My fifth course at Pacific Oaks was Social and Political Context of Human Development. After taking this course, I had better understand about varieties socials identifiers of race, sexual orientation, class, gender, and ability. I also recognized many attitudes towards those social issues that are known as one of the main factors impact on our everyday lives. In addition, I had chances to share my thoughts, and listen to my classmate’s stories at the check-in. I also had opportunities to work in the small group discussion that helped me to understand more diverse cultures and backgrounds. The weekly writing assisted me to get better at express my thoughts in English.
I have learned new information about how children learn was children enrich their knowledge from people around them, and living environment has a great impact on the children’s development. For example, children get negative stereotypes from their families and people around them. However, those negative stereotypes or assumptions that people make them, but they have a great impact on people’s lives. In this class, I also noticed living environment is one of the key elements that impact on the children’s development. For example, children, who are from poor families, are more likely to have low self-esteem. Their lives are very stressful when they see their parent is working hard, but they don’t earn enough for their basic needs such as home, food, and health.
This class added to my knowledge of working with children because I experienced with how to identify social portraits. Personally, I think that understanding children’s social identities portraits will help me to know their background and search information relates to their differences. In addition, this class enriched my knowledge about the impact of social issues on people’s lives, especially children’s development that will assist me to help and support children to express their thoughts and success at school. I also share resources to help their family. For example, currently I am working in Early Head Start toddler classroom for low-income families, so this class gained my knowledge about different struggles around them.
Recognize their difficulty in diverse families’ lives, I will be there to support them whenever they need information to assist them to break the cycle of poverty. My aha moment was the field trip, Unity, and Pride Rally at the Plaza de Cesar Chavez because I had chances to meet LGBT communities and listen to their presentations on struggles they are facing in their lives. Their stories touched my heart, so I remind myself of introducing LGBT communities to diverse families as well as children by providing books, and pictures relating to LGBT because they are deserved to be respected and treated equality.
