Time Well Spent

As I look back to the past 20 months that has gone by, without any doubt I can say it has been the most rewarding experience of my career. The program has inspired and influenced me to meet the challenge and opportunities of education not just in the community I live in but worldwide. Understanding early childhood, learning the different strategies and techniques that can make a powerful impact in the life of a child, building positive relationship not only with the child but also with the family and colleagues has helped me cater to the needs of the children, their parents and the needs of the 21st century far more efficiently. Masters in Early Childhood Studies program has not only given me profound understanding and knowledge of child development and learning but also been a greater awakening experience to me as a professional.

1.  I realized that all learning begins with self reflection. Socrates' guiding rule "Know Thyself", made more practical sense to me through this program. I realized that looking at my own self, the ways I think and perceive my experiences can be my greatest teacher. I learnt that it is important to constantly reflect on our work, be open to our own growth, learn from our mistakes and recognize our limitations, what our skills and dispositions are, and realize the need for change and keep trying.
 
2. Growing up in Abu Dhabi within its multi cultural society, my understanding of diversity was different. I thought I don’t need diversity education since I know how to interact with diversity. But this program helped me realize my understanding of diversity was just what was obvious to me – the race, color, language, religion, nationality and culture. I was able to realize that diversity extends beyond the color of the skin - our emotions, our behavior, can also define diversity. This learning has given me a deeper understanding of diversity, accept the unique humanity of others, and be able to understand and respect the diversity and individuality of every child and family I work with. This creates an awareness of my responsibility as an early childhood professional to be culturally responsive, overcome my biases and understand each family, build a supporting relationship with the families, partner with them in order to support the learning and development of every child and create a society that values everyone.
 
3.  Learning on the need for effective and appropriate communication in our world of differences, has definitely changed me as a communicator. As an early childhood professional working with young children and families from diverse backgrounds, I learnt that effective communication, cooperation and collaboration is important to enhance child’s development and build a positive, supportive relationship with children, families and colleagues. I also learned that communication skills such as good listening skills would help me analyze, understand and connect on a deeper level. It would help replace my tendency to defend, withdraw and judge with empathy, respect and attentiveness.

Therefore through my learning and new found understanding and knowledge my long term goal is to be a better advocate, be optimistic in creating a society where all people can be nurtured and have access to what they need for a quality life. It is this optimism to see equity and inclusion that keeps me motivated. Passion indeed comes from the vision. The vision for so much more change, keeps me motivated, gives me the passion to move forward. 

 

I would not have been able to go through this program and attain this knowledge and understanding without the input and insight of my colleagues and instructors. I am thankful to all me colleagues who has supported me right from the start of this program. When I joined this program I was actually very apprehensive as to how I would communicate and build relationship with colleagues I have never known and faces I have never seen. But this course helped us share who we are, our hopes, our dreams and our goals and helped us understand each other without actually physically meeting each other. Walden has helped us to support each other transcending our organizational and geographical boundaries to become a part of community of caring learners and professionals assisting each other in our commitment to a common mission to support and sustain quality care and education in the drive to create a safe and just world for our children to live in. I am truly grateful to be part of this community and thankful to each of my colleagues for making my Walden journey a memorable and edifying one. 

 

I would also like to thank all my instructors who supported me with insights and knowledge through their feedbacks, guided me to shape my thinking and explore options to learn and grow professionally. A special word of thanks to Dr. Teri Davis - I would not have been able to complete this capstone project without your timely feedbacks and responses. I am thankful to have had you as my mentor to master the core concepts and principles I needed to complete my capstone with ease and comfort. 

 

I am thankful to my father who may be no more physically on this earth but had been the motivation and driving force behind me in completing this course. I am greatly thankful to my lovely husband and my mother who have been extremely patient and supportive for the past 20 months. Above all, I am thankful to my God for helping me seek out my interest and pursue my passion. Every assignment I sat down to type, I have started with a prayer seeking His help and He never let me down. I was assured that “If He has brought me to this He will bring me through this”. With that hope and trust in Him I was able to accomplish a major milestone in my life. 

 

Passion is about perseverance. Let us together persevere to make an impact in our professional field and foster positive social change through education.

 

 

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

As I continue to explore the international community of early childhood in addition to the ones I explored in my previous blog, I have been inspired to dream big.
 

One of the organizations that I had not previously explored is the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) (http://www.issa.nl/index.html). I am glad that Walden resources brought me to this site. This organization is an ideal community of practice for professionals and organizations working in the field of early childhood development and education. It is their vision to empower each child with values of social justice and equity to reach their full potential and their mission to ensure greater family inclusion and community involvement in the children’s education and learning that appealed to me greatly. Especially since the topic for my capstone project focuses on active family participation in education process, ISSA would connect me to other professionals and organizations who share common interests. Being passionate about teaching and early child development, I aspire to advocate for policy reform for families and young children in the early childhood. ISSA supports individuals with the necessary advocacy tools that are intended to influence such reforms. I therefore hope to make use of the free of charge membership to ISSA’s Online Community which would access me to an online library, discussion forums and collaborative initiatives focusing on years from birth through primary school.
 

 Another organization that I came across, again thanks to Walden resource is Academy for Educational Development (http://www.aed.org/en/index.htm). In its commitment to improve lives in lasting ways, they bring together an expert team across disciplines and geographies to address the full range of human development needs. What appealed to me is their global workforce and its commitment to professional development. It might be interesting to look into their internship program once I finish this course at Walden to reach my highest potential both personally and professionally. It would be give me a valuable experience needed to fulfill different roles in the early childhood field. It was through this site that I was able to find out about the Educate a Child (EAC) initiative which has implemented 26 projects in 17 countries including Doha which is a neighboring gulf country. They did have a job vacancy for a Technical Advisor in Doha. Though I do not meet the requirements for the position, the job description seems something I might like to look forward to in the future.
 

Job of a Technical Advisor mainly involves: 

•  Provide technical leadership by defining and developing solutions to challenges such as accurate data collection and reporting as well as the drawing comparisons across projects that may or may not be similar.
• Contribute to planning and making recommendations
• Support and review the design and scope of evaluation studies and protocols for showing the impact of EAC on out-of-school children worldwide.
• Review, analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the EAC initiative and make recommendations for enhancements.
• Represent EAC to external entities at professional meetings, events and conferences.
• Maintain collaborative relationships with EAC partner organizations, relevant government agencies, bilateral and other NGOs

Minimal Requirements:

• Master’s degree or international equivalent in education, education psychology, evaluation or related field; PhD preferred
• Expert in quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methods research methods, statistical design and analysis, particularly as applied to program evaluation
• Experienced in the design, development, and maintenance of monitoring and evaluation systems as well as educational research that focuses at a program (rather than project) level
• Experience with meta-evaluations and systems preferred
• At least 15 years’ professional experience working with international donors, government ministries, civil society organizations, and education policy makers in the field of education
• Experience working across the international donor community

Another site that I found interesting was Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm). It is an independent organization committed to accountability, innovation and collaboration in creating a lasting difference in the lives of children around the world. Its mission is to resolve everyday challenges that children face such as natural disasters, poverty, illiteracy and diseases. They have a lot of job opportunities in different parts of the world but nothing in UAE. However, they did have several leadership and development opportunities program which would help to improve skills, advance careers and develop every early childhood professional to reach their full potential. What really appealed to me is the fact that they offer opportunities for being advocates on behalf of children. Such involvement would help us save children’s lives and make a positive difference in the world we live in.

       

Exploring these several organizations has inspired my thinking, given me a wider perspective of roles an early childhood professional could get involved, and compels me to move outside, to engage with the world around us.

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

“Meaningful engagement of families in their children's early learning supports school readiness and later academic success” NAEYC (n.d.). It is therefore essential that early childhood programs engage families in their curriculum, improve strategies that would help develop partnership with families. 

 

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), there is no body that works for the ECE community on a national level, only on state levels, some of which was explored in my earlier blog. I would rather look into international early childhood communities to see what programs they have that foster the well being of children, families and the early childhood field. 

 

Organization such as NAEYC that is based on improving the early childhood field is something I wish was operating here in United Arab Emirates too. Its professional development opportunities and resources would help to provide leadership, coordination and services to build and maintain a strong early childhood organizational structure here. Especially, with its Engaging Diverse Families (EDF) project which is a project to learn the effectiveness of engaging diverse families in the early childhood programs and share resources and information with other organizations trying to start and sustain family engagement practices. With diversity present here in UAE, a project such as this, would help early childhood programs to relate with children and families from different backgrounds. http://www.naeyc.org/ecp/trainings/edf 

 

Another international organization that engages families as a core component of improving pre-k quality and build essential relationships between families and the education system is the Pew Charitable Trust (http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=59715). Pew Charitable Trust with their mission to enhance children’s learning at home and at school, and promote supportive and effective parenting by building essential relationships between families and the education system can be a valuable member of my community of practice. 

 

Zero to Three is a national, nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture early development (http://www.zerotothree.org). Their leadership, expertise, and resources for professional development help to ensure that babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. Under their care and education section they share resources and tips that would foster intellectual, social and emotional development and lay the foundation for later school success.

 

Exploring on the job market here in Abu Dhabi, one of the jobs in the market here in UAE, that is similar to what I am already doing is that of a Lead Teacher. 

 

Qualifications / Criteria Required:

Qualifications: 

•   Must have a passion for working with young children and their parents/caregivers.
•   2 – 5 years experience in teaching and/or working with young children (from 12mths and up) required.
•   University or College Degree required. Post graduate Degree preferred. Specialization in Early Childhood Teaching is a plus.
•   Must be a team player and able to work with different nationalities.
•   Must have enthusiasm, dedication, and a good work ethic.
•   Must be able to manage many tasks quickly and efficiently and be able to work in a fast paced environment.
•   Outstanding written and interpersonal communication skills required.
•   Must be fluent in English. Proficiency in Arabic, Russian, French or other languages is a plus. 

 Relevant Information:

•   Energetically teach and Manage nursery classes by following Knowledge of Reggio Emilia and Emergent Curriculum preferred.
•   Lead groups of young children and their parents/caregivers through different activities.
•   Ensure that children are comfortable, safe and having fun learning in their environment.
•   Build positive relationships with co-teachers, parents, and children.
•   Must be able to communicate well with parents regarding early learning and the value of play based learning programs.
•   Must be well versed in teaching and the development of young Children.
•   Must understand the benefits and philosophy behind reflective teaching practices.
•   Read and follow all policies as outlined in the Teachers Manual.
•   Have excellent product knowledge of all offerings.
•   Communicate to the manager any classrooms supplies that need to be replenished or replaced.

  

Though it is non-teaching another kind of post found in certain schools here in UAE is 

 

Parent Relations Executive

•  We are seeking and individual who has a customer-centred philosophy and can develop and maintain open channels of communications with existing and prospective parents and school administration.  
•  The role involves a significant focus on marketing the school to a wider community. Excellent communication skills required both orally and in writing.  
•   Individual must be a passionate brand ambassador to the school.

 Skills & Experience: 

•   Proficient in the latest computer packages with excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.  
•  Previous experience in Marketing/ Communication is required with a minimum of two years in a customer service focused role

But what I would really like is to be part of a research group that would help me use the research to uplift the educational system here in Abu Dhabi, for which I found no such vacancies here.

 

 

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Exploring the internet for early childhood organizations, agencies and communities of practice that operate locally here in Abu Dhabi where I live was extremely difficult. There were no such listings to be found in Abu Dhabi under such a given name.

On further exploration, my search brought me to the website of GEMS Education Solutions (http://www.gemseducation.com/solutions/) that focuses on school effectiveness. I was really excited to come upon this site. It was interesting to see that the GEMS education solutions had partnered with the Abu Dhabi Educational Council (the ministry that governs the education here in the Abu Dhabi) in 2012 to provide professional development and educational transformation as part of its endeavor to increase school-level leadership and capacity. Their missions and values in education transformation strategies, curriculum development, teaching and learning practices, program design and evaluation, policy making and organizational development appealed to me. Knowing that they provide support to private and public sectors from US to China, including Abu Dhabi and India open out more opportunities for me. Among their several consulting services, I found they also focus on my utmost passionate interest -Parent Engagement and Partnership Program (http://www.gemseducation.com/solutions/consulting-services/parent-engagement-partnership-program?submenuid=5157&parentid=1107)- that is crucial for breaking down barriers because of the cultural diversity found here in UAE. GEMS have such leading personalities such as academics, educationalists, authors and researchers on their parent engagement advisory board that it would be an honor to work under the guidance of such leading thinkers (http://www.gemseducation.com/solutions/consulting-services/parent-engagement-advisory-board?submenuid=5546&parentid=1107). In fact The GEMS School in Abu Dhabi did have a job vacancy as a parent relations executive responsible in maintaining open channels of communication with existing and prospective parents and school administration. They also have teaching vacancy for teachers from foundation stage to year 9 requiring attested Bachelor's Degree with a B.Ed/ TTC, a minimum of two years teaching experience, valid UAE residence visa (for expat candidates on husband's or father's sponsorship), and excellent communication skills.

Another site I came across in my search that caught my attention was a children’s nursery in Dubai (Emirate 2 hours from Abu Dhabi) called Blossom Children’s Nursery (http://www.theblossomnursery.com/). This nursery was awarded the winner of the prestigious Arabian Child Award for the best early childhood service provider of the year 2011. What appealed to me were the credentials of the founder of Blossom, Zahra Hamirani. She is a law professor working with many organizations including International Montessori Foundation and National Association for Early Years Practitioners (www.naeyc.org). NAEYC is an organization I regard highly and to know there is someone in this country who is associated with it and has merged all that knowledge into implementing a curriculum that is stimulating and engaging to get children the best start of their early years created in me a hope of forming a community of practice. If we could form a community of practice, with her kind of focus and commitment, we could ensure many nurseries setting standards of international excellence here in UAE.

National Association for the education of Young Children (NAEYC) (http://www.naeyc.org/) is an organization that is based on bettering well-qualified practitioners and improving the conditions these professionals work in, improving early childhood education by working to deliver a high-quality system of supporting early childhood programs, and encouraging excellence in childhood education for all children by constructing an extraordinary, all-around organization of groups and individuals who are committed to promoting excellence in early childhood education for all young children. Being a member of this community of practice and staying informed can support me in my professional development and help me stay current on early childhood issues, and participate in group efforts to promote improvement in services to young children.

Being in the diverse community I am in, establishing and supporting a community of diverse membership would help to connect people not merely through ideas but through feelings, passion and drive to support and sustain quality care and education within a community.

Reflecting on My Anti-Bias Learning

This course on how to build an inclusive, anti-bias learning environment that is developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate has been enriching. As an early childhood professional my hope is to build on the strategies and techniques that I learnt to help develop children’s strengths, capacities and skills needed to take step in the direction of what is right and stand up for what is fair I would not have been able to gain the insight and knowledge that I did without the collaborative support of my colleagues. I like to take this moment to thank each of my colleagues for the all the help, advice and ideas extended towards me.    

Addressing something that hurts children is a proud and fulfilling moment. I continue to need your support in my anti- bias journey. I need allies to cheer me during my success, and stand by me during my failures. As I move forward in my professional goal of doing anti-bias work in early childhood classrooms, I request my colleagues to continue to be the allies I can talk to and the circle of groups I can come to. I wish you all the best in your role as the diversity/equity educator and wish that through our collaborative efforts we can together build a world in which children feel safe, supported and loved.

An International look at Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The headline in our local newspaper read this morning “In Syria, the biggest losers are children” (Gulf News). Syria has been in war now for the past three years with more and more people fleeing the country every year. Even here in Abu Dhabi we have a lot of Syrian families and so seeing this article this morning I thought it apt to look into the impact of war on the early emotional development of children in Syria for this blog assignment.

War in Syria has taken an unacceptable and unbearable toll on children exposing them to grave human rights violations, poor conditions for survival, destruction of schools, unsanitary conditions and risking them of losing a generation (UNICEF).

This chart that I came across UNICEF website appalled me (http://storify.com/UNICEF/syrian-crisis/elements/b660f6994cda7f5d2deaee3e)




Indeed the biggest losers are children. Because of adults’ conflicts, it is children who lose homes, families and siblings, suffer injury and permanent disability, get uprooted and transplanted into circumstances beyond their control. They get denied of love, compassion, education, health and dignity and also lose their innocence when they are forced to look after their younger siblings and elderly grandparents becoming breadwinners overnight. All around them, their dreams and opportunities for the future are being lost. As a result of the trauma, they suffer profound long-lasting psychological effects. Children replicate killing scenes while playing, cover their faces and seek shelter when they hear planes flying overhead.

A child’s identity is constructed within his or her culture, ethnicity, language, family structure and home relationships. War and other forms of trauma affect the lives of children, challenging their well being and development and create psychological dynamics that can affect their individual sense of self and undermine their healthiest and fullest development as human beings. UNICEF and its partners are trying to combat the deteriorating state of children by providing them with safe drinking water, vaccination campaigns and organizing learning programs that will provide psychological services.

Children need a helping hand that would promote their strong sense of identity, feel pride in who they are, and have courage to stand up for what’s not fair. With appropriate adult guidance we can help lay a strong foundation that would provide the base for the next stages of healthy development and the skills they would need to thrive and succeed in our complex and diverse world.

References
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/files/Syria_2yr_Report.pdf
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/jordan_65808.html
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/syriancrisis_68134.html
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/syria/in-syria-the-biggest-losers-are-children-1.1199838
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/syriancrisis_69285.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

Children as young as preschoolers are brainwashed by the institutional and cultural socialization they encounter such as media, language, and song lyrics. The media culture has become an educational force playing a significant role as “teaching machines” in influencing young children on the institutional and cultural expectation about normalized race and sexuality. Today’s media and commercial culture bombard children with graphic sexual images and information that they may not even understand. 

Just a couple of days back a 3 year old child in my class was signing ‘oppa gangnam style, hey sexy lady” and doing the gangnam style dance steps. Another 4 year old child was singing, Scream and Shout by Britney Spears “…..you gotta turn the shit up… All eyes on us…” They may have been just singing a song that they found catchy, without knowing what the lyrics meant. Observing how these children as young as three years pick such songs is quite alarming.

It may be cute to see my 2 year old niece flaunt a dress, swirling around pretending to be a princess. This is what most of the little girls want to be ‘a princess’, ‘the prettiest of them all’ because of the influence of the animated movies. But when she refuses to wear any other clothes and insists on wearing only frocks that she can swirl around in, it can be disturbing. What is observed is that even at an older age of 5 years, girls are still obsessed at being ‘lovely’. My colleague’s daughter wears only pink frocks. After she gets dressed, she parades before her parents tossing her head, and waving her hair asking “am I not lovely?” This emphasis on beauty can push them from being the prettiest little girl to being the being the hottest little girl.

It was quite shocking to see how my Lebanese colleague’s 9 year old daughter walks out the house in micro mini shorts, high heels, and tiny tops that expose midriff. My colleague does not seem to mind her daughter walking out the door looking like that. Somehow letting a young girl dress like that has become Ok, part of their culture. As a result of such thinking we find clothing these days outright sexy.   

Children think listening to secular songs is ‘cool’ and they idolize the artists. I see around how boys as small as 6 year olds imitate the current popular boy band – ‘one direction’ in their hair styles and clothing.

The authors of the book ‘So sexy so soon’ (Levin, & Kilbourne, 2009) has rightly asserted how young children’s exposure to an overly sexualized environment plays a significant role in undermining their healthy gender and sexual development and negatively impact their sense of self worth. Children learn narrow definitions of gender and sexuality that focus primarily on appearance.

When children adopt the values that dominate commercial culture—materialism, self-indulgence, conformity, impulse buying, and unthinking brand loyalty—the health of democracy and sustainability of our planet are threatened (CCFC). Therefore as early childhood educators, we need to partner with parents and provide positive age-appropriate experiences that can help children begin to sort out their ideas and feelings about themselves and others, deal with issues of sexualization that would support the healthy sexual development of children. 


Reference

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC). Retrieved from http://commercialfreechildhood.org/actions/home.html

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

Being an Indian and living in an Arab country, an ‘ism’ that I definitely experience on a daily basis is ‘racism’. Arabs think high of ‘white colored’ people. They value their identity above everyone else. Therefore, even at my work place my colleagues, who do not have the teaching experience or qualification as much as I have, get paid more than me just because they are ‘white’. Arab parents want their children to be taught by British irrespective of the teacher’s credentials just so that their child can pick up the British accent. There are times when families enter my classroom with preconceived prejudice and stereotypes regarding an Indian teacher. Their difficulty to give me a smile or even acknowledge my position as a teacher pronounces their attitudes. Let me share a personal experience that occurred very recently to illustrate this further.

I have a local Emirati girl in my class. She has an older sister in the next grade whose class teacher is a British. When this girl joined my class, she was such a timid and shy girl who would not utter a word even if she had a need. But during the course of the year, with lots of encouragement and support she has emerged to be a confident girl. I was so pleased to see her perform for our school concert last week on the stage in front of all the audience. Her mother too was happy to see her become the person she came out to be. However, at the end of the concert, the mother brought a gift of appreciation for her sister’s teacher. I felt hurt not because I did not get a gift. I felt hurt because my job is taken for granted just because I am Indian, while the other teacher being a British is honored for her role. 

However, as an early childhood professional working in a multinational setting, I consider it my responsibility to be culturally and linguistically responsive and emotionally intelligent to welcome all children and their families into my classroom irrespective of the way people react to me or the ‘ism’ I experience. I do not in any way let my experience affect my interaction with the children of these families or impact my professional practice. I believe these children are innocent and before their families communicate their culture’s values, beliefs, rules and expectations to their children, as the first adult outside their family, I need to make an impact on the child’s life and thereby on the family’s lives. In all these years of my teaching experience, I have only done themes like ‘Me and My family’. However, ever since learning on anti-bias education and the importance of making cultural sameness and differences real, I realize the need to incorporate cultural awareness theme and talk about how everyone is similar and yet different in my curriculum. Persona dolls and appropriate books can also help to widen their circle of experience beyond the cultural rules and practices of their own family. At this point I would like to ask all my colleagues to offer advice and suggestions of what books to read and activities to include exploring cultural diversity and similarities.

Early years are an auspicious time of childhood and childrearing, that with special attention and nurturing we can help children become sensitive human beings as they venture into the world beyond their homes.

Observing Communication

I chose to watch a short 4 min and 27 sec conversation between a preschooler and her parents after her first day at preschool on YouTube. Here is the video clip.

I found the little girl poised, polite and cute, able to articulate and hold a conversation. Her parents were asking her questions which helped her to keep her conversation with them. In this week’s learning resource (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011) Lisa Kolbeck says, asking questions to children is important to help them move on in their thoughts and actions. We also notice how the parents were patient with the child. This approach, being receptive to what children are saying, and going slow is also important when communicating with a child in order for them to formulate their thoughts and bring it out in the way they intend. This not only helps them communicate their thoughts but also helps them feel respected and accepted for who they are and heard (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). This child definitely felt listened to and seen and therefore respected and accepted.

Though her parents did a good job in holding a conversation, I think they could have built it further. When they asked her how she got hurt, she begins to say by running and then the father quickly put in the words in her mouth, closing in her thoughts with his assumption that it was at recess while she was running. Had he not done that and remained quiet for her to come up with the reason she would have probably surprised him with what she mentions later in the conversation about trying to get the blue thing from the boy and running. We as adults need to learn to be quiet enough to let the children come to us with their thoughts and reasons and be open to surprises (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). I also agree with Lisa Kolbeck when she says we as adults need to be imaginative when talking to children instead of just interrogating children when trying to communicate with them. Because, children live in their imaginations. Here when the child talks about having read a book in the circle time or play with bricks the father could have been imaginative and got her to express further about the book she read or the construction she did with the bricks.

Doing this assignment makes me understand and reflect on the way I communicate with children in my class. I am more like the father who interrogates children and sometimes putting words in their mouth when trying to hold a conversation with them. Comparing the father and what I have learnt this week I realize I need to be patient with children, go slow, letting their thought come out of them by themselves. Children communicate in different ways and use their bodies in different ways to express themselves (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). I therefore, need to be more sensitive to these expressions so that I can pick up cues about how to communicate.

Sensitivity, respect, acceptance, reflective listening and providing the space for each child to be their unique self are the philosophy for communicating with young children (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).


Reference
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Communicating with Young Children. [Multimedia]. Strategies for working with diverse children. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Creating Affirming Environments

An environment that is rich in anti-bias materials, culturally consistent for the children and families it serves, accurate and non-stereotypical invites exploration and discovery and supports children’s social, physical, emotional and cognitive development. Therefore, if I would have a child care setting of my own, I would:

1. Ensure that every family feels welcomed and comfortable.  

a. I would have school/family handbook which would be translated to languages other than English to include all the families. The aim of this handbook would be to familiarize every family about our philosophy and the various activities in our program. This is important for families to feel part of the program.

b. I would have a comfortable place at the entrance with seating area and coffee, tea and biscuits made available so that parents feel comfortable to sit and chat with the teachers, where teachers would be able to understand the needs of the family and family would be able to express their area of concern and what they would like for the teacher to focus. It would also give rise to opportunities for families to interact with other parents. This would help develop relationships not just between families and teachers but between the families and thus help bring communities together. 

c. Unlike the center where I currently work where parents are not allowed to come into the classroom to pick up or leave their children and is asked to hand over their child to the assistants at the main entrance, I would make the classroom accessible to all parents so that they can come and be partner with us, be a part of our teaching environment. This would help families to know what we do, the culture of our classroom, and who the other children and families are.

2. Ensure that every child feels welcomed and comfortable.

a. I would have a place set up where children can make their transition from home to the learning place. I have realized from my learning that it is important that we do not stop the children crying, but that children must on their own make that transition. This is very important especially for a child who is new to the program. Those who are already used to the routine blend in without any effort. While for those who are new it takes the appropriate environment, attention and effort. Therefore, a bed with cushions, books, dolls, and small toys and music can make the child at ease.

b. I would also have the parent spend some time with the child in the classroom so that the child would feel comfortable and safe to explore.

3. Ensure that the visual and material environment reflects the different cultures especially of those in the center.

a. I would have wall hangings such as posters; bulletin boards and other art reflect the children’s home cultures.

b. In order to ensure that every child feel safe, nurtured and included, I would have anti-bias materials in every learning areas. Role play area, construction and art areas would have materials that would provide critical thinking and diverse learning experience like cloths and toys reflecting different children’s backgrounds, dolls and figurines with different body types, race and gender, paints and colors of all skin tones and blocks and Lego’s with nonsterotypical photos on the wall. This is important since when children play they recreate life and learn to work together.

c. I would have an area where families could share their culture. I would even like to invite families who are willing to share part of their culture with us in the classroom. Either they could bring in home cooked food item or play an instrument or showcase their photo album, and thus share their culture. This would help connect different cultures.

Relationships, interactions with children and families, together with the visual and material environment and daily curriculum would help create a learning community that truly nurtures and supports all children in my learning center. 

Moving Forward in My Anti-Bias Journey

Social inequities and biases undermine healthy development in all children in one way or the other. Some children are affected deeply by the social messages that attack their racial or cultural identity. Some children may develop feelings of superiority by the biases that support their identity. Children of wealthy families may imbibe messages that material accumulation defines their worth and children of poor families may feel less valued and unworthy. Children of different abilities may be looked down upon by their able peers and feel subordinated by them. Equity and social justice alone can provide freedom for everyone.

Working in the early childhood field, in a multicultural environment, my hope is that all children and families have equal opportunities, have the right to be fully human, without being held back.

My goal is to integrate anti-bias approach into every aspect of the early childhood program, focusing on the similarities and differences that are relevant to the lives of the families and children in my program.  

Keeping on in our anti-bias journey, providing children strong, culturally appropriate program content, equity of access and quality and keeping faith in the possibility of positive change in ourselves, in others and in the programs, can alone make positive change in our world of differences, where all children everywhere will be able to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they are a valued. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues who has helped me in this developmental journey, without whom this anti-bias learning would have been difficult. Thank you once again for your support. I wish you all the best as you continue to endeavor in your anti-bias journey. My hope is that we would be able to live out our lives as the following acronym depicts to make this world a better place to live in.

Anti-Bias Education

Anti bias education 

Start Seeing Diversity

Children are meaning makers, perpetually learning from their environment. From early on they absorb whatever societal norms, stereotypes and biases they see around concerning various aspects of their own and others identities.

For example, I had one Down’s syndrome child in my class of 18 other typically developing children. Our nursery being a regular preschool catering to typically developing children, I wanted to include children with special needs in my classroom so as to help the coming generations to make meaningful connections with children who are different from them. This probably stems from my experience with my special needs son. Seeing how the world around him behaves- staring, mocking and being sarcastic, I did not want another child with such challenges experiencing the same reactions. I therefore expressed my desire to opening our doors of our nursery for such children with challenges.

 What was upsetting was excepting for two or three of the other children, none of the others wanted to play or even sit next to this child. As soon as this child would come and sit with a group of children playing together, they would just get up and move away. What was even worse was when the parents of other children came to me demanding that I move this child away from my class. Their concern was their children would pick up atypical expressions and behavior from this Down’s syndrome child. The parents had instructed their children to keep aside from this child. It was apparent that the messages communicated by the adults were responsible for developing a bias in children towards this child.

As an educator desiring to teach diversity and social justice, I had to stand up for this child before these parents, making my decision clear that in no way was I willing to consider moving this child away from my class. I also explained to the parents how this child needs this opportunity to lead a normal life as far as possible. Though hesitant they became willing to give it a try for some time. In the classroom, I tried to explain to the other children how their attitude would hurt this child and make her feel isolated and left out. I tried to reason with them why this child too needs a friend. I modeled my thoughts by taking initiative to play with the child and include her in different activities and giving her various responsibilities in the classroom. This enabled others to see her as an individual and value here identity. This also enabled the child with Down’s syndrome to build positive self-esteem and self-concept. Soon children and their families accepted this child and she became part of our classroom community. This experience was a lesson to me about the power of teachers as a role model. Ensuring that this child felt comfortable and involved created a crucial foundation for mutually respectful relationships.

“If the seeds for such negotiation, such as being open to the world, skills of empathy, and critical thinking, can be planted early in life, it would change the society, enable each person to see other’s perspectives. This would have a ripple effect and change globally impacting most isms: sexism, ageism, different abilities and so on”, Nancy Spangler (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).


Reference 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Start Seeing Diversity: Conclusion. [Multimedia]. Diversity, development, and learning. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

Children have ideas about behaviors, activities and toys that go with gender. From their very early years they are quick to classify gender based on the external and cultural stereotypical gender identity like: Boys don’t have long hair, only girls’ play with dolls, boys are strong, daddy cannot cook, only mommies change diapers and so on. These typical and acceptable gender roles may differ from culture to culture but nevertheless children learn them in their very early childhood years within their families and communities and can continue these beliefs into adulthood. Living in a multicultural community, I am aware of such male and female gender expectations that adults practices and teaches. Media and marketing influence today’s children about what it means to be a boy and girl, about the nature of sex and sexuality and limits children’s definition of gender and sexuality to primarily on appearance. Boys are often the action heroes and girls the damsels in distress. Violent games target boys and sexual imagery to sell products to girls. Such bias related to gender can limit children’s learning behaviors.

Sometimes these biases can become so dreadful that it can surmount to homophobia. Heterosexism pervades nowadays in much of the societal customs and institutions. Without realizing it we may often keep our children, be it our own or the students we teach, from moving outside their assigned gender roles. I have noticed how I myself have sometimes unknowingly perpetuated such biases. For example, when I had a boy student who insisted on choosing pink color every time for his coloring, how I encouraged him to try other colors as well or when my son picks up Dora or hello kitty ball at the store, how I make him put that back and give him a Spiderman or cars ball instead. I know that just because boys color with pink or play with balls with Dora print on it does not make them homosexuals, or transgender. But I also know that encouraging and guiding children on the right track from their very young age can enable them to develop their fullest range of abilities and skills needed to succeed in school and life. 

This attitude probably stems from my cultural ideologies and intergroup relations. Being from a Christian faith and believing that homosexual behavior is a sin and is against the will of God, I find it difficult to agree with many leaders and specialists from a range of sociocultural backgrounds who considers homosexuality to be a normal variant of human behavior. And therefore I also find it inappropriate to include gay and lesbian equity issues in the early childhood curricula. Moreover, such homosexual issues is neither seen nor heard in the community I live in and so I find it irrelevant for such inclusions. Since invisibility erases identity; I don’t feel as an early childhood educator I should initiate such a thought into the little minds. Especially when early childhood teachers have a profound effect on children, through curricula and pedagogies, issues made known and issues kept silent can influence the young children’s perception of diversity and difference, gender and sexual orientation. Considering homosexual as normal and introducing it into the early childhood curricula would only ultimately produce a world of more transgender, lesbian and gay people.

As early childhood educators we have the responsibility to support all children in their development, pay attention to the diversity and equity in relation to gender identity, and check ourselves to make sure we do not perpetuate bias unknowingly, so that we can lay a strong foundation in children for healthy relationships in the future.

Farewell

As we have come closer to the adjourning stage of our masters program, it feels difficult to say good bye. When I stared out this distance online classes, I was unsure about a whole lot of things – how I would manage my studies along with my daily responsibilities, how I would interact with colleagues I have never seen or know personally, how would my colleagues perceive me and so on. But I must say, I was lucky to be in a group that made me ‘fit in’ right from the start. You made me feel accepted. Every one of your posts, comments and feedback were a source of support and encouragement to me. As I reflect on my learning experience, I would not have been able to journey thus far without your support. I thank you all for helping me grow and learn to be a better me and a better early childhood professional. As we separate our ways to each of our specializations, I wish you all the best as we continue on our professional path. God Bless!

Adjourning

One person alone cannot accomplish much. Only when people get together through their collective efforts can they make a significant impact. Therefore, higher the value of commitment to the common vision and achieving specific goals, stronger will be the relationship between the team members and harder will be the adjourning stage to say good-bye.

When I consider the different groups I have been involved in, I think the VBS (Vacation Bible School) group that I get involved with is usually the difficult group to say good-bye. We have VBS every year during the school holidays. Though it is only a five days event, team members connect with each other and become interdependent. This is mainly because their primary motivation is neither profit nor pleasure but the clearly defined common goals. It is the powerful vision that keeps us a team to move ahead through challenges, and change with more confidence. As a result we become a closely knit group, that the separation and thought of the event having come to an end brings sadness to each of us.

At the end of the five days we have a reflection time where we reflect on the five days, our accomplishments and failures and what and how we could improve the following year. We end with a prayer of thanksgiving and part ways hoping to meet each other again the following year. Working well on any team generates energy and enthusiasm for life. It is this energy and enthusiasm that helps us stay motivated and look forward to VBS each year.

The group of colleagues I have formed during this master’s program is another group I have come to closely relate with. We have grown in our learning together, respecting each other’s contributions that our unique experiences and backgrounds have brought to our discussion and blog boards. As this program will come to an end, and it will be time for our adjourning stage to say good bye, I am sure it will be a difficult process, as my colleagues has become my extended family to me. I have valued all my colleagues valuable support and will surely miss as I move on independently. Nevertheless, I would take the opportunity to say Good-bye and wish each of my colleagues best of luck as they pursue their next endeavor.

Adjourning stage in teamwork is essential as it looks at the team from the perspective of the well being of the team – celebrate their success and evaluate their shortcomings - so as to motivate the team and lift their morale for future success.

Conflict Resolution

I think it is coincidental that such an assignment should come up at this time. Because it was only one month back I had an issue with my principal. I have been working for the past 9 – 10 years and never have I had any disagreement with anyone. Maybe the reason for this is because I never used to communicate my hurt. Since culture and conflict are linked, I guess it is my cultural values and beliefs to have a cordial relation with everyone that makes me avoid conflicts.

However, this time I could not keep quiet. I am therefore partly responsible for the conflict that arose. Let me explain the scenario. What happened was my assistant helper for this academic year is a young woman from my state in India. She has only high school education and is not very fluent in English. She can communicate in English, but with me being from the same state she would rather communicate in our native language instead of struggling in English. Now in our center, we have Filipino helpers who speak among themselves their language, Sri Lankan helpers who speak their language and Arabic and French teachers who speak their respective language among them. My principal is a Lebanese. And therefore she speaks French and Arabic to respective teachers. It so happened last month, she overheard my helper come to me and speak to me in our language. Immediately, my Principal came up to me and said “no speaking in Indian”. I was suddenly hurt. I felt my identity was being insulted. It just didn’t seem fair when this rule didn’t apply to the rest of the center that it should apply to us. Why, because we are Indians? I was provoked, that it brought out strong emotions in me which made me comment “then no speaking in Arabic and French here.” I cannot still believe that I said that. Maybe it was my newfound knowledge about culture and identity and how important each one’s identity is or maybe having been a witness for some time to how my helper is treated unfairly when compared with the other helpers that triggered me. I don’t know. Anyway, I said it and my principal was taken aback. She did not expect such a comment from me. Nothing was further said about it. There was no argument. But she stopped talking to me. Unproductive conflicts can have negative impact on the relationship (O'Hair, & Wiemann, 2012, p.220). This is what happened in our case. We have had a good relation until then. But after this one incident, there was a gap between us.

Being an escapist, I tried to avoid clarifying things until last week when she brought up the matter with me. I tried to justify how my feelings were hurt. However, since power dynamics play a role, she pulled her rank by saying “no matter what you feel or what you think, you have no right to say to me the way you did, because I’m the principal”. This time I did not speak up. I decided to allocate power (O'Hair, & Wiemann, 2012, p.244) to her in order to resolve the conflict. 

Though things are getting better between us, such a conflict could have been avoided had I used the nonviolent or 3R approach. I should have been honest about my feelings, express openly how hurt I felt instead of coming up with a statement that caused such a conflict. ‘Differences of opinion and clashing goals are inevitable in any relationship.’ (O'Hair, & Wiemann, 2012, p. 223). It is how we approach and resolve these kinds of situations that matters.


O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Who Am I as a Communicator?

When examining and evaluating my own communication and listening styles, dispositions and skills using the Communication Anxiety Inventory and Verbal Aggressiveness Scale (Rubin, Palmgreen, & Sypher, 2009) and Listening Styles Profile (Rubin, Rubin, Graham, Perse, & Seibold, 2009) revealed, that

My level of communication anxiety is mild.

My level of verbal aggressiveness is moderate, and

On listening styles I am a people oriented person

Our behavior generates feedback from others. Therefore, getting my colleague and my husband to assess me using the same measure helped me to judge my performance. Both my husband and my colleague rated me as:

Moderate on the Communication Anxiety Inventory (Rubin, Palmgreen, & Sypher, 2009) with a score of 48 and 47 respectively,

Moderate on the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale (Rubin, Palmgreen, & Sypher, 2009) with a score of 64 and 61 respectively which was similar to the way I perceived myself, and

On the Listening Styles Profile (Rubin, Rubin, Graham, Perse, & Seibold, 2009), they again agreed with my judgment about myself being more of a people-oriented type by putting me in the group 1 category.

It was surprising how our self-presentation and self disclosure speaks volume about us. Both my husband and my colleague agreed that I get concerned over some communication context which was similar to my perception. I feel more confident in one-to-one situations and somewhat uneasy in a larger group. I am able to converse comfortably with a person I do not know very well as well as with a person I just met whereas when speaking in public, I am more tense and apprehensive. They too have observed that complex and technical information are a challenge to me and that I would rather prefer information in an orderly and efficient way. They have also noticed that my communication skills in noticing others emotions and being considerate to their feelings. When situations arise where I have to argue, I make it a point to attack the facts and not the person.

Learning about myself, assessing my strengths and weakness as a communicator through self-evaluation and based on the feedback from others has helped me to evaluate my expectations, execution and outcomes in my communication. It has helped me to be more aware and conscious of the need to develop my knowledge and skills in communication. I have realized that in order to improve my communication skills I need to:

 1. Self-monitor the situation more effectively, by monitoring my self-presentation and the people involved.

 2. To be more sensitive to feedbacks regarding my abilities, knowledge and talents so that I can incorporate such information better.

Effective communication depends on our perception, of our understating of the diversity around us and realizing that each one is unique with their unique variables.

Communication and Cultural Diversity

Living in United Arab Emirates, where the expat community is more than the local population, I have been exposed to cultural diversity from my very small age. We are used to seeing different ethnicity on the streets, hear different languages in the super markets and relate with different nationalities at our work places on a daily basis.

 

Since, our thoughts, our gestures, our actions and reactions, the very way we perceive, reflect our unique experiences with our culture, the way we perceive or how we respond may not be the same way others perceive or respond. Therefore on a daily basis, I am obliged to apply different communicating skills with the different people I come in contact with. 

 

When communicating with people who are not fluent in the English language I try to speak in very simple English, avoiding big phrases and complicated sentences. 

 

When I communicate with my older uncles and aunts, I avoid speaking in English and speak in Malayalam, my native language so that they feel comfortable and at ease in speaking with me.

 

 My Bangladeshi cleaner boy who understands and speaks very little English puts on a smile on his face throughout his communication with me. I get irritated with his nonverbal behavior and communicate with him with a straight face without any expression ignoring his smile, using more non verbal skills such as gestures and body movements coupled with basic English words to communicate and put the message across.

 

 In my early childhood classroom, I am exposed to different parenting styles. Some of which I personally do not agree with. I try to in a very subtle way explain to the parents without offending them or exert my values over them. 

 

These are just few examples of the different ways I communicate with people from different groups and cultures. But culture has a wide range. These past two courses, have taught me that culture extends beyond the color of the skin, is deeper than what we see on the surface. Our emotions, our behavior, parenting styles, lifestyles are all related to culture. Based on my learning, I realize the need for more understanding than just recognizing external symbols like holidays, festivities, food and clothing to become an effective intercultural communicator. Especially as an early childhood teacher being a member of a diverse society, it is important for me to communicate appropriately and effectively with a wide variety of individuals. For this purpose, I would need to:

• Understand other’s perspectives, their practices and values better by looking at the situation through their eyes.
• Withhold judgment at the first impression and allow enough time to understand them.
•  Be more aware of nonverbal behaviors. Realize that nonverbal behaviors are different across cultures and in no way is my patterns of nonverbal behavior any superior to others.

Our perceptions are linked to the wide diversity we encounter in the world and culture is a powerful context of communication. To communicate effectively and appropriately in today’s world, we need to possess an understanding of and appreciation for people who perceive differently that we do.

Nonverbal Communication

We communicate with many tools other than language. For this assignment I decided to watch a short comedy called ‘No Offense’ first with the sound turned off and then watch again with the sound turned on, to examine variety of actions such as gestures, tone of voice, body language as well as all aspects of physical appearance that would intentionally or unintentionally signal meaning through behavior other than words.  

The short 4:23 clip starts off with two guys, one black named Dale and the other white named Peter, meeting up at their mail box. As they converse with each other, Dale looks puzzled at something Peter said, but the conversation goes on and everything seems fine. I gather from the scene that they are friendly neighbors because they seem to exchange a pleasant conversation with smiles and pat on the shoulder. Later that day they meet up again at their trash can. From the expression on Peter’s face and mannerisms he looks confused about a DVD he has in his hand and Dale seem to question him on it and pointing to the DVD seem to make comments on it. Again they part with a friendly smile and acknowledgement. Even later that day they meet up on some social networking site. Peter messages to Dale ‘No Offense’. Now I am left puzzled here. Because I do not know what has been going on and why Peter send Dale that message. All I can observe is Dale seems a little taken aback. Next we see Dale at the front door of Peter with a knife in his hand and a plastic bag with furry something sticking out. Peter seems upset with the content in the bag. Though they exchange some serious bit of conversation, nothing seems to be amiss here because they laugh and part ways. Next we see them on the phone with each other. Though they seem to exchange words with stress, they are laughing loud and I therefore assume they are having a friendly conversation. However, in the last scene, peter is standing on top of a red car (which I assume is Dale’s) and is hammering it. Seeing this Dale looks shocked and goes to the backyard of (I guess) Peter’s house and pulls down his pant to ‘poo’ on the lawn which frustrates Peter. At the end of this clip with no sound, I am left confused why what started out to be friendly exchange between neighbors turned out to be hurtful at the end. 

After turning the sound on I was totally surprised to find out I was totally deceived. Although I was able to interpret some of the non verbal communication correctly, I was in for a surprise for the most part of it. Though they were all smiles and their facial expressions and body language seemed to convince me that they are friendly with each other, they were in fact insulting each other all along and having a laugh at it. Since I had never watched a ‘No Offense’ clips before nor have heard of such practice, the turnout of events was totally a big surprise.

Competent Communication

Competent communication is appropriate and effective. When I think of someone who is a competent communicator, the first person that comes to my mind is a cousin of ours who is very good at giving directions. His directions are very brief and clear that no one could go wrong following his directions. In fact I would trust his directions than my GPS when travelling within the city he lives. He guides us with information such as which lane to take, the number of traffic lights we would have to pass before we take the left or right, even on a detoured road he would tell the signboards to look out for from where we must make the turn. He makes us understand the route laid out for us so well, even to last landmark nearest to the destination. It is his ability to observe even the details we sometimes tend to overlook that makes him a successful and a competent communicator. He is also able to adjust his behavior to suit particular individuals and situations. Knowing we are not familiar with the city he lives in, he simplifies the directions so that we can make each turns safely when we get to it and the route is laid out so clearly that we have enough of time to understand, plan and safely execute our next move. I am often inspired to model his observation skills, and his communication skills in being concise, accurate and appropriate.