Blog Post 4   Bilingual Education and Academic Success Blog Journal/ MBoddie 

Observing and Interacting With Families of the Children in Your Setting:

Name: Monica Boddie

Date Observed: February 22, 2013

Name of Program/Setting: Christopher House Up Town

Whom I spoke with: The parent of Juleana Gonzalez, and the parent of Josue Ruiz

              I continued to go into the field to observe and interact with professionals, children, and families in my setting. My experiences were interactive, and I came during a time when the study theme was a cooking exercise. As an early childhood professional, I work with children and their families over a sustained period of time and have created a bond with the children as well as the families. I have observed the growth and development of the children and I listened to the thoughts of family members regarding the program/school, their children, and other areas of interest and concern.

                      As I consider how to engage family members, and encourage them to share their thoughts and needs regarding advocacy as well as the advocacy work in which they may be involved; I listened intently to their responses. As a childhood professional it is important that I support the families’ efforts, connect them with appropriate resources, and/or empower them to help themselves. As I think of the ways in which I would like to be treated as a child’s parent or family member, my first thought is respect and concern for me and my family. I bring sensitivity and respect to your interactions. Because of home visits, parent conferences and face to face interactions I have gained a rapport with the children and their families.

               My area of interest in the early childhood field is the importance of bilingual education and academic success. Bilingual education means teaching in two languages, in the child’s mother tongue and in the secondary language. My purpose is to advocate for the children and the families so that they will have equality in education and a plan for educational success, no matter what language that they speak.

Three focus questions:

• What can teachers to in the classroom to have rich language based environment that promotes natural language development?
• What can I do to help students make the transition from their native language to English?
• What are the methods of teaching bilingual education at the early childhood level?

            These three focus questions are answered through out the classroom during interactions with the students and the families as well as through out the materials in the learning environment. Ways in which educators can give of themselves while learning about others is essential within my advocacy plan. Language rich environments, transitioning to native languages, and teaching bilingual education are an intricate part of the classroom setting. When anyone walks into the classroom they can see by the environment if in fact bilingual education is being taught and respected.

Questions asked while observing and interacting with the Families of the

Children in My Program/Setting:

1. How does language impact behavior?

2. What can teachers to in the classroom to have rich language based environment that promotes natural language development?

3.  What can I do to help students make the transition from their native language to English?

4. What methods are necessary for teaching at the early childhood level?

Whom you observed and interacted with in your setting during this module:

The parent of Juleana Gonzalez and the parent of Josue Ruiz

           During the moments when I spoke with the parents the students often came over from their activities to share their interactions with me and their family members. My first interview was with Ms. Gonzalez and her husband. Ms Gonzalez did most of the talking however Mr. Gonzalez did add some input. The children were interacting in a cooking activity with their parents. I noticed that there were not many parents there for the activity. During my interview Juleana came over often to bring foods for her mother to taste. Mr. Gonzalez was making a pizza with Juleana while Mrs. Gonzalez talked. I asked Mrs. Gonzalez the following questions:

1.      How does language impact behavior?

Mrs. Gonzalez stated that language is very important in relation to behavior because communication is key in all situations.

2.      What can teachers to in the classroom to have rich language based environment that promotes natural language development?

Mrs. Gonzalez stated that the teachers can continue to ask for parent volunteers and utilize them through out the classroom. The teachers can bring in guess speakers, encourage the children to explore books and magazines, and during interactions at home encourage more language in the children’s native tongue.

3.      What can I do as an educator to help students make the transition from their native language to English?

Mrs. Gonzalez stated that she sees that I love and respect the students and their families and that I should continue to be a voice for them. Providing resources is an area that Mrs. Gonzalez likes and she feels that I should continue to find resources for the child and the family.

4.      What methods are necessary for teaching at the early childhood level?

Mrs. Gonzalez stated that understanding the child and where they come from is essential when teaching at the early childhood level.

I asked if there was anything that she would like to share and Mrs. Gonzalez stated that she feels that having the parents to come in to volunteer and to participate is great. Once the other parents hear about the activities from the other parent’s maybe they will take time to come in also. I shook her hand and thanked her as she and I went over to interact in the pizza making activity.

My next parent that I interviewed was Ms. Ruiz; she appeared to be more introverted and appeared not as talkative as the parent before. I am not comparing parent I am a making an observation based on my observation of her child and her interactions in the classroom.

Questions asked while observing and interacting with the Families of the

Children in My Program/Setting:

1. How does language impact behavior?

Ms Ruiz says that language is important and that if a child does not have language they will communicate with their bodies. Ms Ruiz stated that her daughter is quiet even at home however when she is in an environment that challenges her she behaves differently.

2. What can teachers to in the classroom to have rich language based environment that promotes natural language development?

Ms Ruiz stated that having the families to share article from their culture and bringing activities shared in their culture to school to share with their friends is a great way of encouraging language.

3. What can I do as an educator to help students make the transition from their native language to English?
4. Ms Ruiz says continue to support the child and not feel that if the child is corrected when they say something wrong they will feel bad. Have more posters on the walls and change them from day to day to show how others live within their own culture.
5. What methods are necessary for teaching at the early childhood level?

Ms Ruiz stated that a good education and love of children are necessary for teaching at the childhood level.

         I asked Ms Ruiz if she had anything else to say and she laughed and said “I better get back to my pizza making my baby keeps giving me dirty looks.” Ms Ruiz and I went over to the table just in time for the kitchen worker to come with a big pan to take the pizzas to the confection oven to bake. The parents wanted to know why we could not bring the small oven to the classroom.

        We had to explain that there are rules and regulations put in place to protect the safety of the children. The teacher helped the children to sing a song and to participate in finger plays while waiting for the pizza. The children learned the recipe which was placed on the wall with words and pictures. The words were in English as well as the home language of the child.

One of the parents said that she has a recipe book in Spanish and that the class could use it as they modify some of the techniques for an age appropriate level of children.

·         Any special learning experiences you may have had or an experience that provided you with insight about children and families including advocacy efforts

I noticed that the parents appeared to be very happy to see lessons taught in both English and in Spanish, and that their seemed to be curiosity when the children sang songs and participated in finger plays in both languages.

·         At least two insights gained from your observations of, and interactions and experiences with, children’s families regarding advocacy efforts and needs related to your area of interest within the field of early childhood

My insights that I gained is that the parents and families talked about their hopes and dreams often, and stated tat speaking proper English will help their dreams to come true. Another insight that I had was as the students were curious about the names of the materials that they were using, some would say the names of the materials in both languages and ask for clarification. Teachers who do not speak another language need to be careful when communicating not to say the words incorrectly.

 Quotes that I will share in my blog this week… Bad language is not good it only confuses you when you are trying to get a better understanding.