What is Culture? What is Diversity?

Culture is the way you were raised or the people you were around.

Diversity is the differences that different cultures have towards the same thing. 

-Jeremy

Culture is a way of life for a certain type of people, where they live, what they teach their kids.

Diversity is how people react to people who are different.

-Steve

Culture is your customs and who you are.

Diversity is knowing that everyone is different, and nobody is the same.

-Amber

I interviewed three people who have many cultural differences from me, and some similarities. I interviewed two males, one was a 40 year old white male, and the other was a 38 year old white male. I also interviewed my fifteen year old step-daughter. I was impressed by the definitions that they all gave for culture because they were all very good, and not limited to ethnicities. Their answers for diversity were more vague, but also very good. 

Family Culture

I am excited as I begin my newest class, Perspectives on Diversity and Equity. This class will give me many opportunities to look at myself, my culture, others, and their culture, as well as how I feel about the different cultures. In this first assignment I get to imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.


After a great deal of thought about what I would take with me, and what would represent my family culture I have narrowed it down to three items. They would be my bible, a photo album/scrapbook, and  my iPod. 


My Bible would be the first item I take with me because I would want to be able to continue to read it, and to be able to read it to my children. I have a strong faith in God and feel that my bible would be the single most important item to take. I feel that with my faith in God I am never alone, and with his word I will always have the answers that I need.


I would take a photo album because It holds the pictures of all of my loved ones, including my mother, my husband, and my children. These are all of the things I hold dear, and my photo's will represent our culture through the experiences that we have captured in them.


I would take my iPod because it holds all of the music that represents my family, and our culture. Music is something that has always been close to my heart. Music is a way to express myself, my feelings, as well as to worship my God. Most of the music that I would have in my iPod would mainly represent my faith, but also my family culture.


If I had to only take one item with me, it would be my bible. I would take it because although I have read it, and am familiar with some of it, I could never remember all of it. I know that I would be stronger mentally and emotionally if I had the support of reading God's Word when I would most likely feel very lost, alone, and out of place in a strange world that I now would have to call home, possibly permanently. With my bible I could be reassured of all the many questions that I would most likely have, and would have the ability to continue to teach God's word to the others that were also misplaced due to the catastrophe. 


Through this assignment I have learned a great deal about myself. Many people that I know would want to take things such as their make up, hair dryer, straightener, or things of that nature. That is not something that even crossed my mind when I was thinking about what kinds of things I would want to have with me. It was a hard decision of what I would like to bring. Many things that crossed my mind were things that have been in my family passed down to me, or things my kids have made. Although these are things I would hate to have to give up, the ones that I chose would have to be more important to me and my family as well as my culture.

Reflection on EDUC 6163

As you conclude your studies of research, take time to reflect on the experience:

•  What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

I have learned a great deal through this course. I now have a much better understanding of all of the different things that must be taken into consideration when designing research.

•  In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

I have always know that doing research was no easy task. Taking this class has let me know just how difficult designing research that will provide accurate results really is.

•  What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

I learned about the many steps it takes to plan, design, and conduct early childhood research. I have also learned that you must take the time to plan all aspects of the research before you conduct it.

Positive Outcomes of Research

There are many different types of research, and many different causes for conducting research. As I was trying to decide on a topic for this blog I was trying to think back on any research that I have conducted. I have never participated in research from the beginning to the end, but I have participated in some research.

I currently work for a state funded child care program. Each year the program must complete a self evaluation. This self evaluation consists of collecting all data that was collected through the DRDP results of the enrolled children, collecting information gained through parent surveys, as well as the results of ITERS, or ECERS results of all of the classrooms. Through this data it is discovered what areas of learning each classroom is lacking in and needs to improve, as well as where they are doing well.

This information is used  to decide what Teacher/Staff trainings are needed, what materials are needed, and what areas need to be focused on when completing lesson plans and preparing activities for the children to participate in.

This research is positive for children because it will enhance the learning environments that are provided to them, and is focused on the low income children in the general area where the research is conducted. By learning what children need to focus on, and learning how your specific child care facility is doing you can better serve the children in your community.

My Research Project....

I am supposed to use this first blog of my current class to disclose the topic I have chosen to research during the remainder of this class. Unfortunately I have yet to choose a topic. I am having a great amount of difficulty is narrowing my ideas down to a topic that I can successfully research for this class. My first thought was to research children with emotional disorders and the difference in their successfulness if they get diagnosed and treated early or later in childhood. This obviously is too broad and would be difficult to research. Now I am leaning more toward a topic that would show if children who attend preschool are more successful in kindergarten than children who do not attend preschool. Choosing a topic for this class is proving to be very difficult for me. At this point I am open to suggestions.

My Family Culture:

I am excited as I begin my newest class, Perspectives on Diversity and Equity. This class will give me many opportunities to look at myself, my culture, others, and their culture, as well as how I feel about the different cultures. In this first assignment I get to imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.


After a great deal of thought about what I would take with me, and what would represent my family culture I have narrowed it down to three items. They would be my bible, a photo album/scrapbook, and  my iPod. 


My Bible would be the first item I take with me because I would want to be able to continue to read it, and to be able to read it to my children. I have a strong faith in God and feel that my bible would be the single most important item to take. I feel that with my faith in God I am never alone, and with his word I will always have the answers that I need.


I would take a photo album because It holds the pictures of all of my loved ones, including my mother, my husband, and my children. These are all of the things I hold dear, and my photo's will represent our culture through the experiences that we have captured in them.


I would take my iPod because it holds all of the music that represents my family, and our culture. Music is something that has always been close to my heart. Music is a way to express myself, my feelings, as well as to worship my God. Most of the music that I would have in my iPod would mainly represent my faith, but also my family culture.


If I had to only take one item with me, it would be my bible. I would take it because although I have read it, and am familiar with some of it, I could never remember all of it. I know that I would be stronger mentally and emotionally if I had the support of reading God's Word when I would most likely feel very lost, alone, and out of place in a strange world that I now would have to call home, possibly permanently. With my bible I could be reassured of all the many questions that I would most likely have, and would have the ability to continue to teach God's word to the others that were also misplaced due to the catastrophe. 


Through this assignment I have learned a great deal about myself. Many people that I know would want to take things such as their make up, hair dryer, straightener, or things of that nature. That is not something that even crossed my mind when I was thinking about what kinds of things I would want to have with me. It was a hard decision of what I would like to bring. Many things that crossed my mind were things that have been in my family passed down to me, or things my kids have made. Although these are things I would hate to have to give up, the ones that I chose would have to be more important to me and my family as well as my culture.

Research Around the World

What are some of the current international research topics?

One thing that I noticed while looking at the Early Childhood Australia website is that many of the current international research topics are the same as our local research topics. It seems as if we are all seeking similar information. A few of the topics were about meeting the needs of gifted children, how to encourage communication within the family, and resilience in children.

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

Some surprising facts that I found out about early childhood from the Early Childhood Australia website is that Early Childhood Australia is a voice for the Australian children and it gives them a voice, and I also found that  Australia is reforming the structure of their early childhood practices.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

This website offers a great deal of information about growth and development from birth to adulthood, information about children’s rights, diversity, inclusion, as well as links to journal articles, research information and topics, and a list of contacts. 

www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org/au

1 Hour a Day....

There are many things that have been studied and researched when it comes to early childhood development and education. One thing that I would like the opportunity to research and encourage as an Early Childhood Professional is how play impacts children. I would like to see parents, or primary caregivers taking one hour a day to spend focused on and engaged with their child/children. This means actively playing with and spending time with them. This would not include watching television, playing on the computer, or on a phone. The parent would sit down and play one on one with their child. I would like to see how the children would benefit from something such as this. I understand that one hour does not seem like very much time, but in today's society I think that most children do not get this much uninterrupted time with their parents.


Some of the benefits that I think I would see in a situation such as this would be children and parents who form better relationships between each other, as well as with their peers. I feel that children would also be more confident, creative, and perform better academically. I am not against technology, but I feel that televisions, computers, and cell phones are becoming babysitters and entertainers, and the parents are observing instead of engaging. Another benefit that I would see from a study such as this is parents seeing the positives of spending the time with their children, and them continuing to spend time with their children even after the study is over. I would also hope that other parents will see the benefits and want to spend more time with their children.

How play encourages an understanding of mathematical concepts

I have narrowed my topic down to researching how play encourages an understanding of mathematical concepts. I chose this because the topic of play, and how children learn from it is very interesting to me. I enjoy working with young children and feel that they learn the best when they learn through play. Children learn many things when they learn though play, but I find that many of the families often want to know how they are learning the basic subjects when they play. I as an early childhood professional that they are learning all of the foundational skills when they play, and would like to understand better how they learn the mathematical concepts so that I can better explain this to parents. 


Through our assignments this week I better understand all of the steps that I will need to go though in order to research my topic. I am still gathering resources for my research and would like any recommended sites to be sent to me in the comment section.