Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

            I loved the fact that I was able to contact several professionals to expand my resources on how I can support all learners in the classroom. For this particular assignment, I contacted three early childhood educators with the help of my friends and my recent travels. In August I went on my honeymoon to the lovely island of St. Lucia, while there I was able to take a tour of the city and learn so much about the culture but what shocked me is that all citizens must pay for their children to attend school. Since many individuals live in poverty they are unable to afford an education for their child and the child is then put to work. In the United States, all children have the ability to attend school because of the taxpayers. While early education is a privilege and many families do pay for their child to attend, kindergarten to high school is typically free if they use the public school system. I also have reached out to an educator in Ghana and in Peru, this is because I have two friends who are currently in the Peace Corps who are living in these countries. While I sent emails to all three I have only heard back from the educator in St. Lucia, I am hoping by the weekend I will have a better connection with all of whom I reached out to.

            After reviewing the many links for the second part of this assignment I decided to subscribe to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies due to the fact they have many articles that support military families. I come from a military family, my father served, my grandfather, 4 of my uncles and my brother is currently serving. I never had the opportunity to see how our government supports active duty family members and veterans and thought this is a great opportunity to broaden my education through Child Care Aware of America.

The second website that I chose is Society for Research in Child Development, as stated in a newsletter, “This information will be communicated in an accessible manner to a wider audience so that policy, practice and education decisions will benefit from state-of-the-art scientific information and the public will be better informed on findings from developmental research. Complementary efforts will be made to increase exchanges between researchers and practitioners that can generate improved research by incorporating applied knowledge and questions” (SRCD Governing Council, 2005). By having leading members in the early education field, I can obtain a lot of information throughout these newsletters that will support my professionalism in the early education field.  

I look forward to viewing newsletters on a weekly basis and also expanding a professional circle with other early childcare providers from around the world.

Reference

Navy. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://usa.childcareaware.org/fee-assistancerespite/military-families/navy/

SRCD Governing Council. (2005, April 6). The Society for Research on Child

Development Strategic Plan. Retrieved from http://www.srcd.org/sites/default/files/strategicplan.pdf

My Supports

           

           

          No one in this world can survive without having some kind of support system behind him or her. You need someone in your corner rooting you one, someone to lean on, and also to share the same respect for them. My supporters are endless but whom I value the most is my family and husband, they all play such significant roles in my life, and I know who to go to for different problems. “Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life”-Unknown, this quote is something I have shared many of times but really shares my faith and my meaning of family. Having a strong and loving support system has an enormous impact on one's life and even daily life experiences. When you had a great moment, who do you call? When you quit your job, who do you call? When you lost a loved one, who do you call? Every little moment, whether good or bad, you want someone to share your feelings with and give you the support you need. Without these support systems, I wouldn’t be as strong, independent, and fortunate in my life. I know I would be missing something and I wouldn’t have the smile or strength to continue on my path without them.

          The challenge that first came to mind is the on going battle of house hunting. Living on Long Island has always been a dream of mine, to share the same life experiences I had as a child with my future children. I also know I cannot be more then 30 minutes from my parents because I want their future grandchildren to have a strong relationship as I did with my grandparents. The challenges my husband and I face are finances, which is common in some marriages, I ideally would like to find a fixer upper and then buy a forever home. My husband would rather spend the big bucks and get right into a forever home. I look at it as investment and I don’t want to struggle in our first few years of being homeowners. I feel finding something that we can change and gain sweat equity is the best route to go. My husband and father are both very handy, Michael is a wood shop teacher and can honestly do anything and everything and my father owns his own contracting business. I look at this as supports in my future, they can create a dream home for low costs and my mother and I know we can HGTV the house! Even though it is a constant battle between my husband and I and even within myself, the four of us all talk about the pros and cons. My parents suggestions I value, Michaels suggestions I value, and when I disagree with both I call my brother, he always picks my side! I know Mike and I will find something to call our own, but patience is key at this point.

My Connections To Play

"We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing."

-Charles Schaefer

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

-Kay Redfield Jamison

  

Throughout my childhood cousins and friends always surrounded me. My neighborhood was full of children and with my cousins only living a few miles away we always had the opportunity to play. I remember the manhunt games that would consist of twenty plus children, the kickball and soccer games we would play, and all the street hockey and basketball games we had. We were always outside and running around and our families knew we would be safe. Without these early experiences I don’t think I would value outdoor play as much as I do now. And on those cold and rainy days we were sure to all be at someone’s house playing indoors with one another. I cherish my childhood and wish children these days had similar opportunities. My closest and best friends were my neighbors and even though we may have moved away from our town we are all sure to get together in the summer for our annual block party. Now we notice there are not as many children on our block, and the few that do reside in our neighborhood are barely caught outside. Except when Pokemon Go became a hit over the summer that’s when I would see plenty of children roaming the streets. There was never a day that I didn’t get to play and it hurts to see these children who are more enthralled by their iPad and video games and didn’t get to experience this as a child.

            I wish I saw more street hockey games, I wish I saw more children at the parks but I believe that some parents and even kids rather be inside and do there own thing. I grew so many relationships in my early years and I don’t see the same going on in this younger generation. Having a conversation through texts or on the computer is not going to help children gain the experience and communicational skills they need to succeed in their future. I also understand why there is such an increase in childhood obesity; “Today, about one in three American kids and teens is overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity in children more than tripled from 1971 to 2011. With good reason, childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern among parents in the United States, topping drug abuse and smoking” (American Heart Association, 2014). Children are not getting the exercise they need at this age which can cause major problems in the future in regards to health and gross motor skills. My hopes are that children get outside and play, at this age they don’t have responsibilities, bills, or even a care in the world. Once you get into adulthood you don’t have as much opportunities to just put your stuff down and go do something fun!

Reference

American Heart Association. (2014, August). Overweight in Children. Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyKids/ChildhoodObesity/Overweight-in-Children_UCM_304054_Article.jsp#

When I Think Of Childhood Development...

            All children learn at there own pace and I understand that all children are not the same. Each student has their strengths and difficulties in certain areas, as an educator, it is important to realize our student's strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes. When we see some students falling behind we are able to grab their attention by using different methods and their personal interests. I believe allowing children to grow and develop at their own pace and not pushing them into new lessons without mastering the previous can be beneficial for the student. Children who hit certain milestones early on does not mean they are healthier than their peers who may still be trying to mastering the task. All children have different abilities and educators can help children expand on those skills by planning proper activities for their students. Students can make new connections, teach a friend, and create their own learning experience, which is extremely beneficial since children are natural learners.

            I wanted to thank my colleagues for the last eight weeks, and I look forward to working with you in the future. Good luck in your future classes and I wish everyone a safe and loving holiday season!

Warmly,

Nicole Severson

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