One Child at a Time

  Talking about communities of practice, the organizations that I readily identify with are: TEXProtect, a "champion for safe children." TexProtects was created in 2004 to tackle issues of CPS reform, prevention, and public awareness to bring a collective, organized voice representing the needs of children at risk of abuse and survivors of child abuse and neglect. The organization is autonomous and nonpartisan, designed to educate decision-makers, private funders, and the public. It is the only Texas organization with a dedicated focus on the issues of protection, prevention, and healing of abused and neglected children. It empowers families to thrive through education, research, and advocacy. Texprotect programs for children and families are evidence-based prevention programs driven by comprehensive research. Through its research, Texprotect can make policy recommendations. Its research results are applied to statewide advocacy efforts to help create systemic change through ...

          Diversity is everything that makes people different from each other. Diversity includes many various factors: race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, ability, age, religious belief, or political conviction. These factors work together to inform how teachers, students, and their families encounter the world (Baylor, 2020).      Connecting with peers, coworkers, and neighbors with diverse backgrounds and abilities is invaluable in an increasingly fragmented society. We live in a multicultural society. There is bounty and beauty in all cultures, races, and religions that make up the United States. I hope to help raise children enthused in celebrating our differences through advocacy and promoting a multicultural environment where each child can achieve their full potential. Admittedly, this can be a challenge when looking to create a cohesive childcare environment. But knowing that diversity improves critica...

  For this blog, I will be focusing on children in Ukraine. According to United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the war in Ukraine has had a devastating impact on the country's seven and a half million children. Humanitarian needs are multiplying by the hour as the fighting continues. Children continue to be killed, wounded, and deeply traumatized by the violence around them. Families are terrified, in shock, and desperate for safety. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the children are experiencing the devastating consequences of living in a war zone. There is the constant threat of shelling, shooting, and losing loved ones and the worry over accessing food, clean drinking water, healthcare, and the breakdown of their usual routines and structures. "The legacy of this war will be a traumatized generation," wrote Serhii Lukashov, the director of SOS Children's Villages in Ukraine. The mental health impact on children is likely to ...

  Well, I must admit, this is a bit of a daunting subject to tackle! And believe me, it feels a bit overwhelming to approach this as I am raising teens in a world inundated with promiscuity and sexual images around every corner. Only a generation or two ago, childhood was seen in the United States as a unique and vulnerable stage of development, a time for play and protection from adult preoccupations and responsibilities. In recent decades, however, we appear to have jettisoned these norms, and the lines that separate the lifestyles of even very young children from adults are blurring. Children dress like miniature adults in today's world, and creative outdoor play has been replaced by media entertainment saturated with sex, violence, and gender stereotyping. All these have been glamorized and marketed to children through dolls, clothing lines, video games, comic books, music magazines, television, and movies. According to Olfman (n.d.), "a sexualized society places all child...

  Children's relationships shape how they see the world and affect all areas of their development. Children learn about their world through relationships with parents, other family members, and caregivers. The social, emotional, and developmental effects of "isms" on a child's well-being have been well discussed through this program. As educators, our experience of isms can profoundly affect how we relate to children and their families. So my experience of racism and sexism as a black woman has been the fire I need to bring the best out of me and become who I am made to be. Growing up, we were not given a chance or had the privilege boys have of going to college and achieving their dreams. I am the last born of a family of five (four girls and a boy). The chances of going to college were remote. The odds were stacked against me. My elder sisters were married off after graduating from high school. Nevertheless, I was determined to get a degree. I had to endure challeng...

  "The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence"....Jiddhu Krishnamurti. I have the opportunity this weekend to visit the Galleria (This is a high-end mall in the Houston area). I observed diverse adults and young children communicating as they moved from one store to another. I noticed different interactions between adults and their young ones as I watched. There were diverse age groups in the mall. Some parents and their children engaged in deep conversation about prices and the products they want to buy. There was mutual respect flowing between adults and the children. On the other hand, some children I observed were recalcitrant and pulled along by angary parents. Finally, I observed a mother and her daughter having a heart-to-heart talk on one of the seats outside Macy's store. I took particular interest in this mother's deep conversation with her daughter, who was about eight years old, as I sat on the garden seat with them. I wa...

            Affirming environments emerge from environments where children feel safe, physically and emotionally, and are culturally responsive.  My anti-bias family-based center is a comprehensive, home-like learning center with children and staff from diverse backgrounds. The center curriculum promotes diversity and inclusiveness where all children learn, grow, and develop their full potential. In addition, children are equipped with the tools to cultivate friendships, partnerships, social justice, and equity as adults. The center staff is annually retrained and recertified, giving them the tools to help them be better caregivers in nurturing each child's developmental growth. The center atmosphere "exemplifies effective practices, and an intentional approach to anti-bias learning and community building" (Castillo; Laureate Education, 2011).          Our is to provide every child and their families the warmth, care, and love ...