Professional thank you.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues for opening up their lives and sharing their thoughts and life experiences.  As the end of the course approaches I think of the relationships I built and how much I’ve gained from each and every one of my classmates.  It has been a wonder journey, one that I will treasure for years to come.

I wish everyone success in their future endeavors as they continue their studies in Early Childhood Education.

Saying Good-bye…

Several years ago while working at a college I had the opportunity to work on team to develop a mentors program. We developed a website where the students could log onto to sign-up for a mentor, we recruited members from both the private and public sector, such as attorney, physicians, bank managers, marketing directors, human resources managers, just to name a few.  The programs was designed to match the students’ career goals with a person who was working in the same career or possibly even retired.  For instance if we had a student who was interested in a career as an attorney or a pediatrician then that student would be assigned a mentor in those particular career fields.  Several of the mentors were fellow alumni’s of the college and often recommended and recruited other professional colleagues or friends to join the mentor association.  I had the privilege of working with a pretty outstanding group of people, some of which up to this day, we still keep in contact with one another.  Letting and saying goodbye was very hard, because of the close relationships that were developed over the course of the year while implementing the program.  The great thing about the mentor association is that each year a banquet is held for students, their mentors, and the founding committee, the president of the college and other dignitaries and members of the community to celebrate and to close out another successful year.  Many of the students continue to a close bond with their mentors well after graduation and into their adult lives.

Conflict Resolution

Until the recent death of my father in law my husband and his siblings had a huge disagreement about whether or not to place their father in a nursing home due to his illness.  Their father had Alzheimer, he was in the final stages of the disease where he no longer recognized several of the family members.  There are ten siblings, seven of the brothers thought it best to place the dad in a nursing home, believing that it would be in the best interest of the Dad and would help their mother being that she was the primary caretaker, on the other hand the other three siblings believed that it would best to leave the dad in his familiar surroundings and try to make him as comfortable as possible.  They suggested home health care which would alleviate the fatigue and stress that the mother was enduring by being the primary caretaker.  The sibling constantly disagreed about this matter until several of them did not want to speak to one another.  I suggested to my husband that maybe they could have the mother and father move-in with one of the siblings that lived next door to the mom and dad’s home, that way the dad would be close enough to his home and he could still sit out in his garage like he did everyday as well as walk around in the yard.  At the same time the mother would have around the clock help while living with her son and his wife.  Also, each one of the siblings could assist the dad at night by getting him washed-up and put to bed.  And perhaps since its ten siblings they all could rotate shifts to help care for the Dad.  This was a win/win resolution because the Dad did not have to be placed in a nursing home and at the same time would receive around the clock care for those who loved him.  This arrangement worked until his death last week.  But at least the family was able to make his last days comfortable by being around family.

Communication Skills

In this week’s assignment we were ask to evaluate ourselves on our communication skills by taking three communications surveys, which were on verbal aggressiveness, listening styles and communication anxiety.  As directed once I completed the surveys I asked my sister and a very close friend to assess me as well, and I have to admit I discovered that I may not be as attentive in my listening skills as I thought and that because of my tendency to trust others, it interferes with my personal judgment of others.

My sister’s assessment of me was that if necessary I afford confrontation and I would presumably allow others to have their way for the sake of peace, rather than stand my ground, I was surprised about how accurate her evaluation of me was in this area.  She also noted that I love meeting new people and that I have a way of making others feel comfortable when talking with them.  My close friend told me that I respect others point of view by listening and even when I may not agree with the others person point of view that the tone of my voice and the way I present alternatives and/or other suggestions to be considered, that I do in such away, the other person does not feel as though they are being attacked or disrespected.

I’ve learned that if someone approaches me and too busy to listen, that it’s best if I let them know when it would be a good time for me to speak to them, rather than appear to impatient because I really did not have the time to listening attentively.

Communication and Culture

Communication and Culture

I work with families from several different cultures, and I make a point of getting to know each family as well as their cultures and family traditions.  By doing so, it allows the families to become both comfortable and to feel as though they belong.  However, I have a child whose parents are Muslims, and have been very adamant about not having their child participate in certain holiday festivities because of their religious beliefs.  Prior to this week’s assignment I had a different perspective on how I believed the parents were wrong in wanting their three year to participate in holiday festivities.  I felt it was wrong, a three year can’t even comprehend what it means to be a Muslim and doesn’t understand why they can’t dress up for Halloween, or participate in the Thanksgiving play or the exchange Christmas presents or go on a field trip to the mall to take pictures with Santa Claus.  I my opinion these are all harmful activities that are and should be a part of childhood memories.  After this week’s reading and assignments, I’ve realized that what I may view as being wrong or unfair because of my culture and the way I was raised as a child does not determine what is right or wrong when it comes to how different groups and cultures believe to be right for their child.  I’ve learned that you can’t judge a book by is cover; as well as how important it is to think before one speaks and the significance of the “Platinum Rule” and it’s impact when it comes to effective communication.

Verbal vs. Non-Verbal Communication

Verbal vs. Non-verbal Communication

The show that I decided to watch for this week’s assignment was South Beach Towing.  I am not a TV watcher, so selecting a show that I never watch was an easy task.  While viewing the show with the sound off for the first time I assumed the show was about a towing company filmed in South Beach, Florida.  The owner of the company was a woman, who appeared did not have much control or authority over her employees.  There was one African American female driver, three while male drivers and while male who stayed in the office along with the female owner.  The owner seemed a little frustrated while trying to reach one of the drivers on the radio.  She stood with one hand on her hips while holding the radio in her other hand with her face faced to toward the ceiling, shaking her head.  One of the other male drivers was opening a box that contained work boots with extended heels, in which he proceeded to put on to make him appear taller.  He tried walking in the extended heel boots and almost fell, got in the tow truck pulled up and was beginning to hook up a car, when a man came running out with both arms raised up in air while talking to the tow truck driver.  The tow truck driver stopped hooking the car, stood up walked toward the owner of the vehicle waved his finger turned around and got into the tow truck and drove off.

I assumed the man who approached the tow truck driver was the owner of the vehicle being towed and was probably yelling at the tow truck driver about his car and the tow truck driver probably told him that he was just doing his job and that he was going to have to tow the truck.

Viewing the show with sound.

First, this was the funniest show I ever watched.  It’s called South Beach Towing and it shows on TruTV on Wednesday nights.  I laughed until I cried.  I will probably end up watching this show again.  I laughed so much that my husband and son came into the family room and began watching the show with me and began laughing as much as I did.  Bernice is the name of the African American female tow truck driver, she and her mother just brought a food truck that is being inspected by the health department.  Bernice is very outspoken, while attempting to tow a young man’s car which was parked illegally, the young man pleads with Bernice not to tow his truck, and offers her a deal if she releases his car.  Bernice accepts the deals releases the young man’s car.  Bernice then picks up her mother and takes their food truck to the address given to her by the young man and haves the guys in the paint shop to do a make-over on the food truck.  The owner of the tow truck tries to reach Bernice several times on the radio while Bernice is getting the food truck painted.

Another driver picks up a young women who was stranded on the side of the highway, and the young women steals his cash pouch and jumps out of the moving truck.  He stops the truck, gets out and runs behind the women but is unable to catch her.  He goes back to the office and tries to explain to his boss how he lost the money.

You can tell a lot about a person’s behavior or mood just by observing their body language and other non-verbal communication.  Anger, frustration and even feeling of happiness can all be expressed non-verbally.

I believe President Obama is a competent communicator.  He’s confident and speaks with conviction.  His charisma gives him the ability to captivate a diverse audience.  He doesn’t focus on impressing people with big words or complex sentences he makes a point of simplifying his message and always states what he thinks or would do, by stating this is what I think or this is what I would do.  Communication is not just what you say, it’s about how you say it.  The key to President Obama being an effective communicator is simplicity.  Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership.  Napoleon Bonaparte use to tell his secretaries, “Be clear, be clear, be clear.”

 

 

Professional Hopes and Goals

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds that I am too support the learning of all the children in my classroom regardless of their families cultural, language, race, social class and/or special needs and any other dimensions of diversity.

Due to the increasingly number of children with home language other than English in early childhood classrooms, the one goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice is a required course in ESL for all early childhood educators in order to learn and/or gain a better perspective about ESL in which I believe will help when implementing classroom instructions as well help eliminate the ongoing academic achievement gaps between White and non-White students.

 I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues, through your shared knowledge and wisdom over the last several weeks, I’ve gained a new perspective on how to deal with specific microaggressions behaviors that I have encounter over the years. This has truly been in inspiring course.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The family’s country of origin, I decided to choose is Puerto Rico.  The five ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family is first I would commit myself to getting to know the student and as well as his family both academically, socially and emotionally.  I would learn about the family’s culture and interest and ask questions and talk with the parents.  I would also make home visits and create opportunities for the students to share and celebrate their family traditions and cultures; create a classroom learning community by encouraging the students to care for one another and be responsible for each other inside and outside the classroom; design lessons plans with the students in mind; and last but not least understand my own cultural identity by examining my own cultural behavior patterns, especially when it comes to classroom management and discipline.  And most importantly be myself with my students by being honest, caring and human.

 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

As a child I can remember traveling from California to South Carolina by car with my family, my father was in the USAF, and my mother insisted that he wear his uniform while traveling.  It was late one night, and we were traveling on a dark dirt road in South Carolina on our way to my father’s home town, when my father had to stop in the middle of the road, because there was a truck with the headlights on parked in the middle of the road.  When my father stopped the car, I could see my mother clutching onto my father’s arms.  Three white men approached our car and told my father to get out of his car, when they saw that he was wearing a military uniform, they said “nigger that uniform just saved your life”, and walked off.  That’s been many years ago, and I still remember the fear my mother’s eyes and the way she held onto my dad.  She later told him, that’s why I told you to wear your uniform, just in case when ran into any kind of trouble.   Growing up in the South in the 1960’s it seemed as though prejudice and oppression was a way of life.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Unfortunately, when you are the only minority at your place of employment where the majority are white American, it seems as though you are constantly faced with daily microaggression attitudes.  The “catch-22” when on the receiving end of such comments, you either voice your dislike of certain comments, and risks retaliation for speaking out, or you could be silent, while internally these everyday microaggression behaviors take a toll on you mentally, emotional as well as physically. 

In order to eliminate biases, a person must first understand biases in order to overcome it,  Bias and prejudice in my opinion is a learned behavior/attitude, often something someone has said or a person may have heard and although may have not been always the person’s original opinion but has adopted the biases/prejudice. 

 

Culture and Diversity

The following three people I spoke with give their definition of culture and diversity:

I spoke with Mrs. Gadsden a 56 year old African female, she is originally from Ghana and teaches Special Education at a local high school.  Mrs. Gadsden is co-worker of my sisters who I met while visiting with my sister.  I asked Mrs. Gadsden if she would help me with my class assignment for this week and she agreed. She define culture as the way a person lives, the environment they live in, it’s embedded in everything we do.  She stated that “in my country we take education very seriously and our teachers are held in high regard, we have a lot of respect for them, which is very different here in the United States”.  She defines diversity as ones, physical make such as race, male or female, religious beliefs, linguistics and nationality.

Mr. Mendez is a 48 year old Hispanic male who owns his own lawn care business and who is a friend of my husband.  When I approached him and asked him if he would answer a few questions for my class assignment he agreed.  Mr. Mendez defined culture as the way we live our lives, what we want for our families, what we believe in and how we raise our children, the way we celebrate who we are, and the food we cook and eat.  Mr. Mendez stated “the Hispanic family is very close, we love to get together and celebrate special occasions such a new birth or family birthday not just with my family but with the whole family, bother, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, and nieces.  We are proud people and have a sense of honor and dignity.  Our religion is very important in our everyday life”.

The third person I spoke with is Mrs. Hawes who is a 32 year old female, who is an Officer in the United States Air Force.  She culture is not just about race, its customs and traditions. An example of culture is arrange marriages in some countries. It could be the different languages spoken by different ethnic groups.  “When I hear the word diversity, I now also include guys, lesbians, bi-sexual, and transgender aka (LGBT).  These people also make us a diverse workforce”.

 The aspect of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in all three of the people that I spoke with.  Each of the participants spoke about culture and diversity as being a way of life, a reflection of who we are, where we live, our beliefs and values, family, the environment we live in and different languages spoken by different ethnic groups and how one’s religious beliefs and traditions describes who and what we believe.

Major Catastrophe

Major Catastrophe…………………

Wow, in case of a major catastrophe that totally wiped out the country’s infrastructure, the three items that I would take would be my family’s photo album, my family bible, and a diamond pendant cross.  The family photo album contains photos of my children birth, baptisms, graduations, wedding, family vacations, school pictures, family reunions, family road trips, photos of grandparents, grandmothers with their holding their first grandchild, this is my family’s culture; these are photos that I hope will keep memories of my family alive forever.  My Bible is a symbol of my belief that has been passed down from generation to generation.  The diamond pendant cross, was given to me by my three children on Mother’s Day in 2000, with the words “We love you” on the back and I hold it very dear to my heart.  To be told once I arrived that I would only be allowed to keep one of these items, would break my heart.  The one item that I would have to keep would be the photo album, which contains a lifetime of memories, the only thing that I would have left to pass on to the next generation.

 

 

When I Think of Research…  

Over the last eight weeks, I’ve learned the importance of having the right tools and expertise when it comes to conducting research.  I’ve learned that every research process begins as a search for answers to fascinating questions asked by inquiring people and that research is the professional tool that helps to answer those questions. I’ve learned to identify research subtopic and review related research literature; I’ve learned to apply specific research designs to a hypothetical research hypothesis; I’ve learned how to apply qualitative design to a hypothetical research scenario and evaluate the implications. I also learned how to apply mixed-method principles to research in early childhood field, which has helped me to become a more informed and analytical consumer. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues for the invaluable source of information they have shared over the course of this class and I look forward to collaborating with each of you in future courses in Early Childhood Education.

 

Research Around the World

I elected to study the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA)
website – http://www.eecera.org.  In doing so I learned that poverty in European countries has increased over the last 10 years, which places young children at higher risk of living in poverty; poverty in early childhood as in many other countries including the United States has been noted to have irreversible negative consequences for cognitive, social and emotional development, academic achievement and behavioral adjustment. 

Insights that I gained from exploring this international early childhood website is poverty in early childhood education, lack of funding for high quality early childhood education, the need for ECEC standards and curriculums to be adapted to meet the needs and cultural perspective of communities living in poverty and need for policies to enhance the inclusiveness of ECEC as well as the need to combine family support and support for bilingual development appears to be a collective issues that all counties share especially here in the United States.

The dynamics of Early Childhood Research that can be found on this site is remarkable.  The European Early Childhood Research Journal covers subjects in Early Childhood, Early years, Education as well as Primary and Elementary Education.

 

Research that Benefits Children and Families

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and Sickle Cell Disease

I choose this topic because my niece has sickle cell, both her parents has the sickle cell trait.  She is now fourteen years old, due to the numerous times my niece has had to stay in the hospital because of this disease my sister recently participated in a trial duty that has resulted in a prescribed drug that has helped reduced the amount of crisis that she’s had within the last several years. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has researched sickle cell disease since its founding as the National Heart Institute in 1948. NHLBI has spent more than $1 billion researching the condition.

Sickle cell disease is inherited. People who have the disease inherit two copies of the sickle globin gene—one from each parent. The gene codes for production of an abnormal hemoglobin. Persons affected with this condition produce abnormal red blood cells containing hemoglobin S instead of normal hemoglobin A. When red cells with Hemoglobin S lose their oxygen, they become distorted and shaped like crescents or sickles. These cells are sticky and can block blood vessels, leading to organ damage, and severe episodes of pain known as crises.  Sickle cell disease causes life-long anemia.  Persons with sickle cell disease are at risk of pneumonia, bone infections, and other infections.

Sickle cell disease lowers quality of life for thousands of American families.  The genetic blood disorder affects 70,000–100,000 Americans, the majority of whom are African American or Hispanic. Sickle cell disease is most common in people whose families come from Africa, South or Central America, Caribbean islands, Mediterranean countries, India, and Saudi Arabia.  Sickle cell disease occurs in approximately one out of every 500 African American births and one out of every 36,000 Hispanic American births.  About 2.5 million people in the United States have sickle cell trait, which occurs when a person inherits one copy of the globin gene.

Bone marrow transplants offer a cure for sickle cell disease for some patients, but due to a scarcity of matched donors, it is not a cure for everyone. Researchers are working on ways to make this cure more widely available.

Research has helped patients live longer. In the 1970s, life expectancy for individuals with sickle cell disease was about 14 years. Today, many individuals live into their 40s and longer. Antibiotics to prevent and treat infections have reduced childhood deaths from the disease by more than 80 percent. A blood screening test done on newborns is now performed in all U.S. Research on the condition has advanced other areas of medicine including genetics and molecular biology.  The NHLBI is supporting research on more and better treatments to ease the burden of sickle cell disease on those affected. Current research is exploring ways to reduce the risks of serious complications, including stroke, hypertension, respiratory problems, and vulnerability to overwhelming bacterial infections.

To find out more about this disease log onto http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sca/

 

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose for my research simulation is “Diversity in Early Childhood Education”.

The current changing demographics in the United States presents several challenges for early childhood professionals and the need for high-quality preschool programs, especially for young children whose first language isn’t English increases the need for highly qualified teachers and teachers of English language learners in order to help bridge the gap among immigrant children, their families and other ethnic groups. The faces in our classroom are changing, and many of our children are born in other countries, speak different languages and brings their families unique cultural traditions into the classroom and we as educators must embrace these different cultures and look at it as a learning experience for both student and teacher.

Professional and Personal Development

The three significances that I learned about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development, is that it appears that no matter how poor and rich a country may be that the common goals among all countries is to develop stronger policies and larger investments to benefit the young and their families, to eradicate poverty and homelessness, to provide jobs for those who are able to work and who want to work, pay fair wages and to be able to build a stronger economy.

The one goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations would be to eradicate poverty across the globe.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow colleagues, I’ve enjoyed corresponding with each of you over the past 8 weeks.  The array of information shared among colleagues has been both informative and inspirational.  I gained information on several websites that have enriched my professional development and that I will revisit often to keep up with current issues and trends within the early childhood field across the globe as I continue in my studies.

International Contacts—Part 3

Key milestones reached for new education goals

The international community has moved a step closer towards defining the education agenda beyond 2015, to be part of the global post-2015 development agenda.

The proposed overarching education goal is to
“ensure equitable and inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030”.

The seven global education targets:

·         Early childhood care and education  
Target 1: By 2030, at least x% of girls and boys are ready for primary school through participation in quality early childhood care and education, including at least one year of free and compulsory pre-primary education, with particular attention to gender equality and the most marginalized. 

·         Basic education  
Target 2: By 2030, all girls and boys complete free and compulsory quality basic education of at least 9 years and achieve relevant learning outcomes, with particular attention to gender equality and the most marginalized. 

·         Youth and adult literacy
 Target 3: By 2030, all youth and at least x% of adults reach a proficiency level in literacy and numeracy sufficient to fully participate in society, with particular attention to girls and women and the most marginalized.   

·         Skills for work
 Target 4: By 2030, at least x% of youth and y% of adults have the knowledge and skills for decent work and life through technical and vocational, upper secondary and tertiary education and training, with particular attention to gender equality and the most marginalized. 

·         Skills for citizenship and sustainable development
 Target 5: By 2030, all learners acquire knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to establish sustainable and peaceful societies, including through global citizenship education and education for sustainable development. 

·         Teachers
Target 6: By 2030, all governments ensure that all learners are taught by qualified, professionally-trained, motivated and well-supported teachers. 

·         Financing  of education
Target 7: By 2030, all countries allocate at least 4-6% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or at least 15-20% of their public expenditure to education, prioritizing groups most in need; and strengthen financial cooperation for education, prioritizing countries most in need. 

Sharing Web Resources

Success Story

The Global Fund for Children partners with grassroots organizations all across the world to provide kids with what they need to thrive, even in the most challenging circumstances.  The Features News link shares success stories from across the world on how the Global Fund for Children and their partners serve some of the world's most vulnerable and hard-to-reach children who are victims of trafficking and violence, children of prostitutes and youth living in slum areas.  Following is a success story of young girl whose dream was to become a pilot and how her dream has inspired the whole community.

Angeline has her sights set on the sky: she wants to be a pilot when she grows up. When asked where she’d fly to, she says, “I want to fly to America to go to university there.” Unfortunately, for many girls like Angeline, obstacles stand in the way of big dreams.

In the Maasai community where Angeline lives, girls are often married off at age 12 after undergoing female genital mutilation. This traditional rite of passage into adulthood is extremely painful and dangerous, and it can lead to myriad problems, from infection to death.  Maasai girls are usually expected to drop out of school after this ceremony takes place, to take on their new roles as wives and mothers.

But Angeline was lucky. When she was 11 years old, she was admitted to the Academy for Girls, a boarding school for adolescent girls. A project of the Kakenya Center for Excellence (KCE), the Academy is the only school of its kind in the region.

Kakenya Ntaiya, founder of KCE, knows what it is like to be a Maasai girl with aspirations. Engaged at age 5, with marriage expected by age 13, Kakenya instead negotiated with her family and community to allow her to continue her education. In return, she promised to use her education to benefit Enoosaen.

True to her word, Kakenya has dedicated her organization to improving the lives of the most vulnerable and underprivileged Maasai girls. The Academy boasts a 100 percent retention rate and consistently ranks among the top schools in its division.  Alongside the educational and leadership curriculum, girls at the Academy learn enriching cultural traditions such as storytelling and beadwork. Life skills training teaches them how to maintain strong homes and productive and healthy farms.

Though many parents and village elders were unsure at first, the Academy has brought about a new level of acceptance of girls’ education. The chief of the village, who once publicly declared that girls should be married and not educated, is now a staunch supporter of KCE and its mission.

Now 16, Angeline has graduated from the Academy and is going to high school with assistance from KCE. Last year, Kakenya was named a CNN Hero for transforming the lives of girls like Angeline and helping them to pursue their dreams.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

The Global Children’s Initiative, launched Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância, its first major programmatic effort outside the United States.  A project aimed to use the science of child health and development to guide stronger policies and larger investments to benefit young children and their families in Brazil.

Another insight that I gained was that in sub-Saharan Africa, the Zambian Ministry of Education, UNICEF, the University of Zambian and the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University has launch the Zambian Early Childhood Project (ZECDP) to collaborate on the effects of an ongoing anti-malaria initiative on children’s development.  There are over three billion people at risk of becoming infected with malaria, the groups of people who are especially vulnerable to malaria infections are children and pregnant women.  In Zambia, every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria.

In an explicit effort to build an integrated international approach to child survival, health, and development in the earliest years of life, the Center on the Developing Child has launched the Global Children’s Initiative as the centerpiece of its global child health and development agenda.

The Center’s commitment to global work represents both an acknowledgement of moral responsibility to meet the needs of all children and a critical investment in the roots of economic productivity, positive health outcomes, and strong civil society in all nations, from the poorest to the most affluent. One essential, cross-cutting aspect of the Center’s approach is its commitment to work collaboratively across disciplines and institutions, drawing together the best and most creative expertise available to achieve the Initiative’s goals.

 

Sharing Web Resources

Sharing Web Resources

 

I particularly like the section on news and current events, which gives information on current trends and events from around the world concerning the rights of young children.

When I read about the 200 Nigerian girls remain separated from their parents and communities, held against their will by a group of terrorists who oppose western-style education, it made me think about the violence that our children endure on a daily basis rather it be school shouting, and the poverty and despair of our young girls and boys here in the United States and abroad.

The other issues and trends in the early childhood field that I gained from exploring the website, is however, different when it comes to early childhood education, the lack of funding for high quality care seems to be the one thing that all countries have in common.

Childhood Poverty in the Philippines

Children growing up in the poorest urban areas in the Philippines face greater risks from natural disasters, exploitation and HIV.  In the Philippines, hundreds of thousands of impoverished urban children are growing up in squalor, deprived of education and healthcare.

Almost half the country’s population – 46 million people including 18 million children under the age of 18 – are now living in towns and cities, making the Philippines one of the most urbanized populations in Southeast Asia. By 2030 it is projected three out of four people in the Philippines could be living in urban areas. Despite the perception that cities are “engines of growth,” many of these children live in unsafe and insecure houses and lack access to schooling, water and sanitation. These children suffer from multiple deprivations, and are increasingly worse off than those living in rural poor settings. Urban poverty can trap children in a downward spiral of poverty and squalor, leading to sickness, neglect and risk of exploitation.

Sharing Web Resources

 

 

Sharing Web Resources

The international website I selected is The Global Fund for Children http://globalfundforchildren.org.  This organization has been helping children worldwide since 1997.  Millions of children around the world are born into a blatant reality not knowing whether or not they will be working in markets, mines or the freedom to go to school. Whether they will be trafficked into slavery or be free, will they be child soldiers, or students? These are the shocking choices no child should have to face.  The Global Fund for Children strives to transform the lives of children on the edges of society- trafficked children, refugees, child laborers and help them reclaim their rights and pursue their dreams.  The Global Fund for Children goal is to do all they can to allow kids to be kids in spite of what their circumstances may be.

 

Current Issues

Currently in Nigerian 250 girls are being held against their will by a group of terrorists who apparently oppose western-style education.

 

 

Establishing Professinal Contacts

Establishing Professional Contact

I choose The Global Alliance of NAEYC website – http://www.naeyc.org/resources/partnership/globallliance.  The two countries I selected were Ireland and Netherlands.  I’ve emailed both organizations currently waiting for a reply.

Siobhan Fitzpatrick - Nippa Early Childhood Organization (Ireland)

Sarah Klaus - International Step by Step Association (Netherlands)

My Support

"My Support."

•    Factors in my daily environment that are supportive to me are my parent volunteers that visit weekly to help assist with the children during story time and during lunchtime which is the busiest time of the day.

•    A huge support is my parent volunteers.  Volunteers allow me to complete administrative tasks while the volunteers facilitate story activities and assist with preparing and serving lunch.

•    Without the volunteers it would be difficult to provide the one on one attention that the children currently receive.

•    In the event that my parent volunteers were not present I would not be able to provide the additional care and attention that the children currently receive.

 

“My Challenge”

 

•    A challenge that I choose to imagine in the future is caring for a handicap child and providing reasonable accommodations.  For example, wheel chair access.  The support that I would need to be able to remodel would be financial support.

•    Recently there was in inquiry as to rather or not my childcare center was handicap equipped.  Unfortunately, my center was not prepared to accommodate the handicap child and their family.

•    Potential benefits of caring for disable children would allow me to serve this special population of children in my community.

•    How difficult would it be to exist without these supports? Without financial support from a lender, community, parents, and contractors it would be difficult to provide reasonable accommodations to this special population of special needs children.

•    The impact on my child care center without caring for handicap children would not allow me to reach the most valuable.

 

My Connection to Play

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning”

                                       Fred Rogers (1928-2003)

“Children need the freedom and time to play.  Play is not luxury.  Play is a necessity.”

                                     Kay Redfield Jamison

 My earliest memories as a child playing was swinging on a tire that was tied to an old oak tree in my parents’ back yard.  I remember swinging on the tire for hours at a time.  My parents live on an Island, located 40 miles outside of Charleston, SC called Edisto Island, so as you can imagine my siblings and I spent endless hours at the beach especially during the summer months.  I also enjoyed playing football with my brothers and cousins who lived nearby.

During the summer months, my aunt who watched my siblings and I, while my mom was at work literally put us outside right after breakfast in the morning and were only allowed to go inside to use the restroom or to have lunch.  We stayed outside and played all day until it was time for dinner at which time we were called in to wash up and have dinner, afterwards maybe watch TV together as a family and then bedtime.  Play played an important role in as a child, it taught me how to share, and it helped me develop emotionally and physically as well as mentally. I pretended to fly away to far imaginary places and as an adult I love to travel to different parts of the world.
Children today, don’t play outside like they use too; due to the wave of new technology they don’t get the benefits of the fresh outdoors or physical activity.  Instead they prefer to stay indoors and play games on their computers or iPad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relationship Reflection

Having a close relationship with my family and friends has helped make me the person I am today.  Being a part of a supportive group of people who you know will be there for you no matter what is a blessing in itself.  When it’s all done and over the one thing that matters most is your family and love ones.  Having healthy relationships I believe is vital to our health and happiness.  We all desire happiness in our life and close relationships with our families and friends helps fulfil that desire.

I am blessed to have a loving relationship with my husband, his continue support over the years has been needle that holds everything together for me and my family.  My older two children are also very supportive, they encouraged me to go back to school to pursue my degree.  They told me that it’s my turn now, and that they appreciated all support that I given them over the years, especially when it came to them continue their education beyond undergraduate school. When I completed my Bachelors last year, they encouraged me continue on to pursue my MS in Early Childhood Studies.  It’s because of their continued support and encouragement that I decided to go back to school.   I’ve been blessed with two wonderful parents who I love dearly.  My dad and mom, have supported me, and continue to encourage me with my current center and my dreams of opening at five more centers over the next 7 to 10 years.  My mother was an early childhood educators for 32 years, I think it’s in my DNA.   She’s always had a love for all children and I’ve always admired for that.  When I was younger, I can remember my friends always wanting to come over to my house after school, because my mom always had homemade cookies and spaghetti, which was a favorite dish among my friends.

However, developing and maintaining close friendships today in the world of media, such as Facebook, twitter and texting, I think we miss out on the personal one on one contact with our friends.  We know longer have time to spend hours just walking on the beach or at the park, or going to the movies with friends because of the busy lifestyles we live. 

Human beings are born to be with other people; to some people their entire identity, self-image, respect and literally everything about them are determined by the reactions of other people as early as childhood.  My relationships with my family and friends remind me about what’s important in life.

Notable Quote About Children

“I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!”  David Vitter, U.S. Senator

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with me. It has helped me immensely.  Being able to hear about what others in the field are doing has been a valuable resource of information that I will be able to utilize in the classroom. 

 

Testing for Intelligence

As an early childhood educator, we assess daily whether or not a child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported or is being challenged academically.  When utilizing standardized testing to assess children academically, I believe these test should not only assesses a child’s knowledge and skills but should execute a long term commitment in developing and implementing a way to assess on the social and emotional development of the child.  So in order to be able to tell the whole story of student learning we must be able to identify strengths and areas that are in need of improvement so that we know what areas to focus our resources on; that will help teach our children problems solving skills and how to avoid conflict, which I believe in the long term will help save our children in thinking that shooting and killing one another is the only alternative to solving a problem.  With these types of assessments implemented in our schools I believe it will help reveal problem areas and in turn will help educators, administrators, parents and the community to design interventions based on the results of these types of assessments.

Japan utilizing a standardized test-based education system which begins when their school-age children reach the age of 12.  Up until the age of 12, children in Japan classes were filled with creativity, the teachers were caring and on average the children were happy and excited about learning.  Unfortunately, this all changes once the child enters junior high school at which time standardized test-based education is implemented, this type of testing kills any kind of initiative, creativity and especially the ability to be able to think outside the box for these children, their creative thoughts are literally stripped from them.

Japan has utilized this type testing for many years in which educators and parents are only concerned about rather or not their child passes the school base test; as a result of the test-taking and stress, Japan is producing educated adults who become order takers and who have trouble making decisions, let alone stating their own opinion.  This type of school base test education has stripped Japanese children ability to problem solve and think for themselves.

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

I can remember as a child when my best friend died, she had leukemia, at the time I didn’t understand what that was or why she was sick all the time and wasn’t able to attend school for several weeks at a time.   I can remember her mother was always sad, I didn’t understand it at the time, but after Sheri died, I was sad and angry for a long time.  I didn’t want to go to school and I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I just stayed in my room.  I didn’t know what to expect or how to feel.

When Sheri died, I didn’t understand what death really meant, I heard her mother say she was at rest.  The first couple of weeks after Sheri died I was afraid to go to sleep because I was afraid I was going to die while sleeping.  I remember asking my grandmother if I got sick was I going to die while I was sleeping.  She smiled and told me no, and tried to explain to me that sleep and death are not the same.  And that death is something we all have to bare, but for those who believe in Jesus will live in Heaven forever, with no more sickness and no more pain, that our bodies will be made whole again.  For some reason I still remember those words as clear today as I did many years ago.