Professional Thanks and Support

Over the last eight weeks I have learned a lot about my own personal schema and how it has affected my communication skills. I have learned to be mindful and "other oriented" as well as how to be a better active listener. To collaborate successfully as a team takes trust, cooperation as well as coordination. I learned about the three R's of conflict resolution and how to read non verbal interactions.

I want to thank each and every one of my colleagues who have given me insight through the discussion and comments on my personal blog. We have shared personal information and built online relationships that I will truly miss. I hope some of you will be moving on to Teaching Adults in the Early Childhood Field specialization with me. My wish for you is that you will take what we have learned in this class and transfer it to your personal life as well as your professional life working with families, children, and building collaborative teams that can make a difference.

Team Building and Collaboration

During the adjourning phase the group that I found the hardest to leave was the one where we had the clearest established norms. Having established roles help to develop supportive relationships and collaboration because it is easier to build trust when we respect each others opinions and value their differences. Also, we work off of each others strengths to build a more solid team that can accomplish goals.

The closing rituals that I have experienced include having a potluck in honor of the group as a thank you, having a recognition ceremony, or meeting socially in a central location where each group member is more relaxed to close out the project. In my previous job we had a hard time adjourning because we had established norms and specific roles that were respected by all. My previous colleages and I had such a great working relationship that we still get together several times a year to keep in touch.

I imagine it will be somewhat difficult to leave my online relationships that I have built. I find comfort in seeing familiar names enrolled in each of my classes, and I tend to answer the posts of them more often than those I do not know as well. There is some comfort in sharing history with others along the way through class participation, and it would be nice to stay in touch with some of my classmates after we graduate.

Adjourning is such an essential stage of teamwork because we need to reflect on what worked and did not work in order to learn from mistakes or celebrate our accomplishments. Additionally, the adjourning stage gives us some closure which is important so that we can move on to another goal or project.

Non Violent Communication & Conflict Management

This summer I had a disagreement with my sister over my children, whom she felt were disturbing others as they were exploring in the creek out back of a vacation home. Keep in mind that she has only one daughter and is not use to boys at all! One thing I learned is that staying in one home with 5 of my siblings and their families was just too much. Before this, I had never had a conflict with any of my siblings (there are 8) and was considered the peace maker. I was not sure where all of this was coming from because my boys are just normally active boys in my opinion. I also know that she had been feeling overwhelmed with the chaos in the house so was a little stressed out prior to this.

Through taking this class I have learned that not all conflict is non productive, and infact can have a positive outsome. However, unproductive conflict can damage relationships when managed poorly as I found out. I think "power" dynamics played a big part because my sister is older than me and she does not think that I should have my own voice. Another problem was that she attacked my boys and their character. If she would have come to me in a respectful way I would have been more apt to listen instead of become defensive. Also, the climate was uncertain and I was unclear as to what all she was referring to, and when I asked clarifying questions it set her off because she thought that meant that I was calling her a liar. I finally relented and walked away which annoyed her too.

The productive side is that I have learned what changes I might need to make in the future, or what I need to avoid. As I look back I can see differerent strategies that I could have used to help resolve and defuse the situation. One of those strategies would have been to avoid verbal aggressiveness and keep the focus on the issue. Another strategy would have been to take on a more active listening part and wait until she was finished to ask clarifying questions instead of interupting. Also, I have learned that the way I ask the questions can either provoke or affirm. In addition, I could have used some of the principles of the third side such as seeking to first understand her side and find out what her goal was before I jumped to conclusions. Learning these strategies will allow me to communicate better and avoid certain confrontations in the future. I still think that it is easier to do when both parties are trying to use the NVC method instead of just one party.

Do any of you have any words of insight regarding conflict among adult siblings where your children are the focus? How do you keep from becoming defensive?

Who Am I as a Communicator?

This week I learned that in most situations I am perceived as a moderate to elevated anxious communicator which is the way I also see myself. I am also seen as a people-oriented person who is empathetic and concerned with the emotions of others. I would have to agree with this because this is how I have been my whole life. In the area of verbal aggression I was rated as moderate by a coworker and significant by my husband. I agree with my coworkers response because that is typically how I am.

The rating by my husband is what surprised me the most because I did not know that he perceived me as significantly aggressive most of the time. I would have to blame this partly on the fact that we have been married for 29 years and people just get comfortable with each other as well as let annoyances get the best of us. Plus, children, stress, and no time complicate things and sometimes our spouse gets the brunt of our frustrations.

Two insights that I have gained is that the "Platinum Rule" works better than the "Golden rule" by allowing us to consider others instead of only our needs. The other one is that I need to be more aware of my non-verbal cues as well as my verbal cues. These skills can both have just as much of an impact on my communication both personally and professionally when interacting with family members or community members.

Communication and Culture

When speaking with people from other cultures I try not to treat them any differently, but I sometimes will speak slower just to keep the pace of the conversation down because it sometimes takes me longer to understand them. I really do not like it when I see others speaking loudly to people from other cultures and I often wander why we sometimes can treat them like they are ignorant.

Based on what I have learned this week, three strategies I would use to communicate more effectively is:

1. Ask questions, pause and listen to them before responding.
2. Treat others the way you think they would want you to treat them.
3. Develop appropriate knowledge on the persons culture before you communicate with them

Communication Skills

The show that I observed was "Rules of Engagement". I had never seen it before or heard anything about it. The first interaction was between a woman and a man; he was sitting on the couch and she was standing to the side speaking to him. The man seemed to ignore her and did not make eye contact with her. The woman eventually went around behind him, smiled and bent down to hug him. The man did not have any expression or respond to her. The next interaction was between another couple. The man was speaking to the woman seemingly excited as she made faces, rolled her eyes,and shook her head back and forth.

Based on my observation I assumed that the first couple were brother and sister. With the next couple I assumed that he was trying to date her and she was just annoyed with him and did not want that kind of relationship.

Then I watched with the sound on and found out that the first couple were actually married but were having troubles, and the second assumption was pretty much the case except that they were friends who went on a hike together. What appeared to be things that might happen between couples who were dating were actually just incidents that appeared that way.

If I had known the characters in the story I would not have assumed any of these things. My assumptions were based on previous knowledge and experiences but they were not always accurate.

I learned that our assummptions are not always accurate and that focusing on non verbal skills can tell you how someone is feeling at that moment but it cannot tell us who they really are. So, again, we have to be careful about judging people based on our own experiences and assumptions because that does not tell the whole story.

Communication

I just had the privilege of listening to Gary Eagleton who is a consultant for Ruby K.Payne for "Bridges Out of Poverty". He spoke on the issue of poverty and how communities can help others get out from under the trenches of poverty.

I felt he was an effective speaker because he knew how to engage the audience by walking over to participants and asking them point blank questions using their first names, roaming around the room connecting with everyone, smiling, using strong voice, and telling personal stories that help relate and connect the audience to the topic. He came across as knowledgeable and credible because of his educational background and life experiences.

I would like to model my own behavior after him because I think that other adults get so much more out of a speaker that engages his audience and helps them connect to the topic by using relevant personal narratives. Also, it keeps their minds from wandering off the topic. However, some of his confidence comes from experience which can only come in time.

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have in regards to working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that I will treat all families with respect and make an effort to understand their own family culture and to make them feel they are vital and unique to their community. Just as Seifert said, "seek first to understand, then to be understood"(2007).

One goal that I have related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is that I can be an advocate to help educate others in my family, community, and professional life about the consequences of microaggressions and "isms" and teach them why change is necessary.

I want to take this time to thank all of my collegues for their comments and discussions with me both at the discussion board and in the blogs. I have gained much insight and with your help I feel as though I have begun my long journey towards change.

Welcoming Families From Around the World

My family will be coming from the country of Mali. To prepare to be culturally responsive to the family I will:

1. Gather information such as community organizations and other resources that will both teach me background informatiom on their country and give them resources of support to help them transition.

2. Learn key words from their home language to help the family feel more welcome and comfortable, as well as to foster a familiar environment for the child and let the family know that I will value and work to keep the home language alive in the classroom.

3. Learn about their customs, practices, and religion

4. find an interpreter who can accompany me on their initial visit to make them feel welcome and comfortable so that there are no language barriers.

5. Having an interpreter will allow me to find out more about their family culture such as gender roles, role of children, intergenerational relationships, and interdependence as well as strengths and challenges they might bring to the program.

Over all I hope these preparations will strengthen the parent/teacher relationship as well as foster a culturally positive classroom environment.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I have recently witnessed the bias and prejudice of my neices fiance. My niece who is white announced that she and her boyfriend who is african american are getting married next month. This is something totally new to my family since the only ethnic person is my sister in law who is a Native American. Her parents were in total shock at first because inter racial marriage is against their belief so they attempted to cut her off. When that did not work they realized that they did not want to lose her so they are making an attempt to get to know Toney. In the meantime, I have heard comments from family members like he is the typical black male who was not raised with a father, he is lazy and does not have any ambition, he is only marrying her because black men believe that white women are a prize like a trophy, I hope he is not abusive to her, she is going to lead a rough life. I am totally embarrassed that members of my own family would make stereotypical comments such as these and I almost did not share them.

This incident diminishes equity because Toney was not even given a chance. He was pre judged based on the assumptions and prejudices of others who have never even been that close to someone with a diverse ethnicity. He was not initially treated like an individual.

As I mentioned before, I was embarrassed by such comments and I hope that I can try and educate my family to help them make a change in their attitude. Maybe this marriage will be a new start for change. Initially I had some uncomfortable feelings about it because of how I was raised, but thankfully after what I have learned through this course, I was able to look at the relationship differently.

The ones who will need to change in order to turn this incident into opportunity for greater equity is the one who has experienced the pain of prejudice or the ones who observe inequities and want to advocate for change like my neice and her fiance and me. If those who are being oppressed wait for the oppressors to change, then equity will be more difficult.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week I only noticed one micro-aggression at work and that was when some staff members were discussing the hiring of a new coworker. One of my co-workers made the comment that the only criteria she had for the new employee is that she was not old. This was offensive to me because all of my co-workers are in their twenties and early thirties so "old" to them is probably my age. I hear comments like that all the time and it makes me feel hurt and angry that they would judge someone by their age, and that maybe they so not see me as a viable employee because I am a middle age woman.

While reflecting on micro aggressions this week I was able to learn that they happen more often than we think and in many forms and settings. Thinking on my own experiences gave me a glimps of how it might feel to be discriminated against although some forms of prejudice I will never be able to experience. However, they can make me more aware of my own words and actions toward others.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I spoke with my co-worker Sam who is Mexican, one Early Childhood home visitor Raquel who is Columbian, and my brother-in-law Roy who is European. When I asked Sam about what her definition of Culture was she said it is your surroundings, what has brought you to who you are, and your actions. I then asked her what diversity meant to her and she said that diversity is found within a culture, it is not just about race but is about the region.

I asked Raquel what her definition of culture was and she said it is family differences; some do not talk much, some do not share their feelings openly, it is about how they discipline, traditions, food, language, lifestyle, independence, interdependence, values, and immunizations. Her definition of diversity is how people are different, their color, language, and their teaching of values.

Roy said culture was a persons ethnicity and foods.
To him, diversity meant differences that are accepted of others; just a way of life.

The aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied which are included in the answers I received are foods, language, migration, values, and showing emotion.
The aspects that have been omitted in my answers are holidays, artifacts, costumes, family relationships, work, housing arrangements, community connections, intergenerational relationships, ideas about education, recreation, health care, role of children, religion, gender roles, and historic events.

Talking to others about their definition of culture and diversity has given me a broader view of the words as well as reiterated what the text has shown as definitions. It has made me think about areas of culture that I had not thought about like interdependence; when a family spoon feeds their children until they are around 5 years old or so.

Like Roy, I too had originally thought culture was just about ethnicity, food, holidays, and costumes. I now know that there are many more aspects that are involved in defining culture and diversity.

My Family Culture

If I were to be evacuated to another country and I could only take three items with me that would be tough. I really do not have too many "things" that would represent my culture that I would find important enough to take.

Most of the things that I hold dear are not physical things, but traditions, my beliefs, practices and my religion. They are with you no matter where you are. One of the most important things to me would be my family, and they would already be going with me. So, if I had to choose 3 things I would choose my Bible, extended/current family pictures, and a cross necklace that my husband got me. I really do not have anything from my mother or extended family that has been passed down.

My Bible would be important to me because it is apart of my heritage and it would be important for me to pass that on to my children. My Great Grandparents came to the United States as Russian/Mennonite immigrants looking for Religious/political freedom. My grandfather was a Mennonite but he married my grandma who was not apart of the society that he grew up in, so that generation is basically where the way of life started to die off. Most of the traditions got lost because my grandmother refused to learn the German language so my mother was only taught a few words from her father. We still have some of the traditional foods on the holidays but that is mostly as far as it goes.

The pictures speak for themselves because I would want to remember the faces and have memories of my family and the things we did together. The necklace would be important because it was a special gift and it represents two relationships that are important to me.

If I were told I could only keep one item It would make me feel like a part of my only heritage was being stripped away. It would be difficult to leave two of the items but I would definitely keep the Bible because it means the most to me.

Insights I have gained about myself include realizing that my family culture is less about "things" and more about what I stand for and believe about my heritage. These are the things that I pass on to my children and they can not be taken away. I also found out that my family culture is not that strong in passing down tangible items but the focus is more on tradition and spiritual aspects. I have also learned how difficult and scary it must be for families who are here as first generation immigrants. They should be able to hang on to their culture of origin.

When I think of research.....

I now consider that not all reseaerch is valid. I used to think that if an article said it had valid statements to back up its claim then it was valid research. I now know that this is not the case, research has many criteria that it must meet in order to be credible.

My ideas about the nature of research have changed since the beginning of class because I am more educated on what constitutes valid research. In conducting research I am not as anxious in some ways because I know there are many things to consider when doing research but I am more comfortable in the process.

Lessons that I have learned about planning, designing, and coducting research is that planning is important and equity and social justice should be considered from the start. Design is important as there are different styles to consider depending on the goal of your research. There are lessons to consider when conducting research because if equity issues are not addressed your research could become invalid.

Challenges that I encountered were mostly in the beginning. Once I was able to get my research question to work then it was smoother. I also had several extraneous variables to consider in regards to how my reseaech would avoid bias and social groupings to name a few. I rectified these issues by using self-reflexivity to minimize biases.

My perceptions about the early childhood profession have been modified in the fact that I have learned how ever changing this profession is, and that it is more complex than I previously thought. I had no idea that research was a cultural invention of the white Western male upper middle-class society. Learning all of this has made me more leery of the validity of research that I read so I have learned to test and check all research before believing.

Research Around the World

I chose the website Early Childhood Australia at www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Play based learning as opposed to teacher directed learning seems to be a hot topic as well as the affects of bush fires on children. The article on play based learning talked about how children learn best by practicing new skills that build on what they already know, and puts the focus on content instead of how the lesson is delivered. This is exactly what we have learned about children.

I learned information about studies on cortisol in children who attend quality programs vs those who do not. Studies actually show that the cortisol level of children in low quality programs is higher than those who attend higher quality programs. In some instances children in low quality programs may thrive because the program is actually better that their home environment.

I also learned that some countries such as Sweden and Britain are giving paid parental leave because through studies they have found that this is the most equitable and best value economically for all. It all came about because of a study in Canada where money was dumped into building more centers and only charging families $5.00 a day to try and help out dual income families afford to continue to work. What they found is that children were more hyperactive, inattentive, and aggressive, as well as had loss of gross motor skills, social skills and higher illness. The study found that children were worse off than their peers who stayed at home. Furthermore, the families suffered too as parent-child relationships deteriorated and there was an increase in depression rates among mothers. Canada was so horrified by the corporate chain profit model of child care that dominates in Australia that there is legislation proceeding to ban public money being given to these companies.

The results of this study led others like Britain to follow the Swedish model and offer paid parental leave also which was found to be the most equitable way and the best value for money. The article ends with saying that it is what is best for babies. "Love, after all, can't be bought".

Research that Benefits Children and Families

There is no doubt that we all benefit from research. Research has given us better insight as to what children should be learning so that they can have the best education and benefits possible; Research has made driving and being a passenger much safer; research has made playgrounds safer and food safer, not to leave out the medical research that is saving and extending lives.

I have a friend who's son was diagnosed with cancer at the age of one. Research made it possible for him to get advanced treatment that ended up curing him of the disease as he is now 25 years old. There are so many stories where medical research has helped children and families that I could go on and on. Although I understand Uri Bronfenbrenners' statement about refraining from social research, I would have to disagree because we have learned so much about children by our research. One just has to make sure that the proper guidelines are followed.

My Personal Research Journey/simulation process

I have been struggling to find a topic that is feasible. I started out wanting to research more about parents perspectives and "Quality" of care. I had a hard time finding articles on that topic so I thought I would do my research on either attachment or social/emotional issues. After finding articles on those I realized that I may have a hard time researching and testing a hypothesis so I switched my focus to the affects of maternal employment on childrens development. During that research I finally came across some articles on problems and perspectives on child care.

Here are the questions that I would like to find answers to:

1. What do parents value in a child care setting and why?
2. Where do most parents feel they will find the best quality of care; home or center?
3. How do Early Childhood professionals go about educating parents about what is Developmentally Appropriate for children?

Identifying and defining research terms on the research chart has helped me to learn more about the process by understanding and knowing the meaning of the terms. You cannot follow a map if you do not know what the symbals stand for.

If anyone has any advice for me I would appreciate it. I have only written one research paper before and I had some of the same struggles. Once I come up with a good topic I know it will be easier. I just hope I can find enough articles on this topic to make it work. I really feel as though this topic fits into my current job because these are some of the questions I wonder about on a daily basis and would like to have answered.

Final Blog Assignment

Professionally, three consequences that I learned from the international early childhood field is that colleges in the field care about children's issues no matter where they are from; we share some of the same issues, and we can learn from each other.

Personally, I have learned that international professionals are not that different, we have similar issues and trends that connect us. We need to be open to other views and learn what others can teach us. Ultimately, we all have the same goal which is to do what is best for the children.

One goal in regards to international awareness of issues and trends as well as collegial relations is that I want to get more involved with organizations and professionals from around the world and continue to discuss and advocate for all children.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 3

Beth is my international contact from Canada who has since retired as director of CAYC. I asked her about professional Education requirements and she said for pre-k or k you need four or five years at a University. She had some good insights for me, and here is what she said.

I must stress that you must always think about the children first, not the parents. Keep a developmentally and culturally appropriateness focus. For example, many parents want to see "formal" type work and cutsey crafts. You know that is not developmentally appropriate. Alway stand strong in your knowledge and commitment. Provide parents/families with articles, videos, books etc that will help them understand your philosophy of early childhood teaching and learning. Be up front with parents about the philosophy of your centre or classroom. Also, keep current of best practices, not only the practical but the theoretical-look at the recent research. Never stop learning! My passion is to strive to provide the best early years experiences for all children. Become members of organizations and advocate for young children with governments and your local communities. Loving the children is not enough. We need to understand children, observe them and tailor the program based on what interests them and what they need. Remember that children are very capable and are not empty vessels to be filled.

Sharing Web Resources

I started exploring the CAYC website, and through my international contact from Canada I received this link to more information on Saskatchewan www.education.gov.sk.ca/KidsFirst -I decided to go into the education link and found sub topics on Early childhood Education, Preschool, Pre-K, Families, Communities, Early Leaerning and Child Care Programs, Educator, Legislation, Professional Learning Opportunities and Resources. In each area there are multiple articles that can be accessed on various topics.

Under early Learning and Child Care I looked at an organization called, "Kids First". It is a program that supports vulnerable families and helps them to become the best they can be by enhancing knowledge, providing support, and building on family strengths. Some of the benefits include: support from home visitor who provide assistance regarding child development, parenting and connecting to the community; help to access services such as child care and parent support groups; early learning opportunities for children; and help regarding literacy, nutrition, transportation and specialized counseling services.

I found multi-lingual services and supports for topics on respecting diversity. This is something that I have not seen around my area of the U.S. Since Canada is a bi-lingual country they seem to be ahead of the midwest on those kinds of issues. Another thing that I learned is that babies born in Saskatchewan hospitals are screened to assess challenges faced by the families and determine eligibility into some of these programs. They start at birth instead of having to wait until families contact programs. Then they are put on a long waiting list until eligibility is determined. Assessing babies in the hospital would make access to families much easier, and give children the early start they need.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts - Part 2

This week I received e-mail contact from Beth Warkentin from the Canadian Association for Young Children. She used to be an Early childhood teacher, instructor, and the director of the Saskatchewan division, but has since stepped down. Ms. Warkentin was able to direct me to a couple of websites that has given me lots of insight into her province in Canada.
The Canadian National Childcare Federation
www.education.gov.sk.ca/ELCC

There was so much information that it was overwhelming, but I ran across this article called, "Best Approaches to Quality Enhancement in the 'Informal' Child care Sector". The article talked about quality of care in the family childcare home, with the focus on what we call "unregulated" care. It was interesting because in Canada they see care by family members as just another viable option for parents and in Canada this is the mosts utilized care. Some of the reasons given were: parents work irregular hours, like the smaller setting, easier to obtain for rural families, and they can find more cultural/linguistically familiar settings to meet their needs. They feel that the term "unregulated" sends a negative message about the assumption that the program is of "poor" quality. For this reason they prefer the term "informal". They feel these informal settings should be treated as equals to licensed care so they have worked to come up with a support system called the "Family Support Model" which looks at these two types of care as a continuum with family childcare on one end and Childcare Centers on the other end. The closer the program is to home care, they get referred to more community development and other initiatives. The programs that fall closer to centers will get more professional development and regulation. This new strategy focuses on universal outreach to all as it looks for ways to support these programs.

Some of the support includes unconditional positive regard through home visits, toy libraries, drop in groups, neighborhood networking, newsletters, and workshops. In addition they encourage peer support, affirm lifelong learning, promoting relationships based on equality and respect for diversity. The Family Support Model also believes that the focus should be on the community capacity and strenghts instead of deficits. The article closes with this quote, "Seek first to understand then to be understood"(Covey, 1989, pp. 237).

This gives me a lot to think about, as in my state we look at things a little differently. In my county we just passed an ordinance that all childcare programs regardless of home or center need to become licensed. The way we look at it is that children deserve the best possible care regardless of where they are sent. It does not mean that homes are of less quality or unsafe, but if you look at statistics you will find that most fatalities occurr in the Family Child Care home. Regulation will not save all children however, if it can help to save just one child than it is worth it. Having been on both sides I can relate to both so this gives me another prospective to think about.

Sharing Web Resources

The Canadian Association for Young Children has similar issues that we have here in the U.S. I went to the news and resource section and found information on injury prevention, obesity, mental health, and poverty. These topics were found on their CHEO website which is a hospital. In their newsletter I found information on brain research/development during pregnancy and after birth. This all seems very relevant to me professionally since we have been learning a lot about these issues.
One subject that I found on the CHEO link was information on physical punishment, and it appears to be a hot topic right now. The hospital has many education classes and advocacy messages on preventing child abuse and injury in young children. It goes on to talk about the risks of physical punishment and alternatives to physical punishment. I thought it was a little different than in the U.S. because it not only states that it is not an appropriate choice, but gives reasons that are research based and follows through with classes to teach prevention strategies and alternatives.
The website resource titled "building blocks, building brains" gave information about how important brain development is in the early year, showing that neuroscience is playing a part in canadian research. It also stated that many programs and trainings in Canada do not yet incorporate this teaching about brain development, so it was a fairly new concept.
Other new insights that I gained was in the area of the environment. There were many workshops about environmental education like; Healthy Environments, Healthy Kids, and children and nature. There was talk about environmental toxins and reducing exposures to toxic chemicals and other hazards that impact children's health.

International Contacts-Part 1

My International Contact is Jaqueline Che from Malaysia. I have not received a response from the organizations or individuals that I tried to contact, so I went in search of Early Childhood Professionals here in my community that have come from other countries. Jaqueline has been in the U.S. for about 7 years, where she attended Kansas State University and received her Masters in ECE.
Jaqueline works as a Center director and has experience as an assistant preschool teacher in Malaysia. She told me that the teachers there were teacher directed and did not let the children play. The Academics for 4 & 5 year olds is equivelant to our 1st grade. It was so hard for her to be a part of this rigorous schedule and she finally had to quit.
Jaqueline told me that women in Malaysia are discriminated against because the belief is that women should not be higher achievers than their husbands. Her parents discouraged her from getting her Masters Degree because they felt that no man would want to marry her. Women who are independent are looked down upon because Men are suppose to dominate. In a Muslim country the Muslims are the "sacred" and commander ones. She went on to say that Buddhist believes women are reincarnated to be women because of bad karma. Women are meant to suffer because of our lifestyle like pregnancy, menstruation, and being a class lower than men.
The number one issue facing ECE according to Jaqueline, is the amount of stress that is put on children in pre-k programs. They are having exams, spelling tests, and other high academic stressors. Parents are competing among their children for the best honors. Jaqueline sent me a couple of articles that help get her point across; one is from this mornings Everyday Exchange. It is an article about a mom who is suing her child's preschool because she felt that they misrepresented themselves when they said that they would prepare students for entrance exams to get into elite schools (Martinez, 2011). Here is the site, www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/14/2011/-03-14_manhattan_...
The other article is a country report on Poverty in Malaysia, and how they are eradicating it. I read the article, and it talked about current issues relating to poverty. Some of the topics included; fertility levels and trends, reproductive health, gender equality, health care, education and communication for adults, and STD's/Aids. I thought it was kind of odd that children were not mentioned in the article at all, neither was consequences of poverty on child development. It appears that they feel that population control is the answer to poverty in their country.

Sharing Web Resources

I chose the international Canadian Association for Early Childhood Education website (www.cayc.ca/indexjournal.html). After doing more research on this site I was struck by one of their main missions which is, "Young children have the right to learn through play".

Obviously, if you look at the title of my blog I have a huge interest in this topic. They share several articles and research quotes to support this mission. The organization seems to have similar objectives as programs in our country like: policies and programs that effect the development of children, ECH community support, professional development, opportunities for effective collaboration, and recognition of outstanding contributions to the well-being of children.

They also have an interest in promoting family literacy. I have tried to contact someone in regards to their literacy program but have not gotten a response yet. Another thing that I learned while researching this website was that there is a big issue with environmental hazards and the affects on mothers breastmilk. The statement only referred to the over use of plastic and metal products which was starting to show up in mothers milk. They talked about the need for better regulation of these products.

Establishing Professional Contacts

Part 1

I was initially nervous about contacting someone from another country but then I was excited! I think it will be interesting and a great learning experience. The two contacts I chose to e-mail were:
www.ulrike.konrad-ristau@agj.de
www.siobhanf@nippa.org

Part 2
The Resource that I chose to explore is the International Step by Step Association at www.issa.nl/. I am interested in this area because my heritage is from the Netherlands. I hope to learn about their ECH practices, issues and trends.

"My Supports"

To me, the term support  is anything that gives me help in completing a task in the least amount of time, or just help to complete a task at all.  It also means getting emotional support such as affirmation and validation from someone who knows and accepts my good and bad qualities.  I have many supports that would make my life easier but I don't really need them to complete a task.  Some of my support needs are having a car, computer, and monetary support.  My support wants include others to help move heavy items, help with yard work, an alarm clock, calendar, microwave, dishwasher and running water to name a few.  I could not get to work without a car and could not work full time and keep up the daily duties of running a home or taking the children to their extra curricular activities without a car.  Furthermore, without a computer I could not take this class or pay my bills without monetary support.  Without these supports I would have to be at home full time, and the children would not be able to attend their activities.  They would all have to work to help out like children did years ago.      

If I were all of the sudden in an accident that left me paralyzed and in a wheelchair I would need many different kinds of supports depending on whether or not I had the use of my hands.  I would no longer be independent and would need someone who could feed me, change me, bathe me, dress me and take me everywhere I needed to go, like an infant.  Not many of the supports that were important to me before would be helpful now.  The emotional support would still be needed but the practical supports would not be as helpful because I couldn't reach most of them, or have access to them with a wheelchair.  The physical supports would become the greatest help to me because it is the physical mobility that I would have lost.  These supports would include: a wheelchair, ramps, elevators, lifts, and people who could help me with personal needs.  With these supports I would at the very least be able to live, but without them I could not survive (feeding).  These kinds of support would become very critical to my success as opposed to just enhancing my current life.

"My Connections to Play"

          As a child we would spend hours exploring leaves, rocks, sticks , water and clay down at the creek.

           Coming from a family of 8 children there was always someone to play basketball with.

 My father was a wheat farmer so as young children we spent hours playing in the wheat trucks.

This picture reminded me of the times we would play in the driveway and use objects to pretend we had a  house and a neighborhood.  We would drive our tricycles on our made up roads.

PLAY QUOTES

"In childhood there is no distinction between play and work (Almon, 2002)"
"Pretend play requires extended uninterrupted time periods to develop complexity (Berger, 2002)"

HOW PLAY HAS CHANGED:
Forty years ago children used their imaginations more to play.  I lived on a farm and we made our own intertainment with whatever materials we could find in nature and we were able to spend hours without being interrupted.  Today, children have more electronic games and toys that do not allow them to use their imaginations or get as much physical activity, as well as less unstructured play.

We still play with board games, have yoyo's, balls, dolls, jacks, stuffed animals and wheeled vehicles, but the difference today is that we have video games, electronic games and such resulting in less cognitive thinking skills, less imagination and less physical activity.  I hope we can get back to more natural playscapes and reconnect with yesterday.  In the book, Last Child In The Woods Richard Louv states that, "direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for physical and emotional health of children and adults.  Play is just as important for adults as it is for children. 

INTERESTING STATISTIC:
Out of 15,000 school districts surveyed in 1999, 40% were eliminating recess or cutting back on it.  Only three states require recess and 10 recommend it (NYT).  

   

Child Development and Public Health

I chose the topic of SIDS because it seems to be a hot topic and one that is still unresolved.  Since I work one on one with child care providers we try and educate and pass on any new information that comes out on the topic.  We also bring speakers in to speak about it.

I looked at SIDS (also called cot death or crib death) around the world and found that New Zealand had the highest incidence while Asia, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland have fewer cases.  In the Netherlands in 1971, two pediatricians at a conference presented the benefits of prone sleeping positions for babies.  Mothers then switched from their traditional habit of putting babies to sleep on their backs and by 1986 the cot death rate (which had been very low) had tripled.  Yet it was the Netherlands that started the first 'back to sleep' campaign in 1989, and their Sudden Infant Death rate fell by 40 percent.

In New Zealand some research suggests that the reason for cot death is extremely toxic nerve gases that form a certain fungi that gets into the mattress.  Other researchers dispute this view, however, after they implimented matress wrapping where a thin plastic coating is wrapped around the matress, rates have fallen 48 percent.  In conclusion, it appears that there are many views out there about the causes but nothing definite.  I say if what other countries are doing is working to lower incidence then keep doing it.