

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).