Sharing Web Resources

I shared some of this information on last week's blog but it doesen't hurt to repeat good information.
The professional organization I chose was National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI).
NBCDI is celebrating 40 years of service to children and families.

The link for this organization can be found at http://nbcdi.org

The organization was conceived by the Black Women's Community Development Foundation whose concerns were that of the unsatisfactory conditions faced by families wanting to rear healthy children.
The mission of NBCDI is, "To improve and protect the quality of life for children of color and their families by giving every child a chance".
NBCDI has made tremendous strides in its efforts to improve the lives of children. The core program areas are:

• The Early Years and Parenting - Love to read, The Parent Empowerment Program, African American Parents Project and SPARK: Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids.
• The Middle Years - Entering the College Zone
• Community Mobilization - The National Affiliate Network

The International organization I chose was World Forum On Early Child Care and Education.  The link can be found at http://worldforumfoundation.org

The mission of the World Forum Foundation is to promote an on-going global exchange of
ideas on the delivery of quality services for young children in diverse settings.
One of the current issues that caught my attention while looking at the website is: Men in ECE.
 (MECE) provides a global meeting place for male and female early childhood professionals to reflect on the value of gender balance in early childhood education and the benefits and barriers to men’s full participation, and to identify actions to promote these important issues worldwide.
 Men are important in children's lives, especially young boys being raised by single females and so many times there are no positive male role models/mentors available in the place they spend many of their waking hours and that is school.  Having worked over 35 years in Early Childhood, I can count on one hand the number of males I've met working directly in the classroom with children under the age of 5 years old.  I find this initiative very interesting. 

I learned from these resources that, as Early Childhood Professionals, we must keep abreast of what is happening, not only locally, statewide and nationally but also internationally because it all impacts the children we serve.

Resources:

http://nbcdi.org

http://worldforumfoundation.org

 

 

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

I accessed the Global Alliance for the Education of Young Children and attempted to contact:
Step by Step Program/ Tipa Tipa in Haiti.

I chose that country because of the devastation it suffered with the earthquake and I am interested in the challenges faced by the Child care professionals and how, if possible they are adjusting, overcoming or dealing with them daily.  I was not able to contact them through the email address provided so I've written to the person to get another email address.  I hope I get a response.

I have quite a few friends from different countries in Africa and when we discuss children I often hear, " We don't do it like that in my country".  I am curious to connect with Child Care professionals in both Ghana and Nigeria to get their perspective on what is considered developmentally appropriate in those countries.

The Middle East is also an area that I would like to learn about.  With the wars going on I'm interested how it is affecting the development of the children in the region and how girls are being educated when it is prohibited.  I accessed the Unicef website for that information and I plan to return often for updates.

The professional organization I chose was National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI).
NBCDI is celebrating 40 years of service to children and families.
The organization was conceived by the Black Women's Community Development Foundation whose concerns were that of the unsatisfactory conditions faced by families wanting to rear healthy children.
The mission of NBCDI is, "To improve and protect the quality of life for children of color and their families by giving every child a chance".
NBCDI has made tremendous strides in its efforts to improve the lives of children.  The core program areas are: 

• The Early Years and Parenting - Love to read, The Parent Empowerment Program, African American Parents Project and SPARK:  Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids.
• The Middle Years - Entering the College Zone
• Community Mobilization - The National Affiliate Network 

I am joining this organization as a committment to my profession and the children I serve.  Membership in professional organizations helps us keep abreast of the issues and trends in the Early Childhood field.

My Supports

When I think about my supports I go first to my faith. I am totally committed to God and His Son Jesus Christ.  The dictionary gives the definitions of support as"To provide a basis for existence" "To hold up or serve as a foundation".  He is why I exist.  The foundation of who I am and why I do what I do comes from my faith.  I treat others as I want to be treated. My church supports me in the way I am respected for my leadership roles there.  As Director of Christian Education, I get support from our church district when I want to present activities to our children.  The Parents support me by entrusting me with their children. When my husband got laid-off from his job and our youngest daughter's college tuition was due, my church supported me financially.

My Mother, who is deceased, is still a support to me.  The advice she gave me about life, the example she set and the love she gave helped me become the woman I am today.  I still feel her presence when I'm going through difficult times and I hear her voice when I am trying to make difficult decisions. She was a natural supporter.  As a nurse, she helped others daily and for 48 years of my life she gave me balance.

The love of my life and a major player in supporting me, is my husband, Larry.  We've been married for 28 years.  He's been here for me through good and bad times. He is disabled now but his support is will always be valuable.  He is committed to God, to me and his family.  He is a good husband, father, grandfather, son, brother and support to those who know him .  Another definition of support is "To promote the interests or cause of, to uphold or defend as valid or right".  Larry does all that for me. When he was laid-off, he didn't hang his head and think"poor me".  He did odd jobs to keep us financially solvent.  He had to have both his knees and hips replaced which caused his disability but he is as active as he can be.  We have date nights every Friday, we go dancing, we take trips and we laugh and giggle like teenagers.  I can count on dinner being ready when I arrive home  from work.  He does the laundry and he is a support to his Mother who is in a wheelchair by going to prepare her lunch daily and running errands for her.  He is a wonderful provider, support and man.

 My daughters probably think I am more of a support to them than they are to me however, they support me more than they know.  When I am down, they lift my spirits.  When I am sick, they take care of me.  When I have difficulty with technology, they guide me through the maze. Add another definition to support and it is "assist and help". When I enrolled in school, they cheered me on.  When I complain about the work they encourage me.  They are also in school so the support moves back and forth constantly between us.  Lauren has a wonderful sense of humor and she keeps me laughing. She is a very loving and giving young woman who has Luke 12:48b tattooed on her back.  I was a little bothered by her getting a tattoo but I couldn't object to what it says and means.   Julia is technologically adept and I can call on her for most of my computer issues.  She seems to be in her element when one of the family is ill.  She takes over the care and does it well. She is a great mother to my Grandsons and a woman growing in her faith.  As a child, she was abandoned by her biological Mother but instead of bitterness she is supportive of her family.

 Polo supports me staying healthy. We play, he needs to walk, he wakes up, he needs a walk.  When I arrive home he's ready for a walk.  Everytime I open the door he thinks it's time for a walk.  It looks like I'm more of a support to him than he is to me, but I think of him as a support.

 My other supports are my job, which offers financial security and an added purpose to my life.  Spending time with the children  and knowing what I do daily to impact the lives of those children and thier families supports my calling in life.

My co-workers and those I network with in the Child Development field support my vision in the work we do for those who depend on us to provide quality care.  The support comes in various forms, such as supporting my professional development, being a sounding board for issues, backing issues through advocacy and supporting changes I ask them to do in their classrooms.

The benefits to having these supports in my life are they keep me grounded and focused.  I know that whatever I do, I won't be judged by them.  I have no fear when they are with me and/or when I am with them. 

The impact of losing any of these supports would vary in severity.  I thought when I lost my mother, my life would be over.  She gave birth to me, she nutured and guided me through life.  She taught me how to be a mother.  She also taught me how to stay strong and not give up when adversity hits you in the face and that is exactly what I felt happened with her death.  She taught me to stand strong.

The worst I can image is the worst I've already experienced and that was the death of my Mother.  Everything else pales in the face of that event. I cringe at the thought of losing any of my other familial supports but since the one support I have that will never leave me will always be part of my life, my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I know His support will help me through.  I just pray I never have to find out.  I have lost jobs I loved, and I survived.  I have lost friends, through, moving, disagreements and death, and I survived.  I have lost my health and I regained it through the support of family and the health professionals who supported me. All the supports in my life have value and I understand the need for each one of them.

I'll need support from others, when the loss and gain happens.  My friends, co-workers, other family members will be available for the emotional support I need.  I know this because they are here for me now.  I have surrounded myself with good, loving supportive people, who love me, want the best for me and support me.

 This is my daughter Julia, my grandsons, Jeffery, Casey and son-in-law Jeff.  I couldn't leave them out because they are also members of my "Support System".  A system that is defined as "A network of people, an individual with practical or emotional support". 
You have just met my "Support System" and may God continue to bless them all.


Reference:

Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/support%20system

My Connections with Play

Yeah, Daddy, Mama, Curty and I are on our way to the lake.  Daddy promised, last week that we were going and now we are on our way.  I remembered to bring Candy, my doll, because she likes to go everywhere with me.  Mama made sure to put some paper and crayons in our "work bag" as well as some puzzles to keep us occupied during our car trip to the lake.  My brother kept digging in the bag looking for  his little drum and his drumsticks.  He loves playing his instrument, but it hurts my ears.  Now we have to stop because Curty didn't use the bathroom before we left the house and he's wiggling and saying, "Mama, I've got to go". BOYS!!! I start drawing and coloring a picture of the lake to help the time go faster and say, "Daddy, are we there yet"?

                                                                                                                

 

We're here, we're here.  I know I'm only 5 but it seems like it took a long time to get here.  When I grow up, I'm going to drive fast so that I can get to places quickly.  Daddy is unpacking the car, Mama is helping us get out and she's telling Curty to wait to get his sailboat out of our "work bag" until we get to the water.  I wrap Candy up so she doesn't get cold and I whisper in her ear that we are going to have so much fun today.

Daddy opens the cooler and starts pulling the hot dogs and burgers we'll have for lunch out, to grill.  I ask Mama if she'll play with me but she says she has to help Daddy right now.  She says she will play later and to go play with Curty.  We have to play with our puzzles until Mama or Daddy can come to the water with us, so we pull them out and sit at the picnic table and start putting them together.  The puzzles were kind of hard because there are 4 puzzles and the pieces fell out into our bag. We have to figure out which piece goes with which puzzle.  Mama gave us hints, like, " That looks like a wheel, which puzzle has wheels?"  I had to think for a minute and then I remember the car puzzle.  Curty is really fast he found all the pieces to the bird puzzle and put it together.  It only had 3 pieces, the head, the body and the feet and Mama clapped her hands and told him he did a great job! 
When we finished all the puzzles, I dug out my sand bucket, shovel and rake.  Mama was ready to go to the water and my brother grabbed his sailboat.  We ran as fast as we could with Mama yelling, "slow down, I can't run that fast" all the while laughing.  I heard Daddy say that lunch would be ready in 45 minutes.  I hope that's a long time because the fun was just getting started.  I remembered that I left Candy on the table so I yelled back to Daddy to please take care of her.  He said," O.K. as long as she doesn't start crying for you",  I told him to give her a pacifier if she does.  He nodded and waved us on.  There were other children playing at the water's edge and I was happy there was another little girl to play with.  I walked up to her and said,"Hi, what's your name?"  she said,"Vicki, I'm 5"  I said,"I'm 5 too and my name is Stephanie".  She asked me what I wanted to play and I told her I wanted to search for pretty rocks.  She had a bucket but she had shells in it.  She said, "If you find a shell, give it to me and if I find a pretty rock, I'll give it to you".  I agreed and our hunt began.  While we were hunting for our treasures we talked about school and toys and books.  I showed Vicki the sore I had on my hand and she showed me the sore on her knee.  It was bigger than mine and still had a band-aid on it!  I made a mental note to ask Mama for one out of the first-aid kit when we go back for lunch.

 

Mama and Curty were playing with his sailboat in the water.  He said he was going to sail it to Europe.  The story we heard, last night before bed, was about sailing across the English Channel.  Curty asked Daddy while he was reading, where the English Channel was and Daddy told us in Europe.  Daddy whistled his special whistle to let us know lunch was ready.  I really hated to stop my hunt but I was feeling hungry and I really needed to get a band-aid on my hand.  I told Vicki, "bye" and we all headed back to the picnic table.  Candy was waiting there for me and Daddy said he didn't hear a peep out of her.  She is such a good baby.  I gave her a kiss.
We sat down for our lunch, blessed our food and ate it up.  Those hot dogs and hamburgers were so good.  When we finished, Mama gave me a band-aid and asked me if I was alright. I told her yes but I needed the band-aid.  My brother took his drum out and started marching around the table and beating the drum.  Daddy was tapping on the table and encouraging him to "march, march, march".  I was ready to go find Vicki so that we could hunt some more and to show her my band-aid.  When we returned to the water's edge Vicki was nowhere to be found, I was sad and didn't want to hunt anymore.  When it started getting dark, Daddy picked me up and said it was time for us to go home.  I laid my head on his shoulder and said O.K., I was a really tired.
  Curty, Candy and I sat in the back seat, Daddy and Mama loaded up the car and I heard Daddy say,' Friedrich Froebel was right when he said," a child who plays thoroughly and perseveringly, until physical fatigue forbids, will be a determined adult, capable of self sacrifice both for his own welfare and that of others" and our children played thoroughly, don't you think'? I didn't know what he mean't but it sounded good.  My Daddy is so smart. Mama likes poems and I drifted off as her quiet voice said, " Child, though I am meant to teach you much,what is it, in the end, except that together we are meant to be children of the same Father, and I must unlearn all the adult structure and the cumbering years and you must teach me to look at the earth and the heaven with your fresh wonder".  I thought, all in all this was a real fun day.

Refernces:

Arnold, J.C (2000) Endangered Rifton, NY: Plough Publishing

Play in the 21st century seems much more planned, as if part of a calendar of events for children.  Parents plan playdates for their children instead of the activity being spontaneous and natural.  I do feel it is different because children are not as safe as in time past.  There are people who want to harm children, in the worst way, so parents have to be extra cautious when allowing their children time to play.  My hope is that the dangers that keep children from truly playing will be alleviated so that childhood can be the fun adventure it was meant to be can be again.
Play has always been important to me.  It allowed for a release of energy and creativity that gave me joy.  It still does.  I play with my 1 and 2 year old nephews laughing at and with them during the time we are playing.  I play games with my family and friends and I really don't mind losing, although they don't know it.  I play with Polo, my dog and miss playing with him when he goes out of town with my daughter.  Play keeps me young and happy.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are paramount in a person's life.  We need other people in our lives to help us understand, cope, share it's ups and downs.  Relationships make it possible to view the world through different lenses. We need to be held touched, cared for and cared about and vice versa. That can only happen through  the relationships we form with others.The following people mean the world to me.

This is a picture of my daughter and my husband.  Life, for me, is so much better with them in it.  My husband, Larry, is a wonderful man.  We have been together 34 years.  We dated 6 years before we got married. We've been married 28 years.  I met him in January 1977, we went on our first date in February and on March 26, 1977, I suffered a stroke which paralyzed me on my right side.  I had only known him 3 months but he came to the hospital everyday, except one, due to his father being ill, to visit me from March until June!!! I knew then that anybody who would stay by your side at your lowest point was a keeper.  He had been in a marriage that ended badly and he was not anxious to remarry but I was patient.  I knew that with enough time and finally an ultimatime he'd come around to my way of thinking and on August 6, 1983 he did.    My daughter, Lauren, is the joy of my life.  When I gave birth to her,on March 13, 1986, I formed a relationship unlike any other I had ever known.  I'm not often at a loss for words, but only God can understand the love I have for my child.  It's unconditional, it's accepting, it's total.  I was only able to give birth to one child, but I have two children.

Julia, came in the package with my Husband and I love her too.  She had a hard time accepting me at first.  She was only 6 years old when her Daddy and I started dating.  He had custody of her and the sun rose and set on him for her.  She felt I was an interloper keeping her Mom and Dad from getting back together.  I took my time and allowed her to get to know me.  I showed her I could only add to her life, not take away from it.  She finally came around too,she is now 40years old, married and she blessed us with 2 super Grandsons, Casey and Jeffery (I would include their pictures but I don't have any recent ones of them).

This is my Pastor and his Wife.  He is not only my spiritual leader we are friends.  Knowing the both of them has helped me put who they are in proper perspective.  Many times, Pastors are placed on a pedestal and people think they can do no wrong.  My Pastor and especially his wife are "Down to Earth" people.  We go out together as couples, they come to our house for dinner, play dominoes and even partake in a little libations now and then.She is funny and he is fun and I love being around them.

These are some of the children at my church.  I am the Director of Christian Education at my church and I hold myself accountable to leading and guiding them in the way God expects.  I love being around their energy and the zest for life they all have.

This is Polo, my Westie.  He keeps me healthy because he has to have at least 2 mile long walks a day.  He makes me laugh with his antics and he accepts me no matter what I say or do.  He just loves me and I love him too.

The most important relationship I have is with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Without him there would be no meaning in the other relationships I have.  Knowing Him has taught me to be open to relationships.  Without Him, I would not have the child, I was told I could never have by doctors.  Without Him, showing me the man I would marry and giving me the patience to wait, I wouldn't be in a stable loving partnership.

The insights I've gained regarding challenges to developing and maintaining these relationships are that not all of them were easy to establish and it was harder than I thought to keep them viable.  It takes hard but rewarding work to keep relationships on an even keel and sometimes they waiver but they are worth the effort to keep them up.

The special characteristics of these relationships are they took time to develop, they have longevity, they mean as much to those in the relationships as they do to me and there would be a void in my life if any of them weren't there.

I know the difficulty in forming relationships and having continuity in them.  As an Early Childhood  professional I am cognizant that relationships have to be formed, for the survival of the children we all serve.  Parents need to form relationships with the caregivers of their children because they are leaving the most precious possession they have with them and a level of trust has to be established.  Caregivers need to form relationships with the Parents because they will be with the child most of the day and they have to know what is best for that child and Parents have that information.  When a Parent is asked questions and time is taken to get to know the family and address their needs, then a relationship that is hopefully mutually satisfying can happen.

Please listen to this song as a close to this post.  http://youtu.be/GhOap2Vldaw .

The Greatest Love of All

As this course ends, I am posting this song to remind myself that during my journey through this life, that God has so gloriously blessed me with, that my purpose is to make the lives of children as loving and rich with experiences that I can.

The Standardize Test Dilemma

When I was in elementary school, we had standardized testing 2 times a year, in the fall and in the spring.  As a child I was a little nervous and somewhat stressed but never like the children today.  I still had the opportunity to learn Geography.  My teachers would pretend we were going on a trip and we would have to find where we were going on a map of the United States or a World Map.  We would have competitions with each other and could win a globe.  Science gave us chances to do experiments.  English exposed us to writing poetry, spelling bees, studying great writers and their works, recitations and so much more.  Standardized testing has swelled and mutated, like a creature in one of those old horror movies, to the point that it now threatens to swallow our schools whole (Kohn,A. 2000).
From the moment school starts in the fall of the year, teachers teach to the test!  They are familiar with what will be on the test and they live in fear that if their students don't do well, their jobs may be in jeopardy.  I can remember attending a conference and Barbara Bowman, who help found the Erikson Institute, and who has had a great impact in the Chicago school system told a story about standardized test.  She said a group of inner-city children were shown a boy riding a bike down a street with saddlebags full of newspapers in them.
The same picture was shown to children who lived in the suburbs.  When these children were asked if the boy riding the bike was working or playing, the inner-city children said playing.  The suburban children said working.  The correct answer was working.  Why did the inner-city children say playing?  Many of them didn't have a bike and they didn't see newspapers being delivered in their neighborhood, so they didn't see the connections of the papers in the saddlebags.  So who gets hurt by these practices?  Students from low-income and minority group backgrounds are more likely to be retained in grade, placed in a lower track, or put in special or remedial programs when it is not necessary (Retrieved from http:fairtest.org/facts/howharm.htm).  As an Education Specialist for Head Start, I accompanied a group of children, who were transitioning into Kindergarten, on a field trip to the neighborhood school they would be attending in the fall.  The children were placed in the various Kindergarten classrooms and the Principal pulled all of the Head Start staff, there, into his office.  He then went into this speech about how we were not preparing the children for school. "They come here and they don't know how to read, they want to just get up without raising their hands, they just blurt out answers, all they want to do is play and that is not what they are here to do."  I had to speak up at that moment and inform him that as important as academics are, we help develop the whole child.  When a child can function well socially, emotionally, physically, and academically, then we can feel assured that the child will be successful.  These are the things that should be assessed and measured when looking at the whole child.  We empower the children, we give them choices, they know how to make friends and to speak up for themselves and what was wrong with that?  He did not have an answer but my heart sank because I could see that our children were going to be regimented and/or labeled because they didn't conform to "Big School".
Our children are tested to an extent that is unprecedented in our history and unparalled anywhere else in the world (Kohn, A. 2000).  Tests are given more frequently and they play a prominent role in schooling (Kohn,A. 2000).  Children are so hyped up for tests now they have anxiety attacks.  My Niece, who was an "A" student would lose sleep before each State test.  She could not test well and almost had a major breakdown her Senior year because if she didn't pass the test, she would not be able to graduate.  She passed it but many of her friends did not, could not march with their class and had to take the test during the summer and if they passed it that time, their diploma would be mailed to them.  How humiliating and dehumanizing.
When looking at stadardized testing in other countries,“For example, schools in England have only two or three core subjects in the curriculum, whereas in Finnish schools there is more of a broad focus that includes the social arts, based on the belief that the success of individuals is not solely achieved through the instruction of only math and sciences. The whole education system in Finland, from kindergarten to Grade 12, has no high-stakes external testing system,” (Retrieved from http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1843).  This only goes to tell us that Standardized-test scores often measure superficial thinking (Kohn, A. 2000).  So what, you may ask, is the dilemma?
The test may be biased, the families who can afford "test-prep" materials will have their children better prepared, the quality of instruction declines most for those who have the least, many educators are leaving the field because of what is being done to schools in the name of accountability and tougher standards, vitually all specialist condemn the practice of giving tests to children younger than 8 or 9 years old and norm-referenced tests were never intended to measure the quality of learning or teaching (Kohn, A. 2000).
I feel it is time that we take a hard and serious look at stadardized testing and move toward some type of reform throughout the United States so that school can be fun and enjoyable again for students and teachers.

References:

Kohn, A. 2000 Standardized Testing and Its Victims Education Week  Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/staiv.htm

Retrieved from http://fairtest.org/facts/howharm.htm

Retrieved from http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1843