Reflecting on Learning

As a childhood educator my hope is to help all the children so they can flourish and succeed, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or how they look. That we can honor the differences as much as we honor the similarities. I also hope that I can leave a positive and forever effect on the children’s life. I am going to me an advocate for the families in my classroom I want to make sure that the families can get the quality services that they need. I hope to build a classroom that the children feel safe and treated with respect.

To my classmates and Dr. Bird-Pickens

Thank you the last 8 weeks have been challenging and yet learning experience. I have enjoyed learning from each of you through the discussions and blogs. What we have learned from one another is ways to help educate our students and colleagues on what anti-bias education is and how to treat all people equally and with respect. As we move on into what life brings us I wish you all the best of luck in the future. I hope to see some of you in my last class here at Walden

Impact on Early Emotional Development

I chose Eastern and Southern Africa especially Ethiopia because I wondered what it would be likes to live in a country with little to no rain and how they survived. They are facing the worst drought ever and the malnutrition rate is high so this leaves the children vulnerable to diseases. Measles was terrible until the children started to get vaccinated. Many children had died from a disease that can be prevented but being an under develop country they never had the resources.  Along with the diseases and malnutrition there is lack of drinking water. Pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria are three more things that are a big problem for newborns.

The way that this would effect a child’s development is that if they do not have proper nutrition and to get some type of disease this could cause a delay in learning and how they feel emotionally. They would not have the strength or energy to do anything. With all of these things children would not develop properly and most would die by the age of 5. With the help of UNICEF the country can get the support, supplies, and medicines and is helping the resilience of food insecurity. It teaches the families and communities to recognize what can cause malnutrition and helps them to find the resources needed.

As an educator I learned that we must learn what these children are going through and how to deal with them in a healthy way. Finding ways to make the children have a good experience in a safe and comfortable classroom is important. We must also build a trusting relationship with the parents and to help them learn how to help their child.

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/english/media_10211.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

While reading this article, I was somewhat surprise but felt dismay and troubled for the generations to come. When it comes to my grandchildren (son is an adult) I would not want them to believe that they would have to dress enticing, or to walk with a sexy walk just to be popular. When it comes to television especially the ads and magazines with their articles and picture have considered what is sexy. This makes it very hard to make the children understand that is not the norm. Children have a hard enough time to fit in. Children being expose to this at since an early age can cause them to have an unhealthy relationship has they get older. In the article by Levin and Kilborne (2009) it states that when children are taught to focus on physical appearance and sex appeal, it has a negative impact on their development. 

In one of the childcares center where I worked I observe a young girl and boy playing house and the young girl took the boy by the hand and said come on honey I have something I want to show you. I went over and told them they were too young and it was not right for them to talk and act that way. Last year in my class I had a young girl that would dress in tight clothes and would do things to get the boys to like her and to be her boyfriend.  It came to the point that when she came to school dress like that we would put her in proper clothes. At the end of the day at school we let the kids dance to music and there were a couple of young girls that would gyrate to the music even songs in which they shouldn’t I ask where they learn to dance like that and they said watching music videos.

 We has educators need to make sure that we watch what the children are doing and then sit and talk to them and help them to understand that is not the proper way to behave. As educators we need to guide and help the children to having the self-confidence to make the right decisions on how to act. We need to continue to guide them on not to be in a hurry to be grow up and enjoy their childhood.

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