Time Well Spent

Lifelong learning is truly time well spent.

I have become so much more alert to issues that not only affect young children, but those that inform about adult learning. I have had a deep interest in early childhood since I became a mother twenty five years ago, and then as I learned about child care as an owner and director of a center.  With a business background, I had experience supervising and mentoring adult staff, but learning about the characteristics of adult learners was new and very inspiring to me.  I am now a trainer of adults, and will continue to be as I collaborate with colleagues, fellow citizens, and my communities of practice. I will continue to work on behalf of the children in my community, wherever I may be, by gaining the trust and cooperation of other adults.  I am very happy to have studied the elements of successful collaboration, especially listening to the wisdom of colleagues in our discussions and in blogs.

In addition to listening, and acknowledging and learning from the wisdom of others, I have developed a deeper realization of the impact of my personal social identity on all that I do, and on how I relate to diverse people. I have a new awareness for the need to include more diverse people in both my personal and professional lives. 

I must remember that adults learn best when the materials are presented in a pleasing manner, evoking positive emotions that make the information memorable. Just like children, we learn and remember information when it is meaningful to us, when we feel safe in our learning environment, and have trust in the leadership. During my coursework at Walden, I practiced these with my colleagues and the staff.

A long-term goal I have is to become a fearless advocate for early care and education, not simply an armchair cheerleader. The Interconnections (Laureate Education, Inc. 2012) multimedia presentation reminds us to become members of professional organizations, but I wish to go further and commit to being active in my local AEYC chapter, of which I am currently a passive member.  I wish for my advocacy efforts to make positive changes in child care and preschool education in the State of Ohio. I will start by working in my local school district, where early childhood is surely under stress, and in my city, where children must have a safe place for learning, on the playground.

I wish to thank you, Dr. Morgan, and fellow students for providing a safe place for learning and discussion that was intellectually stimulating. It has stretched my vision of my career in Early Childhood.

My contact information is:

blindedbyscience@sbcglobal.net

Facebook page: Terri Weekley (Garfield Heights, OH)

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer).(2012). Interconnections [Webcast]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

The International ECE Community

     In the international community of the early childhood profession, I am drawn to agencies that work with orphaned children, or those with disabilities, perhaps because I desire to serve children who have the fewest resources. Save the Children initially appealed to me because it was founded and is based in The United States. An Early Childhood Professional does not have to travel outside of home borders to find children who struggle with poverty, lack of health care resources, protection from family and environmental threats, or lack of appropriate developmental stimulation. Save the Children was started in Appalachia, during the Great Depression, and stretched overseas to help children in war-torn, post-WWII Europe. Today, they work world-wide in disaster relief as well as in long-term restoration of basic children's rights to survival, protection, development, and participation. Positions posted at Save the Children are of limited duration, an appealing option to anyone who is looking for a variety of experiences. Information about Save the Children can be found at http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

     In Budapest, Hungary, The Pickler Institute, at

http://pikler.org/AboutUs.html 

serves orphaned infants and toddlers, and educates caregivers about their methods of providing tender attention within an institutional environment. The Institute has conducted long-term research about the success of the chidlren who have been cared for in the Pickler methods, and is a model for all institutional care, including child day care in the United States. The Institute is interesting, however I believe that job opportunities are limited by its small size and budget.

      Whole Child International, at

http://www.wholechild.org/vision/ also serves children living in group homes by providing training in developmentally appropriate early childhood practice. The three corners of their vision are attachments for children, continuity of caregiving, and small groups. The description of Whole Child International's efforts in Nicauragua include director and caregiver training, creating appropriate environments for children with limited resources, and creating meaningful histories for children without guardianship. The website indicated that recruiting for positions is a slow process.

     Working for any of these agencies would require me to be fluent in Spanish or French. Immersion may force fluency of my street and classroom Spanish, and so working in a Spanish-speaking country might be a possible option for me. My lack of foreign language ability, however, limits the flexibility I have and may compromise my personal safety serving outside of English-speaking nations. In addition, social skills and personal habits that accept modest living will be needed traits to live where infrastructure many not always provide electricity, transportation, water or plumbing, or comfortable housing. As poor as some of our American communities seem, many areas in the global early childhood envionment are without even basic, survival resources. American early childhood professionals must be gracious guests in foreign homes.

Roles in the National ECE Community

Bethe Almeras, MS
Center DirectorI can sum up what I do in two words: Play Evangelist. I love to work with "grown-ups" (educators, parents, policy makers – you name it!) to promote the importance of play, time in nature and the role of joy in childhood. I share this passion through presentations and trainings, educational resources, blogging and social media outlets, eLearning experiences – and any other way I can think of! I have worked with individuals from "cradle to grave," and also specialize in inclusive education for children with disabilities. I truly believe that play and time in nature is the best way to reach and teach everyone, regardless of age or ability. You can follow my pro-play platform at The Body Smart Blog, The Grass Stain Guru and on Twitter @HSBS_Play. See ya outside!


         On a national level, I have found a number of organizations that attest to the critical value of play in early childhood, and beyond. The Boards of Directors boast high ranking academics, physicians, and a large number of psychologists. What has been discovered and published about play screams to the public of the need for a return to this vanishing value to save our societies from ruin. The National Institute for Play was founded by Dr. Stuart Brown, and is committed to gathering research about play and bringing it into public life. Dr Stuart discovered a pattern of play's absence in a study of homicidal young males. I can identify with this method of discovering the value of a thing only in its absence in my work with children with special needs. He is also a member of The Alliance for Childhood, an organization that "promotes policies and practices that support children's healthy development, love of learning, and joy in living." (Alliance for Childhood, n.d.). In The Crisis in Early Education (Almon & Miller, 2011) the Alliance speaks out to educators and parents that lack of play in education is counterproductive, and offers the science behind the claim. These organizations offer credible support to my recommendations and strategies to child care providers I serve in my work, and to school board and city officials to whom I appeal. They will become a part of my community of practice as I prepare my plan of action to improve play opportunities in my home community. The role I discovered in my research for national organizations to which I feel most connected is that which Center Director Bethe Almeras names "Play Evangelist". Bethe has a job that I have done, that I am qualified to do, and which I had enjoyed immensely. Her bio appears on the website for Head Start Body Start, a program of the National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play. She is the adult educator of the center, a role that I intend to continue to grow into. Another job at this center is Education and Outreach Coordinator, held by an individual who majored in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism. This Center resonated with me because it is research in action, and manned by people of many backgrounds, not specifically Early Childhood Education. As Bronfenbrenner's model illustrates, the greatest influences in the life of a child are family, school personnel, and a myriad of adults in the immediate neighborhood that create opportunities for joy (Lepuschitz, 2011).
The job opportunities that interest me are those that allow me to be a Play Evangelist, and teach children, parents and family, and all community members that play is necessary for a happy life. It is not an "extra". All may access the science of play in carrying out the mission of supporting playful childhoods.


References:
Almon, J. & Miller, E. (2011). The crisis in early education: A research-based case for more play and less pressure. Retrieved from http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/

Lepuschitz, J. K. (2011). Brofenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Laureate Education Inc., Baltimore, MD.


Resources:

http://www.aahperd.org/headstartbodystart/about/staff.cfm

http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/founding

http://nifplay.org/

Exploring Roles in the Local Early Childhood Community

      In our careers and education, the image of an Early Childhood Professional seems to jump to preschool education or child care. There is so much more that must occur in the lives of children long before learning to read and count.  The quality of family life is at the very heart of early childhood. Support for the family is a community’s first mission: If life is good for families, it is good for everyone. In my local area in Cleveland Ohio, I am drawn to a few organizations that are committed to the well-being of families.  There are two models for local Family Rooms that invite families of very young children to socialize, learn parenting skills and discuss child-related issues, serve as a resource for basic and personal needs, and generally validate Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory by building a strong and positive influential microsystem.  The Lakewood Family Room is an extension of the city’s Department of Health and Human Services. The Shaker Family Room provides the same early childhood and family support, but collaborates more with school officials in an effort to prepare families for school, and the school for local families. Both are smart moves to build strong families in thriving communities. The Ohio Department of Education also assists communities in building Early Childhood PTA programs.  The Cuyahoga County Family Justice Center is a now-forming family service program, intending to pull together under one roof all needed services for families who have experienced domestic violence. The site below shows some shocking photos of moms in trouble. So many little children have witnessed or experienced such abuse, and are forever changed by it. Strong early childhood programs can work to create places free from fear so that children can grow and learn with fewer developmental obstacles.

      The employment opportunities in the family room examples are few, as mid to small-sized cities seldom include Health and Human Services with a focus on Early Childhood in their city budgets.  In the case of Lakewood Family Room, there is one such job available, and it has been filled, with a long wait list.  The Shaker Family Room pays a stipend to its Director from a private grant foundation.  I believe there is potential future employment opportunity for the Family Justice Center when implementation is near, though it is likely that most services will be provided by existing agencies, making the employment opportunity for this agency likely to come from the County Department of Children and Family Services. Early Childhood experience and education, especially in mental health, seems to be what is needed, as well as a frugal lifestyle. When working with the Family Justice Center, it will also be necessary for staff to have access to and a plan for managing personal mental health.

Ohio Department of Education

http://education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?Page=3&TopicRelationID=1793&Content=117943

Lakewood Family Room

http://www.onelakewood.com/HumanServices/EarlyChildhood/FamilyRoom.aspx

Shaker Heights Family Room

http://www.familyconnections1.org/facilities/shakerplayroom.php

Family Justice Center

http://ja.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/family-justice-center-new.aspx

Communicating Ahead

Thanks to my course colleagues who had to be trusting enough in this class and in past courses to divulge failures in personal and professional communications along with what worked. It is because we have been supportive of each other that we have been able to speak frankly about our experiences, beliefs, successes, and failures. Such support has been encouraged and nurtured by Dr. Myers. May we continue to be as supportive of friends, family, and colleagues as we continue our careers in the Early Childhood Field.

Team Building and Collaboration- Adjourning

     As I have considered the groups in which I have been involved, I recognize that whether formal or informal, we have had some sort of closing ritual. The Recognition Committee which I recalled for its lack of clear vision did indeed have a most effective closure. The committee met twice more after the training institute to review the session evaluations, and then to make notes for the following year's committee. A less formal family planning committee for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary conducted meetings before the event, but really had no formal adjournment, though the clean up after the guests left was a time of discussion and planning for the future. The event is recounted frequently at family functions.( It was a smashing success, a highlight in our family history.) In both experiences, there certainly was no sadness at separating from the group or meetings. The goals were very clearly reached, successfully, and there was no need to feel anything but positive about moving on to the next adventure. Both our text (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2009) and The Five Stages of Team Development: A Case Study (Abudi, 2010) indicate that the stage of adjournment brings sadness at separation. I disagree. If the outcome was successful, and if relationships are strengthened, why wouldn't separation from the project be a natural transition to the next activity? I find that at the end of such a group effort, there is plenty of work and play waiting for me, and I am not sad to move on. I will not be sad to have successfully completed my studies at Walden, and if I continue to build relationships that have begun here, all the better. Mission accomplished.

References:

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html



O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Non-Violent Communication and Conflict Management

I have recently experienced yet another communication conflict with a sibling, the same sibling. Her initial attack was not focused at me, but towards a brother in the audience of the rest of us, via e-mail, the great impersonal channel. The root of the conflict was money. Surprised? The conflict between us was triggered by a combination of unbalanced costs and rewards and incompatible life goals in that money is not as important as strong and loyal sibling relationships. Through brief e-mails, we tried to discuss options and alternatives and also to debate and argue the merits of both sides of the disagreement. A plea for her to consider the outcomes of her actions and communications affecting her and the others was met with verbal combativeness. I, and I believe the other four siblings, have resorted to separation from her until such time as she can become more other-minded in her behavior and communications. I have evaluated this outcome to be lose-lose. No one wins from family estrangement. Perhaps the time of separation will allow healing enough to repair the family relationships. This is the most appealing non-violent strategy that I have been able to comfortably use in such an emotion-filled conflict.

Who Am I as a Communicator?

        The first most surprising result of the communication evaluations that I took and compared with others' assessments of me came from my brother's evaluation of my level of verbal aggression, "Significant", far above scores from two other evaluators. When he saw the description of the score he earned for me, he became concerned that the assessment was too harsh. Together we reconstructed the test and answers, and he explained his reason for each one, still scoring in the "Significant" range. He then took the test to evaluate his own verbal aggression level, and scored also in the "Significant" range. He believed that the answers he gave did not add up to the description of a significantly aggressive verbal communication style. That his was the only score difference among the evaluators was the first part of the surprise, but that he evaluated himself in the same range as how he evaluated me also caused me to take a closer look at why such a disparity had occurred. I project that the difference in score came from two schemas that were not possessed by the other evaluators; He is a male, and he is a self-employed businessman. I had considered that perhaps I change my communication style to match his when we converse or debate issues, but I believe that the results came from his perception of my verbal style based on his experiences with me as a colleague in business, his business partner schema. The other participants were younger females in non-business roles, and evaluated me almost exactly the same as my personal assessment. Because my current colleagues are mostly younger females in non-business roles, I am unconcerned with being perceived as verbally aggressive. If I return to a business career, or if I have the opportunity to communicate with early childhood education funders who are business people, I may possess an adequately aggressive style to be noticed and heard by men who may perceive aggression in communication with a different schematic lens.

Communicating and Collaborating

Just as a skilled child care provider will change body position to meet the eye level of a child, and adjusts tone of voice and vocabulary to match what the child understands, so do I adjust my communications with different individuals or groups. This is what other-mindedness is all about, learning what the communication needs of the other person are, and meeting them to better understand and to be better understood. And because all individuals have their own cultural identities, I believe that the most important and the most challenging communication strategy for me to use is to be non-judgemental. Asking questions to clarify my communication partners' intentions will help me to better understand their ideas, and remaining neutral, or non-judgemental, will help me to stay in the conversation without getting lost in my own emotions that could become stirred by what I have heard. I believe that most are skilled at talking about themselves. When I can give another person the opportunity to talk about one's self, I am building a relationship of trust, and the other person reveals more as the communication continues. This is so easily observed with young children. Sit at the lunch table with four year olds and ask them about their lunch or their favorite foods. Soon they will be telling you everything. The topic that people know the most about is themselves, and children will talk about what they know best. After talking and listening during lunch to a child with challenging behavior, I have learned that the child's father has been released from jail and is back at home. Now my communication with this child's parents is not so much about changing the child, but about support for some stressful conditions at home. To communicate more effectively with each culturally different person I encounter, I would like to

• remain non-judgemental
• ask questions to clarify the person's viewpoints, and
• encourage the other person to talk about his or her ideas and experiences, and talk less about my own.

Communiction on TV

Observing the Nickelodeon television show, Digrassi, without sound, non-verbal behavior seemed mostly easy to read. There are several sub-plots on this show about social problems that high school teens encounter and how they solve them. In this episode, a boy was shrink-wrapped, presumably naked, to the school flagpole. As a group of boys were addressed individually by adults in the gym, the perpetrator looked guilty with his face looking to the floor, and speaking to the adults with his head in a low position.  The two male adults seemed bothered by the woman adult who questioned the guilty boy close to him. She smiled as she spoke, but the other adults had perplexed looks on their faces.She left the gym quickly.Without words, she may have been the principal making threats. The spoken lines revealed that she was the bullied child's mother making threats to find out who had hazed her son. Later, when the two boys spoke in the hall, they were physically close, face to face, with serious expressions.The hazed boy put his finger on the chest of the aggressor. They looked directly at each other. The spoken lines revealed a plan for revenge by the hazing victim. In another social dilemma between two girls, the leader of a dance group was challenged by a girl set on showing her up. Both of these girls smiled at each other while speaking. Without sound, they might have been friends in disagreement. The challenger used rapidly changing facial expressions, from smiling to haughty. Both girls communicated at a physical distance. With sound, one girl smiled as she spoke in a conciliatory manner, The challenger spoke insults through her smile.
It was easy to identify the roles of the boys and men during the soundless viewing. The close physical proximity to each other and facial expressions were clear indicators of what they communicated to each other. The girls and women, however, were not so easily read. Smiling is usually an indicator of positive feeling and intentions, yet in the spoken viewing, challenges and insults were communicated through smiles. In contrast to the boys in conflict, the girls were physically positioned as if they stood on either side of an invisible line.
Perhaps these television programs are reinforcing the widely accepted belief that female communication is complicated and is not always as it seems. In addition, they provide a model for young girls, soon to enter adulthood, for communication that is deceitful, as these girls smiled though they were angry and competitive. This viewing affirms my disdain for television, and supports my parenting restrictions on television viewing for my children and grandchildren over the past 25 years.

What is Communication?

    

 A few years ago, Yale University researchers published a report that exposed a shocking number of children expelled from preschool (Gilliam, 2005). I witnessed a spontaneous, bring-down-the-house speech at a local press conference that featured the grant project for which I work. Our agency had invited a few parents and child care center directors to attest to the success of our tax-based grant at retaining children with special and behavioral needs in their preschool programs, contrary to the Yale report. Our child care center director arrived just as the interviews were beginning, and was surprised to learn that she was not a guest, but a guest speaker, and was escorted to her seat behind the table set with microphones. After a series of rather boring speakers, the child care center director rose from her seat, moved out from behind the table, and addressed the cameras and audience in a calm, clearly projected voice. Her hands were clasped in front of her, and she made eye contact around the room, unlike the agency higher-ups who stuttered reading through their notes. She used a slow, evenly paced voice to announce what she would talk about, gave some facts and experiences, and briefly re-stated what she had just presented. I was stunned to hear and see such a smooth impromptu peformance after witnessing a series of CEO's stumble through dry data that they had prepared for the occasion. Joan the Director exuded confidence, used concise, effective speech, spoke slowly enough to be heard, made eye contact with her audience, and smiled slightly while she spoke. She was persuasive in defending the value of the program. The manner in which she communicated her testimony was far more convincing than higher management who did not use these speech techniques. Public speaking is only one form of communication, but the goal is the same for public or personal, that the speaker be heard and understood by the listener(s). Joan the Director attributed her communication skills to practice with a group called Toastmasters.

More can be learned about public speaking and general communication skills at http://www.toastmasters.org .
References:
Gilliam, W.S. (2005). Prekindergarteners left behind:Expulsion rates in state prekindergarten programs. Retrieved from http://childstudycenter.yale.edu/zigler/publications/34775_National%20Prek%20Study_expulsion%20brief.pdf

Professional Hopes and Goals

When I examine the topic of meeting diverse cultural needs in early childhood, I often compare current topics with historical issues of my parents' early childhoods as first generation Americans from Poland in the early 1930's. They recalled little of cultural barriers except that they spoke only Polish until they entered kindergarten, where they learned English. They never referred to this time as stressful, though it is quite possible that the stress they experienced in their early childhoods suppressed the memory of such. I do know that their large families provided a formidable support for them. As I work with today's children in a culturally diverse community, I am hoping that our progress in diversity studies combined with brain research discoveries equip early childhood workers, whether child care providers or preschool and elementary school teachers, to provide more support for children's development and family well being than was offered to my parents.
A goal that I would like for early childhood professionals to work towards is not only treating children and families respectfully, but to develop specific curriculum activities to equip children to prepare for and deal with anti-diversity behaviors aimed at them or someone they know. Gloria Boutte (2008) called us "naive" to believe that all we need is respect, a place where I was before this course. It is clear that as teachers and people of primary influence, we owe it to the children and families we serve to give them tools to manage the unpleasant realities of prejudice and unequal access.
Finally, I wish to thank my colleagues for the truly frank discussions about the topics of personal and institutional discrimination and microaggressions. These are painful topics to voice, but necessary for problem solving. Thank you for your professionalism in your candor.

References:
Boutte, G., (2008). Beyond the illusion of diversity: How early childhood teachers can promote social justice.Social Studies, 99(4), 165-173.

Welcoming Families from Around the World

I frequently visit Head Start programs that begin each year with new immigrant families from a variety of countries. Sometimes there is not a staff who speaks the native language that can give assistance to the staff and comfort to three years olds separated from their parents in a strange place. In the case of the children who were enrolled in the program who were from Viet Nam, a country that none of the staff were familiar with, the pre-enrollment meeting took place at the Head Start office. I might have added a few strategies to help everyone feel more comfortable, both family, child, and staff.

Home visits as parent education are typical in Head Start, however, in the the case of children from Viet Nam, I might make sure that the enrollment took place at the child's home, and with an interpreter. There are local cultural centers for most immigrant groups that could offer such a service for a new family. The children could meet the teacher on their own terms, and the teacher could gather insightful information about the child's most influential environment:

• How many people share the home, and what relationship do they have?
• Who is the power in the family, mother, father, or a grandparent?
• Do the children have responsibilities, and what are they?
• How does communication among adults and children occur?
• Do the children speak when they wish, or are they silent among adults?
• Are there toys in the house and of what kind?
• Is the family connected with a cultural support community?
• Is religious behavior practiced, and how?
• Does the family take photos? Can the school use photos? Are there photos that the child can bring to school and share? Can the teacher take photos of the children and display them in the classroom?
• Are there developmental special needs?

Broffenbrenner's bioecological model of child development indicates that the child's first and most influential is home and family (Keenan, 2009), and knowing how the family operates each day will be crucial in constructing supportive interactions in the classroom. This visit is meant to discover the deep cultural factors (Derman -Sparks & Edwards, 2010)  that influence the child.

Before the new children begin, I would announce to the class their arrival and when, and discuss with children how they can welcome the children. There is a DVD that is available to educators made by Candid Camera called The Green Kid (2003) that records the responses of young children of  the question, "What can you do to welcome this (green) child?" The answers they give brought tears to my eyes. We often forget that children are competent to come up with real and powerful solutions to their everyday challenges.

In addition to the home visit strategy, all of the children should have regular activities that share family structure, values, and activities, as well as the more topical cultural artifacts of foods, music, and clothing. The new child from Viet Nam may begin to bring in items from home to show to others, and to demonstrate their likenesses and differences.

Because so much cultural development occurs through language (Derman-Sparks, Edwards, 2010), making the language of the Vietnamese children visible in some way in the classroom will  create community in the class, reducing stress that can hinder learning. Consulting with parents during the home visit, or using library materials to learn a few words in the home language will be on-going.

Most child care and Head Start programs are required to have an open door policy for parents, but not all fulfill the requirement with relish. I would invite the child's parents to attend, interact, share when able, or just observe. Their presence to other children make Vietnamese people regular particpants in the program.

• Home visit
• Ask the children
• Plan specific classroom activities that share family culture
• Learn some Vietnamese words, and display them
• Invite families to visit the classroom

All of these efforts would be made for any child entering the program, whenever possible. A child develops in an environment of relationships (NCCDC, 2004 ), and establishing relationships, probably the most difficult task in all of life, is the most effective way to prepare these Vietnamese children, and all children for success.

References:
Candid Camera. (2003) The Green Kid Tolerance Project. Retrieved from http://www.candidcamera.com/cc6/green_kids.html

Derman-Sparks, L., &  Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).


Keenan, T., & Evans, S. (2009). Theories of development. In An introduction to child development. (pp.35-43). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2004) Young children develop in an environment of relationships. Working Paper No. 1. Retrieved from http://www.developingchild.net

Much of my work with child care providers who care for children with special needs gives me experience with able-ism. Many child care programs simply do not enroll children with special needs because of the perceived added expense of adequately meeting those needs. Some programs just don't know any better. I was aghast to learn from the Pastor of the church that I attend, where there is also a child care program, that the Child Care Director turned a child away from the center whose parents were new members to the church. He told me that because the child used a wheel chair, he was not able to descend to the lower level where his preschool class would be, as the building was not equipped with an elevator. They turned him away without consulting with the resident inclusion expert, me. He lamented the potential loss of worshippers, and I lamented the injustice done to that child who should have been included in our program, and the heartbreak it must have caused his parents. Quite easily, and with no added expense except effort and about two hours of paid moving time, the preschool class from downstairs could have been switched with the school age classroom on the main floor. The preschool children could have been served on the main floor, where a wheelchair could enter. My church administration did not think to make such a simple modification, or even call for advice, and the child was turned away.  It was not intentional able-ism, but the lack of effort was inexcusable. I was angry with the Child Care Director, whom I held responsible for discrimination, and disappointed with the Pastor who did not make more of an effort to understand and include this child and family. I hurt for the family. All of the adults in the church administration, as well as the child care staff, needed to re-evaluate their enrollment practices for institutional discrimination against people with disabilities. I am relieved to report, however, that our Sunday School leaders accept all who attend, and we have more than one child whose behavior is a result of autism. They may not always have answers, but they welcome all Sunday School kids and do their best to make a loving community for an hour or two each week. I am also happy to report that we have hired a new Child Care Director.

Awareness of Microagression

I can recall only one personal experience with microaggression aimed at my child, who has Colombian parentage. At a large gathering in my small childhood home,  family members made a fuss over my very beautiful and playful toddler, my first baby. The house was full and noisy, as is customary in a large family. A man's voice rose above all others when he playfully tried to engage her in a game of catch, calling to her,"Come here, you little spic!" At that moment, the noise abruptly stopped and there was an instant of complete silence except for my toddler laughing with a ball in her hands. Then came the sharp reprimand of the wife, who tries to take her husband to social functions and is frequently embarrassed. I believe she even gave him a lightening quick smack on the head. Slowly the volume of celebration sounds rose, he continued his play, and a brief unspoken, facial cue of apology was communicated to me by his wife. The moment was jolting, and sad, but the experience served as a reminder to all who witnessed it that terms of endearment should be a positive reflection of the loved. No one wanted to hear such an exchange again.

Communication and relationships are fragile, and one must always speak with care, as opposed to speaking carelessly, even without intent to harm.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

What is "culture"?
What is "diversity"?

My teen aged daughter answered these questions without much hesitation. She defined culture as the way someone acts because of their ethnicity. Diversity is simply the differences between people. I further examined her as to whether our family is diverse or not. "Of course it is. We are all so different!" To my teenager, cultural diversity would be only one of many types of diversity to be experienced.

My 87-year-old aunt and I had a conversation about her Hungarian family and the one she married into, my dad's Polish family. She described culture as the things each group likes to do. Ethnicity was not so important because boundaries in Eastern European countries are always changing, entire countries disappear, and everyone thinks that the village they are from is better than any village on earth, whether it lies in Poland or in Germany. She believes that my grandfather lived on German soil because of claims to the land, but he spoke Polish. Diversity, she commented, was the mix of us.

My friend from Hong Kong, transplanted to the United States for college and now a die-hard New Yorker, fervently defines culture as that which grows from ethnic heritage. His children are growing up in America, but "they WILL be Chinese as long as I am their father".  His thoughts about diversity stem from his experiences as a misunderstood Chinese man, with language and values being the cause for many misunderstandings. (Neither his English nor his Mandarin is very clearly understandable.) He is happy in New York because there is a large Chinese population where he feels comfortable, however, there are clear barriers to diversity as well. In Long Island, he believes that the neighbors mistake him for the landscaper, because he is a "Chinaman" cutting the grass. He is sure that no one believes that he actually owns the house he maintains. His particular neighborhood is not ethnically diverse as in Manhattan. He has chosen a school that is operated in a Chinese neighborhood for his children.

Ethnicity seems to be the major element of culture and diversity, and language has also been discussed. Language is identified in Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves (Derman-Sparks, Edwards, 2010) as a deep culture characteristic and in The Developing Child in the 21st Century  (Smidt, 2006), as being closely tied to identity. What I did not hear was the influence of religion, which was a little suprising considering the current wartime climate. Aside from current events, religious differences very often cause stress in relationships at the very least, and large-scale social unrest throughout the world. Religious beliefs are at the very root of one's lifestyle and choices in the activities of daily living. I am most heartened by the response of my teenager, who was quick and definite, in predictable teen style, about the simplicity of culture and diversity, and that even the young with limited life experience can answer these questions with a positive response.

References:

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves.Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).


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

My Family Culture

This writing assignment is interesting to me because the very idea came to me to evacuate Japanese citizens to anywhere in the world until their island was deemed safe from radiation after the extreme natural disasters they have experienced.  I am sure that there are many people that do not have even three personal items left after their homes washed away in the tsunami. I have also been acquainted with women who were driven out of their homes in Germany and Poland during World War II, who were not given any choice of what to take more than what they wore and what food they could stuff into their pockets. This situation has been real, and surely can be again. Given a choice and time to prepare, I would choose a Bible, and a small photo album of my immediate family. I cannot think of a third item worth taking. My family's culture is not represented in tangible items or costume. Christian principles are a way of living, and must be demonstrated. If I was as good at memorizing scripture as I should be, even toting the Book would not be necessary. My family who is not with me physically is in my heart and my memory. Loyalty to family and self-sufficiency are not represented in any form that can be tucked in a pocket or suitcase. I suppose that my family culture would be explained to others in my new home in much the same manner that most have dictated history, through the story-telling tradition. The artifacts of culture do not tell the story, the people do. And so this blog reminds us, as early childhood professionals, to listen to the child's story to know who they are, where they are from, and where they are going.

When I Think of Research

     When I think of research, I envision professionals using valid, reliable, and ethical methods of answering questions in an effort to improve their practice and the lives of those they serve. I have been skeptical of university driven research because of my experiences with researchers who have not been early childhood professionals, and their eagerness to please funders over finding and reporting truthful answers. During this course, however, I have discovered that practitioners can be researchers, and I have come to believe that action research is very useful to early childhood professionals who want to better serve the children and families in their care. There is more on action research at the website listed below. I have also come to a sensitivity for the children's competence to give assent as participants, separate from the primary consent of their parents, an element of research I had not previously considered.
      Planning and designing the research is a common conversational activity with my colleagues and family in the course of discussing the world's problems and how to go about solving them. Putting the talk on paper seems to be the next logical step to take in this interesting and important pastime, and so writing and refining a research topic question, hypothesis and research design, with step-by-step instructions, made the process do-able for even a student. The most challenging part of this course for me was plowing through much language that was not conversational, using vocabulary and style perhaps common to academics, but certainly not in the daily interactions of most early childhood professionals. For these, I skipped to the Conclusion, as directed by Dr. Lepuschitz in the article, "A Practical Guide to Reading Research Articles" (Lepuschitz, 2011), and feel relieved to have such direction from a respected instructor.
Any Early Childhood Professional should be, and can be reading current research, (keeping Dr. Lepuschitz's guide handy), and even considering ways to act upon the questions that need answers in their professional environment with research. Even if the research is never published, the very act of proceeding results in professional growth. Described as a journey in The Research Journey: A Lonely Planet Approach, the research journey changed the "traveller" not just in what was learned, but also in what she became as a result (Mackenzie & Ling. 2009).

Thank you, fellow travellers, for your professional company along the path of Building Research Competencies.


References
Ferrance, E. (2000). Action Research. Retrieved from www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/themes_ed/act_research.pdf

Lepuschitz, J.K. (2011). A practical guide to reading research articles.  Laureate Education Inc., Baltimore, MD.

Mackenzie, N. M., & Ling, L. M. (2009). The research journey: A Lonely Planet approach. Issues in Educational Research, 19(1), 48–60 Retrieved from the Walden Library using Education Research Complete database

Research Around the World

ECDVU Sub-Saharan Africa: Mission Statement


To further develop African ECD leadership capacity as a key strategy in support of child, family and community well-being and broader social and economic development.


http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php


As nervous as I become over learning new technology (I still don't get the point or hang of Facebook), this site is a wondrous model of technology reaching where infrastructure does not. The ECD Virtual University, Sub-Saharan Africa model can unite the African nations in a collective effort to improve the lives of children on the continent, and provide collaborative information about child development to all other global locations. The link above brings the reader to a list of research reports that inform Early Childhood professionals of the state of early childhood, families, policies, issues, and trends affecting children in a given African region. Reading through the report submitted by Samuel Ngaruiya from Kenya, I was surprised-but-not-really to read that Kenya has experienced "a breakdown in social-cultural values, civil strife, conflict and war, rapid socio-economic and political change, and urbanisation as well as inadequate legislation and policy (that) have adversely affected children (Ngaruiya, 2002, pp16-17). Despite cultural differences, the current social issues that have a negative impact on early childhood seem to be the same worldwide.


Other topics that appear at this site are


• Identification of leadership skills needed to support parents in Tanzania


• Assessments of the impact of single-mother, low-income family structure on interaction between mother and child in Malawi


• The influence of different early childhood program models on school readiness on Kenya






I believe that it is noteworthy that a Canadian University sponsors the ECDVU-SSA. What does this say about the responsibilities and motives of educational institutions?


References


Ngaruiya, S., (2002). A Report on the status of Early Childhood Development in Kenya. Retrieved from http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php

Research that Benefits Children and Families: The Research That I Imagine I Could Conduct

This weekend and next are filled with end of school year activities for my two high school aged teenagers, one of whom is graduating. The National Honors Society Recognition Banquet and the Music Recognition Banquet were last week. The Athletic Recognitions and Senior Class Recognition banquets are this week. I know all of the parents who attend. They have been the same who have attended all of the games and concerts for the past several years for their children who are marching band members and athletes, and who are also academic leaders. There seems to be a connection between athletics, marching band, and high academic achievement, a connection that transcends socio-economic class, because this successful group is diverse. I imagine conducting research that attempts to answer the question, "What connections exist between team sports and academic achievement?" I am including marching band in the description of team sports, as it involves marching (and playing a sometimes heavy instrument) in formation relative to all the other members of the band. If indeed a connection can be implied based on a good research study, then physical activity, play, and marching band and related activities would receive a new level of serious attention and funding to produce greater academic success for students. What a turn-around in our public school system this would create! No more cuts to athletic programs, intramural sports, and music programs. In fact, school funders may even provide additional dollars to expand physical education programs from preschool to graduation in an effort to raise test scores. What a much-needed  transformation our schools would make! I am sure, even before such research is conducted, that the positive impact made by enriching school children's physical activity programs would raise the standard of living for all in the community. Smarter graduates benefit everyone. An active child is a higher achiever. This would be a life-changing study for everyone who works with children, or who will benefit from their academic success.