What I Have Learned

As I sit here and consider the plethora of knowledge that I have gained throughout this course I have to wonder all the "who, what, when, where, why, and how"'s of applying the knowledge. 

Who will I meet that will challenge me? Encourage me? Support me?

What response will I receive from these people? What will they expect of me? What will I gain?

When will I meet that challenging person? When will I apply every single bit of knowledge from here on out? When will the rest of the world see how very important social justice is?

Where will I go? Where will I teach? Where will I overcome? Where will I fail?

Why do they act like this? Why am I so nervous around some people that are different than me?

How will I do it all?  

...and those are just some of the questions flying through my mind!!!

A goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field is this:

Recognize diversity, work toward equity, and commit to social justice in all that you do.

I think that it's safe to say that the above goal is also a challenge to my colleagues.  Thanks to all of you for your comments, questions, challenges, and kind words.  Without each of you I would not have gained the amazing amount of knowledge that I have over the past eight weeks!

Start Seeing Diversity: Creating Art

Throughout my time at Walden I have learned a lot about diversity.  The past few weeks of my most recent course has taught me a lot more about my response to diversity and how I can make changes in my own life and contribute to anti-bias work. 

My favorite type of art is music.  I love to listen to songs and analyze the words!  There are so many songs that come to mind when considering children and the many influences they face on a daily basis.  I've compiled some of my favorite songs to share with you this week regarding several different topics as listed below.  You can click on the song title to open a new link.  The link will take you to a music video (if I found a suitable one) or the lyrics.

"Imagine" - John Lennon
Seriously, do it... imagine all these things he suggests.  It's crazy and amazing to consider!  I love the last lines, "You may say I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one, I hope someday you'll join us, And the world will live as one".  It's my wish especially as I think of all the children impacted by influences of "isms" and abuse.

"How Many Miles Must We March" - Ben Harper
This one reminds me a lot of the cycles we've looked at.  They're endless unless we do something about it!!!

"Oh My God" - Jars of Clay
We're all the same when you put superficial differences aside.  I like the phrase, "If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep".  Do you feel like that?  Sometimes as I consider all that goes on, especially to innocent children, it does leave me with some sleepless nights.  

"Does Anybody See Her" - Casting Crowns
This song isn't a favorite but it does remind me of all those kids who search for love and affection in many different - and often wrong - ways or places.... all because they didn't get it at home.  We, as educators, can help these kids to find what they are missing or looking for in a better place and in a better way.

"Broken Girl" - Matthew West
The words say it all... it's a scenario of a child who is made to grow up too fast.  The abused... the trauma they face.

"The Little Girl" - John Michael Montgomery
Another song for the abused.

"He" - Jars of Clay
And yet another.

"Excuse Me Mister" - Ben Harper
"...and I've seen enough to know that I've seen too much".  I feel as if I've seen too much of the effects of isms and tragedy on people but I haven't even seen half of what even some of my colleagues have. And others have seen even more or been directly effected by a variety of evils that bias, trauma, and abuse can cause.  I like how this song addresses the "Mr"s of the world.


I have the quote that I will end with hanging in my classroom.  It can apply to all aspects of life - the ones we've been dealing with throughout this course as well as others.  It's a good reminder for anyone in any profession.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

-Edmund Burke

"We Don't Say Those Words in Class!"

Child: "Hey, why is that guy in a wheelchair?  His arms are scary!"

Grandmother: "Shhh!  We don't need to talk about it in front of him!"

These are the comments I heard while sitting in the foyer at my workplace on my lunchbreak.  The prospective child and grandmother had just entered the building and were greeted by our receptionist who has cerebral palsy.  Avery has always been in a wheelchair and can only move from the waist up, but his movements are very jerky and stiff thus the "scary arms". 

Several messages were communicated to the child by his grandmother in the short reprimand she gave:
-Never point out handicaps
-Never talk about differences
-Never talk about differences in front of the person
-It's ok to talk about people behind their back

Avery is actually my cousin and friend.  Since I had time remaining on my break, I chose to respond to this child immediately.  His grandmother had to speak with our director anyway, so I took the opportunity to introduce the child to Avery and turn the experience into a positive learning one.  I desire to build community within the center where I work especially between staff and students. 

We went back to the office and shook Avery's hand being sure to remain standing in front of him since he can't move his neck very far from side to side (I explained this to the child).  Then I asked Avery if he could remember getting his very first wheelchair.  When Avery starts talking it is very difficult to stop him!  The simple question kept him talking about the many different wheelchairs and their capabilities throughout his life.  The child beside me stood in wide-eyed amazement.  Then Avery asked if the child wanted a ride.  The child nodded so Avery took a spin around the upstairs with the child sitting on his lap. 

As I viewed the media segments this week I thought of this scenario that occurred just a few weeks ago.  In the first segment, Start seeing diversity: Physical ability and characteristics, the narrator said educators need to be able to offer support when something like this happens (Laureate Education, n.d.).  We also need to be ready to "counter the bias" when faced with an uncomfortable confrontation of comment so that it may be turned into a learning experience (Laureate Education, n.d.).  One fantastic way to do this is to have persona dolls in the classroom as Nancy Spangler spoke of in her experiences this week from the multimedia piece and as were addressed in our course text (Laureate Education, n.d. and Pelo, 2008).  These are something that I have added to my list of materials to add to the classroom.

When educators take the opportunity to make the most of situations like these, a lot of learning can take place.  The aforementioned situation only involved one child, but that one child can have a huge impact of the rest of his/her classroom as he/she interacts with friends.  We need to recognize differences and demonstrate respect for those who are different than us.  The younger this is addressed, the better our world will be!

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Start seeing diversity: Conclusion [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Start seeing diversity: Physical ability and characteristics [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Pelo, A. (Ed.). (2008). Rethinking early childhood education. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.