When I Think of Child Development.........

When I Think of Child Development……

• At least one quote about children, or a visual/media piece with written commentary
• A note of professional thanks and support to the Blogs of at least two colleagues

"Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own."

"Learning is finding out what we already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you. You are all learners, doers, and teachers." -- Richard Bach

I want to thank Dr. Longo for her continued support in my journey through graduate school. I have never had a professor that was so concerned about an individual’s learning. I like the fact that she does not penalize you if you run into a problem during the course, she allows you to do whatever it takes to get back on track. Dr. Longo really does posses knowledge and enthusiasm about the Early Childhood Education field. I appreciated her boundless patience and encouragement and she genuinely cares about her students I appreciated Dr. Longo passion and the way the lessons were delivered. Structure and consistency is a must in teaching a class and Dr. Longo demonstrated those qualities in each class. Her work experience and professionalism enhanced the lessons. She is a wonderful instructor who cares about her students and exemplifies characteristics that those who pursue academics should strive for.  I also want to thank my fellow classmates for this class. I have been through a lot during these eight weeks, but I have found strength and motivation to pull through from my support system at Walden University and my love ones.  I wish you all nothing but the best as we continue our journey through graduate school. I will leave everyone with this quote.
"Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."  Thomas Edison

Testing for Intelligence?

• Considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically (i.e., a commitment to “the whole child”), what, if anything, do you believe should be measured or assessed? Explain your reasoning.
• In what ways are school-age children assessed in other parts of the world? (Choose a country or region of the world for which you have a personal affinity.)
• What additional ideas, comments, suggestions, examples, and/or concerns related to assessing young children would you like to share with your colleagues?

Holistic education is a philosophy of education based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to humanitarian values such as compassion and peace. Holistic education aims to call forth from people an intrinsic reverence for life and a passionate love of learning. I feel that the child should be assessed; reason being we focus on where a child should be because of age, but with age knowledge does not always come. In the state of Texas there is a test called the TAKS test which all students have to take from K-12, this test determines if you go to the next grade. I have seen the most intelligent people fail a test. A test in my opinion should not determine an individual’s education, most of the things on the tests have not been taught to the students so why should they be penalized. A child only learns what they have been taught in education; with the exclusions of life experiences. The tests should be made to show the schools what each individual child needs help and more studying in what fields to help them excel in life. The test scores follow the children from grade to grade instead of playing as a guide for instructions of what fields the teachers should focus in on.

All educators recognize that all students with disabilities are learners with great potential, and ensure students with disabilities receive the education they need, in general education classrooms, so they have the skills they need to go on to post-secondary education and/or into the job market (a real job with real pay). Kathie Snow

The Japanese educational system is based on the "6, 3, 3, 4 system"; in other words, six years of primary school, three years of junior high school, three years of high school and four years of university. The nine years of primary school and junior high school are compulsory. Children enter primary school at the age of six.

A school year has three terms: summer, winter and spring, which are each followed by a vacation period. The school year begins in April and ends in March of the following year.
Children learn early on (beginning in preschool) to maintain cooperative relationships with their peers; to follow the set school routines; and to value punctuality (from their first year in elementary school).
Despite the assigned leadership-subordinate roles, group activities are often conducted in a surprisingly democratic manner. Teachers usually delegate authority and responsibility to students. Small-group (han) activities often foster caring and nurturing relationships among students. The teaching culture in Japan differs greatly from that of schools in the west. Teachers are particularly concerned about developing the holistic child and regard it as their task to focus on matters such as personal hygiene, nutrition, sleep that are not ordinarily thought of as part of the teacher's duties in the west. Students are also taught proper manners, how to speak politely and how to address adults as well as how to relate to their peers in the appropriate manner. They also learn public speaking skills through the routine class meetings as well as many school events during the school year. In reading about Japan I learned that their teaching methods are different from ours in the US. They focus on hygiene and nutrition while we focus on the child learning ability. Japan also gives the child authority while the adults are in charge in the US.

References:

Holism: The Holistic Approach to Child Developmenthttp://www.suite101.com/content/holism-the-holistic-approach-to-child-development

Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

From the list above, choose one stressor that you, or someone you know, experienced as a child. Share how you, or that person, coped with and/or compensated for that stressor (including any resources used or any support obtained).

Violence is the expression of physical or verbal force against one or more people, compelling action against one's will on pain of being hurt. Worldwide, violence is used as a tool of manipulation and also is an area of concern for law and culture which take attempts to suppress and stop it. I chose violence because I have been surrounded with people that have been abused. When I was in the 8^th grade one of my family friends were being abused by her mother and stepfather, her mother/stepfather beat her with pool sticks and firewood and  did everything you could think of under the sun that was not right to her, because she had gotten pregnant her 10^th grade year of high school. One day she came to our house and told my mom, my mom being the kindhearted person she is took her into our home. I feel as though she looked for love in sex and had a baby because she did not have the love of her parents from home. It hurt me to see someone hurt like that. I can also talk about my cousin her mom died when she was 11 years old and she went wild, sleeping with all types of men and doing drugs. She confided in a boy that went to school with us he sold drugs and had his little money and I guess that drew her in. As this relationship progressed he became very abusive to her. She had gotten pregnant around 14 or 15 years old this boy beat her up so bad we did not recognize her, she had two black eyes, belt buckle bruises, busted lip, broken ribs,  was locked  in a room for two weeks without food or water, and the list goes on all while she was pregnant. She had gone into labor at five months and gave birth to a one pound baby. I still do not understand to this day why she still love and have a relationship with him. I feel that some women think that a man love them when they abuse them, sorry to say love does not suppose to cause hurt or pain in that way.

Choose a region or country in the world that you would like to know more about and/or for which you have a special affinity. Find out, and describe, the kind of stressor(s) that impact the development of children in that region/country and what is being done to minimize the harm.

HIV/AIDS has become one of the largest health care and social challenges for Southern Africa, as

well as for the global community. Children in Africa have many stressors that they deal with on a daily basis.  Over 20% percent of the population in southern Africa is estimated to be affected by HIV. Some of the stressors are as follows: poverty, homelessness, HIV, diseases, contaminated water, and the list goes on.  These stressors have a great impact on the development of children. In Swaziland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, average life expectancy for a child born from 2000 to 2005 is below 40 years (New York Times, 2004). That is sad that society put a number on these children’s life. Many people have started getting involved in feeding the children, adopting children, and donating money for medicine, nets, etc. I feel as though we can make a difference in people lives by focusing more on others and not just ourselves. Many of us had a big thanksgiving dinner and there were people that did not have any food to eat and no place to stay. I always try and help others because I never know when I will need help.

References:

http://www.egs.uct.ac.za

Child Development and Public Health

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS is a condition in which there is no clear or apparent reason for the death of an infant in the age range of one to twelve months. SIDS has been described as sudden and immediate death of an infant with no apparent cause after a thorough investigation and autopsy is done. Some infants who appear healthy are not always healthy. Most of these infants gained weight, learn to shake a rattle, starting to roll over, and smiling at their caregivers die unexpectedly in their sleep. SIDS was a concern to me after I gave birth to my daughter, I was constantly checking to see if her chest was rising while she slept. I was so nervous I even put her in the bed with me so I could watch her sleep, instead of her crib. It has been stated in several studies that to help prevent SIDS it is recommended that your child be placed on their backs and not their stomachs. I allowed my child to sleep on my chest, her side, or her back.

This topic is important is important to me; because, I am a mother and I would know how to cope with waking up to discover that child is not breathing. There has never been anyone around me in my personal life that has ever been through this type of situation, but I can only imagine how scary that can be. The questions that would come to mind for a parent as of what they could or should have done to prevent this from happening. I was very careful when it came to my daughter and SIDS I could have been described as obsessive when she first came home because of how I watched her sleep and even nap.  It is said that the African American race has more deaths than any other race.

The country that I chose was New Zealand, because it was found to have had the most recorded deaths due to SIDS out of 12 countries in 1990; even though, there has been a dramatic decrease from 1990 to 2005 New Zealand still remained number one.  

 

References:

The Developing Person Through Childhood 5ed.Kathleen Stassen Berger

http://www.cdc.gov/sids/

Childbirth––In Your Life and Around the World (US vs Brazil)

Although the US and Brazil have some similarities they also have many differences in birthing and pregnancy methods. In the US we have the option to choose our birthing method(vaginal or caesarean) if the mother and child is not in distress. In Brazil a Caesarean (c-section) is highly recommended by doctors because of practical and financial reasons. Water births are not common in Brazil as they are in the US. 

 Obstetricians will not be in favor of home births in Brazil, In the US, u can get a midwife and have a baby in the comfort of your own home.   
Following the birth, the doctor asks the mother if she wishes for the baby to have hearing and sight tests as well as a teste de pezinho, which involves drawing blood from the sole of the baby's foot in order to test for metabolic, genetic and infectious diseases. But during my birthing experience it was mandatory at the hospital they gave the following tests within an hour after birth. 

In general, the mother remains in hospital for up to three days following the birth, this may be longer in the event of a caesarean section. During this time, the mother is given breast feeding lessons and nursing staff are available to answer any questions regarding the newborn or the mother's health. This is also a similarity in the US.


Reference
 http://angloinfo.com/ikpisi

Childbirth––In Your Life and Around the World

It was March 23, 2006 I got the news that I was pregnant and that changed my life forever. I was a full time college student,working at the prison full time, and on top of that scared out of my mind. On the day that I found out I was three months pregnant. The months went by, I was sicker than I have ever been in my entire life. On November 17, 2006 I was ordered to be at the doctor at 5:45 am to have my labor induced, I did not know what to expect. I was 3 cm when I arrived to the hospital, my doctor came in and broke my water, and that's when all the pain beganed. The pain of contractions is so unbearable, I took the pain as long as I could, then I needed the anesthesiologist to rescue me. The contractions continued, and my doctor came in periodically to check the dilation of my cervix. It seemed like I was in labor forever, I was stuck at 4 cm for many hours, then 7cm , then when 10 cm came it was time to push. I pushed and pushed  giving birth in real life versus what we see on tv is totally different from my birthing experience. At 4:14 pm I gave birth to Brayleigh Ta'neice Dixon, weighing 7lbs 9.3ozs, it was so surreal, it was something I never thought would happen to me. I never knew I could love someone with all my heart and soul. Brayleigh brings out the best best in me she is my joy.

I chose this experience because I was one of the many people that said I will never have kids. My experience in giving birth and becoming a mother brings tears to my eyes. I know that I have someone that depends on me and thinks that I am perfect no matter what. I love being a mother and I would not trade it for the world. I think that everyone should experience birth at one point in their life, its a great life changing experience. If you as a mother get prenatal care and go to your scheduled doctors appointment this will ensure the possibility of a healthy child.

Examining Codes of Ethics

The NAEYC( National Association for Education of Young Children) and DEC

(Division of Early Childhood)

1.1—To be familiar with the knowledge base of early

childhood care and education and to stay informed

through continuing education and training

I chose this code because, we cant help anyone without knowing what kind of help their in need of.We must gain knowledge about the different behaviors, languages, race, and age groups to educate. I want to increase my knowledge base in the early childhood field.

I-1.8—To support the right of each child to play and

learn in an inclusive environment that meets the

needs of children with and without disabilities.

This code clearly states that that no child should be taught any different. Every child is the same one may need more attention than the next. I feel that every child should be comfortable and not feel singled out while learning. Most children just need to feel that someone really cares about their learning and future.

I-1.9—To advocate for and ensure that all children,

including those with special needs, have access to the

support services needed to be successful.


I will admit that I just found out what advocating really meant, I will say that I do this daily. If you just take a few minutes out of your time to help one person, you have made a difference in someones life. I will also make services available to all children depending on what their in need of. I feel that if a person know that they have support that will push them towards their success.

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

The two people that inspired me in the Early Childhood Field were; William J "Bill" Clinton and Lilian Katz.
William J "Bill" Clinton has said many inspiring words throughout his presidency, one of them that caught my attention were "We cannot build our own future without helping others build theirs". This quote is the main reason I decided to pursue Early Childhood Ed. It’s true because we as teachers have already built our future as educators, mentors, professors, etc... Now it’s time for us to inspire the students to succeed. Bill also stated that, Success is not the measure of a man but a triumph over those who choose to hold him back.

Dr. Lilian G. Katz quoted “Each of us must come to care about everyone else's

            children. We must recognize that the welfare of our

            children is intimately linked to the welfare of all  other people's children.

 After all, when one of our children needs life-saving surgery, someone else's

The two professionals from the video that I related to the most were; Raymond Hernandez, he stated that his “passion is wanting to make a difference in at least one child’s life, and see that sparkle in a child’s eye and I know that I did my job. He felt like he could create a safer world for kids. Raymond said that being in the early childhood field has a larger impact on parents and children. 

Sandy Escobido stated “ that as she was growing up and looking for better opportunities, she felt that the services she provided for children benefited her more and more. She also had the opportunity to write and issue grants to preschools. Most of the educators have a built in passion about education and wanting to teach

          

            child will perform it.   If one of our children

            is harmed by violence, someone else's child will be

            responsible for the violent act. The good life for

             our own children can be secured only if a good life

             is also secured for all other people's children”.

Personal Childhood Web

          My mother, Lois Smith, would have to be one of the most inspiring individual I know. She took excellent care of me; which in hindsight, showed me the perfect way to raise and nurture a child without even knowing it. If I ever had a problem or a concern no matter what she was doing she always took the time out to help me even if it involved me scrapping my knee. Even now I am able to go to her with anything and get her honest opinion and advice. My mother has been my best friend throughout my life, without my mother I could not be the woman that I am today. She taught me almost everything I know.



           My grandmother, Jewel Briggs,was and will always remain the biggest part of my support system. As a child my grandmother always made sure that I was happy if my mother said "no" my grandmother would say "yes" even if she knew I didn't need it just to see my smile. She taught me to always stand up for myself and to never let anyone belittle or put me down. She taught me the true meaning of standing up for myself and to never make a promise that I had no intention of keeping. She was and always will remain my rock; even though she may be gone but from forgotten.



            My brother, Terrance Harris,throughout my life he has always been my bodyguard. I can remember when we were kids, how he would always make sure that nobody was bothering me ; which even today, still continues. He was the one person that help to make sure that I didn't make a fool of myself by doing or saying the wrong thing; being as though, he was older and experienced things that I was just now encountering. Even as adults today my brother still tries to protect me from any and everything that he can.
He has a very special spot in my heart that can never be replaced or removed; no matter how much we may argue; which we do or have done in the past.



               My father, Tony Harris, was the only person that showed me how to be compassionate and still yet firm at the same time. He taught me numerous things growing up; for instance, how to ride a bike, swim, and countless other things. He also told me that when I get older there would come a time in my life where I would have to do things that I would not exactly wanna do but will have to as a part of growing up and becoming an adult. The most valuable thing that he ever showed me was how a man should treat me, but that's just to show you how a true father is and always will be about their little girls.



               My cousin, Marketa Stewart, is one of several cousins that I grew up with, but the one thing in particular about her was that me and her got along a level that I didn't have with the rest. She always made sure that whatever we were doing was okay and that neither one of us got in trouble. She was always there to give me support and encourage me in everything I was doing or had in mind of doing. When you have someone in your life that no matter what's going on or what I've done or did to stand beside you it shows you how a person cares for you.

A Story Of A Child That Touched My Heart

The story of a child that touched my heart would have to be my little cousin, Markevius. He was born 1lb 10ozs at the gestation of 24/1/2 weeks, with breathing complications, bleeding on the brain,an enlarged heart, a feeding tube, and he was only given a 45% chance of surviving. Now Markevius is a healthy 9 year old who is actually a genius , you would have never thought that he went through all of this.

One Of My Favorite Childhood Books

The Cat in the Hat by Dr.Seuss 1957. I chose this book because it was a fun book to read as a child, and also a good one to read to my child. The part that really stood out to me was Thing 1 and Thing 2. Those were great childhood memories                                                                        

                                             

Favorite Quote About Children

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.(Stacia Tauscher)

Blog

I finally got the hang of this blog thing.