Reflecting on Learning Educ 6358 WK8

 

 

An explanation of your most passionate hope for your future as an early childhood professional and for the children and families with whom you work or will work.

My most passionate hope for my future as an early childhood professional and for the children and families with whom I work or will work is that I am able to remain passionate and truly make a difference in the lives of the children and families without treating them differently because of their indifferences.  In the world we live in, live is full of diversity.  However, because live is full of diversity doesn’t mean that people have to treat people differently.  My hope is to work with all the children and their families and to educate, encourage, and empower them on being diverse without feeling our treating others differently.

 

Thank you!!!

To All my Colleagues, Thank you for all of your Kind words, sharing your reflections, your insights, and just being respectable and the dedication you showed to our team over the course of the last 8 weeks.  I wish you all much success and may you all continue to fuel you passion to make a difference in the lives of the children around the globe.

Sincerely,

Neketha

References:

www.dandelionquotes.com

    

Impacts on Early Emotional Development-6358 Wk 7 Blog

Share with your colleagues the area of the world you chose and why.

The area of the world that I chose was Honduras.  I chose this area because, I hear a lot about how unfortunate it is to grow up as a child in Honduras. However, I do not know much about it.  Thus, I wanted to take the opportunity to research how life in Honduras affects children and their education.

Describe in detail some of the challenges that children in this region of the world are confronting.

One of the shocking factors that I discovered about children in Honduras was that there is an 83% chance that children will die between the ages of 0-5years old.  I think it is very unfortunate that 83% of Honduran children, once born, might not live to age 5.  I also found that because of their search for better opportunities, many children each year flee Honduras in hopes to make it to the United States.  On their journey to the United States, many of these children who are generally traveling without adult supervision, are often robbed, Kid napped (and utilized for sex trafficking), rapped, or even murdered.

Explain how these experiences might have an effect on children’s emotional wellbeing and development.

These experiences can have a chaotic effect on children as some of these children watch their siblings murdered, raped, or even kidnapped only to still not make it to the United States.  Others finally arrive in the United States after such traumatic experiences only to be returned to their native country.  Thus, they feel that all the struggles were in vein. Seeing a loved one die, having to leave home alone as a child and survive such a treacherous journey itself is emotional.

 

Include a personal and professional reflection. Explain the insights you gained and the influences they may have on you as a person and as an early childhood professional.

 I have always been told be slow to judge people because its first, it’s not right and secondly, you never know what they have been through.  This is the reflection that I received while researching some of the issues that children in Honduras face.  As a child, I did not have any emotional, physical, mental, or financial issues.  Therefore, I cannot imagine having the wait of the world on me as some of these children do.  Many of these children hope to make it to the United States to have a better live not only for themselves but to try to send money back to Honduras for their parents and any family that they might have left behind.

 

 

Reference:

 

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/honduras_86561.html

 

Early Childhood Sexualization 6358 WK 6

The sexualization of young children is becoming a more prevalent issue than before.  Thus, many parents, family members, and teachers are expressing their concerns about early childhood sexualization.  As a mother, aunt, family member, future educator, and current law enforcement agent, I believe the matter of early childhood sexualization should be a topic of discussion.  Many mothers and family members believe that it is simply a memory when they take a picture of their child or children naked, in the tub, or simply in a diaper.   These memories or gestures which are often thought of as harmless can cause havoc on the future life of these same children and families.  Technology and corrupt individuals make these images very harmful.  These images are taken in people’s homes in private.  Yet, in the wrong hands, such simple memories can turn to filth, child porn, child exploration, and more.  Three or more examples from my professional experience that further illustrate the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment are that such simple images of a child in his diaper with no shirt on can later be utilized via photo shop to place a young child’s image or body on another body or image to be utilized in any manner to include child porn.  Another example is these images can often get into the hands of individuals looking for children to kidnap and later sale for sex trafficking.

 

Finally, such tactics of early childhood sexualization help create images to fuel the sickness of pedophiles.

In conclusion, such images might impact children and their healthy development by giving them a complex, causing health issues to include anorexia and bulimia.  This same sexualization of children can cause them to not know how to communicate with children their own age as a side effect of spending time preparing for grown up activities such as getting lash extensions, photo shoots, artificial nails, and etc. in preparation for beauty pageants that their parent(s) want them to participate in.   The best advise I can give about the issue of early childhood sexualization is to have more respect for the future of your child.  What might seem simply and innocent know can haunt their future.  Spend more time allowing them to have fun as innocent children instead of dressing them as adults that sexual predators would find attractive.

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice Week 5

As I have learned throughout my coursework in the program and life experiences, it is truly impossible to separate my personal self from my professional identity especially with regard to issues and thinking related to diversity. However, as a professional, it is imperative that I must be able to differentiate my feelings from my work relationships as it is my job to teach and guide the children in learning.  I must keep a clear aspect of my purpose which is to teach and make a difference in the lives of children and their families.  Therefore, I must be able to differentiate between my personal biases and emotions for the greater goal of the children. “To form a caring learning community where all children can learn and thrive means forging a working partnership based on what families wish for their child and what you believe is important for children” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011. pg. 39). I always think that facing/confronting the problem head on is a vital part of solving the problem.

Reference:

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