Friday, December 20, 2013
What I have learned.........
I have many hopes when working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds. One hope is to help in creating an environment that contrasts the prevailing biased messages that they receive from others within the society they live in. My second hope is to teach young children in my classroom how to challenge biases about who they are by providing them with the appropriate skills. And lastly my hope is to instill in them that unjust things can be changed. I will encourage them to challenge biases, to take action on issues that are relevant to their lives.
One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice would be: For every educator to continue in working with children and their families to encourage them to believe in themselves. As professionals we should always keep an open heart to receive what they are trying to say to us. There should be no room for bias in our teaching and learning of every child. Always remember to treat all families and children with respect and dignity.
I would like to thank my instructor, Dr. Klein and all of my colleagues for a rewarding and challenging eight weeks. I have been privileged to having been exposed to a whole new avenue of knowledge and learning. It has been a great educational journey. Thank you all for your insights, thoughts, and feedback. I hope we have more learning adventures together. I would like to leave each of you with these words:
Remember, every great dream begins with a
dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the
strength, the patience, and the passion to reach
for the stars to change the world......
Harriet Tubman
Reference
Derman-Sparks, L.,Olsen-Edwards, J. (2010).Anti-Bias Education for
Young Children and Ourselves. National Association for the Education
of Young Children. (NAEYC). Washington, DC.
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Dear Linda,
ReplyDeleteGreat goals! Having an educator like you who is striving to make children believe in themselves and challenge biases will be a wonderful. Fostering pride in children's social identities and making them feel valued are things that will go a long way.
It was a pleasure having you in the class, I have learnt a lot from your discussion and blog posts.
Here's wishing you the very best!
Cheers!
Sonali
Good luck Linda!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your discussion and blog posts. This class has been a tremendous challenge for me and I have learned so much. I wish you well in your other class(es) and may we continue believing in our little ones and providing them great knowledge.
Happy Holidays!
Janet
Hi Linda,
ReplyDeleteI believe your hope for young children and their families will be appreciated. Teachers have to make sure to teach young children materials that will interest them. Children learn best when they enjoys the subject matter. Thanks for the insights!!
Ida,
Linda, I really enjoyed reading your post. I also enjoyed the quote you used by Harriet Tubman as teachers we need to internalize those words and share them with our own students because they need all the encouragement that they can get. Enjoy the holidays and be safe.
ReplyDeleteLinda,
ReplyDeleteI think that you have some wonderful goals, and I love that quote that you included from Harriet Tubman. I enjoyed reading your blog and discussion posts during this course. Good luck on your future classes and endeavors!
I love how you mention that you want to continue to teach children and families to believe in themselves. I think this is very strong and powerful! Children need to understand that not all things are bad and that a tough time will make them stronger. They need to believe in themselves in order to stand up to others that might attack them because of a bias. Thank you for making a great point. Good luck on your future course!
ReplyDelete