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 

My support systems

When I think about my support system I feel encouraged.  Although, it is not a wide range of people it is enough to make me feel that if I am in need I will have somewhere to go.  Support to me means that you are able to assist, contribute, and provide a positive outlook on whatever situation arises.            Daily factors that I am supported by are: God.  I go to him in my time of need and when I just need to say thank you. -My husband.  He listens, helps, provides constructive criticism, and reminds me of what I need to do.-My colleagues help me by doing their part.  This makes my day easier because I don’t have to pick up the work of others but I can focus on my daily tasks.  They also help by giving ideas and creating an environment that is fun to work in.-Lists.  I write list to help me remember to by certain bills, what to get at the store, and what has to be done at home. -Friends are great because they listen.  They will provide me with the feedback that is both positive and negative.  Since I am not always right in all situations this is great for me. lol             Without these support systems I don’t think that I would be able to maintain.  I rely so much on having people and items around me that help me to make my life easier that if I didn’t have them I don’t think that I would quite know how to balance my life.  It is important to me to have things done on time, correct, and to know what is going to happen next.  I wouldn’t be able to do any of that if I didn’t have positive people around me.            The challenge that I thought of is having a child with a disability.  I currently have Multiple Sclerosis and I know how difficult that is for my family, friends, and colleagues.  I don’t know how I would be able to function without a support system if I had a child that had to be cared for in special ways.            I would definitely rely on my husband because I would need him to help with the physical and emotional support but also because he would want to be there.I would rely on community support to educate me, guide me, and understand where I was coming from in the situation.  Like with my disease, you feel better when you think that people understand your situation and when they respect what you are going through.I would most definitely depend on my friends to be there to listen and support me when I feel that times are tough.  I would also depend on them to be release for me.  I would like for them to take me away for a little while when I felt stressed.  Then I would most definitely rely on my lists to make sure that I was accomplishing my tasks and goals for the day.            If I didn’t have all of the above support systems (and probably more) I don’t think that I would be able to handle myself on a day to day basis.  I think that I am a support system to others but also, I have had to “learn” how to rely on people and the community in order to survive.  Sometimes I feel that I can handle anything on my own and that’s simply not true.  It is important to recognize and respect the support systems that you have so that you can build  positive relationships around you.

12

My connections to play

Quotes on children playing:

Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.

Fred Rogers:  American television personality.  Retrieved: Nov. 18, 2011.

A child loves his play, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard.

Benjamin Spock: American pediatrician.  Retrieved: Nov. 18,2011.

As a child I loved to play with dolls and I loved to pretend to teach.  I would curl my dolls hair with an old curling iron that my mom gave me.  My grandmom would watch me sit for hours playing with tea sets, curling irons, and drawing.  I had a standard size chalkboard in my bedroom and my mom said I would go in my room and line all my dolls on my bed and teach.  She said that one day I kept walking in and out of my room slamming the door.  She asked me why I was doing that and I told her that’s what my teacher did when she wanted us to listen.lol

I loved to color and draw.  This was something that I found relaxing.  I would sit and color and watch tv or lie on the floor and try to figure out how to draw certain pictures.  My daughter loves to draw now and she is so much better at it than I ever was. 

My family didn’t have much money when I was growing up but they always allowed and encouraged me to play.  I had lots of cousins around and we were all supposed to play and share together.  We would play tv shows.  They loved to play Batman and Robin or The Dukes of Hazard (they liked the car). 

Children today don’t play outside as much as we did.  With all of the technology they tend to stay inside.  My children love to ride their bikes or go for walks but to be honest; with the hustle and bustle of everything it’s hard to always get them out there.  That’s another tough situation…parents have to work or want to work more and they don’t plan for or can’t make time for children to do outside activities.

Role play for me was important because it gave me a chance to express myself and relax.  I think that children need the opportunity to release stress, learn how to express themselves, and enjoy time that is not always structured by adults.  This is an important way for them to figure things out and learn by what they have seen.

I would hope that children are given safe opportunities to play, grow and learn.  I know that there are many children who live in situations where it isn’t safe to play outside.  I would hope that these parents would make inside play fun and enjoyable for those children.  All children deserve the right to run, exercise, think, and have fun.  They have to grow up so quick.  As adults I think that we should make it our goal to make this happen.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because I love people.  I am 40 years old, a wife, and mother of 2.  How can I not have relationships.  I grew up with a single young mom and no dad.  My family took care of me and I was raised to think that we are responsible for each other.  It is important to me to make sure that I have positive influences and people around me that I can lean on and that can lean on me. 

My most important relationship that I have other than God is my husband.  We have been together for over 16 years and I could not do some of the things that I do without him.  We learned how to love early but we also had to learn how to fight and argue using God as our guide.  He has been my rock and without this relationship I don't know if I would know how to care for others around me in the positive way that I do.

I also have relationships with other family members that mean so much to me.  My uncle has been a positive role model in my life since I was born.  He has guided me through college and even helped me see different lights when it came to friend relationships.  He has been like a father that I didn't have.

One thing that I recognize about myself is my quickness to remove people from my life when I feel that they have betrayed me.  I feel that if you are not with me you are against me.  This is not always true and I have had to learn to do better by listening and forgiving.  This is hard because growing up I always felt like I had to fight to be in relationships and it was not easy forgiving those that didn't treat me well.

The characteristics that make these relationships special is the honesty and the respect.  All of these people are open, honest, and loving to me.  They tell me what I need to hear and what I don't want to know.  They are always there for me and I love being there for them.

My grandmother was a caregiver in her home and she always taught me to love everybody.  This is special to me because it gives me strength when something is not going well at my job.  I remember that these children might have things going on at home that I might not know about.  I also remember that I have to be a leader and guide them into positive situations and that doing that by example is the best way for them to learn.