When I Think of Research....

The class “Building Research Competency” for Walden University has really challenged me on my knowledge about research in the early childhood field. I have truly gained an insight on how long research takes and how many parts can factors go into one research topic. This has changed my ideas and nature about doing research in the field because I now know that I would have to devote my whole self to research and not just try to complete research “part time”. It is hard to receive accurate results when  a person is not fully committed to the research by having the time to complete it entirely. I learn lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in the early childhood field by having to set up my own research simulation and think about each part of the process. I did meet challenges when setting up my research with making sure that the research I would conduct would be valid. Validity of research is so important and much thought needs to go into it to achieve success in a research situation. Perceptions of the early childhood profession have been modified for me as a result of the course by having more respect and understanding for the people that do conduct research throughout the field. I am glad to have taken this course to expand my understanding about research and how it applies to my life in the field of early childhood education. 

Research Around the World

This week I decided to research Australia’s education to see what the countries insight is on education and what the “hot topics” are on the other side of the world. The website that I visited that gave me my information was http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/. This website is Australia’s equivalent to the United States NAEYC website.

When researching I found some current topics from their website. This included: prioritizing childhood care and the education outcomes in early childhood, early childhood and oral care, the importance of play in early childhood, and helping a child learn to focus more in a school setting. I found all of these topics fascinating and comparative to the States. I feel that the research that Australia and the States come up with surrounding these similar topics will be valuable for all the children in these countries.

I did find some surprising insights for me while I was researching around on the website. I think the biggest items that stuck out to me were the health concerns and ideas that surround the early childhood field. I was surprised to find out that in Australia most children brush their teeth after lunch and in school hours they have 15 minutes a day of “grooming” time. This would include washing their face, brushing teeth, brushing hair, etc. I found this odd only because I was not exposed to this during my schooling and the students in my class are still not exposed to it. I could see the benefits of this activity to help children understand the importance of personal hygiene and taking responsibility for their body. Another surprising aspect I found was that students in preschool and Kindergarten will still drink their mother’s breast milk for their drink during lunch. I just found this odd because I do not know anyone that provides breast milk for their child over the age of 3.

One last noteworthy information piece that I found on this website was also Australia’s code of ethics for the early childhood field. It is almost identical to the United States. Although we are so far away, our countries are really not that different.

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

When looking a research there are many positives that come about. Positives are usually not focused on as negatives are. This week I would like to share a positive example of the effects of research that can affect a child. While I was taking my undergraduate classes at Ashland University a professor and some of his students began researching the lead consistency of Halloween toys that are usually given to children at parties such as classroom parties. These could be plastic buckets, spider rings, vampire teeth etc. They found that “Items like a witch candy bucket tested at 88,900 ppm; a treat basket with pumpkin ornament tested at 87,800 ppm, and fake “ugly” teeth tested at 65,200 ppm.” (2007). The acceptable levels of lead were 600 parts per million (ppm), or 99.97 percent lead-free. (2007). All of these items were recalled. I believe that this research was so important and helps many children not have contact with items that contained lead in them. Lead is so dangerous and can cause serious health problems. I also like this example because of how the research was conducted. They did not put any person in harm of the lead and used safe procedures. This research also helped change the ratio of how much lead can be in toys and the stricter evaluation process of imports coming to the United States. I am glad that this research took place before all the children received those toys. If you would like to read about these stories you can visit these sites:

http://www.ashland.edu/news/2012-01-09/alumni/ashland-university-professor-and-senator-brown-give-progress-report-safety-ha

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500172_162-3422364.html

Reference

2007. Ashland University Professor and Senator Brown Give Progress Report on Safety of Halloween Toys Sold in Ohio. http://www.ashland.edu/news/2012-01-09/alumni/ashland-university-professor-and-senator-brown-give-progress-report-safety-ha

My Personal Research Journey

During my next class at Walden University, I am to conduct a research project based on something in the field of early childhood and something that is passionate to myself. The topic I choose to research is in the genre of technology and early childhood education. The main thesis is to see if standardized tests that are technology based have different outcomes than the typical paper and pencil tests. The reason I am picking this topic is because of what schools in my state and the district where I teach are converting over to. I currently teach Kindergarten and in the first few weeks of school, the students were taking a computer based tests so that the district overall can see academically what the students know and what they still need to learn or deepen their knowledge in. So far in my research I have found more articles that have stated that the medium of the test does not matter. I have also found that tests taken on computers have more of an opportunity to provide application problems which will enhance accurate outcomes of student knowledge. I have also found that computer based tests have less stress for children than the typical paper and pencil tests. If anyone has any information about standardized testing in technology vs. testing in the most typical fashion, I would love to hear it! Here are three resources that I have found so far that interested me, and I hope they interest you. I hope the knowledge that I find can help improve my student’s success of the tests, as well as everyone else that reads about my upcoming research.

Kearns, L. (2011). High-stakes Standardized Testing and Marginalized Youth: An Examination of the Impact on Those Who Fail. Canadian Journal Of Education, 34(2), 112-130.

Miller, D. J., & Robertson, D. P. (2011). Educational benefits of using game consoles in a primary classroom: A randomized controlled trial. British Journal Of Educational Technology, 42(5), 850-864. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01114.x

Wilma C. M., R., Wouter M. P., S., Xenidou-Dervou, I., Stevenson, C. E., & Julian G., E. (2011). Computerized Dynamic Testing: A Study of the Potential of an Approach Using Sensor Technology. Journal Of Cognitive Education & Psychology, 10(2), 178-194. doi:10.1891/19458959.10.2.178

Final Blog Assignment

During this class (Trends and Issues in Early Childhood Field through Walden University) I have learned many new, exciting, and intriguing things. To end this course, I would like to state some things that I have learned and a goal for the field that I have.

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field.

1.     1.   I think the biggest aspect that I have learned about is the time restraint on the educational realm, especially in the early childhood field. Time is not devoted enough to the early childhood field in other areas around the world, and it should be. I now know the greatest gift I could give to the education field around the world is my time and effort to help all students receive a proper education.

2.       2. An indirect consequence that I have learned about is truly how lucky I am to be involved in a great education system. All of the United States education systems might not be perfect, but it is more developed, more researched, and more valued than in other countries. I am glad that my students and my future children will be involved in an education system that has more opportunities for success in the future.

3.     3.   The last consequence about learning about the international early childhood field is just realizing that other small children around the world are not given the chance at a standardized schooling system. It makes me want to go and help develop other systems throughout the world. It also pushes me to go and explore different education systems as well. I hope one day I am given a chance to do this.

My goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends in the spirit of collegian relations

-          My goal for the field is to just keep people from all over the world to keep talking and developing the field. Education will only help the world in the long run, so giving ideas and talking about education would benefit everyone. I know that I will keep in touch with the international contacts that I have made for this class just to learn and explore new options available to myself and to give to others.

International Contacts Part 3

This week I talked exclusively with my contact from Mexico about their education system. I wanted to see what current issues were being discussed, along with his personal thoughts about the education system. Below are the questions I asked followed by his responses. I was shocked and surprised by some of the responses, but in the same sense, felt unified in some of the same stances in education that we have together. I am overall pleased with the interview that I conducted this week, and I hope it brings you insight too about the education system in Mexico.

What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?

Right now the main issue being discussed in my town is the low enrollment rates. When new elected officials come into office the enrollment status of the students always changes. The reasoning for this is because their parents might not think it is safe for them to go to school, their families need more help elsewhere, or the new educational changes are not beneficial according to the families. Education in my town is of very low acceptance which is looked at as low quality. The older students are the ones that drop out quite frequently. We are now trying to get our officials to put education as a top priority for the town at the moment.

What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

There is room for professional development, but not the same as in the U.S. Our professional development consists of mostly meetings on how to incorporate the town and cities more into the educational system to make our system stronger. We also have book studies every 3 months which I find very helpful.

What are some of your professional goals?

My goal at the moment is to finish my five year contract in this Mexico school district, and then move to a neighboring school district in a major city. In the city I feel I could better reach the children and families to inform them about the education system and how positive it is. In the city there is also room for growth in the field. I eventually want to move back to the U.S. and teach again in a town populated by Mexican immigrants.

What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

                                                                                                                                             

A hope for me right now is to get these Mexican children on track for a brighter future. It is hard to see each generation turning into the generation before them and not making much progress. This is my biggest dream and biggest challenge rolled together.

Sharing Web Resources

I have a wonderful website that I would like to share with all of my graduate school friends. This website is called, “Technology for a Global Early Childhood Education”. This website is geared towards helping early childhood educations find resources and information about using technology within the classroom. I know that I am always looking for new ideas, including the use of technology. The link to this site is http://globalearlyed.wordpress.com/.

In this website they have many links and ideas on how to make a classroom global in the sense of technology. This would mean making sure that every student understands technology, how to use it, and how to adapt different technologies for new usages. Looking at the one article provided on their website titled, “Global Education: Bringing the World to Your Classroom” it has shown me how lucky the students that are in the United States are with the advancement of Education. Other European countries along with China and Japan have great technology resources within the classroom. Because of this according to the article, this is why these children are advanced in their schooling. They are advanced because of the use of technology to make items concrete and be able to visit “globally” to understand and see different concepts.

I would highly recommend visiting this website. This has truly helped me become a more educated teacher in the sense of technology just by viewing this website.

International Contacts Part 2

This week I did some major reading and talking to my oversea friend that is currently in Spain. I learned so much about education in Spain this week that really tweaked my interest.

The way that the “politics” of school in Spain is very different than what I am use to. This is what my friend and I talked about mostly this week. There were three things that I found very interesting. The first thing was that in Spain, parents can pick what school to send their children to, even if it is public. This means that some children are transported 30 minutes to an hour each day to get to school. Schools are also rated on their preference. Most popular schools are very hard to get into and a lottery system can be used or a donation to the school to get a child into the system. Another thing I found very interesting was the classes that the students must take. All students must take an advanced art class when they get to “high school” which would include: volume, technical drawing, design, and audiovisual communication just to name a few. They also must take a foreign language which is not unheard of. The last requirement that I found radical was a class in tourism. This class is a requirement for graduation and offers topics on how to create tourism and tourism of other countries. The reasoning behind this is to create a greater appreciation of other cultures and people within the world. The last thing that I found out about the “politics” of school in Spain is that I want to touch on again is their school hours. They go to school 7-1 Monday-Saturday. I am still shocked that this is possible. I do not know how all the curriculum fits in this day, but I would love to see it work. I am just shocked at these hours and somewhat jealous of them as well, even though I think school on Saturday would be hard for the United States now with all the stigmas of the weekend and how weekends have become so busy for many families.

The article I read this week was titled, Current Issues in Comparative Education. I was reading this article and trying to relate it to all the information about education in Spain that I have learned so far. I found that in the article they state, “many developed countries have begun to turn their attention to “very early” education of children from birth to pre-primary age” (2009). This is true of Spain as well because they have the option for parents to send their children to school at the early ages of 3-6. It was a very good comparison that Spain and the United States both value early childhood education. The article also talked a lot about African Education and what the issues are with their system. I am glad to say that in Spain and in the U.S. we are not in such educational debt as they are. Textbooks go missing and get ruined, there are not enough supplies to give every student materials, some students do not show up for days, and there can be over 70 students per class (2009). This made me thankful for our education system and for Spain’s as well.

Although no education system is 100% fool proof, I feel that countries that put emphasis on education and have money to support education are well on their way to making sure that every child has a proper education. I hope in the future, I get to see changes to other developing countries in the educational world as well.

Teachers College, Columbia University. (2009). Early childhood care and education: Worldwide challenges and progress. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 11, 1–44. Retrieved fromhttp://www.tc.columbia.edu/cice/Issues/11.00/PDFs/11_Complete_Issue.pdf

Sharing Web Resources

The website that I have subscribed to is Zero to Three. It is a great website with a lot of information for children from birth to three years old. Although I am a Kindergarten teacher right now, I feel that the information presented on this website is still relevant to my current profession.

The main reason this website pertains to my current profession is just for the ideas and suggestions on how to deal with families, as well as information on how to help improve family units. Many children in my class right now have younger brothers or sisters. Most are the oldest in their family. At home, their family unit can get hectic with a little toddler, a baby, and a school aged child. My job is not only to help the children in my classroom, but to also help improve family units in any way that I can. This website give me great information to relay to my families when needed.

Even though this organization is wonderful, there is always something that is going to be controversial to some people. The current hot topic on their website is titled, “Parenting from a Distance”. It talks about how children that are in repeated situations where parents leave are emotionally damaged and can be attuned to stress and anxiety. This can occur for a number of reasons, such as parental separation and divorce, hospitalization, incarceration, foster care, and military deployment or other work-related relocation. It then gives all the negatives, but did not give many ideas for helping the situation. I was surprised about this and made me somewhat dissatisfied with this article. Some parents cannot help what is happening during this situation and I do not believe it was fair to group them in the statistics that they presented. I was also shocked that they did not include any statistics for the main time when families were separated in most people living’s lifetime which was WWII.

This website is designed to also contain information from economists, neuroscientists, and politician support throughout the website. The have tabs on the main page that direct a person to all these different viewpoints. Early childhood sites usually do contain this information to give people the latest theories, research, ideas, and to help families become great advocates for their children. They can also find out who is going to make the best decisions in the field of education and child welfare.

I feel that with this website always changing, new trends and issues can always be found. The ages of birth to three are very crucial in a child’s life. With new research and articles posted everyday this organization is a gold mine for parents and educators alike. 

http://www.zerotothree.org/

Poverty and School in Other Countries

I have found two great conversation partners to understand two different cultures. The first person is named Heather.  She works for the US school system in Europe, but does interact with the cultures their and also knows about the different school systems. She has told me so far that in Spain and Italy the kids go half days Mon to Sat. They go home for lunch and stay home. This is for many reasons. The first reason is the emphasis on family bonding. The schools also save money on only having the building open for a couple of hours a day, and do not have to include “wasted” time in the school day such as lunch and recess. The children then are able to go to work (in older grades) and the younger children can help their parents around the house. I think that being able to go to school and work for these children in a wonderful opportunity to learn time management and also how to support themselves once they are out of school. They can also start their careers very early and progress quickly. Poverty is not very high in Spain because everyone is mostly the same economic status. They all help each other and live only in their means.

The second person I have been talking to is John and he lives in Cozumel, Mexico. He has been harder to contact since he does not have internet in his home and only can use it at the school when his time is slotted. He has told me that whenever a cruise ship or big groups of tourist come, the children are to leave school and help their parents in the shops or stands to earn money. Their whole schooling is based around travel time and the main way of money for most families is from tourism. Many people in the city also work at tourist attractions (dolphin encounters, parasailing, fishing boats, etc) because they know that they will have a steady income. He says that school takes place Monday – Thursday and his class roster is 35. He said on good days he will see 15 of the students. School is not a big emphasis in this tourist town. I have never really considered the idea of tourism before for these countries that are poor and how much it means to them. It is crazy for me to think about risking a child’s education like this, but the child is learning the value of money and social skills.

I have learned a bunch about difficult cultures this week and hope to use my resources to learn even more.

Sharing Web Resources

This week I review an organization that I have researched before. The organization is called Zero to Three. The organization’s focus is to train and support professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. You can visit their website at http://www.zerotothree.org/.

While viewing their websites I registered for newsletters to be sent to my personal email. There newsletters are monthly so I have not received one yet, but am waiting patiently! I was looking at their website to see an issue or trend that caught my attention. I found an article named, “Good Nutrition Feeds Healthy Development and a Healthy Future”. This article was about the reestablishment of The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). In the article it showed research on the impact of child nutrition programs. The article states, “A young child who goes hungry or consistently lacks nutritious food or breast milk is less likely to grow and develop properly. In fact, infants and toddlers living in food insecure households are 76% more likely than those living in food secure households to be at developmental risk” (2009). I feel that this impacts many different families from around the world. In some places in the world formula is not used. In today’s society in the U.S., I hear people all the time saying the breast feeding is too difficult and does not work for a baby that is over 8 pounds. This could be an issue for families around the globe that breastfeeding is their only option. It also could be an issue for different people in our society that do not have money for formula. The article also stated that people that live in rural areas have limited access to nutritious food. This surprised me because I would believe that farmers that live in rural areas would grow crops that would be nutritious. I guess at the same time, there are only so many crops that will survive in one area. By looking at this data, I believe that more relief programs should be looking to support our rural communities. The article also quoted, “Because poverty is often not as geographically concentrated in rural areas as it is in urban areas, this method of reimbursement unfairly affects providers in rural districts” (2009).

 I can truly believe this fact.With this current issue happening right now, I hope that other people read this data and agree with it. Being able to give all individuals the same help should be a priority in our country.

(2009). Good Nutrition Feeds Healthy Development and a Healthy Future http://main.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/Nutrition.pdf?docID=9081

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Hello and welcome to my blog! I am now in my 4^th class at Walden University and excited to start a new class, learn new information, and obtain new resources. During this class I will be reflecting on how education is set up differently around the world. To do this I needed to set up some contacts around the world to chat with. At first I was overwhelmed. I do not know anyone personally overseas that is employed as a teacher. But then, I remembered that we have the internet, so I did not panic! I ran to facebook! I put out a post to all my friends for help and I got 15 responses within an hour. This was great news! From there, I contacted 2 individuals that I thought would be extremely interesting to talk to. One is a male teacher from Mexico. Mexico has many different aspects of education and I would like to know first-hand what it is like to be a teacher there. The second person I contacted was a female that has works for DOD and has been many places around the world and has taught many different children.  I was very interested to see what she has to say. Basically, facebook was a life saver here!

Reaching out to other educators and learning about their education system has always been a passion of mine. I think this is one reason I choose the specific master’s program I am in. It is all about finding the best way to educate these children. Children are all unique and diverse. Having a specialization that helps me understand all the ways that a child is diverse can only help! I hope for all my colleagues for this semester to be filled with knowledge and understanding of ESL children and children from diverse backgrounds. 

The newsletters I bookmarked where from NAECTE. I felt that this was appropriate since I am a Early Childhood Teacher. I use to have a membership to this organization during my undergraduate years, but did not renew. I am glad that I am able to view their useful newsletters again. I would highly recommend joining this site!

My Supports

Having supports within one’s environment is very important. I have always been lucky to have such great supporters around me. I have a wonderful husband who emotionally supports me as well as physically helps by cleaning the house, cooking, etc. I also have wonderful parents who do the same things. I also have support from the staff at the school where I work and some amazing grade mates that help me get through the day. I also use a personal support of making lists for myself that include anything from what I have to do today, a grocery list, a homework list, to a menu of all the meals I am going to make this week. Having these supports make my life more Zen. It helps me feel secure and helps me to do my best at anything.

I know that some individuals are not as lucky as I am though. I came to the inclusion by watching the news, reading articles online, checking Facebook and seeing some horrible situations that my friends are going through. Yesterday I was flipping through channels and landed on MTV’s “16 and Pregnant”. I was thinking that if I was 16 and pregnant I do not think I would have all these supports and “the perfect life” that I have now. I know I would not of had supporting parents of myself getting pregnant. They would be disappointed and that would of made me feel bad about myself. I also might not be married today and have the support of my husband. Or on the flip side, I might have married my husband early (we have been together since I was a freshman in high school) but our relationship might not have matured as it has and we could be very miserable. I do not know what I would do about losing these two main support systems in my life. I would feel incomplete, sad, and depressed. I think that in the world maybe this is why we have so many people that are depressed. Maybe they do not have a great support system and in retrospect do not support themselves then.

It is important for every human being to have some type of support. It could be the support of working out and feeling good about them, it could be the support that a therapist gives; it could be the support and idea of knowing that when you get home your dog is going to cuddle up with you. Anything that gives a person drive and motivation I think is a support within their life. 

My Connections to Play

This week at Walden University we have been discussing play and the benefits to play. It made me think of myself playing when I was a child, and boy do I miss it! Not a care in the world, out all day all summer, and making up the most outrageous games with my sister and friends.

Here are two quotes that I think sum up play in ways that I could not say:

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” 
― Plato

“If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play” 
― John Cleese

When I was growing up I had my certain play toys that I love!  I feel that these twos things were essential for me growing up! Those would be Beanie Babies (first generation child here!) and any type of playground. I can remember spending hours and hours with my Beanie Babies!

                                                   

                                       

                When I was little playing was so different than it is today. My parents would encourage me to play all day basically. The only exceptions were during meal times and in public places like a mall or restaurant. They would let me ride my bike down the street to my friend’s house and stay there all day. They would give me and my sister big boxes and anything that we wanted to play in. My dad also created games for us to play with him and was very creative. My dad was the biggest part of encouragement for my sister and I for playing. When he got home from work every day he would play with us no matter how tired he was. He was always there and I looked forward to him coming home every day.

                Today play is different because of how parents act and how our society is now. Parents rarely let their children play outside without supervisor when as a child I could remember playing without my parents watching me. Parent’s schedules now are also different. They are busier with longer hours and more stress in the work place. Coming home sometimes parents do not want to play with their children and encourage solitary play for their child. Playing needs to have interaction because socially that is how a child learns.  Solitary play does have it benefits, but I believe most playing should be done at least with another person. I feel that without the play time that I had growing up with my friends and family members I would not be the person I am today. My creative playtime as a child has turned me into a creative person today. I hope in the future children are given the same opportunities for playtime as I was when I was a child. 

Relationship Reflection

Earlier this year I reflected on relationships and partnerships that are important to me. Now it is time to reflect again.

The first relationship I am going to talk about is my relationship with my Husband. My Husband’s name is Patrick and we have been together for 8 ½ years and have just passed our one year marriage anniversary. I have been with him through high school and college and our relationship has had its turn of ups and downs. It has also grown and matured as we have. Our relationship is a positive because of the support and love that we give one another. Patrick is always there to help me out in a tough times and not so tough times whether it is cleaning the house, grading papers, supporting me with my many hobbies, or being there when I need someone to talk to. He was a great friend, boyfriend, fiancé, and now husband. Our relationship had to grow and mature because of how we were growing. Being 14 with someone is different than being 23 with someone. We have experienced a lot together and I cannot wait to experience more with him.

The second relationship I would like to share with you would be my relationship with my mother-in-law. She is like a second mother to me. She is caring and supportive with everything that Patrick and I do along with everything that I do personally. She is a great support in my family and is always ready to help. Throughout our relationship we have grown closer and have bonded in many different ways. She is a great and strong person and I am thankful to have her in my life.

The last relationship I would like to share is not a relationship with a person. It is a relationship with my cat named Aspen. I have had animals in the past when I was growing up but I have never had a connection with an animal like I do with her. She makes me feel so comfortable and in her own way communicates to help me. She is my cuddle buddy and helps me release my inner child. She is even more special to me because this is the first animal that my husband and I have adopted together. She is like our child and gets us through the days with laughter and love.

I feel that all these relationships help my work as an effective early childhood professional in many ways. First, all of them are there for me in different ways. My husband is there for the active part when I have a billion different papers to grade and write a newsletter and plan the next field trip all before I have to go to bed. He helps out with a lot of “chores” and without him; it would make my life very stressful. My mother-in-law is there to listen to my stories and give me ideas on things to do with the kids. She helps out in many ways and supports me in my graduate school work while teaching. My cat is there is cuddle when you just need a hug type of day. She makes me calm and realizes that the small things should not be stressed over but the big picture is what matters. She brings me back to reality.

Positive relationships help out every individual. It is important to have many positive individuals in your life as a friend, guide, and companion through this thing we call everyday life.

Effective Programs and Practices

I am now onto my third class in completing my masters degree! I hope that this journey gives me more insights into the field in which I love.

Children Are Inspiring

Another graduate class is over, and I am filled with more knowledge and hope to help change more children's lives. Thank you to all my colleges at Walden University to help me grow and learn this quarter. I leave you with this little video that is inspiring to me and would be great to share with my students for many years to come. Remember - you can do anything as long as you truly want to!


You Can Do It! - Wisie for Children Inspirational Video - YouTube

Testing for Intelligence?

When looking at children at testing within children, I do not believe that most assessments truly are based on the “the whole child”. When looking at the whole child and the idea of a whole child, I am looking at every single aspect of the child. This includes but is not limited to: gross motor skills, writing skills, emotional traits, temperament, cognitive thinking skills, application of problems, vision, hearing, the senses, how the child communicates, etc. Without looking at EVERY aspect of a child, it is not fair to assume their intelligence based on a paper/pencil test. I feel that in education we do focus on these types of tests. These tests are important for funding of schools and rating of schools. Is that truly fair? Some children do not perform as well on these types of tests because of the pressure and the stigma that goes with them. I wish that testing would include all types of a child to get better and more accurate scores of how a child learns and shows their intelligence. I think with the process to the common core standards for some states it will encompass more application and technology pieces into the test. Hopefully one day, every skill in some way will be encompassed into the test to show that child and the school what their strengths and weaknesses are as a individual and as a whole group. Funding and ratings should be based off of these aspects.

When looking at the country where I live and how we assess children, it makes me wonder how children in different parts around the world are assessed. I looked up England to see how the people their view assessments and what an assessment looks like over there. From the United States to England, there is not much difference on the pencil/paper tests. The students are given longer “holidays” but most attend school year round. They have four steps of education, just how we do in the United States. We have preschool, elementary school, middle school, and high school. They have nursery, primary education, secondary education, and tertiary education. They do have the same concepts being taught in school as well.  Their funding is not based off of test scores though. Their test scores are needed for the students to get into other specialty schools that are not government funded and to go to college. Instead, as I read and found out, most schools are given the same money from the government, but the community tax is the most important when funding schools. The English also have a very big drive on children that are developing properly and on time with the norms. Their education website has great ideas and forms for this. Look at

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4008144

for more information.

In conclusion, I would love to have children in the U.S. be academically based off of different tests that truly show every type of learning style to better interpret these scores and have a better understanding of the children in this country. I know this might be years away, but hopefully it will happen soon.

Stress in Early Childhood

There are many stresses when a child is in the early childhood stage. From a community where I am from, stressors are not prevalent. There are many middle class to higher class families living in my town and the school district where I teach. Growing up I do not remember having stress. I remember stressing about friend issues, getting homework done, winning my softball game, or what clothes to put on my new Barbie. I never had to deal with something totally stressful and I am very thankful for that! I never really reflect on the stressors that some children are put on in such an early age. These stressors could consist of poverty, racism, natural disasters, diseases, pollution, and violence.

I asked my childhood friends if their families ever had a stressful time with any of the issues that I listed above or any issues like that. Most of my friends said no, but one of my friends said yes. Growing up she said that her family and her stressed about poverty and hunger. When she said this, I was very shocked. By looking at her family and reflecting on her family at that time- I would have never guessed. She always had new clothes, toys, was never dirty, and never seemed upset. She said that everything that she received was a donation from the church where she belongs. When she was growing up her mother and father both lost their jobs. They were both teachers in the same district and both lost their jobs from budget cuts in the same year. Her parents had so many years of experience that they could not find jobs anywhere else. By working other places they would lose their health care and unemployment and would be making less. She said that food was tight and she was on free lunches at school. She said that her family almost lost their house 2 times when she was in elementary school. One time she even had to pack up all her things because the family thought they were going to get evicted. But thanks to those people at the church, they helped this family a lot. I would have never guessed that this was happening to this family. She said to cope with the stress she would go to church surrounded by people that new their situation and loved them anyways. She said that she always made sure she ate all of her lunch just in case dinner was slim. She said that her mother and father who were both out of work for 2 years, went to support groups for families that were unemployed. She said it was a tough time, and I could only imagine what she went through.

After hearing her story I thought that more people than just her have to deal with these issues. Someone in my home town dealing with this was shocking enough, but what about the children now that are suffering from a major stress in their lives? I decided to research what countries had a lot of stress. Some I already knew about, but I found some countries that all had the same stressor that I was unaware of. The countries are: Bahrain, Qatar, and Yemen.  They are all under the stress of lack of water. I never thought of this as a stressor – but it is a pretty big one! I use water for everything, as most people do. I could not imagine not knowing if I was going to have water or not. I could not imagine living off of the weather for survival. This affects all the people in these countries. There is an organization and United Nations action to help these countries. The campaign is called “Water for Life”. Their goal is to get water to all of the countries of the world so that scare water will never be an issue again. Please log onto to this website for more information: http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml.

Stress in early childhood will always happen. I hope that as educators, we can find a way to help lessen the stress for these little kids. 

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is an important public health topic. In today’s time, I do not think that breastfeeding is talked about enough. I have not had children, but I have been in child development classes and child care classes and this topic is just brushed over. I almost feel like this topic is taboo now to talk about. Breastfeeding is so important for the healthy development of a child. I was researching breastfeeding this week and found some interesting facts about breastfeeding:

Breastfeeding should happen for the first six months of life
Breastfeeding aids in the uterus returning to original size after birth

An average breastfeed lasts 16 minutesBreastfeeding burns calories
Babies instinctively know how to get your milk quickly and efficiently
Breastfeeding can help prevent cancer and reduces risk of osteoporosis
Breastfeeding children are sick less often
Breastfeeding children have fewer allergies

("Breastfeeding facts," 2009)("10 facts on breastfeeding," 2012) (Bonyata, 2011).

After look at all these facts, I do not know why a mother would not at least TRY breastfeeding. There are so many benefits to the child along with forming a great bond for the mother and child. I also found this chilling statistic: Globally less than 40% of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed ("10 facts on breastfeeding," 2012). This should be a higher statistic! We need to educate ourselves and be more like the country of Kenya. In Kenya, breastfeeding is encouraged and a women who does not breastfeed is frowned upon. It is normal to breastfeed in public places there with or without a cover up (Sharon, 2012). I do not think America needs to get that crazy, but just to even pump milk to give it to their child will be a benefit.

This information does not affect my work at this time, but you never know in the future where I might be. I might teach Kindergarten for the rest of my life, I might move to different grades, I might move to an administrative place, or even an infant care facility. All I know is that knowing this information will help myself in the future to breastfeed my own children and to benefit my friends about breastfeeding. I know I will breastfeed and I hope you will too!



(2012). 10 facts on breastfeeding. World Health Organization, Retrieved from       
          http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/breastfeeding/en/index.html          

Breastfeeding facts. (2009). Retrieved from
            http://www.medela.com/IW/en/breastfeeding/good-to-know/breastfeeding-facts.html           

Bonyata, K. (2011, July 26). Breastfeeding past infancy: Fact sheet. Retrieved from
            http://kellymom.com/ages/older-infant/ebf-benefits/


Sharon. (2012). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.007b.com/public-breastfeeding-             world.php   

All About Birth

I am now in my second class for Walden University. This class is a class titled Child Development. The first blog assignment for this class is to talk about birth. I have some great facts about births from Japan below so make sure you check those out!

I am going to first talk about a personal birthing experience. The only personal birthing experience that I had was my own. I obviously do not remember the experience but have talked to my mother and father about the event. I am the first child to my parents so of course, they were nervous, scared, and did not completely know what to expect. My mother’s water broke 3 weeks early from my due date and she knew that I was going to be born that day. My mother was in labor for 6 hours until there was a complication. I had the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck and was cutting of the circulation. The doctors then had to do an emergency c-section. After I was born at 5 pounds  8 ounces and 19 inches long, there were no other complications. I think that a child’s birth does impact them in many ways. Depending on the setting that the child is born into will affect them the rest of their life, I believe. Since I was born into a high stress situation I do think I stress out over things easily. It is usually over small things as well, but I will think about it over and over until I am over stressed. I have found ways to cope with my stress levels growing up and it does not happen now as much.

A part of the assignment was to also research different birthing methods from a different culture. I have picked Japan just because I thought that they would be a country that was most like the United States in birthing. My idea was not all correct. Although most birthing techniques are not very similar, a generation before me things were not. Now women can take a home pregnancy test, but a generation ago the only way a woman could find out she was pregnant was by going to the doctor. In Japan “Foods rich in protein & carbohydrates such as mochi and eggs are sometimes offered and encouraged at the onset of labor to ensure adequate energy throughout the laboring process”. ("Japanese culture: beliefs and," ) Men are also usually not involved in the birth. They are to wait outside instead of being in the room with the women. Loud noises are also not socially accepted and pain caused by anything should not affect a woman’s expression or domineer. Pain medicine if asked for is usually provided. There are special ceremonies for the new baby that are very unusual to the United States:

• OSHICHIA:  This is a special ceremonial celebration that was carried out when the baby turned 7 days old.  The baby was officially named at this time, often by the mother and father, but sometimes by grandparents.  Only close family and friends were usually in attendance.  In addition to various dishes, special foods eaten at this ceremony were red rice with beans, Sea broom fish (TAI), and many vegetables.
• HESONO O:  This is a ritual involving the baby's umbilical cord.  When the baby's cord dries and falls off, it was put inside a special wooden box and kept indefinitely.  This signified a well wish for the mother-child relationship in the future.
• HYAKUNICHIMAIRI:  This is a special ceremony when baby turns 100 days old.  It begins with the baby, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother dressing in their finest clothes and visiting the family temple.  A special prayer is given by the priest of the temple for the good health of the child.  Thereafter, they would return home where all other family and friends would join in a celebration, with lots of various foods.

Although there are different ways of birth in other cultures, the main goal for every birth is for a happy, healthy, baby and mother. I learned very much about birthing and prenatal development this week and cannot wait to share more information that I learn throughout this course.

Japanese culture: beliefs and practices during pregnancy, birth, and postpregnancy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hawcc.hawaii.edu/nursing/RNJapanese03.html. 

A Note of Thanks and Support

Thank you to all of my colleagues and friends I have made this semester at Walden University.

Examining Codes of Ethics

This week I have been examining my professional development and how important it is being an educator. I have research codes of ethics in the DAC and the NAEYC and picked three ethics from each that are important to me.

DAC

1. We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value 
and human potential of each child.

This is important to me because every person should ALWAYS be treating and respecting a child. Each child in the world has the potential to do whatever they want. It is not our job to bring them down, but rather put them up to succeed in life.


2. We shall honor and respect our responsibilities to colleagues while upholding the dignity and 
autonomy of colleagues and maintaining collegial interprofessional and intraprofessional 
relationships.


It is important to work as a team. Your colleagues that you work with have the same passion for the field, otherwise they would not be in it. It is important to treat each other with respect and support each other so that every person can focus on their goal of giving the best education to the child as possible.


3. We shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers 
of services for their children.


This is important because we are the gateway for the family for the school community and the community in town. With our help, parents can find great, fun, and sometimes free programs that will benefit the student and the family unit. Each parent should have many resources to help their child succeed and strive to better themselves. 

NAEYC

1. Base our work on knowledge of how children develop and learn.

If we are not doing this, the child is not going to have the fullest potential in our schools or in life. Each child might need something different as well. It is important to change up lessons to reach every child and help them do the best that they can. By changing and researching, it also makes you a better educator.

2. To support the right of each child to play and learn in an inclusive environment that meets the needs of children with and without disabilities.

Each child deserves a safe and happy environment. By having the least restricted environment for all the children in your room, they will be able to interact with the room better and have access to more learning materials.

3. We shall not deny family members access to their child’s classroom or program setting unless access is denied by court order or other legal restriction.

Each family member should be able to come into the classroom to help, volunteer, or observe. It is important to build a relationship with the family to have them want to come into the room and want to help their child with their education. By having parents come into the classroom, it also helps them understand the dynamics of the room and different ways that they might be able to "teach: their children at home. 

Course Resources

This week for Walden University we are to create a place where we can keep resources for future references. 


Resources from Walden University

National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/

The Division for Early Childhood
http://www.dec-sped.org/

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
http://www.zerotothree.org/

WESTED
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm

Harvard Education Letter
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85

FPG Child Development Institute
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm

Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/

HighScope
http://www.highscope.org/

Children’s Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/

Center for Child Care Workforce
http://www.ccw.org/

Council for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

Institute for Women’s Policy Research
http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm

National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/

National Child Care Association
http://www.nccanet.org/

National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/

Pre[K]Now
http://www.preknow.org/

Voices for America’s Children
http://www.voices.org/

The Erikson Institute 
http://www.erikson.edu/

Here are the resources I am adding to this list:

 The Whole Child
http://www.pbs.org/wholechild/

The Future of Children
http://www.futureofchildren.org/

The Idea Box
http://www.theideabox.com/ 

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

This week for my graduate school course, we are to share comments and words from other professionals about their passions or motivation - or something that we think is meaningful. I am going to share some excerpts from the people that I have researched this week - Stanley Greenspan and Elena Bodrova. I will also share some quotes from an inspirational movie that we had to watch two weeks ago.


Great Quotes from Stanley Greenspan


"“Regardless of the history of IQ tests in the family, if I see nurturing, warm, interactive people who read emotional signals well and interact well, usually I see happy, competent and bright children”


"Children learn best when they can take initiative and use some of their own ideas. Structured activities, while OK for part of the time, don't provide the opportunity for initiative, creative thinking or even high levels of abstract reasoning."


Inspirational Quotes from  Elena Bodrova


"Preschool children make the transition from being “slaves to the environment” to becoming “masters of their own behavior.” 


"Play that has a potential for fostering many areas of young children’s development, including social and cognitive development."


Quotes from "A Passion for Early Childhood" Movie from Walden University


Louise Derman- Sparks
"Adults find their voice by teaching."


Renatta M. Cooper
It is not all about you, it is about the children and their transitions into life."


Raymond Hernandez
"[It is rewarding] to have an opportunity to give opportunities [to children]."