Monday, December 26, 2016
Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays from the Carmichael Family!
We are so blessed to have family and friends nearby that support us.
We are grateful that our boys have two sets of grandparents that love in bunches.
They have had so much fun over the weekend.
I hope you all have had a great Holiday Season.
See you in the new year!!!
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Pop Tart Bandits
I don't know what it is about these toaster pastries but boys seem to be drawn to playing with them while they are eating. I just gave my 2 1/2-year-old a PopTart and in the short period of time that it takes to consume the treat it has been several things. First, it was an airplane and it was zooming through the air and into his mouth. Then it was a car. I also watched as it became a sock.
Why is this a post worth writing?
Well, I can recall a news story about a little boy who was eating a PopTart and made the treat into the shape of a gun. His school has a zero tolerance policy and so because it was a gun he was suspended from school. I believe that it is important that we actually understand the development of children before we take policies and make them one size fits all. I am arguing that we consider the development of our students especially our young males of minority populations. We have to really get inside of their hands and ask ourselves why? Why are they doing this? It could be that it is something in the nature of the children. It could be environmental. It could be anything but we will not know until we start to question ourselves.
Why is this a post worth writing?
Well, I can recall a news story about a little boy who was eating a PopTart and made the treat into the shape of a gun. His school has a zero tolerance policy and so because it was a gun he was suspended from school. I believe that it is important that we actually understand the development of children before we take policies and make them one size fits all. I am arguing that we consider the development of our students especially our young males of minority populations. We have to really get inside of their hands and ask ourselves why? Why are they doing this? It could be that it is something in the nature of the children. It could be environmental. It could be anything but we will not know until we start to question ourselves.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Reason Why I Won't Teach Kindergarten or 1st Grade
I love working with the younger children but I do not want to teach kindergarten or first grade. I was talking with my sister-in-law who is currently a kindergarten teacher. She loves it. I would too but I cannot see myself in that grade or in first.
Well Why Is That???
Well Why Is That???
- We're doing too many things way too soon for these children. They should be engaged in play. Here's an article from the Washington Post that goes into a little more detail about doing too much too soon. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/01/11/why-forcing-kids-to-do-things-sooner-and-faster-doesnt-get-them-further-in-school/
- We're not giving children a chance to be children. To play, to explore, to create. Here are articles that goes more into how we are not helping the development of our early learners.
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/11/24/how-twisted-early-childhood-education-has-become-from-a-child-development-expert/?postshare=5061453573673514&tid=ss_tw
- http://deyproject.org/
- http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/08/462279629/why-kindergarten-is-the-new-first-grade
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/01/19/kindergarten-the-new-first-grade-its-actually-worse-than-that/
- I currently love prekindergarten. I'm not tired of it and I keep wanting to try new things. Every day there is something new. Each child is so unique. These children are keeping me on my toes.
- I feel like if I stay in prekindergarten longer, I will better be able to understand children and then will know how to help kindergarteners or first graders.
I'm not saying that I will never switch grade levels. Who knows, you may catch me in 2nd grade. But as for right now. I'm not going to change anything. First let me advocate on behalf of prekindergarten and get people to understand the importance of play and then maybe I can move. But right now I'm needed the most with the "babies".
Monday, January 25, 2016
Positive Images of Our Reflection
Just about everyone has heard about the comments that Stacey Dash has made on Fox. If not simply Google her name and you will learn all about it. I don't want to take up too much of your time with the background information. Additionally, my thoughts on this topic are not dependent on Stacey Dash's statement. On Facebook, I wrote a response that I want to share with everyone. I think that it has a valuable message that all can benefit from.
We all fail to realize that we all need to see positive images of our reflection. This applies to race, ethnicity, gender, age, size, sexual orientation.
I have two boys, CJ who is currently 2 and MAC who is 1. In my own personal experience, I am currently on a mission to find books that have males (in general as well as African American) as the main character. I want my boys to see images of African American men who are in college, law enforcement, medicine, education, and science. I want them to see African American athletes, singers, artists, musicians, and actors. I am not going to exclude them from images that do not reflect black and male but I need for CJ and MAC to realize that they have a potential, a destiny. I want them to be comfortable with their identity.
There are people all around who want their children to see themselves represented in the world. For example, there was recently a story about a family who adopted a Haitian child who had to have surgeries and she had crutches. This family was excited to see that Target had used a girl with crutches in their advertisement. This is a population of people who are largely underrepresented.
http://www.upworthy.com/a-moms-post-about-a-halloween-costume-is-going-viral-on-facebook-thank-you-target
Just imagine how it feels to not see someone like you in a positive way on TV, movies, books, magazines, etc. There are many people out here who are different from mainstream beauty who suffer often times in silence because they feel different. Everyone is not a size 2. Everyone does not go to the same church. Everyone does not eat pizza. Everyone is not tall. Everyone does not hair fair skin. And at the end of the day being tall, skinny, Christian, white is no better than being tall, fat, Muslim, and brown-skinned. What makes us a good person is not the things on the outside but our character. At the end of the day, what kind of person are you?
We all have a destiny and we have so many obstacles in our way but seeing positive images of ourselves helps us to realize our potential and makes it easier for us to keep going. We have so many people who are depressed or have eating disorders. There is so much self-hatred in these individuals. They have lost their way. They're looking in a distorted mirror, a mirror that reflects the image of someone else. Something that they cannot become. Think about the images that you surround yourself or your children with. Think about the standards you are setting for them.
There really is no need to ignore our differences. We really should talk about them and embrace them. Long story short, we do need to be inclusive but being inclusive means that we represent everyone and celebrate our differences. This does not mean putting someone down for being different but instead understanding the beauty in our differences. No, I am not a blonde woman but it is beautiful that blonde hair is like having a glimpse of the sun. My hair is still beautiful. It is a deep dark brown, brown like fertile soil. Life grows from the soil. We all have something uniquely and inherently special and beautiful that we can identify. We must learn to love ourselves and love our neighbors.
We all fail to realize that we all need to see positive images of our reflection. This applies to race, ethnicity, gender, age, size, sexual orientation.
I have two boys, CJ who is currently 2 and MAC who is 1. In my own personal experience, I am currently on a mission to find books that have males (in general as well as African American) as the main character. I want my boys to see images of African American men who are in college, law enforcement, medicine, education, and science. I want them to see African American athletes, singers, artists, musicians, and actors. I am not going to exclude them from images that do not reflect black and male but I need for CJ and MAC to realize that they have a potential, a destiny. I want them to be comfortable with their identity.
There are people all around who want their children to see themselves represented in the world. For example, there was recently a story about a family who adopted a Haitian child who had to have surgeries and she had crutches. This family was excited to see that Target had used a girl with crutches in their advertisement. This is a population of people who are largely underrepresented.
http://www.upworthy.com/a-moms-post-about-a-halloween-costume-is-going-viral-on-facebook-thank-you-target
Just imagine how it feels to not see someone like you in a positive way on TV, movies, books, magazines, etc. There are many people out here who are different from mainstream beauty who suffer often times in silence because they feel different. Everyone is not a size 2. Everyone does not go to the same church. Everyone does not eat pizza. Everyone is not tall. Everyone does not hair fair skin. And at the end of the day being tall, skinny, Christian, white is no better than being tall, fat, Muslim, and brown-skinned. What makes us a good person is not the things on the outside but our character. At the end of the day, what kind of person are you?
We all have a destiny and we have so many obstacles in our way but seeing positive images of ourselves helps us to realize our potential and makes it easier for us to keep going. We have so many people who are depressed or have eating disorders. There is so much self-hatred in these individuals. They have lost their way. They're looking in a distorted mirror, a mirror that reflects the image of someone else. Something that they cannot become. Think about the images that you surround yourself or your children with. Think about the standards you are setting for them.
There really is no need to ignore our differences. We really should talk about them and embrace them. Long story short, we do need to be inclusive but being inclusive means that we represent everyone and celebrate our differences. This does not mean putting someone down for being different but instead understanding the beauty in our differences. No, I am not a blonde woman but it is beautiful that blonde hair is like having a glimpse of the sun. My hair is still beautiful. It is a deep dark brown, brown like fertile soil. Life grows from the soil. We all have something uniquely and inherently special and beautiful that we can identify. We must learn to love ourselves and love our neighbors.
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