Saturday, May 5, 2012

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources.

     I've attempted to contact two Early childhood professionals from other countries. I have contacted  Stephane Moudoute Bell from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and  Gerda Sula from Step by Step Albania.  So far I have not receive an initial response as of yet. I've chosen both the Global Alliance  Naeyc website and the UNICEF website. I chose them both because of their mission and their vision of supporting the developmental stages of early childhood. I haven't decide to choose two more professionals because of the interest I 've explored with the websites.  I will continue to contact and maybe change my techniques of how I contacted them and seek out other professionals for understanding the perspectives on some early childhood issues that could benefit me.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Relationship Reflection

Dealing with individuals whether it's personal or business, you have to understand that no one has the same characteristic and behavior may be different. At some point it may be terrifying because you're not sure as how you should take this individual and how they may react to what you have to say. In the education field some centers are filled with many women with different attitudes and behaviors and you can't expect for them to  have the same attitude everyday. It's hard but as an educator you focus on how you would approach them with the situation and also focus on your tone. Everyone can have a rough day at home or work.  Relationships/partnerships take alot of work such as building character, strengthing the qualities you all may have in common and also  how the two of you may relate to major issues and or solving situations with two heads. Honestly, you'll never know when you will need someone.   A few months ago, a former college classmate of mine and me began to bond again. We found out that we both had alot in common such as in a relationship sense and also partnership values in business. We have both discussed assisting each other in the business of our choice.  We keep our relationship in a positive manner by being upfront with each other.  If we disagree about an issue its okay. At least we know where we both stand.  Relationships are going to have there ups and downs it's just how you find alternatives  to make it better. I find it very comforting when a person is challenging, you can set the tone by agreeing and finding solutions to add to the ideas or advice that  is given.But it should be done in a set tone so no one is offended.  In the early childhood field, you have to deal with families the same way. Cultures are different as well as  their behavior.  As an educator , we have to understand that families can have a difficult day and they may enter the room with an attitude.  If you still keep your same pleasant tone then hopefully their attitude may change. It's all in how you set the tone.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

How Germany assess their Primary students.

In Germany, the students don't begin their education until they are between the ages of five and six. This is located within the public primary schools. They don't receive marks for their academic progress for two years. The parents are given a report on their child's behavior and ability within the class room environment. When they are at the age of seven they are then assessed.. Every piece of work, including tests and homework, is marked on a 40/60 per cent oral/ written basis. The marks go towards an annual school report. Wow that's unique.

References:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/our-children-tested-to-destruction-779790.html

Testing

Many individuals are tested on a daily basis. Everyone do not score well on exams.  Most children develop a stressful time when it comes to test taking. Some feel that if they don't score high on the test they will have to continue repeating the same grade. Their peers will tease them while others would may look at them as a failure.  What I don't understand is how the scholastic aptitude are distributed throughout nationwide and each school does not designate the same educational tools to assist the children in preparing for these exams. I know that each district or states do not have the upgrade versions of books and tools needed because of funding and resources but is it fair that each state or district have to deal with appitude test to succeed in their future goals.  Each individual is different and they don't learn the same. Everyone has different learning styles. In public schools with one class filled with 30 children and one teacher, what time would they have to do invidualization for students who want the help but just don't understand how to solve the problem?  We focus so much on the different developmental stages of a child's developmental level such as social, physical and initiative we don't see these particular objectives being used on a test of what they know about these dimensions.  While these objectives are not considered to be tested on, our children are still some times label as delayed or placed in certain classes. Most kids are better at writing what they have to say down and some are better verbal speaking. That doesn't mean they are no better then the other. We are all individuals with different techniques at learning.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Consequences of Stress in Child Development

Britain has the highest crime rate in  Europe and it is worst then the United States and South Africa States then South Africa. Many techniques that were used to solve the crime issue failed.But criminologists say crime figures can be affected by many factors, including different criminal justice systems and differences in how crime is reported and measured. Experts say there are a number of reasons why violence is soaring in the UK. These include Labour's decision to relax the licensing laws to allow round-the-clock opening, which has led to a rise in the number of serious assaults taking place in the early hours of the morning.  Mr. Johnson , Home Secrectary wants to set up a website to allow the public to see what is taking place in their neighbourhood, such as the number of louts who have been served with Asbos.
Mr Johnson is also known to support early intervention to stop children going off the rails.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196941/The-violent-country-Europe-Britain-worse-South-Africa-U-S.html

Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

I  know a lady that has four children and recently got married. The children deal with a lot of domestic violence because of lack of attention and jealousy on his part. The children are not his and he want all the attention on him. He insists that she have a baby for him that he can say is his and not another man's child. The children are present when these actions are taken place. Many days at school, the teachers deal with behavioral outburst from the siblings and constant anger. The children usually fight their friends for no apparent reason. It has gotten worst when two of the siblings began hitting and spitting at the teachers. The parent attempt to handle the situation by adding more high tone voice commands and stating what she's going to do to them when they get home. The teachers had major conferences with the parents but got no where and no support from the administration. She wanted some type of assistance but I think she didn't want to ask for help because she felt shame or embarrass.  Some times we as educators need to evaluate a situation and attempt to find some solution for the problem. Then again, a person have to want the help in order to receive it.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Child Development And Personal Health

Access to healthy water is important to me because that is one of the major resources that helps keep us alive. If we don't have healthy water then we can become ill let alone the way we obtain our food. It has to be clean. If the water isn't clean It could affect our health. In other countries such as in Senegal,  Poor sanitation, water and hygiene have many other serious repercussions.Inadequate access to safe water and sanitation services, coupled with poor hygiene practices, kills and sickens thousands of children every day, and leads to impoverishment and diminished opportunities for thousands more.Children – and particularly girls – are denied their right to education because  their schools lack private and decent sanitation facilities. Women are forced to spend large parts of their day fetching water.farmers and wage earners are less productive due to illness, health systems are overwhelmed and national economies suffer. UNICEF works in more than 90 countries around the world to improve water supplies and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, and to promote safe hygiene practices.  After learning about this issue. I'm thinking that we should be more appreciative of the water supply that we have and also attempting to maintain finding healthier ways to provide safe water for the future. I would like to find strategies or a present a major project on finding ways to provide safe water for our future leaders.


http://www.unicef.org/wash/