Sunday, December 19, 2010

Two Notes of Thanks and Support for Colleagues

Maggie,
You brought many people's attention with the informaiton you provided about the horrible situation that was and is still going on in Haiti. You were a lucky child to have not grown up with the stressors in your childhood. Keep doing what you do everyday with the young children in your care, because rather you know it or not,you are making a difference in the lives of young children as well as adults.
Deborah,
I love the information you posted on the Assessment blog, children do have to be assessed regularly, so that the proper resources are available to meet their needs throughout the year. I love the story you shared about your ex-mother in law, it was very heart touching. You have alot of knowledge and wisdom to share not only with young children but adults, as well. Thanks for sharing and helping me to look at other aspects of young children as well as life.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

WK 8 Quote about children

Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children. Rosaleen Dickson.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Wk 6 Testing for Intelligence?

In my judgment, all children should be assessed or measured especially in a school setting. Without an assessment or some type of assessment tool, how can a childhood professional know the needs of the child or how can the needs of each child be met. Each child should be assesses at the beginning, in themiddle and the end of each school year, so that each child is able to receive the proper resources needed to meed their needs, especially if the child is in need of extra or special resources. All children should be provided the proper resources outside the classroom, jsut as well as inside the classroom. The regular teacher and the outside teacher and /or resources can and should work together to help each and every child reach his or her best potential.

I choose to look at Ugandan, due to the fact of having a child from that country in my classroom and I taught her brother two years ago. I found a study that was conducted on a cohort of 89 healthy children (45 females) aged 5 to 12 were follwed over 24 months and had cognitive tests measuring visual spatial processing memory, attention and spatial learning administered at a baseline, 6 months and 24 months. Nutritional status, child's education level, maternal education, socioeconomic status and quality of the home environment were also measured at baseline. A multivariate longitudinal model was then used to identity predictors of cognition over the 24 months.
RESULTS: A higher child's education level was assessed with better memory (p=0.03), attention (p=0.005) and spatial learning scores over the 24 months (p=0.05); higher nutrition scores predicted better visual spatial processing (p=0.0002) and spatial learning scores (p=0.0008) and a higher home environment score predicted a better memory score (p=0.03).
CONCLUSION: Cognition in Ugandan children is predicted by child's education, nutritional status and the home environment, community intervention to improve cognition may be effective if they target multiple socioeconomic variables.

References:
Bangirana,P., John C.C., Idro, R., Opoka, R.O., Byarugaba, J. et al. 2009. Socioeconomic: Predictors of Cognition in Ugandan Children. Implications for Community Interventions, PLoS ONE 4 (11): e7898. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0007898

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Wk 4 Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

     The stressor I chose for myself as a child is Violence.  As a child, I experienced violence in my home. My biological father was an alcholic and drug user. When my father was drinking or using drugs, which was very often he could and would be very violent, I would either hide in a closet or sneak out the back door and run across the street to my grandparents or aunts house. My father would physically, verbally and emotionally abuse my mother at any time of the day or night. My father would destroy our home, wake us up for no apparent reason and I was terrified to be with him from the time I was about 7 years old. The night that my mom said she had enough was the night that he drug her out of their bed, wanting her to cook him something to eat at about four in the morning and she fault back and he broke both of her jaws with the end of a shotgun and she had to be wired shut for about 12 weeks and finally pressed charges and had him arrested and she divorced him, but the scars were already there!
     I the way I survived was by having my grandparents and aunt living across the street from us, so when I wanted to get out I could run to either house and be safe no matter what, because my father knew not to mess with my grandparents. Both houses were available to me, no matter what time is was or what day of the week. My grandparents always had opened arms and their love was unconditional, that was my safety blanket.
     The ramifications that I had as I began to date was I always had a guard up and I didn't trust any male figure except my Paw-Paw and Uncle Craig, until I met my now husband. Once I realized that my now husband loved and respected me no matter what and I then learned how to be loved and respected. I was so afraid that I would go through what my mom went through and I didn't want to do that, at all. My husband is a hard working man, who drinks occasionally but after almost 22 years of being together, he has never yelled, disrespected me or our kids.
     I found an article about "A mother and her six month old child that is facing food and health insecurities inder bonded labor." This is happening in India, the Asian Human Rights Commission has recevied information that a mother and her six month child are currently living in the Balangir district of Orissa regularly migrated to Bangalore for the last two years to earn their daily food by working in a brick kiln. They did not have any resources to survive in the village. The mother lost her first daughter in 2008 due to the lack of medical care. She is currently faces a similar situation that may casue serious illness to her son and herself as the brick kiln owner allegedly does not provide adequate food and health care. (http://www.foodjustice.net/)
   The children will not develop properly if he is not given the proper nutrition. The child will not be physical condition to do the things that typical children do as he grows into a young child. Every child deserves to be provided the proper food, medical care and a chance to live a normal and happy live, however we all know that is not always possible. As an ealry childhood professional, there may be a child or family in our classroom or care that might going through the same issues that we read about on an everyday basis. We have to be aware of our surroundings and if we suspect that there may be special needs or special concerns, then these families or children should be referred to the proper resources.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Child Development and Public Health

I chose Mental Health of mothers, fathers and families in general. The topic is meaningful to me, because as an early childhood professional I never really know what type of issues that a child and his or her family may be dealing with. It is very important to me that I am made aware of changes or issues that a child may be going through, so that if I observe different behavior, I can hopefully help the child and family. I also know of someone very close to me that was diagnosed with depression at the age of 15 and it was very hard for the family, because this was a first for the family. No other family member had ever had problems or issues. However, without alot of communication and help from medical professionals, this person is on track and is doing well.

I found information at http://www.menshealthaustralia.net/. A study was conducted of nearly 87,000 families in Britain and it was found that 21% of fathers and 39% of mothers experienced a period of depression by the time their child was 12 years old. Depression is most common amomg parents of babies with 13% of mothers and 3% of fathers becoming depressed by the time their child reached its first birthday. Overall suicide rates 2005 were 16.4 per 100,000 males,4.3 per 100,000 females 1657 males committed suicide in 2005. Divorced men are three times likely to committ suicide then any other. Suicide rates are as follows highest for ages 30-34 and then ages 40-49. Men ages 30-34 had the highest individual suicide rate in 2005 at 27.5 suicide per 100,000 people. Married have the lowest suicide rate. Divorced and never married men have higher rates than married men.

I have learned that it is very important to be aware of the signs of depression and or suicide. It is very important to communicate with parents and care givers. It was also be very helpful for parents with teenagers to have resources available, just in case they have a teen in trouble or know of a teen in trouble.

Monday, November 1, 2010

EDUC 6160 WK1 Childbirth: In your life and around the world

I am writing about the birth of my first son, he will be 20 years old on Nov.10th. I didn't find about I was pregnant with him until I was about 14 1/2 weeks pregnant. I only gained 27 lbs, and I remained between the sizes 12-14 throughout the pregnancy. I was due on the 2nd of Nov., however on Friday the 9th of Nov. I was admitted into the hospital at 6:00a.m. and my labor was induced. I was in labor from 10:00 a.m. and Antonio was not delivered until 11:29 p.m. on Sat. Nov. 10th. Antonio weighed 9lbs and 14.3 ozs. and was 23 1/2 inches long.Now he is 6'9 and weighs about 190lbs or so, he is in Missouri on a basketball scholarship. I was giving an epidural, but because of my labor being so long, the epidural had woren off, so I had a natural birth. I remember asking, "Why is it taking so long and Can I push, please?" I also remember that one of my nurses had to stand on the side of the hospital bed and push down on my stomach to get Antonio to drop into position. Because it was an experience of a lifetime and no one could believe because of his weight at birth, how little I was and that I had only gained 27 lbs. My thoughts about birth and the impact on child development is that it is very important to find out as soon as possible if a woman is pregnat or not, because there could be so many complications and finding out early may help to prevent them. I also wanted to share this birth, because of his weight and length, we were supplied diapers and formula for the first year of his life, due to him breaking a record at the hospital.
I chose the country of Australia. Many births are done independently or with provatre mid-wives. There have been some publicly funded homebirth available for a small number of women for  many years. There is a policy that is being finalized to take mid-wives from public hospitals and place them in home births. The two reasons homebirth are chosen is: to avoid what they previously experienced or what might happen with hospital birth and/or to have their baby with care from jsut one or two midwives, who they trust and know. Other reasons for homebirths maybe: comfortable with home setting, less risk of infection for baby and mom, less risk of unnecessary episiotomy. If hospital transfer is needed, very low caesarean, and visits with midwives are more personal. There are no inductions or epidurals are available at home, other ways that are okay with moms maybe: use of water, showers, massages, aromatherapy and walking. Midwives carry oxygen, suction or bleeding prevention medicine. A midwive may stay up to four hours after the birth, will come back within 12 to 24 hours, will visit daily until mom is ready for less visits and will be released after moms six week postnatal visit. I learned that moms in Australia have a choice of rather having the baby at home or hospital, just like moms did many years ago. There are alot of differences, where with most deliveries moms are offered something for pain, where with these home births there are no inductions or epidurals. I think now, I would like to try a homebirth and that is just because of there being so many infections and diseases out in the world and I feel that a homebirth, would be more personal and would be a time for parents to enjoy that special moment. The mom would probably have more one on one time with her infant after a homebirth, if there were no complications.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

WEEK 7: Ideals from NAEYC and DEC

To be honest, it was very hard just to pick three of the ideals. I have learned that with working with children, families and others, we have to be flexible and willing to put differences aside.

DEC:
pg. 2: We shall build relationships with individual children and families while individualizing the curricula and learning environments to facilitate young children's development and learning.
pg. 3: We shall demonstrate our respect and concern for children, families, colleagues, and others with whom, we work, honoring their beliefs, values and customs, languages and culture.
pg. 3: We shall provide services and supports to children and families in a fair and equitable manner while respecting families, culture, race, language, socioeconomic status, marital status and sexual orientation.
NAEYC:
1-1.3: To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities and potential of each child.
1-2.2: To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.
1-4.5: To work to ensure that appropriate assessment systems, which include multiple sources of information are used for purposes that benefit children.

The significance of the Code of Ethics is for me to keep in mind that all children are equal but different and they each have different needs and it is my responsibility to provide the services or resources to do exactly that, to meet the needs of each individual. To do that, I must build strong relationships with families or caretakers, get everyone involved and provide each child with love, support and understanding.  But most of all, I have to respect each child for whom he or she is and prepare them for the future.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Resources for week 5

Video program: The Resources for Early Childhood.
Position Statements and Influential Practices:
Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. www.naeyc.org/file/naeyc/file/positions/dap
Where we stand on child abuse prevention.
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
Where we stand on school readiness.
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity.
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation:Building an effective,accountable system in programs for children through age 8.
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
Early childhood inclusion: A summary.
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
Infant-toddler policy agenda.
http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families.
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~images/pdfs/snapshots/snap33.pdf
Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being:

Article:Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

Websites:
World Forum Foundation. http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php
World Organization for Early Childhood Education.
http://www.omep.org.gu.se/English/about_OMEP/
Association for Childhood Educational International
http://acei.org/about/
Selected Early Childhood Organizations:
http://www.naeyc.org/                                  http://www.highscope.org/
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85               http://www.ccw.org/
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm    http://nieer.org/
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
http://www.childrensdefense.org/               http://www.nccanet.org/
http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm                  http://www.preknow.org/
http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/             http://www.erikson.edu/
http://www.voices.org/pages/
http://www.erikson.edu/

A-Z e-journals:
YC Young Children, Childhood, Journal of Child and Family,
Child Study Journal, Multicultural Education, Early Childhood Education Journal, Journal of Early Childhood Research, Internaltional Journal of Early Childhood, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Developmental Psychology,
Social Studies, Maternal & Child Health Journal and International Journal of Early Years Education

3 additional resources:
Book: Heaven on Earth, A handbook for parents of young children. author:Sharifa Oppenheimer
Quote: I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family he's rich. Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford, "Identity Crisis", M*A*S*H
Article:www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Week 4:Words of Inspiration and Motivation

From Video:
Louise Derman-Parks: "My passion is that all children are taught in environments and in ways that truly nurture their ability to grow and develop."
"The passion to create a safer and a more just world for all kids till I die or even after I die, I hope."
Raymond Hermandez: "It is what motivates me to want to wrok harder, to see how much more we can add to our program and how as an adminstrator, I can support my staff and what they do."

The two people I picked from the five sectors:
Lyndon B. Johnson Headstart: "Education is not the problem. Education is an opportunity."
"We must open the door os opportunity, but we must also equip our people to walk through those doors."
Lilian Katz, Ph.D.,Public Early Childhood Education: "Each of us must come 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."

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Personal Childhood Web

My mom, relationship rocky all my life. Taught me to be strong and to be a good mother to my 2 boys. It is very hard to describe the relationship, because there isn't one. It is very difficult. Picture taken when my adoptive father passed away in 1993, looks can be deceiving.
My Aunt Lane and Uncle Craig, they have loved me all my life. Went on dates with them when I was little. Great relationship, always included me in every way. While dating my uncle would bring me French fries from McDonald's. Even though I am grown with my own kids, I am still treated like their very own and they have 2 grown children w/ grandkids. Taken in 2005.
My Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw, very loving and that is all I knew from both of them, always supportive and I never wanted to leave their home. Lost both in 1991, Paw-Paw in July and Maw-Maw in September. Maw-Maw carried for me as an infant, I had Rickettes, a bone deficiency. Maw-Maw taught me how to cook and how to take care of myself. I still have fond memories of the both of them. When I graduated from Mercer, my Aunt Lane gave me , my Maw-Maw's anniversary ring that my Paw-Paw gave to her between 1975 & 1980. I was five years old in this picture.

Monday, September 13, 2010

My Favorite Book

"I am a Can Do Kid".
Written by: David Plummer and John Archambault
Illustrated by: Liisa Guida.

I have the big book, this book as children of multicultural diversity and the book states that each child can do anything, if they just try. I love it!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

MY FAVORITE QUOTE

"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure."   Emma Goldman, author

Thursday, September 9, 2010

My Blog

This my new blog, I hope this will be fun, since I have never done anything like this before.  I am looking forward to gaining information and resources that will help me to help the children in my care.