Impacts on Early Emotional Development

My goal is to learn various ways to work with families and their children. I would like to continue to try and instill a trusting relationship with families. “As families develop trust that you care about and believe in their child, they come to feel that they, too, “belong” in your early childhood program” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p.37).

I would like to thank my colleagues for their insightful ideas for this course. It has been a great pleasure working with you all and I hope to continue working with you all through our last course. Best of luck and continue to strive.

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Impacts on Early Emotional Development EDUC 6358: week 7

Region:

I chose to explore the area East Asia & Pacific. I chose this region because I know very little about this region expect that China takes education very serious.

Challenges: 

One challenge is the air pollution and birth defects in China. “There is no single cause for birth defects. The causes of birth defects are many, including:

• Inadequate nutrition, such as lack of folic acid and maternal obesity,
• Infectious diseases such as syphilis and rubella,
• Environmental factors,
• Genetic factors”

(Alonzo, 2013). 

If they are able to reduce the air pollution, they believe they can help reduce heart “congenital” defects that is associated with syphilis. 

In addition, another challenge is not actually knowing if there is a link to air pollution and birth defects.

Effect on Children’s wellbeing & development:

• Birth defects can effect a child’s development because of the lack of nutritions they are receiving. In addition, any infectious diseases that the baby catches either through the mother or after birth. The child’s development progress is slowed down because they are not receiving enough calcium, vitamins, protein to help “feed” the brain. Their bodies become weak.
• I believe that the air pollution can do harm to a mother and the unborn child because if the mother is not able to breathe, then less oxygen is available for the baby. Therefore, can cause brain damage either down the line or as the child is developing in the mother’s womb. 

Insights:

• As a early childhood educator, I have learned to try to understand families and any situations that they are experiencing. In this case, I would want to work with the parent to understand if there were any complications during the pregnancy. In addition, I would want to work with the parent in trying to help their child. How can I elevate some stress for the parents to know I am on their side

Reference

Alonzo, F. (2013). Air pollution and birth defects. VOA. UNICEF: Media Center. China. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.cn/en/index.phpm=content&c=index&a=show&catid=51&id=3731

The Sexualization of Early Childhood EDUC:6358 (week 6)

I find it extremely depression that in our society girls seem to want to be older than they are. In a result of that, they are wearing make-up and clothing that is inappropriate for their age making them look older. In addition, the media portrays girls to look and act a certain way. 

“A narrow definition of femininity and sexuality encourages girls to focus heavily on appearance and sex appeal. They learn at a very young age that their value is determined by how beautiful, thin,“hot,” and sexy they are. And boys, who get a very narrow definition of masculinity that promotes insensitivity and macho behavior, are taught to judge girls based on how close they come to an artificial, impossible, and shallow ideal.” (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009, p.2). 

This effects the child’s development because it devolves who we are and brings about a person who needs to fit into society. 

Reference

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice EDUC 6358: Week 5

“Children learn about who is important enough to be visible and valued from sources such as children’s books, videos and toys, and even their early childhood curriculum” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen Edwards, 2010, p.103). As we get older, we hold onto those impressions we have of others and sometimes in some cases, we take those to a more negative view point. This can affect your interactions with people, regardless of where you work. For instance, a man working in a unisex environment may feel as though women are not as good as men. He might feel as though woman are beneath him causing him to be very judgmental, sexist, unhappy in their environment, and ask differently towards them. This can happen between different cultures and races as well. 

As an early childhood educator, I believe it is important to not create various “isms” in the classroom. It can impede on the teacher’s viewpoint towards the students and their families. It can cause issues and conflicts to occur. It can make the teacher not want to help the child because of some stereotype that is stuck in their head. Regardless of what “ism” it may be, it can affect the person’s ability to feel a part of society. They feel as though they are being judged for who they are, what they wear, how they act, what they like etc. 

Reference 

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).