Practiciing Awareness of Microaggressions

I was on the lookout for situations that involved microaggressions this week, but since I didn’t get out of the house much I was unable to view any type of situation. I decided to inform you all about an incident that occurred at the end of this past school year. My principal came in to observe my teaching methods and techniques. After the observation, I stopped in his office to discuss what he saw. The discussion went well. He praised my teaching ability and stated that I was a role model for African American students in the school because I “made it” in becoming a teacher. I know he meant this as a compliment, but as he elaborated I got the feeling that he was assuming that I went through the “typical” struggles in life as an African American female. I left his office wondering what it was in life that I had to overcome to succeed in being an educator. I graduated 7^th in my high school and received my bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. Even though my parents divorced when I was 1, both parents were still majorly involved in my life and I didn’t have to go without the necessities in life in order to survive. So, what was it in my life where I “overcame the odds”?

This was a perfect example of microinvalidations (Laureate Education, 2011). He didn’t intentionally try to hurt my feelings, but the discussion took place in such a way that I left wondering if I was over thinking the situation. Because of this, I didn’t want to say anything. Plus, I knew he didn’t mean any harm. The effects of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes can be everlasting. I will always remember this situation, but will never truly know what was meant by his words unless I ask him.

 Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Webcast].
Baltimore, MD: Author.

Perspectives on Diversity and Cultures

I asked my friends, colleagues, and family members what their definitions are of culture and diversity. Throughout this course, I have learned that culture is how people live in a society and what they believe in. This is a term that covers too many aspects to cover. It involves the way people talk, react to situations, different religions, their type of style, etc. Diversity involves the differences between people. When I asked others what culture means, all three of them responded with a definition similar to the ones studied throughout this course. They said it involves how people live, how they are raised, how they act, and how they communicate with others. When questioned about diversity, their answers differed more. They responded with definitions such as a mixture of cultures, differences within cultures, and overcoming things in life. Their meanings about culture were pretty much spot on, but their meanings of diversity weren’t as clear. However, they did link both culture and diversity together. Learning other people’s definitions of these two terms made me realize that more people know about these terms than I expected. So in other words, within every culture is diversity and diversity involves cultures within the world.

My Family Culture

Trying to figure out what three items I would take with me to another country was a rather difficult decision. I guess the three items would be my photo album, my cell phone, and my laptop. These three things are very meaningful to me because they contain my life stories and evidence of my work throughout my life. My photo album has many pictures in it, stemming back to my childhood and before I was born. My cell phone has many more pictures, mainly of my friends, and videos of my everyday life and the ones I cherish most in life. Finally, I’d take my laptop because it has almost too much information on it. It has coursework from my undergraduate and graduate years, lesson plans, pictures, journals, interactive activities, and much more! If, upon arrival to this other country, they told me that I could only keep one of these three items, I would choose my photo album but would feel devastated. I would feel like a part of me was being left behind. However, my album is the only evidence that I have of my past family members. It contains memories that even I can’t recall or recreate.

In completing this blog, I realized how much technology is important to me, not just for the convenience, but for the storage of memories and work. However, when it comes down to it, technology can’t take the place of my experiences and culture.

When I Think of Research......

I have gained so many insights through this course about research studies that I don’t even know where to begin.  I now have the knowledge on how to conduct research in a legal way. The step by step process has been very informing. I didn’t know the different kinds of research, such as quantitative and qualitative. I also learned many tips about conducting interviews with children and families and what to look for in valid resources for research. It is also important to keep children and families informed about the research studies before and throughout the entire process.

Because of this course, my ideas about the nature of research have changed a great deal. I hadn’t the slightest clue on how to conduct research. I have read studies in the past and have always wondered how the process played out in obtaining the results that I read. Research can be a tedious process, but knowing what you are doing beforehand helps out a lot. It is very important to always have a plan. This plan should be completely thought through, from the beginning to the end.  Everyone will come to bumps in the road because of unexpected events, but planning and not assuming too much will help.

From my experience, the more I got into my research simulation, the more I learned about what would work best and what it was exactly that I was trying to discover. The deeper into my research, the more I understood and tweaked it a little. I would say that was my biggest challenge. Creating a detailed research question and sticking with this question is beneficial. I didn’t fully understand what my research question was investigating until a few weeks after the research process.

Being an early childhood professional goes beyond just teaching. Doing research and communicating with others inside and outside of the classroom is an important characteristic. Because of this, investigation is important. Planning my research simulation entailed a lot of work and contemplation. I can imagine that actually following through to complete the research study would be a long process so one must stay focused and have a lot of patience.

I want to thank all of my colleagues for your assistance throughout this course. All of your feedbacks, thoughts, and suggestions were extremely helpful. I have never experienced a course like this. I have learned a lot from the content and all of your shared experiences. I wish you all the best on your future studies and goals in life!

Research Around the World

The website I decided to investigate over the past week is European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) (http://www.eecera.org/). It had a lot of information in many articles. Some of their research articles I wasn’t permitted to view (most recent studies), so I sort of just skimmed the titles and read the summaries for each article.  Some of the many research topics covered on this website were computer use, playing and learning in another language, teachers using “inviting” language in the classroom, changes in play, challenges for participatory research, language competence, behavioral training, and the list goes on. The one particular research article that caught my attention is Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood. I looked further into this article because in the course reading Doing Early Childhood Research it also discussed the challenges of working with children.  The study revolved around these three research questions:

Ø  Does using ‘participatory’ tools (such as cameras) necessarily engage children?

Ø  Does the adult research agenda inevitably change children’s experiences?

Ø  How does participatory research empower children?

Tools can distract children just like adults can. Adult researchers that enter the classroom are seen as adults and not other children, therefore affecting their behavior. It amused me by stating the idea that children could become research assistants and informants. Access to these participatory tools does affect children’s experiences. Because children can see cameras set up in their classroom, some children to act differently. Research does seem to empower children. It gives them a sense of having control of their classroom and the observer that in it.

References

http://www.eecera.org/

MacNaughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2^nd ed). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Waller, T. & Bitou, A. (2011). Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19(1), 5-20.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

When imagining what I would complete research on that would make a major contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families it was a pretty easy decision on what topic it would cover. Autism is a disorder that affects developmental and social skills in children. The first signs of autism usually are noticed in the first few years of life. Many studies have been conducted on autism to try to find the cause of it, but that remains to be determined. The spectrum of autism disorders have become wider and wider so it has become more and more common. In the 3 years that I have been an educator, there has been at least one child per grade level with some form of autism in class sizes of around 70-80 students. The major contributions that I would love for it to result in are finding the cause of autism and in return determining a cure for the disorder. Earlier detection and treatment of this disorder benefits children in the long run. So, noticing the early signs of it such as unusually strong tantrums, sensitivity to certain sounds and lights, little verbal communication, or withdrawing from physical contact with others is extremely important.

Resources

PubMed Health. (2010). Autism. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose for the simulation is how much stressors in a child’s life can affect his or her academic achievement. I want to research this topic more because I know that many children in my classroom experience stressors every day. Some stressors are more severe than others. I haven’t researched this topic to my full extent yet, however I plan on doing so. I feel that if I can’t find enough information, that it would be a sign to change my topic of interest. Unfortunately, I have no experience in this simulation process, so I am worried that my topic is either too vague or not very specific. For those of you who have experience in this area, do you think the topic I have chosen will be sufficient enough? Please explain why or why not. Any feedback and insights will be extremely helpful!