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