Goals and Thanks

In every sense, the world is becoming a smaller place. As a result do easier travel, media and computers, we are exposed to and will continue to be exposed to many more people, cultures and ideas than ever before. In order for peace to someday reign on earth, it is important to create a generation of tolerance and respect for self and others. My main goal in Early Childhood Education is to instill a sense of respect and acceptance for self and others. If all children were raised in this spirit, this upcoming generation would be the first to embrace differences and work together for the good of all mankind.

I would like to thank my colleagues for their great insights and interesting discussions throughout this semester. I have learned so much and seen new ways of looking at issues. It has been a pleasure working with all of you.

My collage displays people from different cultures and different families working, learning and living in harmony.  The words represent the traits needed to ensure positive relationships in a multicultural world.

Looking Away

I thought a lot about times when I have told children not to mention other's disabilities or skin color or gender identity, and I couldn't think of any. I think I am pretty good about explaining things to children and being open with them about why people are different in these ways.

One thing, however, that I have hushed children about is commenting on people's weight. I struggle with weight issues, myself, and possibly this is part of the reason I react as I do about children calling people fat. I have told children that it is unfriendly and hurtful to talk about others weight - even if they are simply making an observation and not being judgmental (which is often the case).

When I think about it, though, telling children not to mention weight and telling them that making the observation that someone is fat really teaches them that there is something wrong with overweight people. It teaches them that weight is something shameful. It perpetuates the idea that only thin people are beautiful.

Perhaps discussions of weight should be the same as discussions of skin color or disability. Children just need to be told that all people look different, and that it is all equally beautiful.

Young children, from birth, are inundated with ideas about gender roles. There are products that are sold for female children and products that are sold for boy children. Society looks frowning ky on anyone who does not push these gender specific products on their children, and children are told, from a young age, not to interact with items meant for the opposite sex. These toys reflect our overriding ideas about the roles of men and women in society. Even though we live in an age where women are equally as likely to work outside of the home as men are, it is still considered normal for women to take on the housekeeping role as well. It is also thought that boys should be active and athletic while girls are calm and do,estic. Products and children's books predominantly reflect these gender roles.

I recently read a newspaper article about a young couple who had a baby. This couple decided not to tell anyone the sex of their child so that the child would not be influenced by gender role ideas of others and of society as a whole. Interestingly, many people are upset by this couples actions and there was an outcry of outrage at their idea of raising there baby as a gender less being in the early years. Many people saw the idea of allowing the child to choose their likes and dislikes without pressure from the outside world to fit into a pre conceived role as a form of irresponsible parenting. Many felt that this was setting the child up to be different from other members of society, which would ultimately cause problems in the child's life. It is an interesting story, and it is yet to be determined if this couple must reveal the gender of their child to the world. I, however, feel that raising children without gender pressures would actually help them to feel confident about who they are whether or not they fit into what is commonly believed to be normal. Maybe we shouldn't be so concerned with boys being boys and girls being girls, and be more concerned with children feeling good about who they are.

When Groups Adjourn

I think that most groups, whether they work out well or not, are somewhat difficult to leave. However, it is harder to leave long term groups and groups that have been successful in doing what they set out to do. In these groups, it is more likely that relationships have been established, and these relationships may have to end when the group work ends. There is then a sense of loss of people and of loss of an important factor in ones life.

Being in a group becomes something we become accustomed to in life, and leaving a group leaves a void - even if the group consists of people one has never met in person. It will be difficult to leave the masters group. Even though I have never met the people in the group, I have developed an affinity for several of them.

I think that the best way to end a group is to have a culminating event. The group can celebrate their successes and their friendships and have a proper goodbye. I think this especially important in classrooms coming to an end.

Conflict Resolution

A conflict often comes up at my job because I work for a state funded program called Illinois Action for Children while the school also has a federally funded program called Early Reading First.  The conflicts arise because each of these grants is based on a different philosophy of education.  Preschool for All follows The creative Curriculum and The Project Approach which promotes teaching skills through allowing children to follow their own interests and through research projects.  Early Reading First, on the other hand, is a very scripted, curriculum led program that focuses directly on literacy skills.  For instance, I might have children writing lists of ingredients they need for a recipt they want to make whild Early Reading First has them naming the first sound in a prescribed list of words.

These differences, in general, are manageable, but there are times when the two programs butt heads.  One of these times was when the Early Reading First coach was using flashcards with the children.  This is not allowed in Preschool for All.  We had discussed this, but she felt strongly that the flashcards were essential.  Well, the conflict escalated when my Project Manager came in to see her doing flashcards with the children and held me responsible for allowing this in a Preschool for All classroom.

The most recent conflict is regarding choice time in the classroom.  during this time, according to Preschool for All, all of the areas of the classroom are open and the children choose where they would like to work.  The Early Reading First coach wants particular popular areas to be closed during this time because she is having a difficult time coaxing particular children away from these areas so that she can work with them.  She also wants particular children to be required to work with her rather than go to the areas of their choice.  This, again, goes against the mandates of The Preschool for All grant as well as going against my personal philosophy of education.  I have suggested that she go to the areas where the children choose to be and work with them there, but she insists that she needs a table at which to work.  Often, when these conflicts occur, she simply claims that her grant trums my grant because her funding is Federal and mine is State.  I have found it very difficult to compromise in these situations.

Compromise, however is what is needed.  I have learned this week that sometimes all people really want is to be heard.  A good approach might be to simply hear out her feelings and needs without arguing, and then stating my needs and wants without invoking the grants or their mandates.  Another thing to keep in mind is that we should be looking for a solution that allows us both to win.  We should be looking for a way to merge the two approaches rather than viewing them as completely different. 

Communication Styles

Interestingly, my husband and mother, who rated me on the communication scales gave me what I would consider to be more positive ratings than I gave to myself. I did find the scales somewhat difficult to answer completely honestly because I communicate differently with different people in different situations. For instance, I communicate much more professionally and in a more businesslike manner with people at my job than I do with friends and family outside of the workplace.

Regarding The Communication Anxiety Inventory, I rated myself a 35 which is mild, meaning that I " feel a bit uneasy in some communication situations and somewhat more confident in other contexts. Communication does not seem to be something that you worry about a great deal." My family members rated me as Low, meaning that i "feel comfortable communicating in most situations and feel confident in anticipating such encounters." what this tells me is that even though I sometimes feel uncomfortable, it must not be obvious to others.

In the area of Listening Styles, my results put me in Group 1 meaning that i am people oriented, and that I am "empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others. This listening style helps you to build relationships, but it can interfere with proper judgment because you tend to be very trusting of others.". My family put me in Group 2, which is action oriented, meaning I "might be described as "business like" and I prefer clear, to-the-point communication that outlines a plan of action. My efficiency is respected but may intimidate more sensitive listeners." while I care about the feelings of others, I do feel more comfortable in Group 2. I do prefer to get to the point of a conversation without allowing emotional reactions to blur the true issue.

As far as the Verbal aggressiveness scale, I gave myself a score of 58, which is moderate. This means that I "maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others viewpoints, and the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than the person holding that position.". My family saw me as low, meaning that I am "respectful of the viewpoints of others, and attempt to change their minds with gentle, inoffensive suggestions that do not attack their self concept.". My family members, apparently, see me as kinder than I see myself.

Communication

I make a conscious effort to communicate with all people equally, staying true to myself while respecting each persons individuality. However, I must admit that I feel most comfortable with people whose culture I share. In those cases, I feel more natural and it feels less necessary to make an effort to empathize and understand the others point of view. So, while I try to communicate in the same way regardless OTC the culture of another, I am sure that my degree of comfort or of effort is apparent.

I think that showing empathy is one very important way to communicate with others. It is necessary to attempt to look at the subject from then others point of view and to understand why they have that point of view. The way to do this is to ask questions, be open minded and accept the fact that there are many valid viewpoints. It is also important to avoid jumping to conclusions. Many times we think we understand another's motivations without getting the facts. The third strategy is to also be honest about our own motivations. It is very difficult to understand another without first understanding ourselves.

Weeds

I chose to watch the show "Weeds." I had never seen the show before, but had heard from multiple people that it was good. Watching without sound gave me a pretty good impression of the characters and their relationships, but I was not able to fully grasp the plot.

When watching without sound, I first noticed the way the characters were dressed. The show started in what was obviously a school for young children with crayon drawings on the walls. Two women who were dressed in expensive looking provocative clothing were presenting to a group of similarly dressed women. The audience was obviously showing favoritism to one of the presenters over the other. They were then obviously talking about one of the women because they were huddled together and glancing in her direction. I thought they were talking way a disapproving way about her purse - maybe saying it was cheap. The exchange between the main character and these women seemed strained.

Then the scene changed and the main character, who was a white woman, was in a kitchen where a group of African American people of different genders and ages were filling baggies with marijuana. She seemed comfortable with these people even though they were not well dressed, and she was. She was again talking about the purse, and I thought that she was telling these people that the women at the meeting had talked badly of the purse. I thought at this point that maybe she was a poor teacher and that she lived with these people, but needed to appear professional in order to fit in at her school.

Then, however, she was in an expensive home where two boys were watching television and a Hispanic lady was cooking dinner. She was standing in the kitchen asking the boys some questions, and they were looking at each other in an accusatory fashion and talking. I assumed they were in some kind of trouble and were telling on each other. The woman appeared upset, and the older woman, who I assumed was her mother, simply crossed herself - praying for these people.

Seeing the show again with the sound turned on made me see that I was right about this woman's feelings towards the other characters, but wrong about the situations. In the beginning she and another parent were presenting about whether or not sugary drinks should be sold rom school vending machines. All of the women sided with the other lady because she clearly held more power. The women were talking about her purse, but they were wondering how she had afforded it because her husband had died.

In the next scene, the woman was buying drugs from the people who were sorting them, and there was a kind of comfortable bickering going on. She was shooing them the purse and saying it was a fake designer purse but that it was undetectable. They were pointing out the flaws.

The third scene was in the woman's home. The two boys were her children who had broken a window, but they were actually trying not to say what had happened rather than telling on each other. The older woman was her housekeeper. There was quite a bit of tension in the house because her husband had recently died while jogging with her son.


I think that I would have made more correct assumptions if I had watched a familiar show with a familiar plot and characters, but without knowing anything about the show, I was making assumptions based on physical appearance and body language alone. It is interesting that situations can be so easily misconstrued when dialogue is absent.

Great Communicators

The best communicator I know is my co-teacher, Rosemary. The first reason for this is that she is very comfortable with herself, with her beliefs, with her outlook on life, with her ethics, her priorities and her values. Juxtaposed to this comfort with herself, she believes that all people should be afforded such comfort and should be respected for who they are.

For the above reasons, Rosemary is not only willing to listen to the point of view of others, but is truly nterested in what they have to say. Part of her comfort with herself allows her to listen openly to what others have to say without pretense and to use communication to learn as much as she can about others without passing judgment.

This gift of natural ability to communicate freely and effectively is a truly wonderful thing. I do believe that all people should strive to first know who they are and feel comfort and pride in themselves, and then come to a place where they can accept others without judgment or an attempt to change another. Tolerance is the key to communication.

What I Learned

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds

I would like to create a learning community where all children and families both appreciate and respect each others differences, and see that diversity brings richness into their lives. I would like a true collaboration based on providing the best possible experiences for the young children who come together in my classroom. I would like for families to understand how important these children are to each other, and I would like the families to then form a community amongst themselves. I wish that school and family were not two separate aspects of children's lives, but a harmonious partnership that extends outside of the classroom.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice

To me, the biggest injustice to be found in early childhood education, as well as all education, is that different children receive different qualities of education and are prepared for different stations in life based on socioeconomic class rather than on their innate abilities, interests and talents. It is deplorable that some of the brightest, most precocious children filled with incredible potential are not given opportunities to grow and to really contribute to society - while others are given multitudes of opportunities regardless of abilities. The goal that I would set would be to provide equal educational opportunities to all children because they are human beings and to base the philosophy behind this system of equality on the belief that all human beings are full of potential regardless of race, ethnicity or class.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

I have enjoyed working with all of you this summer on the complex study of diversity and anti-bias. I am ready to approach the new school year with a new outlook on relationships with children, families and staff. Thank you for all of your support on this journey.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

My husband is a brilliant man. He studied linguistics at The University of Chicago, and teaches literature, history and linguistics T Governors State University. He does both written and oral translating for the federal court, and fluently speaks 14 different languages. He has done extensive work on the linguistic origins of the Balkan languages, and has contributed to several texts on the subject.

To me, at least, it seems obvious in speaking to my husband that he is a brilliant man. However, he immigrated to The United States, and speaks with an accent. Upon hearing that accent, people immediately treat him as if he is both stupid and unintelligent. This happens often in fast food restaurants. My husband always orders by number (number six meal with a diet coke), and 90% of the time the person at the counter slowly and loudly explains to him what the meal consists of, as if he could not read the sign himself. He says yes, and they often yell "huh?" really loud as if he had whispered something unintelligible. Often, he then receives something he did not order, only to have the worker insist this was his order, as if he is too stupid to know what he ordered. As a result of this type of repeated humiliation, if our children force us to go to McDonalds or Pizza Hut, I do all of the ordering (because, when I order a number 6 meal with a diet coke, I get exactly that).

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

Basically, immigrants are treated like they are inferior in intelligence, ability to understand, and ability to make decisions. There is an American belief that intelligent thought can only occur in American English, and those who speak other languages natively are somehow deficient. While we are a country of immigrants, we are not very understanding of or welcoming to immigrants.

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

It really makes me angry to see people from other countries who come to The United States looking for the promise of a better life be treated so poorly. There is an expectation that they will assimilate and become more "American," but, no matter how American they become, they will never be treated as equal.

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

The American culture and societal ideals would need to change. We have been believing in the fantasy of being better than the rest of the world for far too long. This self image of superiority has shut down people's willingness to and ability to learn from other cultures and recognize that there may be better ways of doing things. It is time for the general American viewpoint to change.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

My family and I are traveling this week from Chicago to Georgia. We spent several days in Cave City Kentucky so that we could explore Mammoth Cave. This was really a perfect time to study the idea of microaggression because I found myself immersed in a culture quite different from my own, and realized for the first time that I do tend to unconsciously think of myself as superior. Noticing certain thoughts and ideas within me based on the idea of microaggression has quickly led me to be a more tolerant and respectful person.

Staying in the same campground where my family was staying were several families who live in the mountains of Kentucky. The physical appearance of these people is different from what I am accustomed to, which made me instantly judgmental. I did not know them, know anything about them or about where they are from, but I immediately belittled them in my mind. Fortunately, I took what I was reading, and made an effort to be more open minded. Then, however, a man from that group approached my five year old son and asked him his name. I was immediately defensive and ready to pull my child away when I remembered my decision to hold my judgment. The man had seen my son jumping into the pool, and saturated showing him different ways to jump. They played together happily, and innocently for quite some time. I then noticed a huge cultural difference between me and the people I was coming into contact with in Kentucky. I tend to talk to adults first and children remain secondary to that because of the assumption that someone who approaches a child is a kidnapper or a pedophile. In the area of Cave City Kentucky, people approached, played with, and enjoyed the company of children without ever talking to the adults at all. They even give the children candy and quarters (which could probably land them in jail in Chicago). I came to realize that this simple, innocent enjoyment of children is a better way to be than the protective distance from children that I am accustomed to (without even realizing it).

The point is that by holding judgment and pausing before reacting to the cultural differences I was experiencing, I was able to learn something about another group of people. In addition, I found that my feelings of superiority were false and I much preferred their approach to children and to strangers. I felt humbled by this experience and I came to realize that in order to grow as a human being it is important to release all feelings of self centeredness and look to other cultures for possible improvements in my own attitudes and actions.

Perspectives On Culture And Diversity

I asked three very different people about their ideas regarding culture and diversity. Elijah, a fourteen year old boy with an African American father and a Caucasian American mother sId that culture is "How people act and what they do. Like, traditions they have." He defined diversity as "The difference between people and things.".

I then spoke to JoAnne, a sixty four year old married nurse who grew up in a neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. She defined diversity as "the differences between people of differing backgrounds, such as Religious, ethnic, or geographic.". She went on to define culture as "the traditions with which you are raised. These include ones core values, celebrations, foods and beliefs."

finally, I spoke to Milan who is a 55 year old professor of linguistics who was born and raised in Serbia. He began by telling me that his definition might not be politically correct, and then went on to give me the following definitions:

Culture - culture is a system of beliefs shared by a society whereby that society is able to sustain itself physically, intellectually and morally.

Diversity - diversity is an aspect of a culture which reflects that culture's willingness and ability to incorporate within itself tolerance for and encouragement of expression of attitude towards reality such as does not reflect the most prominent traits of the mainstream but which brings with itself potentiality for enrichment, expansion and innovation.



While I found that Elijah's definitions were far less complicated and involved than those of Milan and JoAnne, they all said basically the same thing. I think that JoAnne had a good point when she mentioned that culture involves core values. I think that this alludes to the unconscious portion of culture that we exhibit without thought. I also appreciated Milan's thorough definition of culture. He defined diversity within a cultural group rather than diversity between different cultural groups. This was a different perspective than I have really thought about, even though we have been discussing this very subject in the class. I mostly appreciated Elijah's definition, however, because it was simple and straightforward and unclouded by the complexities of adulthood.

My Family Culture

If I found that I had to move to a whole new country with my family and could only bring three items, these would be my iPad, my beading kit and my journal. The iPad I would bring because it holds all of my pictures, I can read books on it, I can communicate with others through email, I can watch videos, I can translate into other languages, listen to music etc. The iPad holds much of the sentimental parts of my life. I would bring my beading kit because I make jewelry, and in addition to being an enjoyable activity to pass the time, I find it to be a meditative and calming activity that reduces stress. Finally, I would bring my journal so that I could have memories of my life that I have already recorded as well as keep a record of the feelings and events in this new part of life.

I would be very sad to give up my journal upon arrival because I would lose the written record of the past, but I would be able to keep an upcoming record using my iPad, so it wouldn't be a total loss. Losing my beading kit would be pretty devastating because it is an important part of who I am, however I would then attempt to discover traditional arts within the new culture that I could learn and create. I would keep the iPad because it holds so much information and has the capability to store more.

One thing I realized with this assignment is that I feel very connected to history. And culture through art, and while I would choose to keep things like pictures over art supplies, the loss of this connection would be devastating. I am part Iroquois on my fathers side, and the jewelry I make uses the traditional native American art of bead weaving. This is a huge part of who I am and of my ancestry, so it would be a big cultural loss for me.

Views On Research

When we began studying research, I had a very simplistic view of how to go about studying any subject of interest. I thought one could simply come up with an easy way to find an answer a question, such as through observation or tracking, and then go forward with the plan and find the answer.

It turned out, however, that there is a great deal more to consider and many other aspects to plan. For instance, there is the necessity for consents from both the children participating in the study and their parents as well as explaining to them what the is being studied, how information will be collected, and what will be expected of the participants. As a teacher, I never considered the need for consents when a research study involves observation of my students since this is something I already do as part of my job.

One also must think about ethics when planning a study, and must determine whether the results of the study outweigh any harm that might be done to the participants. For instance, if the study requires different students to be involved in different activities at the same time. The children may experience negative emotions because they were not picked for activities they preferred. So, the question arises whether or not causing the children to feel bad is worth it for the sake of research.

There is also the question of validity. Can one be certain of their results through using observation and tracking within their own classroom or is it necessary to add additional forms of data collection or to conduct the study in additional settings?

Having gone through the class, I now realize how complex true research can be and see how much deliberate planning must occur if a research project is to be successful.

Early Childhood Worldwide

I browsed the Early childhood Australia website. Many of their research topics are very similar to what we find in The United States, such as learning through play, the impact of quality programs, children's resilience, and dealing with bullying. One topic that I found particulary interesting involved the positive experiences children have when engaged in oral storytelling. Austrailian culture has a very strong storytelling tradition, and the study has found that young children are far more imaginative, creative and cognitively involved in oral sories (which are different than stories with print).

I also found an article on outdoor education very interesting. In my mind, Australia has so much to offer in the natural world - huge open spaes, extremely interesting and plentiful wildlife, a diverse ecosystem, etc. However, children living there are suffering from the same forms of nature deficit disorder as we find in The United States. Children who, literally, have kangaroos in their backyards are still lured by the electronic world. Austraila is deeply involved in research on the importance of including nature education in the lives of young children.

No matter where people live, what their religion is or their cultural beliefs, there is one thing we all have in common - our concern for and dedication to young children. Looking at Early Childhood sites from other areas of the world makes me feel a connection to te international Early Childhood community. Instead of focusing on differences, we should focus on similarities amongst us. One huge similarity is that every group of people includes children and a love for children.

Studies for ADHD

In the United Stated there are currently millions of children being treated for ADHD, and that number is steadily growing.  Currently, the most popular treatment for ADHD is medication; usually some form of amphetamine.  There is a trend towards medicating children at younger and younger ages, and continuing to medicate them throughout their school years (at least).  The process of medicating in itself is a process of trial and error.  Doctors prescribe different medications at different doses until the parents and teachers of the children feel satisfied with the outcome.  There is no medical test to absolutely determine whether or not a child has ADHD and there is no way to pre-determine a successful treatment plan. Additionally, long term effects of these medical treatments are unknown.   For these reasons, the system is currently using millions of children as guinea pigs in ADHD treatment trials without any permission at all.

Children are labeled ADHD when they cannot sit and attend to the rigorous school day.  I feel that, rather than studying medical procedures to mold children into the students we want them to be, we should be studying classroom procedures that allow children to be successful without altering their natural temperaments and personalities.  If I had unlimited time and resources, I would study ways to change the educational system to allow children to feel happy, safe, comfortable, and able without medication.  I strongly believe that it is not the children that must be altered but rather the system.

Research Simulation: Technological Play Versus Nature Play

I am quite single minded in my passion for re-inserting nature into children's lives.  Technology has improved the human condition in many ways, but it has, at the same time, pulled us away from our foundation.  Humans are an integral part of the natural world, we are connected to all living things on earth and to the earth itself - but we have come to a place of feeling disconnected.  We no longer understand where we fit into the natural balance.  This puts the human race as well as all life on Earth at risk.

I am greatly concerned about how the influence of technology is affecting current generation of children's sense of self.  I have observed that children are negatively affected on an emotional level when using computers and video games.  They become easily frustrated, have less desire to cooperate with others, become manipulative, dishonest, aggressive and generally difficult.  When outside playing, I rarely see these traits in the same groups of children.  I therefore, would like to look at the social and emotional effects technology has on children compared to the social and emotional effects of exposure to nature.

How to do this in a quantitative way, however, poses some difficulty.  I considered a few different approaches to this project, however, given the limited resources at my disposal, I decided that I would use a tallying approach.  I will simply observe the same group of children for equal amounts of time playing video games and playing outside.  During these observations I will count the number of negative social and emotional occurances (ex. - lying, arguing, belittling) during each experience.  I will repeat my observations over time, and will then compare my results.  In this way, I will have data regarding the effects of technology and the effects of nature on children's social and emotional health.

International Reflection

Living in The United States, I think there is a tendency to think a lot about conditions at home, but not on a global scale.  Discussing the issues surrounding Early Childhood Education in Serbia with Zora Petrovich opened my eyes to the many atrocities that children throughout the world have had to face and to the perseverance and bravery of those dedicated to the lives of children.

In recent years, Serbia has been working to recover from the Balkan War, a decade long time of unprecedented violence and bloodshed that ended in the dissolution of former communist Yugoslavia.  Serbia became an independent country, but did so as the losers of a war that wreaked havoc on their land and their people. 

In America, we believe that communism is somehow wrong, and that all citizens of the world would be better off with, and would prefer a democracy.  This is not the case with many Serbs.  Under communism, every citizen had a job, a home, food, education, health care and income.  In communism, every citizen receives the same things as every other citizen, and all people’s needs are met.  Under the new democracy, the majority of the Serbian citizens live in poverty while a few are very rich.  Quality education is available for the elite, but many children have no educational opportunities.  In addition, even the families of the working class have a difficult time getting enough to eat, and young children often work to help support the family.

There is also an ongoing issue involving the large number of war orphans that still remain wards of the state.  The government is responsible for these children, but they do not provide well for them.  These children are not educates, rather trained to be laborers.  They live in group homes that are understaffed and undersupplied.  As these orphans are growing older, they are forming street gangs and crime by young people is rising throughout the country.

During the war, thousands of women were raped by soldiers.  The children of these rapes are now growing older, but the society has a general feeling of hatred and distrust towards them.  What will become of these children is uncertain, but they have a great deal of prejudice to face and overcome.

Finally, teachers are in a state of political turmoil.  Historically, teachers received a great deal of respect from the society.  The profession has always been considered highly prestigious.   Currently, the state owes teachers for years of unpaid benefits and is paying them less than subsistence wages.  Teacher’s feel that they have a responsibility to help the next generation develop to their fullest potential – for the children and for Serbia.  However, there is a great deal of tension and pressure developing just below the surface, and there is potential for a social eruption in the future.

There is a growing connectedness of Early Childhood Professionals worldwide.  More and more we are realizing that a dedication to young children expands beyond our own schools, neighborhoods, states and countries.  Children throughout the world deserve to have food to eat, air to breath, a place to live, and the ability to reach their fullest potential.  All children deserve to have the opportunity to become great, to be healthy, happy and intelligent.  I believe that the goal of providing quality education to young children needs to be a world-wide goal.

Education - if not equal, at least fair

I heard from my professional contact, Zora Petrovich, regarding the professional expectations of teachers in Serbia.  She explained that the profession of "teacher" in Serbia is very prestigious and respected.  It is believed, culturally, that a teacher must be highly educated in order to impart knowledge to their students.   Therefore, only people of high intelligence and who are very successful academically themselves are able to enter the teaching profession.  

However, there is currently a great deal of unrest among Serbian teachers regarding compensation and benefits.  There has been a salary freeze for almost three years and the state owes teachers for years of benefits.  The wages teachers are currently given are not enough to sustain a family, and social  dissension is growing.  The new government allows for some privileged citizens to live well while others are allowed to starve.  Tensions are high throughout the country.

Still, despite the current social situation, education is considered to be of great importance.  Serbia has produced many great scientists, innovators and thinkers, such as Nikola Tesla,Mileva Meric Einstein and Ivo Andric.  The country expects to continue this great tradition, and teachers, regardless of their treatment by the government, have an internal sense of responsibility for the education of our future leaders.  Therefore, they continue to educate and impart knowledge.

"The idea of equal education for all citizens in a democratic society is quite lofty.  In communism, there was no social stratification of the classes, so education was based on ability level rather than economic level.  Currently, many children receive no schooling while others receive the highest level of education in the world.  I do not think education will be equalized, but I would like it to be fair.  I think that every child should have the right to education and for the opportunity to grow.  I think that economics should not drive education, but, rather, potential.  Children should be allowed to go as far as they are able to go regardless of family income."

Nature Deficit Disorder

By following links I found on the NACC site, I found two really great resource pages:

The first of the two is Education.com’s Nature deficit disorder page, http://www.education.com/topic/nature-deficit-disorder/.  This page is full of links to articles, tips, and explanations regarding the dangers posed by the modern child’s stronger connection to electronics than to nature. 

The second website I found is called Science for Citizens, http://scienceforcitizens.net/.  This site provides links to worldwide science projects that all citizens can become involved with.  There are projects such as tracking wildlife, seasonal changes, rainfall, water observations, astrology and many more.  I, in fact, signed up for budwatch – where people can observe and log the seasonal changes in trees, and WildObs, where people can use their phones to track wildlife spotting.  Doing these projects is an incentive to observe nature closely, to connect nature and technology, and to help scientists collect data in ways previously impossible – on a worldwide basis.  I am very excited about the possibilities of using these citizen projects within my classroom, with my family, and personally.  A project such as budwatch only requires some time outside each day to observe changes in trees – but it is a great incentive to make this time outside a priority.

I think that nature education definitely adds to quality in daycare because so many children are missing out on a connection with nature in their lives.  Still, while some programs provide children with safe green spaces to explore, others have playgrounds with no green spaces and still others do not even have playgrounds.  It seems that if there was a national standard of nature education, this could help solve the problem of Nature Deficit Disorder.

Early childhood is the absolute best time to start children’s connection with nature.  This is the window of time within which children need to be exposed to the natural world – because it is during this critical period that children feel natural about their part in the natural world.  Young children feel natural picking up bugs, changing the flow of rivers, picking up sticks and chasing seagulls.  At a certain age, without exposure, the easy feeling of being a part of the natural world disappears without exposure, and a sense of fear takes its place.  Early childhood cannot be regained once it is lost – so children must experience the world during this time. 

Works Cited

Nature defecit Disorder. (2011). Retrieved April 9, 2011, from Education.com: http://www.education.com/topic/nature-deficit-disorder/

ScienceForCitizens.net. (2010). Retrieved April 9, 2011, from http://scienceforcitizens.net/

Equality of Education in Serbia

My Serbian contact, Zora Petrovich, explained more to me about the issues in education in Serbia.

In the past decade, Serbia has gone through major political changes.  The eight year Balkan War ended, they transitioned from a communist government to a democratic government, and they became an independent country.  While of all these changes were meant to lead to the betterment of the country - and they might do that in the future - they have created huge gaps in opportunities between the rich and the poor.



First of all, there are huge numbers of war orphans.  Many of these children were adopted by families from rich countries - but so many more remain.  they live in large orphanages where they do receive schooling - but the quality of this schooling is very low compared to schools for privileged students.  The goal for these orphans is that they will be laborers when they are old enough to leave the orphanage - which means that there education is designed to prepare them for menial jobs in the work force and nothing more.


Still worse, however, are the opportunities for the Roma children - the extremely poor.  These are the children of peasants and gypsies.  They make up 7% of the population, and the majority of them do not have the opportunity to attend school at all.  They begin work within their family groups at a very young age, and often work for money outside of the family beginning in the elementary years.  The Roma children who do attend school are unlikely to complete elementary school.  Fewer boys complete school than girls because they have more job opportunities at a young age.



Another population that is emerging as problematic is the children of war crimes.  Many women were raped by soldiers, and those children are now getting older and entering the educational system.  While none of the crimes of war are the fault of these children, there is a societal rejection of them.  Many families do not see these children as equal to their other children, and the community often expresses a hatred of these children - as they are seen as a symbol of the atrocities the Serbian people experienced during the war.  The opportunities for and future of these children is uncertain.


Privileged children in Serbia, however, attend schools considered equal to the top institutions in the continent.  They will become the great thinkers,scientists, innovators, writers and politicians of the future.



 

Outdoor Classrooms

In the November/ December 2010 issue of Wonder, the newsletter for the World Forum's Nature Action Collaborative for Children, there is an article entitled Our Path To An Outdoor Classroom.  The article explains how a the Burlington Little School in Washington worked tirelessly to raise funds for a bike path that wound through an undeveloped grassy area of their playground.  After all of their hard work, they were dismayed by the reaction of current and former students once the project was complete.  While the teachers and administrators were full of pride and excitement at the grand opening of their new bike path - they were met with cries of "Where is the tall grass?  Where will we play?"  All of the money and expensive resources in the world could not replace the joy of nature in the hearts of the children - the children the bike path was created for.  

As a society we have somehow forgotten how much happiness we, as children, found while playing in the natural world.  For a child, crawling through a field of tall grass becomes an adventure.  A simple patch of nature is a laboratory, ripe with opportunities for discovery and imagination.  Not only were the children at The Burlington Little School perfectly happy with their patch of untended grass - they mourned the loss of it deeply.  It seems interesting that we keep demanding more funding in order to improve quality in Early Childhood Education - when the children find the most value in the natural world - which is free.

The Burlington Little School decided to make up for taking nature away from these children by working towards something very different from the concrete, slides and swings usually found in preschool playgrounds.  They started their fundraising all over again - this time with a vision of a beautiful outdoor classroom that revolved around nature.  Now their outdoor classroom is teeming with life - gardens, grassy knolls, a fish pond, and natural stone paths.  The excavation required a great deal of digging, and all of the extra dirt was piled into a corner of the playground to be used in future projects.  While the children love all areas of their outdoor classroom, their favorite activity by far is playing "king of the mud hill, especially after a rainy day."  (Sarah Bishop, 2010)

Works Cited

Sarah Bishop, M. V. (2010, November/ December). Our Path To An Outdoor Classroom. Wonder , pp. 1-2

Poverty in Serbia

I made contact with a kindergarten teacher in Belgrade, Serbia, named Zora Petrovich.   I asked her how poverty affects the lives and education of young children in her country.  She explained some of the recent history of Serbia and the devastating affects on families and children.

Formerly, Serbia was a part of communist Yugoslavia.  While the communist party was oppressive in many ways, all people had jobs, homes, food, and equal education opportunities for all children.  In the early 90's, the Bosnian war hit its peak, and the communist government was overthrown.  Yugoslavia was dismantled, and split into several independent countries - one of these being Serbia.  Serbia is now a democratic state.

Unfortunately, the loss of communism created a huge social gap between the rich and the poor, and an unprecedented problem with poverty.  The majority of the citizens of Serbia are extremely poor, and there are almost no social reform movements in place.  Additionally, many children were orphaned during the war, putting a great financial burden onto the state.

Many many children go hungry, work at a young age, are in orphanages or homeless, and do not have the means to a good education.  school is still publicly funded, but children must have a means of transportation that is not available to poor children in order to have access to school.

Disease and malnutrition are becoming huge problems for Serbian children - and there are currently no strong programs working towards relief.    While Serbia has a very old, traditional culture, they are a young country due to their former dependence on the Yugoslav government.  It may be a long time before they find a way to equalize opportunities and health for their children.

Learning about the plight of children in Serbia was very difficult for me emotionally, but it also made me thankful for the types of programs that are available for American children.  While we are far from perfection, we have much to be thankful for.

Professional Resources

World Forum Nature Action Collaborative for Children (NACC)
http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/nacc/index.php

Due to my personal love for and reverence for nature, and my concern for the effects that a lack of connection to nature could have on the lives of today's children, I was very excited to find the NACC website.  This project of the world Forum is in place to increase awareness of the need for nature activities for young children as well as provide resources and networking possibilities to people working with young children.  


The NACC pots out a bi-monthly newsletter entitled "WONDER" which addresses the  need for nature education in Early Childhood, highlights programs that are providing Nature Education, and gives ideas of ways to include Nature Education into the classroom. http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/nacc/wonder_newsletter.php

The NACC call to action:


"The Call To Action beckons families, educators, and community leaders worldwide to take action, to strengthen children's connection to nature - making developmentally appropriate nature education a sustaining and enriching, fully integrated part of the daily lives and education of the world's children."


The website explains that Nature deficit Disorder is affecting children around the world.  as children become more and more dependent upon electronic devices and games, they become less and less connected to the world around them.  This is a problem that crosses ethnic and cultural boundaries and affects us all.

Early Childhood Education Across the World

After reading the blog assignment for this week, I immediately started sending e-mails to all of the organizations listed by The Global Alliance of NAEYC.   Because my husband is Serbian, I was most interested in The Center for Interactive Pedagogy in Serbia.  However, I decided that the more messages I sent out, the better chance I had of establishing contact with somebody.  The following day, I excitedly checked my e-mail expecting to find messages from all over the world.  what I found was a lot of my messages returned marked undeliverable, and no responses at all.  


Well, I didn't give up there.  I had just gone to see the Justin Beiber movie and decided to "Never Say Never."  The innovative and successful thing Justin Beiber did that led to his unprecedented swift success was advertise himself through social networking.  Justin posted messages on twitter and grew a fan base at an exponential rate.  I decided to try to find people willing to communicate with me through facebook.





I searched facebook for international early childhood organizations.  I found several and joined their facebook pages.  On each I posted a wall message asking if there would be anyone interested in corresponding with me.  I then scrolled through the member lists, picked out people whose names and pictures looked interesting to me (since that was all of the information that there was available to me), and began sending messages via facebook to individuals around the world.  All together I probably sent about fifty messages, and I got two responses.  These two responses, however, had me so excited.


One response was from Kristín Dýrfjörð in Iceland and the other was from Bessie Rios in The Phillipines.  Both expressed their willingness to correspond with me about the Early Childhood field where they live.  I sent each a message of thanks, some information about myself and about my understanding of the assignment.


I was thinking about what an amazing form of communication computers and social networking really are.  On pages like facebook, you can send instant messages out to people across the planet who share similar interests to you.  It really does bring us all closer together.  So, thanks Justin for such a brilliant idea.


While I was searching for international contacts, I came across the World Forum Foundation: Nature Action Collaborative for Children (NACC) http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/nacc/index.php.  I quickly decided to join and become involved in this initiative.  If I were to choose one issue of importance to focus on throughout my career in Early Childhood Education it would be what has been termed "Nature Deficit disorder."  I spent my childhood outdoors, and I feel an enormous love for and connection to the natural world.  I have a strong belief that children are an integral part of nature and need to explore the outdoor world in order to develop normally.  I feel it is my personal mission to expose all of the children to nature as much as possible in order to lessen the adverse effects of growing up in the electronic age. 

"Children in today's world are being adversely affected by their diminishing connection with the natural world." (NACC)

"As a child, one has that magical capacity to move among the many eras of the earth; to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us; to know a hundred different smells of mud and listen unself- consciously to the soughing of the trees."  Valerie Andrews, A Passion for this Earth

support

This is slightly embarrassing because it will illustrate just how spoiled I am.  Anyway, my husband is a huge source of support in every way.  I leave a list of chores for him every morning, and he does those chores every day.  I leave him shopping lists, errands like picking up library books or going to the bank, house work like laundry, dishwashing, making dinner or making beds, or, basically, anything else that needs to get done.  He does these things happily and never complains.  Having these things done for me makes my life so much simpler and so much more pleasant.  If I had all of those responsibilities in addition to working full time and going to school, I would have very little time or patience for enjoying my family and relaxing myself.  The embarrassing part is that I sometimes forget to appreciate all of the things my husband does for me, and I tell him that he should be doing more.  He gives this support so selflessly and without fanfare that I don’t always look clearly at the huge contribution he makes to the harmony of our home and family life.

Life without this support would be difficult and stressful – but still possible after some restructuring.  Recently my husband travelled to his childhood home in Europe for ten days, and I realized how much of an impact all of the simple things he does has on my life and comfort level.  Even buying popcorn at the movies (usually I sit in the theater with the kids while he goes to the snack bar) was suddenly stressful.  Having to wait in line with young boys, order, and then navigate our way into the theater was practically overwhelming.  So, the thought of having to do all of the things that I generally pass on to someone else, and then adding a specific challenge, such as a physical disability like limits my mobility, such as paralysis, sounds impossible.  I wouldn’t then be able to get around by myself, go to the store myself, care for my children myself, and definitely not buy the popcorn at the theater.  I take the help I get now for granted, when I think of people who need help with even the simplest of tasks, I am very humbled.

All people need support from others.  All people need help at times.  The level of support needed is individual and may change over time.  I think it is important to allow every child or person to be as independent as they are able to be but also to support them as much as is needed as well.  An example is a second language learner.  When they first come into the classroom they will need a huge amount of patience, understanding and assistance.  Over time they will learn the classroom routine as well as how to communicate – and the amount of accommodation needed will lessen dramatically.

If you think about the word support – it is a structure that holds up or provides a foundation.  If the base is strong, everything else will be stable. 

Rollie Pollie Birthing Center

William Blake
"To see a world in a grain of sand, 
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, 
An eternity in an hour."


When I was a child, I spent hours playing outside, in my yard, in the forest, at the beach or by a stream.  I loved lying on my back in the grass looking at the sky, searching for wild strawberries and raspberries, and building castles out of sticks or sand.  I believed in fairies and made shelters and left food out for them.  I crawled through the unmowed grass of my neighbors yard imagining a whole world of tiny creatures living in this magical place.  I put bread crumbs on the ground and sat quietly, waiting for birds to come and eat.  Of all these memories, however, possibly the strongest is of my rollie pollie hospital.  


In front of my house there was a patch of tiny white day lillies.  On the ground of this patch were wooden nuggets.  Under these nuggets there was a large community of rollie pollies, and I spent my days caring for them.  I would search under the wood, finding hundreds of rollie pollies each day.  I would pick one up, amazed at how it would roll into a ball in my hand.  I found that if I sat holding the bug long enough, it would unroll and crawl across my hand and up my arm.  


The rollie pollies were all different sizes.  I found it easier to pick up the biggest ones without causing them any harm.  I noticed that sometimes when I held a rollie pollie in my fist, I would find that hundreds of tiny rollie pollies would then be crawling in my hand when I opened it.  I spent a lot of time, ten, looking carefully at the rollie pollies before holding them.  I discovered that the rollie pollies that have white bellies were the ones that had the babies.  That was the beginning of my rollie pollie hospital and birthing center.




The Audubon Nature Preschool
"Children are born naturalists. They explore the world with all of their senses, experiment in the environment, and communicate their discoveries to those around them."