Defining culture and diversity from other perspectives (Ms. Jay)

I decided to discuss diversity and culture with three different people a co-worker, acquaintance, and husband. I will provide their definitions plus insights I gained from reflecting on their perspectives.

 The first person I spoke to is an acquaintance he is visiting my workplace as a military family life advocate consultant and the term we use is “M-Flac” their job is to council and listen to individuals of family members and children that may have difficulty with a parent being deployed or other life issues and concerns. Our “M-Flac” provides emotional and social support to these military families. J. Scott defined culture as a “collective psyche or essence of an area or a region, a neighborhood or a state” he shared with me a little bit of his background and his experience growing up in a school where he was under minded and profiled because of the place he grew up. Keeping in mind J. Scott was born in 1949 and the times of accepting different cultures were different from some views today, I learned his father earned a doctorate degree at a well-known Christian college and how his mother also graduated from college with a high grade point average. He explained frustrations of being placed in the lowest level of classes in grade school but proved to be one of the smartest students. His definition of diversity is an “interaction between two or more cultures and their representatives.  J. Scott shared with me within his high school years (growing up as a “white”) individual in southern Tennessee where a majority of his classmates pushed him away because he “talked different” and viewed “black” people as no different from him and the only people that welcomed him were “black people.” As J. Scott shared his experience with me I gained a little understanding of his identity and remain grateful for the present time of knowing some people living in the world stay open to differences in people.

            The second person I discussed diversity and culture with is a good friend and co-worker. T. Myles defined culture as “How each of us live and how we all come from different backgrounds.” She explained just because (she is African American) “me and you are different shades of black doesn’t mean we are both black and the same I know we grew up with different cultures and the way you were raised is different from the way I was raised” She defined diversity as “when you have two different races come together.” she continues to say that “diversity and culture definitions are almost alike”   Just yesterday our program celebrated “Diversity Day” and the children created a dance to this song. Each colored a flag from a different country, dressed up in the countries costumes and danced together to “Wavin Flag”

I don’t have video but their dance almost brought me to tears because like my friend said and we agreed “it’s nice to see children from different cultures come together as one”  Her definition encouraged me to understand that even though we may be different on the outside children still find time to dance, eat and play together.

Last but not least my husband. J. Cortez His definition of culture is when we look at “different races of people and how their daily lives are and how different cultures interact with each other” his example is that every culture is different “let’s say when it comes to food.” He mentions his favorite dinner dishes from the Filipino culture and compares it to say the American dinner. His definition of diversity includes how “people’s imagination is different and how they handle situations differently he explains people are independent and express themselves differently. From his definition I agree with his thoughts on how people express themselves and handle situations with different methods.

Some aspects of culture which I studied during this course are seeing past the “surface” of culture and often get to know people to completely understand and respect their views and perspectives. I think the one perspective within culture and diversity which has been set aside or talked about is looking at their culture and pulling out certain characteristics they want to celebrate more than other aspects.

I included a video from youtube of the song our children danced to. As I listen to the words I find diversity within children make sense. Enjoy!

A simulated Journey (Ms. Jay)

With any devastating event like a major flooding of the entire country happening in the area and resulted to traveling to a country different from my own and I could only take three things with me only related to my families culture I would take a family photo, a journal and the Holy Bible.  I feel that there are too many items within my home that represent my family's culture values and beliefs so I narrowed down the items to these three.

The first item on my list would be my family photo. In this particular picture even though it was taken years ago I remember it as the last family photo with my Mom Dad Sister and Brother. The picture is a snap shot of my culture and with it brings past memories. As I look at each person in the picture I can remember certain happy family events as well as traditions and struggles. I figure my memories are what I have to preserve my family culture; which brings me to the next item, a small to medium journal.  Even though I don’t know  where I’m going or what I’ll be doing hopefully I would have time to write down my thoughts and experiences in the journal. I want to almost guarantee with any culture reading and writing is an important skill to have. If in any occasion reading and writing is not allowed I probably wouldn’t survive or be in trouble all the time. The journal represents my family’s culture by writing down anything that pertains to my family (a history book) written full of my family tree, recipes I remember cooking writing down my own culture’s beliefs, values and traditions.

The last item on my list would be the holy bible. (New Living Translation) If anything I know there is one advice I remember my mom telling me with traveling or moving out of the house it was her saying something like “if any disaster happens to you or your house like a fire, and you can take only one thing with you make sure you grab your bible because faith and prayer in God will help you in times of need.” From her advice I understand that material possessions are a little easier to replace than my life. And from personal previous experiences I really only had faith and prayer to see me through rough times. This greatly relates to my beliefs and values in my way of life.

If upon arrival I could only take one item with me it would be my bible and to be honest (I would hide the wallet size family picture in the bible or within my change of clothes). I have faith that wherever I end up I would find a way to write down my experiences and create my own journal using different types of paper and a writing instrument. I know if I really couldn’t bring but one item it would be the Bible cause then all I would have are the memories. As a result of this exercise I feel a little more humbled and greatly appreciate the present things and events going on in my life.

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When I think of Research… (Ms. Jay)

Some insights I gained about early childhood research from taking this course is considering different research designs and understanding conducting research with children and families is different from any other scientific research. (Children and families are not perceived as objects in a study but respected first as individuals participating and contributing to the study.)

At first I envisioned early childhood research just scientifically. For instance I imagined professional researchers interested in studying children have medical backgrounds like (pediatricians and neuroscientists) I also thought child psychologists were always involved in early childhood research. I also envisioned each of these professionals setting up meetings to discuss ways of understanding children and their development. And to my understanding researchers come from diverse backgrounds of professionals interested in benefiting the lives of children. I was also unaware of a wide range of issues concerning research with participants and relationships. I was expecting subtle issues forming within the research process like understanding results and the initial intent of the surveys and interviews. The issues between researchers and power relations were more interesting as it changed my ideas about the nature of research. This idea helped me consider that leaders in researcher need to establish common ground or come to an agreement even before planning and adding other participants in the study.

I experienced difficulty with the very first part of planning early childhood research. Finding a topic of interest and breaking the general topic into subtopics is always troublesome for me because my mind always wonders and is vulnerable to accepting different ideas and various perspectives to benefitting children. I struggle with sticking to just one topic to research then modifying it to fit one research design. I just wanted to use a little bit of every research design because I liked several ideas that contribute to research like: gathering different kinds of data qualitative and quantitative from different researchers, conducting interviews and surveys with educators and considering observing children. This is still a great challenge for my thoughts on research in carefully choosing the right fit for my research simulation. I found myself forming more than one focus for my research simulation however; I appreciate the process of outlining the simulation so my thoughts are carefully collected and organized. I also accepted possibilities of research changing during the process which provides the opportunity to revise and rewrite parts of the outline. The challenges with revising and rewriting the research outline maybe time constraints. I found not only is it important to focus on the one subtopic but to also consider different aspects of each research design whether mixed method, qualitative and quantitative and the possible difficult encounters that come with the design. For example with mixed method design and triangulation the researcher has to think about each researcher working within the group study, participants, cultural backgrounds, parent consent as well as finding common ground working together within the study. Some major possibilities are terms of breaching confidentiality. In order to meet these challenges I learned not to lose focus on the purpose of the study and be flexible. As an early childhood professional I perceive early childhood research as a major contribution to the field. The amount of time and effort researchers take to find answers that benefit the lives of children is amazing. Personally, the work of a researcher is difficult and I developed a highest respect for leaders in the early childhood research profession.

            I want to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues as well as Dr. Davis in contributing to any of my work posted and discussed throughout the entire course. Thank you so much! Your comments as well as insights were/are greatly appreciated. Each comment enlightened my personal learning experience in different ways. I wish everyone luck on their professional journey!

Always

Jeanneth Warren-Cortez (Ms. Jay)

International Research (Ms. Jay)

The website I chose to explore is the European Early Childhood Education Research Association

http://www.eecera.org/  Researching for information sort of came to a halt as I’m not a current member and saw that to sign up is a yearly subscription with the cost of the subscription to be of course in Euro exchange My guess the amount is equivalent to $80 American dollars a year. I discovered some of the current international research topics were difficult to find as some of the current information was still “under construction” but I decided to look for information elsewhere including past conferences. I found some of the issues discussed within past conferences the 2011 theme discussed “Education from birth: research, practices and educational policy” (.eecera2011.org) and the 2010 conference discussed early childhood education and “voice of children” (.eecera2010.org) One new insight I discovered within this website is the partnership with the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education (kicce.re.kr) and their links to research projects. Their projects include research on improving policies for young children, standards and equipment for kindergarten programs as well as parenting concerns and funding. The major concerns for research and finding solutions for developing better futures for our children seem to be no different across nations. I’m excited that other countries are conducting research around the world to improve children and family’s way of life! I believe this is the ultimate goal for early childhood research. I also find it interesting the website is making efforts to connect with social web sites like Twitter and Facebook I believe this is a great way to share information between researchers across the world and informally discuss current events as well as research topics of interests. I believe researchers are developing a wide range of opportunities of building partnerships with other nations and with time I think new and improved discoveries will be mentioned.  

Reference Links

Conference 2011

http://www.eecera2011.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=4&lang=en

Conference 2010

http://www.eecera2010.org/theme-and-strands

Korea Institute of Child Care and Education

http://www.kicce.re.kr/eng/

Children, Allergies, Asthma

I decided to share a positive example of the effects of research on children and families. One real-life example of research which I believe benefits children is constantly finding ways to treat or support children with allergies and asthma. I began wonder about how this study began and decided to search for web resources on the subject. I came across some web resources I was unaware existed. One by the Allergy and Asthma Network for Mothers of Asthmatics http://www.aanma.org  I viewed the short video for the day called “Draw how you feel when you have an asthma attack” and the majority of the children describe what they drew and how they feel when they are better plus shared their experiences. I believe continued study on this benefits society in a big way. I think without research and constant study to treat asthma many lives including children would be lost.

The next few sites I came across lists different allergies http://www.acaai.org/allergist/Pages/default.aspx  and gives information on epipens http://www.epipen.com/about-epipen . I haven’t found the source of how epipens were discovered or research articles but I imagine the epipen to be a great discovery and benefits children and families with high cases of food allergies like nuts and shellfish. As a childcare provider I know this is an essential part to saving a child’s life in the event of having a severe reaction to a food allergy and needed immediate medical attention. The last website is The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology which provides articles and information on not just on allergies but asthma as well.

I believe continued research on both treating allergies and asthma are both real-life situations which impact the lives of many family members around the world. I think people with asthma or allergies are common. If I were to guess I would say everyone knows someone with an allergy or asthma condition. I think allergies evolve more rapidly as each generation develops so I appreciate each study and positive result to treat it.

Please take a minute to explore one site of interest.

Reference Links

http://www.aanma.org/?s=journal+articles

http://www.acaai.org/allergist/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.epipen.com/about-epipen

http://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(10)00657-3/abstract

Gifts and Talents

            Have you ever wondered about young children with special gifts or talents? Have you ever pondered ways to encourage their natural gifts individually as well as academically? Have you ever had an interesting conversation with a gifted and talented child or had opportunities to observe them? If you answered yes to any of the previous questions then our interest in gifted and talented children are similar. My topic of research involves gifted and talented children.  As I reflected on this general topic it was difficult for me to narrow down my focus into subtopics for gifted and talented children as I’m eager just to find out everything there is for these children. I believe their skills are important and should be nurtured. I want to research more about the assessment tools used to discover gifted and talented children and their process.  I noticed several factors like reading at a higher level or completing a complex mathematical equation in less than a minute may not always determine a child’s gifts or talents. I also want to find out about available educational opportunities or supportive programs for them and their families. I chose this topic because not only am I fascinated by young children and their creativity as they play and develop but I see gifted and talented children in a fascinating way also. I often wondered if their creativity developed because of early nurturing before birth for example playing classical music while the child still develops in the womb, playing simple games as an infant or introducing literature to a toddler.  

            I’m asking all of my colleagues to please contact me with any information, advice, or any experiences you would like to share with me that can be helpful as I begin my research journey throughout this course. Your opinions, comments, insights, experiences are greatly appreciated.

The International Early Childhood Field

            Throughout this course I had a great opportunity to converse with two international professionals and discuss major concerns about children, families, professionalism as well as personal teaching experiences within the field of early childhood education. Through my contacts I acquired helpful information which relates to their commitment and passion for the field. Along with their commitment and passion for the field I acquired at least three consequences learning about the international early childhood field and they are cultural differences, poverty plus budget issues and defining quality of education.

            As I spoke with N. Wright my international contact for the country of the Philippines she expressed the importance of teachers having “cultural competence” (N. Wright Personal communication 2012) Teachers need to “enhance their cultural competence”, in other words get to know your students personally as well as their family values, beliefs and cultural backgrounds. She discusses teaching with little discrimination and judgment as possible. I understand this method for professional and personal development because without cultural competence and knowledge about the students we teach even internationally the consequences which may arise are lack of building relationships with student’s children and families. This issue can trickle down to being an effective teacher.  

            My second consequence learning about the international early childhood field is the poverty plus budget issues within one of the country of Thailand. Talking with P. Wetzel about budgeting and lack of school supplies helped me realize the importance of utilizing resources for teaching in the classroom. P. Wetzel shared her personal experience as a first grade teacher teaching in Thailand. She talked about her students saving chop sticks to use as counting material, using rubber bands and tying them together to create a jump rope to play with and using left over newspaper to cut or tear to make puppets. From her experience I saw her method of not only recycling ever day materials that most students take for granted but utilizing everything around us as teaching tools. She emphasized how the schools she taught at was very poor and was surprised to see that when she traveled to the United States years ago how most child development centers or preschools had little to no problem using pasta, rice or beans for craft projects. I began to understand the importance of children and families in other countries living in poverty with not enough of the essential foods like pasta, rice, and beans that can feed many children and their families. I couldn’t help to realize how policy changes in early childhood programs with using food as craft materials really impacts lives even teachers.

            Lastly quality in education internationally is slightly different than the United States. From other blog readings and international education websites I determined some countries have children in school for longer hours, are involved more within their community and need several support systems to ensure young children have their basic needs met first.  This information contributes to my professional and personal development because learning about cultural differences and education priorities builds my knowledge as well as opens up my awareness to accepting differences in teaching methods.

            One international early childhood education goal I would hope to see in the near future is building solid relationships with other international educational professionals. I trust the more communication is made with other professionals the more shared information and knowledge is learned between groups. Through communication educators can form better alliances that contribute to better futures for our children.

            I would like to take a moment to thank my colleagues that contributed to my understanding of issues and concerns within the field of early childhood education. As I continue my quest in early childhood studies I hope my colleagues continue to stay passionate about the field and continue to work hard in building and investing in ways to make better lives for our nation. I have enjoyed this course.