Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

When thinking about certain ism(s) and the consequences I may face in working with the children and the families I work with, I believe that classism play a big part of my present experience through lack of tools, and resources. Before working at my present job I worked for a well-known center that is consider a high quality center because it had everything a child would need to develop effectively. The center provided well-educated, and qualified teachers, great source of books, effective materials, and a well-equipped environment. However I notice that most of the children were children from higher class families. Also most of the children at the center parents provided them with effective learning tools within their homes before the children had even attended pre-k. However whenever we had our visits from our pre-k consultants, or our state visits the center always passed with flying colors based on the teachers performances, interaction with the children, and the classroom environment.      

On the other hand the center I work at now is where I feel I belong and my professional teaching skills can most be used to help the children, and their families that need my help the most. The ism I feel the children, and their families are faced with is classism because the center is considered to be in a low-income area. The children that attend this center is mostly of the Hispanic culture. Some of the teachers are not effective teachers that I believe can or will benefit the developments of the children in their care. I believe this is due to the lack of education, and trainings when it comes to meeting the needs of young children. As a result when the children, and their families entered our pre-k program the children are not ready for pre-k socially or mentally. The center also lack effective tools, and resources but have gotten much better since me and my co-teacher have made it known that the children, and their families deserve much better. I also noticed that when the pre-k consultant visited our center, and the state person, they seem to never see what we as new teachers saw. Which was the lack of materials, books, and other needed resources that make up a great learning environment for children. I do not know if this was due to us as teachers taking it upon ourselves to bring in library books, and other resource, or having our classroom environment looking set up in which to benefit young children. Nonetheless it always surprised me when they said everything passed okay.  For this reason I believe the children, and their families I work with experience a form of classism.

However as an early childhood teacher I will always provide a wonderful experience for the children, and their families that is effective, and beneficial for all families hoping they will never forget their experience while in my care. Derman-Sparks & Edwards stated, “despite the large numbers of children living in poverty, class and classism are arguably the most overlooked and misunderstood dynamics of inequality in the United States” (2010, p. 101).

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).