Thanks everyone for making child development interesting!

 

A child seldom needs a good talking to as a good listening to.
- Robert Brault

 

Children are one third of our population and all of our future.
- Anonymous

Testing Children's Minds and Abilities

    
     
     When testing for children's intelligence, I think there has to be a better way. Why can't the grades that a child makes at school be good enough? Why do the state and federal government keep coming up with more standardized tests? I don't really have a good answer for this question. I feel as others do that one or two standardized tests shouldn't determine if a child is intelligent or not! This last school year more standardized tests in math were given to the students in our schools. Most of the students didn't do well because they have never been taught and tested in this manner before. Now teachers have to teach Math in a way unfamiliar to them and the students. Do all  have schools have to do this dance for the state and federal governments? Now all students have to show and explain every little detail of a math word problem to the point of ridiculousness. Who comes up with these tests? Who decides what needs to be tested? Is it people that have never taught in school before? I really wonder sometimes.....One thing that changed about out standardized tests this year is that these scores were added and averaged into the children’s overall grade at the end of the school year.  I guess it can be a good or bad thing.  At least the scores were only a portion of the child’s grade and not a major part, but also it made the children that don’t try very hard on these tests realize they will be penalized for not trying.  I just hate that teachers get penalized sometimes for children that don’t try.  You can do your best all year teaching, then when it comes to testing, the children that either don’t test well or the children that doesn’t care can then affect a teacher personally in more ways than one.  These type tests are going away in a year or two and I’m not sure what will replace them.  It could be worse or better!  

     I read that in Latin America, children don’t even go to school very often or very long.  There is no standardized testing either.  Teachers make up their own tests for children.  They are trying to change things, but up to this point education in Latin America is still lagging way behind.  Children in Latin America are some of the least educated children when compared to other nations.  Poorly trained teachers and disorganization is part of the problem.  Education is lacking in quality and quantity as well.  This nation acknowledging failure is the first step in fixing the problems.

 

Reference 

The Economist. (2002, May 9). Cramming them in: More Latin Americans are being educated, but not well.  Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/1121601

Stress on Children's Development

Stresses come in all forms. Children seem to be the most affected by stressors on the family.  Chaos is a stress that I see in children at school all the time.  By chaos, I mean that the children may move around alot or stay at a lot of different places.  They do not have a stable home.  Some children stay with parents or a parent one night, the other parent another night, or grandparents another night all in the same week.  The moving around during the week is rough on children. They come to school not prepared because someone didn't help them get their homework done or they may have left their schoolwork at another family member's house.  I see this pretty often. It is really rough on the child when the parent/grandparent disagrees with how to discipline the child.  Teachers sometimes have different relatives giving them different directions and that causes major chaos.  The child ends up getting away with a lot because the teacher doesn't want to get in the middle of family drama.  Teachers have to just do their best and make the child follow classroom rules and the child gets in trouble for not having their homework done, for example. 




Water Wars in South America

South America has 29% of the world's fresh water reserves according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.  Thus, the government displaces families at will to get to the water or get the water where it's needed.  This affects children's lives.  By losing their home, children and families become homeless. People are going to war to fight over these waters and some are dying over it.  The government is displacing water to different mines around South America. The government is taking the public waters and using it for mining instead of letting the people use it for drinking and farming. The people are trying to fight back, but it's really difficult against big corporations. All the fighting is causing chaos and stress on the people and families trying to make a living.  The government says it puts the publics need for water first, but that isn't what the people are seeing.  Water for mining has become priority for the government because of the financial gain.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-13/south-americans-face-upheaval-in-deadly-water-battles.html

Malnutrition Affects Child Development Everywhere

Malnutrition is a topic of grave importance, because without food we all would perish.  This topic has always been a sensitive issue with me.  I didn’t grow up having to worry about food, but so many families do on a daily basis. I am blessed to not have this issue personally, even if I have to charge groceries sometimes. Not all people have the luxury of having a credit card at their disposal to use. I have a sensitive side when I see families, especially children, suffering. I know of people here in the US that is not able to buy food like they need to be able to feed their families properly.  On the other hand, I see so much food being thrown away at school every day that it just kills me to see this waste.  Especially, when I know there are starving children in other parts of the world, like Southern Africa that would love to have some of the food that we throw away on a daily basis.  I have always heard about starving children in Africa.  It just breaks my heart when I see the pictures in the infomercials trying to raise money for them!  

 When I began my research into this topic, I wasn’t shocked to find out that of the African countries, Sub-Saharan Africa has made the least amount of progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing hunger by half by 2015 (Folaranmi, 2012).  The

Horn of Africa is experiencing the worst food shortages in recent years, partly because of increase in population, political conflicts, and climate changes.

The definition of food security and malnutrition

The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”(8) This definition is based on four dimensions: the availability of sufficient quantities of food of appropriate quality; access by individuals to adequate resources for acquiring appropriate foods for a nutritious diet; utilisation of food through adequate diet, clean water, sanitation and healthcare to reach a state of nutritional well-being where all physiological needs are met; and the ability of populations, households and individuals to have access to adequate food at all times (Folaranmi, 2012).

Honestly, even in the best circumstances, it is hard to meet the definition requirement of food security.  We may live (I live in the US) in a county where food is abundant in stores, but that doesn’t mean we can afford to buy when and what we want.  I want to be able to help children and families one day through mission work or charitable organizations to have enough food to survive. 

Reference

Folaranmi, T. (2012, September 17). Food insecurity and malnutrition in Africa: Current trends, causes, and consequences.  Consultancy Africa Intelligence.

www.consultancyafrica.com

My childbirth experience and births in South Africa

I have two boys, Connor (14) and Tanner (12 next month).  It’s hard to remember everything about their births, but they are the most special births I could ever want to discuss!  I guess I have to say I can remember Tanner’s the most because I was having marriage problems at the time.  It all worked out perfect though, no fretting!!  I went into labor the evening before his birth. I got to the hospital about midnight. I was so nervous and upset. My husband and I got settled into our room and they started hooking me up and checking me out.  The nurses started pain meds after I had dilated enough.  I didn’t have to push near as much as with my first son.  Connor took me forever to push out!  Tanner came out a lot quicker.  I had him at 6:12 am on 6-11-01.  I will never forget that one!  He is a morning person to this day.  We still didn’t have a name picked out for him after he was born, because we couldn’t agree on a name.  It didn’t help that we were still arguing and fighting while I was in labor and even after. Tanner turned out to be ADHD and I feel that it probably stemmed from our not getting along during my pregnancy.  I’m proud that he turned out to be really smart despite the problems!

Birthing experience really does affect the child in more ways than one.  Some women reportedly refuse to go the hospital to give birth and do it at home no matter the complications, because they are too afraid of hospitals. The women had heard how the hospital staff was rough or harsh to others.  The hospital staff doesn’t give proper care to the newborn baby or mother. If a baby came out with any problems, sometimes the staff wouldn’t try to help or save them and would let the infant or mother perish.  Obviously, if an infant doesn’t receive proper care, they could obtain deformities, birth defects, or even mental problems. Some women were reportedly refused pain medications or antibiotics to take home with them.  

I can’t imagine being treated this way.  We are definitely blessed to be in the US where birthing mothers and babies are always priority. Child development has a huge reflection from the birthing experience.  Children born in a harsh environment don’t always live to their potential because of so many complications during birth. Children born in a peaceful and healthy environment usually are born healthier and have the resources to live up to their potential. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule and we can thank God for that!

             www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232413.php

Thank You!

I've enjoyed getting to know everyone and learn from you! Good luck in the future and may our paths cross next class!

Examining Codes of Ethics

I also made hard copies of the NAEYC and DEC Codes for future reference.

The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct contained the 3 ideals I chose to comment on.

1-1.3 To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.

I chose this one because in a school setting, each teacher needs to be able to do this and should do this. Each student is different and should be treated as such. A teacher needs to try to help each student reach their full potential and this may require extra work for the teacher, but that is part of the job.  A teacher should want to see the student grow and flourish under their care! I see really bright students that don’t get the extra attention they need to challenge them. On the other hand, I see students that are falling behind because they aren’t getting the extra help they need just to keep up or catch up.

            1-1.4 To appreciate the vulnerability of children and their dependence on adults.

I also chose this one because I see children at school every day that misbehave at school and disrespect authority figures.  I feel that this is because this is what they do and see at home. I had the experience twice this week where a child refused to do what I asked them and got smart with me.  It is so frustrating and disheartening to see children treat adults this way!

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.

I chose this one because I know of a child that was just diagnosed with autism this late in the school year. Now that we know, we can give him the assistance he needs. He will be given different accommodations next week during our state testing (in Tennessee it is called T-CAP). He will benefit from these accommodations and so will the teacher on her scores. It is always in the best interest in the child when we can diagnose and help them with their disabilities.

The DEC Codes:

1. We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value and human potential of each child.

This goes along with the NAEYC Code 1-1.3 I chose in recognizing that each child is different and unique and should be treated as such.

Professional Collaboration
1. We shall honor and respect our responsibilities to colleagues while upholding the dignity and autonomy of colleagues and maintaining collegial interprofessional and intraprofessional relationships.

I chose this one because I see teachers talk about each other behind their backs and it's a shame! We should respect each other as individuals and be positive. There is no need to be childish in the workplace.

4. We shall support professionals new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and ethically based services.

I chose this one because one day when I am new to the field I will hope someone will take me under their wing and mentor me and help me in all areas including professionalism.