Question: With the serious budgets cuts in our school systems, will preschool programs still exist in five years from now?

Fact: Research in early childhood education has shown that family and parent involvement are central to successful schooling experiences.

Quote: All men {individuals} know their children mean more than life. Euripides (480-406 B.C.)

1.)   List some activities that involve the family and the community with the classroom.

Some activities that include the family are helping in the classroom, reading a book to the class, eating a meal at school, teaching a skill that they may to the class, prepare a bulletin board for the class, sharing cultural materials with the class, prepare and cut out materials at home that are needed for the classroom or make a take home project with their child and send back to school to be hung on the Wall of Fame board and make a Star of the Week board with their child to share with the class, Some activities that include the community are to invite visitors of the community such as Sparky the Fire Dog, Scrubby the Bear (who teaches about germs), Fire truck, Ambulance personnel, The Health Department (they have programs for children that they teach), the Police Department with the K9 dog, & the Conservation Department will bring animal pellets, the Mic-o-Say group, & the Librarian as a Storyteller.

2.)   Describe the role of families and the community in a multicultural program.

The role of families and the community in a multicultural program is to bring the culture into the classroom. This enriches a child’s self esteem and confidence and gives them experiences that they might never have known otherwise. Families can bring cultural materials and skills into a classroom that can enhance the learning of the children. The community can bring resources into the classroom that enriches the learning of the class. Our program has cut out field trips, so for the children to experience our community I invite them into the classroom to share their skills.

3.) Discuss the significance of working with families and the community of early childhood students (any students for that matter).

Working with our families and the community will get the children ready for experiences that are outside of the classroom. We all follow our family traditions and learn from the community that we live in. By understanding this and working together we can meet the needs of the children that we serve.
4.) What are some ways that teachers can develop family support for their multicultural programs?

The first thing I do is ask the parents to fill out a survey about their child, and there are a variety of questions which includes their culture. Invite the parent into the classroom to share their culture. We hold Family Fun Nights each month to encourage the parent to come into the school and if I know a parent has a special skill I’ll ask them to share with us that night.

Question: What is the best approach to address parents when they visit your classroom who do not accept multiculturlism?

Quote: What is in the environment also alerts children to what the teacher considers important or not important. Children are as vulerable to omission as they are to inacccuracies and stereotypes. What isn't [seen] can be a powerful a contributor to attitudes as what is seen? (Derman-Sparks pg.270)

Fact: Multiculturalness, according to Davidman and Davidman (2007), is the perspective and posture the teacher assumes and imparts through her or his classroom practices, even when teaching an all-European American class. Simply said, multiculturalness is a quality that must define classroom teaching.

Questions:
1.) The role of teachers as multicultural curriculum designers fosters from 4 steps.
1.) Knowing ourselves as teachers. Examine a teacher's beliefs and their method of teaching.
2.) Assuming our present practices. Evaluate program offered and the needs of the children. Evaluation of the current curriculum to determine the content and process used.
3) Designing the program. Know the goals and objectives to have and the approach that you will use as a teacher.Be educated on resources and materials available to you.
4) Implementing. When will actions take place? How can one find out about their effects?

2.) The significance of developmentally and culturally appropriate practices in the curriculum are skills that are connected to valuable and real-world experiences, which provides the opportunities to master knowledge. All children are competent and their learning must be rooted in experiences appropriate to their developmental age level and cultures.

3)The characteristics of an early childhood, multicultural educator are:
1) has a sound knowledge about child development that he or she uses and applies to classroom teaching
2) believes that multiculturalism is an integral part of our society and that school need to incorporate multiculturalism into their programs
3) is committed to helping the child face and understand our social diversity
4) is aware of and works to clarify his or her own ideas about diversity, biases, and beliefs, and recognizes and accepts his or her own diversity and that of children
5) holds high expectations equally for all childrne and helps all children to develpo to their fullest
6) works and interacts in a respectful way with all families as partners and collaborators for the benefit of the child
7) is willing to try out new methods and materials to accomodate the needs of children
8) is constantly assessing his or her own teaching to guarantee its responsiveness to the children's needs
9) is constantly searching for new approaches and/or methods to improve multicultural teaching
10) creates a classroom environment where tolerance, respect, and openness to learn and understand others are its essential characteristics
11) keeps a positive, willing, and open attitude toward self and others as professionals
12) recognizes that reality is a composite of many different perspectives
These characteristics should describe a classroom teacher who will use their skills and knowledge for the best interests of the children in their classroom.

EDU 308 On-line: EDU 308 On-line 2010 Chapter 7

Question: What is the best approach to address parents when they visit your classroom who do not accept multiculturlism?

Quote: What is in the environment also alerts children to what the teacher considers important or not important. Children are as vulerable to omission as they are to inacccuracies and stereotypes. What isn't [seen] can be a powerful a contributor to attitudes as what is seen? (Derman-Sparks pg.270)

Fact: Multiculturalness, according to Davidman and Davidman (2007), is the perspective and posture the teacher assumes and imparts through her or his classroom practices, even when teaching an all-European American class. Simply said, multiculturalness is a quality that must define classroom teaching.

Questions:
1.) The role of teachers as multicultural curriculum designers fosters from 4 steps.
1.) Knowing ourselves as teachers. Examine a teacher's beliefs and their method of teaching.
2.) Assuming our present practices. Evaluate program offered and the needs of the children. Evaluation of the current curriculum to determine the content and process used.
3) Designing the program. Know the goals and objectives to have and the approach that you will use as a teacher.Be educated on resources and materials available to you.
4) Implementing. When will actions take place? How can one find out about their effects?

2.) The significance of developmentally and culturally appropriate practices in the curriculum are skills that are connected to valuable and real-world experiences, which provides the opportunities to master knowledge. All children are competent and their learning must be rooted in experiences appropriate to their developmental age level and cultures.

3)The characteristics of an early childhood, multicultural educator are:
1) has a sound knowledge about child development that he or she uses and applies to classroom teaching
2) believes that multiculturalism is an integral part of our society and that school need to incorporate multiculturalism into their programs
3) is committed to helping the child face and understand our social diversity
4) is aware of and works to clarify his or her own ideas about diversity, biases, and beliefs, and recognizes and accepts his or her own diversity and that of children
5) holds high expectations equally for all childrne and helps all children to develpo to their fullest
6) works and interacts in a respectful way with all families as partners and collaborators for the benefit of the child
7) is willing to try out new methods and materials to accomodate the needs of children
8) is constantly assessing his or her own teaching to guarantee its responsiveness to the children's needs
9) is constantly searching for new approaches and/or methods to improve multicultural teaching
10) creates a classroom environment where tolerance, respect, and openness to learn and understand others are its essential characteristics
11) keeps a positive, willing, and open attitude toward self and others as professionals
12) recognizes that reality is a composite of many different perspectives
These characteristics should describe a classroom teacher who will use their skills and knowledge for the best interests of the children in their classroom.

EDU 308 On-line: EDU 308 On-line 2010 Chapter 6

Ryan Russell said...
QUESTION: What if a school does not allow the change of curriculum to make things more multicultural?

I think some of the rural towns will not see the need to teach multicultural views to there children. If the school has teachers and other staff members that have taught for years may not be open minded to change their thinking outside their box. I would like to see funding available for the schools that are incorporating multiculturalism in their schools. This might motivate them to change and become open minded to new views.
Cheryl said...

Question
Why do you think everyone celebrates a culture for a week and then that’s it?

I do not think that I am one that just celebrates a culture for a week. I celebrate each day that I am an American and live where I do. I guess cause I work at Head Start and we are unable to celebrate holidays with the children, I try to bring different culturals into their lives. I introduce a different country each month to the children. We discuss and view the country's culture through pictures, clothing, any artifacts that we can bring into the center. Also, we try different foods from that country, which sometmes they like and then again sometimes they do not. The children at least get to experience a new culture when they may never have the opportunity to again.

EDU 308 On-line: EDU 308 On-line 2010 Chapter 6

Question: With all of the budgets cuts in education, closing of schools, staff position cuts, and some schools are in session four days a week instead of five, Will preschool programs be the next item cut from the budget?
Quote: Multicultural education is a vision of what education can be, should be, and must be for all students. Hilda Hernandez (2001) What a powerful statement!
Fact: During the early part of the 1990's, Head Start proposed 10 multicultural principles as the framework for its programs. 1. The curriculum process in multicultural education is what emerges after a careful analysis of the needs, individual and family characteristcis, and interests of the child and also of the particular cultural and societal needs of the community.2.) Discuss James Banks' four levels:
Level 1 - The Contributions Approach which at this level topics of ethnic groups are added to the regular curriculum. It is the beginning effort to intergrate multicultural ideas into the curriculum.
Level 2 - The Additive Approach is the addition of themes and concepts to the curriculum without changing its basic structure. Teachers will begin by selecting a topic then plan activities around it. Level 3 - The Transformation Approach is to enable the student to examine the issue with different view points. This level gives the students a closer look at the target group. It is requires that teachers that work within this level must be constanly planning and flexible to make changes. Level 4 - The Social Action Approach is the forth and highest level and includes all the levels. It encourages the student to make decisions and take actions based on the concept, issue, or problem that they have studied related to the topics in the multicultural curriculum. 3.) The antibias approach was created by Paulo Freire, who defined the approach as the "practice to freedom" This aproach was developed to address diversity issues in the early childhood classroom, which helps children to develop positive attitudes toward diversity.4.) Which approach would you select as a multicultural educator? Why would you use this one? I think as a multicultural educator, first I would have to learn about the needs of the children, their families, and the community that I would be teaching in. I do like the Human Relations Approach because the goals and objectives are age appropriate. I want their educational experience to be a positive one, in which they would learn to get along with others, accept differences, and be proud of who they are. I think the amazing thing about young children is that they do not always see things black and white.Children see a friend, they do not always see that a child may have a different color of skin or that the child has a disability.

Question: With all of the budgets cuts in education, closing of schools, staff position cuts, and some schools are in session four days a week instead of five, Will preschool programs be the next item cut from the budget?

Quote: Multicultural education is a vision of what education can be, should be, and must be for all students. Hilda Hernandez (2001) What a powerful statement!

Fact: During the early part of the 1990's, Head Start proposed 10 multicultural principles as the framework for its programs.

1. The curriculum process in multicultural education is what emerges after a careful analysis of the needs, individual and family characteristcis, and interests of the child and also of the particular cultural and societal needs of the community.

2.) Discuss James Banks' four levels:
Level 1 - The Contributions Approach which at this level topics of ethnic groups are added to the regular curriculum. It is the beginning effort to intergrate multicultural ideas into the curriculum.
Level 2 - The Additive Approach is the addition of themes and concepts to the curriculum without changing its basic structure. Teachers will begin by selecting a topic then plan activities around it.

Level 3 - The Transformation Approach is to enable the student to examine the issue with different view points. This level gives the students a closer look at the target group. It is requires that teachers that work

within this level must be constanly planning and flexible to make changes.

Level 4 - The Social Action Approach is the forth and highest level and includes all the levels. It encourages the student to make decisions and take actions based on the concept, issue, or problem that they have studied related to the topics in the multicultural curriculum.

3.)  The antibias approach was created by Paulo Freire, who defined the approach as the "practice to
freedom" This aproach was developed to address diversity issues in the early childhood classroom, which helps children to develop positive attitudes toward diversity.

4.) Which approach would you select as a multicultural educator? Why would you use this one? I think as a multicultural educator, first I would have to learn about the needs of the children, their families, and the
community that I would be teaching in. I do like the Human Relations Approach because the goals and objectives are age appropriate. I want their educational experience to be a positive one, in which they would learn to get along with others, accept differences, and be proud of who they are. I think the amazing thing about young children is that they do not always see things black and white.Children see a friend, they do not always see that a child may have a different color of skin or that the child has a disability.

EDU 308 On-line: EDU 308 On-line 2010 Chapter 4

Question: Since the influence of culture is very important for the process of a child's development, then why do we as a society, allow the programs that are played on television in our homes? What happened to the time when sex, violence, and foul language wasn't allowed to be shown on TV?

Quote: "All children are born capable of learning." Jean-Jacques Rousseau I love this statement! My nephew was born 28 years ago with Downs Syndrome and when I spend time with him, I have learned even at my age that life is ours to enjoy and live for!

Fact: The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1990 reaffirmed the rights of the exceptional. As a result, children are more frequently exposed to people with different kinds of disabilities.

1. Development is the process of continuous change observed over time and experienced by all human beings.

2. The role of culture in the child develpoment process influences how they talk, interact with others, and or the way they express themselves. It shapes their behavior and creates their identity. Families play an important role in developing a child's development by teaching their beliefs, language skills, the way they dress, music they listened to, or social skills that they have acquired to their children. The parent is the child first teacher and must be a positive role model, especially when children mimic what they see and hear.

3. The role of the environment in the development of children's attitudes and behaviors sets the stage for the child as they become an adult. Everything that they learn as a child from the simplest manners to attitudes about others helps them to acquire socialization skills. The environment provides the setting that molds and shapes a child's developmental process.