Dimensions of Early Childhood - Southern Early Childhood ...

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terry Green President 302 Clay Street Henderson, KY 42420 Georgia Lamirand President-Elect 2013 Rocky Point Drive Edmond, OK 73003 AFFILIATE REPRESENTATIVES Dee Ard -Alabama- 1805 Townshend Trace S.W. Decatur, AL 35603 Diana Courson -Arkansas- 2 Woodlawn Magnolia, AR 71753 Janice Sean -Florida- 124 Wilds Branch Rd. Marshall, NC 28753 Beth Parr -Georgia- 15 Jameswood Avenue Savannah, GA 31406 Kathy Attaway -Kentucky- 401 Persimmon Ridge Drive Louisville, KY 40245 Susan Noel -Louisiana- 211 Maureen Drive Youngsville, LA 70592 Beverly Peden -Mississippi- 21 Crossgates Drive Brandon, MS 39042 Susan Carrigan -Oklahoma- 2427 Foliage Drive Ada, OK 74820-4626 Judy Whitesell -South Carolina- 309 Moss Creek Dr. Cayce, SC 29033 Debbie Ferguson -Tennessee- 3906 Franklin Rd. Nashville, TN 37204 Judy Carnahan-Webb -Texas- 11927 Waldeman Houston, TX 77077 Toni Marie Cacace-Beshears -Virginia- 504 Madera Road Chesapeake, VA 23322-7100 Melanie Clark -West Virginia- 3272 Birch River Road Birch River, WV 26610 Sandra Hutson 1010 St. Peter St. New Iberia, LA 70560 MEMBERS AT LARGE EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Janie Humphries Louisiana Tech University Gloria Foreman McGee Tennessee Technological University Stephen Graves University of South Florida STAFF Glenda Bean Executive Director Dr. Herman T. Knopf 133 Old Pond Lane Columbia, SC 29212 Nancy Mundorf Florida Nancy Cheshire Fairmont State University, WV PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Terry Green What are you caught up in? We all get caught up in many things in our lives: a great book, a favorite sport or hobby, who will win on “Survivor” or “Dancing With the Stars.” Sometimes we get caught up in things that are not so positive, such as gossip in the office or a disagreement with someone. When we are caught up in something, it usually means we are spending a good deal of time thinking about it or doing it. I recently found myself completely caught up in watching a 3-year-old child and her mother who were sitting across from me on a plane. As do all mothers who travel with young children, the mother brought an array of interesting toys in a bag. But this child had her own ideas about how to spend her time on the flight. She pulled the aircraft safety information card from the pocket on the back of the seat and spent the next 45 minutes completely caught up in a number of learning activities. That’s right, the little fold-out pamphlet with the picture instructions of what to do in an emergency. She counted the pictures, made up stories about each one, named all the people in them, and even created songs about the pictures and what the people in them were doing. She asked her mother questions about what the words said, and tried to see how many different places around her seat the card would fit. I was completely caught up in this girl’s ability to direct her own learning and her mother’s ability to support it. It certainly made the time pass quickly. But it also gave me pause to think about what we as early childhood educators get caught up in. We spend a lot of time caught up in the debate about which curriculum is most effective, or how best to assess children. We spend an inordinate amount of time caught up in the discussion (and sometimes the complaining) about what legislators are doing to and not doing for young children and their families. All of these issues are very important, but while debating them, we must keep our eye on the prize. The prize is each individual child and family with whom we engage every day. They are the reason for all the other discussions, and we must not forget. We must remember to let ourselves get caught up in and carried away by the wonder of young children’s learning and each family’s strengths. If we do, we will not get caught up in and mired down by the politics and practices. Go. Watch a child play for an hour, with no other agenda, and no interruptions. It will renew your spirit and you will be reminded why you got caught up in working with young children and their families in the first place! 2 Volume 35, Number 1 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Winter 2007
How can teachers and families reduce bullying in early childhood programs, elementary schools, and after-school programs? This article presents steps to create caring communities of learners. Buddying or Bullying? A School-Wide Decision Due to space limitations, this article could not be included in the Fall 2006 theme issue of Dimensions, From Biters to Bullies to Bullets: Guiding Positive Prosocial Behavior, Nancy Mundorf and Stephen B. Graves, Guest Editors. Ben made a rude gesture toward his classmate, Keaton. Immediately, Keaton looked utterly dejected. Later, Keaton explained to his teacher that Ben’s signal was intended to reenact a weekend episode in which Ben and his older brother had rubbed Keaton’s face in dog waste. This situation, observed in the second author’s fourth-grade classroom, illustrates one of many types of incidents of bullying that children face at school, child care programs, and recreational environments. Bullying and harassment are increasing problems in educational settings around the world (Cowie, 2000; Lipman, 2003) as evidenced by statistics like these. ❑ In one study, approximately 90% of kindergarten through second grade children in a U.S. school reported being a recent victim of aggressive behavior (Orpinas, Horne, & Staniszewski, 2003). ❑ In a study of kindergarten through third graders in 25 urban and suburban U.S. schools, adults failed to intervene in 71% of the observed bullying episodes (Gropper & Froschl, 1999). ❑ Every 2.4 minutes, an act of bullying occurs on an elementary school playground (Craig, Pepler, & Atlas, 2000). ❑ Approximately half of the 2,766 Dutch children aged 9 to 11 who said they had been bullied never reported it to a teacher (Fekkes, Pijpers, & Verloove-Vanhorick (2005). Furthermore, when the incidents were reported and teachers intervened, the bullying did not decrease and in some instances actually increased. ❑ In a study of 37 school shootings in the United States, 66% of the attackers had “felt persecuted, bullied, threatened, attacked, or injured by others Jeanetta G. Riley and Janet S. Boyce Measures to prevent bullying can help both the bully and the victim. prior to the incident” (Vosseduil, Fein, Reddy, Borum, & Modzeleski as cited in Dake, Price, Telljohann, & Funk, 2004, p. 372), with some harassment having occurred over an extended period of time. In some countries, such as Norway, England, and Canada, the concern about bullying is so great that national governments have required schools to initiate anti-bullying policies (Smith, Ananiadou, & Cowie, 2003). The purpose of this article is to increase the awareness of those working with young children about the serious effects of bullying and to present a practitioner-friendly bullying prevention plan. In the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) initiative (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.), the U.S. Department of Education set a goal that by 2014 all students would gain academic proficiency as evidenced by standardized test scores. NCLB outlined a plan to accomplish this academic goal by improving schools so that the kindergarten students of 2002 would graduate from high school prepared for college and/or the work place. NCLB also includes the goal that schools will provide safe environments for students to learn. Aggressive behavior such as bullying has a negative impact on the Jeanetta G. Riley, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky. She has 23 years of experience teaching children in the early elementary grades. Janet S. Boyce, A.B.D, Ph.D., is an Instructor at The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg. She has 9 years of experience teaching children in elementary school and 10 years teaching self-esteem workshops for children. Winter 2007 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Volume 35, Number 1 3
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