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.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, March 11, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, March 7, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
"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.
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.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
"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).
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).
Thursday, January 13, 2011
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.
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.
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