Art Gallery--- What Have I Learned

The one hope I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse background is to learn about my students, where they come from and what holidays they celebrate. For example, if I have students who are of the Jewish faith I will learn about the Jewish holidays and share my learning experience with my students. If I have a student who has a disability I will learn about the disability and try to find ways to help this student overcome their disabilities. For example, if a student is hard of hearing or is deaf I will learn sign language and teach my students some simple signs so they can communicate with that student. I feel that communication is important because it is the foundation of education and these skills carry on throughout their lives.

    One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field that relates to the issues of diversity, equity and social justice is to require that all teachers take a course in diversity so they can learn about other cultures, ethnic backgrounds and how the role of family has changed over the years.

Dear Colleagues,

   I want to thank each and every one of you for all your help, support and guidance through this course. I have learned a lot from all of you and it has helped me grow. I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season and best wishes for a joyous New Year. I wish you all the best of luck as we continue our journey towards our Master's Degree.

Start Seeing Diversity Blog: Creating Art

  

 

The images I had selected for my blog are pictures of children of differnet races and ethinic backgrounds. I feel since America is a melting pot and the land of opportunity, I feel it is important for children to learn about other cultures, races and ethinicities. I feel that all religious holidays should be celebrated and taught in schools in order to have more a diverse education.

          In today’s society racism and prejudice are still strong. People are not born racist or nor are they born prejudice, but rather these things are taught to children at a young age. I feel if children are taught about other races, religions and ethinic backgrounds I feel that racism and prejudice will decrease. I feel that schools need to take to the time to celebrate all religious and cultural holidays. For example, in Decmeber there are three important holidays: Christmas, Chanaka and Kwansaa. I feel that all these holidays need to be celebrated and children need to be taught about these holidays.

     

 

We Don't Say Those Words in Class!

I remember one time last year when I was Christmas Shopping I had seen a young boy (probably between the ages of 3-5) point an older lady and said “hey mom, look she has no hair. How come the lady has no hair? I thought all women have hair.” The lady had explained that she had been sick lately and she had lost her hair (due to Chemotherapy).  The mother had been so embarrassed that he son had been staring at the lady and that he had asked what had happened. The mother had apologized for her son’s rude questions and the lady had said that she understood because many people have come up to her and have asked. The lady had also taught Kindergarten and knows first hand that young children are naturally curious. After the lady had left the store the mother to her son that it is not nice to stare at other people nor is it polite to ask questions because some people do not like to talk about things that are personal. The mother had used a calm voice to describe this because she felt that yelling was not going to solve anything.

            The messages that have been communicated to this child is that there are time when it is inappropriate to ask personal questions because some people do not like to share personal stories with strangers. It is also not polite to stare at people nor is it polite to point. I feel that the mother had handled the situation well because she had explained to the child what he had done and why it was wrong. The mother did not raise her voice nor did she hit the child. A child understands things much better when they are spoken to directly and are not being yelled at.

            An example of how an anti-bias education might have responded to support the classrooms understanding is to explain that people are different and that some people are private people and do not like to explain their personal lives to strangers. I would also explain that some people have diseases that cause them to lose their hair and that eventually the hair will grow back. I feel if children understand what is going on around them they become better aware of things. I also feel it is important to talk to a child and not yell at a child because yelling does not help a situation. I also feel that parents need to praise their child for things they do correctly not just when they do things wrong.

Start Seeing Diversity Video” Blog: Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

      The way I would respond to a parent/family member who informed me that they did not anyone who is perceived as a homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating and/or interacting with their child is that I would say is that in our Pre-school we teach our students the imporatance of getting along with everybody and that the school does not discriminate based on race, gender or sexual orientation. In our society, the role of a typical American family has changed drastically. Some people are raised by single parents, other may be raised by either two mothers or two fathers and there are some who may be raised by one mother and one father (like I was). I think it is important to teach our youth that it is not right to prejudge people nor is it acceptable to treat someone different just because they are not the same race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.
     I have never used any of these terms, but I have had heard of an incident once when the term tom boy was used. I had a friend named Sylvia who hated to wear dresses and always wore jeans (her family was so poor she only owned one pair of jeans). The girls teased her because she never dressed up as a girly-girl. The boys did not like her because she was always taller than them. I feel that this comment had hurt her in her adult life because she had unfortunately committed suicide when she was a freshman in college. I feel that these comments affect all children because they hear these terms and many of young children may not know what these terms mean, but they hear them either at school or on TV and feel that it is acceptable to repeat them. I feel that if other children question their sexuality they might be afraid to share their feelings in fear they may get teased next or even worse beaten up. I feel that this may also cause bullying which is a big issue that most schools are dealing with. There have been several suicide cases involving young people who were teased about their sexual preference that they felt if they were not around anymore they could not get hurt.

Note of Thanks

Dear Class,
  I just want to take a few minutes to thank everybody for their help and guidance throughout the semester. I know that many of us will be going into different programs so I want to wish all of you the best of luck. This has been a great program and I have learned  a lot from everybody. I hope that we will all keep in touch and hope to see everyone at graduation. Please stay in touch.
lovebunny225@yahoo.com

Team Development

   I feel that anytime I work in a group it is hard to say goodbye. When you are working closely with people you get to know them and get to learn about their backgrounds. If you are lucky you become friend's with these people and hope to keep the friendships going for years. Yes, I feel that high-performing groups are especially hard to leave because you spend a lot of time with these people both at either a work or school setting and also outside of either work or school. When you have a high-performing group you all tend to share the same common goals and are all compassionate about the work you put into the project.
  For me the hardest group for me to leave was when I had worked on a group research project. My group had done a paper and PowerPoint presentation about Asperger's Syndrome and I had really learned a lot even though I had one group member who had not helped out much at all. I love working with children who have special needs and was glad to have the opportunity to work on a project where I was able to learn more about Asperger's Syndrome. I knew a little about the disability before starting the project, but I had gotten so much more out of the project afterwards. It was hard for me to leave because my other group mate was a lot of fun to work with and because her brother has the disability I was able to find out how the disability not only affected her brother, but the family. I still keep in touch with my group mate and had just learned that she is obtaining her Master's Degree in Special Education and that it was because of the way I had encouraged her throughout the paper and how often I told her that she is very compassionate when working with other people and seeing her desire to teach others.
  The closing rituals I would have liked to see more of was seeing what other projects my teammate was working on and seeing her succeed in her other courses. I think that we should have celebrated us getting a great grade and helping each other out.
  I am hoping that once the class is over and we are obtain our Master's Degrees that we will still keep in touch and continue to encourage each other. I have learned a lot from my colleagues and have always been pleased with the way we encourage each other and help each other out. I have learned so much from my colleagues and feel that these ladies are not only my colleagues, but also my friends. I want to take a moment and thank my friends for all their help, advice and guidance throughout the program. I have had some rough times in my personal life, but because of the strength of my friends in these courses and the encouragement I know I can be successful and I can get through anything that life throws me.
  The reason why adjourning is an essential part of teamwork is because I feel it is important to take the skills we learn from one project and use them again on all the future projects we work on. Building friendships are important and having a network of people guiding you and giving positive encouragement motivates you to want to strive hard to obtain your goals.

Disagreement

  A conflict I had recently experienced was with my husband Randy. Recently Randy had lost his job and as a result we have to move to Nevada and live with my parents. We are moving at the end of this month and things have been very stressful between school and packing. Both of us attend school and Randy's final week is next week and mine ends two weeks later. On Thursday night I had gone into our computer room to do some homework and I had completely lost track of time. Randy came into the computer room asking when are you going to stop doing your work and cook dinner. I had really gotten upset with Randy because he knew that I was busy and all he cared about eating. I yelled back at him, "well, if you are hungry why don't you go to into the kitchen and make yourself something to eat and when I am done I will cook dinner. Then Randy turns around and says, "well we have to be out of here at the end of the month and nothing seems to be getting done except your homework. What about the packing? It needs to be done also". I turned around and said, "well, it is difficult for me to do everything. After all I am only only one person".

The two strategies I have learned that helped me manage the conflict more productively is to talk about things calmly and to listen to each other. Yelling does not solve anything and also calling each other names are uncalled for. I have also learned that if a discussion gets to heated up it is important to walk away from the situation and return when both parties are ready to discuss things in a mature manner.
  I was able to compromise by saying that I will spend the day packing and will pull an all nighter getting my work done. I had also compromised that we will take turns planning dinner and cooking instead of just leaving the responisbility on one person. We also compromised to cut back on spending time on the computer (except for school work and an hour for us to do what we want).  The principles of the three R's I have used was respect, reciporocal, and responsive interactions. It is important to respect each other and to interact with each other in a positive way. Compromise is always best when both parties can come up with an agreement. Relationships are about give and take.

Communication Blog

This week my husband Randy and my friend Bob had evaluated my communication anxiety, verbal aggression and my listening profile. All three of scored very similar when it came to my communication anxiety and my listening styles profile, however the major difference in score was my Verbal Aggression. While I had scored a 65, Randy has scored me as a 45 and Bob at a 36. Bob and Randy both thought that I was mild mannered and always respected the view points of others, while I thought that I had a fair balance between respect and consideration of others. The reason why I was so surprised was because I had always thought of myself as only speaking my mind when I felt very strongly about an issue and that sometimes I stick my foot in my mouth before thinking. The scores that Randy and Bob had both gotten made it seem like I am the type of person who listens to others and never defends my position.

      The insights I have gained this week was I am a people person. All three of us had agreed that I love being around people and that I really do not worry when I have to communicate with others in a small group or a one on basis. I had also learned that the way I perceive myself in the verbal aggression category is that I do tend to speak my mind and tend to know what other people are going to say before they finish their thought. My husband said that he knows this part is true because most of the time I can finish his sentences and read his mind. According to Randy, “at first it drove me crazy, but after dating for three years and being married for four years I think it is great that my wife and I know each other so well”. I have also learned that in the teaching profession I need to listen to what my students and the parents are saying before I give advice or try to help them out. I also need to stop assuming that I know how someone feels without having all the facts first. In my personal life I sometimes get mad at my husband whenever I am frustrated and this is something I really need to work on as well. I need to realize that arguing and yelling does not solve anything. When I am upset the best thing to do is to walk away from the situation and go back to the discussion after both parties have calmed down.

Cultural Diversity

  Yes, I do find myself communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures. I grew up in the Los Angeles area where most of the people were either Hispanic or Blacks. I am white and I consider myself to be a minority. I feel that belonging to a club at school called Cross Colors Culture Club has helped me get a better understanding and appreciate other cultures. Every year my area has an International Dance Festival where other countries will come and perform their ethnic dances. Last year my husband and I had the pleasure of meeting a young dancer from Japan who was more than happy to share her culture and ethnicity with us. I feel that this was a great experience.

  The ways that I communicate differently with people from different groups and cultures is that I am always careful about what I say so I do not offend anybody. I have a friend who is of Indian Descent (she is from the country of India) and sometimes we have different view points. One thing we do not agree on is marriage. Her marriage was an arranged marriage which is very common in her culture, while my marriage was not an arranged marriage (I got to pick my husband). I feel that a person should marry someone they love instead of marrying someone just because their parents like the guy. I feel that a woman should be able to pick her partner whom she wants to spend the rest of her life with.
  Also, when I am communicating with young children I always bend down to their level so they do not get scared. I feel that a child feels more at ease when you are at their level. I always use easy words for them to understand.

The three strategies I would use to help me communicate more effectively with the people and the groups I have identified are:

1. Choose my words carefully so I do not offend anyone.
2. To learn more about other cultures so I have a better understanding of the others person's point of view.
3. I want to teach my students about other cultures so they have a better appreciation of people and maybe help them grow up in a world where there is less prejudice and racism.

TV Show

   The television show I had chosen to do this assignment was Leave It To Beaver. The show stars Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. The reason why I chose this show was because I had never seen the show before and I wanted to select a show that was wholesome for the family.
    With the sound off I was able to see the characters smiling which shows me that the family is friendly. I also observed that the wife stays at home and waits for the kids and husband to come home. The wife is always properly dressed. The parents show concern for their kids and also show them when they are proud. The family always sits down together for meals.
   When I had gone back to watch the show with the sound on, the assumptions I was able to make is that it is family show that shows family values. It also teaches you a lesson. In this particular episode I was able to pick up on the moral of the story and the plot even though it is not a show that I normally watch. The plot is about the importance of being a good team player instead of acting like you are the only player on the team and because you feel that your are the best, practice is important. Beaver (played by Jerry Mathers) scores the winning touch down and since he played so well one week he feels that he does not need practice and skips out on practices all together. The coach calls the house and tells Beaver that since he missed practice he is not able to play in this Friday's game. Beaver becomes upset and attends all practices and stays late to make up for the practices he has missed. He also learned to be apprectiative for what he has instead of having a swollen head.

Competent Speaker

  In life we all have role models, people we look up for guidance and those who have touched your hearts. One person in my life who demonstrates competent communication  is a woman who I am proud to be named after and whom I am proud to call one of my best friend's (besides my husband of course) my mother, Darlene. My mother has always been and is a strong woman who stands up for what she believes in and has always gone out of her way to stand up for her children. Growing up my mother was the one who always fought for our rights in school.  If a teacher had made us feel dumb she would go to the school and talk to the teacher and the principal. My mother always made sure that we knew we were not dumb and that we can achieve anything if we set our minds to it. My mother always made sure that we never gave up on our dreams and goals. If we needed help with our homework she always helped us out. My mother always attended the parent-teacher conferences and when we had problems in school my mother always knew who to talk to to make sure that we were being treated right. I have learned many things from my mother over the years: I have learned to be assertive when necessary and I have learned to stand on my own two feet. I have also learned how to be a good wife and when I have children I hope that I can remember how well she raised me so I can pass this on to my children.
     Yes, I would definitely want to model all of communication behaviors after my mother because she has done a great job of teaching me the importance of standing up for myself and how to never take things for granted. She has taught me to always accomplish my dreams and never let anyone talk me out of doing things that are important to me. My mother is a great role model and one of the most influential people in my life and I really do not know what I would do without her.

Professional Hopes and Goals

   One hope I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is to get to know my students well and to also learn about their backgrounds. For example, if I had a student who is deaf or hard of hearing I would take Sign Language and teach the class how to sign simple words and phrases in order to make the student feel more comfortable. I feel that is important for all children to feel comfortable in the classroom and that each child is treated equally.
  One goal I would love to set for early childhood field that relates to the issues of diversity, equity, and social justices is that I want to teach my students about other cultures and other ethnic backgrounds. Even in the year 2011 Racism is a big issue and I feel that in order to have a better control of racism we need to teach childen how to love one another and how to not judge people by what they look like or by the color of their skin. We need to teach our children how to get along and that it is acceptable to be different because that is what makes us unique. We need to treat each other as equals intead of thinking that one race or one gender is superior.

   Thank You Letter:

Dear Friends,
  I want to take a few minutes to thank each and every one of you for contributing to my blog each week. I had learned so much from all of you. I feel that my educational experience has grown because of the things I have learned from my friends. I want to wish all of you the best of luck and I know that each and everyone of you will be great teachers and advocates for children.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

   The name of the family I have chosen to work with is from the country of India. The family has been in the United States for a month and even though they were taught English at the University they do not practice their English skills a lot.
   The five ways that I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive to the family are:
1. Do research about the country of India to see what their education system is like so I can find out if the child is behind the rest of the class, ahead of the class or right on schedule with the rest of the class.
2. I want to learn about the culture as well as places to see in India. I feel it is important to know about all my students and to teach my students about other cultures so they have a chance to be friends with each other and accept each other for who they are.
3. I want to learn a few simple words such as hello, good bye and door and teach these words to my students. Communication is very important in education. I remember a friend of mine who taught special education knew that she was going to have a deaf child in her classroom and had studied sign language during the summer so she would be prepared to teach her students simple signs such as door, hello, goodbye and lunch.
4. I want the parents to be involved in the school and to volunteer as much time as they can in the classroom. If possible I would like the mother and father to be able to practice their English skills so they can seek employment. I feel it is important for the parents to feel comfortable in the United States as well as their daughter.
5. I want to learn about the Hindi religion and the traditional holidays they celebrate. I also want the parents to know that if they would feel more comfortable with their daughter taking her religious holidays off from school that she will be permitted to. I feel that all religions need to be celebrated and that all children should be involved in class activities. It is not fair to mistreat any of your students nor is it fair to leave them out.

The way I hope that these preparations will benefit both me and the family is that I will learn something new about another culture and be able to pass this knowledge on to the rest of my students. I feel that interacting with my students and the parents is important because both myself and the parents are the teachers in their child's life and the things that the children learn in school needs to be reinforced at home.

The Personal Side of Oppression

I remember working with college students who had disabilities. One student that comes to mind is a former student and friend Ceasar. Ceasar is a very bright student who has sight in his left eye and very limited sight in his right eye.  In spite of not having the best vision in his eyes, he had a strong vision in his mind to prove to himself that he could take the hardest classes and get A’s in all of them. This was a high goal he had sent for himself. He had gone to the Counseling Office and told the counselor to sign him up for Chemistry, Calculus, Second Year Italian and First Year Japanese. The Counselor told him that these were hard classes and since you have a disability there was no way possible you could pass these courses. Ceasar told the counselor I know I can do it if I believe in myself and if I do fail in the process, it will be a learning experience. Not only did Ceasar complete all his courses but he did get straight A’s. After he received his report card he went back to the counselor and said, remember me, I am the student who was told by you that I would never pass my courses. Take a look at my report card and see what grades I have received.  Ceasar left the office by saying, never tell me again I cannot do something because I will always prove you wrong.

                The way that this had diminished equity was that the counselor had assumed that just because Ceasar had a disability that Ceasar could not handle a hard work load and that people with disabilities are sometimes seen as being lazy. Ceasar proved that just because someone has a disability, it does not mean that they cannot accomplish anything. All a disability is an obstacle that someone has to jump over in order to become successful.  Ceasar took the words that the counselor told him and set a goal to do well and he did exactly what he set out to do.

                When Ceasar told me what the counselor had said that those were hard classes and that Ceasar would have a hard time passing them I was upset. I could not believe that a counselor who is supposed to guide students and help them achieve their goals would be heartless and tell Ceasar in essence that he could not pass these courses. Ceasar is a smart person and he knows his own limitations. I was proud of Ceasar because he listened to his own mind and his heart. I was also proud that he had done so well in his courses. I loved seeing the counselor’s face drop when Ceasar presented him with the report card with straight A’s.

                I feel that if anybody should change it should be the counselor. The counselor should not have assumed that just because Ceasar had a disability that Ceasar did not know what he was doing. Ceasar knows his limitations and he loves a challenge. Ceasar is not the type of person who backs down on a challenge and he is not a quitter.  The counselor needs to do a better job of supporting his students and believe in his students if he expects his students to succeed.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

   One of the microagression's I have personally experience is the being a minority. Even though I am a white woman, I was seen as a minority at my high school because my high school consisted of blacks and hispanics. I can understand how Alejandro feels about being a minority because when I was in high school I was a minority myself. At most times I felt left out because there was nobody of my same race attending school. It was also hard for me to apply for scholarships because most scholarships were for hispanics and blacks only.
One incident I remember clearly when I was in high school was that I was told I could not apply for the Summer Bridge Program because of my race. The program was offered to high school students who came from minority families and also would be the first generation to attend college. I really felt bad because I had wanted to get into this program because I felt it would have better prepared me for college. I was the first generation to attend college in my family, but because I was not black or Hispanic I was not eligible. It had really hurt my feelings because I felt like I was being discriminated against. I also felt that it was unfair to discriminate because I was an excellent student who was taking Advanced Placement courses in preparation for college. I had wanted to attend college to make a better life for myself. I feel if I had been in this program I might have attend college earlier in my life and might have a career by now.
    The ways that my experience has affected my perception of the effects of discrimination,prejudice and/or stereotypes is that people should never be judged by the outside, but rather what they have on the inside. This weeks scenarios have taught me to always choose my words carefully so I do not offend anyone. From personal experience I know what it feels like to be discriminated against and I can tell you it hurts. I also learned that it is important to teach my children and also the children in my future classrooms to like everybody and to always be nice to each other. I need to show them how to not judge people and accept them for who they are instead of trying to change them.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I had the pleasure of interviewing my two aunts and a friend of mine who is from the country of India. I had learned a lot from these three great women and want to share with you their view points as well as my view points.

  The first person I interviewed is Eileen.When I had asked her to define culture she had defined it as language, arts, thoughts, spirituality, social activities and Interaction with other people. All these words put together are needed in order to define culture. One needs lanuguage to express themselves, one needs arts in order to appreciate what is around them, one needs to be able to think about issues and how they affect them, one needs spiritaul guidance and religion to help get through rough times, we need social activities and to interact with other people so we can learn from them and be able to communicate with others. She had defined diversity as being accepted for who you are and to respect others for who they are and not change your values and beliefs just to please others. On the same note, it is not acceptable to change other people's beliefs and values so they can be the same as you.
 
The second person I interviewed is Carolynn. She had defined culture as it defines who we are and what we believe in. Culture is defined in language, arts, thoughts, religion, and interaction with other people. She had discussed how the school she works at teaches diversity. As a pre-school teacher we teach the three and four year olds the importance of liking everybody and not to judge people for what they have on the outside, but rather what they have inside of them. A person's inner beauty is more important. We teach the kids how to learn from other cultures while still appreciating who they are. It is acceptable to be different because everyone is special in their own way and that there is only one you.
   
   The third person I interviewed was Varuni. She is of Indian descent (the country). In our culture religion and family play a big role in our lives and the importace of family history is also important. The older generations pass down their knowledge and wisdom to the future generations. We have respect for our elderly and for family. My definition of diversity is that we are learn from each other and we all have history to share. We are all unique in our own way, but we still seek advice from each other. I was born and raised in the United States and have been taught my native language of Kannada as well as English. I also celebrate my religious holidays as well as the American holidays. I feel that by celebrating my religious holidays as well as American holidays it has taught me about repecting and appreciating both countries.


The aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied that are included in the answers I have received are: religion, language, interactions with others and politics. It is very important to know who you are and what your beliefs are. Lanugage helps us communicate our thoughts, ideas and our points of view. If one did not have communication skills it would be hard to stand up for what we believe in our hearts is true and to be able to share our thoughts with others. Religion (Spirituality) is also important because we learn things through our religion and our spiritual leader is the one who guides us in our lives. If we did not have religion I feel that we would not have the proper guidance in our life nor would we have an afterlife. For diversity I feel that all three people I interviewed believe that we are all different in our own way and that it is acceptable to be different because we are all special in our own way. This world would be boring if we all felt the same way about issues, had everything in common and if we all had the same religious beliefs. We all need a little variety in our lives.
    No aspects were omitted in any of the definitions. Everyone defined the words similar and had also added a few of their experiences.

  The way that the others way definitions of culture and diversity had influenced my decision is that language, spirituality (religion) and social interactions with others are all equally important. I had always believed that language and spirituality are important, but before asking these three great women about their views on culture and diversity I never thought about the importance of interacting with other people who have different interests than you do. I guess it is great to have friends who have different interests than you do because you can learn from them.
  

My Family Culture

The three items I have chosen to take with me:
1. My family recipes cookbook
2. My wedding Photo Album
3. My cats

The way that I would explain to others about the importance of my family recipe cookbook, my wedding photo album and my cats is that all these items have significant meaning to me. All of these items are a part of who I am and what I stand for. I am a family oriented person who always puts family first and myself last. I believe in the saying, "As long as you have family, you are rich". My family recipes cookbook is important to me because my family had worked hard on putting the book together as a Bridal Shower gift. My family wanted me to have a book with great meals that I can make for my husband and later on for my family. I will eventually pass this book onto my own daughter someday when I have children of my own. The way  I would explain the importance of my wedding photo album is that my wedding day was one the happiest days of my life and I am so grateful that I had found a wonderful man to spend the rest of my life with. I am glad that I got to share this day with my family and friends. The way I would explain the importanceof my cats is that my cats are members of the family and I treat them like my children.

If I was told that I could only keep on of the three items I had selected I would be heart broken. It would be very hard for me to decide on which item to bring because all three items have a lot of meaning to me. I could never give up my family recipes cookbook, my wedding photo album or my cats. Giving up these items would make me feel like these items never existed and I would hate to lose any of these precious memories. When my husband's family gave me some recipes it made me realize for the first time in my life that I was a part of his family and I was welcomed with open arms. I really love my husand, he is my love, my life and my best friend and if I had to give up my wedding album I would feel as if I lost my best friend and that my wedding day did not exist. I could not give up my cats because it would me feel like giving away my children and I could never give away my children. I love my cats.

The insights I have gained about myself is that I am family oriented and that there are many people who play important roles in my life and if these people were not in my life I would be lost. My husband is my rock and my best friend. He is the one I share everything with and want to continue sharing with. My family stands behind me and has taught me the importance of love and unity.

When I Think of Research

  Throughout the course of the semester I have learned a lot about the importance of research in early childhood. The insights I have gained is that it is important to narrow your topic so it is easy to work with. It is also beneficial to pick a topic that will help people in your field receive a better understanding. I learned that when working with young children it is important to get children's imput on issues and ask children if they want to participate instead of just allowing the parents to decide for them. I know that parental consent is required, but children  need to be part of the decision process.
  The way that my ideas about nature of doing research has changed is that I have learned that I need to have a balanced schedule and I need to stick to the schedule. I need to allow a lot of time for writing the paper as well as having time to proofread the paper. I also need time to conduct interviews and do observations. It is important to always put the children's needs in front of your own needs in order for them to feel comfortable.
    The lessons I have learned about planning, designing and conducting research in early childhood is to keep everything organized and to always ask the children if they udnerstand what the research is about. You also want to make it known that if at any time during the research the child feels uncomfortable or feels that the research is overwhelming it is acceptable to say something. It is also okay for the child to back out and that you will respect their wishes.
    Some of the challenges I have encountered along the way was narrowing down my topic, setting a schedule and sticking with it, and trying to figure out the independent and dependent variables. The way I had overcome my topic selection was asking Dr. Myers for advice since there are many different ways to help students with Asperger Syndrome become successful. The way that I was able to overcome the challenge of setting up a schedule and sticking with it was to print up a calendar and write down appointments for interviews and observations. I also gave enough time to analyze the data, conduct research and to write the paper. If I was ahead of schedule that was great because it gave me more time for something else. If I did fall behind I did schedule floater days which were days that I had given myself off from working on the paper. If I had to substitute a day off I was able to because I had planned ahead.With the independent and dependent variable I had to read the book a couple of times until I fully understood the terms and then I ended up asking the instructor for help.
   Some of the ways that my perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course is that learning is an ongoing process and that every class you teach is different. For example, if you have a child who is deaf it would be good if you could learn a few easy signs and teach them to the rest of the class so they can communicate. I have also learned that there is a lot of research involved in early childhood education and that studies are always being conducted. I have also learned that it is very important to put the children first and to make sure that you get down to their level when talking to them.
   

Research Around the World

   The web site I have chosen is the European Early Childhood Education Research Association. The site is a non-profit organization that focuses on multi-disciplinary research about childhood education in regards to policy and practice.

Some of the current International research topics are: "Teaching to Learn and Learning to Teach, Research With Children: Three Challenges for Participatory Research in Early Childhood, and Constructing Stories in Kindergarten: Children's Knowledge of Genre.

The instights that I have gained from exploring this website is that there are several articles that focus on early childhood education and the importance of education. It is great to see that other countries focus on the importance of early childhood education and realize that young children need to have a solid education. One article that interested me was "Constructing Stories in Kindergarten: Children's Knowledge of Genre". The thing that I had found interesting is that children tell stories based on their personal experiences and also from fairy tales that they have heard.

Noteworthy information that I found on this site is there are several articles that have some great information. The only thing is that there are abstracts on some of the research topics not all of them. I wish that there were abstracts on all the articles because it would be easier to decide if I want to buy the article.

Source:
European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA). http://www.eecera.org/
copy righted 2010. Date Viewed: June 3, 2011

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

 If I can choose any topic related to early childhood education I would have to select the importance of mainstreaming children who have a disability with those who do not. I feel it is important that young children realize that everybody is different and that it is acceptable to be different. I feel that if a child shows that they are smart in a certain subject and can sit still in a classroom the student should be able to be in the regular education courses. I feel that a study in this particular field would really benefit teachers, children and parents because many times children who have disabilities are in special education courses and are never mainstreamed into the regular education courses. This is a special topic to me because my brother was in special education from kindergarten all the way up to his freshman year in high school. I remember when my brother was in the sixth grade he did not receive a progress report because the teachr never graded his assgnments because my brother was more advanced than his classmates and the teacher was afraid that my brother's level of intelligence would upset the rest of the class. My brother has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) which affects his attention span, but not his academic ability. When my brother had been a sophomore in high school he had decided to take all regular education courses and had done really well in school. I feel that if he had been forced to stay in special education coures he might not have been as successful.

Your Personal Research Journey

The topic I have chosen to do my research paper on is Aspergr's Syndrome. I am focusing on
successful strategies for working with children with Asperger’s. I had done a little research on this topic when I was an undergrauate and I also had a friend whose family was going through a horrible time. My friend's brother had originally been diagnosed with Autism and for many years he was being treated for Autism. My friend had borrowed my text book which talked about Autism and Asperger's Syndrome and after doing some reading she had realzied that there was a possibility that her brother had been misdiagnosed. My friend and I spent time looking up on the Internet and realized that Asperger and Autism have some similar characteristics, but many differences as well. Th topic is very interesting and I would love to explore this topic more to see if there is any way a person with Asperger's can be successful in school and in life.

If anyone has any suggestions on articles I can read and look at I would really appreciate it.

Thank You Letter

Dear Class,
  Thank you for all your posts this semester and for your support. I have learned a lot from you ladies and I am hoping that you have learned from me. I wish you all the best of luck and hope that we all work hard to make these politicians realize how important early childhood education is and that we all love our jobs which is why we teach.

Final Blog Assignment

  Throughout the course of the semester we have learned a lot about the importance of education and how other countries deal with early childhood education. It saddens me that the politicians in the United States talk about the importance of education, but yet they always seem to decrease the amount of money that is given to education. In this course we were lucky to be able to learn about early childhood education in other nations and how many nations view early childhood education as being extremely important. The three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development. The three consequences I have learned is:
(1.) There are many people who believe in the importance of early childhood education and are willing to do anything to help young children receive the best education possible.
(2.) Many other nations are the same as us in the sense that funding is scarce and many schools work with world organizations to get funding in order to improve education. Many countries work with the charities and churches to get money. Education is important and these young children need to learn the basics for success.
(3.) Many other nations are ahead in education and in most professions which results in the United States being behind. I feel that we can learn a lot from other nations and build a strong education system that will help us produce well-educated people.  According to an article Cindy Allen called "Statistics: Other Nations Passing Us By, Early Childhood Education the Key" "He also commended Enid’s Smart Start program through Community Development Support Association, and he pointed out Oklahoma has a strong ranking in early childhood education. He complimented the partnership between The Methodist Commons home and Enid Public Schools in working together to add 4-year-old programs at the facility. The program includes residents of the home helping with the program and providing interaction with the young students" (Allen, 2010).

  I feel that one goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of colleigial relations is that we all believe in the importance of early childhood education and that education is important to a young child. The more education a young child receives the better prepared they will be for the world. All nations seem to have problems with funding education and we all need to work together in order to increase the level of learning and set high standards.


Source: Allen, Cindy. (2010). "Statistics: Other Nations Passing Us By, Early Childhood Education the Key". Enid News. retrieved from: http://www.enidnews.com/