Final words for Diversity, Development, and Learning

One hope that I have in working with diverse young children and their families is that I can actually practically apply the knowledge that I learned here at Walden. I hope my work is successful and that it shows that I am a competent anti-bias educator even though I have only been in the field just a few years. I learn many things form the older people who have been working with children for 25 years plus and do not have a degree. They learn from me as well.

One goal I would like to set in the early childhood field is to have more male teachers. You see a good amount of male teachers in elementary, middle, junior high, and high school but not near as much in the early childhood field. In the seven preschools I have either interned, worked, observed, or been a part of there was one man teaching a two year old class. That is one change in diversity I would like to see as soon as possible. It would be such a great addition to any school!

Lastly, I appreciate all my fellow Walden Early Childhood students for their knowledge, guidance, and insights. I have really enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing everyone again! Thank you!

Foundation Blocks

I created this tower of blocks to demonstrate how children develop upon the foundations that are given to them. Each foundation sets the child up for their future foundations. The adults in their lives create these foundations for them. This is one reason I am so passionate about the work I do with young children. Until children can grow into mature people that are in control of their lives, they rely on us to give them what they need. I advocate for children to make sure they get the best foundations they can.

Children and their observations

                            Children notice way more than most adults realize. It is their way of learning about the world around them and it is our job to help them make sense of it. I am going to share an experience I had at the preschool where I work where a teacher could have helped a child to properly make sense of her world.
                            I was helping a teacher in the toddler classroom one day and they were playing in the sand table. One of the black children was wearing her full hair in pigtails. The pigtails were big and fluffy and unique for this young child. I overheard one of the white children noticing that her pigtails were big. She liked looking and playing with them. The teacher I was working with told the child not to say that out loud and that she should not be concerned with this girl's hair. I thought to myself, why doesn't the teacher just tell the white child how pretty this girl's pigtails are? Why does the teacher turn her comments into negative ones? There are several other way the teacher could have capitalized on this learning experience. The child surely caught on to her teachers way of thinking. I see this type of communication too often with teachers.