Awareness of Microaggressions

A personal experience with microaggression I encounter happened between a co-worker and me. During a heated discussion about balancing work, family and school, this co-worker said to me "I did not go to college right out of high school like you did. I have to work and raise a family!" She assumed because I went to an expensive and traditional college that I completed high school and went straight to college.  I assured her that I knew the stress that is associated with completing college, raising a family and working. I was a nontraditional student while studying my undergraduate degree. I was married, had two children and worked part-time. 

After this discussion, I experienced several emotions. I felt as though I must carry myself in a way that made this co-worker think I was a traditional undergraduate student. Then I felt she only thinks that because I am white and that is the stereotype that her culture associated with young white woman who finished college.

I feel I am a very cooperative, respectful, and understanding person. I believe everyone deserve the same treatment. I respect all culture and in fact, I like to learn about other cultures. I think knowledge is power, so why would this person think this and pigeon whole me. I am not saying she is a bad person. I think I felt that way because I did not understand.

Looking back on this incident, I can how she might associate Caucasian woman and college. I think this is what she was told, what she experienced, and what her perception of young Caucasian women.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I talked with my mother, my husband and a family service worker that works with families at our head start center.

My husband's answer to the question what is your definition of culture is, family culture is like a family's heritage. I asked him what his definition of heritage is and he said it a person background and where a person comes from and where they grow up. I asked him if that incorporates beliefs and he said no that is for religion. His response to the question of diversity was diversity equals differences. 

My mother response to the question of culture was that culture represents someone's background and traditions. She described diversity as someone's ethnicity or outward appearances.  

  

When I ask the family service worker, she describes culture as a family's traditions, beliefs, customs, and can even involve a family's home language. She described diversity as the differences and variety among all families here (US) and around the world.

After evaluating all the answers from the people I asked, I do not think they are wrong. I think they are on the same page and have the same idea they just explain their definition of what thought culture is.

According to our book, culture refers to the way we live, what we eat, our traditions, and religious beliefs. Culture also refers to the way we raise our children (Derman-Sparks & Edwards 2010).

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

My Family Culture

In the event of evacuation, the three things I would take that I hold dear and represent my culture include my huge photo album, my mother's engagement ring, and my father's burial flag. I decided on the photo album because it holds MANY pictures of my family and family's traditions. This album holds many family memories and depicts our family's culture. I decided on my mother's engagement ring because it represents a love that lasted 30 years before my father's death in 2004. Not all cultures wear engagement rings and feel the ring is an example of a western culture. Lastly I decided on my father's burial flag because not only is it VERY dear to me but it represents how our culture shows respect for Veterans who served in our country. In addition, if someone would try to take any of these items I would be completely devastated and sad because these items mean so much to me.

I think I have decided on something of my mother's and something of my father's because they are whom I identify with. When my father passed away our family felt lost for some time because he was such a huge part of our family structure. He brought faith, strength and wisdom. My mother is responsible for many of my beliefs and morals because she is the one who taught them to me.

When I Think of Research...

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

I have learned to form a research question and set up a research plane as if I were the researcher. I discovered that there are standards in place to protect the participants and researcher.

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

My attitude towards conducting research has changed by relieving some anxiety towards research because I have learned how to evaluate resources I find. I also learned how researchers conduct their research and the hard work and time the put in.

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

I learned that you have to make a plan, perform prerequisite  research, decide on participants, collect gather and analyze data. Researcher also need to receive parental consent before conducting any research.

  

Research Around the World ~Australia

I chose to explore Early Childhood Australia website which is consider the Australian equivalent to the U.S. based NAEYC. I chose this website because of their mission statement which reads, “Early Childhood Australia will advocate to ensure quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to eight years”.

Some current research international research topics that were highlighted on this website are: school readiness, babies and toddlers sleeping, child health and childhood obesity, early years learning framework, children’s cultural and heritage, and building family partnership.

This website was easy to navigate and had current and relevant ECE topics.  One topic I found surprising is Australia takes in refugee children and have established Principles, Goals, and recommendations for the country in order to support the refugee children.  Early Childhood Australia conclusion, “In order to achieve successful outcomes for children it is necessary to secure the cooperation of all departments and agencies involved in the support of children and their families. In relation to refugee children and children of asylum seekers, solutions need to be put in place that are appropriate to their immediate and long-term developmental needs. Early Childhood Australia is unequivocal in its call that these solutions do not include the incarceration of children, or their separation from their families”.

This organization is advocates for young children and their education. They have an establish set of code of ethics, philosophy, and values that involves a vision of how young children need to be treated.

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

I have recently read an article called South African study highlights importance of research involving children the talks about a clinical trial entailing a group infants that have been diagnosed with HIV. After receiving informed consent form their mothers the infants were place on a drug called early antiretroviral (ARV).

The article explains, “Initial results from the Children with HIV Early Antiretroviral Therapy (CHER) study found a significant increase in survival among infants who received immediate ARV treatment. The trial started in July 2005 and is designed to continue through 201” (Keeton 2011). Furthermore, after a  “routine review by the trial’s data and safety monitoring board in June this year, found that of the 377 babies enrolled, 96% were alive in the early treatment group compared to 84% in the delayed treatment group. The results were so striking that the board recommended that no additional infants be placed in the delayed treatment group and all babies be evaluated for initiation of ARV treatment” (Keeton 2011).

The mother of this child, Zama, said: “I did it for the sake of my child after she tested [HIV] positive. I gave informed consent when she was six weeks old. She has had no complications on treatment and is doing fine.” (Keeton 2011).

Finally, “The World Health Organization (WHO) recently finalized the first list of essential medicines for children, which will be released in November. Dr Sue Hill, WHO’s technical expert on the list, said the limited availability of appropriate children’s medicines contributes to childhood mortality” (Keeton 2011).

This article is an example of a positive example of the effects of research on children and/or families. The benefits outweighed the risks to the child.

Keeton, Claire ()2011). World Health Organization. South African study highlights importance of research involving children. Bull World Health Organ. 2007 October; 85(10): 738–740. doi:  10.2471/BLT.07.021007 Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2636499/

Personal Research Journey

This class has helped me look a research criterion in different ways. I remember some of this information from undergraduate school, but this is the most recent information. Especially for electronic sources, this information is food know when taking an online class.  

When asked in the discussion assignment to t5hink about a topic that I want to learn more about, I knew instantly what the topic would be. The topic I would like to learn more about brain research and development. This topic has peaked my interest for some time. Brain development research has recently played an important part in the early childhood education field.

The reason I chose brain research is because I support a classroom rich in literacy, creative arts, and children work being displayed all over the classroom. I support these things because in supports brain development. The more neurons that are connected in a young child’s brain, the more successful the child is in school and life. For these reason I choose the topic of brain development and ways to support it in the classroom.

The subtopics I want to learn about include how play-based learning supports brain development in the classroom, how creative arts supports brain development among children, and ways to articulate the importance of play-based learning and how it affects brain development to parents.

A few quality resources on brain development include:

Starting Smart How Early Experiences Affect Brain Development retrieved from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/startingsmart.pdf?docID=2422

Children and Brain Development: What We Know About How Children Learn retrieved from http://umaine.edu/publications/4356e/

Why play-based learning? Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/every_child_magazine/every_child_index/why_play-based_learning.html