**** you need 1 page writing and hand made paper mask NOT a picture from the internet.

Diversity Mask Assignment

This assignment gives you the opportunity to be creative and complete a hands-on project-something a bit unusual in an online class. I am posting the details in advance so that you can think about what you plan to do and give you time to collect the materials.

It is important that you do not begin working on your mask too far in advance because the mask is an assignment that shows what you have learned in this class and what topics and concepts made a strong impact on you.

Read the assignment format below carefully and post any questions you may have in the Teacher’s Lounge discussion forum.

When the masks are complete, I will create a discussion forum for you to share what you have created with your learning community.

Mask Assignment format:

1) Use our Glossary of Terms to determine the words and concepts that have been meaningful for you to decide what you want to use as the symbolism of your mask. Think about what you have read, what we have discussed and the supplemental materials you have viewed or read in the class.

2) Decide what you will use as the base for your mask. You may use paper mache’, a pre-formed mask that you purchase or recycle, or some other method. NO PAPER PLATE OR PAPER BAG masks will be allowed.

3) I suggest writing your minimum one-page description of what has been meaningful for you in this class first. Remember-wait until we have covered most of the material and you have done the majority of the readings.

Include in this information in your one-page write-up:

• How did you decide the topic(s) or concepts to symbolize on your mask?
• Why is this concept meaningful for you?
• Describe in detail how your mask symbolizes what you have learned about the topic(s) you selected-this may include color, images, texture of the mask, additional items attached, etc.
• How do you plan to take action in the area or topic you selected as most meaningful for you? How do you see yourself incorporating activities or interactions related to this topic in your current or future classrooms of young children?
• 4) Use your write-up to think about what you will add to your mask to symbolize your thoughts about your own learning and feelings on your mask.

Examples: If you found topics related to gender or sexism meaningful, this might be what you choose to focus on. If you learned many new terms and concepts, you might focus on these words. If bullying was important to you, you could use this topic. Your mask is a personal reflection of what you found meaningful in this class. It is 100% your own mask and it reflects what has been meaningful to YOU. I do not want to see masks made by you and your friends looking similar. I recommend using recycled and re-purposed materials to save money.

5) Use any available materials to symbolize your learning. Art is not always beautiful it is often used to shock or provoke thought on the part of the viewer. It can be collage mask with magazine images or words, it can be 3-D materials from nature or other 3-D materials. You may use paint, glue, paper, metal, etc.

This is NOT a project you would do with preschool children as it requires the ability to think deeply and abstractly. I do not want to see a project designed for children to do.

6) I DO expect you to take time to create a project that is well made, well thought out and thought provoking. I can tell if a mask has been made at the last minute.

7) IMPORTANT! When you have finished your mask, take several good photos of your mask with YOU in at least one of the photos. You are required to share the photos when you submit the assignment.

I hope you will enjoy the process of reflecting on what you have learned and thinking creatively to design a mask that reflects your experience.

This video is an example

This is the book (Im not sure if you can find free pdf)

Diversity in Early Care and Education; Honoring Differences, by Janet Gonzales-Mena, McGraw-Hill Higher Education (available on the NAEYC website) ISBN: 978-0-07-352586

No More Boys and Girls-An Experiment in Gender Expectations-Part 1

• Both sexes of young children are equally strong
• Both boys and girls can excel in spatial tasks and sports with practice
• How we speak to children as a teacher and as a parent makes a difference to their self-esteem
• Girls at a young age see themselves as less capable than boys her own age
• Teachers need to deeply reflect on how they speak to children
• We as educators can make a big difference if we plan intentionally

These are longer videos than I usually share but they are very important. Both will review some of the same information at the beginning but they are different.

Be sure to watch both videos before responding to the discussion this week.

WHAT IS AGEISM?

In todays world run rampant, and biases based on age like ageism are becoming a more measurable problem. Ageism is the discrimination against an individual strictly on the basis of their age. Ageism is most often thought of as prejudice against older individuals, however there are forms of ageism that affect as well.

Ageism can appear in multiple areas of everyday life and take many forms. Ageism discriminatory practices can appear in the , the healthcare system, forms of marketing, and even online shopping.

Agist discrimination has negative consequences that range from salary impacts to health effects. Ageism can hurt your bank account, it can hurt your health. . It affects us all globally.

Ageism happens every second, every minute, every hour of every day and fighting it requires changing the rules of society.

Types of Ageism

There are many different types of ageism that can affect each and every one of us throughout the course of our lives. Some of them happen in the workplace, some within the healthcare system, and some are agist biases we self-inflict on ourselves. Below are some of the types of ageism experienced around the world.

Self-Inflicted Ageism

As we age we may start to think of ourselves differently, relying heavily on age as a factor of how we should live each day. We may look towards our age as the deciding factor of whether or not to hike a mountain, open a social media account or apply for a specific job.

By judging ourselves as a number, rather than how capable we are in each specific situation, we are self-inflicting a form of ageism that can be detrimental to our quality of life.

We have been programmed throughout of lives to judge ourselves, but its never too late to learn to push internal judgement aside.

Ageism in the Workplace

Ageism runs rampant in workplace settings. Just as we have been programmed from a young age to judge ourselves, we have also been taught it is okay to judge others. Its almost impossible to stop the split-second judgement people have about others, but it is possible to learn to take that judgement and slow down before acting upon it.

Our immediate judgement about someone at work may be that they are too old to be any help on a fast-paced project, or that they shouldnt be promoted because they should instead be thinking about retirement.

Instead of assuming your immediate stereotypes about those you meet are true, tell yourself that you must first get to know each person before you are allowed to act on those immediate beliefs. You will find a couple of different things happen.

First, you will find yourself interacting with a wider group of individuals at your organization. Second, you will find that your immediate biases about others are most often incorrect.

Studies have found that the more you interact with individuals at work that you normally would not, the more you will be working towards a solution to ageism.

Reverse Ageism

happens when younger generations are believed to be too young or inexperienced to be helpful, knowledgeable, or able to manage a situation or team. Often, these stereotypes are completely false.

Just as with typical ageism in the workplace against older individuals, younger individuals should have the same opportunity to prove who they truly are and what they are capable of before other peoples judgement about them is acted upon.

Contrary to what we have all been taught to believe, age is not typically a good judge of someones abilities. There are plenty of young CEOs and inexperienced managers who lead teams to major wins. Capability doesnt always go hand-in-hand with age.

Ageism in Hollywood

Ageism in Hollywood, or ageism in the media and press, is one of the most detrimental types of ageism because it changes how people around the world interact with one another. If you watch movies or TV shows, or read books that include multi-generations interacting together, you will most likely find that there are numerous negative stereotypes. These stereotypes include less-than-positive jokes aimed at older individuals and their competency to be able to handle common every-day situations, and that older generations should stay out of the way, and often off-screen for the majority of the entertainment.

This has a strong effect on how we all grow up. We are inundated with the belief that older individuals should not be present in our day-to-day lives, and that when they are they should be at the center of negativity and jokes. We are learning stereotypes about older individuals every time we turn on the television or watch a movie.

Many actors are working to put an end to negative age stereotypes in the media, but that road is a long one. As media viewers, we can help by understanding that the stereotypes we view on screen should not be internalized to ourselves or externalized onto others in our lives.

Ageism in Healthcare

There are numerous studies that show that certain countries around the world have adopted a bias about age. that kidneys that are deemed healthy enough to use in some countries for transplants are discarded in other countries because they are believed to be of too much of an advanced age. Even the medical field cant agree on the fact that age is just a number, and that individuals (and their organs) should be judged on capability, healthiness, and experience rather than simply their age.

There are many healthcare workers who fight every day to keep age as just a number, but that fight is a hard one. The more we can lessen ageism in places like the workplace and the media, the easier it will be to lessen it within the healthcare industry as well.

Ageism in Family

It can often appear to be an easy decision to make to send an older family member to live in a retirement community. However, many who fight against ageism believe that this perpetuates the stereotype that we should send away the older individuals in our communities because we believe them to be unfit to participate in day-to-day activities. There are many people who believe that retirement communities help breed ageism biases, because younger generations see their grandparents cast away to live elsewhere to be taken care of by others.

Studies suggest that if we interact more multi-generationally in our lives, we are less likely to participate in ageist thoughts and actions. Those who fight against retirement homes and communities believe that if those places did not exist, ageism would be less rampant around the world.

Access the link below, and you will see the information above. Scroll to the bottom for more information pages to explore.

Wholesome Families-Positive Change is Happening

Honeymaid Wholesome Families campaign shows a diverse range of different families. While there is so much divisiveness today in our political discourse, it is refreshing to see positive messages in our media about families we find in our communities today.

As an educator you will serve families that may be very different from your own. As a teacher it is your responsibility to support ALL families in your classroom community.

For a child, his family consists of the most important people in his or her life. We cannot support the education of a child without including our support for the child’s family.

Honeymaid received some negative comments from viewers for sharing

diverse family forms in their commercials. Because the company

received more positive than negative comments they commissioned

artists to create the companies response in the video below.

What do YOU think about their response?

WRITE MY PAPER