Thanks Week 8

Thank you all for sharing such personal and compassionate thoughts through out this course.  It has been a pleasure working with you and I wish you all the best in your future classes.

Good-byes

In my opinion high –performing jobs aren’t the hardest to leave.  I feel that the hustle and bustle can sometimes be overwhelming and meant to be short term.  Groups that have strong norms are often hard to enter into so you often feel like the outsider if you weren’t at the beginning stage of development.  You can sometimes find yourself wishing for the completion of the task.

I feel that the hardest stage for me to say good-bye in is the performing stage.  I think that when we are all working hard and doing our best it makes for a fun place to be and a hard place to leave.  I also think that the norming stage is hard to leave because you are learning about everyone and the way that they do things.  The more that you learn about people the closer you get even if you don’t like the way that they handle certain situations. 

The closing rituals that I have experienced have varied depending on the situation and the location.  I have experienced parties, rewards, and simple good-byes when situations came to an end.  I know that some people like to show how much they have appreciated you by throwing parties while others feel like you have done your job so it’s time to move on to the next adventure.

I think that by adjourning from the group of teammates that I have formed will be bitter sweet.  Bitter in the sense that I will no longer have the group of colleagues to bounce ideas off of and to build a strong foundation for my teaching experience.  Sweet in the sense that I will have received a degree that will hopefully open new doors for me in my future. 

Adjourning is a natural part of any relationship and project.  There has to closure in order to move on.  It may not mean that you are leaving a person or a job but it means that you have completed one task and you’re graduating to the next. 

Communication and disagreements

  

One situation that I experienced was where I felt like the truth wasn’t being told at work.  There was a colleague that constantly told things about people that weren’t true which led to hostile feelings and frustration.  There were people that wanted to quit over this one person.  Our boss didn’t see the deception until it was too late.  People started going to the office to talk about their issues and that’s when our boss realized the severity of the situation.  Because the staff didn’t know how to handle this person there were a lot of words and emotions that were passed from person to person that weren’t nice and kind.  Once our boss saw the issue for what it was she was able to handle it and gather the troops back into a positive environment. 

            I think that the strategies that could have been used would have been for the staff to share their issues with the boss before the situation got out of hand and from there discussed with the lady that was at the center of the conflict about how they didn’t care for the way she was conducting herself around them.  They could have sat down and talked about ways to walk away from her when she started conversations like that and they could have come together as a group to find positive ways to redirect her attention so that it wouldn’t be so negative.  I think that if we had gone to the boss as a group before it had gotten so bad then the situation wouldn’t have progressed so negatively.  The 3 R’s would have been appropriate…Respect other people, respond with positive words and actions instead of negative ones, and show positive reciprocations instead of negative interactions. 

References:

The Third Side.  Retrieved: July 26, 2012.  http://www.thirdside.org/

Communication assesments

When I looked at the assessments this week I was surprised to see that the 2 other people thought that I was a good listener and that I tried to stay away from arguments (Communication Anxiety Inventory).  I felt this about myself but I didn’t realize how others perceived me.  It is good to know that I am putting off the vibes that I work hard at.  I want people to feel comfortable talking to me and knowing that I will listen and try to help them with their problems.

The other insights that I gained this week are once again people are different.  The 2 people that I spoke with stated how they don’t always handle situations the same.  My husband stated that he is shy and will run from any opportunity to speak in public but he is not as good as listening as he felt that I was.  My co-teacher states that she doesn’t like public speaking either but that she views herself as a good listener and a person that is willing to help others.  I also realize that in order to communicate you have to listen and carry yourself in a manner that will be received by others. 

Listening will help with both my personal and professional lives because it gives me the opportunity to hear what those that I care about have to say.  This is important to me because by nature I love to help others and I can’t do that if I am not willing to hear their thoughts and concerns. 

I feel that I have to carry myself in a way that will invite people to want to talk to me.  My husband works with a lady that is always loud and willing to start a confrontation.  He talks about how his other colleagues don’t want to do projects with her because she is always stirring up trouble.  In this situation this person has closed the door to others communicating with her because she isn’t allowing people to discuss issues at hand without putting others on the spot.  One of the questions asked in the survey was when do you lash out at others when you don’t have solutions to a problem (Communication Anxiety Inventory)?  I think that this is what this person is doing.

References:

Communication Anxiety Inventory.  Retrieved: July 18, 2012.  n.laureatemedia.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6165/04/mm/quiz/quiz_communication/index.html.

Sommunicating differently with different people

I do communicate differently with people of different groups.  I think that we all do.  For example: I talk to the pastor differently than I would talk to my family or friends.  Even though I might joke and play I am careful to make sure that my words are positive and godly.  I also talk to my boss differently than I talk to my co-workers.  My co-teachers and I play, discuss things that are bothering us at work, etc but my boss can’t always relate to the conversation so it is hard to share those experiences with her.

I feel that three strategies that I would use to communicate differently would be:

-Listen (Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond, 2011).  (I need to listen and make sure that I understand what is being stated before I respond.  I need to be mindful that whoever is talking to me is trying to express their feelings and thoughts so I need to take the time to understand before I start to share my feelings.)

-Use the “Platinum Rule” (O’Hair, & Wiemann, 2009).  (I need to respond to people in a way that makes them feel that I am trying to respect and understand their thoughts and feelings even if I disagree.  I need to show concern for others regardless of their situation or backgrounds).

-I need to be open minded (Vuckovic, 2008).  (I need to make sure that I am not making judgments on people because of race, religion, gender, situations, etc.  I need to make sure that I am looking at the situation for what it is and not for who is in it).  

References:

  Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011).  Retrieved: July 10, 2012.   Interpersonal c  communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

  O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2009). Retrieved: July 10, 2012.   Real communication: An introduction.  

  New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Vuckovic, A. (2008).  Retrieved: July 10, 2012.   Inter-cultural communication: A foundation of communicative action. Multicultural Education and Technology Journal, 2(1), 47–59.

communication through TV

Communication and tv.

I watched The Mentalist for the first time.  The commercials seemed interesting to me because it reminded me of one of my favorite shows Psych.  I watched it with the volume off at first.

What do you think the characters’ relationships are based on the ways in which they are communicating?

Looking at the interactions of the characters I saw them as a team.  They talked a lot to each other and were always around each other.

What are they feeling and expressing based on the nonverbal behavior you are observing?

I saw confused faces, fingers pointing, and embracing of victims’ families.

Now, watch the show with the sound turned on.

What assumptions did you make about the characters and plot based on the ways in which you interpreted the communication you observed?

I first tried to decide who was in charge on the show because the person that appeared to be the one that everyone kept reporting to wasn’t the person that was solving the cases.  I assumed that a man had feelings for one of the detectives by the way he looked at her and continued to try to be around her.

Would your assumptions have been more correct if you had been watching a show you know well?

My assumptions probably would have been better had I been more familiar with the show because I could have had the background information on the characters and the makeup of the program.

Write about your experience in your blog, including what you learned about communication from this experience and insights or “aha” moments you believe would be helpful to your colleagues.

Aha moments that I had watching this show was that you can look at the way people move and their body language and detect some of their feelings.  However, you still have to be careful because everyone might use the same action for different reasons.  For example, someone yelling might not be in anger but they might be trying to warn someone of danger.

Communication and Collaboration in Early Childood

         I like the way President Obama holds his temper.  I have seen blatant disrespect of him on television that I personally know that I would not be able to keep my cool if I were in the same situation.  I don’t think that you have to like everything a person stands for and you certainly don’t have to agree but I do think that each person deserves respect without the hidden racism or criticisms that he often receives.  This may be just because he is the president but either way I feel that someone else in these situations might respond differently.

            I think that his calm demeanor helps to keep situations under control and encourages respect of

 others.  I would want to model myself after him because I have dealt with racism and it is not always easy

to maintain a sense of composure.  For me, keeping my cool and showing others is the ultimate sign of my

strength because I feel that it would take a lot to show people that I can be Godly even if they aren’t.

Personal hopes and goals

            One hope that I would have for myself with regards to working with children and families from diverse backgrounds is that I would be open minded and accepting.  I would hope that I would take the time to get to know the student and their parents before making conclusions about their religion, home environment, and culture.  I would want the same applied to me so I can only reach out and expand my knowledge about people that might come from different backgrounds than me so that I can continue to strive to be the best teacher that I can be.

            One goal that I would like to set for the education field regarding diversity, equity, and social justice would be to inform others of the importance of education and what it takes to help children succeed regardless of their backgrounds.  I think that children from all areas of the globe deserve the opportunity to receive quality education and I think that it should be standard regardless of where you live.  In my opinion children that live in less than favorable conditions should have quality education and services that would help them become great students and want to be positive members of society.  I feel that in order to do this we have to recognize each student as an individual and respect the student’s differences so that we are learning as teachers while we are teaching our students.

            I would like to thank all of my fellow classmates that have given a voice to this topic and that have shared their experiences with me.  I think that as long as we keep pushing forward in a positive manner we can help make our communities better a little bit at a time.  Enjoy your future classes.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

As I child I never felt that there was prejudices against me.  Even though I grew up in the projects I never realized that they were projects until I was much older.  I felt that there were biases against Blacks as I go older.  I remember that there were two community centers in our neighborhood.  One that was used mostly by the Blacks and one that was used mostly by the Whites.  Although no one ever said that we had to use one facility or the other it was understood by some that there should have been that division.  Well with my ignorance to the situation I usually went to the mostly White facility.  What I found there was that the people were very nice and respectful. I swam and enjoyed the company of my friends.  I also found that I was more comfortable there.  The facility was nicer and the atmosphere was better.  I think that when we cause divisions in our communities it creates an element of anger and hatred.  It’s hatred for those who don’t think that you are as special as they are but also hatred for yourself.  You want to change who you are to fit in and that’s never an okay scenario.

I believe that this incident diminished equity by encouraging one race of people to feel more dominant than another.  I also feel that it allowed the less dominant culture to feel as though they weren’t good enough which caused them to develop low self esteem issues and issues of low self worth.  On the flip side I think that when this happens communities begin to rally together to make changes for the better good of the people.  My community tried to embrace and bring people together.  We began sharing the centers and there were always events at both centers that invited others to come and take part in.

For me this incident was a learning experience because it allowed me to see that people were afraid.  They were afraid of things that they didn’t know and of change.  I think that this was true on both sides of the color barriers.  People are often afraid of things that are out of the norm for them.  If they feel that change is about to happen and it isn’t what they are use to then it causes them to panic.  Instead of embracing the changes that are for the good of man we tend to shy away and fight to keep things the same.

In order for this incident to become better in the equity department I think that change would have to start inside of one person and move on to the next.  I think that if one person changes the way that they think then maybe the next person will change and so on and so forth.  I believe that if we work together with our communities to make changes it will catch on and eventually people will start to see the importance of caring for others that are different than themselves.

Practicing awareness of microaggressions

Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time. In what context did the microaggression happen?

In today’s time there is a lot of talk about politics.  People are trying to decide who to vote for and why.  There is so much controversy on every topic that it begins to heat up whenever people gather to discuss it.  This was the case for my observation.  I observed people in my school during lunch breaks.  The topic of politics came up between 3 teachers.  They were discussing the Marriage Amendment. Two ladies said that they were devote Christians and that they didn’t believe that two people of the same gender should be married.  One stated that she felt that all people should have the same benefits but just not change the word “marriage”.  The third lady said that she felt like it was fine to change the definition of marriage but that she didn’t like the fact that the government had been given the right to decide which people should get what.  As the conversation progressed the first lady became frustrated because she said that it was just wrong for “those people” to want to change everything to fit their needs.  The third lady asked her what she meant by “those people” and she said gay people.  She asked why they couldn’t just live the way they wanted to without wanting to change everything to fit their lifestyles. 

I found that this conversation showed examples of micro aggressions from the sexual orientation level.  It should feelings of anger and resentment as well as concern.  People didn’t want to see their lives changed and didn’t understand the lives of others.

 What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggression?

During this conversation I wanted to remain unbiased so I stayed quite even though I have taken part of this same type of dialogue before.  I felt awkward listening to people discuss the fate of others as though they had the right to.  I also felt defensive because I could see how the conversation could easily change into something involving race or religion.  I understood the arguments of all the parties but it is hard to remain positive when you are so passionate about any topic.  I think this is what happened with these ladies.  They all had strong opinions and they wanted to share and maybe even get the other person to agree with their point of view.

In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people.

This observation allowed me to see how passionate and forceful people are about topics that they believe in.  People are not willing to change their opinions unless they see a strong reason to do so.  They are willing to fight, yell, and scream in order to get their points of view across.  I also see how the perceptions of which you were taught can influence your way of thinking.  The “Christian” women were strong in their feelings because this is what they had been taught their entire Christian lives.  The other woman may have been just as religious but was somewhat more laid back and willing to explore other options.

Perspectives on diversity and culture

It seems that my friends have similar views on what is culture and what is diversity as you will see when you read their definitions.  After discussing this issue with them I can say that we all need to recognize and respect the differences in culture so that each person can feel appreciated and embraced.

Tasha-

Her definition of culture is traditions, race traditions, heritage and your ancestry, and the environment in which we live.

Her definition of diversity is to be an individual and to be different.

   

Nia-

Her definition of culture is the language, food you eat, your family background, and your environment.

Her definition of diversity is multiple ethnicities, and cultures.

 

Tabitha

Her definition of culture is that it’s a way of living, different ways of thinking.

Her definition of diversity is mixture of cultures and different backgrounds.

 

Some of the aspects that I received and that we discussed in class are: background, families and their traditions, differences, and different ethnicities.

 

 

Talking to these friends allowed me to see how similar we are in our thinking.  We all felt that our backgrounds and families were important.  We also felt that our environments encouraged the way we think about ourselves and how we think about others.

 

Some of the aspects of culture and diversity that I feel came have been acknowledged in this course and by my friends are:

-Culture is a heritage

-Culture is a way of living

-We have to be accepting of diversity

-We have to be accepting of differences

One main aspect that I think we all struggle with that has been left out is our need to be knowledgeable of others and their beliefs.  We say that we are accepting until we have to deal with it directly.  I think that by looking at ourselves and finding the issues that we might have prejudices against, we can begin to change our way of thinking and therefore change the way that we act towards others.

I think that looking at the way other people think has helped me to better understand how important culture and heritage is.  Sometimes I think that I take for granted the traditions that my family has.  I feel that it’s just “supposed” to be that way.  Truth is after my mom passed away I saw a lot of changes in our family.  My mom was only 53 when she died but she affected the way our family did things.  It is sad to see traditions change but it makes me fight harder to keep them going.

My family culture

A description of the three items you would choose

If I had to uproot my family and move with only 3 necessities I would take:

-Birth certificates

-Pictures

-Cuddle item that means something to my kids.

How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you

I would take the birth certificates so that my children and I could prove where we were born and revisit our birth places when given the chance.  I would take pictures so that the children could remember where they had lived and feel close to something that is familiar.  I would also take a cuddle item for them so they wouldn’t feel entirely lost in a new world and in a new environment.

Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you

If I was told that I had to give up 2 of the items I would be disappointed and hurt.  I think that these items would help us to be able to reestablish ourselves in a new world.  If I had to give up 2 items they would be the pictures and cuddle items. I think that it would be more important for us to be able to prove where we had come from and where we need to be.

Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise,

An insight that I gained about myself is that I am focused on my children and their comfort zone.  I want only what’s best for them and would absolutely put them and my husband first.  I do think that as long as we were able to stick together as a family would could make it through anything.

When I think of research...

When I think of research…

• What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

I have come to realize that research is hard and timely.  It takes a lot of patience, planning, and dedication in order to provide quality and useful research information.

• In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

I honestly had never really thought much about how research was done in this manner before.  I remember studying about certain types of research and wondering why they only focused on children in certain areas or why it was only men doing the research?  From this course I have learned that you have to search with an open mind and you have to look at more than just one group of anything in order for your information to be accurate.

• What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

The lessons that I learned from these topics are that you have to fair, mindful of the information that you are about to receive, and you have to be willing to run the long race in order to complete the study.  I think that planning and preparing is crucial to receiving accurate information.  You have to know what you are looking for and how to obtain that information.  You also have to be willing to prepare the information in a non-biased manner.

• What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them?

Some of the challenges that I encountered in this class were trying to fully understanding the information and how to apply it.  I was not always sure of what the terminology meant and which plans would work best for my study.  I also felt myself questioning my study and if it was going to be something that was needed by the parents and teachers.  My study was on the types of concerns parents had regarding the schools and education that their children were receiving and how those concerns would benefit the education of their children. I had to rewrite and reprocess this information a couple of times until I got it right.  In order to meet my challenges I had to be willing to take constructive criticism from my teachers and listen to the questions that my peers asked and apply it to the work I was doing.  This helped me better prepare for my challenges.

• What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

I don’t think that my perception of early childhood professionals has changed.  If anything I am more respectful and appreciative of the time and effort that they have to give in order to manage a quality program with quality curriculums.  It is a thankless job at times and it is important to keep encouraging teachers and administrators to the best of our abilities.

I would like to thank all of my peers for your encouragements and dedication.  This was a tough course for me and I leaned on some of you to make it through.  I hope that your road to success will be a success as we continue to go on this journey together to reach our goals.  Thank you.

Research around the world

The article that I read was called Building Community Leadership for Quality Sustainability in Madrasa Preschools: The Case of Madrasa Preschools Post Graduation Support. This article was very interesting because it allowed me to see that people all over the world have some of the same issues of education that we have here.  These children in Africa are often forgotten about and often don’t receive the same day to day necessities that our children get here without a second thought and one of those is a good education. 

The Madrasa Preschools Post Graduation Support Program (MPP) that tries to assist community owned preschools.  They want to make sure that the preschools in those areas don’t vanish and that they continue to serve the children there with quality teachers and support systems for the families.  This program tries to offer teacher training and develop relationships with the families so that they can assist their children in developing positive learning skills.

At first training of the teachers didn’t have follow up support so the outcome was not as successful as the Community Resource Team (CRT) would have liked.  They have since put into place continuous support teams that reach out to the teachers and the families.  They partner with the parents to make sure that they understand what is going on in the program and how to be better resources for them.  They teach the families about health (AIDS) and nutrition awareness.  The teachers are trained in the development of the children, how the children learn, active learning, and communication skills.

Like I stated earlier it was interesting to find that there was a program set in place in Africa.  I wasn’t aware that there was much being done about the children and their education there.  I am very pleased.  I found that this website had many other areas that you can look into all over the globe that would provide insights on what other educators and community workers are facing in this field.  It is important to understand that the fight on education is not ours alone and that we can band together to make sure that all children receive quality educations and support systems.  If we can fix our roads we should be able to educate our children.

References:

Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Retrieved: March 28, 2012.  http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php 

Research that benefits children and families

One example of research that affected my family was when my daughter suffered severe stomach pain.  Doctors couldn’t figure out why she was in so much pain.  They did several tests and found that she was holding her bowels.  They asked me if she had suffered any trauma in her life recently.  I told them that her grandmother had just passed away several weeks ago.  Apparently, this was something that she felt that she could control since she couldn’t control the lost that had affected her so deeply.

They did a study test on her to see how she dealt with sadness and tragedy.  At the end of the test it was found that she was otherwise happy but didn’t want to leave her dad and me to go potty.  After the study was done we found different ways to let her know that we would still be there when she came out of the potty.

This study was needed and affective because children deal with tragedy in different ways.  They are just like adults and they try to find ways to take control of their lives when they feel that they have lost control.  This was a very non-evasive study in the sense that it didn’t require overnight visits to the doctors or long observations.  There was a lot of talking and drawing.  My daughter actually thought it was fun.

Personal Research Journey

I decided to research how to be a better resource to the families that I work with and to my community.  I have found that parents are stumped when it comes to certain areas of their children's lives.  They often find it difficult to locate other parents or teachers that can share their compassion for situations that they are going through.  What they don't realize is that their child didn't break the mold and there are plenty of other parents sharing the same issues. 

Through the Walden University website I was able to type in "Parent Resources" and I found lots of different topics that were helpful not only to parents but to me as a teacher as well.  Some of the article that I read are:

A Wealth of Reading Resources.  Retrieved: March 8, 2012.  Full Text Available By: Steward, Frances; Goff, Diana. Illinois Reading Council Journal, Spring2006, Vol. 34 Issue 2, p61-64, 4p.

Parental information and resource centers.  Retrieved: March 8, 2012.  Report by: U.S. Department of Education. ED.gov, 2005. p359. Word Count: 498.Also Known as PIRCs CFDA # (or ED #) 84.310A Administering Office Office of Innovation and Improvement.

Radey, M., & Randolph, K. A. (2009). Parenting Sources: How Do Parents Differ in Their Efforts to Learn About Parenting?  Retrieved: March 8, 2012.   Family Relations, 58(5), 536-548. doi:10.1111/j.1741-

I think these would be helpful to anyone that has these same situations.  Please let me know if you have any further information that would help me in my research journey.

Issues and Trends final blog assignment

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field are:

-We all want the best education for our children and we have to fight and make it happen.

-Most of us have to battle living conditions, politics, finances and other issues in live to provide quality care.  We have to come together and make sure that no child is left without the education, health care, and home life that they deserve.

-The communities have to make a difference with the children in order to provide equal and quality care.  We have to put aside our differences and come together to makes sure that our children are safe, educated, and well taken care of.  We cannot have a blind eye.

One goal that I think we should share with our international friends is to continue to share information and to create a bond that will allow us to continue to fight for equality in schools, proper living conditions for us all, and government awareness of the importance of education.

This course has been great for me because it opened up my eyes to issues that I knew were out there but I didn’t have to deal directly with at this time.  The children that I currently teach are not poor and they come from family friendly backgrounds.  I do try to get them to understand that there are other children and people that are less fortunate but it becomes hard for them if they don’t see those kids and their life styles.  I take them to the senior citizens homes, we donate food for people at Thanksgiving, give to homeless people, work for money so that we can buy toys for tots, write letters to soldiers that are in battle, and we give toys and clothes to children that are in need throughout the year but again they don’t get to see those children. 

This class has also gotten me to realize the importance of making sure that every child receives quality and equal education regardless of where they live.  My children are in private school because the schools in my area aren’t up to standard.  My living area is beautiful but they don’t invest in their schools.  It is hurting us financially to have them in private schools and I would much rather have them in schools within our community.  I will continue to fight for this and the other causes that we have discussed in this class.  It has been a great experience.

International Contacts part 3

I was not able to get in contact with the teacher that I had emailed before so I decided to do the alternative assignment.  I looked into the UNESCO site and clicked on the story about children that live in Viet Nam.  The title of the article is called  The role of education in a world of 7 billion people.  While reading the information the 3 insights that I found were:
-By helping to educate the women in this country they would strive to make sure that their children were educated as well.
-By educating women about contraceptives this helped cut down on unwanted pregnancies and helped women take better care of themselves physically.
-Populations ,in this area, will affect how many children can get a quality education. 

All of these issues were similar yet different to what is going on here in the US.  We continuously strive to make sure that young mothers are educated so that they can provide for their children and teach their children to desire an education as well.  We also have the on going battle of birth control and how we should educate people about using it.  Some of us believe the earlier we start educating about birth control the better the chances are that young girls won't have unwanted pregnancies and protection of their bodies.  While others of us feel that educating girls too quickly will give them the desire to have sex instead of waiting until they get married.  Our issue here is not the population that stands in the way of quality education but zoning laws and finances.  We have to work with the schools that are in our living areas and we have to deal with the abundance or lack of finances that make these schools work.

Again I feel that it is amazing how no matter where you look people are having the same discussions about quality education.  We are all in a fight to make sure that our children receive the best that they can and as teachers we want to offer the best.  With the recent drop in the economy people of all backgrounds have decided to teach in order to maintain a job.  This situation makes it hard for those of us that really have the backgrounds to teach to find good jobs.  Young adults that were graduating college were finding it hard to find teaching jobs.  This is something that I hope will change once our country levels out with it's financial situation.  Hopefully everyone will be able to find work within their given talents and young teachers can start reaching for their dreams.

References:
UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education”.  Retrieved: Feb. 16, 2012.  (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/).

Sharing resources week 6

NC Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development

ncicdp.org/Cached - Similar

 This is a great link because it has information about all aspects of teaching and where teachers can receive training, help with college tuition, community support, etc.  The link that I liked is the community support.  Through this link you are connected with others so that you can discuss and experience issues that children and their families have around your area.  There are workshops, classes, and additional sites to explore if help is needed.

I felt like this site was great in developing equity because it allowed teachers to understand what children and their families might be going through in different communities.  I think that we can get comfortable within our teaching environment and we don’t realize what else is going on outside.  I know that has happened to me and it is important for me to be able to reach out to those that are in need and help if needed and have the resources to do that.

Other information that this site has is information about licensure and certification.  This is a must for any educator so that we will know the rules of the game.  At any time we have to know what changes are being made so that we can make the appropriate adjustments.  This will allow us to build classes that are efficient and that provide quality care. 

Some other links are:

NC Early Childhood EE Resources

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All of North Carolina's EE Resources in

One Place

! ... Books Click on one of the categories below for books that are recommended for early childhood educators.

North Carolina Needs and Resources Assessment - FPG Child ...

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This web site includes the components of the 2003 NC Early Childhood Needs and Resources Assessment that have been completed to date. The Statewide ...

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

I got in contact with a teacher that is orginally from the US but is currently working in Korea.  She comes back home from time to time and she was willing to discuss with me some of their living situations.  I know that this doesn't discuss school issues directly but it does discuss their living conditions as well as some health issues.  This will definitley affect how they learn.  This is what she emailed me:

 

 

To be honest, I live in an affluent area and poverty really isn't a major issue in this area. Most of the students that I teach are middle and upper-class. I have worked with some North Korean defectors living on their own in South Korea who have very little support because their family members are in North Korea (which is a closed, communist state). These North Korean students escaped with basically nothing and have been supported by churches and receive a monthly stipend from the South Korean government for support. In the South Korean countryside, poverty may be more of an issue but even poor South Koreans get help from their families even if they are struggling. There is poverty in Seoul as well and the major cities and this is probably comparable to American cities in terms of percentages. In communist North Korea, poverty is a huge issue. The average North Korean child is several inches shorter than the average South Korean who is the same age. North Korean children generally experience a wide range of developmental problems due to malnutition. Famines have swept across North Korea over the years and some people were forced to eat tree bark and grass in order to survive.

Anyway, if you want to write about poverty in Korea, I would focus on North Korea or refugees and defectors who have escaped from the communist state. I hope this helped. If you have any additional questions or need more specific information, please let me know.

 

Sincerely,

Andrea

Sharing Web resources

NAEYC has sections that are geared for educators.  This section has current newsletters and accreditation classes that you can take with or without your peers.  This is important because it helps you stay on top of current changes in our profession while encouraging you to achieve more as a teacher.

One discussion that was discussed on the teacher board that was controversial for me was the same sex parent issue.  I work at a Christian facility and I was raised a Christian.  My first thought is always do unto others as I would want them to do unto me.  I must admit that this is tough for me because of my religious beliefs; however, as a professional and a Christian I respect and embrace each student regardless of their home lives.  The discussion touched on how to make it fun in the class and how to embrace each family member.

There are links on the site that cover social needs of each student, they also have were any teacher can work with the community and state leaders to make the learning experience what it should be for each child and they can share their views, and they have proposal reviews that you can read and give your opinions on.

I had not looked into the parent board until recently and this is a helpful resource for the parents as well.  There are many questions that the parents have about their children and school that this site tries to help answer.

Geting to know international contacts

China's poverty rate has decreased.  Because of their advanced technologies they have been able to pull some of their country to an above poverty level.  They had to also change their way of thinking towards their people.  They had high expectations of their people and their government was extremely harsh towards those that didn't meet their expectations.  China's transition from a centrally planned to a globalised market economy has helped reduce chronic poverty and disadvantage, but also created new forms of vulnerability and poverty (childhoodpoverty). 

4.2 million Chinese children live in absolute poverty and 8.7 million live in disadvantaged conditions(childhoodpoverty).  Education and health levels in China are higher than in many countries with equivalent incomes  (childhoodpoverty).  Recent studies suggest that the health and education reforms are reducing poor families' ability to make use of these vital services  (childhoodpoverty). 
 Poverty in any place is simply disgraceful.  You look around and you see what resources could be used to make these situations better.  I feel that when you have the money to fight wars or build expensive technology then you should also have money to make sure that your people eat and are not on the street.  For me this is true regardless of where you live or come from.

Three insights that I have gained are:
-this has to be a nation and world wide effort
-everyone has to do their part to make sure that our governments don't allow people to fall through the cracks
-that we have to reach out to each child and situation to make sure that they are cared for and given the best education/ health care/ and living conditions that we can.  Things don't have to be perfect but making small changes can lead to big things.







References:
(http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/),

Sharing Web sources

One of the sources that I choose is NAEYC (http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf).  They are an organization that reaches out to educators with all sorts of topics, resources, workshops, and support systems to help the education process become more smooth and fun for the teachers and the students. 

One of the articles that I recently read is about respond to diversity in the classroom.  It discusses how we should make sure that children feel connected to the home language and culture, how we should actively involve the parents, and assessing children is so important.  These are all things that we have been learning about in our classes and I think that it's great that they have other information for us to rely on.

Throughout my learning experiences I realized how important it was to make sure that the children felt honored and respected with regards to their culture and language but I am now learning how important it is to make sure that the parents feel honored as well.  When the parents are comfortable with their child's teacher then they try to encourage the child to feel comfortable as well.

This website is really cool because it allows you to explore different topics and ideas as they relate to teachers.  This isn't a site that is with high tech officials that haven't taught before but it comes from people that have to do the same day to day grind that we do.  They understand and respect our jobs.

Establishing Professional Contacts

I was unable to reach anyone through emails so I decided to do the alternative assignment.  This was interesting because I link into the World Forum Foundation and I listen to a lady named Deevia Bhana discuss issues in South Africa (World Forum.  Retrieved: Jan. 5, 2012).  Deevia explained how this young girl would travel to school everyday in fear.  This country is plagued by AIDS and the people there are not educated as to where it comes from and how to get rid of it.  They often feel that if they have sex with a young girl then their disease will go away.  We know that this is not true but for this young girl it is a reality she has had to suffer through while trying to get an education.

On her way to school she encounters men that rape her in order to "cure" their disease.  Of course this devastates this young lady.  She tries to find comfort in her mother which can only do so much herself.  There is no protection in this country for children and they aren't valued the way that children here are.  The children have far more responsibilities and are expected to care for themselves as much as they can.

Deevia is trying to educate people over there so that they will know the true facts about AIDS and to try and help get these children that desperately want to go to school a way that they can feel safe on their journey.  It is so important for us to let others know about this travesty so that we can do our part to spread the word and knowledge as well.



References:

World Forum Foundation. “A foundation whose mission is to promote an on-going global exchange of ideas on the delivery of quality services for young children in diverse settings.” http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php