Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that each child and family is provided with the services they need in order for their children to be successful in school and within the community.  I also hope that each child will receive a fair and equal education regardless of their social identities.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that all children are provided the opportunity to attend a free Prekindergarten program that is facilitated by a highly qualified teacher.  I know that the school district I teach in the only way  a child can attend the Prekindergarten program that is offered through the public schools is if they have an IEP, low-income, or considered language deficient (ELL).  In my opinion all children should have the opportunity to attend these types of programs so they can be prepared for Kindergarten.

To all of my colleagues I want to thank you for sharing personal experiences that impacted you either personally and or professionally.  I know for myself sometimes I felt myself struggling with “putting myself out there”.  I think that it is difficult to share experiences that are either hurtful or that we are ashamed of.  I think this class has made everyone take a good look at who they really are as a person and how their words and actions can have such substantial impact on others.  With everything that we have learned throughout this course I think we are well on our way to working towards making a social change within the early childhood field.  Good luck to everyone!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Germany is the country of origin from where my family is coming from.  In order to prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family I will:

1. Research and learn as much about the country such as traditions, food, and family structure.
2. I will contact a local organization that will help with ensuring the transition goes as smooth as possible for the family and myself.
3. I will have a translator available that will be able to come to school, as well as, home visits to help with language barriers if there are any.
4. I will learn about the school setting and the expectations from the country this family is coming from.
5. I will have the family fill out an information sheet that will provide me with some insight about their beliefs, culture, and expectations.

I hope these preparations will benefit both myself and the family because it will create an environment that is welcoming.  It will allow the family to see that I don't just want them to fit into the culture of this country, but want to learn about what is important to them.  This will ensure that the best interest of the child are met by both myself and the family.  I feel these preparations will also make a difficult situation run more smoothly.

Microaggressions

A microaggression I experienced this week was at school.  The entire student population gets free breakfast in the morning.  One of the students was saying that they didn't like the choices that were being served on that particular day.  One of the other teachers said to me "these children are so ungrateful and they should be happy that they are even getting breakfast.  It is free what do they expect". 
I was shocked to hear this.  I understand that it seems ungrateful, but they are children and they don't understand that the reason they are getting breakfast at school is because their parents don't make enough money.

I have learned that as teachers we really need to be mindful of what we say, as well as, how we say it.  Sometimes the tone of our voice can be misconstrued.  If students overheard what the other teacher was saying their feelings would have been hurt.

Evacuation

If I had to be moved to another country the three items I would choose to bring with me would be:
a bible, photo album, and American flag.  I would take the bible to help remind me of my faith and to stay true to my beliefs.  I would take a photo album because I know eventually my mind would fade, but photos could remind me of past memories and finally I would take the flag to explain how everyone from the U.S. are entitled to their freedom and are able to make their own choices.  If I could only take one item I would choose to take the photo album only because you can't get back the memories that have been captured within the photos, but I would not be too upset if this was the only item I could bring with me. 

I have learned that I am not a materialistic person and even though I would be sad to have to leave the U.S. I would be excited to see how other countries live.

Research Around the World

The internations website I decided to explore was http://www.earlychildhoodaustrailia.org.au/
This website is equivalent to the U.S. based NAEYC.  Some of the current topics addressed on this website are: school readiness, children't transistions, baby and toddler sleeping, child health, and childhood obesity. 

From this website I gained knowledge about how other areas of the world are dealing with issues within the early childhood field, as well as, being able to use resources that are offered through their website with new information regarding the field.

Something noteworthy from this website was reading about The Everyday Learning Series.  This series focuses its attention on the everyday ways in which young children-babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers-can be supported in their growth and development.

My Research Journey

The topic that sparks my interest to research if funding for early childhood programs.  I have narrowed this into the following sub-topics: ways to obtains grants for early childhood programs, how early childhood programs ensure young children are school ready, and the influence of community based family support services that will help train parents how to build a strong foundation for learning. 

I have a personal interest in this topic because I am a Prekindergarten Teacher at a public school.  Since Prekindergarten is not a mandatory program there are limited amount of spaces available.  There are specific criteria that a family must meet in order to get into the program.  The criteria is: children who currently have an IEP, economically disadvantaged, and or language deficient.  The entire community lives in poverty so each child automatically qualifies based on income alone.  The problem then is that there are more children that should be enrolled in the program then spots that are available.  This means children are then placed on a waiting list and may be enrolled in the program if a spot becomes available throughout the school year. 

As an early childhood educator this is heartbreaking for me.  Building a strong foundation is necessary for children to be successful in school.  Every dollar invested in young children has a high return in the future.  I think that every child should have the opportunity to attend a high-quality preschool program regardless of their families income and there should be enough classes that every child has the opportunity to attend.

Does anyone has any experience as to how to go about obtaining grants for early childhood programs?  If so, let me know. I would really appreciate it.

Sharing Web Resources

When exploring the prek now website there are many resources available on this website.  Some of the additional outside links in the media section there is a link that allows you to obtain contact information with prek experts.  You can contact an expert in the following fields related to prek: prek policy and implementation, prek research, economic benefits of prek, and pollsters. 

After exploring the family section in depth I found there is a check list provided to help parents find a high-quality prek program.  This information is also available in Spanish.  The section also encourages learning at home by providing tips how to engage children in developmentally appropriate activities that you can do together, as well as, providing resources on school readiness.  The last section is family profiles.  Within this section families that have been profiled share their individual stories about high-quality prek and how its impacted their children.


The e-newsletter this week discusses how children who do not have access to a high-quality early childhood education program are more likely to struggle in school and not be school ready.  This article discussed how it would impact all children who did not have access, not just a specific group such as ELL students.

One of the articles this week also discussed school readiness and how it takes more than one weekend to prepare a child for school.  Children begin learning at birth and to properly prepare them for Kindergarten it takes from birth to age five with engaging learning experiences that will provide a strong learning foundation.