A key principle of NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct is that we shall care for and educate children in positive emotional and social environments that are cognitively stimulating and support each child’s culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure. Foundational knowledge in supporting children’s identity development through positive interactions that reflect and welcome each child’s unique background helps teachers develop trusting relationships and ensure their behavior communicates the importance of each child.
In this training, we will focus on the topic of culturally responsive interactions for children. We will continue to reflect on our attitudes, beliefs, and biases as we learn strategies to provide positive interactions that support children’s development and welcome each child’s unique background.
We shall care for and educate children in positive emotional and social environments that are cognitively stimulating and that support each child’s culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure.
Training Objectives
Explain the importance of supporting each child’s identity and development through positive interactions that reflect the child’s family, background, and culture.
Describe strategies for supportive interactions and preventing/responding to stereotyping or bias.
Reflect on current interactions, own background, and biases, and create a plan for future growth.
Workplace Objectives
Participants will provide positive, emotionally supportive interactions that reflect and welcome each child’s unique background, prevent and respond to stereotyping or bias, and implement an improvement goal.
Children should experience feeling safe and protected by an adult at home.
Unfortunately, some children do not experience this. Feeling safe and protected is a basic human need. If you do not feel safe, other functions in your body might stop working properly until you have found safety again.
Research shows that babies who receive affection and nurturing from their parents have the best chance of developing into children, teens and adults who are happy and healthy. These babies develop stronger relational, self-regulation and problem-solving skills.
Feeling safe and protected by an adult in the home helps to build the nurturing and attachmentProtective Factor.
Feeling a sense of being supported by friends can help build more resilience against adversity.
Somewhere between being supported by family and a sense of belonging in school lies the positive childhood experience of feeling supported by friends.
Strong, healthy, and nurturing relationships will help children navigate tough times. Being supported by friends means that your child has a group of peers:
they can turn to
who will listen to them
who will stand tall for them
who can laugh and cry with them
who understand what they need
Having a supportive group of friends helps to build the social connectionsProtective Factor.
Reference: Allen, K. (2019, August 9). 5 Ways to Boost Students’ Sense of School Belonging. Monash University. https://www.monash.edu/education/teachspace/articles/5-ways-to-boost-students-sense-of-school-belonging
Feeling a sense of belonging in school can help build more resilience against adversity.
Children who engage with others and in activities in school have higher rates of resilience and lower rates of chronic disease in childhood. When children create healthy connections with others, they enhance their social connections and increase their self-esteem which builds resiliency.
Some ways to encourage belonging can include:
Encourage positive relationships with teachers and school staff: someone whom they know, like, and have a safe, mutually respectful and supportive relationship. Not just academic support, but emotional support as well.
Create a positive peer culture of belonging: activities, events, promote school inclusiveness and expectations of behaviors that foster a sense of belonging for others.
Value learning: Students with a high sense of school belonging value learning, are highly motivated academically and can see the importance and value in what they learn.
Don’t neglect parents: A parent who values education, sees education as an opportunity for successful outcomes and values and respects school culture and rules is more likely to have a child who feels a sense of school belonging, compared to a parent that grumbles about school, had a bad school experience themselves, and constantly expresses a dislike towards schools.
Feeling a sense of belonging in school helps to build the social connectionsProtective Factor.
Reference: Allen, K. (2019, August 9). 5 Ways to Boost Students’ Sense of School Belonging. Monash University. https://www.monash.edu/education/teachspace/articles/5-ways-to-boost-students-sense-of-school-belonging
Experiencing the enjoyment of community traditions helps a child to feel part of a whole.
Community traditions can help connect extended families, bring people together and have them participate in traditions. They can help you find a sense of connectedness and purpose.
There are many examples of communities – a neighborhood, a school, a town, a support group, a group around a hobby and much more.
Experiencing community traditions helps to build the social connectionsProtective Factor.
Sharing feelings and emotions gives you a sense of belonging and feeling understood.
It is also an important way to bring down stress levels which helps to prevent feelings from becoming toxic. Sharing feelings is a great opportunity for families and caregivers to help children build emotional intelligence by coaching them through their feelings. Family and child interactions help children to develop the ability to recognize, communicate and regulate their emotions.
Social and Emotional Competence is a Protective Factor that helps families teach children how to have healthy relationships.
The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.
We know that learning to cope with manageable stress is critical for the development of resilience. Healthy relationships and supports will help children to manage “positive stress” and promote personal growth. It is never too late to build resiliency; it can be built at any age!
Research has identified a common set of factors that predispose children to positive outcomes in the face of significant adversity.
Resilient children will have:
At least one supportive adult-child relationship,
A sense of self-efficacy and perceived control,
Opportunities to strengthen adaptive skills and self-regulatory capacities and
Faith, hope and cultural traditions that can be mobilized.
Remember, you can be a child’s supportive adult.
How can you help build resiliency in children?
Tell children what you appreciate about them. Point out their strengths.
“I love your smile.”
“I like your creative style!”
“Thanks for helping me.”
“Thank you for being my friend.”
We can all use a little extra help at times. Model the behavior of a helping neighbor, friend or other person in the community.
Take a friend/neighbor food when they have a baby, are sick, etc.
Offer to take care of the next-door neighbors’ kids for a bit or feed their pet while they’re away.
Donate clothes or household items to the Red Cross or Salvation Army.
Volunteer to help with Habitat for Humanity or a church or community event.
Children’s biological factors contribute to building resiliency.
A child’s general health.
A child’s eating and sleeping habits.
A child’s genetic predispositions. Do other family members have physical or mental health issues?
A child’s temperament, which may affect attachment and bonding.
Of course, a child’s environmental factors impact building resiliency, too.
A child’s home environment: Is their home clean and organized? Do they have a stable home? Is there domestic violence?
Family influence: What is the parenting style? Are families or caregivers involved? What type of discipline is used? Is there structure or consistency?
Is the community safe?
If a child is in an unhealthy or unsafe environment they will struggle meeting expectations at school, afterschool activities, church or in the childcare setting. Having their basic needs met will increase the ability of a child to positively handle daily stressors and more intense live events.
Reference:
Resilience. (n.d.) Center for the Developing Child Harvard University. Retrieved June 6, 2023 from https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/resilience/
What are the first things that come to mind when you hear the word resilience? Take a moment to reflect on this word and what it means to you.
Before we begin, watch this short video about resilience. While you watch, think about whether or not the video matches your original thoughts on resilience.
You do not need to watch any recommended videos that pop up at the end of the video.
The resurrection plant is found in the dry desert regions of the American southwest. In times of extreme drought, the resurrection plant will curl into a ball and can survive without water for up to 7 years. When water returns, the plant can rehydrate in a few hours.
Resilience is the ability to adapt well when faced with adversity, tragedy, threats or significant stress. Everyone will experience twists and turns and ups and downs throughout life. Sometimes, they are ongoing stressors such as poverty, lack of transportation, or limited social supports. They can also be traumatic events that have lasting impacts like the death of a loved one, a natural disaster, or a life-changing accident.
Everyone needs to have resiliency. Without resiliency we are not able to properly handle stressful situations. Being resilient allows us to be our best selves and puts us on a trajectory toward healthy, positive outcomes.
Resilience does not require control and perfection, nor does it mean things will always turn out perfect or the way we planned. Resilience is the ability to “bounce back” from difficult life events and situations.
Resilience is a process, not a state. It varies across time and context. We all “bounce back” differently. Resilience will occur in the context of trauma and suffering. Some individuals are more resilient than others, but everyone has some degree of resilience. We want to be mindful that individuals do not feel stigmatized based on their degree of resilience. We must help folks feel free to celebrate small victories, even in the larger context of ongoing suffering & trauma.
Reference:
Resilience. (2022, May). American Psychological Association. Retrieved on June 7, 2023 from https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience
Many students with motor disabilities may have trouble crossing the midline or indicating a choice. This is also an indicator that helps identify supports.
This information can be found in the student’s present levels on the IEP.
Motor (check the best description):
No significant motor dysfunction that requires adaptations.
Requires adaptations to support motor functioning (e.g., walker, adapted utensils, and/or keyboard).
Uses wheelchair, positioning equipment, and/or assistive devices for most activities.
Needs personal assistance for most/all motor activities.
Hi, I am Simon. While it is never pleasant to think about, individuals we work with will pass away. It is important for us to understand how to cope with the loss of an individual under guardianship while following related policies and procedures.
Course Goals
This training course is designed to provide an overview of the basics of what to do in the event that an individual under guardianship passes away.
Learning Goal #1: Identify and use coping strategies to help support DAIL Guardianship staff.
Learning Goal #2: Describe ways to communicate with family before and after an individual passes.
A Reminder from Aida:
This course is part of a series of trainings required for all new employees. All new hires are required to satisfactorily complete trainings before being assigned cases.
All courses must be completed in order and in a timely manner.
