“We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt

Testing For Intelligence

Areas that I feel should be measured when considering the whole child are Social/Emotion and Language Development, Cognitive and Gross Motor Skills as well as the physical development of the child.  I feel that all these areas are important to a child's development when considering the whole child, however I don't feel that you can get a full picture of the whole child by standardized testing alone.  I feel this way because some children test exceptionally well and some don't test well as all.  I do believe that there are good and bad test takers, and for those who are not good test takers there should be some other form of assessment to see if the child is developing at his/her full potential.  I feel this could be done by observations by the parents, educators and other professionals who are skilled in working with children.  I think that's it's important to assess children, I just don't believe or agree that all children should be tested the same way because they don't learn the same; what works for one doesn't mean that it's going to work for all. 

In China there are typically two ways to assess children and they are the classroom and external assessments.  The classroom assessment is based on classroom performance, teacher and parent observations, assessments from peers, quizzes and test, performance based assessments and portfolios.  The Chinese believe that many assessments taken over a period of time will give a more comprehensive picture of what a child is capable of.  The other form of assessment measures the child's performance as well as how effective the program is, is what they call the external assessments.  These are done through numerous standardized test. 

I feel that if children are being assessed everything should be looked at when considering the whole child.  I've never been a fan of testing, not being a fan doesn't mean that I didn't know the material, it just means I don't test well.  Test anxiety is real and I do believe that when you have a person who suffers from test anxiety, you'll have a person who won't do well on that test.

Consequences of Stress on Childrens Development

I count it as a blessing that I've never experienced many stressors as a child.  I don't know if my parents hid a lot of things from me to make me think that I was living the good life, however, I do know that I was very blessed growing up and didn't even realize it.

Japan

After years of stagnation and widening income disparities, this once proudly egalitarian nation is belated waking up to the fact that it has a large and growing number of poor people (Fackler, 2010).  In 2007 at least 20 million Japanese people lived in poverty.  Over half of the impoverished are single mothers but because of their culture and them being afraid that they would be labeled most impoverished families try to keep up with the appearance of middle class Japanese families.  1 in 7 children in Japan is living in poverty and the government supplies aid to those children but by doing this education funds cost have to be cut.  Which starts a cycle of children being under-education which impacts all areas of development and it gives them a lifetime of low-wage work which could be a domino effect in families which will keep them in poverty their entire lives.  The poverty that families, including single families are subject to isolates them from the public view and even family members.  Children don't receive the education that they receives which affects their development, they stay out of public view which can also affect their development especially their social development. 

Reference

The New York Times-Asia Pacific-Japan Tries to Face Up to Growing Poverty Problem (Fackler, 2010)
     http://www.nytimes.com

Nutrition/Malnutrition

"Everybody-as basic human right-has a right to food.  The right to food is as basic as life itself."
-Tom Arnold, CEO, Concerned World Wide

Each night all around the world children go to bed hungry.  And every year about 1 million children die from severe acute malnutrition (concernusa.org).  

This topic is important to me because each morning when children are eating breakfast and I am observing, every once in a while I see a child who seems more hungry than the rest of the children, and cries until he eats.  I think to myself that maybe this is the only meals that the child is getting is when they are at school and may not be getting the proper nutrition that he needs at home.  When I think about children who are hungry, some of them not getting one meal a day and some not eating for days it really saddens me. 

There are many causes for malnutrition in India such as gender inequality.  Women of a low social status don't receive good quality nor quantities of nutrition.  When women are not receiving the proper nutrition is contributes them it decreases the chances of them having normal babies.  Being malnourished can lead to so many other health issues as well including but not limited to TB, pneumonia and an increased mortality rate. 

Subodh Varma's writing The Times of India states that the Global Hunger Index India is on place 67 among 80 nations having the worst hunger situation which is worse than nations such as North Korea or Sudan (ifpri.org). 

In my present and future work I will continuously educate parents about the importance of good nutrition and the importance of eating right and of the consequences of when they don't. 

References

www.concernusa.org/Public/Program.aspx



www.ifpri.org/publication

Childbirth In Your Life and Around the World

The first child birth I took a part in was when my sister gave birth to my niece Alaysia. I was so excited about her arrival that my sister allowed me to be in the delivery room when she gave birth. It was the scariest but most beautiful thing that I had ever witnessed. When my sister got to the hospital she had already dilated 6cms. She acted like she was on a routine visit and didn't ask for any medication. She ate well during her pregnancy and she exercised a lot and in return had a 6lb. 5oz. baby girl. This little girl became the apple of my eye; however I love all my nieces and nephews just the same. When Alaysia was born both me and my sister were still living at home and I was able to see her grow from an infant to a toddler and all the changes that her little body made as she developed. I think that childbirth is a beautiful thing and whomever experiences it should consider it a blessing. The topic of childbirth and prenatal development is a bittersweet topic for me because my husband and I have been trying for 10 years with no luck but I'm staying faithful that it will happen one day.

There are options for expectant mothers in China. They can choose a western-style hospital or a Chinese hospital. The hospitals that are located in major cities in China are available to anyone who chooses to go there, however they are much more expensive and don't offer what most traditional hospitals offer. In China they stay in the hospitals far longer than mother's who have given birth in the US. The average time that a mother stays in the hospital in the United States is two to five days; however, expectant mothers in China should expect to be hospitalized weeks prior to giving birth and weeks after. Unlike hospitals in the United States mothers to be who go to hospitals located in China are not provided with the same necessities such as pain killers. They have to bring pain medication in with them. Mothers in China are entitled to 90 days of leave after giving birth and up to 10 weeks prior to having their child which is much longer than what is given in the United States.

When comparing the United States to China both provide personal affects for families although in different ways. A mother in the US goes into the hospital and a lot of amenities are provide such as pain medication and sheets to sleep on where as mothers who arrive in hospitals in cities in China have to bring those types of things in with them.

Birth experiences vary from country to country but the overall goal it to deliver healthy, well developed children.

Reference

Giving Birth-http://china.angloinfo.com/healthcare/pregnancy-birth/giving-birth/

Examining Code of Ethics

DEC Code of Ethics

II.  Professional Development and Preparation

1.  We shall engage in ongoing and systematic reflective inquiry and self-assessment for the purpose of     continuous improvement of professional performance and services to young children with disabilities and their families.
Being able to self reflect and know what trainings I need to be a better professional is important to me.  Staying current with new developments, attending necessary trainings and learning is important to me and can help me grow as a professional.  Being stagnant with what I know as of today isn't going to help me but continuing to add to my knowledge base as it relates to my profession can only benefit my professional performance and the services I provide to children and families.

NAEYC Code of Ethics

1-1.9-To advocate for and ensure that all children including those with special needs, have access to the support services needed to be successful.

This is the main reason why I chose this profession, because I want to see children become successful.  A lot of times I have seen children who don't have a support system and have seen where even parents aren't involved in their child's education and to be a child's advocate, to be their voice because they don't have a voice of their own yet is important to me. 

I-2.2-To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.

Parents need to trust me in order to seek my help, so I try to get parents to understand what my job is and to build a level of trust with them.  Sometimes parents don't understand what's going on and I have found in my personal practices that if their is a foundation that has been set that parent's are more apt to come to you and ask you for their help or when you offer them your help they are more apt to receive it.  I have also come to understand that when children see that their parents trust you it's easier to build a trusting relationship with the child.  Trust is a biggie in this field and without it I don't feel that I could be successful with in I do.

Growing My Selection of Resources

Adding to Week 5 Resources

ECRP(Early Childhood Research & Practice) http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v14n2/gleason.html
Lasting Benefits of Preschool Programs. ERIC Digest.  http://www.ericdigests.org/1994/lasting.htmNation
Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities   http://nichcy.org/babies/overview     

Week 5 Class Resources

National Association for the Education of Young Children  http://www.naeyc.org/
The Division for Early Childhood     http://www.dec-sped.org/
Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
http://www.zerotothree.org/
WESTED  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
Harvard Education Letter http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85 
FPG Child Development Institute  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/
Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/ 
HighScope  http://www.highscope.org/
Children's Defense Fund  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
Center for Child Care Workforce  http://www.ccw.org/
Council for Exceptional Children  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
Institute for Women's Policy Research   http://www.iwpr.org/
National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
National Child Care Association http://www.nccanet.org/
National Institute for Early Education Research  http://nieer.org/
Pre[K]Now http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067
Voices for America's Children  http://www.voices.org/The Erikson Institute   http://www.erikson.edu/