Relationship Reflection

"The best love is the one that makes you a better person, without changing you into something other than yourself."

Relationships are so important to me. I would not be were I am today without the support that these relationships I have, have given me. This is my family, we have grown from when this picture was taken. Everyone in this picture has an impact on my life. My parents are my main support system. They have taught me that I can do and be anything I want to be all it takes is effort and passion. The support they have given me while growing up pushed me to try different activities and be a better person. My three older brothers are my protectors. They taught me to stand up for myself. In this world things are not handed to you on a platter, you have to fight for what you want. It was not easy to maintain my good relationships with my brothers. As the youngest and the only girl sometimes I felt disconnected from my family. I sometimes felt that I was dragged to all my brothers events but when it came to my events they weren't there. However, as we all got older we all got closer and those bonds grew stronger. The relationship I have with my friends is also so important to me. They each taught me to just relax and have fun. Life is to short to be stressed out and boring. Each of my relationships offers different characteristics that I value. The connections I have with my family have shown me the importance of relating to the parents in the centers I work at. My development was greatly influenced by my relationships with my family, as a teacher I want to make a connection with those families as well. When there are these connections between family and teachers the child gets the benefits of that relationship.

Thank you!

Here are some of my favorite quotes about teaching and children.

"Our job is to teach the students we have. Not the ones we would like to have. Not the ones we used to have. Those we have right now. All of them."-- Dr. Kevin Maxwell

"What people somehow forget to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here."-- Anne Lamott

"After some 30 years of [analyzing teaching], I have concluded that classroom teaching is perhaps the most complex, most challenging, and most demanding, subtle, nuanced, and frightening activity that our species has ever invented." -- Lee S. Shulman

"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it."-- George Bernard Shaw

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."-- Mary Anne Radmacher

"Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed."-- Maria Montessori

"Every student can learn just not on the same day or in the same way."-- George Evans


I would like to thank all my classmates for the feed back and comments on my blog week after week. I am excited to continue this journey with you. When it comes to teaching sometimes your peers and coworkers are the best resources. Purvi Manek and Charissa Merrell  both of your blogs were always filled with amazing detail on the topic you chose. I enjoyed reading your connections to different parts of the world each week. Thank you for sharing.  Good luck with the rest of your program.

The Whole Child

"I will let them be little, fill their hearts with laughter, help them grow wings, nurture heir sense of wonder, inspire them to believe, and love them like there is no tomorrow." --Unknown

Every child is different. No two children learn the same, no two children work the same. This is common knowledge for most educators. Children should not be simply measured based on their academic skills in reading, writing, and math. There are so many dimensions to a child that we should allow that child to be assess in multiple ways.  While reading, writing, and math are all important there is also creative art, science, social studies, emotional, social, and physical developments that should all be tested of a growing child. When building something we do not just assess it by whether it is finished or not. We look at all different aspects of it. Is it level, is it the right dimensions, color, texture, is able to complete the function it was build for. If we do that for something we built then why are we not teaching and assessing children in the same manor.

InformED from Open Colleges has an article entitled Holistic Teaching: 20 Reasons Why Educators Should Consider a Student's Emotional Well-Being. Below are some of those 20 reasons.
1.) Emotions impact Learning
3.) Emotional Health is crucial for success.
4.) Creativity is necessary for innovation.
9.) There are layers of intelligence.
10.) A person's worldview is colored by their emotional well-being.
19.) Emotional well-being as part of the curriculum helps with developing interpersonal skills.
20.) Education will continue to succeed if it takes a holistic approach.

According to the Center on International Education Benchmarking: Learning from the World's High Performing Education System, China's curriculum is broken down into eight learning domains. Language and literacy, math, natural science, social sciences, technology, arts, physical education, and a practicum are the eight learning domains. Children as assessed by taking different examinations at different periods during the year. There are also graduation exams that most be passed in order to go on to the next level. Students that plan to go to college are also required to take a university entrance examination. This exam could have a great impact on the students college future.

Below is a link to a youtube video of a teacher using a whole brain method of teaching. I like this video because of how actively involved all the children all. I hope you enjoy as well.
Whole Brain Teaching: Kindergarten (Expanded!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yygIwC3PSvk

Reference
Julie DeNeen, October 15, 2012, informED, Holistic Teaching: 20 Reasons why educators should consider a students emotional well-being. http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/trends/holistic-teaching-20-reasons-why-educators-should-consider-a-students-emotional-well-being/

Center on international education benchmark: learning from the world's  high performing education: Instructional System. http://www.ncee.org/programs-affiliates/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/shanghai-china/shanghai-china-instructional-systems/

Stressors in the lives of children

Hunger is a huge problem when it comes to children and their developmental needs. Children that go to school hungry are not able to focus on the teacher and information in front of them. They are more worried about were their next meal might come from and when it might be. Below are a list of facts from the Share Our Strength No Kid Hungry. Children maybe able to survive during the school year when they are able to get a free or reduced lunch, however, what happens in the summer when those programs are not available and those children are unable to get to a place that serves free lunches to kids.

Facts on Child Hunger

• 16.2 million kids in America struggle with hunger.
• 10.5 million kids eligible for free or reduced- price breakfast do not get it
• More than 20 million kids get a free or reduced-price school lunch on an average school day.
• Six out of 7 eligible kids do not get free summer meals.
• 15.7 million children in America live in poverty. 

As far as cognitive and academics Share Our Strength states:

• Undernourished children 0-3 years of age cannot learn as much, as fast or as well.
• Lack of enough nutritious food impairs a child's ability to concentrate and perform well in school. 

When it comes to emotional and social well-being Share Our Strengths states:

• Children who regularly do not get enough nutritious food to eat have significantly  higher levels of behavioral, emotional and academic problems and be more aggressive and anxious. 
• Teens who regularly do not get enough to eat are more likely to be suspended from school and have difficulty getting along with other kids. 

One resource that I found for families is the National Hungry Hotline. However, I just thought if children to not have food then the families might not have access to look up resources online. 

National Hunger Hotline- Why Hunger (1-800-5HUNGRY)

http://www.whyhunger.org/findfood

This is not just a problem in US. It is a world wide problem. 

According to Do Something. org, Poverty is the main cause of hunger. With poverty comes a decrease in available resources. Sometimes the resources are out there but the families are unable to get to them.   

References

Share our Strength: No kid hungry. (2011). https://www.nokidhungry.org/sites/default/files/2011-childhood-hunger-facts.pdf 

Do Something. org. 11 Facts about world hunger. https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-world-hunger# 

SIDS

"When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn't a word to describe them."--- Ronald Regan


Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

        I find the topic of SIDS very interesting. This is a meaningful topic to me because I work with infants and their families. SIDS is the leading killer of children between one month and one year. There is always a chance that an infant could die from SIDS on my watch. My coworkers and I take preventive measures to do all we can to make sure that does not happen.  We preform five minute bed checks, which means when I child is laid down for a nap we check on that child every five minutes until that child gets back up again. There is the Bare is Best movement going that says that there should only be a crib sheet on the mattress and nothing else inside the crib with the child.

     According to SIDS and Kids Australia had 54 SIDS related deaths for every 1,000 births in 2013 (2015 Fast Facts). Compared to other counties, "IN 1990 the SIDS rate in Australia was 1.81 in 1000 live births, less than the highest SIDS rates in that year which were in Ireland, New Zealand, and Scotland (2.0 in 1000 live births)." Statistics from ten years ago state, "Australia's SIDS rat was 0.3 in 1000 when the highest SIDS rates (0.5 in 1000 live births) were in New Zealand and the United States. The lowest rates (02 in 1000) were in Japan and the Netherlands." (Hauck & Tanabe, 2005)

Doctors to this day still do not have a cause for SIDS. However, as they continue to research and we learn more about possible things that increase the risk for SIDS there will be more for me to look for as a child care provider. This will impact my future majorly when I become a mother myself. My future husband and I will have questions to think about and different things to consider to make sure we are doing the best we can for our child's safety.

References
2015 Fast Facts, pdf, http://www.sidsandkids.org/research/

Hauck, F., & Tabanbe, K. International comparison of SIDS       rates. http://www.sidsandkids.org/research/

Welcome to the World

"Family: where life begins and love never ends."-- Unknown

August 14, 2003, I remember it like it was yesterday. The day my first nephew was born and my family added another member. I remember sitting in the waiting room in the old hospital with the soon to be first time grandma. My nephew was born by c-section at 12:23 in the afternoon. I could tell by the cry it was my nephew coming down the hall with my brother and the doctor. I remember see the tears of joy streaming down my mother and brothers face as we came face to face with the little guy. I chose this example because of the way it made me feel and the fact that I was able to be to see my nephew within minutes of him being born. I remember so many little details about that day. I have always wanted to have children. I believe that children are impacted from the very first moments of life. Attachment starts from the first hugs and first kisses.

I researched birth traditions in China. I found that childbirth traditions in China starts when the husband of the newly wed couple carries the new bride over hot coals into there house to ensure a successful labor. There are also different things that pregnant Chinese women avoid doing and eating such as: does not gossip, lose her temper, eat food that has been improperly mashed or cut, or attend a funeral. I found it very interesting that the baby shower does not occur until after the baby is born for the fear it is bad luck. I love how involved the grandparents are in the process of buying things for the baby. I remember attending my nephews baby shower and being an active participate at the party. I remember waiting in the waiting room for my nephew to be born. However, in China the grandparents do not visit the child until after the third day.   (Brown, http://www.babble.com/pregnancy/childbirth-traditions-china/)

I like some of the traditions that China has for childbirth, I do believe that one could mix some of the normal American traditions with that of Chinese culture.

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The women existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."-- Rajneesh

Thank you everyone for the wonderful course! I cannot wait to see what the rest of this journey has to offer.
Sara