Sharing Web Resources

The organization I selected is The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The link  to this organization is http://www.naeyc.org. NAEYC'S mission is to raise the quality of early childhood programs and to continue building the association through a a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations.

One current trend from this website this year that caught my attention is that the association and  the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College released a comprehensive statement, “Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8,” providing important new guidance to early childhood programs on the effective use of media and technology. As educators, we need any new ideas on how we can teach children. Technology is all around us and this topic being presented on this website is beneficial to the 80,000 members it as.

Considering the topic for this week, that is, changing demographics and diversity, NAEYC prides itself in being culturally diverse and are mindful of the term inclusion. Its members are different people that are united by advocacy for children. They are composed of a variety of professionals and not just teachers. As a member of this  community, one has the opportunity to meet with people around the world who share the same passions and discuss current issues and research through a much broader audience. Ones circle of networking amongst professionals grows. Members are invited to child-advocacy events and be a part of projects to help children locally or in other parts of the world. This gives the opportunity to get experiences with working with people from different cultures and backgrounds and be better able to assist the culturally diverse families in ones classrooms.   

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

I am really excited to start making contact with ECE professionals from around the world. As I read the first part of the assignment, I went back to my childhood when I was in elementary school. In fourth and fifth grade, my teacher had us write to pen-pals to other children in china. For the first part of this assignment I decided to ask two early childhood professionals I have the pleasure to work with in this country if they know any colleagues in different parts of the world. I asked Lousie Dermin-Sparks and her husband Bill Sparks. They are both activists for children's rights and are known in many parts of the united states for publishing books and journals. Louise has had the opportunity to travel to many parts of the world to discuss her research and thoughts on anti-biases in education in places like Greece, South Africa, Australia, and the Netherlands. Both Bill and Lousie were kind enough to call up some of the professionals in these countries. Since they are busy individuals in these countires, she told me that she would in about a week or so, have possibly two people that I may contact.

For the second part of this assignment, I will choose The National Association for the Education of Young Children. Walden students this year are now able to receive a 10 percent discount on tuition if they show verification of enrollment to this organization. In previous instances, I have visited their website, but only the sections that are free. Now, that I will become a member, I will be able to explore more information. I hope professionals in this course also, if they have not already, take advantage of the discount.  

“My Supports”

I believe that support is a very important aspect in one’s life. Support can be different from person to person. I go through my daily task with the help of my family and friends. I find great support by being surrounded by people I love and respect. Work is very stressful for me and having my family home after work, it is a great support as they listen to my concerns. They are there to listen to me and help me to distress myself. Sometimes the financial problem that occurs in my home is hard to talk about it with my family. For instance, I believe my parents get more stressed if I talk about financial problems on a daily basis. This stress can cause illnesses to my parents as they are not in a young age anymore. I use my friends, in this matter, as support to discuss my problems that I do not feel comfortable discussing with my family. These supports I find it very beneficial because it makes me a better person every day. If I would not have my family and friends on a daily basis, I believe I would go very depressed. Just imagining having no support from the people I love makes me feel sad. My family and friends help me feel better emotionally that without them will impact my life in a crucial way.

My girlfriend, originally from Los Angeles, California, went to St. Louis, Missouri to get her master’s degree. She was alone in a new city with no family nearby. After she got her master’s degree, a job was offered to her at her school; which she accepted. Although she had support from her family and me, she found it difficult staying after six months and decided to return home. If I were her, that would have been the biggest challenge of my life; being away from my family. I need my family to have my life balanced. They give me support by not making feel alone in this world, hearing my issues and giving me their best advice to handle them, and the love that I receive from them which makes me very happy. My life and family are not perfect, but we work together through our best and worst of times. My family is very beneficial because they provide support in many different ways. My girlfriend was strong for being away from the people she loves. I could not imagine myself far away from my family and girlfriend and not having them in my life, it will be the end of the world for me. The biggest impact that I would have is being alone and for me, feeling alone is like having no life to live for.

"My Connections to Play"

“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.” ~ O. Fred Donaldson (martial arts master)

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father - Roger Von Oech, Contemporary American creativity guru

These are two quotes that summarize what play represented for me in my childhood. I grew up in a low income home where my parents did not have money to buy me many toys. I remember using my imagination very much during play. I was never into video games. I think because they were barely becoming popular and my parents would have not been able to afford it. Any object that I got my hands on would, in my mind, turn into some type of toy. I would turn household items into props. For example, I loved setting pots and pans out and would envision a huge city where my few figures could battle in. I would also use the green plastic baskets that strawberries would come in and use them as building blocks or cages for some toys I had.

(Plastic basket that strawberries came in when we would by them from the store. I dont see them anymore in stores)













(Pots and pans is where I would love to create my imaginary battle scenes)

I remember my mother being the most influential person in my play. She would throughout the day, spend time with me and go along with my ideas and sometimes help me be creative in the objects I had. She and I would create games with the props we had. I would say i owe my creativity to her. I enjoyed my childhood play days that I saved all of my toys and some household props in the basement as a reminder of those days.

Today's play is somewhat similar from the play in which I engaged in as a child. Children today ask for video games and I see many at school pretend they are a character for those games. At centers where I have been at, I see children expressing their imagination by themselves and with others. I often play with them and make up stories. I feel my play as a child comes out. Even as an adult, I really enjoy playing games with the children. Play is something that I will never be able to stop doing. I can't wait to play with my own children and suggest creative ways to play so that they too, can use their in=imagination Today's technology has 3 year olds walking around with ipads all day and I feel it is not letting children be creative as children use to be though. I feel they are being raised without the social benefits of child-driven play.

Relationship Reflection

Having positive relationships is a vital part of me. I am a very social person with my family, peers and coworkers. I need these relationships to maintain myself more at ease. My life has become easier at home and at work. The relationships at home keep us united just as the ones I carry at work. We share an understanding of our roles as dependent and interdependent beings. We are able to help each other out without hesitation and we help each other without expecting a favor in return.

There are a few things that I do that thankfully come natural to me to maintain my relationships. I do not expect anyone to be responsible for me or my happiness. I make and keep clear agreements and do not expect to agree with each other on every issue. I use a lot of communication to establish a common ground to understand the different points of views. One of the things that has helped me in creating and keeping healthy relationships is that I tell the truth. I remain truthful to myself and to others. I think that for any relationship to function, one must have trust.  I see trust as a special characteristic that makes a relationship into a partnership. Another characteristic that I see that must be present is respect for each other. I use all of these factors in the relationships I share with my family and friends. I do not have time to switch roles and become nicer to one person and not the next. I share my emotions and thoughts evenly. For example, my relationship with my parents are the same with my boss.

A challenge that I have encountered  in  developing and maintaining relationships in the past is to finding time to strengthen some relationships at work. One factor I see works for some is to spend quality time together  aside from work. It is very difficult with busy schedules  to meet up at a restaurant, catch a movie, or simply share hobbies. This time invested to know a person would help me in trying to understand someone's judgment  calls on a daily basis.

My experiences with relationships/ partnerships have had a great impact throughout and currently in trying to become a more effective early childhood professional. This professionalism is linked in overcoming a challenge. Being able to learn how to forgive someone for  not admitting to their mistakes has helped me in my life. In not doing so,  it has created animosity at the work place and I have found it better to just let it go and move on.  This makes the work place a warm and inviting environment and adults as well as children do not feel and tension in the room when they enter.

When I Think of Child Development …

This short poem captures the essence of how I feel as a teacher and foster parent. Feeling and acting this way allows me to nurture a child's development in a positive way.

 

Forever In My Heart

Although I'm not their father
I care for them each day,
I cuddle, sing and read to them
And watch them as they play.
I see each new accomplishment,
I help them grow and learn.
I understand their language,
I listen with concern.
They come to me for comfort,
And I kiss away their tears.
They proudly show their work to me,
I give the loudest cheers!
No, I 'm not their father,
But my role is just as strong.
I nurture them and keep them safe,
Though maybe not for long.
I know someday the time will come,
When we will have to part.
But I know each child I cared for,
Is forever in my heart!

~ Author Unknown ~

Testing for Intelligence?

An academic approach which  involves determining outcomes that can be measured solely on standardized tests is unfair to those children that are not from the same cultural background. Language barriers can impede a child to answer properly on test questions and will receive an overall lower score. It is hard to distinguish what concepts a child has already mastered and which he has not. Assessments like these only prove one thing, who got the test questions right, not who understands the material . I think children should be measured based on their own individual outcomes. A hoslistic approach allows the curriculum to evolve based on children's individual and group abilities and interests.  The assessments take into consideration children current and past knowledge individually.

In  Nicaragua, school aged children are assessed individually. Nicaragua is a republic of South America. Some village schools where poverty is at a high, combine children of all ages (5-17) in one classroom. Here, the idea of a standardized test is irrelevant as it will not do well to assess the many different levels of development. The teachers work with each child when there is time, but mostly just ask pre-set questions to different children. My neighbor, who was raised there, shares that it is up to the parents and teacher to scaffold the individual child. Tests are given to the individual or to small groups of children who have been working on the same material.