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Discussion - Gross and Fine Motor Activities Discussion Topic Top of Form Directions: There are many aspects of physical development, including both fine and gross motor skills, nutrition, and gender identity

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Discussion - Gross and Fine Motor Activities

Discussion Topic

Top of Form

Directions:

There are many aspects of physical development, including both fine and gross motor skills, nutrition, and gender identity. Consider these aspect as you complete the discussion forum.

 

For your initial post, discuss the following:

 

PhysicalDevelopmentTraitsAgesBirthTo8Years.doc

 

1. Using the handout, describe a developmentally appropriate fine motor and gross motor activity for each age group, connecting each to a theorist and DAP guidelines.

2. Refer to the Lesson Content on gender identify and describe an activity/material for each age group that would prevent gender bias in the classroom.

Who Defines Gender?

Gender is everywhere! Men don't wear skirts, women do. Boys play with guns and girls play with dolls. Baby shower gifts for girls are pink and ones for boys are blue. These are gender stereotypes in American culture. However, in Scotland, men wear "skirts" called kilts all the time. In Belgium, baby boys are dressed in pink and girls are dressed in blue.

 

It is clear that culture dictates much of how we see gender. Children often understand the idea of being a girl or a boy by the end of the first year of life. Between ages one and two, children notice physical differences between genders. By age three, they are able to clearly indicate if they are a boy or a girl. By age four, their gender identity is what we call "stable" and they know they will always be a girl or a boy.

Each culture has its own gender typing. It seems all cultures have a broad group of objects, activities, roles, and traits that are associated with one sex or the other. However, with the broad spectrum of cultures in America today, how do we know what those gender types are? And should we encourage them, try to reshape them, or remove gender from the ECE setting altogether?

 

Many of these ideas are passed down via popular culture in movies, music, advertisements aimed at a particular gender, and consumer products. Even our schools provide stereotyping for gender. For example, early childhood professionals who are male are uncommon and often experience negative bias and concern that they cannot be nurturing or appropriate with children. Gender stereotyping is everywhere.

 

Theories of Gender Identity

One of the first theorists to talk about gender was Kohlberg. He believed it was a learned cognitive behavior. Furthermore, he believed that children's understanding of gender influenced their behavior. If we look at Vygotsky and his ideas, we would see that imitation and instruction are vital components to children's development.

 

Adults promote gender role-modeling behaviors and pass along cultural meanings of gender development. Bandura believed that children learn from those they consider to be important in their lives. Teachers are important in children's lives.

 

Gender in the Early Childhood Setting

What should gender education in the early childhood setting look like? How do you handle cultural differences? How can we change the dialogue and build a world where gender is less important than just being human? Gender roles start very early, as indicated previously; as early as 8-10 months old. Changing the dialogue has to start from the beginning.

 

According to Aina and Cameron (2011), "Teachers have tremendous influence on how children develop ideas of gender and gender significance. Traditional caregivers typically reinforced gender-stereotyped traits when they praised girls for their clothing, hairstyles, neatness, and helping behaviors, and in contrast praised boys for their strength, physical skill, size, and academic accomplishments" (p. 13).

 

Gender stereotypes and sexism limit children's would-be growth and development.

 

To craft an environment to diminish gender stereotyping, early childhood education professionals should (Levitch & Gable, 2005):

· Observe their own behavior as professionals in various situations. Avoid making stereotypical inferences and attitudes.

· Recognize the abilities of all children without considering gender. Reassure children's self-worth, regardless of the activities they select.

· Raise gender equality by encouraging boys and girls to do the same activities.

· Introduce children to models of people in non-traditional gender roles.

· Circumvent language that limits one gender or another from participating.

· Strive to balance the gender of the main characters in books when selecting books for the children.

· Provide education to families regarding gender stereotyping and how it limits development.

· Carefully examine ECE environments for the existence of toys that are marketed in ways that reassure single-gender and remove them or at least have conversations that encourage all children to play with those items.

 

Challenges to Promoting Gender Equality

Unfortunately, there will always be challenges to promoting gender equality or eliminating gender stereotypes.

 

Educators and administrators are the biggest hindrance to gender inequality in the early childhood setting. Educators are often their own worst enemies because they are not able to get beyond their own biases or gender stereotypes. Children have a way of seeing past facades and modeling the behavior that one thought he or she was masking. One example pertains to men in the early childhood field. Women in early childhood may not perceive that men in the field can be capable of properly caring for small children for various reasons.

 

The field itself often pushes back against men, and often the work of an early childhood education professional is seen as "women's" work and devalued as being what women are required to do; therefore, men are often shunned if they want to go into that line of work. Society can be unforgiving at times.

 

One of the consequences of early childhood education being regarded as part of the women's work is that, in many countries, most parental participation comes from mothers. The ideas, attentiveness, and support of fathers are often negligible. Without this connection, fathers are less able to encourage and support either their young sons or their daughters. If competing demands arise for family labor, time, or funds, fathers are less able to justify their children continuing in early childhood education.

 

To change the dialogue, it must start somewhere. The champions of the early childhood field need to be the ones to change it (Bittner & Cooney, 2003).

 

To gain further understanding of gender identity and how it develops, watch the following video. Information from this video will likely aid in this module's assignments.