Reflection

As I reflect on the past 8 weeks of this course, I realize that I have learned a lot from not only the resources but also all of my colleagues. I appreciate the support and feedback that you all gave!

The Adjourning Stage of the Five Stages of Team Development

The adjourning phase of the five stages of team development is the end stage. This signifies that group members are moving on to separate places in their lives (Abudi, 2010). This is a time when group members should think about what all they have accomplished, didn’t accomplish, and what could have been done differently.

 In my experience in this stage, the hardest part was saying goodbye after working in a group for a long time. I taught at a school district for 3 years and it was hard to say goodbye to the people I worked so closely with. I don’t feel like the most effective groups were the hardest to leave. I remember a group I was put into in college, the work we did was great but our group members didn’t particularly get along because we all operated of different time schedules. Everyone was assigned parts and we put our presentation together once everyone was finished. Our grades couldn’t have been better, but I had not problem leaving that group. I believe that the adjourning phase from the group of colleagues I have formed throughout my master’s program will be somewhat easy. Throughout every course I meet new people and reconnect with others that I have shared a past course with.

I think that the adjourning stage is essential for teamwork because it brings our work and goals to a close. Once one goal is met, another one can be created in life.

References

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

Personal Conflict Resolution

I thought about my most recent disagreement that I had with the father of my soon to be child. I am 19 weeks pregnant and we haven’t been seeing eye to eye in what it takes to raise a child. I kind of followed the 4 steps model of Nonviolent Communication. The 4 Step Model involves observation, feelings, needs, and requests. The disagreement was over our child going over to his parents’ houses. Both of his parents smoke and the atmosphere isn’t an atmosphere for a child. I told him about what I have seen when I’ve went over to their houses (observation), how I feel about if my child were over there (feelings), what my child’s needs to foster a healthy development (needs), and what I would want in order to feel comfortable about my child’s development and well being (requests). He swears up and down that his parents won’t smoke around our child or use inappropriate language, which is an action that I have yet to see around their other grandchildren. However, he is taking my reaction as I feel that his family is wrong and I look down upon them. I have tried to explain my train of thought many times, but he truly feels that his parents will stop. Any ideas about how I can help him see my perspective?

 

References

Conflict Resolution Network. (n.d.). CR kit. Retrieved from

http://www.crnhq.org/pages.php?pID=12#skill_3

How I Communicate: Through the Eyes of Others

How I evaluated myself and how others evaluated me, when it comes to communication, verbal aggressiveness, and listening skills, were similar and different. We all concluded that my verbal aggressiveness was moderate. I was surprised to see that I evaluated myself as people-oriented when it came to listening skills because I would have thought that I’d be time-oriented. Sadly, it perturbs me when someone goes on and on about one thing and doesn’t get to the point. I find myself zoning out and thinking about other things when people do this in conversations with me. If I know the person enough, I’ll cue them to get to the point, but if I don’t know them that well I try to help them with their story.

The other result that surprised me is that others viewed me as being calm when I talk in front of others. My friend even said that he thought I enjoyed talking in front of people, when in fact I hate it. I get entirely too nervous. My heart beats faster, I start to sweat, and I worry about what I am saying so much that I feel that I talk 100 mph! However, others think I speak significantly well in front of others. I must cover my nervousness up pretty well!

Communication with Culture

 

When I think of my friends, colleagues, and family, I do communicate differently with them all. I communicate with each one of them differently because I know them and they know me differently. For instance, I am most comfortable around my family members because they have known me and I have been around them ever since I was born. Some of my colleagues I just met this year, so I am more reserved around them, at least until I get to know them more on a personal level. When I am around my friends, we talk about things that I don’t talk about with my family or my colleagues. After reading all of the learning resources throughout this course, I have come to realize at least three strategies that help me communicate effectively.

                (1) Always remember the context that you are in. Context where we are and who we are around in any given situation. When we think of context, we should think of in a few different aspects such as language, relational, situational, and cultural (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012). For instance, I wouldn’t talk about a party I went to with my grandma because we don’t have that type of relationship or I wouldn’t be discussing plans for my wedding at a funeral because it wouldn’t be the correct situation to discuss that in.

                (2) Have the ability to take on different perspectives. No one wants to communicate with someone who only sees their own view on issues. When communicating with someone, look at things from their side of the conversation. Everything doesn’t always have to be about you. In other words, be other-oriented, focus on others other than yourself (Beebe & Redmond, 2011).

                (3) Be mindful of whoever you are talking to (Beebe & Redmond, 2011). In doing this, I am aware of what I am doing, thinking, and what I am sensing from others. I make some kind of connection this way. For instance, sensing that someone doesn’t like politics gives me insight to not discuss those types of matters unless absolutely required.

Resources

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's

Communicating with Television

I chose to watch the show “The X Factor”. This is a show that judges contestants on their singing abilities. I don’t ever watch this show but decided to because I wanted to check it out due to the new judges Britney Spears and another female which I don’t know her name, but I’m sure she is famous. Television has made such a huge deal out of the new judges. I have no clue who were the judges during last year’s show. Anyways, I only recorded about 30 minutes of the show because it was on for about 2 hours one night. While watching a 30 minute portion with the sound off, I had to solely rely on my ability to read facial expressions and bodily functions. I have never been a good lip reader so I gave up on that skill fairly quickly. I was only able to tell if the judges really liked someone. If they did, they were smiling, stood up and clapped, or had an expression of awe on their faces. When they didn’t like someone, they shared looks of disgust or were laughing. With the sound turned on, I was quickly able to determine what was going on because I could hear the contestants singing. I was able to tell if they were talented or not because I could hear them. It was very difficult if any of the contestants cried to determine if it was a good cry or a bad cry with the sound off, but with the sound on I determined it rather quickly.

Competent Communication

I chose to discuss the effective communication skills of one of my friends. This friend is also a teacher. She communicates different with me on a personal level than she does with her students and families on a professional level. With me she jokes around and can honestly be herself, without me judging her. With her families and students she communicates differently. She is extremely caring and makes her students feel like she is truly there for them inside and outside of school. With the families that she communicates with, she explains to them to the best of her ability what goes on in her classroom and answers their questions when she can. If she doesn’t know the answer to something, she simply finds it through someone else. She isn’t afraid to admit when she needs help with something. I would like to model some of my communication behaviors after her because she does it so well. She has quite a few more years of experience on me. I feel that now days, some teachers feel like they have to have to answers to everything. Don’t be afraid to admit when you are stumped about something. It happened to me just this past week. I am in a new district this year and am having a behavioral issue with a child in my class. I have tried different strategies to assist him but it seems like nothing is working. I went to my principal and simply asked for help. She is now going to give me a book that she has on behavioral strategies.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have when I think of working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that they experience life without encountering any bias or prejudiced individuals. I know life isn’t perfect and that we all come across struggles, but if or when they do experience biases and prejudices I hope that the experience itself doesn’t have any devastating effects on their lives. I hope that it doesn’t discourage them from going after their dreams. I hope that it only makes me stronger.

A goal that I would like to set for the field of early childhood related to diversity, equity, and social justice is that we continue to encourage differences and embrace the characteristics of others. All educators have something special to bring to the field. We all should recognize our skills and bring them to the field. Even if it seems like something so miniscule, every little bit counts!

I want to close with a brief not of thanks to all of my colleagues thus far. I really appreciate your ideas and comments. I enjoyed visiting all of your blogs throughout this course and will look forward to looking at more in the future. I pray for the best for you all!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

So I looked up the different countries of the world and I chose the first country that I came across that I wasn’t the slightest bit familiar with…..Botswana. This country lies in the southern part of Africa. Now, if I had a family come into my life from this country I would have to do some major research. There are at least five ways that I would prepare myself. Researching this country and getting to know its cultures will allow me to become more culturally responsive towards this family. Through research I can find out the native language, types of food eaten, beliefs, etc. Another way is to contact someone from that country. I could get advice on things that wouldn’t or wouldn’t help with the family. Keeping in touch with another professional that has experienced having immigrants move into a common area would also help me out a lot. I could also talk to a translator to possibly learn just a few main words of their language. By knowing a few words, I could communicate better and also put these words up throughout the classroom. Finally, I would prepare myself my communicating with the family themselves. I could learn a lot from firsthand experience with them. They can inform me about their way of life, beliefs, language, etc.

All of the ways mentioned will benefit both me and the family. We will get to know each other on a more personal level. When one knows someone to a certain extent, they feel comfortable around them. With being an immigrant in this country, comfortability is a positive. We could both learn from each other.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The first incident that I have memory of in my life of prejudice was when I was in elementary school. I was in the third grade. At recess time I enjoyed playing sports such as basketball or soccer. Many boys and not so many girls decided to participate in the activities that I did. I was walking up to the soccer field one recess and a fellow classmate of mine approached me. He proceeded to tell me that I couldn’t play soccer because I was too dark. At the time, I knew that it was unfair that he told me that, but yet I couldn’t believe that was the reason that I wasn’t allowed to play. I didn’t go ask another classmate to play because my feelings were so hurt. I actually ran to tell my sister who was also at recess because she was just a year older than I was. She “handled” it in her own way. After recess was over I told my teacher and she called both of us to the side of the classroom and made him apologize. To this day, I’m still not sure he knew what he was apologizing for.

This experience didn’t have any equity in it. There wasn’t fair treatment of myself. In order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity, this young boy would have to learn why what he said was prejudiced. All of our biased attitudes and stereotypes are learned behaviors, so somewhere in his life he had to of learned something negative about people of color. It is imperative that parents teach their children that everyone is unique and that we must accept them for who they are, not knock them down or make them feel inferior.

Practiciing Awareness of Microaggressions

I was on the lookout for situations that involved microaggressions this week, but since I didn’t get out of the house much I was unable to view any type of situation. I decided to inform you all about an incident that occurred at the end of this past school year. My principal came in to observe my teaching methods and techniques. After the observation, I stopped in his office to discuss what he saw. The discussion went well. He praised my teaching ability and stated that I was a role model for African American students in the school because I “made it” in becoming a teacher. I know he meant this as a compliment, but as he elaborated I got the feeling that he was assuming that I went through the “typical” struggles in life as an African American female. I left his office wondering what it was in life that I had to overcome to succeed in being an educator. I graduated 7^th in my high school and received my bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. Even though my parents divorced when I was 1, both parents were still majorly involved in my life and I didn’t have to go without the necessities in life in order to survive. So, what was it in my life where I “overcame the odds”?

This was a perfect example of microinvalidations (Laureate Education, 2011). He didn’t intentionally try to hurt my feelings, but the discussion took place in such a way that I left wondering if I was over thinking the situation. Because of this, I didn’t want to say anything. Plus, I knew he didn’t mean any harm. The effects of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes can be everlasting. I will always remember this situation, but will never truly know what was meant by his words unless I ask him.

 Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Webcast].
Baltimore, MD: Author.

Perspectives on Diversity and Cultures

I asked my friends, colleagues, and family members what their definitions are of culture and diversity. Throughout this course, I have learned that culture is how people live in a society and what they believe in. This is a term that covers too many aspects to cover. It involves the way people talk, react to situations, different religions, their type of style, etc. Diversity involves the differences between people. When I asked others what culture means, all three of them responded with a definition similar to the ones studied throughout this course. They said it involves how people live, how they are raised, how they act, and how they communicate with others. When questioned about diversity, their answers differed more. They responded with definitions such as a mixture of cultures, differences within cultures, and overcoming things in life. Their meanings about culture were pretty much spot on, but their meanings of diversity weren’t as clear. However, they did link both culture and diversity together. Learning other people’s definitions of these two terms made me realize that more people know about these terms than I expected. So in other words, within every culture is diversity and diversity involves cultures within the world.

My Family Culture

Trying to figure out what three items I would take with me to another country was a rather difficult decision. I guess the three items would be my photo album, my cell phone, and my laptop. These three things are very meaningful to me because they contain my life stories and evidence of my work throughout my life. My photo album has many pictures in it, stemming back to my childhood and before I was born. My cell phone has many more pictures, mainly of my friends, and videos of my everyday life and the ones I cherish most in life. Finally, I’d take my laptop because it has almost too much information on it. It has coursework from my undergraduate and graduate years, lesson plans, pictures, journals, interactive activities, and much more! If, upon arrival to this other country, they told me that I could only keep one of these three items, I would choose my photo album but would feel devastated. I would feel like a part of me was being left behind. However, my album is the only evidence that I have of my past family members. It contains memories that even I can’t recall or recreate.

In completing this blog, I realized how much technology is important to me, not just for the convenience, but for the storage of memories and work. However, when it comes down to it, technology can’t take the place of my experiences and culture.

When I Think of Research......

I have gained so many insights through this course about research studies that I don’t even know where to begin.  I now have the knowledge on how to conduct research in a legal way. The step by step process has been very informing. I didn’t know the different kinds of research, such as quantitative and qualitative. I also learned many tips about conducting interviews with children and families and what to look for in valid resources for research. It is also important to keep children and families informed about the research studies before and throughout the entire process.

Because of this course, my ideas about the nature of research have changed a great deal. I hadn’t the slightest clue on how to conduct research. I have read studies in the past and have always wondered how the process played out in obtaining the results that I read. Research can be a tedious process, but knowing what you are doing beforehand helps out a lot. It is very important to always have a plan. This plan should be completely thought through, from the beginning to the end.  Everyone will come to bumps in the road because of unexpected events, but planning and not assuming too much will help.

From my experience, the more I got into my research simulation, the more I learned about what would work best and what it was exactly that I was trying to discover. The deeper into my research, the more I understood and tweaked it a little. I would say that was my biggest challenge. Creating a detailed research question and sticking with this question is beneficial. I didn’t fully understand what my research question was investigating until a few weeks after the research process.

Being an early childhood professional goes beyond just teaching. Doing research and communicating with others inside and outside of the classroom is an important characteristic. Because of this, investigation is important. Planning my research simulation entailed a lot of work and contemplation. I can imagine that actually following through to complete the research study would be a long process so one must stay focused and have a lot of patience.

I want to thank all of my colleagues for your assistance throughout this course. All of your feedbacks, thoughts, and suggestions were extremely helpful. I have never experienced a course like this. I have learned a lot from the content and all of your shared experiences. I wish you all the best on your future studies and goals in life!

Research Around the World

The website I decided to investigate over the past week is European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) (http://www.eecera.org/). It had a lot of information in many articles. Some of their research articles I wasn’t permitted to view (most recent studies), so I sort of just skimmed the titles and read the summaries for each article.  Some of the many research topics covered on this website were computer use, playing and learning in another language, teachers using “inviting” language in the classroom, changes in play, challenges for participatory research, language competence, behavioral training, and the list goes on. The one particular research article that caught my attention is Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood. I looked further into this article because in the course reading Doing Early Childhood Research it also discussed the challenges of working with children.  The study revolved around these three research questions:

Ø  Does using ‘participatory’ tools (such as cameras) necessarily engage children?

Ø  Does the adult research agenda inevitably change children’s experiences?

Ø  How does participatory research empower children?

Tools can distract children just like adults can. Adult researchers that enter the classroom are seen as adults and not other children, therefore affecting their behavior. It amused me by stating the idea that children could become research assistants and informants. Access to these participatory tools does affect children’s experiences. Because children can see cameras set up in their classroom, some children to act differently. Research does seem to empower children. It gives them a sense of having control of their classroom and the observer that in it.

References

http://www.eecera.org/

MacNaughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory and practice (2^nd ed). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Waller, T. & Bitou, A. (2011). Research with children: three challenges for participatory research in early childhood. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19(1), 5-20.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

When imagining what I would complete research on that would make a major contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families it was a pretty easy decision on what topic it would cover. Autism is a disorder that affects developmental and social skills in children. The first signs of autism usually are noticed in the first few years of life. Many studies have been conducted on autism to try to find the cause of it, but that remains to be determined. The spectrum of autism disorders have become wider and wider so it has become more and more common. In the 3 years that I have been an educator, there has been at least one child per grade level with some form of autism in class sizes of around 70-80 students. The major contributions that I would love for it to result in are finding the cause of autism and in return determining a cure for the disorder. Earlier detection and treatment of this disorder benefits children in the long run. So, noticing the early signs of it such as unusually strong tantrums, sensitivity to certain sounds and lights, little verbal communication, or withdrawing from physical contact with others is extremely important.

Resources

PubMed Health. (2010). Autism. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose for the simulation is how much stressors in a child’s life can affect his or her academic achievement. I want to research this topic more because I know that many children in my classroom experience stressors every day. Some stressors are more severe than others. I haven’t researched this topic to my full extent yet, however I plan on doing so. I feel that if I can’t find enough information, that it would be a sign to change my topic of interest. Unfortunately, I have no experience in this simulation process, so I am worried that my topic is either too vague or not very specific. For those of you who have experience in this area, do you think the topic I have chosen will be sufficient enough? Please explain why or why not. Any feedback and insights will be extremely helpful!

Consequences of Learning

I learned a lot through the international website I visited as an alternative assignment for this course. Among the sites and programs I reviewed were the of the World Forum Foundation, Poverty Research and Policy Centre, Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative”, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO). For instance, poverty isn’t just a problem in the United States. All around the world it is an issue, just in some places the number of those living in or under the poverty level are higher than other places. It seems it should be every nation’s goal to learn from others’ strategies to eliminate and lower poverty levels. Another consequence of learning about the early childhood field internationally is that societies are researching ways to better invest in early childhood. Countries are beginning to see that the more that is invested in children, the better outcomes in their lives they have developmentally, emotionally, and physically. More money is being spent on interventions and medical assistance for children who are need of them. Also, around the globe organizations are working towards creating more opportunities for children from low income families to be involved in quality childcare centers and programs.

A goal that I want to take upon myself is to make myself more knowledgeable about the issues involving children and education in my area. At the district I am employed at now, poverty is a main issue. The district itself is on a low budget, but offers its children the education they need to the best of their abilities. I would like to be involved more in the community also to assist children and families. Unfortunately, I amongst six other quality teachers were cut from the district’s budget for next school year. This just goes to show how school systems and programs lose some quality. They are forced to cut quality teachers and in return the child teacher ratio is affected. Any educator knows that the smaller the class size, the more individual attention students receive. All in all, I have gained much insight throughout this course and will continue my quest in gaining more knowledge about the different issues and trends in the early childhood field to become a better professional and educator.

Resources

http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

http://developingchild.hardvard.edu/initiatives/global_intitiatve/
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Getting to Know your International Contancts--Part 3

I chose to do the alternative assignment since I never heard back from an international professional.  http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/ is the website of United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations  (UNESCO). This organization leads a global drive for an integrated early childhood care and education system that takes into consideration both the well-being and holistic development children. Their mission is, “To support early childhood policy development with the aim to build a solid foundation for a child’s lifelong learning.”

It discusses the different ways countries create opportunities for children from low income families to be involved in early childhood quality programs that are accessible for everyone. Quality programs serve children holistically. Research has shown that children from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit most from thes high-quality programs because they “promote motivation, confidence, good cognitive and linguistic development and school readiness”.  In these quality programs are experienced and professional staff members. These workers are in great numbers because they can be pre-school teachers, child care workers, or other early childcare workers. It also talks about how, now days, child care programs are putting a lot more emphasis formal schooling. These earliest types of programs focus on getting children ready for school and not just allowing them to investigate and learn through child centered activities. This website also consists of global news and different links to connect one to news throughout the world.

Resources

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Sharing Web Resources--Excellence and Equity

I continued to investigate the Zero to Three website. This week I researched information and links that involved early child care and education. The website has an entire section devoted to “Early Care and Education”. This section is divided into three parts: child care, family friend and neighbor care, and school readiness interactive birth-3. It does discuss issues related to this week’s theme-excellence and equity. Children spend the early years of their lives in the care of other adults that aren’t their parents. This care given by other adults should be high quality. High quality programs are loving, responsive, respect each child’s individuality, and are stimulating. It gives tips for parents on how to choose the best program for their children. The site encourages adults to go to the program and observe their interactions with children. Here is a list of questions parents should consider when choosing the best early childhood educational program?

ü  Do they respond to each child’s needs?

ü  Do they talk and interact with children consistently and effectively?

ü  Do they listen to each child and take into consideration their needs and ideas?

ü  What certification do the adults have in dealing with children?

ü  Is there a schedule posted within/outside the room?

ü  Are the toys and materials located where children can reach them safely? Are hazardous materials out of reach and placed in a safe place?

ü  Does the environment and caregivers accommodate children with special needs?

ü  Are each child’s language, culture, and values respected?

ü  What discipline policy is in place?

ü  Is the environment clean, safe, and appeasing?

ü  Does the teacher-child ratio seem acceptable for your child’s age group?

ü  Is it a licensed program?

ü  Would you feel comfortable leaving your child here for an extended period of time without you?

These questions will help guide parents in choosing a high quality program. This site also gives tips, examples of what consists of quality programs, and ways to prepare your young ones for preschool. Separating from parents can be a big deal for some children. Reassuring children that preschool, or any other early childhood program, is fun and exciting can help the process flow smoothly. It offers a variety of actions that parents can do in order to prepare their children for the big change in lifestyle. I don't have any children at this time, but this website would assist in choosing the correct program for my child and help me prepare me and my child for education outside my home.

Resource

http://www.zerotothree.org/early-care-education/

Getting to Know International Contacts--Part 2

I visited Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website and learned a lot about their goals and priorities in early childhood education. The center’s main focuses are working on the discourse around child health and development, supporting research on childhood development, and building leadership around the world. They have different activities and projects pertaining to the early childhood field, including development, mental health, and children in crisis situations. This program doesn’t operate just in the United States, it operates around the world. Their aim is to improve the outcomes in children’s lives. In early childhood development area, they work globally with others to increase investments in early childhood and expand different interventions for children. These certain kinds of projects have been held in Zambia and Chile. In child mental health area, they focus on addressing gaps in knowledge and the causes of health problems. This research has been conducted in China and in Caribbean nations. In the children in crisis situations area, they focus on the outcomes of children who have experienced some sort of major conflict in life (major earthquakes, malnutrition). I have learned a lot about their efforts and research involving young children globally. The same issues we face in the early childhood field, are some of the same issues other nations face also. They work together with these other nations to try to resolve these issues.

Resource

http://developingchild.hardvard.edu/initiatives/global_intitiatve/

Sharing Web Resources

The website I’ve been researching throughout this course is Zero to Three. I thought it was particularly relevant to investigate the maltreatment of young children. A few resources this week discussed how toxic stress can lead to other adult problems like heart disease and diabetes. This toxic stress can be caused by abuse, poverty, consistently moving from one place to another, and many more reasons. Out of the children who experience maltreatment, 59% are neglected, 18.4% are physically or sexually abused, 4.2% are mentally abused, and the remaining children had a combination of abuse types. It is because of this maltreatment that every 7 minutes an infant or toddler is removed from their home. Many children who experience this toxic stress respond in different manners. Some have trouble sleeping, trouble controlling their anger, difficulty paying attention, or even become withdrawn from others. Repeated exposure to this negative type of stress at early ages can in return affect children’s brain and nervous system. This result has an effect on school performance and relationships. This reinforces the thoughts and research of neuroscientists.

It is very important that these children have early support and intervention in order to restore mental, emotional, and physical health. Training and education for both parents and educators will assist in doing so. Programs like “Strengthening Families” and “Safe Babies Court Teams” educate parents on how to deal with a variety of stresses in life. Anybody can have a child, and many people do, but raising a child in a nurturing and caring environment is a key factor in the healthy development of children. Teaching parents about the necessities of childhood and what happens to children when these necessities aren’t met is in extreme need. I enjoyed how the resources on this website pointed out that simply educating parents about this information is just the first step. Families need direct resources at all times when they are in need, professionals that they can talk to and financial assistance.

Resources

http://www.zerotothree.org/maltreatment/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

Unfortunately, I still have yet to hear from any of professionals outside of the U.S. that I have tried to contact. I have to admit that it has been an ongoing process over the last couple of weeks and it just seems like it isn’t going to be successful. So until I am able to do so, I have resorted to the alternative assignments.

I visited the World Forum Foundation’s website and listened to their most recent podcast (2-10-11). A conversation was held with Susan Lyon. She discussed that her passion for early childhood all started when a child suggested that the word “city” was a small word for such a big thing. She went to Italy and visited the Reggio Emilia school systems and decided to bring their concepts back with her to northern California. She started a program in 1994 called the Innovative Teacher Project. It consists of a network of schools from all over the world communicating every month about their progress in changing their school systems. These school systems are both public and private. It still continues today.

I also reviewed the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre’s page (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/) and specifically research childhood poverty in China. I was interested in this area due to its huge population of 1,336,718,015 (as of mid 2011). Poverty in China has declined from 250 million in 1978 to 35 million in 2000. It is mainly in the urban areas due to adults not being able to find work, a dismantling of the social security system, and movement of rural-urban migration. People who work in urban areas give small contributions to cover insurance for those in poverty but it excludes most of the poor residents. There are different government assistance programs (dibao), but it mainly reaches just 20-25% of the poor. These systems give households a certain amount of money based on family size, but it doesn’t take into consideration the specific needs of each member. For instance, one family may be a single mother raising three children or a disabled child. Certain members may cost more money for certain reasons. As family size increases, the more dependent members become. Many children don’t have medical insurance and suffer illnesses, which in turn lead to financial debt. The first nine years of children’s education is free, but even with this fact 75% of families in poverty can’t afford education expenses. Therefore, many children don’t finish school. Some even end up leaving to go work at very early ages.

Based on what I’ve learned so far in this course, poverty exists in every country. There seems to be an issue with not being able to reach all of the poor population, no matter what area is being considered.

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I chose to research is Zero to Three. The web link is listed below.

http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/

This website is designed to assist parents, caregivers, and educators of young children in their responsibility to help foster a healthy development in young children (specifically 0-3 years of age). It informs individuals of children’s growth and ways to support this growth. This organization has a newsletter and a journal. To be subscribed to the newsletter (From Baby to Big Kid), one should have children and you get it for free. This newsletter will give you information about the stage of development your child is at. The journal (Zero to Three), costs money to receive. This journal talks even more about issues and trends in early childhood. There is also a bountiful amount of resources one can find on this website.

The area that I looked further into was the Behavior and Development section on this webpage. In this section it lists the following issues in early childhood: early childhood development, brain development, challenging behaviors, mental health, early development, health and nutrition, mental health screenings and assessments, play, social emotional development, sleep, and temperament and behavior. All of these issues need to be taken into consideration when caring for infants and toddlers.

The issue that I investigated was brain development. There is an interactive diagram of the human brain. By selecting the infants or toddlers age and then clicking on the different areas of the brain, it gives information about that particular area of the brain and ideas about what parents and caregivers can do to assist in healthy development. This information pertains to prenatal through 36 month old children. It describes language, movement, emotional, cognitive, hearing, and vision abilities, and the list goes on. It even gives frequently asked questions along with the answers to these questions. A podcast is on this section of brain development with an interview with Dr. Gopnik (professor of psychology). She discusses how babies know much more than we all originally thought years ago and what parents and caregivers can do to nurture this brain development. There is plenty of information on this topic. Definitely check this out!

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

I have used The Global Alliance of NAEYC as a resource to get in touch with professionals outside of the United States. I looked into each website and chose certain people to email, with hopes of hearing back from them. So far I have tried to contact four individuals from Romania, Spain, and Canada and all attempts have been unsuccessful. I will continue to try to reach someone because I think it will be very interesting and insightful to talk with an educator outside of our country.

I chose to investigate the website Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families because I have read quite a few of their articles during my experience at Walden University. I have subscribed to some sort of electronic newsletter. The website seems very interesting. It contains information on child development mentally, physically, and emotionally in children from 0 to age three. I am really looking forward to looking more into this website and receiving their newsletters.

My Supports

I have many factors in my daily environment that are supportive to me. The first factor I want to mention is God. He is always there for me in every aspect in life: physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, etc. Without Him, there would be no point to life. Another factor is my family. I am very close to my immediate family members. My father and mother support me emotionally through encouraging me to strive for my toughest goals. They also support me if I become in a financial bind. My sisters are always there for me if I need somebody to talk to or if I need help making decisions. If I didn’t have my family, I would feel lonely and abandoned. My job is another supportive factor in my life. It allows me to provide food for myself and my dog, buy things for other people, and go out and do things socially. Without my job, I wouldn’t have anything that I own at this point or have the experiences that I have shared with so many of my students. I could go on and on, but those are just a few of the supports in my life.

Recently, my 82 year old grandpa was hospitalized due to failing health and I went to visit with my father. While visiting, I couldn’t help but to imagine what it had to feel like being in my dad’s shoes at that moment. To be raised by a man all my life and that, that man may be gone soon.  Then I realized that it is a possibility that one of these days I may have to experience that challenge of something happening to my father, whether it is illness or even death. I would need support from God and my family to comfort me because I know I’d be emotionally stressed. They would help to keep my spirits up and be there for someone to talk to when needed. My job would remain being a supportive factor too, when it comes to taking any needed days off work.

Everyone has supports in their lives. Without some kind of support, we wouldn’t be able to survive.

My Connections to Play





Here are a few quotes about play that I enjoy:

“Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning.”-Diane Ackerman

“A child loves his play, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard.”-Benjamin Spock

When reminiscing on my childhood, I thought of a few toys that I played with quite often: Barbie dolls, basketball, and bikes. I had a lot of toys when I was younger, but when it came down to it I loved just being outdoors playing with the neighborhood kids the most.

My siblings, parents, and friends supported play. My parents were the ones to get me my toys, of course. They always strongly encouraged us get outdoors and play outside though. My sister, Ashley, was just a year older than me so we would play together quite often. The neighborhood kids, Ashley, and I would play simple games like Tag or Hide and Go Seek. I also liked riding my bike around the neighborhood. Sometimes my sister would go with me but most of the time I’d go by myself.

I feel that play is a lot different now than it was then, and that’s only been about 20 years ago. In my day of play, I spent a lot of the time outdoors. When I played indoors, it was with dolls, puzzles, or game boards. According to what I hear from my students, a lot of time spent playing is on the computer or some other form of game system.

I believe that play served a purpose of just simply letting go. When children are in their world of play, everything else doesn’t matter. “It allows them to digest life and make it their own” (Almon, 2002). I feel that as children grow older and enter adulthood, the form of play changes. They no longer run around playing Tag, but move on tow “grownup” things.

Resources

Almon, K. (2002). The vital role of play in early childhood education. Gateway, 43. Retrieved from http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/GW43almon.pdf

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are an important part of my life. Whether it is with my family members, friends, pets, or God, it gives me a feeling of completeness. Being able to discuss matters in life and my thoughts with others keeps me “sane”. As a result, I don't feel lonely. Humans, by nature, show high interest in human faces and even know their mothers’ voice minutes after birth (Edelman, 2004). I have many relationships in my life and want to mention just a few of my closest ones.

The relationship I carry with my mother is strong. Despite all of the mistakes I have made throughout my 26 years of life, she has stuck by my side through it all. She voices her opinion about certain issues, but encourages me to make my own decisions. She has always said that it is best to learn from my own mistakes. I talk to her just about every day and visit with her every week.

My father and I are very close. I, too, talk to him about every day and see him every week. If I go more than a day of not talking to him, I feel like I am clueless as to what is going on in his life. We share a love for sports, particularly basketball, so we bond a lot through that similar interest. He also happens to be a pastor. Being aware of his knowledge of the Bible and his closeness with God, I confide in him quite often.

The last relationship I want to mention is that of one of my closest friends, Amanda. We aren’t related but still remain fond of each other.  We went to high school together and I went to college with her fiancé so we have kept in touch with each other despite going our separate ways in our adult lives.

Through my experiences in relationships I have found that sharing common interests and goals, being caring, making time, and having honesty and consideration with and for each other are the contributing factors to maintaining positive relationships. Without these characteristics, relationships tend to become a challenge. It takes time and effort to keep people in your life. A friend of mine just recently got married and had her first child. She is so busy with the new additions in her life and I’m so busy with my schooling that we scarcely talk to each other. As a result, I’ve felt a space gradually grow between us.

Having these relationships can impact my work as an early childhood professional. Within relationships and partnerships, comes learning. I can take whatever is learned and apply it in the classroom. For example, I have friends who are teachers and we bounce ideas off of each other when planning our curriculum.

Resources

Edelman, L. (2004). A relationship-based approach to early intervention. Resources and Connections, 3(2).