Throughout this course we have done
a lot of self-reflecting and goal setting.
As a result I have unraveled and unveiled parts of my life that I was
not aware of, making me more knowledgeable of whom I am as an individual. This
has all helped me to become a better person and a more compassionate educator.
There are so many points that have
resonated with me throughout these eight weeks.
However, after much thought I have realized that 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 create an accepting, welcoming environment
in which differences are celebrated and all are viewed and treated as equals so
that every child can develop to his/her fullest potential irrespective of background
and/or identities. Derman-Sparks and
Edwards (2010) stated that “Anti-bias education work in early childhood
education is shaped by a deep-seated belief in the importance of justice, the
dream of each child being able to achieve all he or she is capable of” (p.
9). It is my desire to provide every child
with that opportunity so that they in turn can develop to their optimal and
thus contribute to positive social change.
To Dr. Kien
Thank you for sharing your insights with
us throughout this course; your comments and timely feedback to my discussion
posts and application assignments and for answering my e-mails at an
appropriate time.
To my colleagues
I would like to thank you for
sharing your personal experiences with me and for your feedback to my
discussion and blog posts. Our lives
have been enriched through the sharing of our ideas, biases, fears and best
practices. I have grown both personally
and professionally because of these interactions. We have been ‘armed with ammunition’ to make
significant differences in the lives of children and families. We have the power to change the society
around us in a positive way. As we end
this class and move into our final one, I wish all of you much success.
Reference
Derman-Sparks, L., &
Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias
education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Zephirina,
ReplyDeleteExcellent Post! I really connected with your quote about how anti bias education in early childhood and how it has deep roots in the importance of justice and of helping every child achieve all he is capable of. As early educators, we hope every child and family we have the pleasure of working with develops a positive self identity and learns that he/she can do anything. Children can learn that there is more than one way to do the same thing, and that differences are something to celebrate rather than something to fear. Thank you for all of your insights, experiences and perspectives that you shared during the last eight weeks and I wish you good luck and success in your final course at Walden and in your future endeavors. We are almost there!
Hi Zephirina,
ReplyDeleteThe environment that we create in our classrooms is vital in the relationships that we form with children and their families. As you mentioned, we want them to feel accepted and welcomed. There are so many cultures within our classrooms and it is important that we respect and recognize each one. Every child should have the same opportunity to feel important and proud of who they are. That is a great goal to have and I hope to accomplish that as well. I cannot believe that we only have one final class left. We will soon be graduates with our masters degrees! Thanks for your support in this class and I look forward to learning together in our last class. See you soon!