Week 8

1)       One consequence of me being apart of a caring, collaborative learning community is that I am able to learn from others

2)       That they are able to learn from me, that I am able to pour out my knowledge and make a deposit as well as receive.

3)       That I will be able to glean ideas from the professional field and grow. I will be able to take what I have learned from professionals already in the field and put it to action.

One goal I have is to begin to make my voice heard. I plan to begin to advocate in the political realm. We always sit and talk about what is not right and feel like we can not voice it but I have learned through our courses that we can be heard.

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Hypothetical Family Situation

Hypothetical Family Situation

I am a married African American mother of 4 with a child on the way. Doctors have stated that the child will be born legally blind. Our socioeconomic situation is that both parents are working and make a middle class income. Our first language is English. We have no family available to care for our child’s needs other than us. Our family situation will be impacted because we know no other people legally blind, no one else in the family is. We just don’t have the money to afford extra services; we live from pay check to paycheck. The services that our child would probably benefit from are pretty much all of them. I have researched and found that Students with visual impairments need additional help with special equipment and modifications in the regular curriculum to emphasize listening skills, communication, orientation and mobility, vocation/career options, and daily living skills. Students with low vision or those who are legally blind may need help in using their residual vision more efficiently and in working with special aids and materials. Students who have visual impairments combined with other types of disabilities have a greater need for an interdisciplinary approach and may require greater emphasis on self care and daily living skills.  I have also found that children with visual impairments should be assessed early to benefit from early intervention programs, when applicable. Technology in the form of computers and low-vision optical and video aids enable many partially sighted, low vision and blind children to participate in regular class activities. The law also requires that schools provide accessible instructional materials to all students who need them—this can include large print materials, books on tape/CD, and braille books. Consult the “Additional Resources” section of this fact sheet for more information on how to obtain such materials for students.

It will take some getting used to dealing with a child with a visual impairment especially for his siblings so some kind of counseling would also be needed.

http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/visualimpairment

For my hypothetical situation; have I given a complete picture of my family, or are there details missing that I should include in order completing the assignment successfully? If so, what are your suggestions?

Is this situation realistic?

Are there any specific websites I should be reviewing with regard to learning about quality services and programs for my child and family in this hypothetical family situation?

Does anyone have any thoughts, based on my specific family situation, that will affect the early childhood system I am creating?

The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

 A strategy that I have discovered while working on the assignments in this course that are being used by advocates or organizations to influence the political will toward improving early childhood systems are the opportunities to voice my opinion to my congressmen and those in political position about laws being put in place for early childhood and other issues such as cuts in funding. I am sent e mails by the Zero to Three organization letting me know who to call and what the concern is at this particular time.

The part of this work that appeals to me the most is just being able to have a voice about things that not only concern the children and families I work with from day to day but also that concern me as a  parent of three children. Allowing people to have their voice heard helps you to feel like you were part of the process.

Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

The value that hearing such stories has for early childhood professionals, for the public, and for policymakers and government officials I feel is that you get to hear things on a personal level. It is no longer someone wrote this, or here is another policy we need to pass it becomes personal when you hear a parents story of how an early childhood program has changed their lives. Every year we have our parents write how our program has helped them with their child and what changes they have seen in their child since they started the program and we share this info with our steering committee and with state officials. It also helps them understand the importance of keeping these programs in place for the children and families.
My opinion regarding why or why not parent/family involvement is an essential system element for all strands of service in the early childhood field is that parents need to be very involved in what their children are doing at school, if not the child feels you don't care and the teacher thinks you have no interest. Parent involvement is extremely essential it helps in the child's development.

Quality Programs for all Children

I believe that in the United States providing quality services for young children and families is seen as important and has grown to be of great concern over the years, but more can always be done. In my state early childhood education is extremely important! The implementation of a tier program to help private providers and other early child care workers become educated and reimbursed has been started. Lots of research is being done through Judy Centers (where I work) on statistics that tell us how better off children are who have had early childhood experiences opposed to those who have not had it. These statistics are conducted every year and looked at by policy makers in the state.

I hope that the public is able to see the importance and I would love to see changes over the next five years to help those private providers become better at what they do and align with the school systems to prepare children to be ready at 5. I think changes in public opinion will influence early childhood strands of service, systems and policies and advocacy because people will begin to advocate. They will see the importance of providing quality services to young children and their families.  Young children and families will be better off and working towards goals set by themselves and by the state.

What Resonates With You About Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy?

I choose this specialization because I have always wanted to help young children in some way or another. I found out that I did not necessarily like being in a classroom all day but wanted to help children in some way. Public Policy and Advocacy helps me to understand that I can be a  voice for the children and fight for their rights. I have always wanted my own daycare center and I figured in a small way I could begin by helping those who come through my door.
Becoming a skilled and confident advocate is crucial for the early childhood professionals and for the field because there are so many laws being put in place by people who have never even worked with children or have them themselves. I think it is important for those who work day in and day out with children to become advocates for them. Advocates are essential because our children can’t speak for themselves they need someone who is skilled and confident to advocate for them on their behalf.
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I would like to learn how to become a skilled and confident advocate.
I would like to find out more about public policy and how you can get your voice heard.
I would also like to learn what is most important now in the field that needs to be advocated.

Week 8 Moving on

This class has been really hard for me. I have had to endure surgery where I had almost the complete class to try and recover and try to complete my work at the same time. I then had to go to our Annual Leadership conference at work, take care of the kids, work and all else that life throws you but we made it through, me by the skin of  my teeth. Thank you everyone for your post, your comments, your encouragement. We will continue to run this race with endurance.. Thanks again. If you need me e mail me jjenkins5135@yahoo.com. Peace and God Speed!!

Team Building and Collaboration

I believe that high-performing groups are the hardest to leave. I was apart of a play called "A Raisin in the Sun" in high school. It was very hard for me to leave such a great cast. For months we worked together on our parts. Our teacher for a week took us up to her home in the mountains the week before the play was to begin to practice together day in and day out. We had grown to be a family. We trusted one another. We loved one another by the end of the play and had formed some serious lasting relationships. I have experienced several closing rituals, but the closing ritual of this play was the best. The cast celebrated together on such great performances given.  We had all become so close. I imagine that I will adjourn from the group of colleagues that have formed while working on my masters with jubilation. I think we will be so proud of our successes that there really will not be time for sadness but joy!!! We will be so glad that we made it, so happy for one another. Adjourning is an essential stage of teamwork because you reflect on your accomplishments and your failures, and some may decide to continue to work together on new task (O'Hair &Wiemann).

Conflict Resolution-Week 5

In thinking about recent disagreements, or conflicts that I may have experienced, two strategies that I have learned about that might help me to manage or resolve the conflict more productively are to use the cooperative strategy instead of the challenging strategy. The cooperative strategy  benefits the relationship, serves mutual rather than individual goals, and strives to produce solutions that benefit both parties (O'Hair& Wiemann, 2009). Another strategy that I have learned about that I think may help are the 3 R's, which promotes the idea that relationships are built over time through “respectful, reciprocal, and responsive” interactions.  I asked friends for input and the made some of  the same suggestions as well. They have also stated don't sweat the small stuff, and things you know that you can not change. You can't change people or their opinion of you so stop trying. They gave great advice.

Who Am I as a Communicator!!

 This week we were asked to  think about the similarities and differences between how we evaluated ourself as a communicators and how others evaluated you. There were very many similarities, I guess because the people I asked were people who really knew me and live with me day in and day out. Our scores were the same and we discussed them and I tried to remain none aggressive when talking about me!! I don't like to talk about me because I already know me and know what I need to work on and I am trying hard each day to learn knew ways of handling things. 
 We were also asked what was the one thing that surprised you the most? Why?  I think the one thing that surprised me the most was my aggresive score. I didn't realize it was that high but it was absolutely right.What other insights about communication did you gain this week? I learned that I need to not trust people as much as I have in the past which has lead me to be hurt, which has also I guess led to my aggresiveness. Even at a young age I would trust people easily and would end up hurt so I have to continue to learn how to not get hurt by others. I also learned that I am okay speaking in public under the right circumstances. This was a really cool exercise and I learned a lot about myself.

Week 3

This week in our studies we were asked did we find ourselves communicating differently with people from different groups and cultures?
At times I do find myself communicating differently with different groups and cultures. I communicate differently with my family then I do with my coworkers. I communicate differently with my church family then I do with those I work with, and I also communicate differently with those who can not speak english.
 We were then asked If yes, in what ways do you communicate differently?  I believe that I am more comfortable communicating with family then those I have to work with, things are not so formal. Family doesn't care if you make a error or are politically correct but your coworkers do. My church family I don't let my hair down around them like I do with my family.
The three strategies that I could use to help me communicate more effectively with the people or groups that I  have identified are that I can 1) make use of the Platinum rule, Do unto others as they themselves would like to be treated.  2) I would also watch out for sterotyping, and 3) I would need to deconstruct my own schemas which means I would need to examine my own perceptions to see how I came to create schemas about different groups (O'Hair &Weimann, 2009).

What is Communication?

I believe the person that displays competent communication within a particular context is my Bishop! Bishop Weldon M. Johnson. The behaviors that he exhibits that make him an effective communicator are that he gives eye contact when speaking and listening to someone, and he is a great listener. He also is someone that you can talk to about things and you will never hear what you have told him again, from anyone else. You can trust him! Our book states that competent communicators adjust their behavior to suit particular individuals and situations. To communicate well , we must ensure that our communication is both appropriate and effective and I have seen this in our Bishop through his preaching and one on one consultation.  I would like to model some of his communication behaviors because he is very clear in what he says. You are never left feeling like you still have not understood what he has said. You also feel like you have been listened to, and what you have talked about is held in confidence. These are behaviors that I want to emulate.

Thank You!!

I hope that as I continue to work with children and families from diverse backgrounds that I can learn to respect all of their differences. I hope that learning more about their culture and backgrounds becomes a priority, and that I continue to help them feel apart of our program by making our documents in their language and helping them to feel comfortable at all our activities.

One goal that I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice would be that every teacher learn about the issues and come to an understanding of how we make others feel when we have not had proper training.

I want to thank all my colleagues. This class has truly stretched us, we were able to open up about how we feel about issues without conflict or backlash and that shows that we are mature Walden Students. Thank you everyone, and hope to see you again in forthcoming classes.

The Personal Side of Bias, and Prejudice

One memory that I have of an incident of prejudice was at work. A co worker who is a well to do caucasion female  made the statement that she did not want to make a home visit to an African American family because of the area that they lived in. She believed that either her car would be stolen, or vandalized because of being in a black neighborhood.

I believe that it diminished equity because those parents that lived in areas that she felt were not of her standard, those parents were cheated out of their home visits because of her bias, and prejudice. These parents did not recieve the same amount of service as families she felt lived in better neighborhoods.

I felt, here we go another well to do caucasion not wanting to work with blacks because they are afraid of us!! They think(caucasions) all blacks are alike. All of us are violent, all of us live in terrible neighborhoods. I felt like she was just being ridiculous and if she did not want to work with different races of parents then why take the job.
The co worker would have to change her attitude and get over her fears in order for this incident to become an opportunity for greater equity.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

One example of a microaggression which happened this week was a microinsult. I had a parent come into our center to enroll their child and the parent happened to be a Spanish speaking parent. I assumed because he did not speak English that he would have a hard time filling out the forms which were in all English. We do not have our forms in Spanish yet. I asked him if he would have trouble filling out the form because it was in English and because of our studies this week I automatically felt like it was a microinsult. I really did not know at the time another way to ask him if he needed help with the forms. I am sure he felt that I thought just because he was Hispanic and spoke Spanish that right away he would not be able to fill out the forms. He told me that he would be okay and I told him that if he needed any help to please call and we would have one of our teachers who speaks Spanish help him.
I felt really bad, but did not know another way to find out if he needed help.
Not being on the receiving end of discrimination was a different feeling. I feel now how easy it is  being ignorant in certain situation when you just don't know how to come across.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I have found that when you ask people the definition of culture and then you ask the definition of diversity all have paused and took some seconds to really think about what it means. The first person I asked was my husband he stated that culture was your race, your ethnicity and the certain things that a culture does referring to activities and events that take place within the culture. He stated that diversity is when different people come together of all different cultures. The second person I asked was my mom and she stated that culture was who you are. She stated it was not only your race but everything that makes you who you are from the way you were raised to the traditional things that you do. Diversity she stated was all different ethnicity's coming together. The third person I asked was one of our teachers. She is from Puerto Rico and when she talked about culture she talked about the different things that they do as a culture the traditional things that they do at Christmas together, how her culture feels about babies. She stated that babies are everything in Puerto Rico. She talked about family and the importance of family, and she also spoke about the language and the importance of keep their language even though they have had to learn English. We talked about diversity and she said like me and you. I am African American and she is Puerto Rican she said that is diversity. The different cultures make up diversity.
Some of the aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course that were included in their answers were that culture includes your race and ethnicity and that diversity is the differences amongst people.
I think what was omitted or not talked about was that culture is the characteristic of the person and that it is everything from our eye contact, to our gestures, to how we hold our body and how we perceive the world is related to culture (Laureate, 2011).
When I talked to the teacher from Puerto Rico about her definition of culture and diversity it was so rich and she was so excited to talk about who they were as a people. When I asked my family members they had the definitions but no excitement. I wonder if because our culture had such a struggle do we make the struggle bigger then who we are as a people?
Are the trials and tribulations overriding the excellence of the culture in some of us?

My Family Culture

In the event that there was a major catastrophe and I was told that I could only take 3 small items with me I would chose my bible, my Ipod with all my favorite music on it, and my family picture album. I would chose the bible because in reading the word I can make it through any storm. The word will encourage, uplift,  and show you ways to make it through some of the toughest times during a major catastrophe. I also would chose my favorite music because music makes you happy and takes you to different times and places in your life. Music brings about great memories. I also stated that I would take my family picture album. I would take the album to be able to look back on happy times. Remembering good times will help you get through.

I would explain to others how important the word of God is to me and how it can help you weather any storm and give you answers that you need in times of trouble. I would let them listen to my music explain the meanings of the songs and see how it makes them feel.  I would let them look at pictures of my family and explain the events that were taking place at the time the picutres were taken and why they were so important to hold on to.

If I was told that I had to keep one item I would feel kind of upset but I would chose the bible and sneak a couple of family pictures in the back of it to hold on to.

I realized through this assignment that faith, family, and music are really important in my culture. These are three elements that will help you through anything in life.

When I think of research....

• What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

The insights that I have gained about research from taking this course are that I have learned how to read research articles. For instance I have learned to pick out the very important parts and not concentrate so much on the statistical piece. I’ve learned the difference between research questions and hypothesis. I’ve learned a lot about the research designs qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method.

• In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

When I first started this class as soon as I saw the words research I was a little unhappy. To me I felt research was boring and that all I ever was concerned about were the results that came out of it. I can say that after going through the course research has become more interesting to me. Especially when we learned about validity, and dependent and independent variables.

• What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

 I learned that planning prevents problems and that research design is a matter of planning. Designing was interesting because I did not know that there were so many different ways that you could design your research.

• What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

The only challenges that I encountered were having to read parts of chapters over and over to get a clearer understanding. Research at times is so high leveled, and big worded (if that’s a word) I had to really focus to understand specific concepts.

• What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

 I learned that as an early childhood professional it is more than just taking care of kids. Through research we find out what works best for children.

I would like to take this time to thank my colleagues for their support throughout this course… till we meet again!!

Research Around the World

The International website that I took a look at was http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/ which is the australian early childhood website.  Some of the current international research topics that I noticed were the inclusion of children with disabilities, neurobiology and child develeopment, social inclusion and physical activity or sun protection.
 A surprising idea was the childcare rebate information for parents. This information reminded me of our Purchase of Care system. Purchase of Care helps parents who have specific incomes with the cost of childcare. The Australian childcare rebate seemed to offer parents rebates on childcare if they qualified.
Some noteworthy information that I found on the site was school readiness information. The school system that I work for is really big on school readiness and because we have early pre-k and pre-k children it is our job to make sure students are school ready!! It was good to see that this is the focus of those in Australia also. There was a lot of information on the website to help parents prepare their children. I also liked a section that talked about baby and toddler sleep problems. I needed to read that information for myself with transitioning my son from waking in the middle of the night for a bottle.
This website was informative it kind of reminded me of the Zero to three website, full of information.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

Option1:
 I read an article the other day entitled Children who get spanked have lower IQ's. The article suggested that there had been research done and that research suggests that spanking can do more harm than good. The study, involved hundreds of U.S. children, showed the more a child was spanked the lower his or her IQ compared with others. Straus and his colleague Mallie Paschall of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Maryland studied nationally representative samples of two age groups: 806 children ages 2 to 4, and 704 ages 5 to 9. The researchers tested the kids' IQs initially and then four years later. Both groups of kids got smarter after four years. But the 2- to 4-year-olds who were spanked scored 5 points lower on the IQ test than those not spanked. For children ages 5 to 9, the spanked ones scored on average 2.8 points lower than their unspanked counterparts. The results, he said, were statistically significant. And they held even after accounting for parental education, income, cognitive stimulation by parents and other factors that could affect children's mental abilities.
From reading this I suggest we teach our parents other ways to discipline.  It was a very interesting article.
http://www.livescience.com/7895-children-spanked-iqs.html

My Personal Research Journey

My chosen  general topic for the simulation is Early Literacy. My subtopic that I will be focusing on is what the effects of early literacy have on infants. I chose this topic because I feel that reading is really important and if we start early enough we will be able to give our children a head start in their education. My personal experience with this process was trying to narrow down my subtopic. I had a hard time with that. Early literacy was such a broad topic that I had to really narrow it down, thanks to the help of our Professor I was able to do that. So far from researching the topic I am learning the what early literacy is, which age group it affects. I have found many websites that give information on the topic. Two of the websites were www. early literacy learning.org and Zero to three.org. If you guys have any advice please share with me as our journey begins!!!

Consequences of Learning about International Contacts

Three consequences of learning about the International early childhood field were:

It has opened up my understanding of not only what is happening here in the United States but what is taking place all over the world when it comes to the early childhood field.

The issues and trends in early childhood are pretty much the same everywhere. Issues of poverty, equity, excellence etc.

I have also had a better understanding of reaching out and using resources beyond where we live. It's okay to e mail other people in other countries in your field to ask questions.

One goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations would be to continue to converse with my new found international contact and talk about the different issues and trends that we experiance here in the United States compared to what they are going through in Cananda.

International contacts 3

Of course again my personal contact has not yet responed and I even waited this time and asked for an extension on my assignment and she has not responed yet. Well I looked at the UNESCO website and found some really great things on the site. I loved the website first of all because it offered a holistic approach. They not only wanted to just educate disadvantaged young people but they wanted to provide programs that looked into the health, nutrition, security, and learning of the child.
I also looked at Roma children on the website. I never knew that 50 percent of those in Europe fail to complete primary education. I think that as a nation we take so much time looking at what is going on in America we fail to see what is going on elsewhere.
I also loved that UNESCO promotes mother tongue-based bilingual or multilingual approaches in education. This website was very interesting, to see how UNESCO is helping children all over the world.

Sharing Web Resources/ Week 6

As I navigated through the website that I had chosen I noticed that there were several outside links. Some of the outside links were the National Infant & Toddler Childcare Initiative, Military Family Projects, National Training Institute and Early Head Start. I navigated to all of them but I really took a look at the National Infant & Toddler childcare initiative website. This site is a project of the office of childcare. They work to advance system initiatives and  to improve the quality and supply of infant/toddler care. There are publications, webinars, resources, events and e newsletters on the site. This website has a wealth of information.
I recieved three e newsletters this week. One of the e newsletters reminded me of what we have been studying about access, availability, and affordability. The name of the e newsletter was The Total Budget Amount Matters. This newsletter discussed the federal budget and the many cuts that were going to take place, some in early childhood education. There was a video link that showed where things stand in the budget and what comes next as congress sets the 2012 federal budget especially when it comes to early childhood education. This newsletter was very informative and showed you how to have a voice in the decision making for the budget. I learned that the many things that they want to cut from the budget are the things that help our low income, at risk children. Things like medicaid, foodstamps, and wic. If these are things that we have ever had to use or have never used but one day might have to we need to stand up and voice our opinion on the budget.

Getting to know our international contacts-2

Here is the response from my international contact!!

Hi Jamie,
I have been on vacation in California, and not looking at emails, so sorry I am a bit late responding.
The areas you have identified are very broad. Our education system is run by Provincial Governments, not federal so the response I can provide is more based on Manitoba that across Canada, although different provinces are similar.
Our educational direction is set by Manitoba Education(ME).
In terms of excellence, everything we do is aimed at excellence. Students are taught in a way that hopefully makes every student reach excellence. Our public education system is for all students, and the expectation is that all students will be successful. Some specific things that address equity are:
1. "Bill 13" passed several years ago that legislates that special education students get appropriate educational programming. This includes assessments, supports, Individual Education Plans (IEPs), Behaviour Education Plans (BIPs),
particular planning for transitions between education levels and after Grade 12 into the workplace or special programs, parental involvement and Team Meeting an decision making requirements.
2. Differentiated Instruction and supports through Resource and sometimes Adapted Education
Plans (AEPs) to support students that are requiring adaptations or extra supports or time to reach our Grade Level Curriculum outcomes.
3. Categorical Funding, through special applications that schools prepare to get extra monetary support for students that have significant needs. Examples are Autistic Students, Significant Behaviour Students, FAS Students, Multiply Handicapped Students etc. This extra money, is usually used by schools to get paraprofessional support for the student, but can also be used for extra Resource Teacher time, Guidance Counsellor time, OT time. PT time, etc. The money is provided to School Divisions to support these students in regular schools and classrooms.
4. Aboriginal Academic Achievement- In our curriculums there are Distinctive Learning Outcomes related to Aboriginal culture and heritage. Grants are provided to School Divisions and Schools are provided to support this learning for all students.
5. English as a Second Language (EAL) receives extra support through grants/ funding from the government to schools divisions and then to schools. For example in my school, we receive several thousand dollars in funding, we have a paraprofessional that works with students to learn English, and we have a Division al consultant that works with every family that is designated as EAL for integration into school and doing an initial Assessment of English Language skills. Students that are EAL also receive specific reporting that tracks their English Language Learning.
6. There are also special funds provided for Learning and Behaving and Early Years/ Preschool support.
I'm sure there are more things I could list. Please ask me if there is something specific that you are wondering.
In terms of excellence, we do focus on Differentiated Instruction, Assessment..... particularly "Assessment for Learning", Using multiple intelligences, triangulating evidence about learning ( Observations, Conversations and Products), engagement in learning, authentic learning experiences, Inquiry.... asking questions and using critical and creative thinking, Literacy with Information Technology( LwICT), and some Provincial Testing.
Also all students in Manitoba (except some Special Needs students) learn French beginning in Grade 4. Families also have the option of having their child attend French Immersion School where instruction is all in French other than one hour of English Language Arts taught in English per day. There are many other things that could also be included or expanded on.
Hope this is helpful.
Margaret

Getting to know your International Contacts-Part 2

Of course my contact has not gotten back with me yet, but she probably will by next week so I will post her response as well. I had to look at the Harvard University's Global Children's Initiative website.
Three things that I found interesting on the website were out of the Early Childhood area they are focusing on a project that would assess quality in early childhood environments and programs in diverse global contexts. I found this to be interesting because we do the same here in the United States. Also I found that the ways in which they are helping children in crisis and conflict by checking the status of post earthquake children in Haiti and Chile, and addressing acute malnutrition quite interesting. Lastly the child mental health networks idea of closing the gap between research evidence on effective treatment and practices for four conditions; anxiety, depression, ADHD, and conduct problems in children is also what we should be doing here in the United States. So many of our children suffer from these same conditions.

Sharing Web Resources 2

The website that I chose to study for this course was the  Zero to Three website. A specific section that seemed particularly relevant to my current professional development was a new video released that talks about promoting early language and literacy development. It is a video and new policy brief illustrating how early language and literacy development contribute to a child's success throughout life. Where I work we push early language and literacy which makes this relevant to my professional development.
A statement that I found controversial was a statement about Coping with defiance in children. The web stated that it is a a toddlers job to be oppositional. I always thought that a child that was oppositional was just being disrespectful.  This article made me think and begin to change my way of thinking about this issue. I realize that all children are different some have a difficult time with change and other things that take place in life and that they can be taught how to be in control and make choices in a positive way.
This website has a special section that discusses public policy. In this section it contains how economists, neuroscientists, and politicians support early childhood. One area that I found interesting was how support is being given on the  state and community level.
A new insight I gained was from a video discussing the still face paradigm designed by Edward Tronick.  This experiment is a procedure for studying infant social and emotional development. During the experiment, an infant and a parent interact playfully before the parent suddenly stops responding and looks away. After a short period, the parent reengages with the infant. The infant’s reaction to a suddenly unresponsive parent and his or her behavior when the parent resumes interaction, have been used to study many aspects of early social and emotional development. Watching this was very interesting.

Cont..Getting to know your international contacts

My conversation partner finally e mailed me and I could not help but post what she stated about poverty:

Hi Jamie,

 In our Division and in our City there are of course issues of poverty that affect both school age and preschool age children.

In my teaching experience this has meant extra support has been required for language development, literacy development, and programs such as breakfast programs that run in some schools.

We do an Early  Development assessment (EDI) in our province that addresses needs  in areas of social development, language etc. in terms of readiness for school. This gives a broad community context and schools in demographically poorer areas have more at risk indicators. In school supports such as School Counsellors, preschool programming, family support workers and Resource are all beneficial. Students in this group also have many fewer experiences to base reading comprehension and writing on. However, in schools that I have worked in, students have been very successful. This has of course required skilled teachers, authentic learning experiences, lots of hands on experiences, strong reading writing and numeracy learning and recognition of students in many ways, or through multiple intelligences, so that they are feeling  and are successful. Interventions are a key factor, and the earlier that happens the better. Play and choice are also key components in Early Development.

Margaret

Again my partner is from Canada.

Getting to know your international contacts

One of my international contacts is Margaret Fair an Early Childhood Professional from Canada. She is the president of The Canadian association for young children. I have spoken to her once and she agreed to hang with me these 8 weeks but she is really slow in her response so I had to do our alternative this week and go on the childhood poverty website. Three insights that I gained from the website were that China has made major strides in poverty reduction in recent years.  Much of the decline was due to far-reaching processes of economic and social transition. I also learned that 4.2 million chinese children live in absolute poverty and 8.7 million live in disadvantaged conditions. These numbers have declined over the 1990's. China is the worlds most populous country with a population of 1.27 billion in 2001. There are many changes being made when it comes to declining poverty but they are fairly small.

Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I choose to focus on was the Zero to three organization. The link to this organizations website is http://www.zerotothree.org/. This organization focuses on children birth to three. They are a a national, nonprofit organization that informs, trains, and supports professionals, policymakers, and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. There mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers.
I subscribed to two of their newsletters and I currently am receiving e mail newsletters from The Baby Monitor, a newsletter that focuses on zero to three policy and advocacy news. This past week I received two emails one that invited me to be a part of a webinar/web-based conference call March 31, 2011 on  professional development systems to support the infant-toddler workforce. An agenda for the conference call was also sent. The other email sent was asking me to vote no on H.R.1 and vote yes to Senate Alternative. The H.R.1 is a spending bill 61.5 billion stands to be cut if we do not vote no on H.R.1. If this bill is passed and the money is cut 300, 000 young children would lose access to opportunities through Head Start, Early Head Start, and childcare. Voting yes to a Senate alternative would ensure that young children don't lose early childhood services. This e mail jumped out at me because Head Start and Early Head Start and many private providers are Judy Center partners (where I work) these votes would affect not only our partners but also the Judy Center because we are Early Childhood Educators.
I learned from these newsletters that being an informed Early childhood educator gives you an edge!

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

The steps that I took this week to locate and contact two professionals was to search on the web. I looked on the web to find International Organizations for early childhood. I decided to contact The British Association for Early Childhood Education and The Canadian Association for Young Children. For the Canadian Association I was able to send an e mail to Margaret Fair (the president). I choose the British Association because I loved their website. I am a visual person and if I love what I see i am going to want to find out more about it. I chose the Canadian Association because I was able to actually e mail the president and I look forward to hearing back from her. I haven't heard anything yet but I am sure that I will. I don't think that I will have to go with an alternative assignment for Part 1. I am hoping my contacts will get back in touch with me.
The Early Childhood Organization that I chose was the Zero to Three organization. Again I loved the website and on my job we are challenged to find families with children zero to three to provide services to them. I thought that being linked to the website would help me with the services that we provide by offering me more information to give to the parents.
I felt kinda strange at first trying to reach out to someone in another country in the same profession but we will see how it goes. Do any of my colleagues have any tips on how to handle the professional contacts once we establish them?

My Supports

My family is very supportive of me. As I sit here reflecting on supports I realize that my mother is a huge support. My mom retired from her job to keep my 9 month old son everyday while I am at work.  Often times she cooks dinner before I get home and helps my two daughters (11 & 7) with their homework. This is  a big help to me with me being in a Masters program. My husband is a huge support he picks my children up everyday after school and makes sure they get home safely, he starts the bottles for me in the evening and takes the trash out on trash days. He keeps my son occupied while I am working on homework, and even starts the laundry if needed. It is a huge benefit having my mother around to do the things that she is doing for me, it takes the load off of me. I had a really hard time trying to find someone to care for my son. I did not want him in some of the environments that I had him in and neither did my mother. He is making out much better home with her. The fact that she cooks meals and helps with homework is a big help to me and my husband. Another great big support that I have are my girls. My eldest daughter really helps me out with my son. Both of my daughters run all over the house to provide things for thier little brother. They get bottles, diapers, pacifier (every time it falls out of his mouth), clothes out of the drawer, and food. They keep him occupied also when I am busy. They have really stepped up and helped me a lot and I tell them how much I appreciate their help.
Without these supports in place life would be difficult. I probably would have to stay home and keep my son myself. I would have to dedicate time to my kids homework, and cooking meals instead of working on homework. If my husband were not here I would never be able to do the things that I do. He also takes the load off by sharing the work around the home, and keeping my son occupied. If I didn't have these supports I probably would not be able to work, or go to school.
I really could not even imagine functioning with a challenge but if I had to imagine one I guess it would be the challenge of hearing loss. If I lost my hearing I would have to have many supports to be able to know what people are saying. I would have to learn sign language to communicate. The supports that I would need are supports driving, and if the baby was crying I would need a support to help me to hear him. I would still need the support of my mother and my husband with various daily activities. If they were not there I would not know what to do. Supports are important to have. No man is an island we need the help of one another.

My Connections To Play

George Bernard ShawWe don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing

Kahlil Gibran
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.

The first quote that I chose from George Shaw summarized what play represented for me. I feel that if adults played more they would be less stressed out, and would enjoy life more. I agree with Shaw that we have not stoped playing because have grown old, we grow old and fall out of play and we stop playing. We stop playing because we feel adults are supposed to deal with bigger things, play is for children not adults so we stop playing.

Kahlil Gibran's quote gave me an image of how I felt playing outside as a young girl. I felt the earth delighting in my bare feet in the Carolina's and the winds playing in my hair. I had no worries, I enjoyed the sun beating down on my face and the feeling of the earth beneath my feet as I played. This quote reminded me of how much I loved to play outside.

 I used to love playing with my dolls and playing doctor. Each of my dolls had charts and I would keep record of their illnesses. I would have them all bandaged up and red ink for the blood in certain spots. I was a doctor who loved all her doll patients.

I also loved to sing and would imagine myself this famous singer.

I am not sure how people supported my play. My mother would often laugh at me while playing and she would say, "what in the world are you doing?" My sisters were older and a lot of times I played by myself. The support I did have from family was the freedom to play, and to be creative!

Play today is definitely different. I can tell you with my own kids they do not go outside alone, they do not hang out over friends houses, friends don't come over my house and just sit around.When I was coming up it was okay to go out and play on your own. No one would come in the yard and snatch you or bother you, you could allow your kids to go over friends houses and feel like they were safe, they could have friends over without someone thinking you would do something to them. It is truly a different day.

Play has kind of played a big role in my life, throughout my life. I have to at times lead Praise and Worship at my church and because I was able to play and imagine myself singing it is easy for me to get up and sing in front of others because I had done it so long in front of my dolls. I kept records on my dolls during play and I now have to keep files on the children in my program. Being able to play has helped me to actually do the things that I have to do everyday. It seems strange, I did not know then that play was shaping me to do the things that I needed to do.

Child Development and Public Health 2

Immunizations are a process that stimulates the body's immune system to defend against attack by a particular contagious disease Berger (2009). Immunizations are very important, they protect children from diseases and serious complications. Immunizations are meaningful to me not only because I have small children that recieve immunizations but it is my job to make sure every parent has their health inventory form(immunization form) done before their child can come to our school. There are so many parents that think it is okay that my child is not up to date with his or her shots and thinks that the school should be okay with that also. I have to be the one to tell them that it's not okay and in order for your child to attend at our school they must have thier immunizations up to date.
I noticed in our reading that Afghanistan has one of the highest numbers of death of children under that age of 5. I found out from an article that in 2006 there was a immunization campaign done in Afghanistan supported by UNICEF. Their objective was to reduce child measles mortality by 90 percent and to elimnate maternal and neonatal tetanus. Afghanistan's infant mortality rate is very high at 257 per 1,000 live birth. Measles is a major cause of child death , and tetanus which results from unsanitary conditions at delivery, these are leading killers of mothers and their babies. In 2006 during this campaign more than 4 million children under 5 were vaccinated against measles and an estimate 4.2 million of childbearing age recieved tetanus vaccines. Mothers who were vaccinated passed tetanus immunity on to their children for the first nine months of life. This campaign helped but more help is still need.
I found that non-immunization of child may impact my future work. Someday I do want to own my own center and I must be firm with parents that their children must be up to date with immunizations.

*This assignment was completed in my previous course.