Reflecting on Learning

 An explanation of my most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional and for the children and families with whom I will work is to never lose focus on the overall goal of an anti-bias early childhood educator and to be a voice for the voiceless to bring to light the issues of our economic class, gender disparities, racial, culture, and language and to openly discuss misinformation and negative messages that are interpreted. Finally, to build children's self esteem so they are proud of who they are,  their background, skin color, and family heritage. 

And to my colleagues, thank you for your continued support over the last 8 weeks. We are almost at the finish line!!!! Enjoy the holidays with your families and loved ones.

"This is an important journey. It's a journey that will entice you, frustrate you, compel you. It's filled with new things to learn and it goes on for a lifetime. No matter how much you know, there's always more to learn" (Laureate Education, 2011) 

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Your commitment to anti-bias work. Baltimore, MD: Author

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area of the world I chose was Latin America and Caribbean specific Dominican Republic. I have travelled to the Dominican Republic for vacation a few times and thought it would be interesting to learn more about this area since I have been there. 
Some of the challenges that children in this region of the world are confronting include:

•   COVID-19 PANDEMIC- causing children and families  to be without access to education, health care, housing, nutrition, sanitation or water  (UNICEF, 2020)

• low quality of care for mothers and newborns in public health facilities is reflected in a very high neonatal mortality (UNICEF, 2020)

• malnutrition  (UNICEF, 2020)

• physical and sexual abuse  (UNICEF, 2020)

• hurricanes and floods lead to health emergencies such as the cholera, AH1N1, dengue and Zika epidemics  (UNICEF, 2020)

• Violence in schools (UNICEF, 2020)

• access to preschool and secondary school (UNICEF, 2020) 
• low investment and not an inclusive environment 

These experiences might have an effect on children’s emotional wellbeing and development because of trauma and lack of nurturing love and support at home to help them development.

As I looked through website and different information that is available, it is very eye opening how fortunate I am to be raised in a home that was nurturing and loving that cared for me and provided me with proper nutrition, housing and education. 

The influences I have  as a person and as an early childhood professional is looking for ways to create a positive change locally and around the globe to give back and help young children be safe, grow and develop with proper care and nutrition. It was very upsetting to see that that the Dominican Republic does not support children with disabilities ( 21% of children between 6-11 years old) cannot read or write (UNICEF, 2020). Therefore, using my voice and being an advocate for those who do not have the resources is essential. 

Reference

https://www.unicef.org/dominicanrepublic/salud-y-supervivencia

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

  According to the ideas presented in the book excerpt, So sexy so soon, children are being bombarded with messages in the advertising and media industries linking physical beauty and sexual attractiveness with happiness which does not surprise me at all.

 I agree that children are being bombarded with messages that is linked to beauty and appearance at a very young age which makes me so sad and worry about what is to come. Many young children that are girls are wearing makeup and their caregivers are straightening their hair or curling it. My friends young daughter is wearing crop tops and has mentioned that she needs to have a certain type of body to wear bathing suits so she joined the running group that meets after school and runs together. It is so disheartening that children this young feel as though they need to look a certain way. When I was in elementary school I dressed as a "tom boy" and did not care about how I looked ( hair, makeup, clothes). I believe social media and technology have a lot to do with young children today and the negative messages they see and hear.

Therefore, it is essential as an educator to emphasize healthy development and talk about how pictures and the social media can display negative messages. 

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

This blog assignment gave me the opportunity to reflect on how experiences in my personal life may shape the interactions and relationships I have with the young children and families in my care. Therefore, situations that occur in our personal life, whether positive or negative, may influence the ways in which we participate and function in the workplace. These factors can impact the emotional, intellectual, and social development of the young children and families with whom we work. 

The consequences I might expect for the children and families with whom I work while I experience specific "–ism(s)" in my own life include classism, racism and ageism. We cannot let these isms define us and we need to be able to acknowledge and embrace our differences to build relationships in order to have a successful learning environment where everyone including staff, caregivers, family members and students feel welcomed, respected, and included! I included ageism because I feel like many times I have worked with caregivers and colleagues who judge me and look down at me because I look young and I am providing them with strategies and resources to support their child. It make me feel uncomfortable and it is very discouraging.