TIME WELL SPENT

I can't believe that finally I have earned a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Studies. Honestly, I am still overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. I started my journey in Walden University with every enthusiasm, but along the line, I could not pull through as a result of a lot of challenges. After about 3 years, I was motivated to re-enroll again and I would say it's only at Walden I can get the kind of support I got to be able to pull through.

My decision to go for this program was born out of passion to be an effective teacher and there are lots of deeply felt learnings.

The very first insight I got was that teachers are learning facilitators. In other words, we help children to find solutions and answers to their questions or doubts. By so doing, they become critical thinkers. This knowledge helped me to improve on my teaching skills and I can confidently say that I am a better teacher today.

Secondly, I was exposed to understand that as a teacher, I am also a leader and an advocate which implies that there are lots of people looking up to me and I stand as a voice, a mentor and an inspiration to children, families, the society and even my colleagues. So in as much as I work to be paid, my role as a teacher is more of service to humanity and that must be done passionately to positively affect everyone in my professional circle and in the circular world at large.

Thirdly, effectiveness in teaching is not complete without identifying, acknowledging and accepting the various diversities or social identities that exists in our settings. i.e. anti-bias education. In other words, I am of the opinion that an effective early childhood educator is an anti-bias educator and vice-versa.  

This particular insight is what inspired my long term goal which is to be an agent of positive social change in anti-bias issues. Firstly, I am  concentrating on economic class issues and to help or facilitate low-income families to gain affordable quality early childhood education through advocacy and hope to establish my own early childhood setting that will set the legacy of what anti-bias education is all about. 

Finally, I want to say thank you, first to all my instructors at Walden both past and present especially Dr. Parrish. All your feedbacks and consistent follow-up were worth it. Thank you for shaping my career. To fellow students, you are all amazing. Your discussion posts, blog posts and honest feedbacks to our classroom discussions showed me that I had the best intellectuals. I sincerely wish everyone of greatness and may we all find more fulfilment in this career path.

In the nearest future, I look forward to moving to America to explore more opportunities as an early Childhood educator so, I would really appreciate if you can share with me on how to go about this as I hope to reconnect with every one of you in this program

Below is my contact:

+971553709106

chidimmanwankwo@gmail.com.

JOBS/ROLES IN THE ECE COMMUNITY : INTERNATIONALLY

 There are so many international organizations that works to support early childhood education, but here are three that appeals to me:

1. United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): I became interested in this organization because education is at the heart of her mission and she believes that education is a human right for all throughout life and that access must be matched by quality. This means education for all from the grassroot.

2. Save the Children: This is an organization that work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. I was captivated by their core values which are accountability, integrity, ambition, collaboration and creativity. These are values that every ECE Community of practice ought to possess in order to achieve immediate and lasting impact in the lives of children.

3. International Child Resource Institute: ICRI is a global non-profit organization that works to improve the lives of children and families around the world. There is much emphasis laid on early childhood care  and that stands out for me. 

All these three organizations mission and vision are all centered around curbing anti-bias issues, especially socio-economic issues. 

Job opportunities: One opportunity that interests me is with UNESCO, and the position is INTERN FOR SECTION FOR INCLUSIVE QUALITY EDUCATION.

The major skill needed for this position is a competent leadership skills, which I have gained through this masters' course and it is time to implement them. Also, the job has to do with encouraging inclusive education through research, organizing capacity development workshops and webinars, all geared towards providing quality inclusive education.

Other competencies  I would need are effective communication skill and teamwork, for establishing a fruitful relationship with children, families and my team members.

JOBS/ROLES IN THE ECE COMMUNITY: NATIONAL/FEDERAL LEVEL

Here are some Communities of Practice that still appeals to me on National/Federal Level. 

UNICEF: This organization is committed to realizing the rights of all children to help them build a strong foundation and have the best chance of fulfilling their potential. They are on the course to make sure that there is access to shelter, good nutrition, clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education for every Nigerian child, especially the low-income families.

https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/education

AFRILEARN: Afrilearn is an educational platform where teachers can deliver world class education to Africans everywhere. Also, AFRILEARN partners with governments, schools, and other organizations to bring digital learning to schools in Nigeria.

https://myafrilearn.com/

DOLLY CHILDREN FOUNDATION:  A non-profit organization working to provide materials like textbooks, uniforms, and school supplies to children in need and supplement the financial load on their parents. They are passionate about bringing affordable education to Nigerian children. 

https://dollychildren.org/

What appealed to me most in all of these mentioned organizations is their passion, partnership and willingness to serve the people. They are not interested in what they get in return will but how to affect positive changes in the society.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES/SKILLS

The major skills I must bring to table is team playing, willingness and great communication skills. There were no published job opportunities, except opportunity to be a volunteer. I still need to develop myself professionally, enroll in courses that will help me practice anti-bias education in full, while I make trainings available for other early years educators who are not privileged and do not have access to proper professional developments. My role as a teacher is still maintained.

 

EXPLORING ROLES IN THE ECE COMMUNITY: LOCAL AND STATE LEVELS

Communities of practice have enormous potential to support and sustain quality care and education within a community (Helm, 2007). There are many existing Communities of practice, but here are three of them that are appealing to me.

Some Communities of Practice that appeals to me are as follows:

GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR EDUCATION UNITED STATES: This is a Community of practice that advocates and are ensuring universal quality education for all children and youths. The main thing that appealed to me is the fact that they are in coalition with various national and community based organizations, international NGOs, teacher unions, faith-based groups and other advocates. Also, inclusive education is their priority.

http://campaignforeducationusa.org/

FAMILY CHILD CARE COMMUNITY OF PRACTISE: Here, family childcare educators meet collaborate, problem-solve and reflect on their teaching and business practices. Meetings are flexible and well structured.

https://center-elp.org/announcing-the-monthly-meetings-of-the-family-child-care-community-of-practice/

PHE CANADA: This community of practice is all about providing the foundation for school environments to support the health of all. They see that every child is healthy not minding where they are coming from.

https://phecanada.ca/activate/healthy-school-communities

All the three communities of practice I mentioned, all focuses on various areas of creating an anti-bias education system, which for me is the top notch of early childhood  education or development. 

Considering all the job opportunities for now or in the future, I choose to still stick on my role as a teacher. Teachers are voices, advocates to all families and children. Continuous application of my communication skills will also enhance any setting I find my self.

Reference

Helm, J. (2007). Energize your professional development by connecting with a purpose: Building communities of practice. YC: Young Children, 62(4), 12 - 16

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REFLECTING ON LEARNING

 

Above is a wordle that represents my overall response to  8 weeks of learning about anti-bias education and strategies for working  with diverse children. This course allowed me to deepen in knowledge about myself because creating an anti-bias setting begins with me. 

The aspect that really resonate with me was when were learning about teaching to strength, I found that very fascinating. As an anti-bias educator, teaching to strength will definitely help me to enhance the positive interactions I have with children. It's a great tool for getting to know the children better. According to Janis Keyser in the media segment, we can't really know who children are if we are not part of the voice that co-constructs the image of the child (Laureate Education Inc., 2011). So, teaching to strength is one of the most important ways that anti-bias work happens. It is how people respond to differences that teaches them bias and fear (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). Instead of reacting negatively to children's identities and diversities, we lay hold on their strength and build them to become a version of themselves. This is truly what being an anti-bias educator is all about.

I also learned a lot from Eric Hoffman on how he uses the persona doll to introduce diversity related issues in the classroom. Currently, I am beginning to introduce persona dolls during mental wellbeing and jigsaw activities in the classroom. I'll still extend the use of persona dolls through other subjects in our curriculum.

It was a great collaboration during this 8 weeks and I just want to appreciate everyone for contributing to the learning experience. The course discussions were very fascinating, insightful and very  engaging. Honestly speaking, we made a formidable team and I hope we all meet again in the last course for this program. 

I won't fail to thank Dr. Kien. Your instructions, honest and constructive feedbacks were awesome. I always looked forward to them because they made me to be on my toes throughout the duration of this course. Thank you so much! 

References

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

Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Strategies for working with diverse children: Building on children’sstrengths. Baltimore, MD: Author

IMPACTS ON EARLY EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

 

It is not an understatement to say that children's early emotional development is very important and grief is one of the major things that can affect a child's emotional wellbeing. I am from West Africa, a Nigerian to be precise and have lived there most years in my life. For this reason, I have decided to look at UNICEF and the work they do in Nigeria. In the past 12 years or even more, Nigeria has been under a bloody terrorism attack (political, tribal and religious war) and this has become more intense in the past 6 years till date. There has been terrible attacks against children and families by unidentified armed groups (Boko-Haram, Fulani Herdsmen, Bandits and some others). These groups kidnap and abduct children from their schools, kill or rape them. They attack parents in the farm lands and their villages and end up killing and burning down their homes, leaving their children homeless and without any source of livelihood. Churches are being attacked more frequently and the outcome is always heartbreak and grief.  Some members of these groups end of keeping the girls for marriage in their camps. You can imagine keeping a girl of 8 to 9 years for marriage and assaulting her sexually. 

All of these, makes children to live in fear. They feel bitter, rejected and insecure, which is actually the real outcome of the trauma.  Mostly children and women are at the receiving end. Some children lose their mothers to these terrorists because they take them away forcefully to be their wives. Most families have fled their homes in search of  more secured place. But the question is, "where is safe?" Children also grieve about life changes such as death, divorce, moving to another city or geographic region, losing a pet, and saying goodbye to a parent being deployed overseas (Wood, 2008).

As a result of these, teachers are likely to deal with these horrible news on a daily basis. It is either they are caught in the web of the drama or they have children and families who have been affected by the occurrences. Just like UNICEF has been advocating and remained committed to take all measure to ensure the safety of children and their families and to reduce the suffering victim, we as educators can also stand up as advocates for these children and their families through campaigns "STOP THE KILLING", "EVERY CHILD'S LIFE MATTERS" and other campaign hashtags just to lend our voices. Our voice as educators just have to be heard because we are the primary life shapers of these children and we can't afford to see them go through traumas, especially in their early years. We can also create a mental wellbeing awareness and help these families to maintain a balanced emotional and mental wellbeing.

References

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/least-thirteen-children-killed-latest-attack-children-and-families-niger

Wood, F.B. (2008). Helping young children cope. YC: Young Children, 63(5), 28 - 31

THE SEXUALIZATION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD

 

Sexualization in early childhood is actually a very tough topic for me to discuss because of my background which was more of religious, principled and strict. My parents always had this notion that children should be allowed to be children and this has to reflect in their dressing, hairdo, play routines/activities, social gatherings and so many other areas where children are visible. I remember as a child, make-up and long hair extensions for me, was a no for my mum. Skimpy dresses, bump short and other outfits that promotes nudity were not meant for me, even though some parents thought otherwise. When children are young, they should be having positive, age-appropriate experiences that lay the foundation for healthy sexual relationships in the future (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). But today, it is a different ball game. Children are growing up in a highly sexualized environment which has adverse effects on the lessons and morals they learn a daily basis.

All these issues of sexualization begins even before the child is born. It still beats me how parents attributes a particular colour for boys and the other for girls (blue for boys and pink for girls). Some particular toys for boys and others for girls. You can tell the sex of a child by just the colour of the pre-birth baby shoot or decoration of the baby's room. Active toys are for boys to showcase their strength as boys and the girls need softer toys as the weaker ones. So as the children develop, they keep looking for ways to validate who they think they are or stand for in the contemporary society.

In the recent years, children are exposed to lots of contents on media as a result of increased access to gadgets and unlimited internet. There are lots of sexual contents flying around on the internet. “Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media in popular culture." (Kilbourne, J & Levin, D, 2009). This could actually be scary to them and detrimental to their social wellbeing. There are lots of comic books and shows that depicts all shades of sexualization.  I recently saw a comic advert on BBC that portrayed the new superman to be a bisexual with a picture of two boys kissing themselves. For me, it is just inappropriate even when we are trying to be anti-bias and and also trying to erase all the -isms as much as possible.

Girls learn that their value is determined by how sexy they look, rather than by who they are or what they achieve (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). No wonder all the fakeness we try to attach to their appearances just to validate their beauty. At the end of day, we end up producing girls who feel inferior, girls who are mediocre and with low self esteem. Instead of sexualizing them in terms of beauty, we should teach them that they are more than pretty faces. I think this will also go a long way to stop the way girls as seen as shallow-minded. 

But for about a century now, we have understood that children are not miniature adults capable of fending entirely for themselves and we recognize that they do not have the cognitive, emotional, mental or physical skills to negotiate the increasingly complicated terrain of adulthood, and that they need the care, protection, and guidance of supportive adults in order to grow into healthy and competent members of society, so that is where we adults come in. Children should not be left all by themselves to figure out how the world works. They need to be guided to deal with the issues of early sexualization. They don't have to be blamed for the behaviours they have learned already because that is the society we live in. All they need is a caring and affectionate intimate relationships in their families and also in the setting where they find themselves. They need to feel safe with us so se can help them clear their doubts about  early sexualization.

References

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

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids. New York: Ballantine Books