Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

I have taught fifth grade for seven years, and over those years, I would hear stories of teachers being accused of being racist by students and their parents. However, this was something that I thought would never happen to me. I was too devoted to all of my students for anyone to say such untruthful things about me. Well, I was wrong.

Several years ago, I had an African American male student that entered my classroom with a bad attitude about school. He was extremely intelligent, and I picked up on that right away. He misbehaved on a regular basis at the beginning of the year, and I knew of some issues with his home life. So, I was determined to let this child know that he was something special. Not only was he special to me, but he was special to the world. We immediately became very close, and I felt like I understood him. Occasionally, he would act out and get into trouble, but for the most part, things were going well.

It was time for parent-teacher conferences, and I was so excited to finally meet his mother and brag on what a bright child he was. To my surprise, this conference did not go as planned. The mother immediately became defensive and started reciting incidents that her child recalled from school. However, these incidents had never happened. On several occasions she called me racist.  The child sat there in the chair and stared at the floor (never looked up at me), and he continued to lie about events that had never occurred in my classroom. Obviously, I was heart-broken and so disappointed and wanted to make some sense of what had happened that day.

I talked with administrators, counselors, and other teachers who reassured me that they felt that he lied to his mother about things at school to get her attention at home. Even if the attention was negative and the situations were not happening, it still gave him the attention he was looking for. Although this made sense to me, I was devastated by this experience. It definitely changed my relationship with this child and also hindered my interaction with other African American children for some time. In the back of my mind, I was fearful of being accused of being racist again. Luckily, I was able to work beyond this fear as I built trust in families that I worked with.

Observing Communication

My observation for this week's blog was completed at a local park. I observed a mom and her young daughter while having a fun day of play. They were with a group of other moms and children. The young girl kept coming over to the mom and asking her something, but the mother was not paying her very much attention. I noticed the mom kinda try to nod her head and send the child back out to play. As the child left, the mother would pick up her conversation with the other moms. In a few minutes, the child would return trying once again to get her mother's attention. Again, the mother tried to occupy her and send her off to play. The child got frustrated and stomped her feet and threw up her hands as she walked away. A short time passed and the child returned. Only this time she became extremely frustrated when ignored by her mom, and she began crying and yelling. This time the mother had no choice but to pay attention to the little girl. After calming her down, she realized that the little girl wanted to show her something. There was a really big ant hill over by the huge sand box and some of the other kids were messing with it.

After making this observation, it made me think about the times that I may have treated my own children in this same way. Many people think listening is so simple, yet it is easy for listening to become just other task (Stephenson, 2009). The mom could have made this example of communication more effective by stopping her conversation with the other moms, getting down eye level with the child, and let her know she was listening. After the child expressed her concern over the ant hill, she could have walked over with the child to help her solve the problem.

Because the mother ignored the child on several attempts of communication, she may have relayed the message that you are not as important as the ladies I am talking with. It caused the child feelings of frustration, anger, and hurt.

This observation made me stop and think about the way I communicate with my own children. There are times when I feel as though I may ignore my children when busy doing something else. I think it would be more effective to stop what I am doing and explain to my child why I am not able to give him my undivided attention. Also, let him know that as soon as I finish the task at hand I will make sure to listen to him. This explanation may save me several additional interruptions and avoid frustration from both parties!

Reference:
Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90–95. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database. http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=37131016&site=ehost-live&scope=site 

Creating Affirming Environments

In my family child care home, it is important to represent a variety of cultures, ages, races, and abilities.  Providing a variety of materials will allow for children to make connections to their own life (Laureate Education, 2011). Specifically, I want to make sure that the differences of the children in my care are represented in my home. I want pictures of their families to be visible and work that the children completed to be on the walls. I want the environment of my child care home to be inviting, comfortable, and stimulating. 


In order to do this, the following will be present in my home:

• An inviting entry way with a place to put each child's belongings. There will be a board with a calendar of our learning events, birthdays, and other significant pieces of information. Parents will sign their children in at this location.
• Walls/Decor: Walls will be colorful with posters and other learning materials. There will be photos of families on the walls and work or art that the children completed.
•  Play area: In the play area, I want to include toys for both genders, different races, multiple cultures, and a variety of ability levels. This will include books about different cultures, races, and genders, dolls of different races, puzzles and games for different abilities, dress up materials for both genders, cars with tracks, blocks, legos, dinosaurs, doll house, airplanes, and many other toys that are age appropriate (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). 
• There will be an arts and crafts area that will include play dough, crayons, paper, easels, paint, and other art materials.
• There will be a cozy area that the children will lay on their own individual cot, with a blanket and small pillow for rest time. 
• There will be a fun outdoor area that includes outdoor play toys, sand/water table, and riding toys.
• The curriculum will consist of age appropriate learning activities that fosters cognitive and social development. Circle time will consist of discussions on character traits in which we will discuss similarities and differences. Students will be encouraged to ask questions and share feelings during this time. We will share information related to culture, holidays, and traditions throughout the year. Every child will feel welcome and comfortable expressing who they are!