Ktantanim Balev

  As I reflect upon Gender, Gender identity, and Sexual Orientation, there are a few issues to consider: Homophobia and heterosexism permeate young children's world and are reflected in books, the packaging of toys, commercials, and movies. I displayed photos, figurines, and picture books that show professional workers representing both genders in my learning environment, for instance, an image of a male nurse and a woman truck driver or a doctor. Also, in the dramatic play area, I display props that will encourage rules and roles. For instance, allowing boys to experimenting with a "maternal role" (Pelo, 2008, p.68) and feed or dress a doll. Also, I use my observation for teachable moments to scaffold the children's thinking (Derman-Sparks, 2010).  There may be cases that parents will share with me their concern about having books depicting same-sex parents. My answer will be that Some of the significant goals of anti-bias education are to foster children's self-...

The scenario that I observed occurred in the park. I watched a mother sitting with her child (about two years of age). The child was holding a picture book, paying attention to the pictures. As the child was pointing to a particular image, her mother named the objects. What caught my attention was how the mother adapted her pace and answers to her child’s speed, as her daughter was taking her time to look at the pictures. The mother was paying attention to her daughter’s facial expression, voicing her daughter’s excitement when looking at a horse. “A horse, Grace, you love horses! Does it remind you of Jungo? Then the mother took a stuffed horse from her purse and gave it to Grace. “Horsie my horsie,” says Grace. She started bouncing both the book and her stuffed animal together back and forth. It was evident to me that the mother was very tuned and accurate to her child’s wishes. For instance, Grace was holding a picture book in her hands. As her mother observed Grace closely, she not...

  As I plan my affirming environment, I will focus on the diverse children and families I have to reflect their cultural background in the program. Additionally, I will plan to represent our diverse community at large (Derman-Sparks, 2010).   My main focus should be to achieving the four goals to support anti-bias education in my classroom: I will foster the children’s social-emotional growth, self-esteem, and pride in their family, heritage, and cultural background., embracing their social identity (Derman-Sparks, 2010). I will foster visibility, empathy, care, and respect for diversity in each child (Derman-Sparks, 2010).  I will cultivate in children the sense of justice in diversity (Derman-Sparks, 2010).  I will encourage children to feel competent to speak up when they experience or face prejudice (Derman-Sparks, 2010). Planing my environment, the pictures and photos I display should represent my diverse classroom and our local environment, representing th...

  As I think about working with children and families who come from a diverse background, I hope that they will feel connected and welcome to my classroom’s family. I am passionate and committed to supporting children’s cultural identity and introducing them to diverse cultures sensitively and respectfully (Derman-Sparks, 2010). I want to collaborate with colleagues and interact with a diverse population in my community to learn more about the cultures among us. My goal for the early childhood field related to diversity, equity, and social justice is to raise awareness for an anti-bias curriculum among each state’s education department. Offering educators professional growth opportunities, raise awareness of anti-bias education and foster understanding of cultural sensitivity in each program. I want that anti-bias education becomes the norm in every classroom, allowing all children to feel valued, respected, and proud of their heritage and who they are. Also, I would like to thank ...

As I reflect upon my growth during this class, I would like to thank all of you who shared this journey with me. Through our weekly discussion boards, I had the opportunity to put into action the knowledge and skills I gained in this class, practicing my cultural sensitivity, communication skills and enriching my wisdom through your professional experiences, expertise, and distinct points of view. Thank you for your contribution to my professional growth. I wish each one of you much luck in the future, and I look forward to collaborating again in the future! Toda! (Thank you in Hebrew) Ilana

    The place of the new family of origin that I chose is India. The ways that I will prepare myself to become culturally responsive to my new family's arrival are: Researching the family's origin before their arrival, learning a few essential words in the native language, for instance, welcome to the school. Considering India has distinct dialects within its regions, I will consider this aspect. I will contact the family before their arrival, introducing myself asking them how to approach them. For instance, In Israel, we communicate with each other on a first-name basis. We do not use a more formal approach like Mrs/Mr. This aspect is vital as it portrays respect. I will contact my professional colleagues to check if they had a previous interaction with India's families to get more in-depth insights into the culture. However, I am aware that every family is unique and can differ from other families within the same culture (Derman-Sparks-2010). After educating myself on th...

This week I started watching a television show on Netflix named Gentefied. The show focuses on a family whose cultural background is Hispanic living in a neighborhood of diverse cultures.  In the show, the family members are experiencing constant prejudice and oppression. For instance, in one scenario, the chef or the restaurant owner treats his kitchen's prepping employees with continual disrespect, as the employees accepted that oppression and attitude.  In another incident at the restaurant, one of the cousins defended his kitchen's employer's friends. He stood up for his and their's dignity and beliefs and ended up thrown out of the restaurant. What stood up for me was during one scenario, two of the main characters, Ana and Joseph, entered a bank to withdraw money, using their cousin's credit card. When one of the bank's representatives approached them, Ana told Joseph, "Use your white voice." I was stunned and saddened, watching the Internalized ...