Reflecting on My Learnng

Passion matters in that it motivates and inspires the teachers. Passion is a motivational factor that affects teacher performance. It drives the teachers for a better student accomplishment. Passionate teachers create an effective learning environment and increase learning potential of students. Passion leads to creativity; therefore, passionate teachers have the ability to think and produce new notions in an easy way. One of my hopes is that all teachers become passionate teachers who are committed and dedicated to their schools and a good education achievement is an outcome of this commitment and dedication.  Now that we are at the end of this course. This course has allowed me to become an anti-bias teachers who provides an engaging and motivating classroom to all students.

Look back, I have learned very rich knowledge   between our classmates. Finally, I would like to thank all of you for the good ideas and inputs discussed in the class and the blog. I really have learned much from there as well. I have become more confident and goal-oriented. My organizational skills have improved greatly. I am looking forward to the rest of my college experience, and to the working world beyond.

When I Reflect About My Collegial, Professional Learning Community

In my opinion, one of my most valuable experiences at Walden University has been becoming a part of a collaborative group of learners and professionals. I have learned so much from my colleauges throughout my courses. Here are 3 that I feel have been vital in fostering my professional growth and development:

1. The online community has been incredibly valuable. When I first begin my studies at Walden, I was skeptical about an online community versus a typical classroom. What I have found is that folks are more thoughful in an online community and responses are well thought out and not so “off the cuff”.
2. Support! Each and every one of my colleauges and professors have been extremely supportive. If a clarifying question is asked, it is in a thoughtful, respectful way. Each assignment we complete takes a great deal of work, thought, time and passion, and my colleagues and professors understand the value in that.
3. I have gained a deeper understanding of he importance of professional collaboration. My interactions on the discussion boards and blogs have greatly influenced my interactions and collaboration in my career. I am more thoughful and understanding, and truly feel I have become a better listener.

My goal for utilizing this collegial, professional community as an early childhood advocate is to is to maintain contact with as many of the intelligent, diverse folks I have connected with throughout my studies at Walden. It has been through this community that I have gained such valuable insights, and have gained a great deal of compassion. I am certain that compassion will serve me well throughout my career in the early childhood field.

Impact on Early Emotional Development

In seeking more information about the various challenges that children in other countries are facing, I chose to look further into the countries in East Asia and the Pacific.  I chose this area because I wanted to become more aware of the various challenges that children in those countries experience and to see the ways in which UNICEF is working to help.

The children in this area are facing serious challenges to their health, which impacts their entire well being.  One such challenge is the lack of access to sanitary water due to the climate shift change.  Due to the type of environment found in this area, it is a struggle to provide water in enough amounts that is safe because of the flood prone lands (UNICEF, 2016).  This challenge impacts children because of the body's natural need for water, along with the impact of disease that a lack of proper sanitation can cause.  The largest killer for children under the age of five is diarrhea and pneumonia, both of which are impacted by the water supply (UNICEF, 2016).

Another challenge for children in this area are the recent cyclones that hit the area of Fiji in February.  This natural disaster causes great challenges for families and children, and can impact the overall development of a child.  They can lose their homes, their families, and their source of education for an undetermined length of time; the emotional and physical toll of this challenge can leave it's mark for many years to come (UNICEF, 2016).

Personally, I found myself drawn into the various press releases detailing the ways in which challenges are impacting these children daily.  It was difficult to read of the challenges, and my heart as a person-mother, daughter, educator-felt for the situations.  Finding more information about the ways in which UNICEF strides to help in various ways, it was intriguing to see the infrastructures that are in place for challenges that exist to children.  Seeking ways I can be an effective member to helping the challenges children in my own area face, it seems that they pale in comparison to the many challenges children face in other countries. 

References:

UNICEF. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/eapro/media_25286.html

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

There are many typed of ‘isms a educator or anyone can face in their everyday life. I would imagine that if I were to experience any of these -isms,  I would feel very hurt and self- conscious. Experiencing -isms is something that hurts the person and can shake up their world and life in an instant. It can be carried around like extra luggage and not go away for a while.
When I first came to Mississippi, I had experienced racism from a fellow teacher. They had never seen a person of color and immediately thought because I am darker skinned and I was a  African American. She began to treat me in a very negative way from accusing me of stealing, to judging me go around telling other that they should be cautious of me because I was “black”. She was always watching me and making me feel very uncomfortable in the workplace. Because of this experience, I realized that my behavior with the children began to change. Instead of being proud of who I was, I was constantly questioning myself and defending myself. I made it a point to tell the children I was not black. I was becoming very defensive when the children would ask about me and about where I came from. I began question myself and began to take my frustration out on the children and I was not as pleasant as I could have been.

This is just one experience. There are many other -isms that people face in a daily base. There can be many consequences  of dealing with these -isms and working with children and the families. For children, they may be able to notice that you are acting differently and becoming more easily agitated. While the educator is working, they may begin to treat certain children differently based on the -ism that was being thrown at them. Also, the educator would not be as focused on the child and situations that may arise may be overlooked because of distracting thoughts. Finally, children may feed off of the energy you give and begin to act out ” when a teacher acts out of unexamined internalized privilege or internalized oppression, that teacher runs the risk of of unintentionally undermining children’s development” (Derman- Sparks & Edwards, 2010, p.25).
When it comes to the families, I would anticipate me taking out my frustration on them. I feel this would happen especially if one of the families reminds me of the “person” or “situation” that made me experience this type of -ism. This is not something I would want to happen, but unintentionally it may happen. Another anticipation would be that I may say something out of anger or frustration that may hurt family or person. I know myself, and I do this when I am angry with my husband. When I am frustrated or angry, I do not really think before I speak. So, sometimes I say things that are hurtful because I am hurt. I know this is not right, but it does happen.

I think that educators are only human and we may one day be the victims of an -ism. I feel that it is important for us to learn ways to deal with this or have someone we can confide in to talk to. We as educators need to work on becoming comfortable with who we are and where we come from. This is no easy task. Everyday, we are surrounded by media and by what society deems as acceptable and not acceptable. Thinking about these feelings that I would have, makes me really think about the children and families who experience this everyday. It makes me realize that they find ways to cope and sometimes that is not easy. This is why we are here, to make that moment, that feeling, and that sadness, even if for only a moment, fade away. We wan to protect out families and have them realize that when they are around us, they are safe and their children are not going to be criticized or judged.

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).