Week 4: Speaking about death in early childhood

Today I was involved in a case study which lead the class in discussing the issues around death and whether early childhood teachers should discuss this amongst young children, is it too much for them to handle? Or do we need to expose them to the truths of life?

The situation we discussed in particular was the death of a pet guinea pig that the children had been looking after for a month at the centre. As early childhood educators it is a tough decision to make based on how we would discuss the death of the guinea pig the children loved very much. I think it is a little easier for parents to discuss death with children as they would say what they beleive based on the families morals and religious believes. As an educator it is much harder to discuss as their are much more stakeholders involved, their is a wide range of diverse religious background found within early childhood centres. One of the ideas the class had was to contact the parents first and inform them that the centre will be discussing the topic of death next week and will do so unless anyone does not aggree with it. The other issue is what to do with the guinea pig, should you bury it, dispose of it or cremate it? It was suggested that maybe we could ask the children what they think we should do? This allows them to create their own opinions and have a voice to make their own decisions. However it is very unlikely that all the children will agree, some children may beleive in burying the guinea pig while others may not.

This is obviously a large ethical issue and educators need to be prepared before they introduce pets into the centre. There is no right or wrong answer here with how to discuss death with children. Educators need to be aware of the impacts death may have on children such as: grieving, bed wetting, a behaviour change, bringing up the topic over and over or avoiding the topic all together. All children deal with situations differently and I beleive it is crucial for educators to be wary of this. There are also many resources out their to help with discussing this topic with children such as: reading books about death or discussing the life cycle of a range of living things, so that children understand that death is a natural way of life.

Week 3: What ethical stances are meaningful to me?

I can't completely think about all my ethical stances as I could probably think of millions and I am constantly developing new ones as I grow as both a person and an educator. So far in class we have discussed a few ethical issues that I have developed strong opinions about. My first ethical stance and a very general one is that everyone has the right as a human being to have a say and participate in any aspect of life they wish no matter what their situation is. In saying this I beleive that people with disabilities in particular should be treated as capable beings and should have the right to participate on the same basis as those without a disability.

Another issue we discussed in class regarded gay and lesbians. We looked at a scenario where a child at an early childhood centre had two dads, a mother complained that her child was coming home and talking about her friend haing two dads and she was not happy about this. This issue arose as to how we as teachers would handle the situation. I personally respect those who are gay and lesbian, I beleive they should be treated as human beings just like anybody else, however at the same time I need to respect the mothers opinion.

At the moment their is a push for those who are severely disabled as a result of birth to receive a payment just like someone who becomes disabled due to a car accident. From an equal opportunity perspective this is what would be fair and I think I would take on this perspective myself as I beleive they deserve some sort of financial help as it's not their fault.

As a whole I think I personally take on the perspective of a rights-based approach and an equal opportunity approach when discussing human ethics. However I understand that nothing is black and white, and especially as a teacher I need to take on the perspectives from all persons involved.

Week 2: 'to crib or not to crib'

In class today an issue was raised about child liberty and whether babies should be placed in cribs or not? The article being 'to crib or not to crib' raises concerns about placing babies in cribs to sleep. The argument being that cribs restrict the babies movements and don't allow them to make choices of their own, as the article states; "infant beds are designed to restrict the baby to bed". The article also states that the child is dependent on the parents to place him/her in the crib which also means he/she is dependent on the parents to get them out which usually means the child has to cry to get the attention of the parents. I guess the issues here are is it ethical to restrict your baby in a crib or should they have the right to sleep on a low bed where they can freely choose whether to stay in the bed or not and can have the ability to access his/her toys when he/she pleases. I guess there is no real right answer here as no parent would want to make their child feel restricted or locked up, parents don't usually think about this issue when they buy a crib as majority of society accepts the use of cribs. On the other side I beleive cribs are made in order to keep the child safe from harm while the parents are sleeping as the reality is a young infant is always going to be dependent on the parent as they don't have the mobility to get around by themselves and if a parent were sleeping while the baby is not restricted in some way the baby could get hurt.

Week 1: My believes and ethics

I have not thought about this question much, but I guess if I were to say what my main believes are, I would say that I beleive everyone has the right to have a say and participate in all areas of life that they wish. I beleive no one deserves to feel like a minority or to be discriminated against, including young children whom I beleive are seen as less important members of society compared to adults. I beleive it is important for us to respect each others believes and opinions as well as our own...