Microaggressions - My Experience

 

                Throughout the week, I have been taking note of microaggressions in my observations and interactions with others, hoping I would not witness any.  Unfortunately, one occurred in my work environment when a coworker told a child “you know, you really do think very well and act nicely.”  At first glance, this appears to be a compliment however; the child my coworker was talking to has operational defiance disorder so behavior is a challenge.  The statement also implied the person’s shock that the child behaved so well unlike others with his condition. I think that the child experienced mixed emotions when he heard this statement because he is young and may have taken it as praise; however, I believe that he also felt hurt because his teacher felt this way about him.  I would have been hurt myself because I would have felt judged.  I also overheard several stereotypical statements and have even caught myself thinking some as well. Although, I was disappointed myself I believe that the first step in preventing microaggressions and stereotypes is to realize when you are thinking them, reflect on, and redirect your thoughts.  Discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes are harmful not only to the victims but to the perpetrators.  Over time, victims are likely made to feel “less than” what they are and that they should live up these stereotypes.  Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination also affect the perpetrators because it dehumanizes us.  I, also, believe that to some extent or another everyone has stereotypes and bias, which is why it is important to learn to recognize them so that we will not act on them.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Throughout our readings, I have discovered that culture is hard to define and perhaps even more challenging to understand.   This week, I interviewed three different people with different backgrounds and asked them to give their thoughts about culture and diversity.  One participant is a 61-year-old female, who owns her own business, and has advanced degrees.  The other participant is 42-year-old female who works as the manager of small educational service company.  The final participant is a 20-year-old female who works part time.  While their statements were somewhat different, the main idea was very similar.  One defined culture as the set of rules and norms groups of people live by.  Participant A went on to say that culture defines us more than race, socio-economics, or religious beliefs because those things are only a part of our culture.  The other participants’ statements agreed with this because they see culture as what makes us who we are.  Culture is what makes us who we are; however, I believe most of us are not very conscious of our culture we just do what we do.

                We have studied how culture defines us and that we think of as culture is only surface culture and not deep culture.  I think that the statements made by my participants echo this sentiment because they reflect that religious beliefs and race are only a part of our culture.  I think that their definition of diversity is different from what we have studied in our course because their statement says that diversity is a “politically correct way of saying there are differences among human beings and that diversity is a way of increasing tolerance.”  While I believe that, we want to increase tolerance I do not think there is anything politically correct about it just the right thing to do.  I also think that they missed the concept of how diversity makes our lives richer and how diversity should be respected and appreciated.

My Family Culture

                If I survived a major catastrophic event, had to relocate to another country, and could only bring three cultural objects with me they would include my Bible, my favorite book, and my degree.  I would bring a copy of the Bible because it represents my faith.  In fact, it is the blueprint for my faith.  Not only does it represent my faith is also a special object from my family’s culture because my mother so valued the Bible and taught us to respect it.  I would bring a copy of my current favorite book because I am a huge fan of reading.  Reading has always been important to me because it is a learning tool and a way of escape.  Reading is also important to most members of my family.  My mother and I were very close and she taught me to love and respect books, which was one of the many things we had in common.  I would also bring my college degree because it represents a part of who I am and the hard work that I put into getting it.  I was the first person to attend and graduate from college in both sides of my family. 

                If I were to find out that I could only bring one item, I would be highly upset because they all have meaning and significance in my life and my personal and family culture.  During the process of determining the objects I would bring I discovered that I do not know enough about my culture, because I had difficulty thinking about what kind of “cultural” items I would bring.  During our reading, I have discovered that nearly everything I have is some type of cultural item. 

Research and Me- Conclusion

 

                This course has been a journey; however, I feel that I have learned many valuable tools to help me as I continue my professional development.  I have gained many insights about research and what it means.  I have learned that research is about relationships, the relationships between the researcher, subject, and the participants of the research.  I have learned that their interaction can have a strong influence on the research study, which can change the research study altogether.  I have also learned that research is a process that requires careful planning, concentration, and a strong work ethic to complete the research.  Research can bring about new ways of thinking and understanding about a particular subject or it can be used to solve a problem. 

                My beliefs about “doing research” has changed because I know that to be a researcher you do not have to be a professional researcher to conduct research.  Many classroom teachers engage in research to some extent or another everyday as they try to understand and improve circumstances in their classrooms.  Research requires careful planning; however, once the process itself is understood it can be implemented. 

                When designing a research project or study one of the most challenging things is defining and developing a workable hypothesis, which can be measured and in some way or another tested.  Doing research in early childhood required extra attention to detail, flexibility, and ethical consideration because usually the participants of the study are young children.  Researchers must hold their selves and their studies to the highest standards.

                In designing and outlining my own research study, the biggest challenge I had was narrowing down my research question to a workable hypothesis.  I continually had to keep narrowing down my topic into something specific so that I would be able to show the correct aspect of language and social development that I was looking for. 

                I believe that an early childhood professional must be someone who is willing to meet challenges and is always searching for understanding and a way to improve things.  Research is designed to do that to bring about awareness or understanding or to make things better.

                Finally, I would like to thank all of the early childhood professionals I have worked with this semester for their guidance, support, and consideration.  I wish everyone the best in the continuation of their professional journey.

International Research

 

                According to the European Early Childhood Education Research Association or the EECERA, current early childhood research focuses on topics such as how do teachers and children interact during certain times, the differences of ratings between teachers and caregivers on school readiness, and parental influence on a child’s ability to engage in storytelling.  These topic papers were included in their most recent journal.  The focus of these topics is similar to the kinds of topics being researched in America.

                A new insight that I gained is the concept of catalytic leadership, in which new early childhood professionals demonstrate leadership by being innovative and implementing change.  Honestly, I have never heard of this concept; however, as previous “new professional”, I remember entering my school setting and trying to change things that I did not think was working.  I also know that it can be difficult for new professionals to feel that they can be leaders. 

                I also learned that the EECERA develops special interest groups comprised of professionals from different countries that focus on a specific topic.  These professionals meet regularly to discuss research and development about their topic hopefully, to inform and develop position statements or policies.

 

Link:  http://www.eecera.org

Research- Uplifting Stories

                If I had the time to research any topic with unlimited resources, I would have a difficult time choosing the topic to research!  In the field of early childhood education, there are so many areas in which we need more knowledge or more up-to-date knowledge.  One of the sectors of early childhood is the sector of health, which seeks to provide for children’s health and well-being.  Although, I am not trained medically in any way I believe that I would like to look for a cure for childhood cancer like leukemia.  Cancer is such a horrible disease that in most cases there is no method of prevention.  Sadly, in most cases there is not a consistent cure and most treatments i.e. chemotherapy can be as dangerous as the disease itself.  According to the National Cancer Institute (n.d.) approximately 10, 400 children under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer, of these approximately 1, 545 children will die from the disease.  I find this startling, horrible, and unimaginable!                  

                Although, organizations like the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are working to find a cure and bring about better treatments for cancer they have not found a solution yet.  Although, I have never personally worked with children that have cancer I can only imagine how horrible it would be.  Cancer means a lot to me personally, because my mother died of cancer.  I saw its affects and the effects of the standard treatments for it and I know there has to be a better way.  If a “real cure” for cancer were to be found, I think it would have many meaningful, positive contributions for children, families, and society in general.  First, it would stop the disease so that children would not get sick and their families would not have to watch them get sick.  Second, families would not have to grieve the loss of their child (ren).    Society in general would be spared the future economic cost of these losses and would be assured that there was a way to defeat a major disease. 

                I realize that I probably will never be the one to cure cancer.  However, a cure does need to be found.  I believe that finding a cure would have a very positive affect on many lives.

References

The National Cancer Institute. (n.d.) Childhood cancers fact sheet.  Retrieved from                                                          http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/childhood

Research and Me?

I am interested in language development: how it works, why it works, what does it mean the whole kit-and-caboodle.  For my research simulation, I have decided to focus on the subtopic of how does language affect social development.  I have chosen this particular focus because this year I have a child with a speech delay.  “Bob” is beginning to be able to produce single words; however, he cannot combine sentences into words.  In the beginning of the year the other children in the class appeared to shun, “Bob” I believe due to his inability to verbally communicate with them.  I am interested in learning more about the extent that these two areas of development are intertwined.  I have learned that conducting literature reviews can help shape your focus and inform your hypothesis.  I have also learned that it is important to become familiar with the different paradigms available because they are the models so to speak, of how our beliefs line up.  As I begin developing this simulation, I am not sure what to do after the literature review.  How should I frame my hypothesis?  I would also like help with knowing what steps to take to begin collecting data, should I use qualitative or quantitative methods?