To locate and establish contact with early childhood professionals outside the United States, I visited the UNICEF website and contacted local representatives in New Zealand and Bolivia. I have always been interested in New Zealand and Australia and decided on Bolivia because one of my current students was born in Bolivia (her mother is a native) and they still have many family members there. I thought this relationship could provide me with additional resources/information on the region. I have not heard back from either e-mail yet and may have to contact others if I don't hear back soon.
Because of my ancestry, I was interested to see what the European Early Childhood Education Research Association website had to offer. While the website contains lots of research papers, it doesn't really discuss current issues or much as far as "hands-on" work. I next checked out the Center for Child Care Workforce website. This is a very interesting website for professionals in the early childhood field. They discuss such topics as wage issues, professional development, and ways to make early childhood professionals voices heard. This still wasn't exactly what I was looking for, so I checked out The Global Fund for Children's website for an international look at early childhood. When explaining what they do, they said, "we transform the lives of children on the edges of society—trafficked children, refugees, child laborers—and help them regain their rights and pursue their dreams. In other words, we do all we can to let kids be kids—no matter what their circumstances." This was something that definately interested me and I can't wait to dig further into their work!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Saturday, December 8, 2012
My Supports
Some of the emotional supports that I have in my life include my boyfriend and his children. They show me love and affection when I’m down, they laugh with me, and they’re happy for me when something good happens to me. My friends also provide emotional support in that they listen to my issues, share a laugh with me, and are happy when things are good. My parents show their support by demonstrating that they are proud of my accomplishments. Finally, my dogs provide me love no matter what I say or do.
One of the biggest practical supports in my life is my associate teacher. She helps me plan for our classroom, supports decisions that I make, and offers helpful suggestions. Money is a practical support in that it allows me to meet my needs and some of my wants. Technology such as phones and computers support me to communicate with others and get information that I need. My boyfriend and his daughters support me because they help around the house such as getting themselves dressed, helping with dinner, picking up after themselves, etc. I don’t feel that I require much physical support. The only thing I could think of was my car which gives me the freedom to get me where I need and want to go.
The benefit of these supports is that they help me meet all my needs and wants. If I didn’t have these supports, my life would be extremely difficult. I wouldn’t be able to do my job as effectively as I do now. If I didn’t have money, I wouldn’t have my house or my dogs. If my family and friends weren’t part of my support system, I would not have made it through college, and probably not even through high school.
If I were blind, my supports would change dramatically. Some of the supports I have in my life would be unnecessary while others would become more necessary. I imagine that my emotional supports would remain the same. However, my practical and physical supports would be very different. I would have to lean much more on my associate teacher for feedback on what the students are doing and I would not be able to complete my observations of the students in the same way. I would have to rely much more on listening to the children. I wouldn’t be able to use computers like I do now and would need more support around the house from my boyfriend and his daughters. I would require the assistance of a Seeing Eye dog in order to maintain the same amount of freedom that I experience now. If I didn’t have these supports, I would not be able to work and therefore would not have the monetary support that I have now.
One of the biggest practical supports in my life is my associate teacher. She helps me plan for our classroom, supports decisions that I make, and offers helpful suggestions. Money is a practical support in that it allows me to meet my needs and some of my wants. Technology such as phones and computers support me to communicate with others and get information that I need. My boyfriend and his daughters support me because they help around the house such as getting themselves dressed, helping with dinner, picking up after themselves, etc. I don’t feel that I require much physical support. The only thing I could think of was my car which gives me the freedom to get me where I need and want to go.
The benefit of these supports is that they help me meet all my needs and wants. If I didn’t have these supports, my life would be extremely difficult. I wouldn’t be able to do my job as effectively as I do now. If I didn’t have money, I wouldn’t have my house or my dogs. If my family and friends weren’t part of my support system, I would not have made it through college, and probably not even through high school.
If I were blind, my supports would change dramatically. Some of the supports I have in my life would be unnecessary while others would become more necessary. I imagine that my emotional supports would remain the same. However, my practical and physical supports would be very different. I would have to lean much more on my associate teacher for feedback on what the students are doing and I would not be able to complete my observations of the students in the same way. I would have to rely much more on listening to the children. I wouldn’t be able to use computers like I do now and would need more support around the house from my boyfriend and his daughters. I would require the assistance of a Seeing Eye dog in order to maintain the same amount of freedom that I experience now. If I didn’t have these supports, I would not be able to work and therefore would not have the monetary support that I have now.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
A favorite quote about childhood
One of my all time favorite quotes regarding children is the following:
If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much.
-Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund
If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much.
-Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Testing for Intelligence
I believe that it is important to measure all aspects of a child. Because learning and aptitude may change through life, just measuring a child’s linguistic or problem-solving performance at one given time doesn’t give a clear picture of what the child may be capable of.
Unfortunately, standardized tests are aimed at children who are strong in linguistics. A child has to be able to read the questions, internalize and understand what is being asked, and answer them. They don’t take into account a child that may understand the material but need to express it through another way. A perfect example of this is when I taught eighth grade science. We were studying the states of matter and I allowed my students to demonstrate in any way they chose what they learned. Some chose to write, some drew, and others chose to “act” the states out as a group. The important thing was that I could assess which students understood states of matter and which didn’t. Had I assessed this with a traditional “paper & pencil” test, some of these students may not have been able to demonstrate their knowledge.
Howard Garner and his multiple intelligence theory show that children can be intelligent in many different ways. They may be stronger in logical-mathematical thinking, musical, spatial, or bodily-kinesthetic. Only through performance assessments (such as the one I described above) can you truly measure what a student has learned.
In France, the "baccalaureat" used to be a narrow examination with focus on humanities and mathematics. But as French schools became more diversified, it has become a differentiated with 28 different options and 23 different sets of questions. At age 15 to 16, students begin a three-year, specialized course of study. The exam includes essay-type questions in the core subjects (history and geography, French, and philosophy) and students take additional exams in their area of concentration (philosophy and liberal arts, economics and social sciences, or mathematics and the sciences). Some subjects, usually languages, also include oral exams.
Unfortunately, standardized tests are aimed at children who are strong in linguistics. A child has to be able to read the questions, internalize and understand what is being asked, and answer them. They don’t take into account a child that may understand the material but need to express it through another way. A perfect example of this is when I taught eighth grade science. We were studying the states of matter and I allowed my students to demonstrate in any way they chose what they learned. Some chose to write, some drew, and others chose to “act” the states out as a group. The important thing was that I could assess which students understood states of matter and which didn’t. Had I assessed this with a traditional “paper & pencil” test, some of these students may not have been able to demonstrate their knowledge.
Howard Garner and his multiple intelligence theory show that children can be intelligent in many different ways. They may be stronger in logical-mathematical thinking, musical, spatial, or bodily-kinesthetic. Only through performance assessments (such as the one I described above) can you truly measure what a student has learned.
In France, the "baccalaureat" used to be a narrow examination with focus on humanities and mathematics. But as French schools became more diversified, it has become a differentiated with 28 different options and 23 different sets of questions. At age 15 to 16, students begin a three-year, specialized course of study. The exam includes essay-type questions in the core subjects (history and geography, French, and philosophy) and students take additional exams in their area of concentration (philosophy and liberal arts, economics and social sciences, or mathematics and the sciences). Some subjects, usually languages, also include oral exams.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Consequences of Stress on Child Development
My foster son is a prime example of what stressors like violence do to people. He experienced a lot of violence when he was young from his mother, father, teachers, foster parents, and older children. He was beat with brooms and baseball bats by his mother, had a foster parent push him down the stairs, and had a teacher slam him to the ground and hold him there while calling him racial slurs. He had a gun pulled in his face by a stranger and has been beat up while sleeping on numerous occasions. All of these things happened before he turned 14. Because of all this violence, he has a terrible temper and as a young child was sent to counseling by his mother. It didn't help his anger issues. He was put on medication and went through anger management twice, neither helped. His only way of coping with all the violence around him was to absorb it and try to find an outlet. Unfortuantely, that outlet was by picking fights with peers and starting arguements with teachers and parents. Now that he's older, he has found some more acceptable outlets such as exercise and martial arts but still has to work to control his temper when dealing with difficult situations.
In Brazil, children face many issues. There are many Street Children (either children who work the street, children who are runaways, abused, alienated children from deprived and poverty stricken families who are unable to maintain normal family units, or children who are orphans and abandoned children who parents may have died from war, illness or simply been unable to look after the children because of their family circumstance) and most of these are expected to be killed before they are 18. On a daily basis they face hunger, military police beatings, drug addition (often glue), becoming involved in stealing, prostitution, drug running, and gunfights.
The government is trying to eradicate poverty through taxation and public works projects and has promised to reduce ecomonically inequality before Rio de Janerio hosts the 2016 Olympics. The rich in Brazil hold charity events like the Zero Hunger drive aimed at providing food. The public sector too has started addressing poverty by creating jobs in some of the poorest neighborhoods.
In Brazil, children face many issues. There are many Street Children (either children who work the street, children who are runaways, abused, alienated children from deprived and poverty stricken families who are unable to maintain normal family units, or children who are orphans and abandoned children who parents may have died from war, illness or simply been unable to look after the children because of their family circumstance) and most of these are expected to be killed before they are 18. On a daily basis they face hunger, military police beatings, drug addition (often glue), becoming involved in stealing, prostitution, drug running, and gunfights.
The government is trying to eradicate poverty through taxation and public works projects and has promised to reduce ecomonically inequality before Rio de Janerio hosts the 2016 Olympics. The rich in Brazil hold charity events like the Zero Hunger drive aimed at providing food. The public sector too has started addressing poverty by creating jobs in some of the poorest neighborhoods.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Immunizations
A very good friend of mine has three little girls that have never received vaccinations so I asked him about his decision not to immunize. He stated that he doesn’t feel it’s necessary to risk his daughters’ health by giving them vaccines. He believes that too many parents are over-medicating their children and doesn’t want his children exposed to diseases they probably would not naturally come in contact with. As he lives in the United States, this statement is probably true. Many of the diseases we are immunizing against are pretty much eradicated in the U.S. However, with intercontinental travel and commerce, they could still be exposed.
Many parts of the world are still fighting against these diseases. For example, Polio has had major breakouts in Tajikistan, Brazil and Angola in the past two years. Measles have broken out in Tanzania and Sierra Leone. In these outbreak areas, vaccinations are the best option for most of the population to control the diseases.
Back to my friend in the United States, I agree with him that his children may be better off not being immunized. Did you know that The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has paid out over $1.5 billion dollars in damages to families for injuries and deaths following a vaccine reaction? Or that every year the Food and Drug Administration receives 12,000-14,000 reports to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) of hospitalizations, injuries and deaths following vaccination? With so many reactions to vaccines, particular individuals may be saving their lives by not getting immunized. Sometimes the vaccine can even cause the disease it’s supposed to be protecting against. The live polio vaccine causes approximately 10-20 cases of polio each year. Other times the vaccine is ineffective. I personally know two young ladies who received the HPV vaccine and still ended up contracting it. It definitely makes you re-think vaccines.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Personal Birthing Experience
Because I have no children of my own, I decided to write about the birth I most anticipated, the birth of my niece Penny. I was working toward my bachelor’s degree and about to leave for class when I got the phone call that my sister-in-law was heading to the hospital. As a college student I couldn’t afford a cell phone so I headed to class not knowing what was happening. At the break, I explained to my professor that I couldn’t wait any longer and I left for the hospital.
I arrived at the hospital still in the dark about what was happening. I asked for my sister-in-law’s room number and went right there. As I opened the door, I saw my sister-in-law standing up with my brother supporting her. She said, “Go!” and I found the waiting room where my sister, mother and father as well as her sister were waiting. They told me she had been in labor for a while and was having a hard time. Soon my brother poked his head in and explained that his wife didn’t want anyone with her yet. We then waited about two more hours before he finally came back in to tell us that she had given birth to a healthy baby girl. We waited more then made our way to the nursery to see our little girl. My sister-in-law was trying to get some rest, so we left.
The following day I got a phone call that my sister-in-law was to be released from the hospital but Penny had been moved to the neo-natal ward of another hospital. Apparently Penny had inherited her mother’s skin disorder which does not allow her skin to sweat and when they put her under the heat lamps it dried out her skin so much that the skin on her neck cracked open. Because of the open wound, she had to be moved to the neo-natal unit for a few days. Having to wait to bring her home was hard on everyone, especially her parents who were the only visitors allowed to see her in the hospital. But the days went by and soon she was able to come home.
While researching childbirth delivery in other countries, I learned that most expectant moms in the Netherlands are referred to a midwife by their family doctor. The women then choose whether they want to give birth at home or in a hospital. All expectant women are required to pick up medical supplies necessary for a home birth just in case. If a woman chooses a hospital birth, the midwife will determine when it’s time to go to the hospital. Even at the hospital, epidurals are only given if it’s convenient for the anesthesiologist or if an obstetrician deems it necessary.
If a baby is born in the hospital early in the day and there are no complications, both mother and baby may go home in about two hours. Then the home care begins with nurses visiting the home for seven days to provide medical care, cleaning, cooking, and basic parenting skills.
This is very different from what I experienced with my sister-in-law first because of the option of home or hospital delivery, the possibility of a two hour hospital stay, the lack of epidural, and then the home care lasting for a week.
Because I have no children of my own, I decided to write about the birth I most anticipated, the birth of my niece Penny. I was working toward my bachelor’s degree and about to leave for class when I got the phone call that my sister-in-law was heading to the hospital. As a college student I couldn’t afford a cell phone so I headed to class not knowing what was happening. At the break, I explained to my professor that I couldn’t wait any longer and I left for the hospital.
I arrived at the hospital still in the dark about what was happening. I asked for my sister-in-law’s room number and went right there. As I opened the door, I saw my sister-in-law standing up with my brother supporting her. She said, “Go!” and I found the waiting room where my sister, mother and father as well as her sister were waiting. They told me she had been in labor for a while and was having a hard time. Soon my brother poked his head in and explained that his wife didn’t want anyone with her yet. We then waited about two more hours before he finally came back in to tell us that she had given birth to a healthy baby girl. We waited more then made our way to the nursery to see our little girl. My sister-in-law was trying to get some rest, so we left.
The following day I got a phone call that my sister-in-law was to be released from the hospital but Penny had been moved to the neo-natal ward of another hospital. Apparently Penny had inherited her mother’s skin disorder which does not allow her skin to sweat and when they put her under the heat lamps it dried out her skin so much that the skin on her neck cracked open. Because of the open wound, she had to be moved to the neo-natal unit for a few days. Having to wait to bring her home was hard on everyone, especially her parents who were the only visitors allowed to see her in the hospital. But the days went by and soon she was able to come home.
While researching childbirth delivery in other countries, I learned that most expectant moms in the Netherlands are referred to a midwife by their family doctor. The women then choose whether they want to give birth at home or in a hospital. All expectant women are required to pick up medical supplies necessary for a home birth just in case. If a woman chooses a hospital birth, the midwife will determine when it’s time to go to the hospital. Even at the hospital, epidurals are only given if it’s convenient for the anesthesiologist or if an obstetrician deems it necessary.
If a baby is born in the hospital early in the day and there are no complications, both mother and baby may go home in about two hours. Then the home care begins with nurses visiting the home for seven days to provide medical care, cleaning, cooking, and basic parenting skills.
This is very different from what I experienced with my sister-in-law first because of the option of home or hospital delivery, the possibility of a two hour hospital stay, the lack of epidural, and then the home care lasting for a week.
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