My most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional is to create a learning environment where every child and family feels safe, respected and nurtured. I want to make a difference in the lives of the children I work with from such a young vulnerable age and make a lasting impression. If I could make one wish for the future of the children I have worked with in the past and also the present is that they will remember my name when they are adults and think of me with positive good thoughts.
I thank all my colleagues through this course for sharing their experiences and giving me different vantage points. I wish you the best in the end of your journey at Walden.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Impacts on Early Emotional Development
After exploring the UNICEF website I chose to focus on Latin America. The reason I wanted to explore this area is because of the amount of children I have worked with who have come to America from that area. Many of these families we had in Head Start have conveyed how much better life has been since they moved their family here. I have traveled all around Mexico and I often wondered how the quality of life is different in other Spanish speaking areas.
Children are dealing with a wide range of obstacles. The first one I noticed was The Break the Silence Initiative is a multi-pronged approach to protect children against sexual abuse and the risk of HIV. This is a problem in the region and action is being taken to try to educate. Some of the other topics which struck me were campaigns to fight for girl’s right to education and to eliminate child labor. Many of the other headlines were aimed against violence in regard to children. The information was shocking on commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. There are no specific data on victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean, but have made global estimates say 1.2 million of children are trafficked each year and two million are sexually exploited through prostitution and pornography. Approximately 80% of women in prostitution were sexually abused in their homes when they were children.
When I explored the website I quickly found out millions of children every day are still living situations of violence, exploitation and discrimination in their closest environment (family, school and community or state institutions), severely jeopardizing their growth and development.
Personally, reading the information it made me extremely sad. I was unaware of how bad the living conditions still are in Latin America for children. I also wonder about the families I have worked with in the past and the living conditions they came from. Many of these issues are things we do not have to deal with living in the United States. I can only hope safety and justice will be the right of every child living in this region.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The Sexualization of Early Childhood
When I think of the topic of sexualization in early childhood it makes me sad. I believe this is a time children should play and enjoy the essence of being a child. Children are exposed to a highly sexualized environment and are influenced by it in many different ways.
Children are exposed to technology at a very young age. The images which are depicted in games are very highly sexualized with sexy clothes, make-up, and over dramatized bodies. This can have a negative effect on a child’s social/emotional development. They may look at these women as role models and think they are what all girls should thrive to look like. The media also has a big impact on the sexualization of children at a young age. It focuses primarily on appearances and not intelligence or what they want to achieve in their lives. The media also portrays relationships between different sexes at a very young age. Boys and girls are no longer friends, but are involved in relationships.
On a personal level I have two girls ages 10 and 12. I watch programs with them and pay attention to the way the characters dress and also the relationships between the characters. I notice the decline from the days when I was little and there was a “moral” of the story. Most the time the female characters are dressing inappropriately and even worse the main character is portrayed as unintelligent.
When I think of this topic as an early childhood educator and mother I want to protect children as much as possible. In the case of my own children I choose to not have cable and manage what they watch on Netflix or movie rentals. We need to focus on children doing and achieving things rather than the need for commercial products to create happiness. When teaching young children I want to create an environment where children can challenge stereotypes and learn to truly play. Most of all I want to be a role model where children feel comfortable talking about these subjects with me and trust my advice and knowledge.
After studying the topic of sexualization this week many of my thoughts have been reconfirmed and I realize this is a subject we need to deal with as early childhood educators and as parents. We need to have strategies to deal with this topic and also feel comfortable collaborating with other adults on the subject.
Children are exposed to technology at a very young age. The images which are depicted in games are very highly sexualized with sexy clothes, make-up, and over dramatized bodies. This can have a negative effect on a child’s social/emotional development. They may look at these women as role models and think they are what all girls should thrive to look like. The media also has a big impact on the sexualization of children at a young age. It focuses primarily on appearances and not intelligence or what they want to achieve in their lives. The media also portrays relationships between different sexes at a very young age. Boys and girls are no longer friends, but are involved in relationships.
On a personal level I have two girls ages 10 and 12. I watch programs with them and pay attention to the way the characters dress and also the relationships between the characters. I notice the decline from the days when I was little and there was a “moral” of the story. Most the time the female characters are dressing inappropriately and even worse the main character is portrayed as unintelligent.
When I think of this topic as an early childhood educator and mother I want to protect children as much as possible. In the case of my own children I choose to not have cable and manage what they watch on Netflix or movie rentals. We need to focus on children doing and achieving things rather than the need for commercial products to create happiness. When teaching young children I want to create an environment where children can challenge stereotypes and learn to truly play. Most of all I want to be a role model where children feel comfortable talking about these subjects with me and trust my advice and knowledge.
After studying the topic of sexualization this week many of my thoughts have been reconfirmed and I realize this is a subject we need to deal with as early childhood educators and as parents. We need to have strategies to deal with this topic and also feel comfortable collaborating with other adults on the subject.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice
If I was working in the early childhood field and experienced an “ism” in my personal life it would be something which would always be on my mind and consuming my thoughts. I would feel an inner sense of sadness. I think this is one of the most difficult situations to deal with because it is the discrimination is happening for a reason which you have no control over. I would not be focused at work and have this as a sort of baggage weighing me down. My mental health would be poor and then in turn I would be less productive. When we have these negative thoughts on our mind it can also begin to harm us physically. Stress is not good for our physical or mental health and can lead to many diseases.
I believe the most difficult aspect of the “ism” is it would definitely impact my work as an early childhood educator. When we come to work dealing with young children and all the different energies in the room we have to put our best foot forward and be 100 percent. Our minds must always be thinking ahead and waiting to deal with unexpected situations. I also think we need to be positive and send out good energy to the children, families, and staff we deal with on a daily basis. If I was getting discriminated against it also may make me angry and without even understanding the underlying issue take it out on someone else. I hope by making more people aware through anti-bias education we can create an environment which is free of discrimination and fosters acceptance.
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