I had two amazing experiences this past week which are different, yet connect with each other and with this course.
The first experience came as an invitation from Sesame Street to be an advisor to their writers, researchers, and producers for their upcoming season. So, I flew up to New York and spent the day with the Sesame Street professionals and three other advisors to help them understand child development, cultural diversity, and to facilitate an understanding of the world of a 3-year old living in poverty as well as children from high socio-economic backgrounds. I learned so much from the (NYU Professor) who spoke of the Latino culture and how parents view education and teachers. She explained that Latino parents do NOT want to be their "child's first teacher," they want to be the parent and the teachers should be the teachers. She also talked about the amount of verbal (English) language on children's television which overwhelms children who are bi-lingual learners. Finally, she emphasized the value of family, including the extended family, within this culture. With the Latino population being the fastest growing population in the U.S., it is imperative that we start to truly look at the learning needs of this culture--not as one group, but within the Latino community (from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, etc.).
My second experience was on Saturday at the Parramore Kidz Zone Baby Institute. I have talked about my involvement with this program before, including that its primary population is African American. Yesterday we celebrated Black History Month. Its design was to increase cultural pride in the families we serve. At this event, in addition to the families who are current participants in the Baby Institute, were members of a Black Sorority who read books to the children and parents, children from a charter school in the Parramore community who were drummers, and models from the community who led programs related to African American History, going back thousands of years (beyond Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, etc.). All of the parents wore African attire and many danced traditional African dances while the drummers played. I most appreciated that their children--from birth-7 years old--watched as their parents participated, therefore reinforcing their identity.
Both of these experiences reinforced to me the importance of recognizing and respecting differences in our diverse world, as well as how crucial it is to instill pride (not shame) in our diverse cultures.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Entry 3
This week was the second week of an eight-week program called "Milk and Muffins." The program was developed by UCF's Early Childhood B.S. Program and is supported by the City of Orlando's Parramore Kidz Zone, Early Learning Coalition of Orange County, Head Start of Orange County and Orange County Public Schools. Each Saturday, students enrolled in a section of a required Early Language and Literacy course have their class at the J.B. Callahan Neighborhood Center in the Parrramore Community.
Beginning last week, a portion of each class session has children and parents coming to the Callahan Center for the UCF students to work with the children. While the children are engaged in language and literacy activities, the parents participate in a parent education class on how to support children's school readiness and continued success in school. WE then end each week with a large Circle Time (parents, children, and the UCF students), including songs, a read aloud, and an "I Love You Ritual."
Yesterday, I had the privilege of teaching the parents--the topic was "Reading Aloud to Your Child." We began with a discussion about how frequently each parent reads to their child and how to choose books for your child. One parent of color expressed frustration at the lack of books depicting children and families of color, unless it is about a specific topic--Rosa Parks, Black History, etc. This parent also said her five-year old does not enjoy books and she wondered--as did I--whether some of this was due to her child not being able to connect with the book's characters. The other parents echoed this frustration; and confirmed that this was true not just for African Americans, but also Latinos.
In this course we focus on preparing teachers and practicing teachers, but this discussion reminded me that the lack of attention to diversity and cultures is much greater than our schools. So, this committed group of parents has agreed to look for one-two books which represent their own families and bring the titles and/or books to class next Saturday. We will take this list and prepare it to be sent to those who have positions to impact our early childhood and elementary classroom libraries.
It's a start... and I think these parents felt both respected and empowered to stand up for their children in a way which addresses the concern and a suggests a beginning solution! At the end of the program this week, one parent said, "I did not know what to expect in 'Milk and Muffins.' I only came because my child's teacher told me it would be good for her. This was so much fun!"
This week was the second week of an eight-week program called "Milk and Muffins." The program was developed by UCF's Early Childhood B.S. Program and is supported by the City of Orlando's Parramore Kidz Zone, Early Learning Coalition of Orange County, Head Start of Orange County and Orange County Public Schools. Each Saturday, students enrolled in a section of a required Early Language and Literacy course have their class at the J.B. Callahan Neighborhood Center in the Parrramore Community.
Beginning last week, a portion of each class session has children and parents coming to the Callahan Center for the UCF students to work with the children. While the children are engaged in language and literacy activities, the parents participate in a parent education class on how to support children's school readiness and continued success in school. WE then end each week with a large Circle Time (parents, children, and the UCF students), including songs, a read aloud, and an "I Love You Ritual."
Yesterday, I had the privilege of teaching the parents--the topic was "Reading Aloud to Your Child." We began with a discussion about how frequently each parent reads to their child and how to choose books for your child. One parent of color expressed frustration at the lack of books depicting children and families of color, unless it is about a specific topic--Rosa Parks, Black History, etc. This parent also said her five-year old does not enjoy books and she wondered--as did I--whether some of this was due to her child not being able to connect with the book's characters. The other parents echoed this frustration; and confirmed that this was true not just for African Americans, but also Latinos.
In this course we focus on preparing teachers and practicing teachers, but this discussion reminded me that the lack of attention to diversity and cultures is much greater than our schools. So, this committed group of parents has agreed to look for one-two books which represent their own families and bring the titles and/or books to class next Saturday. We will take this list and prepare it to be sent to those who have positions to impact our early childhood and elementary classroom libraries.
It's a start... and I think these parents felt both respected and empowered to stand up for their children in a way which addresses the concern and a suggests a beginning solution! At the end of the program this week, one parent said, "I did not know what to expect in 'Milk and Muffins.' I only came because my child's teacher told me it would be good for her. This was so much fun!"
Friday, February 7, 2014
Entry 2
My plan was to blog about a new program I am initiating tomorrow (Saturday) called "Milk and Muffins." However, I had an interesting learning/teaching opportunity today that I want to share this week instead--more on "Milk and Muffins" at a later date...
Today I was observing one of my student interns. Her placement is in a Kindergarten classroom in a suburban school. The population is predominantly White and it is a mid-high socio-economic neighborhood, with some students being bused from neighborhoods outside of this community.
The only African American child in this Kindergarten class is working on his self-control, his behaviors are within a developmentally-appropriate range, but look different than the other children in the classroom. Throughout the 2 hours I was in the classroom, this child was consistently called out by my intern for his "misbehavior." Although she did not use language which would be considered inappropriate, I was feeling uncomfortable by the interactions I was observing.
Afterwards, I met with the intern and shared other strategies for supporting a child's development of self-control, reminding her of what she has learned in her courses and helping her to come up with a plan to work with this child. Then, I shared with her the responsibility she has to ensure that the other children in the class do not view this child as "bad." I then wondered (aloud) whether she thought there might be more of a responsibility with this child for any reason. At first she thought that perhaps, since he had a bit of a chaotic home life that she needed to be more patient with him--true, but not where I wanted her to stop her thinking. As we continued to talk, my intern realized that this student, because he looks different than the other students, was then placed in a situation that he not only looked different, but he acted different, and the teacher was frustrated with him. Kindergarteners care most about their teachers approval, and it was possible that the students interpreted (not incorrectly), that the teacher was frustrated with this student.
I also pointed out that her reactions to him would become the other students' reality about African American boys. Although I was able to transfer some of my knowledge to my intern, it was a good opportunity to wonder when the intern had ever been given the opportunity in her professional preparation to explore her own realities and perceptions.
A good opportunity for met to reflect on my content teaching with my pre-service teachers and to focus on a more explicit approach to teaching with race and culture in mind.
Today I was observing one of my student interns. Her placement is in a Kindergarten classroom in a suburban school. The population is predominantly White and it is a mid-high socio-economic neighborhood, with some students being bused from neighborhoods outside of this community.
The only African American child in this Kindergarten class is working on his self-control, his behaviors are within a developmentally-appropriate range, but look different than the other children in the classroom. Throughout the 2 hours I was in the classroom, this child was consistently called out by my intern for his "misbehavior." Although she did not use language which would be considered inappropriate, I was feeling uncomfortable by the interactions I was observing.
Afterwards, I met with the intern and shared other strategies for supporting a child's development of self-control, reminding her of what she has learned in her courses and helping her to come up with a plan to work with this child. Then, I shared with her the responsibility she has to ensure that the other children in the class do not view this child as "bad." I then wondered (aloud) whether she thought there might be more of a responsibility with this child for any reason. At first she thought that perhaps, since he had a bit of a chaotic home life that she needed to be more patient with him--true, but not where I wanted her to stop her thinking. As we continued to talk, my intern realized that this student, because he looks different than the other students, was then placed in a situation that he not only looked different, but he acted different, and the teacher was frustrated with him. Kindergarteners care most about their teachers approval, and it was possible that the students interpreted (not incorrectly), that the teacher was frustrated with this student.
I also pointed out that her reactions to him would become the other students' reality about African American boys. Although I was able to transfer some of my knowledge to my intern, it was a good opportunity to wonder when the intern had ever been given the opportunity in her professional preparation to explore her own realities and perceptions.
A good opportunity for met to reflect on my content teaching with my pre-service teachers and to focus on a more explicit approach to teaching with race and culture in mind.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Entry 1
This is my first blog entry (ever!) and I am somewhat apprehensive about about the technology part of this assignment, but think it will be fun at the same time.
Throughout the last four weeks of readings for this course, I have had a lot of learning moments, most I have shared in my discussion postings. I will use today's blog entry to share some of the opportunities I have had over the past week which have given me opportunities in urban education.
A short background...
Each Saturday, for the past three years, I have had the privilege of being at the Parramore Kidz Zone Baby Institute in downtown Orlando from 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. The Baby Institute is modeled off of the Harlem Children's Zone's Baby College. It is a parenting program whose mission it to teach parenting skills to parents in the Parramore Community (a predominantly black, urban community with a high poverty rate) and to increase school readiness skills for the children. I began this journey in Fall 2010 when I traveled with a group of professionals to Harlem to observe their Baby College. From there, I developed curricula for the parent training and continue to serve as a consultant on the curriculum, training teachers, working with the parents while they are in the (9-week) session, and then continuing to connect with the families through Baby Institute Alumni activities.
This past Saturday, I was training a teacher to teach the parents in the Infant Group, so I modeled the class and the interactions, group discussions, etc. The topic of yesterday's class was developing secure attachments with their babies to ensure a sense of security throughout their development. What I most appreciated with the parents (participants) was their level of acceptance of me--the only white person in the room--rather than discounting my teaching.
I believe one of the reasons I was given this sense of belonging is because I began the discussion by each person sharing their own memories and then talking about how our memories impacted our future relationships with our families. In remembering Dr. Johnson's approach to her high school students (the majority of the parents in my class are between 18-22 years old) and how she wove in her own "story," I think my sharing of my own memories helped us to connect with each other.
We also talked about our "hopes and dreams" and I noticed how carefully each parent listened to the other parents. At the end of the class, one of the mothers asked me if I could help her to earn her GED so that she could move forward to start her own family restaurant--with her 5 children. I am hoping this was a sign of trust that she could ask me and not feel judged.
I'd like to know more about the parents' everyday lives...if I were to continue teaching this class, that would be planned as one of the class icebreakers which we do each week.
Throughout the last four weeks of readings for this course, I have had a lot of learning moments, most I have shared in my discussion postings. I will use today's blog entry to share some of the opportunities I have had over the past week which have given me opportunities in urban education.
A short background...
Each Saturday, for the past three years, I have had the privilege of being at the Parramore Kidz Zone Baby Institute in downtown Orlando from 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. The Baby Institute is modeled off of the Harlem Children's Zone's Baby College. It is a parenting program whose mission it to teach parenting skills to parents in the Parramore Community (a predominantly black, urban community with a high poverty rate) and to increase school readiness skills for the children. I began this journey in Fall 2010 when I traveled with a group of professionals to Harlem to observe their Baby College. From there, I developed curricula for the parent training and continue to serve as a consultant on the curriculum, training teachers, working with the parents while they are in the (9-week) session, and then continuing to connect with the families through Baby Institute Alumni activities.
This past Saturday, I was training a teacher to teach the parents in the Infant Group, so I modeled the class and the interactions, group discussions, etc. The topic of yesterday's class was developing secure attachments with their babies to ensure a sense of security throughout their development. What I most appreciated with the parents (participants) was their level of acceptance of me--the only white person in the room--rather than discounting my teaching.
I believe one of the reasons I was given this sense of belonging is because I began the discussion by each person sharing their own memories and then talking about how our memories impacted our future relationships with our families. In remembering Dr. Johnson's approach to her high school students (the majority of the parents in my class are between 18-22 years old) and how she wove in her own "story," I think my sharing of my own memories helped us to connect with each other.
We also talked about our "hopes and dreams" and I noticed how carefully each parent listened to the other parents. At the end of the class, one of the mothers asked me if I could help her to earn her GED so that she could move forward to start her own family restaurant--with her 5 children. I am hoping this was a sign of trust that she could ask me and not feel judged.
I'd like to know more about the parents' everyday lives...if I were to continue teaching this class, that would be planned as one of the class icebreakers which we do each week.
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