Thank You!

I have truly enjoyed the time that I have spent with each of you this last eight weeks! Thanks for being so supportive to my blog and the posts that are placed on it! Wishing you all much success on your educational journey.

Children Quotes

CHILDREN QUOTES:

This quote caught my attention because children are just like uncut diamonds. Diamonds take their form when someone shapes them the way they want them to be. Children are almost the same. Positive role models try to shape the child into being the very best that they can be with a positive influence. But in my opinion, the child actually shapes themselves because they are all different. The right guidance sends them in a positive direction, but the final 'shape' comes from the child.

Assessing Young Children

In my opinion, standardized tests are a waste of time and tax payer money. There are so many things that can make the testing results unfair, to say it's a fair procedure. To start, study's have found that if a child doesn't get enough sleep, doesn't live in an appropriate environment, or even if they don't eat breakfast....these facts could affect a child's performance on the test. This is truly sad when the results of the child's test affects their future. Researcher Gerald W. Bracey stated it best when it comes to certain areas that should be looked at when assessing a child, rather than relying in standardized tests. "According to late education researcher Gerald W. Bracey, PhD, qualities that standardized tests cannot measure include "creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, curiosity, endurance, reliability, enthusiasm, empathy, self-awareness, self-discipline, leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness, sense of beauty, sense of wonder, honesty, integrity" (Procon.com, 2014). I feel this way because children are special and different in their own individual ways, and results of standardized tests are not capable of catching this individuality.

"Few countries use standardized tests for children below high school age--or multiple-choice tests for students of any age" (Kohn, 2000).

The country that I have chosen to focus on is Germany. In Germany the tracking system doesn't start until age 5. There are 3 types of schools under this tracking system.

Gymnasium- provides an academic, university track education
Realschule- provides a general and vocational education and permits transfer to the gymnasium
Hauptschule- provides a lower-level general and vocational education that often leads to unemployment.

Students who are affluent in socioeconomic status attend the Gymnasium; while the children of migrant workers attend Hauptschule. Students attending Gymnasium through grade 13 receive a school-learning certificate called the Abitur. This provides access to universities after students pass a final exam.

"The 2003 Program for International Assessment (PISA) study showed that the performance of German students correlates more highly with socioeconomic status than does the performance of students from almost any other country" (Rotberg, 2006).

                                                                            References
ProCon.Org. (2014). Standardized Tests. Retrieved from http://standardizedtests.procon.org/

Kohn, A. (2000). Standardized Testing Victims. Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/standardized-testing-victims/

Rotberg, I. (2006). Assessment Around the World. Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~Krowlands/Content/SED610/NCLB/NCLB%20rom%202007/Assessment%20Around%20the%20World.pdf

Poverty

Poverty is something that thankfully I or my brother did not have to endure; but our parents and grandparents did. I would hear plenty of stories from both of my grandmothers, who would remind us how blessed we were. Cars, they didn't have that luxury; they had to walk miles to school and other places just to get around. They stated that families often stayed together, not just immediate, but extended families as well. Today we are able to get medical help and medicines freely; but back in their days, many people died of illnesses because they couldn't afford medical coverage. Sickness relief came from many remedies of "home therapy" with products they had at home such as fatback, etc. My mother was raised in poverty as well, but it wasn't as bad as it was for her mother. Her father left the family dynamic when my mother was young, so that left my grandmother alone and raising four children on her own. My mom was a fashionista, but money would not allow the funds for the family to buy outfits; so my mother compensated by learning to sew and created her own fashionista outfits!! My grandmother had to work several jobs and that often required the older kids to watch the younger kids. Quite different from today as we rely on daycare or babysitters.

The country that I chose was Africa. They are known for issues of poverty as well as hunger, and even diseases acquired because of the health, poverty, and famine issues at stake. Many parts of Africa are places that have very unhealthy citizens because of poverty issues. Presently, ebola is killing many people in Africa, as well as a few in America, who brought the disease with them from Africa. Infant mortality is high, while Life expectancy, literacy, and education are all low. The best educated often choose to leave the continent to seek a better life. Many Caucasians have fled due to employment bias. Poverty is so bad in Africa, that US luxuries like radios, televisions, and automobiles are very rare. 

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

The death of a child is something that we all have a hard time coming to term with.  This is especially if the death is something that could have possibly been prevented, in some cases.  This is why this topic is of such importance to me.  Up until the mid-1990's, tens of thousands of children have died from SIDS.  In North America it is known as crib death, and in England SIDS is known as cot death.  In the beginning SIDS was a mystery because parents put their seemingly healthy babies to bed safely, to find them dead the next morning.  In South Australia, a scientist by the name of Susan Beal studied all infant deaths that occurred because of SIDS.  Somethings appeared to be non-factors, while others such as maternal smoking and lambskin blankets.  Soon Beal would find variations within various cultures/ethnicities. It seemed that China had less incidences with SIDS than other countries.  Beal noted that the reason could be because infants in China slept on their backs, while other countries practiced putting infants to sleep on their stomachs.  After this realization, Beal realized that sleep position mattered.  News of her findings were spread from country to country, and soon "Back to Sleep" was the new method of placing infants in their cribs.  "In the United States, in 1984, SIDS killed 5,245 babies; in 1996, that number was down to 3,050; in the past decade, it has decreased to about 2,000 a year" (Berger, 2012, p.5).  Other risks of an increased risk for SIDS includes; low birth-rate, cigarette smoking in the household, brain-stem abnormalities, soft blankets or pillows, and bed sharing.  I currently work with preschoolers, but if I were to ever go back into the infant room, I would place all infants on their back while sleeping, and give them the correct amount of tummy time for learning to crawl.  Of course, daycare centers don't allow smoking or bed sharing, so this wouldn't present a problem.

                                                             References


Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
.

Birthing Experiences

The birthing experience that was special to me, would actually be two instead of one! I have two boys and both experiences were equally amazing!! With both experiences, family support, love, and loving environment were the most important during the birthing process. As we all know, environment was one of the important aspects that Smidt mentioned in one of our textbooks. My entire immediate family joined during the birth of both of my children! They supported me with love, care, and emotional support for myself and both my children. Family and love are both of the utmost importance to the developing child.

The country that I chose to focus on for birthing experiences was the Philippines. I have three best friends/family members whom are mixed with African American culture as well as the Filipino culture; so this is why I chose this country. Filipinos put a very high value on family just as I did during my birthing experience. Although one difference is the fact that in the Philippines, the value of childbirth is not only shared by the family, but also with the whole community. During labor, pain is thought to be alleviated by placing a squash leaf on the birthing woman's abdomen; whereas I just used an Epidural. Touching of the laboring woman is not allowed in the Philippines because they feel that the laboring woman's pain will be transferred to the hand holder; but during my American birth, nurses encouraged my husband to hold my hand. Guests who are in attendance at a birth in the Philippines are not allowed to stand near the door because of possible labor complications; but in America, my family was pretty much allowed to stand where they pleased in the hospital room.

It seems as though many beliefs for Filipinos are based on superstition; whereas American births are based more on science. Even though these things differ, both Filipinos and I believe that families should be a natural presence during the birthing experience!

                                                        Reference:
Wilde, A.(2014). Birthing Beliefs in the Philippines. Retrieved from http://classroom.synonym.com/birthing-beliefs-philippines-9141.html

Thank You!!

I would like to take the time to thank each of my Walden colleagues for all of their wonderful support throughout this class, as well as with my first ever blog site!!  I wish you all much success as you continue on your journey of education in this awesome field!!  Good Luck!! :)