A Note of Thanks

I would like to thank everyone for a wonderful learning experience the past eight weeks.   I have not only learned from the course material and professor, but my classmates as well.  I wish everyone a wonderful holiday and best of luck in future courses.

When I think of Child Development....

A child miseducated is a child lost. John F. Kennedy

I could not agree more with this quote.  As professionals in the early childhood field, it is our job to educate the children that come to us with the best of our ability; however it is also the job of the family and world around them to reinforce what is being taught.  It is everyone working together that helps mold “the whole child”. 

TESTING……..

I personally feel that having a commitment to the whole child is extremely important to understanding the overall development of the child and who he/she really is.  However most education systems lose sight of what is important and focus on meeting high standards set by the state and country instead of focusing on what’s truly important, the education of the children. 

When it comes to standardized tests in these middle years, I see the pros and cons of both, but I personally do not care for them.  It's nice to see how the students are doing state wide and nationally and see what skills the students are successful with and those that they are struggling with. 

I think that the pressure that these tests have creates have caused some school systems to teach the test and not teach the students needs.  In many cases it is believed that the test measure what children bring to school and not always what they learn in school.  They measure the kinds of native smarts that kids walk through the door with.  They measure the kinds of experiences the kids have had with their parents, they do not measure what is taught school (James Popham, Interview with Frontline).  In my opinion the school systems need to stick with their curriculum and teach how to test, so that children feel comfortable and less stressed and relate the curriculum to their everyday lives.    

Over all I have learned that assessment is a very important factor in every lesson, but it does not always have to be a worksheet or standardized test.   I feel that assessment can really be catered to a classes needs and even to the individual students.

Assessment in the classroom does not have to be a difficult task, a teacher should already be following the curriculum, therefore one of the easiest  assessments he/she can do is to document as much as they possibly can about what the children can do with and without support.  By documenting such things, it can help us maximize the student’s chances of being successful learners. 

As educators we need to remember that each child is unique and learn differently.  We can assess their learning different ways too.  For example we could measure a skill by playing games, or making things.  The best thing to do is to ensure that these assessments are not pushing the child into a stressful state of mind as it will just cause them not to do well, make them feel comfortable.  Over all when assessment is taking place in classroom, I want a pressure free zone.  I want my students to have fun with the learning experience and not worry about what I am writing down.  I want them to obtain the information presented and remember the fun way they learned it.     

Coming from an Italian family I always like to learn about Italy and chose to research their school system and assessment.

The Italian school system is free and begins at age six being mandatory.  This marks the years noted as primary, ages six to eleven.  During these years the students study Italian, English, geography, history, math, science technology, music, art, physical education, and Catholicism and information technology.  The average class size in primary school is ten to twenty five students.  In the classrooms there are often two teachers and the subjects are divided among them.  In parts of Italy students attend school six days a week for five hours a day, from September to June, while others go to school five days a week but all day.  Most primary schools use a system of assessment based on teacher observation throughout the school year.  The assessments are then recorded on each child’s report card. The record card is passed to the students’ next school when he/she leaves. In the fifth and final year of primary school, students must a primary school leaving certificate to progress to lower secondary school; those who are unsuccessful may need to repeat their final year.  In other areas an exam to enter lower secondary which we know as middle school is required.    

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212302/italy.html

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/moving/school-system.asp

http://www.justlanded.com/english/Italy/Italy-Guide/Education/Primary-school-in-Italy

Children and Stress

In recent years I came across a little boy who unfortunately experienced the stress of chaos, daily.  This young man came from a home which in included his mother, father and brother, but their home life was complete chaos.  The mother would always scream, no consistency in controlling the household, the older brother would hit, kick, bite, and pinch this little boy who was only six (6).  He was often not bathed and wore the same clothing for days at a time.  Reports were made and filed to the proper authorities often, however investigations only found minor things and offered very little help to the family.  The school became his only place for routine and normalcy, which was sometimes hard due to his defiant behavior as well as some learning disabilities.  They learned that this young man often responded well to immediate positive reinforcement and extra attention, which again was hard with 21 other students.  The help that was offered outside of school truly did not make a difference but the school resources really helped this young man and he did progress slightly throughout the year.

One stressor I found about children in China is the fear/anxiety they have about school and being successful.  They fear the exams, the teachers and their parents.  It is said one three students experiences this stress and that they have physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach aches.  Here the students are compared to one another often and knowingly and each parent wants their child to have an edge and in order to so they push them tremendously.  Currently this issue is being looked at regularly and being monitored to find a solution to this problem.   

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/7027377/Third-of-Chinese-primary-school-children-suffer-stress-study-finds.html

Child Birth and Development

A personal birthing experience I remember, which is also the only I think I have ever been a part of besides my own; is when my first God daughter Ashley was born, December 18, 2001.  My cousin was induced that morning around 6:45 am, labor started around 11 and after only pushing for a few minutes Ashley was born at 1:56pm, weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 inches long.  I remember we were listening to Christmas music because it was that wonderful time of year and well my family loves it and that the delivery happened very quickly once she started pushing.  My thoughts on birth and its impact on child development is that when someone brings a child into this world their life changes forever; they are responsible for the well being of the child and his or her development.  We need to remember that development starts at conception and a loving, caring and healthy environment needs to begin. 

I have chosen to research birth in Korea.    After reading the article on http://www.korea4expats.com/article-giving-birth-in-korea.html I can honestly say that I learned quite a bit.  Like here in the United States many deliveries occur in hospitals and Birthing pools are available.   Episiotomies are still commonly performed in Korea; however there are a high percentage of deliveries by Caesarean section.  Privacy is different from what is expected from Western hospitals as there is often very little privacy, even in the higher end private hospitals. In many cases you do not even have your own room unless you demand it and then it is not always a guarantee.   In Korea, fathers traditionally are not present during delivery, which here in the U.S. the father is encouraged to be there as well as other family members.  Many women of the Korean culture restrict their movements for two weeks after the delivery. Some mothers even go to ‘maternity hotels’ after they are discharged from the hospital to be taken care of for one or two more months. Here in U.S. most women go home and their family friends come to help.  After learning about this type of birthing experience I have to wonder about the child’s bond with recognizing his/her family and how the mother being in a “maternity hotel” effects the developing child’s emotional development and attachment to the father.  Although if they have been doing things like this for decades then something must be working for them.  I have certainly learned that each culture is different and each has its pros and cons, but all should be respected because in their opinion they are doing what their culture believes is best for the child.

http://www.korea4expats.com/article-giving-birth-in-korea.html

Ready for the Next Step....

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the insightful thoughts you have posted to your own blogs as well as your comments to mine this semester.  I enjoyed reading about everyone and how we feel about the field of early childhood.  I never would have thought I would be a blog creator that discusses the field of early childhood, I just hope that everyone has learned from my blog as I have learned form there’s. I will certainly look forward to adding   I wish everyone the best of luck in their career, education and professional development. 

Deanna

Ideals in the NAEYC Code of Ethics that are meaningful to me....

Although all the ideals provided by NAEYC are important and each play a role in the field, I believe that as a professional who works with children on a daily basis, that the ideals listed below are ones that I could relate to the most throughout a typical school year. 

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.

As a teacher it is very important to stay current on new research and resources, without these developments students would be doing the same things from year to year and become bored with school.  Teaching is an ongoing learning process, you learn from your colleagues, students, etc. 

I-1.3—To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.

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.

These two ideal are very important as I want to provide a positive learning environment for my students and recognize each one.  Keeping this in mind will assist me in doing so and focus on all areas of development.   

I-1.6—To use assessment instruments and strategies that are appropriate for the children to be assessed, that are used only for the purposes for which they were designed, and that have the potential to benefit children.

I-1.7—To use assessment information to understand and support children’s development and learning, to support instruction, and to identify children who may need additional services.

Assessment is extremely important in measuring what your students are learning.  However, we need to be careful how we select assessments as they may be too overwhelming or demanding for the students.  The assessments educators use should help measure what the student has learned and what needs to be revisited again. 

I-1.12—To work with families to provide a safe and smooth transition as children and families move from one program to the next.

I believe that there should be a positive home-school connection in which everyone is on the same page and is doing everything they can for the child. 

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved October 22, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf