Week 8 When I Think of Child Development

I have enjoyed working with everyone and learning together about early childhood development and how as early childhood professionals we can make the experience so much better. Each member of our group has shown great love and affection for children in each post and the knowledge everyone has shared is without bounds.

As Herbert Hoover, 31^st U.S. president once quoted, “Children are our most valuable resource” (Compassion, n.d.). Since they are the most valuable resource, shouldn't we as early childhood professionals be that much more curious to always learn in an effort to help future generations develop skills needed to succeed in life?

I love the poem by Dorothy Law Nolte:

Children Learn What They Live

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. 
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight. 
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy. 
If a child learns to feel shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement he learns confidence
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate. 
He a child lives with fairness, he learns justice. 
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith. 
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself. 
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.

“Ms. Nolte was a parent educator, family counselor, and writer who first published the poem in 1954 (Price-Mitchell, 2013).”

Compassion. (n.d.). Famous Quotes About Children. Retrieved from

http://www.compassion.com/child-advocacy/find-your-voice/famous-quotes/

Price-Mitchell, M. (2013). Children Learn What They Live: Lessons from Dorothy Law Nolte.

Retrieved from http://www.rootsofaction.com/children-learn-what-they-live-lessons-from-dorothy-law-nolte/

Week 6 Testing for Intelligence Walden University

Assessments can be short-sighted. Yes, an assessment in school tests the child’s level of intelligence, but does it? For example, one assessment used is the IQ test. This test will determine a child’s aptitude intelligence. Longitudinal data has proven otherwise. Children change continuously so low aptitude intelligence may increase because of the child’s environment or inherited set of skills. Another assessment tool used is the achievement tests in school. The one major flaw is that the tests do not reflect the age of the child. Many tools are used to assess a child, but some of the problems are children learn differently, different personalities, the environment may not suit some children, and the stressors of taking the test, such as timed tests. (Berger, 2013)

Everyone has their own learning method. Some people learn visually – they must see it to comprehend it; auditory – must hear it to understand it or a combination. Some people need examples while others can read on their own and comprehend. Taking tests can have negative results because some people are great at tests, but others do not do well. For example, math definitely was not my strong learning subject until algebra was introduced, I struggled and did horrible at tests, but in this subject and statistics, I struggled but did better at comprehending. I like doing at your own pace classes because each individual can work at their own pace but not everyone does well with these classes.

I think personality has a lot to do with it also. Just as intelligence needs to be observed, so should the emotional aspect. For example, I am a perfectionist who strives to do well all the time. My organization skills are okay but multi-tasking seems to be a trait I have. The environment also needs to be assessed. A simple example is the environment of a testing area. Some people need it absolutely quiet with no distractions while others can cope or excel at nosy or distracting environments. Personally, I hate quiet and timed tests; they really stress me out because I am always assessing the time. Personally, most of the time, I do my work with children, music, and/or TV going. It is the best time for me in my schedule so I try to adapt. Some people with emotional problems cannot adapt. Being a perfectionist also has its upsides and downsides. Testing young children with a stranger also has negative consequences. I have seen a countless amount of Pre-K students do bad on their Kindergarten testing because it was someone they did not know. Budgets are very constricting but also very important for the school district.

The country I chose to research about child assessment was New Zealand. New Zealand does not have a requirement for assessment nor keeping assessments on file.  According to the Ministry of education, “informed by assessment, planning, and evaluation (documented and undocumented) that demonstrates an understanding of children’s learning, their interests, whanau [family] and life contexts (Blaiklock, 2013, par 10).” The curriculum, Te Wha-riki, for New Zealand was implemented in 1996. Since its inception, the curriculum has been highly praised due to the positive impact it has had on the early childhood program. The assessment currently in use is Learning Stories. Learning Stories are “narrative descriptions that teachers write to describe and interpret the learning that occurs in particular situations (Blaiklock, 2013, par 11).” The main problem with Learning Stories is that the assessment descriptions have not been defined correctly.  So, even though, the assessment is being used, not all the narratives are accurately defined for proper observations.

References

Berger, K.S. (2013). The Developing Person Through Childhood (6^th ed). Worth Publishing; New York, NY

Blaiklock, K. What are children learning in early childhood education in New Zealand? Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/australian_journal_of_early_childhood/ajec_index_abstracts/what-are-children-learning-in-early-childhood-education-in-new-zealand.html

Week 4 Stressers and How They Affect Children

When thinking of stressors, the first one that jumped out at me was chaos. I see chaos every day in a number of forms and for a number of reasons. I know several single moms who have four children. The children experience chaos every day. For example, all the moms have different people who are in and out of their lives while trying to have enough money to pay rent with a minimum wage job. All the moms are receiving WICK, food stamps, government housing and assistance with daycare. In order to continue to receive benefits the mothers must work at least 30 hours a week. With a 30 hour week job, the mothers are making too much to continue to receive benefits. This causes chaos because the mother is stressed; therefore, the children are stressed. Several of the children are exhibiting behavior issues because the children are being watched by a number of people, worry about money and food and are very insecure.

One of the stressers I have not experienced or seen in children are the ones who are changed because of war and being children soldiers. “Today, among the 87 war-torn countries in which data have been gathered, 300,000-500,000 children are involved with fighting forces as child soldiers (Harvard Public Health Review, n.d., p 1).” According to the assistant professor of child health and human rights, Department of Global Health and Population, Theresa Betancourt, “We need to devise lasting systems of care, instead of leaving behind a dust cloud that disappears when the humanitarian actor leave (p 4).”

In Betancourt’s studies, she has found that child soldiers were taken at a young age and taught to be killers. The child soldiers were mistreated and had no choice but to become a soldier. The girls that are with the soldiers, not voluntarily, were raped and had unwanted pregnancies. When the wars end, the children are left adrift with no one telling them what to do and returning to villages where they are seen as killers and unclean.  (Harvard Public Health Review, n.d.)

Betancourt and her team have started a pilot model known as the Youth Readiness Intervention. This program is monumental in helping children assimilate into their communities after being boy soldiers. According to Betancourt, she is providing a service for the country. “In the aftermath of chaotic civil wars, investments in psychosocial and mental health problems are typically phased out as the problem shifts to a postconflict and then a reconstruction phase (Harvard Public Health Review, p. 8).”

Harvard Public Health Review. (2011). Helping Former Child Soldiers Become Whole Again: Life After Death. Retrieved from http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/files/2013/01/review_fall_2011_child_soldiers.pdf

Week 2 Child Development and Public Health

I chose immunization because over the years I have heard the different arguments on whether or not the immunizations are safe. According to Berger, immunizations along with clean water and nourishing food have made a difference in the survival of young children. So, why do parents not want to safeguard their children's health by immunizing them?

I can understand some of the arguments and especially because of religious reasons, but I can still see where not getting the shots could hurt the child. Several years ago before the chicken pox vaccine was mandatory, I had a toddler who did not receive immunizations because of religion reasons. The child did not do well in our child care setting. We had a breakout of chicken pox and the child almost died. So, when the child was better, I asked the family to not bring him because of the risk to the child. In reading the text, the herd immunity was very interesting. If the chicken pox shot had been mandatory, I think the risk to the child would have been smaller because of herd immunity. According to Berger, people who are not immunized are covered by herd immunity if 90% of the population is immunized. The shots also protect individuals from serious complications, such as deafness, deformities, and sterility.

In China, the immunizations are similar to the United States immunization shots. The one difference is the vaccination for the Bird flu (Avian influenza A(H7N9). Since this virus was never seen in humans just birds, the outbreaks have made the vaccination mandatory and research to show how the flu is not spread by human to human contact but by dead birds. Fortunately, the United States has not had the breakouts so only those traveling to China will need the vaccine.

As far as my future work, I think the immunizations are crucial for less childhood diseases and the health of our children. I have never felt the immunizations should not be mandatory. As with the chicken pox shot, instead of entire classroom and the facility having it, I very seldom see any cases and the one I have seen were maybe a couple of sores. So, all in all the immunizations are working and I for one am glad because my two year old nephew will have a greater chance of not having it at all.

Berger K.S. (2012). The Developing Person Through Childhood (6th ed). Worth Publishing; New York, NY.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.an). Avian Influenza S(H7N9). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/

My Birthing Experience for Walden Week 1

My birthing experience. I have actually not had a personal birthing experience and I have not be in the hospital when my brother's and cousin's children were born. So, my experience is second hand. I know from the information given by my family, each birthing experience is different. For example, one of my cousins never had an epidural for her three children because she always had them early. According to her, it was the contractions starting and a baby appearing just in time to get to the hospital. My brother's most recent addition to our family could not decide if he wanted to come out or not. My sister-in-law had contractions on and off for about a week and the doctor finally decided to induce her labor. Of course my nephew came out perfect.

Working in a child care setting; I am around pregnant moms all the time. In my experience, the siblings usually have an adjustment period. Once the birth actually takes place and the baby is brought home, the siblings mostly really do not like the new "doll" in the house. Of course, this happens with every only child  because he or she has been the only one around. Now, with middle children it is different, most of my middle children actually could care less and seem to adjust much faster than an only child. For example, my brother has an older daughter from his first marriage and she turned seventeen when her half brother was born. To make it worse, the doctor was going to induce my sister in law on my niece's birthday. Of course, that did not sit well with my niece so the day was changed to the day after her birthday. The adjustment for her was the attention lavished on the baby. At first, he was new and she liked to hold him. Now that he is two, she really just greets him with a hug and kiss. The age difference did not seem to change sibling behavior because my nephew refuses to call his sister by her name. Whereas, the step brother who is four only had an issue with the baby because he did not want him to ever play with his toys. Of course, that never happened.

Talking about my family has me wondering about other births in other cultures. In Australia, the Aboriginal society has customs that are followed. Either the day before or the day of birth, the child is given a totem. Totems are a deciding factor in how the children's relationships are defined within the tribe and his or her societal standing. The various language groups within the Aboriginal society is one determinate of the totem as well. Therefore, for an Aboriginal child, the group he or she is born into will provide the child with a totem, kinship lore, and marriage requirements as well as societal behavior the child will follow.  The Aboriginal birthdays were not celebrated until recent years. Now, birthdays are celebrated the same as an Australian baby (Queensland Government, 2008).

Queensland Government. (2008). Birth ceremonies, totems and rites in Aboriginal Society. Retrieved from http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/approach/indigenous_res012_0804.pdf