NCAC (2009), state that; The world is made up of diverse individuals who have a range of skills, abilities and understandings.
This video had me re-evaluating my priorities and opened my mind to a world beyond my own
We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.
-- Maya Angelou
Great achievements are not born from a single vision but from the combination of many distinctive viewpoints. Diversity challenges assumptions, opens minds, and unlocks our potential to solve any problems we may face. -- Source Unknown
Diversity can include so many things. Diversity can be including a special needs child, different culture, beliefs, customs and family structures. Diversity in the classroom can mean inclusion of children with autism, delayed learning, children who do not speak English as their first language, physical disabilities, inclusion of children from diverse family backgrounds or down syndrome. I feel as though I need to be a physiologist to be able to teach such a wide range of children!
I understand what diversity includes and the importance of including it into the classroom, though I do not have any idea about school classrooms. Coming from a child care centre background we have always had funding for up to 6 hours per day to assist in caring for special needs children. That educator basically works as an extra set of eyes and hands.
What support would I receive as a teacher in a school setting and how do I include it into my daily classroom management? Diversity can prove to be challenging for both teachers, parents and other students. How can I accommodate for this? What was could I respect diversity in my classroom? I want to be a teacher that continuously works to influence attitudes and perceptions, often so skillfully that students are not aware of my efforts.
I have catered for many additional needs children through out my career and I have never thought of the child as special needs. I have always seen them as a unique person who has different challenges than myself. My two step sons are both special needs and I was the person who had to tactfully and respectfully approach the subject with both my husband and his ex partner.
I do see diversity as a challenge, as much as I go to every extent to embrace every child and family, the physical and mental strain of catering for such diversity is an extreme responsibility and ensuring the student is progressing and developing will pull out everything I have ever learnt. Diversity, as far as caring for children from other countries and beliefs has been quite limited. Working solely on the Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay Burnett region there has been very limited diversity.
C & K, Building Waterfalls, suggest that diversity should be embraced as an opportunity. That being said I reflected and considered that the 'opportunities' could be centered around what the children are talking about and showing interest in. This could be noticing that another child is different in some way or that family structures are different.
Belonging, Being and Becoming, EYLF, suggests that: Educators should honour the histories, cultures, languages, traditions, child rearing practices and lifestyle choices of family. I started to get more of an understanding of how other cultures live when C Q University lectures organised a guest speaker to talk about the people of Samoa. This was a real eye opener. Fellow peers were shocked, however I thought being such a close knit family would be wonderful. Personally my family is not that close. I have no one to call on for help and I envy other families who have each other and support. I endeavour to use my teaching to explore other overseas cultures when my own children have grown up and teach in remote outback towns as soon as I complete my degree.
ELYF states that Educators should be culturally competent and should reflect on ways in which learning is co-constructed though interactions between the educator and each child. The idea of working together is very appealing.
The Early Years Curriculum Guidelines states: 'Programs are most effective when they recoginse, value and build upon the cultural and social experiences of children.' This would be beneficial to my pedagogy and take my personal philosophy to another more critical level.
Considering that I can see that embracing diversity can be a very personal uniqueness shared between families, students and educators. The book; Dimensions of Learning, Dimension one - Attitudes & Perceptions suggest; ' It is important to do what is necessary to ensure that all students are attended to positivity so that they are likely to feel accepted.' I will do this through making eye contact with each child to show every single child that they are recognised as part of the class and acknowledge them on a personal level.
Bisson (1997) suggests to introduce unfamiliar holidays to children as a way of teaching about cultures with they have had no first-hand connection with is a popular but seriously flawed practice as it has no real connection to the children's real lives. These planned, teacher initiated and planned experiences have been described as 'tourist' activities (Derman-Sparks, 1989).
This comment really hit home for me. So many times, in so many Child Care Centre's I have seen this occur on a first hand basis. I often commented on the relevance, however was told the Educators were including a multicultural aspect into their room. I have seen educators of 2 year old take them 'around the world' with passports and set., planned activities the educators had brainstormed. This being said, I did not know what my next step could be to assist fellow educators, children and my own teaching methods.
Bisson, made some very relevant reasons as to the importance of including and celebrating unfamiliar holidays into the program. One is to help children become a little less egocentric and accept holiday practices that are different from their own, getting them away from a stereotypical image of what they are shown holidays should look and feel like. This can be planned for through the use of persona dolls, guest speakers and investigating the difference between the different ways of celebrating holidays, which should be woven into the program all year round.
Weaving multiculture into the program through out the year provides consistency in learning diversity and it is not a source of information overload for stakeholders; such as teachers, students and families. I like the idea of letting the students gradually taste diversity without throwing it in their faces at random times as set out by the calendar.
Shaw (2009), made a suggestion to undertake specific training if necessary and I have taken this into practice by enrolling in an online professional development course titled: ' What are we gonna do with this kid?!' PSCQ run a range of workshops catering for a diverse scope of topics that Early Childhood Educators find very useful. As it is my duty of care to provide a safe and healthy service and I can do this by making sure I am trained correctly, including obtaining and updating my First Aid Certificates and CPR.
The P-12 Curriculum Framework, states that; All students, including students with disabilities, require teachers to consider their specific learning needs and plan accordingly. For students with disabilities who have been identified as having significant educations support needs, planning is required for identified adjusted that need to be documented and then implemented.
On investigation I found that teachers may access input from specialist support staff in developing and implementing their student's educational programs and collaborate in order to scaffold learning across the year levels. This was a comfort, knowing I could access assistance and I was not isolated. Plans can include individualised plans such as behaviour support plans and health care plans. This also made me question if my step-son's school has a plan in place to cater and develop his learning.
The P-12 Curriculum Framework, suggest that students with disabilities need to be explicit with respect to how the required concepts, knowledge and skills will be appropriately introduced and built upon with increasing sophistication. Understanding and incorporating strengths, interests and talents of individual students will impact on their learning and is central to the overall planning. Knowing this I can plan and include children into the classroom and have a tool to be able to stimulate their learning.
Though co-teaching/team teaching, collaborative team planning between support teachers and class teachers and involving families and other professionals and agencies and where appropriate the student them self a successful outcome can be achieved. Also through the inclusion of resources and materials that assist in intellectually challenging tasks students can flourish when the impact of their impairment may have on their learning is established.
On reflection I have discovered that children's identities are negotiated from many sources; socially, and culturally rather than just their individual, biological basis. This post contains many solutions and answers to my own challenge as my learning and personal growth as blossomed throughout my quest for solutions to my challenge. Investigating children's play it has been an eye opener to: '.... the way children make meaning of beauty by creating a hierarchy of skin colours and cultures (Hage, 1998). It shows how children negotiate their knowledge and experience of 'race' and gender to make rules about who can access play and learning and in what ways.' (Mundine &Giugni, 2004.)
Diversity can include so many things. Diversity can be including a special needs child, different culture, beliefs, customs and family structures. Diversity in the classroom can mean inclusion of children with autism, delayed learning, children who do not speak English as their first language, physical disabilities, inclusion of children from diverse family backgrounds or down syndrome. I feel as though I need to be a physiologist to be able to teach such a wide range of children!
I understand what diversity includes and the importance of including it into the classroom, though I do not have any idea about school classrooms. Coming from a child care centre background we have always had funding for up to 6 hours per day to assist in caring for special needs children. That educator basically works as an extra set of eyes and hands.
I have catered for many additional needs children through out my career and I have never thought of the child as special needs. I have always seen them as a unique person who has different challenges than myself. My two step sons are both special needs and I was the person who had to tactfully and respectfully approach the subject with both my husband and his ex partner.
I do see diversity as a challenge, as much as I go to every extent to embrace every child and family, the physical and mental strain of catering for such diversity is an extreme responsibility and ensuring the student is progressing and developing will pull out everything I have ever learnt. Diversity, as far as caring for children from other countries and beliefs has been quite limited. Working solely on the Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay Burnett region there has been very limited diversity.
C & K, Building Waterfalls, suggest that diversity should be embraced as an opportunity. That being said I reflected and considered that the 'opportunities' could be centered around what the children are talking about and showing interest in. This could be noticing that another child is different in some way or that family structures are different.
ELYF states that Educators should be culturally competent and should reflect on ways in which learning is co-constructed though interactions between the educator and each child. The idea of working together is very appealing.
The Early Years Curriculum Guidelines states: 'Programs are most effective when they recoginse, value and build upon the cultural and social experiences of children.' This would be beneficial to my pedagogy and take my personal philosophy to another more critical level.
Considering that I can see that embracing diversity can be a very personal uniqueness shared between families, students and educators. The book; Dimensions of Learning, Dimension one - Attitudes & Perceptions suggest; ' It is important to do what is necessary to ensure that all students are attended to positivity so that they are likely to feel accepted.' I will do this through making eye contact with each child to show every single child that they are recognised as part of the class and acknowledge them on a personal level.
Bisson (1997) suggests to introduce unfamiliar holidays to children as a way of teaching about cultures with they have had no first-hand connection with is a popular but seriously flawed practice as it has no real connection to the children's real lives. These planned, teacher initiated and planned experiences have been described as 'tourist' activities (Derman-Sparks, 1989).
This comment really hit home for me. So many times, in so many Child Care Centre's I have seen this occur on a first hand basis. I often commented on the relevance, however was told the Educators were including a multicultural aspect into their room. I have seen educators of 2 year old take them 'around the world' with passports and set., planned activities the educators had brainstormed. This being said, I did not know what my next step could be to assist fellow educators, children and my own teaching methods.
Bisson, made some very relevant reasons as to the importance of including and celebrating unfamiliar holidays into the program. One is to help children become a little less egocentric and accept holiday practices that are different from their own, getting them away from a stereotypical image of what they are shown holidays should look and feel like. This can be planned for through the use of persona dolls, guest speakers and investigating the difference between the different ways of celebrating holidays, which should be woven into the program all year round.
Weaving multiculture into the program through out the year provides consistency in learning diversity and it is not a source of information overload for stakeholders; such as teachers, students and families. I like the idea of letting the students gradually taste diversity without throwing it in their faces at random times as set out by the calendar.
Shaw (2009), made a suggestion to undertake specific training if necessary and I have taken this into practice by enrolling in an online professional development course titled: ' What are we gonna do with this kid?!' PSCQ run a range of workshops catering for a diverse scope of topics that Early Childhood Educators find very useful. As it is my duty of care to provide a safe and healthy service and I can do this by making sure I am trained correctly, including obtaining and updating my First Aid Certificates and CPR.
The P-12 Curriculum Framework, states that; All students, including students with disabilities, require teachers to consider their specific learning needs and plan accordingly. For students with disabilities who have been identified as having significant educations support needs, planning is required for identified adjusted that need to be documented and then implemented.
On investigation I found that teachers may access input from specialist support staff in developing and implementing their student's educational programs and collaborate in order to scaffold learning across the year levels. This was a comfort, knowing I could access assistance and I was not isolated. Plans can include individualised plans such as behaviour support plans and health care plans. This also made me question if my step-son's school has a plan in place to cater and develop his learning.
The P-12 Curriculum Framework, suggest that students with disabilities need to be explicit with respect to how the required concepts, knowledge and skills will be appropriately introduced and built upon with increasing sophistication. Understanding and incorporating strengths, interests and talents of individual students will impact on their learning and is central to the overall planning. Knowing this I can plan and include children into the classroom and have a tool to be able to stimulate their learning.
Though co-teaching/team teaching, collaborative team planning between support teachers and class teachers and involving families and other professionals and agencies and where appropriate the student them self a successful outcome can be achieved. Also through the inclusion of resources and materials that assist in intellectually challenging tasks students can flourish when the impact of their impairment may have on their learning is established.
On reflection I have discovered that children's identities are negotiated from many sources; socially, and culturally rather than just their individual, biological basis. This post contains many solutions and answers to my own challenge as my learning and personal growth as blossomed throughout my quest for solutions to my challenge. Investigating children's play it has been an eye opener to: '.... the way children make meaning of beauty by creating a hierarchy of skin colours and cultures (Hage, 1998). It shows how children negotiate their knowledge and experience of 'race' and gender to make rules about who can access play and learning and in what ways.' (Mundine &Giugni, 2004.)
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