Another Brick In The Wall

Communication Observation

2012-01-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

Today I observed a man who was out sledding with his young son. The boy appeared to be about six or seven years old.

The boy was talking excitedly and constantly about his experiences on the sled. He was telling his father every detail of his ride down the hill, watching other people sled and talking about them, making noises when it looked like people might crash or fall, and laughing loudly. The man, on the other hand was pretty quiet and stoic, but smiling and nodding at his excited son.

The little boy was trying different ways of riding the sled down the hill. Sometimes sitting, sometimes lying down, sometimes backwards, sometimes alone, and sometimes with his father. He would tell his father, each time, how he wanted to go down the hill, and then his father would help him onto the sled and help him start going down the hill. When the father didn't sled with his son, he would walk down the hill in order to help the boy drag the sled back up.

Even though the father wasn't doing a lot of talking, I thought their communication was great. The boy clearly felt appreciated and heard and free to talk. The father clearly listened to his son because he helped him sled in the different ways that he described. The father never told the son how to do things or how not to do them. He simply listened and supported his son in his ideas.

I thought a lot about the idea of stepping back and listening to children without looking for particular responses or coaching them into the responses we want them to have. This father stepped back, listened and supported, and therefore, his son felt happy and confident and willing to take risks and try new things. Also the fathers body language and facial expression showed that he was enjoying listening to what his son had to say.

Family Childcare Home

2012-01-14T17:34:00.000-08:00

My actual home childcare center dream would be to have a co-op program on a large piece of land that would focus on nature education. I would choose to create a co-op program because it would give families the opportunity to volunteer time in lieu of money so that they could receive quality care at a discounted rate, as well as be a part of the culture of the program.

My vision is to have an outdoor classroom with a community garden, farm animals, a pond and a forested area. One thing that all cultures in the world do share is a connection to the earth for food, water, air and materials. Children need to spend time in nature in order to feel that connection for themselves. Once they feel that connection,they can really feel that they are part of the global community and they can better appreciate the contributions and connections of other cultures.

Another great way of sharing cultures is sharing foods. One way I would like to integrate this into my program would be to grow the foods from the families cultures that can be grown here. I would also ask the parents to share recipes or foods from their culture with the entire group. I would like to have family pot lucks where everyone would share family foods with each other.

Language and artifacts would also be a very important part of my program. I would ask families to share items from their home cultures and to teach us some of their home language and these things would be integrated into our program.

Of course, I would also include multicultural costumes, play foods, instruments, dolls, toy houses and material.

Goals and Thanks

2011-12-24T12:57:00.000-08:00

In every sense, the world is becoming a smaller place. As a result do easier travel, media and computers, we are exposed to and will continue to be exposed to many more people, cultures and ideas than ever before. In order for peace to someday reign on earth, it is important to create a generation of tolerance and respect for self and others. My main goal in Early Childhood Education is to instill a sense of respect and acceptance for self and others. If all children were raised in this spirit, this upcoming generation would be the first to embrace differences and work together for the good of all mankind.

I would like to thank my colleagues for their great insights and interesting discussions throughout this semester. I have learned so much and seen new ways of looking at issues. It has been a pleasure working with all of you.

2011-12-19T16:56:00.000-08:00

My collage displays people from different cultures and different families working, learning and living in harmony. The words represent the traits needed to ensure positive relationships in a multicultural world.

Looking Away

2011-12-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

I thought a lot about times when I have told children not to mention other's disabilities or skin color or gender identity, and I couldn't think of any. I think I am pretty good about explaining things to children and being open with them about why people are different in these ways.

One thing, however, that I have hushed children about is commenting on people's weight. I struggle with weight issues, myself, and possibly this is part of the reason I react as I do about children calling people fat. I have told children that it is unfriendly and hurtful to talk about others weight - even if they are simply making an observation and not being judgmental (which is often the case).

When I think about it, though, telling children not to mention weight and telling them that making the observation that someone is fat really teaches them that there is something wrong with overweight people. It teaches them that weight is something shameful. It perpetuates the idea that only thin people are beautiful.

Perhaps discussions of weight should be the same as discussions of skin color or disability. Children just need to be told that all people look different, and that it is all equally beautiful.

2011-11-20T11:28:00.000-08:00

Young children, from birth, are inundated with ideas about gender roles. There are products that are sold for female children and products that are sold for boy children. Society looks frowning ky on anyone who does not push these gender specific products on their children, and children are told, from a young age, not to interact with items meant for the opposite sex. These toys reflect our overriding ideas about the roles of men and women in society. Even though we live in an age where women are equally as likely to work outside of the home as men are, it is still considered normal for women to take on the housekeeping role as well. It is also thought that boys should be active and athletic while girls are calm and do,estic. Products and children's books predominantly reflect these gender roles.

I recently read a newspaper article about a young couple who had a baby. This couple decided not to tell anyone the sex of their child so that the child would not be influenced by gender role ideas of others and of society as a whole. Interestingly, many people are upset by this couples actions and there was an outcry of outrage at their idea of raising there baby as a gender less being in the early years. Many people saw the idea of allowing the child to choose their likes and dislikes without pressure from the outside world to fit into a pre conceived role as a form of irresponsible parenting. Many felt that this was setting the child up to be different from other members of society, which would ultimately cause problems in the child's life. It is an interesting story, and it is yet to be determined if this couple must reveal the gender of their child to the world. I, however, feel that raising children without gender pressures would actually help them to feel confident about who they are whether or not they fit into what is commonly believed to be normal. Maybe we shouldn't be so concerned with boys being boys and girls being girls, and be more concerned with children feeling good about who they are.

When Groups Adjourn

2011-10-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

I think that most groups, whether they work out well or not, are somewhat difficult to leave. However, it is harder to leave long term groups and groups that have been successful in doing what they set out to do. In these groups, it is more likely that relationships have been established, and these relationships may have to end when the group work ends. There is then a sense of loss of people and of loss of an important factor in ones life.

Being in a group becomes something we become accustomed to in life, and leaving a group leaves a void - even if the group consists of people one has never met in person. It will be difficult to leave the masters group. Even though I have never met the people in the group, I have developed an affinity for several of them.

I think that the best way to end a group is to have a culminating event. The group can celebrate their successes and their friendships and have a proper goodbye. I think this especially important in classrooms coming to an end.

Conflict Resolution

2011-10-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

A conflict often comes up at my job because I work for a state funded program called Illinois Action for Children while the school also has a federally funded program called Early Reading First. The conflicts arise because each of these grants is based on a different philosophy of education. Preschool for All follows The creative Curriculum and The Project Approach which promotes teaching skills through allowing children to follow their own interests and through research projects. Early Reading First, on the other hand, is a very scripted, curriculum led program that focuses directly on literacy skills. For instance, I might have children writing lists of ingredients they need for a recipt they want to make whild Early Reading First has them naming the first sound in a prescribed list of words.

These differences, in general, are manageable, but there are times when the two programs butt heads. One of these times was when the Early Reading First coach was using flashcards with the children. This is not allowed in Preschool for All. We had discussed this, but she felt strongly that the flashcards were essential. Well, the conflict escalated when my Project Manager came in to see her doing flashcards with the children and held me responsible for allowing this in a Preschool for All classroom.

The most recent conflict is regarding choice time in the classroom. during this time, according to Preschool for All, all of the areas of the classroom are open and the children choose where they would like to work. The Early Reading First coach wants particular popular areas to be closed during this time because she is having a difficult time coaxing particular children away from these areas so that she can work with them. She also wants particular children to be required to work with her rather than go to the areas of their choice. This, again, goes against the mandates of The Preschool for All grant as well as going against my personal philosophy of education. I have suggested that she go to the areas where the children choose to be and work with them there, but she insists that she needs a table at which to work. Often, when these conflicts occur, she simply claims that her grant trums my grant because her funding is Federal and mine is State. I have found it very difficult to compromise in these situations.

Compromise, however is what is needed. I have learned this week that sometimes all people really want is to be heard. A good approach might be to simply hear out her feelings and needs without arguing, and then stating my needs and wants without invoking the grants or their mandates. Another thing to keep in mind is that we should be looking for a solution that allows us both to win. We should be looking for a way to merge the two approaches rather than viewing them as completely different.

Communication Styles

2011-10-02T14:04:00.001-07:00

Interestingly, my husband and mother, who rated me on the communication scales gave me what I would consider to be more positive ratings than I gave to myself. I did find the scales somewhat difficult to answer completely honestly because I communicate differently with different people in different situations. For instance, I communicate much more professionally and in a more businesslike manner with people at my job than I do with friends and family outside of the workplace.

Regarding The Communication Anxiety Inventory, I rated myself a 35 which is mild, meaning that I " feel a bit uneasy in some communication situations and somewhat more confident in other contexts. Communication does not seem to be something that you worry about a great deal." My family members rated me as Low, meaning that i "feel comfortable communicating in most situations and feel confident in anticipating such encounters." what this tells me is that even though I sometimes feel uncomfortable, it must not be obvious to others.

In the area of Listening Styles, my results put me in Group 1 meaning that i am people oriented, and that I am "empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others. This listening style helps you to build relationships, but it can interfere with proper judgment because you tend to be very trusting of others.". My family put me in Group 2, which is action oriented, meaning I "might be described as "business like" and I prefer clear, to-the-point communication that outlines a plan of action. My efficiency is respected but may intimidate more sensitive listeners." while I care about the feelings of others, I do feel more comfortable in Group 2. I do prefer to get to the point of a conversation without allowing emotional reactions to blur the true issue.

As far as the Verbal aggressiveness scale, I gave myself a score of 58, which is moderate. This means that I "maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others viewpoints, and the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than the person holding that position.". My family saw me as low, meaning that I am "respectful of the viewpoints of others, and attempt to change their minds with gentle, inoffensive suggestions that do not attack their self concept.". My family members, apparently, see me as kinder than I see myself.

Communication

2011-09-25T15:56:00.000-07:00

I make a conscious effort to communicate with all people equally, staying true to myself while respecting each persons individuality. However, I must admit that I feel most comfortable with people whose culture I share. In those cases, I feel more natural and it feels less necessary to make an effort to empathize and understand the others point of view. So, while I try to communicate in the same way regardless OTC the culture of another, I am sure that my degree of comfort or of effort is apparent.

I think that showing empathy is one very important way to communicate with others. It is necessary to attempt to look at the subject from then others point of view and to understand why they have that point of view. The way to do this is to ask questions, be open minded and accept the fact that there are many valid viewpoints. It is also important to avoid jumping to conclusions. Many times we think we understand another's motivations without getting the facts. The third strategy is to also be honest about our own motivations. It is very difficult to understand another without first understanding ourselves.

Weeds

2011-09-18T13:17:00.001-07:00

I chose to watch the show "Weeds." I had never seen the show before, but had heard from multiple people that it was good. Watching without sound gave me a pretty good impression of the characters and their relationships, but I was not able to fully grasp the plot.

When watching without sound, I first noticed the way the characters were dressed. The show started in what was obviously a school for young children with crayon drawings on the walls. Two women who were dressed in expensive looking provocative clothing were presenting to a group of similarly dressed women. The audience was obviously showing favoritism to one of the presenters over the other. They were then obviously talking about one of the women because they were huddled together and glancing in her direction. I thought they were talking way a disapproving way about her purse - maybe saying it was cheap. The exchange between the main character and these women seemed strained.

Then the scene changed and the main character, who was a white woman, was in a kitchen where a group of African American people of different genders and ages were filling baggies with marijuana. She seemed comfortable with these people even though they were not well dressed, and she was. She was again talking about the purse, and I thought that she was telling these people that the women at the meeting had talked badly of the purse. I thought at this point that maybe she was a poor teacher and that she lived with these people, but needed to appear professional in order to fit in at her school.

Then, however, she was in an expensive home where two boys were watching television and a Hispanic lady was cooking dinner. She was standing in the kitchen asking the boys some questions, and they were looking at each other in an accusatory fashion and talking. I assumed they were in some kind of trouble and were telling on each other. The woman appeared upset, and the older woman, who I assumed was her mother, simply crossed herself - praying for these people.

Seeing the show again with the sound turned on made me see that I was right about this woman's feelings towards the other characters, but wrong about the situations. In the beginning she and another parent were presenting about whether or not sugary drinks should be sold rom school vending machines. All of the women sided with the other lady because she clearly held more power. The women were talking about her purse, but they were wondering how she had afforded it because her husband had died.

In the next scene, the woman was buying drugs from the people who were sorting them, and there was a kind of comfortable bickering going on. She was shooing them the purse and saying it was a fake designer purse but that it was undetectable. They were pointing out the flaws.

The third scene was in the woman's home. The two boys were her children who had broken a window, but they were actually trying not to say what had happened rather than telling on each other. The older woman was her housekeeper. There was quite a bit of tension in the house because her husband had recently died while jogging with her son.

I think that I would have made more correct assumptions if I had watched a familiar show with a familiar plot and characters, but without knowing anything about the show, I was making assumptions based on physical appearance and body language alone. It is interesting that situations can be so easily misconstrued when dialogue is absent.

Great Communicators

2011-09-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

The best communicator I know is my co-teacher, Rosemary. The first reason for this is that she is very comfortable with herself, with her beliefs, with her outlook on life, with her ethics, her priorities and her values. Juxtaposed to this comfort with herself, she believes that all people should be afforded such comfort and should be respected for who they are.

For the above reasons, Rosemary is not only willing to listen to the point of view of others, but is truly nterested in what they have to say. Part of her comfort with herself allows her to listen openly to what others have to say without pretense and to use communication to learn as much as she can about others without passing judgment.

This gift of natural ability to communicate freely and effectively is a truly wonderful thing. I do believe that all people should strive to first know who they are and feel comfort and pride in themselves, and then come to a place where they can accept others without judgment or an attempt to change another. Tolerance is the key to communication.

What I Learned

2011-08-20T06:06:00.000-07:00

One hope that you have when you think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds

I would like to create a learning community where all children and families both appreciate and respect each others differences, and see that diversity brings richness into their lives. I would like a true collaboration based on providing the best possible experiences for the young children who come together in my classroom. I would like for families to understand how important these children are to each other, and I would like the families to then form a community amongst themselves. I wish that school and family were not two separate aspects of children's lives, but a harmonious partnership that extends outside of the classroom.

One goal you would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice

To me, the biggest injustice to be found in early childhood education, as well as all education, is that different children receive different qualities of education and are prepared for different stations in life based on socioeconomic class rather than on their innate abilities, interests and talents. It is deplorable that some of the brightest, most precocious children filled with incredible potential are not given opportunities to grow and to really contribute to society - while others are given multitudes of opportunities regardless of abilities. The goal that I would set would be to provide equal educational opportunities to all children because they are human beings and to base the philosophy behind this system of equality on the belief that all human beings are full of potential regardless of race, ethnicity or class.

A brief note of thanks to your colleagues

I have enjoyed working with all of you this summer on the complex study of diversity and anti-bias. I am ready to approach the new school year with a new outlook on relationships with children, families and staff. Thank you for all of your support on this journey.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

2011-08-06T20:21:00.000-07:00
What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

My husband is a brilliant man. He studied linguistics at The University of Chicago, and teaches literature, history and linguistics T Governors State University. He does both written and oral translating for the federal court, and fluently speaks 14 different languages. He has done extensive work on the linguistic origins of the Balkan languages, and has contributed to several texts on the subject.

To me, at least, it seems obvious in speaking to my husband that he is a brilliant man. However, he immigrated to The United States, and speaks with an accent. Upon hearing that accent, people immediately treat him as if he is both stupid and unintelligent. This happens often in fast food restaurants. My husband always orders by number (number six meal with a diet coke), and 90% of the time the person at the counter slowly and loudly explains to him what the meal consists of, as if he could not read the sign himself. He says yes, and they often yell "huh?" really loud as if he had whispered something unintelligible. Often, he then receives something he did not order, only to have the worker insist this was his order, as if he is too stupid to know what he ordered. As a result of this type of repeated humiliation, if our children force us to go to McDonalds or Pizza Hut, I do all of the ordering (because, when I order a number 6 meal with a diet coke, I get exactly that).

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

Basically, immigrants are treated like they are inferior in intelligence, ability to understand, and ability to make decisions. There is an American belief that intelligent thought can only occur in American English, and those who speak other languages natively are somehow deficient. While we are a country of immigrants, we are not very understanding of or welcoming to immigrants.

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

It really makes me angry to see people from other countries who come to The United States looking for the promise of a better life be treated so poorly. There is an expectation that they will assimilate and become more "American," but, no matter how American they become, they will never be treated as equal.

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

The American culture and societal ideals would need to change. We have been believing in the fantasy of being better than the rest of the world for far too long. This self image of superiority has shut down people's willingness to and ability to learn from other cultures and recognize that there may be better ways of doing things. It is time for the general American viewpoint to change.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

2011-07-21T05:17:00.000-07:00
My family and I are traveling this week from Chicago to Georgia. We spent several days in Cave City Kentucky so that we could explore Mammoth Cave. This was really a perfect time to study the idea of microaggression because I found myself immersed in a culture quite different from my own, and realized for the first time that I do tend to unconsciously think of myself as superior. Noticing certain thoughts and ideas within me based on the idea of microaggression has quickly led me to be a more tolerant and respectful person.

Staying in the same campground where my family was staying were several families who live in the mountains of Kentucky. The physical appearance of these people is different from what I am accustomed to, which made me instantly judgmental. I did not know them, know anything about them or about where they are from, but I immediately belittled them in my mind. Fortunately, I took what I was reading, and made an effort to be more open minded. Then, however, a man from that group approached my five year old son and asked him his name. I was immediately defensive and ready to pull my child away when I remembered my decision to hold my judgment. The man had seen my son jumping into the pool, and saturated showing him different ways to jump. They played together happily, and innocently for quite some time. I then noticed a huge cultural difference between me and the people I was coming into contact with in Kentucky. I tend to talk to adults first and children remain secondary to that because of the assumption that someone who approaches a child is a kidnapper or a pedophile. In the area of Cave City Kentucky, people approached, played with, and enjoyed the company of children without ever talking to the adults at all. They even give the children candy and quarters (which could probably land them in jail in Chicago). I came to realize that this simple, innocent enjoyment of children is a better way to be than the protective distance from children that I am accustomed to (without even realizing it).

The point is that by holding judgment and pausing before reacting to the cultural differences I was experiencing, I was able to learn something about another group of people. In addition, I found that my feelings of superiority were false and I much preferred their approach to children and to strangers. I felt humbled by this experience and I came to realize that in order to grow as a human being it is important to release all feelings of self centeredness and look to other cultures for possible improvements in my own attitudes and actions.

Perspectives On Culture And Diversity

2011-07-16T15:37:00.001-07:00
I asked three very different people about their ideas regarding culture and diversity. Elijah, a fourteen year old boy with an African American father and a Caucasian American mother sId that culture is "How people act and what they do. Like, traditions they have." He defined diversity as "The difference between people and things.".

I then spoke to JoAnne, a sixty four year old married nurse who grew up in a neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. She defined diversity as "the differences between people of differing backgrounds, such as Religious, ethnic, or geographic.". She went on to define culture as "the traditions with which you are raised. These include ones core values, celebrations, foods and beliefs."

finally, I spoke to Milan who is a 55 year old professor of linguistics who was born and raised in Serbia. He began by telling me that his definition might not be politically correct, and then went on to give me the following definitions:

Culture - culture is a system of beliefs shared by a society whereby that society is able to sustain itself physically, intellectually and morally.

Diversity - diversity is an aspect of a culture which reflects that culture's willingness and ability to incorporate within itself tolerance for and encouragement of expression of attitude towards reality such as does not reflect the most prominent traits of the mainstream but which brings with itself potentiality for enrichment, expansion and innovation.

While I found that Elijah's definitions were far less complicated and involved than those of Milan and JoAnne, they all said basically the same thing. I think that JoAnne had a good point when she mentioned that culture involves core values. I think that this alludes to the unconscious portion of culture that we exhibit without thought. I also appreciated Milan's thorough definition of culture. He defined diversity within a cultural group rather than diversity between different cultural groups. This was a different perspective than I have really thought about, even though we have been discussing this very subject in the class. I mostly appreciated Elijah's definition, however, because it was simple and straightforward and unclouded by the complexities of adulthood.

My Family Culture

2011-07-09T13:56:00.000-07:00
If I found that I had to move to a whole new country with my family and could only bring three items, these would be my iPad, my beading kit and my journal. The iPad I would bring because it holds all of my pictures, I can read books on it, I can communicate with others through email, I can watch videos, I can translate into other languages, listen to music etc. The iPad holds much of the sentimental parts of my life. I would bring my beading kit because I make jewelry, and in addition to being an enjoyable activity to pass the time, I find it to be a meditative and calming activity that reduces stress. Finally, I would bring my journal so that I could have memories of my life that I have already recorded as well as keep a record of the feelings and events in this new part of life.

I would be very sad to give up my journal upon arrival because I would lose the written record of the past, but I would be able to keep an upcoming record using my iPad, so it wouldn't be a total loss. Losing my beading kit would be pretty devastating because it is an important part of who I am, however I would then attempt to discover traditional arts within the new culture that I could learn and create. I would keep the iPad because it holds so much information and has the capability to store more.

One thing I realized with this assignment is that I feel very connected to history. And culture through art, and while I would choose to keep things like pictures over art supplies, the loss of this connection would be devastating. I am part Iroquois on my fathers side, and the jewelry I make uses the traditional native American art of bead weaving. This is a huge part of who I am and of my ancestry, so it would be a big cultural loss for me.

Views On Research

2011-06-25T07:02:00.001-07:00
When we began studying research, I had a very simplistic view of how to go about studying any subject of interest. I thought one could simply come up with an easy way to find an answer a question, such as through observation or tracking, and then go forward with the plan and find the answer.

It turned out, however, that there is a great deal more to consider and many other aspects to plan. For instance, there is the necessity for consents from both the children participating in the study and their parents as well as explaining to them what the is being studied, how information will be collected, and what will be expected of the participants. As a teacher, I never considered the need for consents when a research study involves observation of my students since this is something I already do as part of my job.

One also must think about ethics when planning a study, and must determine whether the results of the study outweigh any harm that might be done to the participants. For instance, if the study requires different students to be involved in different activities at the same time. The children may experience negative emotions because they were not picked for activities they preferred. So, the question arises whether or not causing the children to feel bad is worth it for the sake of research.

There is also the question of validity. Can one be certain of their results through using observation and tracking within their own classroom or is it necessary to add additional forms of data collection or to conduct the study in additional settings?

Having gone through the class, I now realize how complex true research can be and see how much deliberate planning must occur if a research project is to be successful.

Early Childhood Worldwide

2011-06-05T06:30:00.000-07:00
I browsed the Early childhood Australia website. Many of their research topics are very similar to what we find in The United States, such as learning through play, the impact of quality programs, children's resilience, and dealing with bullying. One topic that I found particulary interesting involved the positive experiences children have when engaged in oral storytelling. Austrailian culture has a very strong storytelling tradition, and the study has found that young children are far more imaginative, creative and cognitively involved in oral sories (which are different than stories with print).

I also found an article on outdoor education very interesting. In my mind, Australia has so much to offer in the natural world - huge open spaes, extremely interesting and plentiful wildlife, a diverse ecosystem, etc. However, children living there are suffering from the same forms of nature deficit disorder as we find in The United States. Children who, literally, have kangaroos in their backyards are still lured by the electronic world. Austraila is deeply involved in research on the importance of including nature education in the lives of young children.

No matter where people live, what their religion is or their cultural beliefs, there is one thing we all have in common - our concern for and dedication to young children. Looking at Early Childhood sites from other areas of the world makes me feel a connection to te international Early Childhood community. Instead of focusing on differences, we should focus on similarities amongst us. One huge similarity is that every group of people includes children and a love for children.

Studies for ADHD

2011-05-22T05:42:00.000-07:00
In the United Stated there are currently millions of children being treated for ADHD, and that number is steadily growing. Currently, the most popular treatment for ADHD is medication; usually some form of amphetamine. There is a trend towards medicating children at younger and younger ages, and continuing to medicate them throughout their school years (at least). The process of medicating in itself is a process of trial and error. Doctors prescribe different medications at different doses until the parents and teachers of the children feel satisfied with the outcome. There is no medical test to absolutely determine whether or not a child has ADHD and there is no way to pre-determine a successful treatment plan. Additionally, long term effects of these medical treatments are unknown. For these reasons, the system is currently using millions of children as guinea pigs in ADHD treatment trials without any permission at all.

Children are labeled ADHD when they cannot sit and attend to the rigorous school day. I feel that, rather than studying medical procedures to mold children into the students we want them to be, we should be studying classroom procedures that allow children to be successful without altering their natural temperaments and personalities. If I had unlimited time and resources, I would study ways to change the educational system to allow children to feel happy, safe, comfortable, and able without medication. I strongly believe that it is not the children that must be altered but rather the system.

Research Simulation: Technological Play Versus Nature Play

2011-05-14T05:58:00.000-07:00
I am quite single minded in my passion for re-inserting nature into children's lives. Technology has improved the human condition in many ways, but it has, at the same time, pulled us away from our foundation. Humans are an integral part of the natural world, we are connected to all living things on earth and to the earth itself - but we have come to a place of feeling disconnected. We no longer understand where we fit into the natural balance. This puts the human race as well as all life on Earth at risk.

I am greatly concerned about how the influence of technology is affecting current generation of children's sense of self. I have observed that children are negatively affected on an emotional level when using computers and video games. They become easily frustrated, have less desire to cooperate with others, become manipulative, dishonest, aggressive and generally difficult. When outside playing, I rarely see these traits in the same groups of children. I therefore, would like to look at the social and emotional effects technology has on children compared to the social and emotional effects of exposure to nature.

How to do this in a quantitative way, however, poses some difficulty. I considered a few different approaches to this project, however, given the limited resources at my disposal, I decided that I would use a tallying approach. I will simply observe the same group of children for equal amounts of time playing video games and playing outside. During these observations I will count the number of negative social and emotional occurances (ex. - lying, arguing, belittling) during each experience. I will repeat my observations over time, and will then compare my results. In this way, I will have data regarding the effects of technology and the effects of nature on children's social and emotional health.

International Reflection

2011-04-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

Living in The United States, I think there is a tendency to think a lot about conditions at home, but not on a global scale. Discussing the issues surrounding Early Childhood Education in Serbia with Zora Petrovich opened my eyes to the many atrocities that children throughout the world have had to face and to the perseverance and bravery of those dedicated to the lives of children.
In recent years, Serbia has been working to recover from the Balkan War, a decade long time of unprecedented violence and bloodshed that ended in the dissolution of former communist Yugoslavia. Serbia became an independent country, but did so as the losers of a war that wreaked havoc on their land and their people.
In America, we believe that communism is somehow wrong, and that all citizens of the world would be better off with, and would prefer a democracy. This is not the case with many Serbs. Under communism, every citizen had a job, a home, food, education, health care and income. In communism, every citizen receives the same things as every other citizen, and all people’s needs are met. Under the new democracy, the majority of the Serbian citizens live in poverty while a few are very rich. Quality education is available for the elite, but many children have no educational opportunities. In addition, even the families of the working class have a difficult time getting enough to eat, and young children often work to help support the family.
There is also an ongoing issue involving the large number of war orphans that still remain wards of the state. The government is responsible for these children, but they do not provide well for them. These children are not educates, rather trained to be laborers. They live in group homes that are understaffed and undersupplied. As these orphans are growing older, they are forming street gangs and crime by young people is rising throughout the country.
During the war, thousands of women were raped by soldiers. The children of these rapes are now growing older, but the society has a general feeling of hatred and distrust towards them. What will become of these children is uncertain, but they have a great deal of prejudice to face and overcome.
Finally, teachers are in a state of political turmoil. Historically, teachers received a great deal of respect from the society. The profession has always been considered highly prestigious.   Currently, the state owes teachers for years of unpaid benefits and is paying them less than subsistence wages. Teacher’s feel that they have a responsibility to help the next generation develop to their fullest potential – for the children and for Serbia. However, there is a great deal of tension and pressure developing just below the surface, and there is potential for a social eruption in the future.
There is a growing connectedness of Early Childhood Professionals worldwide. More and more we are realizing that a dedication to young children expands beyond our own schools, neighborhoods, states and countries. Children throughout the world deserve to have food to eat, air to breath, a place to live, and the ability to reach their fullest potential. All children deserve to have the opportunity to become great, to be healthy, happy and intelligent. I believe that the goal of providing quality education to young children needs to be a world-wide goal.

Education - if not equal, at least fair

2011-04-16T05:52:00.000-07:00

I heard from my professional contact, Zora Petrovich, regarding the professional expectations of teachers in Serbia. She explained that the profession of "teacher" in Serbia is very prestigious and respected. It is believed, culturally, that a teacher must be highly educated in order to impart knowledge to their students. Therefore, only people of high intelligence and who are very successful academically themselves are able to enter the teaching profession.

However, there is currently a great deal of unrest among Serbian teachers regarding compensation and benefits. There has been a salary freeze for almost three years and the state owes teachers for years of benefits. The wages teachers are currently given are not enough to sustain a family, and social  dissension is growing. The new government allows for some privileged citizens to live well while others are allowed to starve. Tensions are high throughout the country.

Still, despite the current social situation, education is considered to be of great importance. Serbia has produced many great scientists, innovators and thinkers, such as Nikola Tesla,Mileva Meric Einstein and Ivo Andric. The country expects to continue this great tradition, and teachers, regardless of their treatment by the government, have an internal sense of responsibility for the education of our future leaders. Therefore, they continue to educate and impart knowledge.

"The idea of equal education for all citizens in a democratic society is quite lofty. In communism, there was no social stratification of the classes, so education was based on ability level rather than economic level. Currently, many children receive no schooling while others receive the highest level of education in the world. I do not think education will be equalized, but I would like it to be fair. I think that every child should have the right to education and for the opportunity to grow. I think that economics should not drive education, but, rather, potential. Children should be allowed to go as far as they are able to go regardless of family income."

Nature Deficit Disorder

2011-04-09T18:35:00.001-07:00

By following links I found on the NACC site, I found two really great resource pages:
The first of the two is Education.com’s Nature deficit disorder page, http://www.education.com/topic/nature-deficit-disorder/. This page is full of links to articles, tips, and explanations regarding the dangers posed by the modern child’s stronger connection to electronics than to nature.

The second website I found is called Science for Citizens, http://scienceforcitizens.net/. This site provides links to worldwide science projects that all citizens can become involved with. There are projects such as tracking wildlife, seasonal changes, rainfall, water observations, astrology and many more. I, in fact, signed up for budwatch – where people can observe and log the seasonal changes in trees, and WildObs, where people can use their phones to track wildlife spotting. Doing these projects is an incentive to observe nature closely, to connect nature and technology, and to help scientists collect data in ways previously impossible – on a worldwide basis. I am very excited about the possibilities of using these citizen projects within my classroom, with my family, and personally. A project such as budwatch only requires some time outside each day to observe changes in trees – but it is a great incentive to make this time outside a priority.

I think that nature education definitely adds to quality in daycare because so many children are missing out on a connection with nature in their lives. Still, while some programs provide children with safe green spaces to explore, others have playgrounds with no green spaces and still others do not even have playgrounds. It seems that if there was a national standard of nature education, this could help solve the problem of Nature Deficit Disorder.

Early childhood is the absolute best time to start children’s connection with nature. This is the window of time within which children need to be exposed to the natural world – because it is during this critical period that children feel natural about their part in the natural world. Young children feel natural picking up bugs, changing the flow of rivers, picking up sticks and chasing seagulls. At a certain age, without exposure, the easy feeling of being a part of the natural world disappears without exposure, and a sense of fear takes its place. Early childhood cannot be regained once it is lost – so children must experience the world during this time.

Works Cited
Nature defecit Disorder. (2011). Retrieved April 9, 2011, from Education.com: http://www.education.com/topic/nature-deficit-disorder/
ScienceForCitizens.net. (2010). Retrieved April 9, 2011, from http://scienceforcitizens.net/

Equality of Education in Serbia

2011-04-02T06:39:00.000-07:00
My Serbian contact, Zora Petrovich, explained more to me about the issues in education in Serbia.

In the past decade, Serbia has gone through major political changes. The eight year Balkan War ended, they transitioned from a communist government to a democratic government, and they became an independent country. While of all these changes were meant to lead to the betterment of the country - and they might do that in the future - they have created huge gaps in opportunities between the rich and the poor.

First of all, there are huge numbers of war orphans. Many of these children were adopted by families from rich countries - but so many more remain. they live in large orphanages where they do receive schooling - but the quality of this schooling is very low compared to schools for privileged students. The goal for these orphans is that they will be laborers when they are old enough to leave the orphanage - which means that there education is designed to prepare them for menial jobs in the work force and nothing more.

Still worse, however, are the opportunities for the Roma children - the extremely poor. These are the children of peasants and gypsies. They make up 7% of the population, and the majority of them do not have the opportunity to attend school at all. They begin work within their family groups at a very young age, and often work for money outside of the family beginning in the elementary years. The Roma children who do attend school are unlikely to complete elementary school. Fewer boys complete school than girls because they have more job opportunities at a young age.

Another population that is emerging as problematic is the children of war crimes. Many women were raped by soldiers, and those children are now getting older and entering the educational system. While none of the crimes of war are the fault of these children, there is a societal rejection of them. Many families do not see these children as equal to their other children, and the community often expresses a hatred of these children - as they are seen as a symbol of the atrocities the Serbian people experienced during the war. The opportunities for and future of these children is uncertain.

Privileged children in Serbia, however, attend schools considered equal to the top institutions in the continent. They will become the great thinkers,scientists, innovators, writers and politicians of the future.

Outdoor Classrooms

2011-03-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

In the November/ December 2010 issue of Wonder, the newsletter for the World Forum's Nature Action Collaborative for Children, there is an article entitled Our Path To An Outdoor Classroom. The article explains how a the Burlington Little School in Washington worked tirelessly to raise funds for a bike path that wound through an undeveloped grassy area of their playground. After all of their hard work, they were dismayed by the reaction of current and former students once the project was complete. While the teachers and administrators were full of pride and excitement at the grand opening of their new bike path - they were met with cries of "Where is the tall grass? Where will we play?" All of the money and expensive resources in the world could not replace the joy of nature in the hearts of the children - the children the bike path was created for.

As a society we have somehow forgotten how much happiness we, as children, found while playing in the natural world. For a child, crawling through a field of tall grass becomes an adventure. A simple patch of nature is a laboratory, ripe with opportunities for discovery and imagination. Not only were the children at The Burlington Little School perfectly happy with their patch of untended grass - they mourned the loss of it deeply. It seems interesting that we keep demanding more funding in order to improve quality in Early Childhood Education - when the children find the most value in the natural world - which is free.

The Burlington Little School decided to make up for taking nature away from these children by working towards something very different from the concrete, slides and swings usually found in preschool playgrounds. They started their fundraising all over again - this time with a vision of a beautiful outdoor classroom that revolved around nature. Now their outdoor classroom is teeming with life - gardens, grassy knolls, a fish pond, and natural stone paths. The excavation required a great deal of digging, and all of the extra dirt was piled into a corner of the playground to be used in future projects. While the children love all areas of their outdoor classroom, their favorite activity by far is playing "king of the mud hill, especially after a rainy day." (Sarah Bishop, 2010)

Works Cited
Sarah Bishop, M. V. (2010, November/ December). Our Path To An Outdoor Classroom. Wonder , pp. 1-2

Poverty in Serbia

2011-03-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

I made contact with a kindergarten teacher in Belgrade, Serbia, named Zora Petrovich.   I asked her how poverty affects the lives and education of young children in her country. She explained some of the recent history of Serbia and the devastating affects on families and children.

Formerly, Serbia was a part of communist Yugoslavia. While the communist party was oppressive in many ways, all people had jobs, homes, food, and equal education opportunities for all children. In the early 90's, the Bosnian war hit its peak, and the communist government was overthrown. Yugoslavia was dismantled, and split into several independent countries - one of these being Serbia. Serbia is now a democratic state.

Unfortunately, the loss of communism created a huge social gap between the rich and the poor, and an unprecedented problem with poverty. The majority of the citizens of Serbia are extremely poor, and there are almost no social reform movements in place. Additionally, many children were orphaned during the war, putting a great financial burden onto the state.

Many many children go hungry, work at a young age, are in orphanages or homeless, and do not have the means to a good education. school is still publicly funded, but children must have a means of transportation that is not available to poor children in order to have access to school.

Disease and malnutrition are becoming huge problems for Serbian children - and there are currently no strong programs working towards relief. While Serbia has a very old, traditional culture, they are a young country due to their former dependence on the Yugoslav government. It may be a long time before they find a way to equalize opportunities and health for their children.

Learning about the plight of children in Serbia was very difficult for me emotionally, but it also made me thankful for the types of programs that are available for American children. While we are far from perfection, we have much to be thankful for.

Professional Resources

2011-03-12T06:15:00.000-08:00

World Forum Nature Action Collaborative for Children (NACC)
http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/nacc/index.php

Due to my personal love for and reverence for nature, and my concern for the effects that a lack of connection to nature could have on the lives of today's children, I was very excited to find the NACC website. This project of the world Forum is in place to increase awareness of the need for nature activities for young children as well as provide resources and networking possibilities to people working with young children.

The NACC pots out a bi-monthly newsletter entitled "WONDER" which addresses the need for nature education in Early Childhood, highlights programs that are providing Nature Education, and gives ideas of ways to include Nature Education into the classroom. http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/nacc/wonder_newsletter.php

The NACC call to action:

"The Call To Action beckons families, educators, and community leaders worldwide to take action, to strengthen children's connection to nature - making developmentally appropriate nature education a sustaining and enriching, fully integrated part of the daily lives and education of the world's children."

The website explains that Nature deficit Disorder is affecting children around the world. as children become more and more dependent upon electronic devices and games, they become less and less connected to the world around them. This is a problem that crosses ethnic and cultural boundaries and affects us all.

Early Childhood Education Across the World

2011-03-05T05:29:00.000-08:00
After reading the blog assignment for this week, I immediately started sending e-mails to all of the organizations listed by The Global Alliance of NAEYC.   Because my husband is Serbian, I was most interested in The Center for Interactive Pedagogy in Serbia. However, I decided that the more messages I sent out, the better chance I had of establishing contact with somebody. The following day, I excitedly checked my e-mail expecting to find messages from all over the world. what I found was a lot of my messages returned marked undeliverable, and no responses at all.

Well, I didn't give up there. I had just gone to see the Justin Beiber movie and decided to "Never Say Never." The innovative and successful thing Justin Beiber did that led to his unprecedented swift success was advertise himself through social networking. Justin posted messages on twitter and grew a fan base at an exponential rate. I decided to try to find people willing to communicate with me through facebook.

I searched facebook for international early childhood organizations. I found several and joined their facebook pages. On each I posted a wall message asking if there would be anyone interested in corresponding with me. I then scrolled through the member lists, picked out people whose names and pictures looked interesting to me (since that was all of the information that there was available to me), and began sending messages via facebook to individuals around the world. All together I probably sent about fifty messages, and I got two responses. These two responses, however, had me so excited.

One response was from Kristín Dýrfjörð in Iceland and the other was from Bessie Rios in The Phillipines. Both expressed their willingness to correspond with me about the Early Childhood field where they live. I sent each a message of thanks, some information about myself and about my understanding of the assignment.

I was thinking about what an amazing form of communication computers and social networking really are. On pages like facebook, you can send instant messages out to people across the planet who share similar interests to you. It really does bring us all closer together. So, thanks Justin for such a brilliant idea.

While I was searching for international contacts, I came across the World Forum Foundation: Nature Action Collaborative for Children (NACC) http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/nacc/index.php. I quickly decided to join and become involved in this initiative. If I were to choose one issue of importance to focus on throughout my career in Early Childhood Education it would be what has been termed "Nature Deficit disorder." I spent my childhood outdoors, and I feel an enormous love for and connection to the natural world. I have a strong belief that children are an integral part of nature and need to explore the outdoor world in order to develop normally. I feel it is my personal mission to expose all of the children to nature as much as possible in order to lessen the adverse effects of growing up in the electronic age.

"Children in today's world are being adversely affected by their diminishing connection with the natural world." (NACC)

"As a child, one has that magical capacity to move among the many eras of the earth; to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us; to know a hundred different smells of mud and listen unself- consciously to the soughing of the trees." Valerie Andrews, A Passion for this Earth

support

2011-02-12T18:26:00.001-08:00

This is slightly embarrassing because it will illustrate just how spoiled I am. Anyway, my husband is a huge source of support in every way. I leave a list of chores for him every morning, and he does those chores every day. I leave him shopping lists, errands like picking up library books or going to the bank, house work like laundry, dishwashing, making dinner or making beds, or, basically, anything else that needs to get done. He does these things happily and never complains. Having these things done for me makes my life so much simpler and so much more pleasant. If I had all of those responsibilities in addition to working full time and going to school, I would have very little time or patience for enjoying my family and relaxing myself. The embarrassing part is that I sometimes forget to appreciate all of the things my husband does for me, and I tell him that he should be doing more. He gives this support so selflessly and without fanfare that I don’t always look clearly at the huge contribution he makes to the harmony of our home and family life.
Life without this support would be difficult and stressful – but still possible after some restructuring. Recently my husband travelled to his childhood home in Europe for ten days, and I realized how much of an impact all of the simple things he does has on my life and comfort level. Even buying popcorn at the movies (usually I sit in the theater with the kids while he goes to the snack bar) was suddenly stressful. Having to wait in line with young boys, order, and then navigate our way into the theater was practically overwhelming. So, the thought of having to do all of the things that I generally pass on to someone else, and then adding a specific challenge, such as a physical disability like limits my mobility, such as paralysis, sounds impossible. I wouldn’t then be able to get around by myself, go to the store myself, care for my children myself, and definitely not buy the popcorn at the theater. I take the help I get now for granted, when I think of people who need help with even the simplest of tasks, I am very humbled.
All people need support from others. All people need help at times. The level of support needed is individual and may change over time. I think it is important to allow every child or person to be as independent as they are able to be but also to support them as much as is needed as well. An example is a second language learner. When they first come into the classroom they will need a huge amount of patience, understanding and assistance. Over time they will learn the classroom routine as well as how to communicate – and the amount of accommodation needed will lessen dramatically.

If you think about the word support – it is a structure that holds up or provides a foundation. If the base is strong, everything else will be stable.

Rollie Pollie Birthing Center

2011-01-30T06:19:00.000-08:00
William Blake
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
An eternity in an hour."

When I was a child, I spent hours playing outside, in my yard, in the forest, at the beach or by a stream. I loved lying on my back in the grass looking at the sky, searching for wild strawberries and raspberries, and building castles out of sticks or sand. I believed in fairies and made shelters and left food out for them. I crawled through the unmowed grass of my neighbors yard imagining a whole world of tiny creatures living in this magical place. I put bread crumbs on the ground and sat quietly, waiting for birds to come and eat. Of all these memories, however, possibly the strongest is of my rollie pollie hospital.

In front of my house there was a patch of tiny white day lillies. On the ground of this patch were wooden nuggets. Under these nuggets there was a large community of rollie pollies, and I spent my days caring for them. I would search under the wood, finding hundreds of rollie pollies each day. I would pick one up, amazed at how it would roll into a ball in my hand. I found that if I sat holding the bug long enough, it would unroll and crawl across my hand and up my arm.

The rollie pollies were all different sizes. I found it easier to pick up the biggest ones without causing them any harm. I noticed that sometimes when I held a rollie pollie in my fist, I would find that hundreds of tiny rollie pollies would then be crawling in my hand when I opened it. I spent a lot of time, ten, looking carefully at the rollie pollies before holding them. I discovered that the rollie pollies that have white bellies were the ones that had the babies. That was the beginning of my rollie pollie hospital and birthing center.

The Audubon Nature Preschool
"Children are born naturalists. They explore the world with all of their senses, experiment in the environment, and communicate their discoveries to those around them."

WarChild

2010-12-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

Emmanuel Jal’s Story
“Left home at the age of seven/one year later I’m carryin’ an Ak-47.” For hip hop artist Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier in Sudan’s brutal civil war, these lyrics are hardly empty posturing. They are the bitter reality of a young man who was “forced to sin” but determined to “never give up and never give in.” Today, wounded but still hopeful, Emmanuel Jal fights a new battle: bringing peace to his beloved Sudan and building schools in Africa. This time, his weapon is a microphone. See why audiences from New York to Berlin to London rave about the award-winning film, War Child, and have embraced the hip-hop artist with a terrifying past and a gentle soul. Interspersing original interviews, live concerts, and rare footage of Emmanuel Jal as a seven year-old boy, War Child will make viewers cry, laugh, dance, and celebrate the power of hope.

http://www.warchildmovie.com/

I chose this video for my final blog because it is an amazing example of resilience in children growing up with the trauma of war. Many boys in Africa are kidnapped, drugged and forced to fight in wars, to kill and to be killed. Of those who survive, a few grow up to do amazing, creative things. Emmanuel Jal is a singer who tells the story of his childhood through his music. There are very few children who experience atrocities worse than these child soldiers.

Looking To Italy

2010-12-11T09:53:00.000-08:00

Currently, in The United States, the educational system is based on the idea that each age group of children should know a specific and limited number of facts, and should be able to pick each these facts out of groups of four options. Children who can identify these facts are considered successful in school, and children who cannot are considered unsuccessful - no matter what other knowledge or skills they possess. As a result, the educational system has now limited itself to force feeding these specific correct answers - leaving no room for original ideas, unique thought processes, creativity or individuality, traits that our society claims to value. However, individuality and innovation do not lead to high scores on standardized tests - and therefore do not lead to school success. This is a nonsensical paradox, but many people still strongly believe in standardization of education (probably because they were never encouraged to think when they were children).

In spite of a strong push for individualized instruction, the system of standardized testing pressures teachers to create a classroom full of unconscious, fact spewing, scan-tron completing, automatons. The individual children and teachers disappear in this system. Respect for learning styles becomes obsolete. Once the age of a child is determined, they become the list of answers that the Iowa Achievement Test deems appropriate. We do not, then, consider an individual child's growth, only their ability or lack of ability to memorize correct answers.

I am fortunate that I teach Preschool. Standardized tests have not yet become the norm for preschool assessment - and hopefully they never will. Still, individuals hold beliefs about what children should know or how they should act, and these beliefs often get in the way of looking at children as individuals. Something that happened in my classroom the other day illustrates this reality. I have a student in my three year old class, C, who is an ESL student. In September, C had not yet begun acquiring English, and, in fact, spoke very few words in any language. His progress, however, has been phenomenal, and he can now express his needs and name many objects in both languages - and has gained confidence in his ability to communicate. He still, however, groups similar objects under one heading (saying 'animal' for all animals rather than 'lion' and 'pig'). I am thrilled with his progress, and expect he will continue to learn language at an accelerated rate.

Early this week a staff member from another classroom was spending time in my three year old class. She heard C call me 'Teacher,' which is his word for all adults working in the school, and she was appalled. She crouched down, put her face inches in front of his face, and spoke to him in a very stern way, "Her name is not teacher, it is Miss Kristi." I intervened and explained to her that he is not ready to delineate all of the different staff members by different names, and that, considering he didn't call us by any name at all two months ago, his use of the word 'teacher' was cause for celebration. Still, she maintained that him not calling me by my name was a sign of disrespect. In the end, I had to use the old 'this is my classroom and I will run it the way I see fit' card because we were clearly not going to come to an agreement any time soon.

Anyway, I believe that children should be assessed on their individual growth, not on some pre-conceived standard. Each child comes to the classroom at one stage of development, and leaves at another. The role of the teacher is to smooth out the rough spots along the road of development - to minimize frustration that sometimes occurs when children are attempting to master a new skill. It is really not possible to assess individual growth and development on a standardized test.

My classroom environments and assessment systems are based on the Reggio Emilia schools in Italy. "The cornerstone of Reggio Emilia experiences conceptualizes an image of the child as competent, strong, inventive and full of ideas with rights instead of needs.” (E.M. Matthews, 2008)

The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based on respecting individual children’s interests, skills, ideas, and developmental stages. Each child is celebrated for simply being who they are, and they are supported by adults who are learning right along with them. Assessments consist of a collection of work that is kept in chronological order – and can then be viewed as a sort of ‘time-line’ of individual development. “Documentation often involves examples of children’s questions, work, and transcriptions that capture not only children’s skills but also their thought processes.” (Bullock, 2002) In addition, I keep an ongoing record of my personal observations and reflections for each child as well as photographs of work being done in the class. All work is dated and labeled with a descriptor as well as with an explanation of Illinois Early Childhood Standards that correlate to the individual child’s experience. This collection of each child’s work is not only used as an illustration of learning and development over time, but it is used to understand each child’s stage of development, thought processes, and needs. I do not believe it is possible to know another person completely – especially because people continuously evolve and change throughout life. In fact, I am still struggling with completely knowing myself. However, by really looking at a child’s creative output and by listening to their ideas and questions with an open and accepting attitude, you can get as close as possible to knowing each child. It is at that point that true individualized instruction and child-directed learning can occur.

My description above is my understanding of assessment practices in the Reggio Emilia schools of Italy. I mentioned that my classrooms’ are modeled after Reggio Emilia, but I do feel the need to stress that I am far from achieving what the Italians have achieved. I am still in the process of learning and internalizing the Reggio philosophy. As I come to understand each new aspect of Reggio Emilia (and there are many many layers of aspects), I add new elements to my classroom environment or I change my approach to teaching preschool. Then there is a period of change and adjustment which is necessary for accomplishing a harmony between the new direction of my personal teaching philosophy, my own personality and style, the class as a whole and the individual students. Because I teach in two different classes, often times the original idea morphs into two completely different classroom strategies. I have found that approaches need to be changed year by year as well – as new children and new classroom dynamics develop. In a way, I am applying the Reggio Emilia approach to my own development as a teacher just as I am applying it to the development of the children in my care.

Bibliography

Bennett, T. (2007, June 1). Reactions to Visiting the Infant-Toddler and Preschool Centers in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Early Childhood Research and Practice . Champaign, Il: University of Illinois.
Bullock, J. B. (2002, Fall). Modeling, Collaboration, In-Depth Projects, and Cognitive Discourse: A Reggio Emilia and Project Approach Course. Early childhood Research and Practice . Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois.
E.M. Matthews, M. (2008). Reggio Emilia.
New, R. S. (2000, December). Reggio Emilia: Catalyst for Change and Conversation. Eric Digest . Champaign, IL: University of Illinois.

The following link will take you to a wonderful website that describes the Reggio Emilia schools and philosophy and displays many photographs of the children of Reggio Emilia. From this site you can also download a beautiful and inspiring Power Point presentation:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=reggio+emilia+schools+in+italy+slideshow&go=&form=QBIR&qs=n&sk=#focal=80c5f8f25d63670de9dde3a8e8334fce&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.catherineshafer.com%2Fsitebuilder%2Fimages%2FDSC05820_1_-450x600.jpg

Smile Practice" Everybody can see my eyes except for me." Marko - 4 years old by Kristina Yapp

2010-12-09T17:05:00.000-08:00
Smile Practice" Everybody can see my eyes except for me." Marko - 4 years old by Kristina Yapp

Children Raised in Adverse Environments

2010-11-27T08:02:00.000-08:00
My paternal grandmother was diagnosed with schizophrenia years before my father was born. After my father's birth, her condition worsened, and he was sent to live with some neighbors for several years. He remembers these neighbors being very good to him and treating him as if he were their own child. However, after his mother was released from the hospital, he was brought back home to be with his natural parents.

Unfortunately, his mother's condition had not lessened. She was considered untreatable.  At this point, my grandfather went into a deep depression. He went to work every day and he supported his family financially, but he stayed in the garage once he was home and spoke to no one. He disengaged himself from his family other than his obligation to provide for them financially.

I have heard many stories of growing up with a schizophrenic mother. First of all, because neither of his parents were mentally or emotionally able to provide for their children, my father often went hungry and shoeless. He lived in a small town where everybody knew about his mother's condition, and therefore had no friends at school. He would go out to farmers fields and pick fruits and vegetables to eat, and this was one of the ways he survived.

One day my father had come home to find that dinner had been prepared. He opened the pot to find his pet rabbit boiling in a stew. His mother had, on this day, remembered that she should feed her family, but had forgotten that the rabbit was a pet.

My grandmother was very paranoid. She lived in fear of outside forces that would attack. At times she felt certain that aliens were going to invade, other times it was simply "bad men" that she feared. She was sometimes certain that the end of the world was imminent and that everyone must pray for the salvation of their souls. When my father was a teenager, he came into the house and his mother attempted to shoot him (luckily there were no bullets in the gun. She thought he was one of the invaders she feared and did not recognize him as her son.

My father was blessed by his intellect. He spent most of his free time alone outdoors. He invented things wit natural objects that he found and explored the properties of nature. He knew from a young age that he did not want to stay in the town where he lived, and he viewed school as his means to liberation. He got perfect grades, and won a scholarship to The University of Illinois. He became a successful chemist, married and had two children, and now has six grandchildren.

Not all children of mentally ill parents are so lucky. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, children of mentally ill parents run a high risk of developing mental illness themselves. Additionally, because living with mental illness is stressful for the whole family, children are at harm due to neglect.

The following are behaviors often seen in children of mentally ill parents:

YOUNGER CHILDREN
Marked fall in school performance
Poor grades in school despite trying very hard
Severe worry or anxiety, as shown by regular refusal to go to school, go to sleep or take part in activities that are normal for the child's age
Frequent physical complaints
Hyperactivity; fidgeting; constant movement beyond regular playing with or without difficulty paying attention
Persistent nightmares
Persistent disobedience or aggression (longer than 6 months) and provocative opposition to authority figures
Frequent, unexplainable temper tantrums
Threatens to harm or kill oneself
PRE-ADOLESCENTS AND ADOLESCENTS
Marked decline in school performance
Inability to cope with problems and daily activities
Marked changes in sleeping and/or eating habits
Extreme difficulties in concentrating that get in the way at school or at home
Sexual acting out
Depression shown by sustained, prolonged negative mood and attitude, often accompanied by poor appetite, difficulty sleeping or thoughts of death
Severe mood swings
Strong worries or anxieties that get in the way of daily life, such as at school or socializing
Repeated use of alcohol and/or drugs
Intense fear of becoming obese with no relationship to actual body weight, excessive dieting, throwing up or using laxatives to loose weight
Persistent nightmares
Threats of self-harm or harm to others
Self-injury or self destructive behavior
Frequent outbursts of anger, aggression
Repeated threats to run away
Aggressive or non-aggressive consistent violation of rights of others; opposition to authority, truancy, thefts, or vandalism
Strange thoughts, beliefs, feelings, or unusual behaviors
Often, professionals concentrate on the mental health of the parent and do not consider the health of the whole family. In order to stop the cycle of mental illness in families, the following steps are necessary for the health of children:

Knowledge that their parent(s) is ill and that they are not to blame
Help and support from family members
A stable home environment
Psychotherapy for the child and the parent(s)
A sense of being loved by the ill parent
A naturally stable personality in the child
Positive self esteem
Inner strength and good coping skills in the child
A strong relationship with a healthy adult
Friendships, positive peer relationships
Interest in and success at school
Healthy interests outside the home for the child
Help from outside the family to improve the family environment (for example, marital psychotherapy or parenting classes)
http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_of_parents_with_mental_illness

It is amazing to find that children being raised in war-torn countries can suffer many of the same effects as children of mentally ill parents.  And, as in the case of parental mental illness, "For young children, quality of care is the most important protective factor; caregivers play a critical shielding role as does the lack of understanding or awareness of the full meaning of the situation." Ann Masten

The description of the film "Children In War" states "At the end of the 20th Century, the targeting and killing of children in war has become another crime against humanity. Although the Principles of Protection and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in wartime are clearly defined by international law, these accepted standards of decency are routinely violated by governments and military leaders. In today's wars 90 percent of the casualties are civilians, compared to 50 percent in World War II. In the past ten years, two million children have been killed in wars throughout the world."

The following statistics refer to the effects of the Bosnian War on children:

BOSNIA
An estimated 15,000 children died in this three-year-long civil war.
UNICEF
An estimated 200,000 people were killed during the war which also produced 3 million refugees who were forcibly expelled from their homes by Serbian and Croatian ethnic cleansing.
UNHCR
After the Dayton Peace Accord, fewer than 10 percent of refugees were able to return home. The majority of refugees were displaced throughout the former Yugoslavia and the world.
UNHCR

http://www.videoverite.tv/childreninwar/bookforward.html

Children living through wars cannot feel safety and security because those concepts are not a part of their reality. These children are hiding in bomb shelters listening to the sounds of mortar fire all around them. They emerge to see homes and cities destroyed - and then their parents go to fight in the war, leaving them feeling less protected than before. During the Bosnian War it was common practice for soldiers to rape and murder children and women, and now the children of the rape victims are coming to an age of understanding of their origins. Children who survived this time were traumatized, separated from their families, orphaned and terrified.

There are several organizations who have attempted to help lessen the psychological effects of war on the surviving children. Through art therapy and self-expression. However, the long-term effects are only now becoming apparent.

The only way to truly protect children from the effects of war is to stop war all together.

Masten, A. (2009). Effects of War on Children and Child Development. New York: The Melissa Institute.
Psychiatry, A. A. (2010). When to Seek Help for Your Family. Retrieved november 27, 2010, from American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry: http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_of_parents_with_mental_illness
Raymond, A. a. (2003). Children In War. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from Children In War: http://www.videoverite.tv/childreninwar/thefilm.html

The Effects of Nutrition on Child Development

2010-11-13T07:28:00.000-08:00
For several years I have been making an effort to improve my own health and nutrition as well as that of my family. I came to understand the importance of proper nutrition in people being the best that they can be. A nutritious diet as well as an active lifestyle improve health, body image, energy levels, thinking skills and emotional health. I have worked hard at lifestyle changes that would improve the well-being of my family as well as give my children the foundations for a happy and successful life.

The more I have learned about the importance of proper nutrition, however, the more I have come to realize the magnitude of the problems that worldwide malnutrition is causing and will cause in the future, the more concerned I have become. The statistics are bleak, and if major efforts to improve humankind's dietary intake are not made, the results could be devastating.

The World Health Organization's website "Nutrition for Health and Development," http://www.who.int/nutrition/en/ states the following statistics:

On the average, a person dies every second as a direct or indirect result of malnutrition - 4000 every hour - 100 000 each day - 36 million each year - 58 % of all deaths (2001-2004 estimates).
On the average, a child dies every 5 seconds as a direct or indirect result of malnutrition - 700 every hour - 16 000 each day - 6 million each year - 60% of all child deaths (2002-2008 estimates).

Those are huge numbers, especially when you consider the fact that providing people with education and access to good food could virtually eradicate the problem. This sounds like a simple solution, but we have a long way to go.

The website "An End To World Hunger: Hope For The Future," http://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/stats.htm  lists the following trends in the worldwide nutrition problem:

In the Asian, African and Latin American countries, well over 500 million people are living in what the World Bank has called "absolute poverty"
Every year 15 million children die of hunger
For the price of one missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years
The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed one-third is starving- Since you've entered this site at least 200 people have died of starvation. Over 4 million will die this year.
One in twelve people worldwide is malnourished, including 160 million children under the age of 5.
The Indian subcontinent has nearly half the world's hungry people. Africa and the rest of Asia together have approximately 40%, and the remaining hungry people are found in Latin America and other parts of the world. Hunger in Global Economy
Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion - a majority of humanity - live on less than $1 per day, while the world's 358 billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45 percent of the world's people. UNICEF
3 billion people in the world today struggle to survive on US$2/day.
In 1994 the Urban Institute in Washington DC estimated that one out of 6 elderly people in the U.S. has an inadequate diet.
In the U.S. hunger and race are related. In 1991 46% of African-American children were chronically hungry, and 40% of Latino children were chronically hungry compared to 16% of white children.
The infant mortality rate is closely linked to inadequate nutrition among pregnant women. The U.S. ranks 23rd among industrial nations in infant mortality. African-American infants die at nearly twice the rate of white infants.
One out of every eight children under the age of twelve in the U.S. goes to bed hungry every night.
Half of all children under five years of age in South Asia and one third of those in sub-Saharan Africa are malnourished.
In 1997 alone, the lives of at least 300,000 young children were saved by vitamin A supplementation programmes in developing countries.
Malnutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide - a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death
About 183 million children weigh less than they should for their age
To satisfy the world's sanitation and food requirements would cost only US$13 billion- what the people of the United States and the European Union spend on perfume each year.
The assets of the world's three richest men are more than the combined GNP of all the least developed countries on the planet.
Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger
It is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who actually die from it each year.

Malnutrition causes more child deaths, more low-birth rate babies and more stillbirths than any other factor in existence. Children who are malnourished and survive suffer from poor health, stunted growth and decreased ability to learn. For example, iodine deficiency lowers intelligence by 10 to 15 I.Q. points. Additionally, studies have shown that children who are hungry cannot concentrate at school. I know that I can neither concentrate nor be pleasant when I am hungry (and I am far from starving).

according to the World Health Organization, "If a pregnant woman is malnourished, her child may weigh less at birth and have a lower chance of survival. Vitamin A deficiency from malnutrition is the chief cause of preventable blindness in the developing world, and kids with severe vitamin A deficiency have a greater chance of getting sick or dying from infections such as diarrhea or measles. Iodine deficiency, another form of malnutrition, can cause mental retardation and delayed development. Iron deficiency can make kids less active and less able to concentrate. Teens who are malnourished often have trouble keeping up in school."

While malnutrition is considered to be a third world problem, in 2009 it was estimated that more than a million children in the United States go to bed hungry every night. This number is expected to rise as the recession continues. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/17/millions-hungry-households-us-report
The following are signs and symptoms of malnutrition. If children are displaying problems with behavior or academics, teachers should consider hunger as a possible cause:
fatigue and low energy
dizziness
poor immune function (which can hamper the body's ability to fight off infections)
dry, scaly skin
swollen and bleeding gums
decaying teeth
slowed reaction times and trouble paying attention
underweight
poor growth
muscle weakness
bloated stomach
osteoporosis, or fragile bones that break easily
problems with organ function
problems learning
While the statistics of world hunger are staggering, I found something really shocking during my research. While it is commonly understood that hunger and malnutrition go hand in hand - there is another dietary factor that leads to malnutrition, and it is a problem that is steadily increasing worldwide. Childhood obesity and malnutrition are just as strongly related as hunger and malnutrition.

According to the CDC, childhood obesity rates in The United States alone have triples in the past 30 years, and doubled in preschool age children. Malnutrition is not simply caused by lack of food, it is caused by lack of nutritious foods. With the increased popularity of fat foods and processed convenience foods, children are living on a diet of grease and salt with little or no nutritional value. According to the CDC's website "Childhood Overweight and Obesity," http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/index.html, Obese children can suffer from all of the same conditions as hungry children with the addition of:

Hypertension
Heart Disease
High Cholesterol
Pre Diabetes and Diabetes
Gastrointestinal Disease
Depression
Poor Self –Esteem
Sleep Apnea
Early Puberty
Bone Disease
Reproductive Problems

As a teacher, I think it is important to teach children and families about the importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle. Additionally, it is my obligation to help hungry families locate resources for healthy foods. Finally, I am committed to working with my school's food program in order to help ensure that the children we care for receive healthy meals and snacks every day.

Resources:

Websites:

the CDC's website: Childhood Overweight and Obesity
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/index.html

Guardian: Record Numbers Go Hungry In The US
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/17/millions-hungry-households-us-report

An End To World Hunger: Hope For The Future http://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/stats.htm

The World Health Organization's website: Nutrition for Health and Development
http://www.who.int/nutrition/en/

Articles:

"The World Health Organization Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition: methodology and applications" Mercedes de Onis and Monika Blössner

"Childhood obesity: Public-health crisis, common sense cure" Cara B Ebbeling; Dorota B Pawlak; David S Ludwig
"Worldwide Trends in Childhood Overweight and Obesity" Youfa Wang and Tim Lobstein
"Long-term Poverty and Child Development in the United States" Sanders Korenman
"Child development in developing countries 2: Child development: risk factors"Susan P Walker

Giving Birth

2010-11-06T16:45:00.000-07:00
I have actually given birth five times. The first was a hospital birth (18 years ago). The second was a hospital birth with midwives. The third was a home birth with midwives. The fifth was a hospital stillbirth at 18 weeks gestation. The fifth, (five years ago this coming Tuesday) was meant to be a hospital birth with midwives, but ended up being an emergency c-section with a physician.

Each experience was very different from the others, and each was beautiful in it's own way. By far, however, the most positive experience I had was the home birth of my third son which was attended by midwives from the Alivio Medical center in Chicago, Illinois. http://aliviomedicalcenter.org/.

This planned home birth had the advantages of both a traditional birth and modern healthcare. I had most of my prenatal appointments at the medical center, and received all of the standard tests that American women receive. In addition, I had two prenatal appointments in my home, with the midwives coming to me.

When I started feeling labor pains, I stayed at home and relaxed. When the pains began to get closer together, I did not have to grab my bags and head for the hospital - I called my midwives and stayed right where I was. Being at home was comfortable and much less stressful than the ride to the hospital and the procedures that take place before arriving in the sterile delivery room.

The midwives came, and they checked my progress from time to time, but the whole process was very private for my husband and I. Things were calm and comfortable, it was the two of us together supporting each other at home, and the whole birth process felt natural and beautiful instead of feeling like a huge risk with the possibility of complications.

The midwives were present, however, to offer advice and comfort. For pain, I took a hot bath, or got a massage. The pain never reached a point of being unbearable. I attribute this to the stress-free, comfortable feeling of being supported in my own home.

When it came close to time to push, the midwives became much more active. With their encouragement and support, I gave birth to an 8 lb baby boy, Milan Yapp, in my own bed, leaning against my husband, who then cut the cord. We were allowed to keep the placenta so that we could bury it in the ground and plant a tree in the same spot.

Milan Yapp - 8 years later

I read an article about a hospital in Ecuador that does vertical birth, with the mother standing and squatting rather than lying horizontal in a bed. http://www.womensenews.org/story/health/090215/gravity-birth-pulls-women-ecuador-hospital.. At this hospital modern medicine is truly integrated with traditional practices. The women give birth vertically so that gravity can speed the birth process, and they are given traditional herbal teas and traditional shamans are present. However, obstetricians and modern medicines are available as well, and the hospital has an infant mortality rate half that of the rest of the country.

I would recommend that anyone interested in a more traditional birthing seriously explore the options. It is so much more pleasant than a hospital birth.

Code of Ethics

2010-10-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

When reading the NAEYC Code of Ethics, I realized that the responsibility held by an Early Childhood professional goes far beyond an obligation to the children. Because it is in the best interest of the children, a professional must be willing to work with and educate the many people they come into contact with. The following are some of the NAEYC principles that really struck a cord with me:

Ethical Responsibilities to Families
Families* are of primary importance in children’s
development. Because the family and the early childhood
practitioner have a common interest in the child’s
well-being, we acknowledge a primary responsibility to
bring about communication, cooperation, and collaboration
between the home and early childhood program
in ways that enhance the child’s development.

The thing that resonated with me in the section of the NAEYC Code of Ethics on families was the importance of respecting families, the choices they make for their children, and their child rearing practices. I have recently become more attuned to negative comments about families made by my center staff. It is actually more common than not to hear staff talking badly about the families of the children in our care (and sometimes doing it right in front of the children). I have come to understand that each family is different, and chooses to do things in different ways, and for different reasons - and as long as the child isn't in danger, it is not the place of childcare staff to voice their negative opinions. I have started speaking out about the unsoundness of this practice.

Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues
In a caring, cooperative workplace, human dignity is
respected, professional satisfaction is promoted, and
positive relationships are developed and sustained.
Based upon our core values, our primary responsibility
to colleagues is to establish and maintain settings
and relationships that support productive work and
meet professional needs. The same ideals that apply
to children also apply as we interact with adults in
the workplace.

Concerning responsibilities to colleagues, several ideas made an impact on my thinking. The first was, that like families, staff come from different cultural, educational and child-rearing backgrounds. Many staff members will do things differently than me, but that does not mean either of us are wrong. as long as the children are safe, healthy, and happy, it is important to respect and celebrate differences among staff.

The other idea that I found thought-provoking was the idea of working directly with a colleague when I do believe they need to change their practices with children before reporting the issues to the director or owner. In the past, I always felt that I should report things I found to be unhealthy for the children, and then let the director and owner decide whether or not as well as how to deal with it. Now I see that, based on my experience and education, it is better to try to work as a partner with the other staff, and share my concerns and ideas with them.

Ethical Responsibilities to Community
and Society
Early childhood programs operate within the context of
their immediate community made up of families and
other institutions concerned with children’s welfare.
Our responsibilities to the community are to provide
programs that meet the diverse needs of families, to
cooperate with agencies and professions that share the
responsibility for children, to assist families in gaining
access to those agencies and allied professionals, and
to assist in the development of community programs
that are needed but not currently available.
As individuals, we acknowledge our responsibility to
provide the best possible programs of care and education
for children and to conduct ourselves with honesty
and integrity. Because of our specialized expertise in
early childhood development and education and
because the larger society shares responsibility for the
welfare and protection of young children, we acknowledge
a collective obligation to advocate for the best
interests of children within early childhood programs
and in the larger community and to serve as a voice for
young children everywhere.
The ideals and principles in this section are presented
to distinguish between those that pertain to the
work of the individual early childhood educator and
those that more typically are engaged in collectively on
behalf of the best interests of children—with the
understanding that individual early childhood educators
have a shared responsibility for addressing the
ideals and principles that are identified as “collective.”

This section was the most surprising. I never really thought about my responsibility for children as going outside of the center. This section, though, maps out a responsibility to work with other areas of the community to make them work together with the center and with each other to create a child centered culture throughout the town and surrounding areas. As they say "It takes a village to raise a child," and a village that works under the NAECY Code of Ethics would help guarantee the healthy development of it's youngest residents.

All of the above principles have their basis in the best practices for young children. These are the core values upon which the NAEYC Code of Ethics is based:

• Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage
of the human life cycle
• Base our work on knowledge of how children develop
and learn
• Appreciate and support the bond between the child
and family
• Recognize that children are best understood and

supported in the context of family, culture, community,
and society
• Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each
individual (child, family member, and colleague)
• Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues
• Recognize that children and adults achieve their full
potential in the context of relationships that are based
on trust and respect

Course Resources

2010-10-08T04:46:00.000-07:00

art 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices
NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8.Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families.(FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~images/pdfs/snapshots/snap33.pdf

Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42–53.
Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title.
Part 2: Global Support for Children’s Rights and Well-Being
Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

Websites:
World Forum Foundation
http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php
This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage
World Organization for Early Childhood Education
http://www.omep.org.gu.se/English/about_OMEP/
Read about OMEP’s mission.
Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/about/
Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.
Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations
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/pages/page.asp?page_id=22807
The Erikson Institute
http://www.erikson.edu/

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library
Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to “How Do I...?”, select “Tips for Specific Formats and Resources,”and then “e-journals” to find this search interface.)

YC Young Children
Childhood
Journal of Child & Family Studies
Child Study Journal
Multicultural Education
Early Childhood Education Journal
Journal of Early Childhood Research
International Journal of Early Childhood
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Developmental Psychology
Social Studies
Maternal & Child Health Journal
International Journal of Early Years Education
Additional Resources
Illinois State Board Of Education Early Childhood Resources
http://www.isbe.net/earlychi/
This website is the place to go to find out exactly what is happening in the Early Childhood field in Illinois. It lists recent news, funding opportunities, state standards, best practices, training opportunities and Illinois expectations.

The Project Approach Website
http://www.projectapproach.org/
Anyone interested in implementing The Project Approach in their classroom should go to this sight. It has Project Approach guidelines, tips, sample projects, recent events, a resource section and an area where teachers can ask advice from others using The Project Approach.

The Illinois Early Learning Project
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/
The best thing about this site is that it has one page Tip Sheets that can be ordered or printed and then used as parent resources, staff resources, or just for personal use. The tip sheets are available on a myriad of topics relating to Early childhood and in multiple languages - plus, they're free! This sight is a great place to go for ideas, support or information.

Inspiration

2010-10-01T03:30:00.000-07:00
I have found the following quotes to be inspirational in both my life as a teacher and as a parent:

"I feel it is important to make a real contribution." - Louise Dermen Sparks

"Children need the tools to thrive/ survive in the public school system." - Louise Dermen Sparks

"Parents were involved and that made me want to be involved." - Sandy Escobide

"Of course children benefit from positive feedback. But praise and rewards are not the only methods of reinforcement. More emphasis should be place on appreciation—reinforcement related explicitly and directly to the content of the child's interest and efforts." - Lilian Katz

"Each of us must come to care about everyone else's children. We must recognize that the welfare of our children is intimately linked to the welfare of all other people's children. After all, when one of our children needs life-saving surgery, someone else's child will perform it. If one of our children is harmed by violence, someone else's child will be responsible for the violent act. The good life for our own children can be secured only if a good life is also secured for all other people's children." - Lilian Katz

"In the United States, it is now possible for a person eighteen years of age, female as well as male, to graduate from high school, college, or university without ever having cared for, or even held, a baby; without ever having comforted or assisted another human being who really needed help. . . . No society can long sustain itself unless its members have learned the sensitivities, motivations, and skills involved in assisting and caring for other human beings." - Urie Bronfenbrenner

"One of the most significant effects of age-segregation in our society has been the isolation of children from the world of work. Whereas in the past children not only saw what their parents did for a living but even shared substantially in the task, many children nowadays have only a vague notion of the nature of the parent's job, and have had little or no opportunity to observe the parent, or for that matter any other adult, when he is fully engaged in his work." - Urie Bronfenbrenner

"Children need people in order to become human.... It is primarily through observing, playing, and working with others older and younger than himself that a child discovers both what he can do and who he can become—that he develops both his ability and his identity.... Hence to relegate children to a world of their own is to deprive them of their humanity, and ourselves as well." - Urie Bronfenbrenner

"Development, it turns out, occurs through this process of progressively more complex exchange between a child and somebody else—especially somebody who's crazy about that child." - Urie Bronfenbrenner

Personal Childhood Web

2010-09-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

I was a very fortunate child in that I had a strong and loving support system. The five people who had the most impact on my development were my brother, my mother, my father, my grandmother and my grandfather. I think back on all of these relationships as positive, and have very happy memories of all these people during my childhood years. Additionally, I recognize the influence of these people on the adult I have become.

The first relationship I had, and the closest, was with my mother, JoAnne Yapp. When I think of my mother during my childhood, I think about all of the things she taught me, and how she was always there to help me with any problems I was having. My mother always spent time doing projects with me like cooking, crocheting or bike riding. She helped me until I could do things on my own. also, she helped me study and helped me to develop a sense of academic pride. My mother stayed home when my brother and I were young, only going back to school and then to work once we were school age. I am quite certain that it is because of my mother's influence that I became a teacher of young children. because she was always there when I was little, I wanted to be close to my children as well. Plus, she showed me what a big difference it makes for a child to have somebody who will spend time helping them understand the world.

While my father is a brilliant, hard working, man, when I think back to my childhood, the way I remember his is as a big playmate. my father was gone at work all day, but when he came home, he spent hours playing with my brother and me. He would let us climb on his back and ride him like a horse, or he would pretend to be a monster and chase us all over the house. He would have parties with us where we stayed up late, watching TV in sleeping bags and eating chips and drinking 7-up. He also took us on bike rides, camping trips, beach trips and hikes. My father instilled a sense of fun into me as well as a love of nature. It is because of fond memories of him that I play with my children, and take them camping and hiking and swimming.

I still see my parents several times a week, and am very blessed that they have a strong influence on my children's lives as well.

Another person who had a huge influence on my development was my brother, John. John is two years older than me, and was, therefore, always slightly better at things than I was. I looked up to my brother and strove to be like him, which made me work very hard on everything I did. In turn, my brother always encouraged me to do the things he enjoyed, and was patient and willing to help me improve. when I was seven, John was on swim team, and I, therefore, wanted to be a competitive swimmer as well. He welcomed me onto the team, and I continued to swim competitively throughout my childhood and teenage years. This positive experience with my brother did a lot to form the person I am, and taught me to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Having an older brother like John meant always having a confidante and supporter, and I now try to be that type of person to those in my life.

When I remember my grandmother, I think of tenderness and love. My grandmother was always kind, always caring, always soft, and always approving. She was always understanding, even when I screwed up, and she was never disapproving or angry. My grandmother was, however, very wise. She had a keen understanding of people and their motives, faith that even the worst situations would work themselves out, and the ability to give sound advice exactly when a person was ready to receive it. There were times in my life when I made very poor choices, and got myself into situations that seemed hopeless. My grandmother made me feel loved and worthwhile even when I did not love myself or live like I was worth anything. Her love and faith made me love myself enough to decide I deserved a good life, and made me feel I had the strength to create the life I envisioned. My grandmother taught me how important it is for a child to receive unconditional love.

When I think about all of the people who loved me when I was a child, the first person who comes to mind is my grandfather. I know, and always knew, that my grandfather loved me. He always did things to make me feel special. My grandfather passed away when I was ten, but I still have vivid memories of him. I remember when he took me on a special trip to see Fantasia at the movie theater. I remember how he would always hide money in my bedroom and pretend elves had left it for me. I remember how, even though he had to wear a surgical mask to protect his ailing lungs when it was cold, he took me for winter walks to see neighborhood Christmas displays. I also remember how he was funny, kind and good. When my grandfather died, I lost a piece of my heart, but to this day I still feel his presence in my life.

These people, as well as others, taught me how important it is to make a child feel special and lovable. I have gone through some difficult periods in my life, but throughout it all, I was anchored to a family. for this reason, I have overcome hard times, and have come to be a mother and a teacher who believes in making children feel important and worthwhile. Because of the people who helped to form me in my younger years, I have dedicated my life to helping form confident people.

My family exploring the world together

Are You My Mother?

2010-09-15T03:48:00.000-07:00
Today I read the book "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman to my five year old class. I chose this book for several reasons. The first is that is was a favorite of mine as a child, and I have probably read it over a thousand times. I like reading books that are familiar because then I can be much more dramatic.

Another reason I like this book is because it presents an issue that the children in my school must deal with every day. Namely, the sadness of longing for their parents who are away at work. In the book, when Mother Bird realizes that her egg is getting ready to hatch, she goes out to find some food for her baby; low and behold, the egg hatches while the mother bird is gone. The baby bird immediately misses his mother, and goes out looking for her. He goes on an adventure, meeting several animals and things that are not his mother, for whom he is fervently searching.

The children in my class were enthralled by my reading of this book. When the story reached it's climax, and the poor baby bird found himself lost, alone, scared and in terrible danger, one little girl right in front of me said "I think I'm going to cry," which made me think I was going to cry.

Joyfully, the baby bird was reunited with his mother, and all was well. Still, at the point of this happy conclusion, the same little girl said "I still think I'm going to cry," which brought a feeling of tenderness to my heart. That moment embodied all of the reasons I love teaching young children. My class and I all lived that story and we all loved that book and we all experienced it together.

As happens in preschool, the event concluded far too quickly. Once the book was over, there was no time to linger. We were already late for outside play, and there is a certain danger involved in not allowing a large group of preschoolers to have their full playground session. So, the moment ended, but the feeling held on. I am looking forward to another day of teaching.

The Writer

2010-09-11T06:40:00.000-07:00
I don't know, exactly, when David became a writer. Maybe he was born that way. I, however, didn't meet him until he was four years old. I do know that, by four, he was already a writer.
Don't get me wrong, he could neither read nor write by the age of four, but he had stories in his head, and he could dictate. Dictate is what he did - for hours and hours and hours.
At that time I was working as a nanny for the Pedigo family. David, as I said, was four, and his brother Jonathan was eight months old. My son, Steven, was eight months old as well, and I spent my days learning and growing with these three little boys.
I must admit that Steven and Jonathan learned early independence and developed a keen sense of mischief because much of my time was spent transcribing the stories that flowed out of young David's mind. I dare say that, at four, David was more prolific and more productive than Eliot, Hemingway or King. He had no distractions, no responsibilities, no burdens and no other focus. Every event in his life became a story, and he had a natural love for experiencing his words on paper.
So, for years, while Steven and Jonathan poured water into vents, peeled wallpaper off of walls, destroyed Lego masterpieces, and mixed potions in the toilet, David dictated and I recorded his words.
Those words were put into a file, and now, seventeen years later, they still exist. The words of four year old David did not dissipate into the wind, they exist, and always will exist, because David is a writer.

What I Learned

2009-06-15T11:14:00.000-07:00
Before taking this class I was a very strong believer in family being the most important influence on children's lives. Throughout the class, I really cultivated that belief. I have spent alot of time on the idea that education should beconcentrated on families - when it is too often used as a tool to separate children from their families.
Too often I hear educators making negative comments about families and listing reasons why they cannot better connect to families. Instead, the focus of education needs to be on families. If parents are involved - kids will be successful. This is the way to ensure school reform.
Going forward - my mission will be to educate and include the parents, grandparents, siblings etc. of children in my care. I am going on a basic belief that families love their children and want to be involved - but are, in many cases, left feeling powerless and unneeded when it comes to schooling. I believe parents should be made to feel empowered about their abilities to care for and educate their children - They should be made to feel that they are the most important factor in their children's success (because they are), and children should feel empowered to create partnerships with families rather than feel that they are on their own and solely accountable for childrens lack of success.
I believe that the first step in including families is meeting families where they are - in their homes. A couple of good guides for how to conduct home visits can be found at the following sites:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Guide_to_Home_Visits_44583_7.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin241.shtml - 46k

Let The Kid Be

2009-06-06T16:27:00.000-07:00
A parenting article published in the New York Times entitled "Let The Kid Be" (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/magazine/31wwln-lede-t.html?_r=2) was the impetus behind this blog. It listed trends in parenting across the centuries, the most recent being micro-managing kids time between soccer practice, violin lessons and tutors. I considered while reading this article that these parenting trends probably were aligned with educational trends (which one having the strongest influence, I don't know). Still, while parents have been mocro-managing, so have schools. Idle time, for the past century, has been considered something to avoid if we want college educated, successful children.

The Times article names a new parenting trend - one of letting kids be kids at their own pace - a non-chalance style of parenting where parents focus on their ownneeds and allow their children to pursue their interests at their own pace. I see this as a new trend emerging in schools as well. Clearly, the idea of filling every moment of a child's life with rote memorization is going out of style. Anti-micro-management talk is all the rage in educational sectors.

I, for one, am thrilled at this emergent style of raising children. I hate baseball practice and boy scout meetings - and I can finally admit that openly. I love letting my children play freely as children should - and I can admit that too without fear of negative feedback or judgement.

I hope this article is correct - because in a moment I am going to sit in the backyard with a glass of wine and a book while my children wrestle in the grass - and I wont have the pinge of guilt that they are maybe missing out on some important structured activity.

This article epitomizes why I hate baseball practice and cub scout meetings:
http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?contentid=484

Learning through play

2009-05-31T17:17:00.000-07:00
The other day I sat and watched for about 45 minutes while my 6 year old son took apart a pen, and then put it back together. His intense interest is what drew me to watch closely as he repeated this action. He sat and looked at all of the pieces closely and reassembled, then disassembled again. He then put the pen together without the spring, and tried to work it like that. It didn't work well, so he put it together with all of the pieces again. Eventually he discovered that by using the tip section of the pen, the spring, and the ink barrel, he could shoot the ink barrel across the room. He excitedly ran to tell his brothers about his discovery, and once they were all armed with pens - a new game began altogether.
All of this time he spent I would call play. In addition, none of the time was "structured play." nobody told him to try to figure out the pen, and nobody tried to lead him to his very awesome final discovery. However, he learned about the working parts of a pen (a simple machine), he learned about springs, and he learned about force applied and movement created. He was highly interested in this activity, and he was rewarded - not by stickers or grades - but by discovery.
Another recent incidence of learning through play involved my 12 year old son. We were at Morton Arboretum (a wonderful place for children http://www.mortonarb.org/) There is a river in the childrens garden with stoneds that children can use to change and block the flow of water. My son was trying to build a dam in front of a waterfall - which caused water to spray into the air like a fountain. He found this to be very exciting, and repeated his experament on another waterfall with the same result. He pointed out what he had done to anyone walking past. again - he learned about properties of water and probably some physics while playing.
So - what does it mean when we say that children learn through play? It means that if they are trusted and allowed to explore and play - they will learn. It can't be avoided. From the outside it may look like a waste of time - ar at times even dangerous - but children are wired to learn, so no matter what their experiences are - they are learning from those experiences.
I wonder how it would be if schools were like children's museums, and children were allowed to play and explore at their own pace. I imagine we would create a much more intelligent, interested, thoughtful group of students.

http://daycare.suite101.com/article.cfm/cognitive_learning_through_play

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/columncc/cc010309.html

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=591

Careful what you say

2009-05-25T16:22:00.000-07:00
There is not much I remember about kindergarten. I do not remember my teacher’s name. I do not remember the other children. I do not remember the classroom. I do not remember the activities or lessons of that first year in school. Within all of this haze, I have one very clear memory. It is a memory that seems trivial, and one that I am sure my teacher from that time has no reason to recollect. It is, however, something that has stuck with me for over 30 years.
We were, apparently, learning our addresses in class. Each student had been given a picture of a house, and we were instructed to write our house number by the door, and to color the house on the picture to look like the house that we lived in. I carefully wrote the numbers 1-9-6 next to the door on the picture, and triumphantly brought my paper to my teacher. She looked at the paper discerningly, and told me that I wasn’t yet finished. I was confused, so she told me that I needed to color the picture of the house. My answer to this was simple, “I live in a white house.”
I assume that my teacher had no other activities planned for the next fifteen minutes or so, because she told me to take the picture back to my seat and to “just color the house a different color.” I was dejected and confused, but I did what I was told. I sat, fighting back tears, and colored my house pink. But, in my five year old mind, and to this day, this was not a picture of my house.
As I said before, this memory has never left me. It has, however, been a lesson to me about how not to trivialize children’s ideas and feelings. Children feel deeply, and their ideas are strong – but it is easy, as an adult, to consider this unimportant.
I believe that, in order for children to become successful adults, they need to feel that they are worthy and capable. Self-esteem is more important to success than reading, writing or math. If a child feels they can learn and succeed, then they will. If they are made to feel that they are trivial and without ability – they will have very little chance of learning.
I work with preschool age children. The part of my job I view as being most important is listening to what the children have to say, enjoying their original thoughts and ideas, and praising the effort that they put forth. I do not want to cause any child in my care to hold onto a memory of being told that something they took pride in was not good enough.

http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/2425 - 52k

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/28/magazine/how-to-foster-self-esteem.html - 42k

The problem with standardized tests

2009-05-17T18:22:00.000-07:00
No matter what the purpose of the standardized test, the result seems to be teaching in a way that is unnatural and not condusive to the way that children learn. The website fairtest.org explains why this happens. The pressure to do well on standardized tests academizes childhood, from a very young age. As a result, the method that young children use to learn, play, is removed from their lives. Our attempt to ensure that children get the best score they can get is stealing their childhood.
I think that most teachers and parents who trust themselves and their children know whether or not the children are learning even without the standardized tests. why can't we trust the experts on children to say what the children are learning and to recognize when their are problems.
I guess everyone wants documentation, not just the assurance of a parent or teacher. One way of doing this is through portfolios. The website found at http://www.pgcps.org/~elc/portfolio.html explains how to begin using portfolios for assessment. By collecting samples of similar types of work throughout the school year, it is easy to demonstrate by comparison what skills have improved in individual children.

Morals as a part of schooling

2009-05-10T17:55:00.000-07:00
An article found at (http://www.freeinquiry.com/teaching-morals.html), entitled TEACHING MORALS AND VALUES IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: A HUMANIST PERSPECTIVE, discusses why morals should be taught in the public schools. While the article blatently states that teaching morals and religion are two different things, and that moral education is a matter of humanism, it still made me wonder how comfortable I would feel leaving the moral education of my children up to teachers whom I do not know personally, and whose values may be very different from my own.
I think that it is a commonly agreed upon lesson that it is "not o.k." for one person to hurt another person. In the preschool where I work, we tell the kids that it is not O.K. to hit, kick, bite or use hurtful words with the other children. Still, I also know that some of the teachers at my school "whoop" their own children as a form of discipline. While this is culturally acceptable for them, I wonder how much validity there is when one of those same teachers tells a child that it is not O.K. to hurt another child.
My point is, I think that adding moral education into schooling might be a trickier issue than it seems to be on the surface. We live in a society where different cultural and ethical practices are accepted. We live in a society where we are expected to be accepting of the practices of other cultures. But I don't think that that should extend to teaching children. I think that teaching of morals should still be the responsibility and right of the family. I can't quite wrap my mind around the idea of allowing the schools to decide what value systems should be taught to my children.
I have four sons. One thing that I know that I want them to be in adulthood is responsible fathers and husbands. This is a value that I make a conscious effort to instill into them. We live in a society where fatherhood and husbandhood are not always seen as priorities. We also live in a society where views on marriage differ widely. my views may not be the sme as the views of another. Is it O.K. to divorce when a couple no longer gets along? Is it O.K. for unwed couples to live together and have children? Is it O.K. to have same sex marriages? Is it O.K. for same sex couples to raise children? Is it O.K. to commit adultry? Is it O,K. for fathers to leave the financial and emotional burden of children to the mothers alone? Is it O.K. for women to decide to have children without the fathers consent? The questions, and combinations of answers to those questions go on and on. The biggest question for me, though, is: "Is it O.K. for school teachers to instill their opinions on this matter into my children?"
I realize that proponents of moral education in public schools are assuming a universal moral code that all humans should follow, but I don't think that all humans are yet to agree on what that moral code is or should be. We are yet to come to a consensus in our country, and are very far from coming to a consensus internationally. Until such a consensus exists, I feel that moral education does not have a place in public schools.

The website An Overview of Moral Development and Moral Education, located at (www.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/overview.html) discusses an assumed universal moral code that they say should be taught in school. I still contend that no universal moral code currently exists.

Nature Deficit Disorder

2009-05-04T04:26:00.000-07:00
I spent the weekend at my brothers house in Iowa City. My nephew James, who is in sixth grade, is very ecited because he will soon participate in outdoor education, an annual event at his school. The students spend the week at a summer camp for kids, and sll of their activities and lessons revolve around nature education. The sixth graders then spend one night in the cabins at the camp. I think that it is so wonderful that my nephews school values nature education, and so sad that our Illinois schools do not. Children in our schools are lucky if they even get recess, especially in sixth grade.
This made me think of a really important book called Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. In the book, Louv proclaims that between our digital age and fear, we have pulled our children away from the natural world, which will create disasterous and long lasting consequences. We can spend an entire semester teaching kids about the Amazon Rainforest, but without any real connection to nature, it is unlikely that today's students will actually care. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_deficit_disorder)
So, what can be done? It's simple. Take kids outside. Let them look under logs and find bugs. Encourage them to pick up worms. Let them get muddy. Let them jump in puddles and play in the rain. Turn off the tvs, computers and ipods. Dig in the dirt. Plant flowers. Let them climb trees. Catch fireflies. Take them to the woods, and let them run, climb, jump and explore. Why are teachers and parents so afraid of these things? If a child falls out of a tree and breaks his arm, isn't that a part of growing up? Is it better never to have climbed a tree at all?
A wonderful blog about helping children develop a bond with nature can be found at http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/tag/nature-defecit-disorder/. The importance of environmental education cannot be stressed enough. The future of our planet and of the human race depends on it.

Mandatory Schooling?

2009-04-25T07:25:00.000-07:00
I recently took an online mandated reporter training through DCFS (https://www.dcfstraining.org/manrep/index.jsp). Something that really struck me in this training was that DCFS considers "Not providing schooling, school supplies, or proper school clothing" to be neglect. In other words, a child not provided with schooling can be removed from their family. This disturbing idea led me to consider whether or not mandatory schooling is really what is best for all children.

There is a movement in the homeschooling community called unschooling (http://www.unschooling.com/). The contention is that children are more creative, better thinkers, and more intelligent if they receive no formal schooling whatsoever. Children will learn on their own at their own natural pace if they are free to do so. Unschoolers maintain that formal schooling is an unnatural experience that actually shuts down the child's drive to learn.

If you think about babies - they learn without being taught directly. They develop. They roll over, sit up, crawl, walk and talk simply due to exploration of their environment. The unschooling movement is based on the belief that this natural development will continue if it is not interrupted by school. The unschooling family provides their children with a rich environment, interesting experiences and the freedom to explore, question and discover.

One prime example of the unschooled mind is Leonardo Davinci. Commonly known as one of the most intelligent, creative, and intellectually advanced people in history - Davinci spent his childhood exploring the wilderness near his home.

The question is - is allowing children to learn in this natural way a form of neglect? Is direct instruction a necessary component of success in life? Are unschooled children being denied the key to intelligence? Or..... are schooled children being denied the freedom to be intelligent?

outside of school factors

2009-04-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

I am currently on vacation with my family (spring break is awesome). We are spending the week at starved rock state park in utica IL. http://www.starvedrocklodge.com/. So far, My three year old son, Marko, found a frog, which he tortured, but found very interesting. My six year old son, Milan, saw a great horned owl, and saw a few canyons, met some people, saw one piece of a raccoon tail, and saw a few cabins (his own words). My 11 year old son, Elijah, has seen an owl, a frog, a lot of canyons including a beautiful one called fox canyon. He has seen alot of water and had a lot of fun with his family, as well as a few trees he'd like to identify. (his own words). In addition, my 16 year old son, Steven, while looking cool and wearing sunglasses, climbed up the side of a sandstone formation to walk up to and feel a waterfall.

My question is, could my four sons have experienced these things if the proposed mandatory preschool and longer school days as well as school years had taken effect. I say "no". While we didn't go over phonics, sight words or basic math concepts on our trip - my children experieced and learned things they never could have learned outside of school.

A few weeks ago, in early spring, my kindergarten age son was allowed to play out side at school. However, the children had to stay on the blacktop, and were not allowed to touch the snow. I found this appaling. No wonder American citizens are so disconnected with nature.

Extended school days and school years mean that children spend more time in an institution - away from the natural world.

Granted, not all children have the same experiences that my children have. Still, I contend that children have a right to be exposed to their own families and their own families values.

The american school system is failing. So, what would be the purpose of forcing children to spend additional time in a failing system? Especially when there is so much to be learned outside of the classroom?

Today - I hiked for an hour, just so that I could stand behind a waterfall. I saw a wild turkey, a great blue heron, a great horned owl and a spring peeper. My son carried a worm in his hand for 45 minutes. My four sons climbed into a canyon to see a waterfall, hid in a cave, played in a canyon, and saw an owl in the middle of the day. What classroom can give us that? How can schools and government claim that they have more to offer?

I am currently looking out the window of my cabin. I see a fence, lights, grass, and an expanse of stars. Behind me, my two youngest sons are playing balloon volleyball. The world is at peace. I defy anyone to try and take this away from me. Schools may have some great experiences for my children - but I have something better. I would not be able to allow the schools to try my familuy, and the experiences of my family away from me.

Out-Of-School-Factors

2009-04-12T12:50:00.000-07:00
Reading the article "Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success" by David C Berliner (http://epicpolicy.org/publication/poverty-and-potential), made me consider more closely the many factors that cause children to do poorly in school, as well as the implications as to the lack of validity of No Child Left Behind when we consider these factors. The National Education Association promotes the ideas of Berliner on their website as well (http://www.nea.org/home/ns/31005.htm).

What Berliner contends in this article is that there are many factors in children's lives that impact their ability to perform well in schools, and many of these factors are beyond the control of the schools. Additionally, many of these factors are government controlled, and are aimed directly at low income families - furthering the achievement gap between low and high income students.

One of these is toxic waste. The five largest landfills in the country are all situated around low-income neighborhoods - raising the exposure of these children to toxins in the environment. This in turn, increases the rate of sickness among these children, which causes them to miss more days of school. Children from middle and upper class communities do not need to contend with this factor in their lives. Why is it that families without money or political power are forced to live in an unhealthy environment, while the haves are kept safe from pollutants?

The same is true of mercury and lead in the environment, as well as pesticides and smog. Children from low income families are not protected from environmental waste that the money making industries create - forcing poorer performance in school. It is not industry or government that get blamed for these unthinkable conditions for children, but the schools for their supposed lack of abiity to teach and raise test scores.

the government is holding schools accountable for conditions that the government themselves created.

The problem becomes compounded due to a lack of quality health insurance and health care for low income families. Not only are the children more prone to sickness due to their environment, they receive mediocre health care - if any health care - so they stay sick longer and are increasingly affected by illness. Still, besides talking about universal healthcare in The United States, nothing is done. Families that cannot afford to move away from landfills cannot likely afford co-pays or doctor's fees every time their children get sick.

A government that claims to be doing what is necessary to improve education needs to address all of the factors that affect student performance, not simply looking at the scores of some test.