Testing for Intelligence?

            Standardized testing has both positive and negative features and when used effectively can play a substantial role in improving the schooling of our young learners. Some individuals look at it as a great assessment tool while other teachers, parents, and students believe it causes too much stress on the child, and an educator now teaches for an examine. I believe it can be beneficial when determining what and when to teach students certain lessons and it also gives educators and parents a chance to see how the child is responding in the classroom to their new learning’s. When all children are taking the same exam, an educator can see a gap between students and could modify individual lessons. While I am not necessarily for standardized testing, I could understand why some professionals believe it is an excellent tool to assess their students. I think teachers can become very stressed knowing their class has to take a standardized test and they begin to teach for an exam. This, to me, takes the fun out of learning, you go over the same lessons, make sure all students are on the same page, and this can become very tiring for the students. Schools are put under so much pressure to get the best scores for their county and some districts will even go as far as reducing recess. As we have learned in the past, children learn a lot through play, and this can have negative impacts on their social and emotional well-being. I believe there needs to be some balance between our student’s success and a standardized exam. I don’t think this is the only tool that should tell a parent that their child is not up to speed or a teacher is not doing their job correctly. Constant assessments and observations on the class as a whole and individual students can allow for educators to see other ways their students have succeeded in the classroom.

            “Finland has vastly improved in reading, math and science literacy over the past decade in large part because its teachers are trusted to do whatever it takes to turn young lives around” (Hancock, 2011). Teachers are held to a high respect, just as doctors are held here in the United States. Students do not take an annual standardized test but instead the Finnish government occasionally tests random grades and students to make sure the country is meeting its education goals (Zhao, 2013). Finland reviews their progress through assessments and observations and the educator creates an exam for their students and decides the time that it should be taken. They have flexibility and are able to create an exam for the individual student to assess their progress. There was a paragraph written by LynNell Hancock in her article Why Are Finland’s Schools Successful that has really changed my outlook and wish that more individuals in our country would take such an interest in our students success.

“There are no mandated standardized tests in Finland, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school. There are no rankings, no comparisons or competition between students, schools or regions. Finland’s schools are publicly funded. The people in the government agencies running them, from national officials to local authorities, are educators, not business people, military leaders or career politicians. Every school has the same national goals and draws from the same pool of university-trained educators. The result is that a Finnish child has a good shot at getting the same quality education no matter whether he or she lives in a rural village or a university town. The differences between weakest and strongest students are the smallest in the world, according to the most recent survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “Equality is the most important word in Finnish education. All political parties on the right and left agree on this,” said Olli Luukkainen, president of Finland’s powerful teachers union” (Hancock, 2011).

Reference

Hancock, L. (2011, September). Why Are Finland's Schools Successful? Retrieved from

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/

Zhao, E. (2013, January 16). Standardized Testing A Foreign Concept In Finland With

World's Top Students. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/16/standardized-testing-a-fo_n_2145623.html

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

October of 2012 is a month I will never forget; my cousin was going through a horrid divorce with her son’s father and was in the process of moving from that home. Her two children, ages 5 and 3, were bouncing between homes until my cousin was able to find something more permanent. They found this beautiful little cape and the kids were so thrilled to have a place to call home. As a family, we all helped them move in and get them adjusted and just to be there for my cousin in any way we could.

Then October 29, 2012, came, and we were all back to square one. My cousin just lost her brand new home, all of their belongings and her children only had the clothes on their backs. Hurricane Sandy flooded their home, put a tree through the roof, and EVERYTHING was destroyed! This hurricane not only left behind significant physical destruction but also emotional damage for this family. Her five-year-old son would burst into tears for no reason, became extremely clingy to his mom and had night terrors for weeks. Children tend to act out when their lives are disrupted, and throughout this month he was no different. He became aggressive in school, at home, and even with family members. My cousin sought help in any way, shape, or form and found a family therapist to help. After a few weeks, my cousin finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel, the less stress she carried, carried over to her son. They were rebuilding their lives, and he finally had that youthful glow back. Now being almost ten-years-old, Hurricane Sandy does get brought up sometimes, and he is much more understanding and always says, “Well good things always come back.”

This year we also saw the devastating affects that occurred in Haiti from Hurricane Matthew. These natives, who essentially don’t have much lost everything and many, had paid the ultimate sacrifice. Children lost their lives, children lost their parents, and adults lost relatives and friends. The food supply was scarce, fruit trees were destroyed and crops were washed away, mixing with sewage also tainted the water. They had nothing to help them survive. These young children were malnourished, did not have homes, and were also no longer going to school. Over that weekend I got a phone call from my cousins son saying how it reminded him of Sandy and he wanted to get the family together to help in any way we could. Coming from an almost ten-year-old I was completely and utterly shocked, the boy who too lost everything wanted to help other children. He ran around his house grabbing clothes, old stuffed animals he didn’t play with, and asked to go to the store to pay for water from his allowance. I was so thrilled to take part in helping and got into contact with UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Funds) to see how we could help. I understood money could help but I also wanted to give more, along with my younger cousin. These children’s lives were rattled and while money could help rebuild homes and allow for immunizations, clothes, toys, and food could also put a smile on these youngsters’ faces. The stress that these young children have endured was sickening and I am just glad I was able to do my civic duty to help repair in any way I could.

Child Development and Public Health

I recently just took a professional development class on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and learned about the many ways to help reduce the risks that can cause such heartache. During the first several months it is important to keep the child in the same room as the parents but on a separate surface to reduce the possibility of strangulation, suffocation and even entrapment. I also found out the connection between breastfed babies and how that also reduces the risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It can fight against infection, reduces respiratory infections, reduces reflux and even promotes safer sleep, along with many other benefits.

I also found it extremely odd that the United States and New Zealand have the highest SIDS rates compared to all other countries. For such developed countries I figured it would have been the lowest rates. Also the age of inclusion for SIDS is different across all countries. “Some countries (Canada, England and Wales, Germany, and Scotland) define SIDS as occurring from one week to one year. Other countries include infants from birth to one year (Argentina, Australia, Austria, France, Ireland, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S.) or birth to over one year (the Netherlands and New Zealand). This may account for at most a small difference in SIDS rates since the number of SIDS deaths occurring in the first week of life and after one year are very small” (Hauck & Tanabe). Throughout the years there has been a significant reduction in SIDS deaths around the world but still have some shocking rates due to some countries not getting proper risk reduction activites.

Reference

Hauck, F. R., & Tanabe, K. (n.d.). International Trends in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and ... Retrieved from https://www.ispid.org/fileadmin/user_upload/textfiles/articles/CPR17_Hauck_SIDS_Trends.pdf