Week 8

There are many insights that I have gained from this course. Mostly, I know more about research now.  Before I was not certain what my role in research could be, but now I am aware that I could very well play an active role in research.  I had the idea that there were only certain types of people who conducted research, but my ideas have changed about how I could actually do research with my ideas that I have.


I have learned that thinking of an idea for a research project is one easiest part and the designing and conducting it take a lot more consideration.  There are several parts to a study and it is a lot more complicated than it looks and you better take the time to ensure that a research project is valid and ethical. 


Writing the research simulaiton was a big challenge for me, mostly because I did not have an example to go off of.  I kept wanting to see what would happen if I actually conducted this research and not just write about it.  It was hard for me to visualize.  I overcame this by looking at examples in the book and keep thinking about how I would like to complete the research.  It was still difficult for me, but I was able to complete the assignment. 


My perception of early childhood educators has modified because of this class.  I can say that early childhood researchers have a tricky job.  Not only do they want the best for children but they have the navigate the world of research in order to give the best to children (or at least I hope they do). 

Week 5

I was very impressed with the ECDVU (Early Childhood Development Virtual University).  The Mission of the ECDVU Sub-Saharan Africa is "To further develop African ECD leadership capacity as a key strategy in support of child, family and community well-being and broader social and economic development."

 Some of the topics being studied by the students include involving fathers in the early years, school and parent collaboration and development of curriculum with community resources.  All of these topics are ones that are found internationally, though they might have a focus on the specific country they were written in, such as, Kenya or Eritrea.  We find that educators everywhere are trying to engage parents and develop curriculum based on what they have in their community. 

I found this program pretty exciting. This program is fully accredited and are part of the School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C., Canada. Participants are often recommended for the program. I looked through several of the students major projects and they were very big projects.

I also took a look at the World Bank External Report of the the ECDVU program.  It was very impressive that the ECDVU has a retention rate of 90% and when compared to the rest of Africa is very high when it comes to virtual schools.  It also was compared to the University of Phoenix which has a retention rate of 64%.  Obviously, they are doing something right! I highly recommend looking at the report.  
http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php
http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php

Positive Research- Week 3

Twelve years ago a close family friend was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.  When he was diagnosed he was given 6 months to 2 years to live.  He was part of a study that was testing out a new medications to hopefully help with some of the symptoms of ALS.  Well, 12 years later he is still alive.  He is in a wheelchair and can no longer make intelligible speech, but his mind is fully functioning and worked up until about 2 years ago from home.  He gets to watch his kids grow up and they still go to Disneyland and the Rodeo every year.  It may not be about kids, but it is a positive one and has been very positive for his family.  He does not know if he was given the actual medication or the placebo pill, the research is still being carried out. 

I also know a family who has been involved through the University of Washington in a sibling study about the effects of Autism on sibling groups.  They feel that this has been very successful because they are provided with a lot support from the University research team.  This family has two children with Autism.  The family feels a lot of the questions they have had about why both their children have Autism have been answered.  This study will continue for a long time, but they like the support they are getting. 

Week 2- Personal Research Journey

The chosen topic for the simulation is inclusion programs in primary grades in elementary school (inclusion meaning that both general and special education students are served in the same classroom).  My three sub-topics that I chose were:

1) why preschool is inclusive? How does it work? And why it works?

2) differences between early childhood teacher certification and kindergarten through 12th grade general education certification. 

3)   design of early childhood programs verse the design of kindergarten through 12th grade programs and how that affects children with disabilities.  

As for what I know so far, is that I need to dive into my research.  I am unsure about what information I will find or if I will find the "right" information regarding to inclusion in primary grade. Although information regarding inclusion is abundant! I do know of friends who work in other school districts that currently are using an inclusion model and it is working.  I plan on talking with them, my principal and contacting other schools that may or may not have inclusion programs.  

I am interested in how other teachers feel about inclusion, what works, what does not, etc.  I do not feel inclusion is for every child, but I do feel it is important to consider for each child (even though it might not work).   I am an inclusion teacher for primary grades, I support general education teachers in including all of our students.  It is important for me because I love when I see inclusion working (not that it always does).  I want to find out more information on what other programs and districts do. 

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Week 8- Issues and Trends: Change, Contexts, Consequences, and Constraints Revisited

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field:
1) Programs and practices- discovering about other countries run their programs can help us, in the United States, evaluate our programs.  It can help with changing and implementing new ideas and it can allow us to see where we have done a good job.  
2) Policy making- other countries that might have good policies for early childhood we can model our policies after it or we can know what we do not want to do.
3) Greater understanding- it is good to learn about other countries early childhood education programs because it allows all people a greater understanding of education.  We are able to examine similarities and differences and be problem solvers together.  Therefore, there is a greater chance of spreading quality early childhood education to all. 


My goal is to keep up with communication for early childhood educators.  I hope that through communication we can help more children that has ever been reached before.  I hope that through education not only for children but their families that we can begin to build a stronger voice for children who are experiencing adversity. 

Week 7- International Contact

I did recieve a bit on information from a friend who is living in Japan working at an international school. Here are two conversations we had, first I asked:

Okay, this week we are studying poverty. What do you see in the country you are in? And what do you see in your professional workplace?

Also, how does Japan value education and more specifically early childhood education (ages birth to 9)? If you know... for example are their many daycare or preschools/kindergartens, do you know if they are private or public (tuition based)?

How are young children valued in Japan? Do you see different classes or gender differences?


"- In our FIS (Fukuoka Internation School) community most of the families are wealthy. It is about 15,000$ a year per student. A lot of important families in the city have the students come here. In the workplace the school provides us withing a housing allowance, along with daily stipends such as transportation. This allows all the teachers to live a similar lifestyle.
- Our community values early childhood education, but i don't believe the culture does. our prek and k classes tend to be our biggest ones because there is no public k or prek. They do have nursery school, but it isn't very academic centered. Once the student gets to first grade about half will transfer to Japanese schools.
- Children are highly valued here. There are a lot of stay at home moms or dads. The students typically go to school until 6pm or so. The parents really value there child's education. I don't really see different classes or gender differences in our community."




I thought that it was interesting her comments that in the international community early childhood education is valued but in the culture it is not. 



I also asked her this weeks questions...

* What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work? What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

"In my contract I get a stipend for professional development. We are becoming a IB (International Baccalaureate) school so there are some training's we need to take. These are most often in different countries so it is expensive to go to these. That being said I think that there is much less professional development in international schools. It felt like last year I could go to tons of training's and such, but I'm lucky if i get to go to one this year." (Last year my professional contact taught in the United States)

* What are some of your professional goals?
"My professional goals for this year are creating kindergarten benchmarks that align with our school standards. I am also working on assessments that align with the benchmarks. Lastly, we are creating our 6 PYP (Primary Year Programing) unit maps."

* What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?
"Something that is still a challenge to me is my age. This year I feel like i had to start over proving to the staff that I deserve to be at this school. My hopes are to stay at this school long enough to help the school grow. There is a lot of work to be done to get them up to par with US schools. I also hope to stay here long enough to get a good recommendation and get a new job at an international school in Germany."
 
Like Alex, a challenge of mine is my age.  I am young, I know it, but I am very dedicated to the profession of education.  Sometimes I sit in meetings and everyone parents, my team members are 20 years older than me. I have had some parents flat out ask me "How long have you been teaching?, I also tell them this is my 3rd year teaching, but I have been working with children with special needs since I was little.  Luckily, I have created some amazing relationships! :)  I thought it was interesting that Alex mentioned this because when I taught in China, it was the opposite.  In China they valued that I was a young teacher.

Sharing web resources- week 6

I followed a link that was called The Early Head Start National Resource Center.  The first topic I noticed was about infants and toddlers and biting.  My students are not infants and toddlers but I have three biters.  This particular area took me to an online lesson that provided information regarding biting and what to do about it.   

The newsletter I received this week,  from zero to three,  focused on little kids and big questions and gave a link to online parenting podcasts. I decided to listen to one about the influence of media on young children.  I struggle with the amount of TV or computer time children are exposed to.  Ellen Wartella talks about that there is educational media and that babies are engaged with media.  She stresses how you can pick media that is appropriate for all age groups and how to be cautious about selecting media. 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/zttpodcastseries/podcast/Ellen%20Wartella%20FINAL.mp3?s_src=podcast&s_subsrc=media 

New insights that I learned from the newsletter is that zero to three has made a contract with the National Center on Professional Development Systems and Workforce Initiatives.  Their goal is to help develop comprehensive professional development system. I think this falls into place with equity and excellence because early childhood programs that use zero to three may look to this as an important part of the staff development of early childhood educators.





 

Part 2... Podcast and Harvard's "Global Children's Initiative"

After looking over several podcast from the World Forum website I came across TJ Skalski, who the principal of the Mother Earth's Children's Charter School in Alberta, Canada, which is the only Charter school that has a focus on the indigenous people. It was interesting to listen to her speak about how the MECCS has evolved over the last several years.  When Skalski became principal she was the 5th one who had come in 5 years.  She discusses that when she arrived that children were missing strong work ethic, they were damaged, wounded, hungry, depressed and were feeling like they had no worth.  Her goal was to give them hope, build their dreams and inspire them to do something with their lives. 

Skalski, T. (Performer). (2010, April 16). Tj skalski [Audio podcast]. World Forum Radio. Retrieved from http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/current-work/world-forum-radio


Reviewing the "Global Children's Initiative Fact Sheet" was very interesting.  Three insights:
1) Mental health is under-addressed.  There are significant implications for the broader heath and development of children and societies urgent need to identify how big this issue really is getting.  Their goal is to identify the problem and develop appropriate ways to meet the needs of children and their diverse cultures they come from.
2) Another goal of the "Global Children's Initiative" is to use science-based and a developmental perspective to work with children who are in crisis and conflict situations. 
3) Lastly, there is a push to educate people in leadership positions internationally about the investments of the earliest years in life.

Global children's initiative. (2011). Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/

Looking a little deeper... zero to three

•  A specific section that really has stuck out for me is the mental health section under the behavior and development tab.  Currently, I have three students who are currently under evaluation for mental health issues.  It is something that I have not dealt with and I am trying to do my best to help them through their day.  It has proven to be challenging to help them each individually and to use strategies that are very beneficial for them.  They are all very different children, but they share the same common characteristic of violent outburst.  I would highly recommend looking through some of the articles. 

I read an article from the website called, getting ready for school begins at birth. The article gives great ideas on what to do with your child, but it does use the term "school readiness." I have grown not to love this term because all kids are ready for school, they may not have certain skill sets, but will be coming to school regardless if they are ready.  To me, the term feels like you have to be 'ready' in order to attend school.  However, besides the term the article offers great ideas for parents, one that would be very beneficial to handout to parents to help in all academic areas and social/emotional development.   I wonder if a different terminology would be more appropriate?

I searched for neuroscience on the website and I was linked to a podcast called, Early childhood development and public policy: closing the gap between what we know and what we do.  It talked about closing the achievement gap here in America and how research as proven time and time again that a early start helps children who at risk tremendously in the future. This issue I think is really important when we are considering issues and trends in early childhood.  We see it all the time the achievement gap when children are in elementary school and we see children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds being referred to special education services.  This falls into education reform and working from the bottom up, instead like Dr. Grace mentions this week working from the top down.  We must start with our youngest learners!

Link to podcast  

Professional Contact... slow to respond, going with podcast

Since I last posted I have established 3 professional contacts.  They agreed to work with me and answer questions, however I have yet to hear back from them after are initial e-mail.  So with that being said, I am on to the podcasts.

I went to World Forum Radio and clicked on the most resent podcast which was dated 2/10/11.  I am glad that I clicked on it because I was immediately hooked.  Susan Lyon, the speaker of this particular podcast, got her start in the education world while working with children with special needs.  She told a story of working with a little boy who was trying to read the word "city" and once she told him what it was he said "such a small word for such a big place."  This was her "ah-ha" moment, she was able to see the window to children's mind and wanted to learn more about how they see/understand the world.  She became interested in the Reggio Emilia approach, as she thought it was progressives.  She was so inspired that she started the Innovated Teacher Project (http://www.innovativeteacherproject.org/) in San Francisco. She wanted to see quality work happen in the public sector. The Reggio Emilia Approach was the foundation of pilot project for the San Francisco Unified School District.  There was a focus on the Reggio approach as well as professional development and teacher research. Teachers spent time observing and listening to children and documenting their work.  It was not just teacher collaboration but community collaboration that made it such a success.

I enjoy finding out new organization that have found success in what they have sought out to do.  It is uplifting to see that our thoughts and ideas can happen. 

www.innovativeteacherproject.org

Zero to Three

I chose to look at the nonprofit organization Zero to Three because I wanted to learn more about the organization. Also, because I am a high needs special education teacher for kindergarten and first grade, about have my students cognitively are at a 9 month-3 years age range.  I feel like this website might give me more insight to brain development and more developmentally appropriate activities for some of my students.

http://www.zerotothree.org/

Zero to Three strives to promote healthy development for infants and toddlers.  Their mission is to provide parents, policymakers and professionals with the training and support they need to help improve the lives of our youngest learners.

Check out the video on the front page of the website.  One person in the video I would like to highlight is Richard Atlas, the founder of Atlas Family Foundation.  He use to be a partner for Goldman Sachs and states, "... it became very evident and very early on that the highest return in investment is investing in very young children."  It was nice to see that a non-educational person it is able to see the value in our youngest children. 

One issue/trend that is being promoted was the how important play is to a child's development.  The website provides parents with information on how to play with their child and why play is so important.  http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/play/make-the-most-of-playtime.html

Another highlight of the website is the download of the week.  It offers something educators could give to parents or educators can use for themselves. This week is healthy food development.  It is on the right hand side of the main page. 

Looking abroad... finding a professional contact

Finding a professional contact in another country seems to be more difficult than I thought.  I have e-mailed over 10 people with different organizations and counties.  I used the Global Alliance and UNICEF websites.  I have not made any contacts yet, but feel I might be able to find something in a week or two.  Dr. Dartt also gave me some names of other contacts I might be able to make.  I have also e-mailed professors from my undergraduate degree to see if they might be able to lead me in a certain direction.


I really like the idea of this assignment and I hope that I am able to make some contacts to learn more about early childhood in other countries and more specifically special education.  When I was in my undergraduate I worked with a professor to learn more about special education preschool services in India.  I choose other Asian countries so that I could try and compare. 

I will be looking at the zero to three organization.  I picked this organization because I have used it before and after talking with my mother, who is a birth to five pre-school coordinator, she recommended that I could get a lot out of this site.

http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/

My Supports

Since I am on summer break and only teaching extended school year two days a week my supports look a little different.  My alarm clock is less fequently used (and that makes me happy) and I use my car less, which are huge supports during the school year. 

My biggest support each day is my boyfriend and dog.  My boyfriend, Blake, provides me with the emotional support that I need each and every day.  He always has is listening ears and is willing to listen to my venting while I try and figure out what to do at school or how to handle a particular behavior.  I know that he doesn't understand everything that I talk about, but he does pretend rather well.  My other daily support is my dog, he is my unconditional love and even when I feel lonely I have him and I can always walk with him or take him to the park, which gives me something to do. 

Other supports that I need are a computer (with internet), my phone so I can talk with family and friends.  I also use lists to make sure I accomplish everything I need to get done. I also write all the directions down for our class because it helps me understand the questions being asked better (even though it is time consuming). 

If I didn't have these things I think that I would be lonely with out my boys and it would be vary hard to complete a online graduate degree without a computer and internet.  I would have to reevaluate how I would get my masters.

Hypothetical situation:
My computer broke during my graduate program.  My computer is my lifeline to my graduate classes and if it broke I would have to get very creative.  It would be difficult to feel like I could exist without a computer to complete all my school work (but I do know that I would be just fine).  If it did break other supports would come into place, I would use the public library more frequently and probably stay at work longer to work on school work. I would be a benefit to have each of these supports. The obstacles would be I would have to budget my time better, especially in the school year.  It would be more inconvenient but manageable.

My Connections to Play

"Play is training for the unexpected."

Marc Bekoff
Contemporary American biologist

"When children pretend, they’re using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero."

Fred Rogers
American children’s television host
1928–2003

My beloved American girl doll.  I was 8 when I got her for Christmas.  Yes, I cried.  I was so excited.

 

 

Seems so simple a street.  Though this is not the exact street I learned to play on it gives you a good idea of the starting off point for our imaginations.  My best friend and I used a street similar to this one as a starting off point for many imaginative games.    We play lifeguards, runaway princesses, shot HGTV TV shows and pretended it was a house for our American girl dolls. 

Play was a huge part of my childhood.  I like to think of myself as a master of imagination.  My friends and I created stories that lasted years and we always preferred to be outside pretending (please note that I lived in one of the rainiest cities in Washington State, but we could of cared less).

My mom was a big supporter of play.  We had to play outside.  There was no choice about it.  We played in the yard, in trees, next door neighbors yards, in the forest and on the front steps.  

I feel that play is very different from even 10 years ago.  I feel that children are kept inside for safety reasons and they prefer the TV or computer.  I can remember my mom saying that I had to be outside for certain amount of time during the day.  Most the time she would say you have to find something to do and I can remember grumbling about it but I would always find something and then I would end up staying out for longer periods of time. We always had TV when I was growing up but it was very limited when we were allowed to watch it.  I am trying to think of my earliest memory watching TV.  I can remember periodically watching Sesame Street but I don't remember watching TV until I was about 8 or 9.  I have observed on several occasions parents using TV or the computer as a babysitter.  I see children obsessed with TV shows at an early age.  My niece is two and she could say "wiggles" by 18months.  It makes me sad, that children are literally becoming obsessed with TV and computers.  I think that it is parents role to monitor how much of TV or computer a child is using.  It is important as educators and parents to help children understand how fun play is and what we can use to make our world playful.  Children are often content collecting pine cones or sand dollars or flowers.  It can be fun to use kitchen utensils and nuts and bolts.  My hope is that parents and educators realize how much they used play is their everyday life growing up and how they turned out to be intelligent people.  

Relationships

Relationships are one of the most important aspects of my life.  I am never without someone, someone to share excitement, love, sadness and knowledge.  Relationships are so important to me because it encompasses everything that I do from my personal life to my school life I am always building relationships. 

There are many people whom I have built strong relationships with, some live close and some are animals. :)

My mother and father is my strongest relationship.  I adore my parents, both were special education teachers and therefore we have a lot to talk about.  My parents are my biggest supporters, but are also my biggest resource.  Our relationship is positive because of the love and mutual respect that we have for one another.  We maintain our relationship by talking continuously and finding time to spend with one another.  For example, I talk a lot with my Mom about the field of early childhood because she knows so much and it is a common interest. Also, I might go house shopping with my Dad because he loves it and enjoys spending time with me in that way.

Other important relationships to me are some of my best friends that I have developed over the years.  I still have friends from first grade.  We grew up together.  Some of us went to college together and some of us did not, but through it all we have remained friends.  I have one friend who lives in New York City (opposite side of the country from where I live) and we maintain our relationship by talking at least monthly (and hopefully I can go visit her this next year).  Other friends live closer to me and we try to see each other every month or so.  It can be very hard to get people together.  Sometimes peoples work schedules can be tricky but the important thing is that it can be done, you can make time. 

My relationship with my work colleagues is very important.  I teach children who have significant needs and the special education team that I work with would not work well if we did not have a positive relationship.  I work very closely with my Psychologist, Speech Language Pathologist and Occupational therapist.  We have bi-weekly meetings and my SLP and OT push in to my classroom to help me with specific strategies with each child.  I do not think that I could do my job without them, they are more than helpful and go above and beyond for our students.

Lastly, my dog Winston.  I just love him so much (maybe obsessed).  I am lucky that my dog is a cuddle bug.  Sometimes when days are so overwhelming at school I can come home to him and it seems to make everything go away.  He is a true kindred spirit.

 Obviously he is precious...

It can be very challenging maintaining relationships.  I have learned that it takes a lot of work sometimes to keep those partnerships.  My best friend and I have had several ups and downs over the years trying to stay in communication with each other.  Sometimes we are so close and other times it feels like we are very far away.  I keep reminding myself that a relationships takes two people and that we both need to try and keep in communication if we want to maintain our relationship.

A special characteristic that I see in these relationships is a common interest.  With my parents it everything in my daily life, with colleagues it the students we work with and the passion for the job and with my friends it might be music, books or traveling. 

There can always be a common interest with people; sometimes we just have to be willing to find it.  This is what I keep in mind when I am working with parents always find a common interest.  I feel that sometimes the common interest might not be their child, but it might lead to an opening to begin a conversation about their child.  For example, I got a new student this year and I had heard a very difficult parent was coming along with her.  I invited her into the classroom the first Friday her daughter was there and brought her out to recess with her child.  I asked about the adoption process for her child and she gave me a weird look. I explained that I have always wanted to adopt children from China and that I taught there last year. She immediately told me everything and we had an instant connection.  This mom was ecstatic to be talking about something she knew about and ever since then we have had an amazing relationship. I will always remember this experience and keep it in mind with each parent that I work with.  I will also remember to never pre-judge my parents based on someone else’s experience with them.  Always take the time to get to know parents individually.

"I feel happy of myself"

I love this video!  This about how excited this kid is to ride his bike! It is an important to recognize that each step in a child's development is just as important as the last.  As educators think about how many inspirational moments we get to witness, it might be riding a bike, learning colors, using the potty, or singing songs.

Roots to Empathy

For anyone who read the Empathy articles, I found this video on the organization Roots to Empathy. Just thought I would share! :)

Assessment

My first thoughts about assessment are to gauge where a child is at, when you add in assessment of the whole child my thoughts begin to expand.  To me the whole child is academics, social/emotional/adaptive skills, cultural/family influences, and socio-economic influences. If you are assessing the whole child I believe that the list previous should all be addressed/measured.  But how do you go about addressing cultural/family influences so that it is standardized (as much of our assessments are today)?  I am not sure.

When I assess my students, for example when I write my present levels for IEP's or 3 year Evaluations,  I write what students can do in a school setting specifically.  I try and give parents a clear idea of what the students CAN do, not what they can't.  All of my students have significant learning challenges and their parents know that and, I feel, they don't need to be reminded how their child does not do the same things as their same aged peers.

As for standardized assessments that seem to taking over the US in hopes to reform public education, I understand why they have it, but, I believe, are not a true measure of where ALL students are at.  For example, I have a student who does not have the ability to speak.  No one knows why this is, but she can't talk.  We have a district wide assessment that assess early numeracy and early literacy.  Students have to be able to talk to answer the questions and because she can't she is excluded from the test.  All year I have tried to push for us to test her in a different way (using receptive language), but it is not allowed.  Therefore, our district wide test that assess to see if students are at benchmark are skewed because they are not able to account for this child.  It is a good thing that this is not the only assessment we use, but just because this particular girl does not speak doesn't mean that she doesn't know her letters and numbers.

I worked in China and tutored high school girls who were preparing for University and the assessments in China where very interesting to me. It was clear when I arrived in China that being successful in country wide assessments was a vital part of student ultimate success in life.  The high school girls I worked with had so much on their plate, going to school 7 days a week, at least 10 hours a day and then were tutored in their "free time."

As for school-aged children I think there is a lot being done to reform China's 'examination-oriented education.'  China now has a goal for quality based program, the goals being:
1. Increasing parental and public understanding of assessment.
2. Increased emphasis on diagnostic and formative assessment.
3. Improving the ways of assessing schools and teachers. 

When I was in China, it seemed that assessment was a huge part of each child's life.  I talked with other professors and even young school aged children had weekly, mid-term and end of the year exam.  The article that I read said mentioned that the two types of assessment would be end of the year exams and exams to move up (skip) to the next grade (Min & Xiuwen, 2001).  There was such an amount of pressure to perform well in China and I think it is very different in the United States.  Of course we provide assessments on our students but it more through observation and formative assessments, whereas in China there seems to be a summative assessment at the end of each grade.

Min, H., & Xiuwen, Y. (2001). Educational Assessment in China: lessons from history and future prospects. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 8(1), 5-10. doi:10.1080/09695940120033216

Chaos and Enviromental Pollution

When I started to read our blog assignment on stressors I immediately thought of a friend that I had while in elementary school through high school.  She had one of the most stressful lives, brought on by the chaos in her family.  Her mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and throughout her life was on and off drugs, such as meth and cocaine and never took her bipolar medicine correctly. Now, you would never guess looking at their house that that there would be a mother inside with a significant amount of mental health issues, but there was.  My friend made it to high school with grace, moving through the motions and holding her head high even when it was chaotic at home.  In high school, her parents finally split, and she was to live with her father.  As much as her mother was going through, her mom took care of her and suddenly her father was the sole person responsible for her upbringing. My friend clearly resented her father and began to act out, which in return caused greater tension between the relationships in the family and cause my friend to act out even more. 

She began by choosing boyfriends that her father didn't like and from there it when downhill.  She ran away from home twice with her boyfriend for weeks at a time because she could not handle her now overbearing father.  The second time he put her in a juvenile detention center (because he didn't know what else to do).  Once she was out, she on her own terms decided to take a break with this new boyfriend.  The boyfriend was outraged and then shot himself on her front porch (he did survive).  She had reconnected with all of her friends after this incident (talk about some serious trauma) and tried to build a better relationship with her father.  About a year later found a new boyfriend, in which her father liked until her found out when he was 11 that he had been charged with molestation.  My friend still "loved" him and her father refused to let her to see him. They sneaked anyway they could to see each other and she eventually ended up getting pregnant. Her father forced her to get an abortion (which she still struggles with today) and her boyfriend got in a car accident that killed another person. All of this happened with in about a half a year.  It was utterly chaotic for her.  She had a father that was trying to do his best but did not know how to talk with her and a child rebelling because her father could not talk with her.  She suffered from trauma and was expected to act like a "normal" kid.  I am happy to say she will be graduating from college with a degree in educational psychology in about 2 weeks.

She was able to get out of her terribly chaotic upbringing and turn her life around.  Her father was also able to do the same thing.  They now have a great relationship where they talk about the future and not about the past.

Environmental Pollution- Clean water- in India:

"On April 01, 2010 at least 18 babies in several hamlets of Bihar’s Bhojpur district have been born blind in the past three months because their families consume groundwater containing alarming levels of arsenic,..." (www.Gits4u.com, 2011). 

Imagine, having this as a stressor in your lives. Drinking water seems like such an easy thing, to me. People need 20 liters of water (5.2 gallons) for drinking and their sanitation needs (www.Gits4u.com, 2011). This can be a huge stressor for children and their families because 38 % in India live below the poverty line (Azad India Foundation, 2010). Living below the poverty can directly decrease families chances to access to clean water.  Foundations such as UNICEF have goals to achieve by 2015 and are making progress to try an provide clean water (UNICEF, 2010). 

Azad India Foundation (2010). Poverty in india. Retrieved from http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/poverty-in-india.html

UNICEF (2010). Goal: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/mdg/poverty.htm 

www.gits4u.com (2011). Environmental pollution in India.  Retrieved from http://www.gits4u.com/envo/envo4.htm#Groundwater%20exploitation 

Personal Birth Experience and China

Being only 24 I have not had any birthing experiences that I have been apart of, except for my own birth. From what I was told is that I had the most perfect birth and the doctor said he should of video taped it so that he could share it with everyone. I am the youngest of three children and the only girl.  My parents always chose to wait to find out the sex of their babies until they arrived. My mother said that she was sure that I was going to be a boy and that my name would be Travis Michael, well to say the least she was surprised when I arrived a girl.  I was born at 4:36pm on June 2nd, 1986 and they named me Abby Jayne, not Abigail (they were not fond of the full name).  I know that my dad ate a turkey sandwich that day and his breath smelled of coffee (that is what my mother told me). After coming out the doctor determined that I was premature (and I was well over 8 lbs., good thing I didn't go full term) by the way my hands looked and a few days after coming home I got jaundice and had to return to the hospital.  I then spent the next several days in our bay window soaking in the sun. I think the birth of a child is an amazing thing and the birth can have an impact on child development.  Often we hear grand stories about how children are brought into this world, but it is not always the case.

 A child feeding the pigeons in Shijiazhuang, China

 

Last year I taught at a University in China and for as long as I can remember I have ALWAYS wanted to adopt from China and adopt children in general. China is full of tradition, so I chose to look at what traditions are performed during pregnancy and birth and after the baby is born verses what traditions I know about here in the US.

When a man and women get married in China, it is tradition to have him carry her across the doorway over a pan of burning coals (this is suppose to allow for an easy labor) (Brown, 2011).  Carring a woman across the threshold in America is common, although it is not thought of as to help with labor.

It is believed that everything women do will influence her unborn child.  She will read good poetry, beautiful stories before bed and eat light colored food (it is thought that light colored food will produce a baby with fair-skin, something that is valued in China). The soon to be mother is not to laugh too loudly, lose her temper, sit on a crooked mat, there is not to be construction in the house and is to never attend a funeral (Brown, 2011).  I believe that this is somewhat similar to the US, women generally take great care of themselves before pregnancy and during.  However, some of our acts are different. We typically take pre-natal vitamins, refrain from drugs and alcohol, take to our babies, get some exercise, etc.

In China, it is unlucky to have a baby shower, typically a baby shower is given afterbirth.  Mothers and Grandmothers give the soon-to-be mom clothes before the baby is born (Brown, 2011).  Different from the US, most people have a baby shower pre-birth for the first child, after the first child it is typically given after the baby is born.

Herbal tea is given to ease the labor and women are not to fear labor because it is considered their job (Brown, 2011).  From my knowledge in the US, women are given ice chips and an epidural.  :) I believe for some women it can be very scary going into labor and I believe, that it is okay to be nervous.

Women in China often give birth in a armchair or futon (Brown, 2011), whereas in the US, if you are giving birth in the hospital it is typically in a bed. 

For the first month the new mother is, somewhat, left in isolation to get to know her new baby (Brown, 2011).  Where as here, I believe, it can be very much of a team effort for the first month of a new baby.

I thought a lot of these traditions were very interesting, China is full of a rich history that is based on their traditions. 






Brown, L.M. (2011). Childbirth traditions around the world: china. babyzone, Retrieved from http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/labor_birth/birthing_traditions/article/childbirth-traditions-china-pg2

NAEYC- Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment

Section 1: Ethical Responsibilities I-1.3 To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities and potential of each child. 

This has significant meaning to me, the saying goes "don't judge a book by its cover" and the same applies to children with disabilties.  Until you truly know a child, who has significat challenges, you do not know what they are capable of.  For example, in October I got a student from a neghboiring school distict who is on the severe end of the Autism specturm and is 100% blind.  They told me she could not to much and when I got her I thought she could do A LOT! She has limited language but is able to make choices, she explores our room, she dances and laughs, fully of energy and true delight to have in our classroom.  If I would have just taken the other schools word and thought she was not capable of anything then she wouldn't be doing anything.  Instead I thought let's see what we can do and from there we have opened up her world to new experiences and with that, she is becoming much more functional.  We must look at each child to see what they can do, not what they can't.


Section 2: Ethical Responsibilities to Families I-2.2 To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve. 

We must develop good rapport with families.  They need to trust us as educators and we NEED to trust them as parents.  Families know their children the best and we need to help support them.  We may not always agree with how families go about doing something but we need to be as supportive as we can. 

Section 5: Ethical Responsibilities to Community and Society I-4.3—To work through education, research, and advocacy toward an environmentally safe world in which all children receive health care, food, and shelter; are nurtured; and live free from violence in their home and their communities.

If we could we could master this code of ethics, I think our world would be in good standing.  However, I believe this is not the case, but this is something that we should be striving for each and everyday.  I think that we all want this for the children we work with, it would mean that each child would have the background to succeed in life and school.  This is significant for me because this is something that all professionals who work with children is trying to accomplish, but, indeed, it is a difficult one to achieve.

The Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC)

Professional Practice: Professional and Interpersonal Behavior 4. We shall serve as advocates for children with disabilities and their families and for the professionals who serve them by supporting both policy and programmatic decisions that
enhance the quality of their lives.

This is something that I practice everyday and has great meaning to me and my job. I work towards including children with signification needs into a general education classroom.  My life revolves around serving as an advocate for children with disabilities and their families. 

Professional Practice: Professional Collaboration 2. We shall honor and respect the rights, knowledge, and skills of the multidisciplinary colleagues with whom we work recognizing their unique contributions to children, families, and the field of early childhood special education.

Respecting the rights, knowledge and skill of my colleagues is something that is very important to me.  I have an amazing team of therapist that I work with for each of my students.  In order to make the most of each of our students time at school we need to all work together.  I have an occupational therapist and a speech language pathologist who come into my room to train me and my Para's on how to work on specific issues we are having with each student.  It takes a lot of their time but they are so willing to jump into my classroom and help, all for the benefit of our students.

Responsive Family Centered Practices: Enhancement of Children’s and Families’ Quality of Lives 4. We shall advocate for equal access to high quality services and supports for all children and families to enhance their quality of lives. 

Always WE MUST advocate for equal access to high quality services.  Having mediocre services it simply not enough.  I think that when we don't agree with something we must stand up and advocate. During this time of budget cuts there has been talks of increasing my case load for next year.  There were talks of having 22 high needs special education students.  I was outraged because that would decrease the quality of my program.  Luckily, this will not end up happening because myself and my psychologist at my school simple said no, this would not benefit our students.

Resources

My resources are posted to the right!

Inspiration

"I tell my students, whatever your favorite cause, if you do not intend to pursue that effort for 25 years, do yourself a favor — don't start. You have to be prepared to hang in there for the long run."- Edward Zigler

Perkins-Gough, D. (2007). Giving Intervention a Head Start: A Conversation with Edward Zigler. Educational Leadership, 65(2), 8-14. Retrieved March 21, 2011 from EBSCOhost.

"If teachers wish someone else would teach certain students, or if they express the belief that some students are incapable of succeeding in the class, what is the likelihood that they are continuing to problem solve to help these students succeed? The issue is not about caring- teacher truly care about their students. It is about setting expectations and working from a perspective of optimism and possibilities rather than one of pessimism and problems." -Marilyn Friend & Kimberly Pope

Friend, M., & Pope, K. L. (2005). Creating Schools in Which All Students Can Succeed. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 41(2), 56-61. Retrieved March 21, 2011, from EBSCOhost.

“I had a built in passion that it was important to make a real contribution to the world and to fix all the injustices that existed in the world... and I wanted to do that through teaching.” - Louise Derman-Sparks

The Passion for Early Childhood. [Video resources]. (2011, March 11). [Louise Derman-Sparks]. Laureate Education, INC. Retrieved from Walden University.

 

My Childhood Web

1.     My mother is the most influential person in my life.  I was the youngest of three and the only girl.  We have always had a very strong relationship and as I have gotten older I really see how much of her is in me.  My mother is a Preschool Coordinator in the county where I grew up. I spent my entire life at her preschool.  I grew up in her teachers’ classrooms, her secretary’s desk and in her office.  When I was younger I always thought that I would never be a teacher because I did not want to do student teaching and I did not want to do what my parents did.  My mom never proposed the idea of being a teacher; she just let me figure it out on my own.  This was possibly the best gift to me, she let me explore my options and before I graduated high school I knew that teaching special education was for me.  I wanted to teach preschool high needs special education, exactly what my mom did.  My mom is my guru. To me, she knows everything.  She seems to help me more now more than ever.  I continuously ask her for advice on how to handle behaviors, ideas for activities or even dealing with my staff.  She has the most knowledge about Early Childhood and is my most used resource.  I think that she is an incredible advocate for children and each day I hope that someday I will be as amazing as she is.  As I get older we are more alike and more in sync with each other.  I am beyond grateful for our strong relationship.

My Mama and Papa

2.     My Daddy is so fantastic.  My father was always the “yes” parent.  Being his only daughter I got to participate in everything that my dad did.  My dad was a special education teacher and then became an alternative high school principal.  On top of his teacher duties he also ran apartment buildings and “flipped” houses in our little town.  I grew up painting apartments and fixing up houses and because of him I turn into one handy gal.  He is passionate in several areas of his life and showed me that you can love more than one type of work.  My dad never sits down and I seemed to have inherited this from him, the busier I am the better I work. 

Brother and I in Sofia, Bulgaria

3.     My brother Kasey is my rock.  Kasey is three years older than me but only two grade levels apart. We went to high school together and went to the same university.  When we where in elementary school and high school we did not get along and after I graduated high school my parents sent me to the Czech Republic, where my brother was studying abroad. We spent several weeks traveling around Europe and bonding.  Ever since then we have had a great relationship.  My brother is the most intelligent person I have ever met.  He has an amazing memory and remembers everything he hears.  He served in the Peace Corp in Bulgaria and has just been accepted into graduate school at Tulane University. He has overcome great barriers in his life; he has dyslexia and is my inspiration.  He showed me that having a barrier, such as not being able to read or write, means that you just figure out a different way to do things. I think about him often when I work with my students.  If people did not see all of my brother’s abilities then he might not be where he is today.  I carefully look at each of my students to find out everything that they are capable of. 

This was taken our second summer.  It has always been my favorite picture. All the kids!

Our first summer!

Last summer!

4.     The College Campout Crew definitely in my microsystem.  My parents are STILL friends with ALL their friends from college.  Our crew consists of six families, 39 people and three generations.  We are like family but different, what connects all of us is our love for each other. We have been camping for the last 22 years and our gathering are called “The College Campout.” We have bonded over campfire, sunburns, bug bites, banana boats and s’mores. There is this care that each of us share with everyone.  There is this never-ending support we have for everyone in our group.  It is a hard thing to explain our relationship but it is a endless love that we have for one another. 

5.     “W” or Winston my dog.  Yes, sometimes people get too attached to their animals and yes, I am one of those people.  Life to me is a life with animals.  Before wanting to be a teacher I was determined to be a Veterinarian. Animals have always been a part of my life.  I got Winston when I was in college right before my family dog died.  I knew she was dying and I knew that I needed unconditional love.  He is the most perfect living creature to me, and I swear he has the most personality I have ever seen in a dog. I made a good choice with him as he provides the best unconditional love, he is lazy and his favorite activity is snuggling.  I feel lucky to be his Mama.

What's in a name?

When I was thinking about a title for my blog I kept thinking about my classroom.  Then this image popped into my head of all the visuals I use and the purpose they serve.  I have many students who have autism and I use visual schedules for their daily routine, visuals for circle time, snack time and picture exchanges to make requests. I thought about their daily routine and how important it is to pair an activity with visuals. I often try to imagine myself in their shoes and how thrown off I would be if I had people pulling me in every direction, wanting me to perform a given task and not understanding what they want of me.  Then I realized how important I value a routine and that I do get disrupted when I change it up.  It might be that I decide to see  a movie on school night and it throws me off.  I may not react in the same way as some of my students but indeed I have to adjust.  Just like my students very structured day which is all planned out, I realized my life is structured too. My students need to know what is happening in their day, just like I need it.  I need to anticipate a change and prepare myself for what's next!

Yes, Dr. Sesus you are celebrated all year!

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

- Dr. Seuss

Each classroom I have worked in I have always share this quote. I have always felt strongly connected to this quote and it continuously reminds me to stay true to myself.  It is so important for children to be reminded to stay true to themselves.

Great Artists!

Today, we were inspired by Jackson Pollock.  We learned where he was born and his favorite kind of painting!  Splatter Paint! So fun!

Check out one of my little artists!

On Monday, we were inspired by Michelangelo.  We laid on our backs and painted our masterpieces on the underside of the tables. 

 

Who is Ms. L?

 Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan, China

My sweet sweet niece Ainsley

 

Winston: The best bulldog in the world

 

 Belogradchik Rocks, Bulgaria and the best brother in the world