Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Oh, the irony of this assignment. While I did not witness any of my co-workers deliver a microaggression, I was the guilty one. That's right, it was me! This past Monday morning when I arrived at work, I was greeted by the children in my room with lots of hugs. One child (a little Caucasian girl) was dressed in cowgirl boots, and her hair had been combed into two pony tails, split down the middle. While I did not mean any harm, the first thing I said out of my mouth with a southern slur, was Yehaw!  I guess we will have to do line dancing this morning. As Dr. Wing Sue (Laureate Education Inc., 2011) stated, often times, microaggressions are not intentional, but contain hidden messages that can cause the recipient of the microaggression discomfort and or harm. From this statement, it was evident that I had developed stereotypes and biases about southern whites. My hidden message was any white person dressed in Western attire uses undignified speech and likes to Line dance. Fortunately this was a child who was oblivious to what I said, but now that I think about it, the Caucasian teacher in the room that speaks with a southern accent could have been offended by my comment. But thanks to this class, I was aware of what I had did, and verbally apologized to and corrected myself in front of the teacher.

The time when I was the recipient of a microaggression, was when I lived in Fort Worth, TX in 2004, but  I attended church in Dallas. After church one Sunday, I and my grandson (2 years old at the time) went to a Denny's restaurant. Dining there also, was a Caucasian police officer. My grandson was moving around a lot like any typical toddler, and I was getting him to sit down. When the police officer walked past our table  to leave, he turned and looked at my grandson and said, I'll see you in a few years! This was truly a racial microaggression, an intentional microinsult. This comment made me feel angry, offended, and degraded because I knew that he was implying that African American boys grow up to be criminals that need to be behind bars. This was a perfect example of racial bias and white supremacy. I can only imagine all of the racial profiling this police officer probably engaged in.

 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). “Microaggressions in Everyday Life”

Baltimore, MD: Author.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

For this assignment I spoke with several co-workers during my lunch break in the staff lounge. All of them had cultural backgrounds very different from mine. For starters, the first co-worker, Lucy Sovereign was a Caucasian woman from Alabama in her early fifties, the second co-worker named Yukari Moriyama (AKA) Yuki , was a young Japanese woman in her early twenties and the third co-worker, Helene Quasi was a Kurdish woman and practicing Muslim in her mid twenties, all of which I classify as close acquaintances. 

Ways in which we differ mostly is by race and age. I was the only African American and the oldest in the group. My co-workers and I differed in our religious beliefs/ practices. I say practices because Lucy and Yuki were Christians like me, however our denominations were diverse. Like me, Lucy and Helene have children, but Yuki does not. Like me, Yuki is single but I am single due to divorce and I was the only grandmother in the group. All of us were formally educated in Early Childhood education or a related field but as a teacher/ Preschool Educational Coordinator, my job position differed from their teacher positions. The list of differences and similarities could go on and on, but for the sake of completing this assignment, I must move on.

(Lucy Sovereign, personal communication, January 17, 2012) defined culture as the way people live, the food they eat, how they dress, and their values. This definition supports what I have learned in this course as Derman & Edwards, (2010) state that culture is how groups of people live their lives; it is everything we do (i.e.,) how we decorate our homes, dress, celebrate life events, raise our children, practice religion, etc. 

(Lucy Sovereign, personal communication, January 17, 2012) defined diversity as the differences in things that make us different, individually and or corporately. This definition is very much aligned with the Family Systems Theory presented by Garrison, L. G. (2006). Operating within each family are six systems, boundaries, roles, climate, hierarchy, rules, and equilibrium. Although all families engage these systems in their everyday lives, within each family are varying degrees to which each one of these systems are carried out, making each family unique.

(Yukari Moriyama, personal communication, January 17, 2012) defined culture as a melting pot, an overflow of different traditions, a way of life, all melting together, so we can learn from each other. Yuki also stated that diversity is the original and unique way in which people live their lives. Yuki’s definition reminded me of the comment Julie Benavides made in the course video that although there are ethnic groups in a community, within those groups exists variations of adherence to their cultural group. This is how diversity differs from culture. (Laureate Education, Inc. 2011).  

(Helene Quasi, personal communication, January 17, 2012) said that she believed that culture and diversity encompasses people from all over the world having different religions. Helene’s definition was somewhat limited as I have learned from this course that culture and diversity is everything we do. In the video, Laureate Education, Inc. (2011) Nadiyah Taylor states that culture is very broad encompassing all our mannerisms, how we posture our bodies, how we perceive the world, and the way we live in the world. 

In response to ways in which thinking about other peoples definitions of culture and diversity have influenced my own thinking about these topics, is that our individual thoughts about culture and diversity is very limited, but by sharing our thoughts and pooling them together, we are able to develop a greater awareness of how vast and broad culture is.

References

Christian, L. G. (2006). Understanding families: Applying family systems theory to early childhood practice. Young Children, 61(1), 12–20. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the ProQuest Central database: http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pqdweb?did=1042679491&sid=1&Fmt=4&clientId=70192&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Perspectives on Diversity and Equity:
Family Cultures: Dynamic Interactions. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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

Lucy Sovereign, personal communication, January 17, 2012

Yukari Moriyama, personal communication, January 17, 2012

Helene Quasi, personal communication, January 17, 2012

My Family Culture

If I were uprooted from my home country and could only choose three small items to take with me, I would take my iPad, my driver’s license, and my birth certificate.

My iPad is a multitasking communication apparatus that connects me to the world via Wi-Fi, Verizon and or AT&T connections. The importance of this tool means that I would be able to access information about the country/ city I am in, including translating the language(s) so that I could learn how to speak the language of the country, learning about the currency in the country, employment opportunities, and hopefully a church home. Also for entertainment, I would be able to access television, games, and stay current with the evacuation status in the U.S. Another feature on my iPad that would help me adjust to my new home would be its navigation system. This feature would provide me with directions to specific locations such as schools, churches, and other business establishments especially for seeking employment.

At first the second item I chose was my Visa credit card, but I figured that if I had to evacuate my country and potentially never return, the banking system would not be accessible. So the second item I would take would be my driver’s license. I would explain to others that this piece of plastic with my photo, date of birth and physical address is important for proving my identity. I am sure this will come in handy for receiving aid, gaining employment and so forth.

The third item I would take would be my birth certificate which documents the date, time and place of my birth as well as who my parents are.  The significance of this piece of paper would affirm that my driver’s license is authentic. Also if I were to return to the United States, I would need these documents to reestablish myself.

Wow! Being told that I can only take one of the three is very difficult. With not knowing if the iPad would have a connection, and because my birth certificate would not have my photo, by process of elimination, I would take my driver’s license because this would prove that I am who I say I am. Being in another country I would think that if I had nothing else, I would at least have something to identify myself.

Although this exercise was kind of fun, limiting myself to taking only three small things with me was more difficult than choosing just one out of the three. Using the process of elimination made this task easier. Also so there where so many “what ifs” that ran through my mind. I wanted to take my college degree to increase my chances of getting a decent job. But  I thought what if the employers need an original college transcript? So I figured within time, as long as I could prove who I was, I could eventually have my transcript mailed if necessary. Then I thought what if I end up in a place where my iPad could not get a connection! What anxiety!

This exercise says a lot about my culture, that I am use to living life with the aid of many systems, and things where as some cultures live the simple life without amenities. And all I know, is that this would take a lot of getting use to. I am sure I would experience symptoms of withdrawal! But, since this exercise is about my culture, I have to mention that I am sure that my personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ would get me through this transition. I firmly believe that my  footsteps  are ordered by God and that all things work together for my good. With all of that said, God would provide everything I needed even if I ended up living in a hut! Smile

Cheryl Byrd

When I Think of Research

Dear colleagues, all I can say is that this class was truly a challenge for me. But despite the challenges, I have learned a lot.

The insights I have gained about research from taking this course is that research is necessary and is responsible for the many policies and procedures that are in place in the early childhood field. Also when research is executed fairly and justly all parties involved benefit. I now understand that research design (quantitative and or qualitative) is determined by the purpose of the research i.e., to measure phenomenon or to understand it. Another insight I have gained is that although I have always understood how important it is to ask open ended questions during the interview process, I never viewed the researcher as someone having power (McNaughton, Rolfe, and Siraj-Blatchford 2010). However, if research is going to credible and if participants are going to be represented fairly and justly, that power must be redefined and shared with the participants (McNaughton, Rolfe, and Siraj-Blatchford 2010).
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There is so much more that I could write about, but I will move on to the next question.   In what ways have my ideas about the nature of research changed?   My ideas about the nature of research has changed tremendously, because now I realize that there is a lot of forethought and planning that goes into research. I realize that the credibility of research is dependent upon many things, including the researcher’s epistemology (belief system of what is considered to be truth) the methods of data collecting and triangulation methods.

The lesson I learned about planning, designing and conducting research in early childhood is that studies show that research does not have to be on a massive scale, but can be small. I also learned that children as participants in a study are credible, providing the techniques used are age appropriate (McNaughton, Rolfe, and Siraj-Blatchford 2010).  

Some of the challenges I encountered was grasping the wording in the text book. I seemed to have struggled with the sentence structure in the text. Other challenges related to understanding research, included understanding the differences between quantitative and qualitative research designs. I also found putting the definitions into my own words challenging at times. Ways that I met these challenges is that I read the text over and over and sometimes read it out loud. Sometimes I would step away from the text and revisit it at another time. 

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course? Some of the ways my perception of the early childhood profession has changed since taking this class, is that the early childhood field needs research in order to make improvements.  In closing I want to say thanks to all of the encouraging comments you made during our discussions. Some of you made this class sound so easy when I found it to be quite challenging. I wish you all the happiest of Holidays.  

Cheryl Byrd


 References
 

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010) Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory & practice. (2^nd ed.) New York, NY: Open University Press McGraw Hill

Research Around the World

Some of the latest international research topics I discovered while exploring the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) website were as follows;

Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood (Waller, T & Bitou, A. 2011),  Children’s cortisol patterns and the quality of the early learning environment (Sajaniemi, N., Suhonen, E., et al. 2011), and Introducing children’s perspectives and participation in research (Harcourt, D., & Einarsdotter, J. 2011). 

From the first research topic, I discovered that researchers are using stories as participatory tools to elicit children’s perspectives in research for the purpose of pedagogy. But other research has revealed that relying on participatory tools (things and activities for the children to explore and do) have underlying issues that could be problematic, namely, adults imposing their interpretation of the children’s responses to the participatory tools, the absence of grounding the research in the children’s culture and restricted adult child interactions due to the emphasis placed on the participatory tools being used (Waller, T. & Bitou, A. 2011). What I learned from this sturdy is that what may seem like a good ideal, may turn out not to be so good after all. 

The second research topic about the correlation between the patterns of cortisol in three – five year old children and the quality of the early learning environment (Sajaniemi, N., Suhonen E., et al. 2011) was very interesting to me because of my personal experience with observing children in the classroom. I have witnessed first hand children holding their hands over their ears and saying it’s too loud. The research from this study showed that cortisol levels in young children were highest within the first thirty minutes of waking up and subsided in the evening. Children were also found to have higher cortisol levels while at school than at home (Sajaniemi, N., Suhonen E., et al. 2011). I agree that a classroom of 15- 18 three year olds can be too much for some children. Moving forward, now that my awareness of this matter has been heightened,  I will be implementing some new cues to help the children tone down their voices and provide more sensory activities to bring calmness in the room. 

The third research topic - Introducing children’s perspectives and participation in research (Harcourt, D., & Einarsdotter, J. 2011) reinforced the concept that utilizing children’s input in research has a lot to offer and that children are competent enough to communicate their views. Also worthy of mentioning, I discovered that this research was developed by a Special Interest Group (SIG). The EECERA organization encourages other early childhood professionals to present topics of interests for the purpose of conducting research. The proposed topic undergoes the process of starting out as a topic, being refined and then developed into a hypothesis. The EECERA will accept or reject a proposed hypothesis depending on the value it may contribute to the early childhood field. My personal view about the encouragement of SIG is that it allows for knowledge in the early childhood field to expand as well as provide upcoming researchers to gain experience.

As the early childhood field continues to evolve, ongoing research has much to contribute especially now that we know that children are well capable of communicating their views as participants in research.  

References

Waller, T. & Bitou, A. (2011) Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 19 (1) 5 – 20. Retrieved form: http://www.eecera.org/

Sajaniemi, N., Suhonen, E., Kontu, E., Rantanen, P., Lindholm, H., Hyttinen, S., & Hirvonen, A. (2011): Children’s cortisol patterns and the quality of the early learning environment, European Early Childhood Research Journal 19 (1) 45-62. Retrieved from http://www.eecera.org/

 

Harcourt, D. & Einarsdotter, J. (2011) Introducing children’s perspectives and participation in research European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 19 (3) 301 – 307. Retrieved form: http://www.eecera.org/

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

Thanks to cancer research, Connor Dykes three years old is the survivor of Multiforme Congenital Glioblastoma. The nightmare began when Connor was an infant, just six weeks old.  Connor’s mom (Mindy Dykes) went out to spend time with a friend while dad (David Dykes) stayed home to hang out with the children. Connor had a bad case of acid reflux and threw up on several occasions. Dad held Connor to comfort him and found that Connor became more agitated when the lights were on. When mom came home and turned on the lights, they discovered that the left side of Connor’s head had swollen badly. Immediately they rushed Connor to the nearest hospital only to be transferred by ambulance to the University of Minnesota’s Children’s hospital. Immediately Connor received a CT scan and it was discovered that he had a brain tumor the size of an adult’s fist. The doctor’s recommended surgery. Although the surgery was risky, Mindy consented to the surgery. Four and a half hours later, Connor was stabilized and opened his eyes. But unfortunately Connor was not out of the clear as three days later Connor was diagnosed with stage IV of Multiforme Congenital Glioblastoma.

Fortunately Connor’s future looked bright, as most children with this disease die during childbirth. Dr. Moertel and other specialists informed Connor’s parents that Connor’s treatment would be innovative. After five months of chemotherapy, Connor became the youngest person ever to self donate bone marrow.  Amazingly this procedure was successful the first time and Connor gave more bone marrow than his doctor expected. 

The bone marrow transplant was a success, and two years later, Connor was considered cured. Mindy and David attributed Connor’s outcome to the strides made through research. The CT scan that was administered within 30 seconds, the chemotherapy with the right combination of drugs, and the bone marrow transplant were all methods developed from research. 

To help other children like Connor, The Dykes eagerly consented to any research doctors wanted to do.  Although Connor struggles with several developmental disabilities, one of them being hearing loss from the aggressive chemotherapy, the Dykes both agree that Connor’s survival far outweighs this loss.

References

Ballif, C. H. (2009). Brain Cancer- Connor’s story something greater in mind. Children’s Cancer Research Fund. Retrieved from http://www.childrenscancer.org/stories-of-hope/kids-stories/connor.html

My Personal Research Journey

The simulated topic I chose to research is, The Accuracy of Early Childhood Assessments and shortcomings. What I would like to explore is how accurate are early childhood assessments and if any, what factors attribute to shortcomings in conducting accurate early childhood assessments.

The reason why I am interested in this particular topic is because as a preschool teacher, I have found myself at times speculating answers to questions about the children's abilities. For the past several months,  I have been the only lead teacher for a group of fifteen three year old children. All though I have the assistance of a floater who may write a few journals for me, all other documentation including assessments, is my responsibility.  Also as the field is becoming more professionalized, I have noticed that teacher workloads continue to increase, yet the infrastructure to accommodate for these changes have not.

What I have gained from completing the simulation chart, is that I have formulated a hypothesis based on my personal experience and knowledge about my co-workers experience in this area. Therefore, I conclude that the research methodology best suited for what I want to accomplish would be The Deductive Research methodology (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, Siraj-Blatchford, 2010) as I am only interested in this question.

To my colleagues, I ask that if you have any knowledge about this topic or can refer me to some credible resources please feel free to share with me. We will get through this together. Thank you so much.

Cheryl Byrd

References

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S. A., & Siray – Blatchford, I. (2010).  Doing Early Childhood Research International Perspectives on Theory and Practice (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: