This reminded me of my dad. 100%. He taught me fairness through lessons with my older sister; and he taught me how to have integrity.


Another quote I found that touched me was:

"While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about."
~Angela Schwindt

I am much more excited today, this excitement has grown over the last eight weeks, that my husband and I have decided to start trying for a family. I have gained so much new insights to early childhood, I see my career as a teacher differently, and I look forward to future endeavors in this field.

Standardized testing and school-age assessments

I ‘googled’ school age assessment around the world and found a website about European countries putting the most pressure on children in school (Cassidy, 2008). Even the parents are pressured to pick schools for their children based on previous test scores! (Cassidy, 2008) Children in this age range are being prepped for their SATs! (Cassidy, 2008) In Turkey, children are tested for future school purposes, like high schools (Rotberg, 2006). Also in Japan, children in this age range are not evaluated by achievement tests until they are of age for upper secondary school (Rotberg, 2006). I share information about several countries because I do not have a personal affinity to any specific one, I was curious to know more about all that was happening in the great big world.

I also came across a summary from UNICEF on the child well-being. In 21 nations, six dimensions were studied and reported to compare children: material well-being, health and safety, educational well-being, behaviors and risks, and subjective well-being (UNICEF, 2007). This, is what we should be more focused on than standardized tests. In order to focus on the whole child, we need to look at cognitive ability with social relationships and problem-solving. Berger (2009) lists criticisms of IQ testing and states that humans have multiple intelligences (including academic, creative, practical, and emotional). Howard Gardner also described nine intelligences in his research (Berger, 2009). We need to be focused on this idea of multiple intelligences--NOT just cognitive abilities. I have no explanation on how to do all of this, but I feel that the most effective testing would include social settings, culture, logic, and creativity.

Honestly, I can see pros and cons for intelligence testing, like standardized tests. Assessing through tests can keep teachers accountable for what they are spending their time doing in the classrooms. However, it puts huge pressure on those students to not only learn the material, but to reflect it in a test that was made by complete strangers who know nothing about daily discussions in the classroom or students’ interests. Testing is a way to find strengths and weaknesses in children’s cognitive abilities; therefore, professionals can work with these students to strengthen their abilities. However, how much do those children use from all that knowledge taken in for testing later on in life? I am not interested in history. It has always been my weakest subject. It was also my lowest scores on standardized testing. But what do I do with any of those facts and timelines now? Nothing really. Children learn best about things they are interested in. High quality teachers know how to make some subjects interesting to learn about to keep their students’ interests. But standardized testing is standard, the same across the board. I also naturally have anxiety when it comes to testing and being evaluated…what if students just have a rough morning and do not do well on these tests? Plus, how can there be truly standardized testing across the nationalities when language and culture differ so much?

Additionally, I came across what looks similar to a blog, but it is about the pros and cons to standardized testing. Margie (2011) lists out different advantages and disadvantages to these tests. Some advantages include: tracking results over years (to see how much more children are learning), being able to compare children across areas (although it mentions across cultures and I do not think this is a positive note because we have seen such different cultural values in our text!), and it helps keep teachers on track (which is then two-fold). Some disadvantages include the teachers teaching by the test instead of truly teaching; and the pressure put on schools, districts, teachers, students and parents. (Margie, 2007)

　

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Cassidy, S. (2008). Our children tested to destruction. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/our-children-tested-to-destruction-779790.html

Margie. (2011). Pros and cons of standardized testing. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/16137.aspx

Rotberg, I. (2006) Assessment around the world. Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~krowlands/Content/SED610/Leadership/Leadership%20Reader/Assessment%20Around%20the%20World.pdf

UNICEF. (2007). An overview of child well-being in rich countries: A comprehensive assessment of the lives and well-being of children and adolescents in the economically advanced nations. Retrieved from http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/rc7_eng.pdf

Stressors on child development--War

I have been thinking about this assignment all week, and I truly cannot think of any stressors I experienced personally. I feel very connected to a family I knew in Missouri who were foster parents to 2 siblings, Mariah and Taven. I was Mariah's teacher when she was 2, 3, and 5; and I also taught Taven when he was 3. I watched their development for three years. Their mother was given two specific chances to have them back while I was there, and honestly, it broke my heart because they were no longer in my care. I could not provide the consistent care they needed during those times of transition. They had a special bond because they had to stick together while their lives were in chaos. A couple times, I heard stories about mom or dad that I had to report. Social Services sent people out to investigate, but those two never said what they said to me those times. Emotionally and socially, I noticed certain behaviors that were cause for concern on their development, but it all factored into what was happening in their lives. The foster parents that had them all those times they were taken from mom were such great people. They also legally adopted another boy that had been in their foster care for 2 years. I can see things differently now after reading the text this week. They did have a delayed development in speech and social skills.

Another thing that I started thinking about, due to my own situation, was the stress of war on families. I am married to a Marine, and although we do not have children yet, when we do, how much will be around for? What will our future children experience in their development if their father is not around that much, and it's out of his control? I know 2 families going through this right now. One family, the mother is a Marine and deployed, while the father raises their 3 children, aged 1, 2, and 4. Isn't it harder for the father to play both roles as mother and father, than it would be for a mother? The other family is one of my friends whose husband is Air Force, stationed in Georgia now, but they have 2 kids, aged 3 and 6. The 3 years in Missouri, I met him twice. When they first came to my daycare, the youngest was 1 and the oldest was 3...dad has been away for a long time. Those two are growing up with a fantastic family of a mom, grandma, aunt, and greatgrandma living very close, but what is happening in their development without a male figure? I have never noticed anything stressful with their situation, except what it does to mom who also plays both roles of mother and father, and does not have the day to day support from her husband. What I gained in this reflection is that these children are doing okay considering they have a network of support from family. There will be challenges arise that would be easier faced with both parents, but for the most part, they are doing just fine with consistent care in their school and daycare, and with secure attachment to their family.

Along the lines of armed services, I chose to look further into the role of war in child development. I found a website that covers this type of stress, from an organization working to provide support for families. In Uganda, there has been a very long war between Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army. This army would emprison children in order to force them to fight and mold them into the soldiers they want for their army. Women and children were being abandoned, either by death from the war or from the fathers leaving due to the stress. Mothers became very depressed and stressed; therefore, not providing adaquate care or nutrition to their children. Women were also forced into marriages with soldiers, and they became pregnant often and close together. These women would abort or abandon many of these children. The number of orphaned and abandoned children has vastly increased due to this war. The SOS Children organization is helping these orphans cope with life in Uganda. They opened a SOS Social Centre to support the mothers and children abandoned, as well as the abandoned children. The website says this: "Education, health care and employment are human rights. Due to poverty, illness and the political unrest in the area, the number of children without the support of their natural family is increasing steadily and SOS Children is constantly developing its approach to child care in order to meet these changing needs.The aim of our “Family Strengthening Programmes” and SOS Social Centres is to respond realistically and effectively to the situation of orphans, vulnerable children and their families and to prevent child abandonment. Through skills training, literacy classes, education, counseling and improved nutrition the families know they can become independent, self-reliant and confident in their own ability to provide for the children in their care. Ultimately the communities want to care for their children." (SOS Children, n.d.)

SOS Children. (n.d.) Child soldiers in Uganda. Retrieved from http://www.child-soldier.org/children-in-conflict-child-soldiers-in-uganda

Breastfeeding

I wanted to look more into breastfeeding around the world because I have heard so much stigma attached to seeing women breastfeed, and especially being in child care, teachers have had some negative opinions on feeding infants their mother's milk or seeing mothers' boobs who come to the center to breastfeed. These opinions bother me because I have always wanted to breastfeed. I have not had children yet, but I when the day comes, I want to breastfeed. It saves money on top of all the amazing benefits listed in our text. I had not considered all the long-term benefits of breastfeeding before. Reading about breast-fed babies having higher IQ's, being more likely to attend college, later puberty which affects the numbers of teen pregnancy, and being less likely to become obese or hypertensive by age 12 was all new facts to me (Berger, 2009). I was aware of all the childhood benefits such as less sickness, infections, and better bonding situations which leads to stronger emotional development, and I was also aware of the benefits for the mother, another reason why I want to breastfeed.

I found this awesome website called Breastfeeding in Public Around the World (n.d.), and it is a place where women, and men, can comment on what they have experienced when it comes to breastfeeding. I was shocked to see so much stigma attached to breastfeeding in our very own country! Many of the women posted about feeling anxious about doing such and always trying to find a private corner or asking first if it was ok or if there was a better place to do so.

Interesting points from the website from other countries:

• In Egypt, it is against their religion to breastfeed in public.
• In Ghana and Kenya, a woman is looked at negatively if she does not breastfeed as soon as her baby cries out for it; it is nothing out of the ordinary to see women breastfeeding.
• In Nigeria, it is highly recommended for the first two years; even on the farms, women have figured out how to keep on working while feeding their infants strapped to their backs.
• In India, there were differing views on what was normal; however, there is a general trend that the more educated women do NOT breastfeed in public, it is only in the rural areas where breastfeeding is commonplace.
• In Taiwan, it is not common to breastfeed infants in public, if at all.
• In Australia, not only is breastfeeding acceptable anywhere a mother is, but they are also protected under law to breastfeed their infants.

Reading all of these stories shared by women, and men, all over the world, causes me to rethink my own attitudes from when I have witnessed someone else breastfeeding, I have been one to stare occasionally when it is in a socially awkward position, like a shopping mall. Maybe it will shift again once I have my own children, but sometimes, I cannot help but look and see what is happening. I also feel offended when I hear about breasts being such sexual objects, but when it comes to breastfeeding, it all goes downhill. Maybe, the US needs legislation to protect women's right to breastfeed in public. Some states have issued this, but what about the others?

After I wrote that, I googled state legislation for breastfeeding in public and found this website that lists all states, including Puerto Rico and D.C., and what laws are in place. I was astonished that we have so much protection for breastfeeding! Here's the website: http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14389
It was very interesting to see the three states that I have lived in; they have several different laws!



Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Breastfeeding in public around the world. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.007b.com/public-breastfeeding-world.php

• Write about a personal birthing experience. It can be your own birth, your child’s birth, or one you took part in. What do you remember about the event? Why did you choose this example? What are your thoughts regarding birth and its impact on child development?

I have not given birth. I do not know much about my own birth, except that I was HUGE and my mother gave birth to me vaginally. I have a very close friend that gave birth two years ago, and I would like to share some of her story. She worked throughout her entire pregnancy. We worked together at a KinderCare Learning Center in Missouri, and I was the first person other than her husband to know she was pregnant. She kept it a secret from her family and our employers for several months. She worked through several illnesses, specifically ear infections that she was prone to. The day her water broke was the first day she called out of work because something just did not feel right to her. She was taking a nap and the sound of her water breaking is what woke her. She called her husband to come home and take her to the hospital. Once they were there, it was only a few hours of labor before her daughter was born. She did receive an epidural. She want home the next day, and I visited her that afternoon. Within that first week, she knew something was still wrong. A week after giving birth, she drove herself to the emergency room with a horrible headache that she had had most of that week. She was in pain and miserable, called a friend to watch her week-old baby, and drove to the hospital. Apparently, in the event of getting the epidural, the nurses had messed up. She was given pain medicine and when the time came for all the medical bills, she was not surprised to see the hospital had provided many of their services with no charge due to the mistake.

I chose this story specifically from when I researched other countries' and cultures' ways of giving birth.

• Choose a region of the world or a country, other than the U.S., and find out how births happen there. Write about what you learned, and the differences and similarities with your experience (in the personal example you provided). What additional insights, if any, about the impact of the birthing experience on development, did you gain from this comparison?

In Japan, most women go through childbirth with no painkillers. This is rooted in Buddhist tradition that said labor pains are a test for mothers with what is to come in motherhood. Fathers are not allowed to be in the delivery room unless they have taken a prenatal class, as well. What I really found interesting is that women usually stay in the hospital for five days with a vaginal birth, or ten or more days with a C-section. Then, the family lives with the mother's parents for about a month, and the mother stays in bed with the baby for 21 days. If my friend had stayed in the hospital for at least five days, they would have caught on to the problem before she had to go to the ER. I think the mother-baby bonding time after birth is very important, even if research is showing it is beneficial, but not necessarily imperative to a healthy development. Development does not start at birth, it starts during pregnancy. I read about several different countries' traditions with birth, with and without doctors or midwives, and I think culture and tradition plays a huge role in delivery. As we have read this week too, I think development has to be defined by having history and culture in mind.


Schalken, L. (n.d.). Birth Customs Around the World. Retrieved January 7, 2012 from: http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/

Ethics

According to NAEYC's code of ethical conduct, ethics is defined as "the study of right and wrong, or duty and obligation, that involves critical reflection on morality and the ability to make choices between values and the examination of the moral dimensions of relationships." As a professional in the early childhood field, I could face ethical dilemmas...and maybe I already have....

the ideals meaningful to me:
I-1.1: to be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.
--in order to be effective in any job, an individual must know about and have experience with that job; things change and we must stay up to date with what is happening; it is important to always learn and develop as a professional through more education and training

I-1.5: to create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions.
--we have learned that children have voices and have the right to be heard; this is meaningful to me in that I need to listen to those voices and facilitate to what they need and want; above all, we will not harm children in any way, we HAVE to provide them safe, healthy, and stimulating environments for them to learn and develop

I-2.3: to welcome all family members and encourage them to participate in the program
--we need to close the gap between home and school; learning will only be as effective as those that encourage it; communication is everything! for all those children that have a hard time transitioning into a childcare setting, if parents would visit more and talk more about school at home, it would be easier for their children; word of mouth spreads the fastest, so from a business perspective, we can spread high-quality care through this ideal as parents actively participate and tell their friends how well that program is...

I-3B.2: to do nothing that diminishes the reputation of the program in which we work unless it is violating laws and regulations designed to protect children or is violating the provisions of his Code
--this ideal brings to mind those individuals who wear their program's uniforms wherever they go, including a bar-scene; we represent this field and our companies wherever we go, whatever we are doing should NOT reflect negatively on the company; this includes, to me, keeping thoughts about co-workers to yourself instead of sharing them with a parent standing in your classroom dropping off her child to your care...

I-3C.1: to promote safe and healthy working conditions and policies that foster mutual repect, cooperation, collaboration, competence, well-being, confidentiality, and self-esteem in staff members.
--I really want to post this ideal on a former employer's office door! If you are going to be in a management position, then be a manager. Be involved. Be present. do NOT hide under a stack of paper!

All of these ideals came from NAEYC's Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment:
NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved December 17, 2011, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

**I think so many things are worth remembering from this class...good thing I printed out all the resources we had to read, so I can always refer back to them in the future....:)**

Course Resources

National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/

The Division for Early Childhood
http://www.dec-sped.org/

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
http://www.zerotothree.org/

WESTED
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm

Harvard Education Letter
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85

FPG Child Development Institute
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm

Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/

HighScope
http://www.highscope.org/

Children’s Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/

Center for Child Care Workforce
http://www.ccw.org/

Council for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

Institute for Women’s Policy Research
http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm

National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/

National Child Care Association
http://www.nccanet.org/

National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/

Pre[K]Now
http://www.preknow.org/

Voices for America’s Children
http://www.voices.org/

The Erikson Institute
http://www.erikson.edu/

International Resources:

• World Forum Foundation
  http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
  
  
• World Organization for Early Childhood Education
  http://www.omep-usnc.org/
  
  
• Association for Childhood Education International
  http://acei.org/about/ 

Also, I have purchased these books over the last few years to have at my own personal disposal:

• Phelan, T.W. (2003). 1-2-3 Magic: Effective discipline for children 2-12.Glen Ellyn, IL:Child Managment, Inc.
• Davis, L. & Keyser, J. (1997). Becoming the parent you want to be: A sourcebook of strategies for the first five years. New York, NY: Broadway Books.
• Shelov, S.P., Altmann, T.R., Hannemann, R.E. & Trubo, R. (2009). The Complete and Authoritative Guide: Caring for your baby and young child, Birth to age 5. USA: Bantam Books. (Original work published 1991)