Communicating in Groups

After learning about the phases of how teams develop, I have reflected on the many teams I have been a part of in my own life. I realized that the hardest good-byes are the teams that made it to the high-performing levels. With those groups, we went though all the stages together. We had our ups (performing) and downs (storming), but we made it through and learned how to function well together.

The hardest team to adjourn would be my current one. I have been wanting to move closer to my family the past few years. Last spring, I decided to apply for some jobs near my family and told my principal that I may be leaving after the past school year. She was very understanding. So I was really excited with the potential of moving closer to home. But then I started thinking about my kindergarten team, the amazing colleagues in my school and how supportive our administrators and community are. That is SO rare. I was driving to school one morning and began to sob in tears thinking about leaving. As soon as I got to school, I went to my principal and told her that I couldn't bear the thought of leaving, so I was going to stay. She was so happy and my kindergarten team literally jumped and screamed in excitement over my decision. It was at that moment, I realized I am going to savor every moment I have at this school before some of us leave. When that time does come, I know it will be very hard to say goodbye because of all that we have been through together.

The job I had before my current one was at a preschool called Primrose Schools. The only reason I left that job was because I could not make a living off of it. I was still living with my parents and looking for a public school job so I could move out and pay my own bills. I worked there for a year and half before I found my current job. On my last day, I remember my boss hugging me tightly and crying. She told me that I was so good with children that she knew I was going to do great things. The owner of Primrose hugged me and actually gave me a gift. It was one of those little wooden angels that was holding book. (Made for teachers.) That gift meant so much to me because she didn't buy gifts for everyone that left. People came and went all the time there, but they knew how much I hated to leave b/c I loved working there. Parents brought me gifts and cards to wish me good luck and telling me thank you for taking such good care of their children. I developed great relationships with the children and families, as well as with my team members I worked with. I went back a few times after I left, but now all the children that I taught have left and are in kindergarten and above now, and most of the co-workers have moved on to new jobs. I tell myself if money wasn't a concern, I would go back to that job in a heartbeat. I loved it so much.

Most of the experiences I have from the teams I was a part of, ended with a ritual of some tears and hugs, going to dinner together or having a goodbye party. I have kept in touch with many of those people through Facebook.

To adjourn from the group of colleagues in the master's program, I think we will all have a time to thank our professors and each other for the support and challenges we overcame. I enjoy reading everyone's blogs and at the end of each course, thanking everyone for reading mine. I believe the adjourning phase is an essential phase of teamwork because it gives you that sense of closure. You won't hang onto any feelings that may have been left unsaid. It also gives people who may have had some negative feelings at one time, a chance to make a mends and move past the conflict they went through.

I can't believe in a just a few more months, we will be nearing the end of the master's program. But I am so excited about my future and the possibilities that lie ahead.

Managing Conflict in Relationships

"Healthy debate serves a real purpose in that it helps individuals and groups make smarter decisions. By skillfully working through conflicting ideas about how to solve a problem or reach a goal, we identify the best course of action" (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012).

I could definitely relate to the portion of our text that discussed attitudes towards conflict. I am one that dislikes arguing and debate. I tend to gear away from politics, leave a room when I am upset and scream into a pillow when I am angry. One of my close colleagues says this is exactly why I have so many stomach issues, because I bottle everything up and the "negative energy" stays in my system. 

Recently I experienced some productive conflict with my colleagues during one of our planning meetings. My kindergarten team consists of 5 teachers (including myself) and we consider ourselves pretty good friends. I was nervous at the beginning of the school year because we were having some disagreements on what to teach the first week of school. I had all these great ideas in my mind, but they were squashed by my colleagues because it didn't follow the certain skills we had to cover. So I felt frustrated and upset that no one took my ideas into consideration. The next few planning days were equally as frustrating. I felt like I couldn't teach how I wanted and I was being told what to do.

So one day, I finally had enough and expressed my feelings to the team while our administrators were in the room. I didn't go off on a rant or tangent, but I expressed my concerns that clearly our classes were on different levels of learning. (Some of us felt some activities were too easy and some thought they were too hard for their students.) My administrators told us that as long as we are teaching the same skill, we can do whatever activities we want with our students. So I can put my own flair on my lessons and the same with my colleagues. This made our planning the rest of the month go much smoother because if we were a huge fan of a certain lesson, we knew we could "tweak it" to fit our teaching style and our students' learning needs. The great thing about this resolution is that we can share with each other how our lessons went and if they went really well, usually the other teachers will try it out with their kids too! We are very supportive of one another and that gives us a supportive climate to discuss our frustrations or concerns.

Strategies that I have learned about that might help me manage or resolve the conflict more productively would be cooperative strategies. We all benefited from agreeing to teach the same skill, but in our own ways. We also keep our focus on the issues. We don't take it personally and attack each other's teaching abilities. We all respect each other and work as a team so that we can do what is best for our students. 

Resources 

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St.Martin's.

My Communication Skills

After looking at the results of my own assessment on myself as a communicator and my mother's and colleague's view, I noticed some similarities and differences between how I evaluated myself as a communicator and how others evaluated me. The one thing that surprised me the most was my mom and good friend/colleague thought I was a mildly anxious communicator and I believe I am moderately anxious. This must be because they believe because I am a teacher, they assume I am comfortable with speaking in front of groups of people, which I'm not. I enjoy teaching young children, but still get nervous at the beginning of every year when I'm getting to know my students. But most of my anxiety is communicating with adults. My least favorite day of the year is our first 1/2 day of school when I have to talk in front of all the parents and my students to introduce myself, discuss classroom and school rules/procedures. I feel adults are more critical of my communication skills than children.

I also learned that my mom, colleague and myself see me as a people-oriented listener. I want others to end their conversation with me, leaving happier or feeling better than they did before. I find myself "beating myself up" over something I may have said that the other person took wrong, or maybe my words didn't come out right a lot. I believe that is why I tend to be more on the shy side, because I always worry about how other's feel and don't want to make them feel bad. The only time I cut people off in mid-convo is when I have to go pick up my students from specials or lunch and I apologize when I do that but they understand that I can't be late b/c it affects the rest of the school if I don't pick my kids up on time.

When it comes to verbal aggression, I tend to be moderate in this area. ONLY when someone instigates it. I am very calm and happy person. But if someone says something ugly about me or someone I love, I will stand up for myself/them. I tend to keep quiet on any political issues because it does cause me to anxiety to get upset so I just stay out of it. I don't read message boards/comments on Facebook that are public because there area always the people out there who are bullies and it just gets me really upset. So I avoid confrontation when possible. But when it comes to doing what is right for children, I WILL stand up and let me voice be heard.

Communication between diverse cultures

"How many languages are there in the world? How about 5 billion! Each of us talks, listens, and thinks in his/her own special language that has been shaped by our culture, experiences, profession, personality, mores and attitudes. The chances of us meeting someone else who talks the exact same language is pretty remote."
-Anonymous

I communicate differently between different groups and cultures. For example, the way I talk to my students differs from how I talk to my colleagues. And the way I converse with my student's parents differ from how I talk to my own family.

This photo captures differences in communication. The man greets the woman by bowing to her, while she goes to shake his hand.

Due do the varying abilities between my students and adults, I tend to speak more slowly and my tone and inflecting in words are spoken differently to my students because they are so young. When I speak to my colleagues, I tend to use more low language because we are friends and comfortable with teach other. However, if my colleagues and I are in a meeting with parents or administrators, we would use more high-language to keep it professional in a professional context/situational setting. I also tend to dress up more professional at work and more causal when I'm just with friends and family (non-verbal).

I also speak to my parents in a loving and adoring ways because they are the most important people in my life and I high respect them. When I speak to my brothers and sisters, I tend to use more slang/low-language with them because we are best friends. When I speak to a student's parents, I would keep it professional and use high-language but keep the "educational verbage" at a low and speak in terms they would understand, which differs from how I speak to my colleagues and administrators.

This comic shows a true difference in communication between international cultures!

Being a single girl, I also speak differently to men than I do women. I am much more comfortable speaking around women and being myself because there is not pressure of dating. But especially around single men, I am more reserved and quiet because I get nervous and anxious. My nonverbal communication differs in this area as well. If I am in a situation where a lot of single men will be present, I would take more time on my physical appearance versus when I'm just hanging out with a group of girlfriends.

Nonverbal Communication in TV

I recorded an episode of Duck Dynasty this week and watched it with the sound turned off so I could observe the characters' relationships based on the ways in which they are communicating.

The episode started off with Psi dribbling a basketball while Martin, Godwin and Jase were standing there watching him. Psi shot the ball in the basketball hoop and I could tell he was pleased when he made the shot, then smiled as he made a shooting form with his hand and seemed to mouth "YES!" As the men stood around, they started to smile and laugh. Jep walked towards the group of men, and you see Psi point down at Jep's feet and then all the other's men glance towards the same direction. They seems to be grimacing and then we are shown Jep's ridiculous looking shoes that have some type of spring on the bottom of them (which I assume were for helping him improve his basketball skills?) Jep was smiling and hopping on his shoes, so whatever they were saying to him, did not seem to phase his happy attitude. Jase, Jep's older brother tends to be very sarcastic and funny on the show. Jase tends to tease and make fun of his brothers and friends on the show. So as Jep is hopping around on his shoes, we see Jase standing, leaning on one foot with his hand in one pocket and a basketball in the other while he grimaces, I can only imagine what he is thinking as his non-verbal cues show that he is amused and surprised by his brother, Jep.

Then you see Jase point to Jep's shoes and then held the ball like he was going to shoot it as Jep bent his knees slightly and looked at the hoop, like he was prepared to catch the ball after it was shot. But to my suprise, Jase tossed the ball so Jep could jump up and try to "dunk" the ball into the basketball hoop. Jep failed and ended up running into the basketball hoop's pole. It was pretty amusing, even without the sound.

Then Jep turns around to look at the other men after his failed attempt and they just stared at him blankly, and his facial cues showed some embarrassment. Then Jase pointed and said something to Jep, and then we see Jep walk away in his goofy basketball shoes with his head down "in shame".

I watched the facial expressions, eye behavior, and their gestures and body movement which gave me a lot to draw some conclucions of what was happening in the show.

 After watching the show with the sound turned on, I was able to have a better understanding by hearing the verbal communication between the men.
 Turns out I was correct in the men making fun of Jep and his new basketball shoes. They were teasing him because he is short and can't jump even with the shoes. But Jep is determined to prove the men wrong. They all bet that he couldn't dunk the ball, but if he did, they would all go and buy the same goofy basketball shoes and wear them if he could dunk it.

When Jep failed to dunk the ball, we didn't see Psi, but he said "Don't quit your day job 'Short stuff'!" (which I would haven't known at all because I didn't see any nonverbal cues b/c the camera wasn't showing Psi at the time.

So my assumptions would have been more correct if I had been listening to the show as well as watching it so I could listen to the verbal cues and non-verbal cues.

 I have gained some insight in that when we use both nonverbal and verbal cues to communicate, it helps us understand the other person (or people) we are trying to communicate with better. I can't imagine what it is like for someone who is deaf or blind and not have both senses to communicate with.
I found this to be an interesting assignment and look forward to hearing everyone else's experience in the course! Thanks for reading!
Jessica

Competent Communication

The first person that comes to mind that has competent communication in the education field would be my principal at the school I work at. She exhibits truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012). She listens and is willing to learn from others (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012). She strives to understand and respect those who she is communicating with before responding to their message (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012. She is strongly committed to the courageous expression of personal convictions in pursuit of fairness and justice (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012).

The different modes of communication

This woman is amazing. She has taken a low-performing Title 1 school and helped make it to the top 5% in academic gains last school year in the state of Tennessee. We also found out that we are 1 of 3 schools that are in the running for a huge award for the entire state for our huge academic gains. She is the definition of someone who is an effective communicator by meeting goals (O'Hair & Wiemann, 2012).

She has inspired the many teachers that work at our school to help our students reach goals that to others, may have seemed impossible. She is well-respected in my school system based on her professionalism and effective communication skills. I am striving to learn how to model my own communication behaviors after her, so that I can become a more effective teacher for my kindergarteners and their families.

Resources

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St.Martin's.

Professional Hopes and Goals

I have really enjoyed becoming a part of this collaborative learning community. As someone who works with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, it is my hope that I am able to recognize my personal biases and rid myself of them so I can best serve the children and families in my care. I have learned that I held biases towards families living in poverty that I didn't not realize until this course. Working in a Title 1 school with 90% of our students on free and reduced lunch, the majority of my students live in poverty and have been through more in their little 5 years of life that I ever have in my 29 years. I used to believe that parents who did not help their child with homework, attend parent-teacher conferences and check their folders every day were lazy and did not care about their child's education. I now know that is just an ignorant thought. After reading many articles this past year, I have discovered that many families living in poverty are working 2 or more part time jobs to make ends meet so they do not have any free time. I also learned that many of the families do not have resources like transportation to get to school so they are unable to attend school functions. Now that I know about my personal biases against families living in poverty, I am able to rid myself of these biases and developed more positive relationships with my students and their families.

It is my hope that as part of the early childhood field, all children receive a quality education with equity, appreciation of culture and social justice. Children and their families should be appreciated for their differences and what they offer that others cannot. All early childhood professionals must recognize the biases they hold and try to remove them as well. I believe if all educators were aware of what I have learned this past year, they too, would improve relationships with children and their families as well.

I want to personally thank you all for your kind comments and encouragement throughout this course. I have enjoyed getting to know you professional and hope to have more classes with you in the future.

Jessica

Welcoming Families From Around the World

If I were working in a child care center and received word that the child of a family who has recently emigrated from Greece, I would prepare myself to welcome the child and her family. Luckily, I am enrolled in a course about diversity and have learned that in order to support families who have immigrated I need to know more than surface facts about their country of origin.

5 ways in which I will prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family:

1. I will research information about the country and learn about the culture of families from the country. Once I have done this, I can find pictures of families and places in Greece and post them around the classroom to make the child and family feel more "at home". 
2. I will think about my personal identities and any negative thoughts/attitudes I may hold and work on ridding myself of any biases.
3. I will be very welcoming to the child and family when they arrive and show them around the classroom. While keeping in mind their culture's social habits that I researched beforehand. I will acknowledge the parents as partners in their child's learning and keep them involved in classroom activities throughout the year. I have an open-door policy for parents in my classroom.
4. I will take time to get to know the student and his/her family. I want to build a relationship with the family and learn about the child's past experiences. I would even try to ask the family if they would be interested in teaching the children in the class more about where they lived so the whole class can learn about the child's heritage. (This would be a great activity to do for a day if you have a classroom with very diverse families from around the world!)
5. I would also take interest in the child and family's background. I would love to learn some of the Greek language, maybe asking the family is there are any words I could teach to the class to show appreciation of their culture.

It is my hope that these preparations will benefit both the family I to help build a positive relationship and make the child and family feel appreciated, welcomed and comfortable being in my class.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

One of my favorite books is My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I actually read the novel before it was made into a movie. In the story, there are two sisters, Anna and Kate. Kate developed leukemia as a young child, so her parents had Anna so she could help her sister live by providing bone marrow and countless surgeries and blood transfusions for her sister. When Anna became a young teenager, her sister decided it was time for her family to let her go and told Anna to refuse helping any more surgeries so she could die peacefully. The trick was Kate didn't want Anna tell anyone that she wanted to die. So she ended up fighting her parents in court because they argued she was a child and needed to help her sister live, but Anna believed she should be able to make her own decisions when it comes to her body and her health. The girls' mother, Sara loved both her children and wanted them both alive. She was frustrated because she felt that Anna was being selfish, not realizing that this is what Kate wanted.

The ageism developed when Anna took her mom to court and tried to fight for her rights. Her mother basically fought that Anna was just a child and shouldn't be able to make the decision to let her sister die. I connected this while reading the article by Child Rights Information Network (2009) and this direct quote from the article:
"In most societies, children are presumed to lack the capacity to exercise their rights for themselves because they do not have the life experience and competence to make informed, rational decisions and must therefore be protected from the consequences of bad decisions. It is often assumed that age limits are the best way of achieving this protection, even if some children might attain competence at a younger age and others attain this later."
Later in the article they went on to say:
"However, in many cases, children's age and relative lack of experience is used as a justification for denying children rights to which they are entitled. In other words, children face exclusion and unfair treatment because of the low status accorded to childhood in most societies. For example, in most countries, children are often not allowed to file complaints with a court where adults can. This can have a detrimental impact on children's protection."

I believe this novel is directly related to the issue of ageism. While I was reading this novel, I became infuriated with the mother because she was basically dis-owning Anna when Anna decided she didn't want to live like a petri dish anymore. Anna grew up being poked and prodded and when she was brave enough to say she was done with it, her mother threw a big stink and made her feel like a horrible person, even though truthfully her sister Kate was behind it. I also see the mother's point of view because she loves both her daughters and didn't understand why Anna would do that to her sister. Once she realized that it was what Kate wanted, she began to understand Anna and forgave her.

I believe that legislation would need to take action in giving children the right to make decisions about their own bodies and health. When children express their concerns about how they are treated, it should be taken seriously and not pushed aside. Children are little adults in training and we must do everything in our power to protect them and help them live happy, successful lives.

References: 

Child Rights Information Network (CRIN). (2009). Discrimination: Briefing on age discrimination. Retrieved from http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=20940

Picoult, J. (2003) My Sister's Keeper. Atria Books. Washington Square Press, 2005

I also wanted to share this video I saw recently that relates to racism and how kids react to it when they realize racism still exists. I thought you all might enjoy this as we can make a huge impact in the world by teaching children to love everyone, no matter how different they may be. This video is inspiring! =)
 

Practicing Awareness of Microagressions

Dr. Sue defines microaggressions as "everyday slights and indignities, put downs and insults that people of color, women, LGBT population or those who are marginalized experience in their day to day interactions with people (Wiley, 2010)." I had a difficult time noticing any microaggressions this week as I have only been working in my classroom and no where else. But I do recall an incident with an older family member who I won't name. When I was younger, he was driving me around the town where he grew up and as we drove by a bi-racial couple, he gasped and said "Ugh, that is just disgusting!" I looked at him and said "Why?" and he replied that because it was a black man and a white woman holding hands. I shook my head and said, "There is nothing wrong with that!" And he just stopped the conversation. This want to say that this is either an example of a micro assault (b/c it is clear racism) OR a micro insult (b/c it's demeaning). This person has made several racist comments before, but he NEVER says it to the person and is harmless. He thankfully is very civil in public and I think because my family and I are not afraid to speak our mind when he makes comments like that, he has learned to keep his negative thoughts to himself.

When he makes racist comments, it really disappoints me. I believe we are all the same inside- I even do a lesson with my kindergarteners every year when I teach them about the history of Martin Luther King, Jr. I show them a white egg and a brown egg. We notice how they look different, just like people do! Then I break the eggs and show the children the yolks. I ask the kids, do you notice anything different about what the eggs have on the inside? And they of course do NOT. So I connect the eggs to people and how we may all look different on the outside, but on the inside we all have feelings- that can be hurt when mean things are said and done.

Learning and thinking about microaggressions has opened my eyes to how there are still so many prejudices and stereotypes that people hold, no matter kind-hearted the person can be. I admit, I too have realized I hold some after learning about the three different types of microaggressions. I will definitely try to be more conscious about my thoughts and actions when it comes to dealing with students, parents and families and making sure I am respectful and welcoming to all.

References

Wiley, J. (2010, October 4). Microaggressions in Everyday Life. Retrieved on July 26, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJL2P0JsAS4

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I wrote to three friends who are all culturally different from me in one way or another. I was very interested in hearing their definitions of the terms culture and diversity.

1. The first person I asked was our school's Centerstone behavior therapist, Barbara. Barbara works with children who have behavior problems and she works with them at school, does home visits and is just a wonderful person to work with. She sees all sorts of family culture so I was really interested in hearing her definitions of culture and diversity. This was Barbara's response:

"Well, culture to me is a set of beliefs that a set of people share regardless of age, race or sex. 

Diversity, to me, is differences within a group that sets one apart from the rest. Most young people these days are very diverse in the way the live and their belief system. 

We have our own culture in our school versus others that work with children in a different capacity. We even have several cultures within our school from administration to the cafeteria workers."

I found it interesting how she discussed the culture in our school versus others. That goes along with what we have learned about in our course. Just like there is family culture and culture between professions.  In our field, schools and early childhood facilities have different cultures, even if we live in the same town. For example, because I teach in a very low-income area of town, the culture at our school might be different from the areas of town that have higher-incomes. 

Speaking of which, I found it interesting while at an inservice this past week, I was sitting with a teacher who works in a school on the "rich side of town." We were discussing parent-volunteers and I was mentioning how we don't get too many at our school because they are working several jobs or may not have the transportation. The teacher from the rich part of town said that she didn't get much either b/c the parents are busy working to afford the big houses and way of living. I never even thought of it that way! 

2. The second person I asked was one of my best friends from college, Jim. Jim now lives in New Orleans and works at an art studio.  He's very talented in art and gets along great with everyone. I'm sure he is surrounded by much diversity and culture where he lives so I was curious to hear how he defines culture. His response was:

"Culture is made up of the creations that surround us. Culture is man made. Whether it be religion, movies, or french fries, it's the things that we created by being intelligent beings that we surround ourselves with daily. That's why culture changes between different groups of people. Different groups of people surround themselves with different man-made things. And sub-cultures are broken up from there. Diversity is the difference between these groups of people. The easiest way to identify that diversity is perhaps the different sub-culture creations that suround these groups. However, diversity isn't always man-made. Diversity can be cultural, can be by heritage, where we live, the color of our skin. Diversity is just our differences, and a portion of that is our differences in culture."

I was interested in his definition of culture in that it's manmade. Especially the part where he stated culture changed between different groups of people. That is so true. For example, when I'm with my family, we usually are seated in the living room talking and watching TV. But when I am visiting my best friend's family, we will sit out on the porch and listen to music or sit around a bonfire and talk. There is typically more conversation with the later group. Culture has to do with everything we do (Family Cultures: Dynamic Interactions). I believe he is spot on with his definition of diversity. I even discussed in my first discussion post about how diversity has subgroups. Such as we can be diverse by our relationships... this would be things like: mother, parent, teenagers, widow, etc. A subgroup within mothers would be a mother who is apart of the group "mothers against drunk driving" (Deaux, 2008).

3. The 3rd person who I asked was my best friend Andrea. She is also a teacher and we've been friends since childhood. She said

"To me, culture is one's background based on traditions, religion, beliefs, and upbringing. Culture helps define who we are and why we behave the way we do. Diversity is recognizing there are differences between other's cultures (beliefs, traditions, & upbringings). It is becoming increasingly more important in our society to learn about and respect the diverse cultures that make up our diverse country. We are a country built upon diverse cultures and it's critical to respect that."

When Andrea said "Culture helps define who we are and why we behave the way we do" made me think of the podcast we watched in week 2. Nadiyah (in the podcast) discussed that culture has a wide-range of meaning because culture has to do with everything we do (Family Cultures: Dynamic Interactions).

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I also noticed that some aspects of the term "culture" have been omitted from their definitions. Culture is a much more broad term than most realize. It's not only religion, traditions and beliefs. It everything we do. The week 2 podcasts discussed how culture is also how we behave and react in certain situations, how we present ourselves, how we greet others, etc. It's so broad, it really has to do with everything about us (Family Cultures: Dynamic Interactions).

Thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity has influenced my own thinking about these topics in that I have realized how much my understanding of the terms have changed in the 3 weeks I have been in this course. I also discovered that between all three responses, when giving me their definition of diversity, the word DIFFERENCES popped up every time. I even underlined them to point it out. I now think of the words diverse and differences almost like synonyms. I believe diversity is not something that should be shunned or ignored. It is a part of life and that I need to expose children to much diversity in my care so that they grow up to be accepting individuals of other's diversity or differences from him or herself.

Resources 

Producer Unknown. Family Cultures: Dynamic Interactions [Video Podcast]. (Date Unknown). Retrieved on July 10, 2013 from the Resources section of week 2 of Walden University's EDUC 6164 class at https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2F webapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_3397 499_1%26url%3D

Deaux, K. (2001). Social identity. In J. Worell (Ed.), Encyclopedia of women and gender (Vols. 1–2, pp. 1–9). Maryland Heights, MO: Academic Press.

My Family Culture

If my family was forced to evacuate the U.S. due to a catastrophe and we wouldn't be able to return and could only bring three items that represented my family culture, I would bring:

My Bible

If I witnessed or was a victim of a catastrophic event, I would need some comforting words to help me emotionally get through that experience. Growing up in a Christian home, I believe the Bible is full of comforting words that have personally gotten me through some of the toughest times of my life. My mother got me my bible when I turned 18 to remind me that even though I was legally an adult, to remember the values and beliefs I was raised with. She had it engraved with my name and it is so beautiful.

My Grandmother's wedding ring

My grandmother was the closest person I have loved to pass away. She died when I was 16 after a long battle with cancer of the blood. I have many wonderful memories with my Grandma as a child, including tea parties, playing board and card games, making home-made playdoh, reading books at the library and so much more. When we arrived at Grandma's, she would open her arms as wide as she could and give us the best hugs! My brother, sisters and I were her whole world. And when she passed, it was a very hard time for all of us. Almost 10 years after her death, my grandpa gave my sisters and I each a little box with a piece of Grandma's jewelry in it. He had us pick the box, not knowing what was inside it. When I opened mine, and saw the ring, I began to cry like a baby and asked him "Is this her wedding ring?" And he said yes. I ran up and gave him a hug and told him I would wear it constantly and take good care of it. That is the most valuable (sentimental, not financially) item I own and would be devastated to ever lose it. 

A photo album containing my most treasured photographs

In this photo album, I would want pictures of my family and friends from some of my favorite memories: such as my childhood, birthdays,  my high school and college graduations, my sister's wedding and my brother's weddings, the birth of my first niece and a few random memories that were special to me. My family values each other and we are very close. These photos would help me remember all the good times we had growing up in the States and be able to show my niece when she was older.

Here are "just a few" that would be in that album...

When my niece was born she spent a week in the NICU...

The VERY first time I got to hold my niece! I was so happy!

Every 4th of July my sisters would help Grandma make this American Flag jello cake! =)

My sisters and I with my niece on Thanksgiving 2012

My awesome kindergarten team at Panama City Beach on vacation together for fall break 2012

My sister and I's first day of Kindergarten! (We are Irish twins.) 

Making silly faces with my mom and brother 

Looking at a family photo album with both my grandmas! 

My mom made this Hawaiian themed dinner that I still remember to this day!

At my high school graduation, one of the happiest days of my life! =)

Loving on my big brother! <3

Me and my best friend enjoying some hot chocolate while going Christmas shopping

My niece on her 1st birthday! 

Me, giving my mom kisses as a toddler!

My mom, sisters and I at Niagara Falls ( I want to go back as an adult!)

Me, my sisters and just "a few" of my cousins... I have over 30 on my mom's side of the family. 

Giving my baby sister life lessons at the age of 2!  (I think this is hilarious!)

Now, if I arrived to the country where we would have to live and were told that I could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you I would be devastated! I don't think I could choose. I am such a sentimental person that my heart would break giving up any three of these items. My bible could technically be replaced, but the sentiment that came with it could not. My grandmother's wedding ring could never be replaced and I would feel like I would lose a part of her if that ring was taken away. And the pictures- anyone who knows me knows how much I love my photos! I really need to get some fire proof containers to put them in now that I think about it!

So honestly, I don't know which one I would choose and I truly hope I never have to!

I have realized through this exercise, how sentimental I am when it comes to my family and friends. My most treasured items are ones that have meaning and sentiment behind them. I still have teddy bears given to me by my grandparents and parents at specific times in my life, such as when I got my tonsils out and woke up terrified and not knowing where I was. But I had this cute little teddy bear in a pink dress and bonnet to comfort me. I also have a teddy bear that is so soft given to me by my dad when I had to stay home from school one day b/c I was really sick. I couldn't bear to give those items up, but every other toy I owned was given away by the time I was an adult. My family truly means a lot to me as well as my friends. I wouldn't trade them for anything else in the world. 

Looking forward to hearing everyone else's responses this week! Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Sincerely,

Jessica

What I have learned about Research

When I first started this course, I was nervous about what it would entail. When I would read a research article, the majority of it would sound like a foreign language to me. I love how this course broke it down so I can understand research in the early childhood field. I am amazed at the vocabulary I have learned throughout this course. The Understanding Research Chart assignments have helped me truly understand the meaning of terms used often in research and how it is used in context. I've also learned about the different methods of research, how to make sure it is valid and challenges to keep in mind to rid any biases from the research. These have all eased my mind when reading research articles and also in the planning and the process of conducting research.

When planning, designing, and conducting research with children it is good practice to get consent from the child when they are participating in research. Also, as an early childhood educator, I am mandated to report any suspicions of child abuse and would need to make sure I make that clear with any participants before getting their consent to participate in a research study that I would be conducting. I found it challenging to understand some of the readings in the text, but with the use of the glossary and internet, it helped me understand the new vocabulary better.

This course has helped my perceptions of an early childhood professional in that research is a huge part of the early childhood field. Without research, we wouldn't know how children learn, how to modify children's behavior and so much more. I have enjoyed learning about research and how it is done in the early childhood field and look forward to reading more research in the years to come.

I have enjoyed reading my colleagues blog and discussion posts throughout this course. Thank you to all who have commented!

Sincerely,
Jessica

Research Around the World

What are some of the current international research topics?

• Understanding play and how play-based approaches require intentional planning and teaching in order to support and extend children’s learning.
• Explores how educators can help children to be confidant and involved learners, focusing on Outcome 4 of the first national Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) for Australia.
• How children learn and to encourage those working with young children to provide a range of opportunities for them to actively direct their own learning.
• How to use games and activities involving books and familiar objects, to support young children’s developing literacy skills.

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

• I was amazed to find how similar the early childhood research done in Australia is to ours in the United States.
• Also, when visiting this link: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/learning_about_children_3_to_9_years/the_schoolage_child/development_5-9_years.html I noticed that they had a link for child development in Australia and another for USA.
• The following link discussed the child obesity problem in early childhood. I was honestly shocked because I thought this was only a problem in the United States. This has made me more aware that is not just a nationwide problem, it’s a global problem. http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/resource_themes/child_health_and_childhood_obesity/childhood_obesity.html

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

• When I clicked on the link that had the research article on Understanding play and how play-based approaches require intentional planning and teaching in order to support and extend child learning, I read that there is considerable research on the benefits of play for children’s learning across all areas of development. I found this interesting as well because it is such a huge concern in the United States right now, because we are taking away play time from young children. This is why I feel it is important that we study the benefits of play so that policymakers and administrators will listen to our plea with concrete evidence that play is so important for children.

References

Kennedy, A. & Barblett, L. (2013). Learning and teaching through play: Supporting the Early Years Learning Framework. Early Childhood Australia.

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

According to Solomon & Chung (2012) there has been a dramatic increase of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the past 20 years. Autism can change a family's way of life because it can affect how a child interacts with others socially and learns (Solomon & Chung, 2012). Much research has been completed on autism, including how family therapists can help support parents of children with autism. Autism can take it's toll on parents, causing higher levels of stress, lower adaptability and cohesion, and lower marital happiness than families of children with developmental disabilities and lower functioning children (Solomon & Chung, 2012).
The same research by Solomon and Chung (2012) has also found that having a child with autism can strengthen a family's bond. Family therapists who have a basic understanding of autism and who stay current on new research are well-apt to helping parents of children with autism (Solomon & Chung, 2012). The family therapist can assist in advocacy work such as attending IEP meetings for the child, consulting with other providers and "helping parents find access resources such as support groups in the area (Solomon & Chung, 2012)."

There has also been research on how gestures can help infants with and without autism communicate by Watson, Craig, Baranek, Dykstra & Wilson (2013). Through their research, they have discovered  practices that have the potential to inform early screening, assessment, and intervention practices for infants at risk for autism (Watson, Crais, Baranek, Dykstra & Wilson, 2013). The have found a contrast between infants with autism and those with developmental disabilities and typical development in who will using joint attention gestures during the first and second year of life. Joint attention gestures involve directing another person’s attention to an event, object, or person solely to share interest and are “triadic” in the coordination of the gaze of communicative partners toward something else (Watson, Craig, Baranek, Dykstra, & Wilson, 2013). The authors of this study gave an example of joint attention gestures as a child pointing to draw another person’s attention to an airplane in the sky or holding up a toy to share interest with another person (Watson, Craig, Baranek, Dykstra, & Wilson, 2013). Their studies confirm that when a child lacks these necessary social–communication skills, it can be an early and defining sign of autism (Watson, Crais, Baranek, Dykstra & Wilson, 2013).

So to conclude, research in the area of autism in young children have helped discover early screenings, assessments and interventions for children with autism to help them develop the necessary social skills to help live a successful adulthood as well as help the parents of children with autism find support and assistance in advocacy for their child and their family life. Research has many benefits in early childhood, and these were just a few that caught my attention. I look forward to reading everyone else's blogs and seeing what they see as a benefit of research in the early childhood field. 

References

Solomon, A. H., & Chung, B. (2012). Understanding Autism: How Family Therapists Can Support Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Family Process, 51(2), 250-264. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2012.01399.x

Watson, L. R., Crais, E. R., Baranek, G. T., Dykstra, J. R., & Wilson, K. P. (2013). Communicative Gesture Use in Infants With and Without Autism: A Retrospective Home Video Study. American Journal Of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(1), 25-39. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2012/11-0145)

My Personal Research Journey

The subject I am going to research is play in the early childhood field. I chose this because as a kindergarten teacher, I feel play is being taken away from young children and more rigorous standards are being expected than ever before. My fear is this will affect future generations because our children will grow up with a lack of passion in many areas because we are taking away what they know (play) at such a young age. Since beginning the program through Walden, I have begun to understand the importance of play for children in many developmental areas. I look forward to researching more into the subject so I can be well educated on the topic and advocate the importance of play when I maintain my master’s degree. The program has already affected the way I teach. I have taken more time to sit back and watch my students and let them be kids.  As early childhood teachers, we are pressured into teaching standards we know are not developmentally appropriate for our students. I am currently trying to find ways to teach the rigorous standards in kindergarten while keeping it fun and hands-on for my students. This has been a challenge, but when I find something that works, it is such a great feeling to know my students are doing something fun and worthwhile. (Math is really easy to make fun!) For example, trying to teach 5 year olds how to subtract, after we just finished teaching them how to add is a very difficult concept for them to understand. So I try to make our activities like they are playing. I give them these little logs and 5-10 frog manipulatives and while signing 5 Green and Speckled Frogs, the kids are acting out the song with their “toys.” Now this may not be play like we grew up with (as in free play)... but the kids really enjoy it and they are learning through the process. I also make sure my students get 20-30 minutes a day of recess... (Outside when it’s nice, or indoor when it’s too cold or rainy).

As we begin the research simulation, I will try to find articles using the Walden library website as well as Google scholar when necessary. Have any of you found any other great resources to find research articles and journals? I have been one who always skips over the research articles because they were so foreign and LONG to me that I never felt like taking the time to try and read them. Now I am looking forward to improving my skills in reading research and understanding what they mean so I can be a better child advocate.

Final Blog Assignment

Consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development

1. I became aware of how early childhood professionals make a positive impact in our field around the world. 
2. I learned how different organizations support the early childhood community and the resources it offers. 
3. That there is ongoing research and studies being done in our field constantly. 
4. Other professionals in varying fields are starting to see the importance and value of the early childhood field. 

One goal that I have developed since starting this course would become involved in an organization in the early childhood field that is related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations:

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Three new ideas I gained about issues related to international early childhood education UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage...

 1. The Roma (aka: gypsies) are the largest ethnic minority in Europe with over 10 million residents. Sadly, over 50% of Roma Children do no finish primary school, even with efforts to expand and improve education.

2. The Roma are at greatest risk of being poor, uneducated and unemployed. It points to European and national opinion surveys that show many European citizens have negative views about this group that are often based on stereotypes and prejudice dating back several centuries.

3. To meet the challenge of Roma exclusion and continuing deprivation, the Governments need to employ upstream financial, social and work policies to reduce family poverty and give young children a fair start in life. UNESCO and the Council of Europe are working to improving access to early childhood educational opportunities and the Roma’s transition to quality primary education.

This week I listened to the podcast that interviewed TJ Skalski. TJ is the Principal of The Mother Earth’s Children’s Charter School (MECCS), the first and only Indigenous charter school in Canada. Her first year at MECCS was very unpleasant. She was the 5th principal in 5 years and the school had only been open for 5 years. In her first year, she had gone through 2 superintendents. She is the first principal to stay for the 2nd consecutive year. Now she’s on her 6th superintendent and there is a whole new board of directors. She has had 2 years to learn about the evolution of the school. Her focus is investing into the kids. She focuses on creating a community where culture is put as a priority and culture and language is on the forefront. She feels that so many students are caught and trapped in this cycle of depression, poverty and hurt. When thinking about her own life and how she avoided those feelings, she realized that it was b/c of her family values, having grandparents who were very strong and a mother who had a strong work ethic and wanted to provide for her family. She notes that the kids who she serves are lacking that at home. Students are coming to her school feeling damaged, hungry, wounded, scarred, depressed, and not feeling of any worth. So being at the school for her is about building dreams and inspiring kids to do something with their life. She wants them to realize that there is something beyond the walls of the school. She shares her story with the kids and how she grew up living between 2 worlds to inspire them and give them hope. I found her story inspiring and I could definitely connect with her. I have made these same realizations with her. I was a very blessed child and was lucky enough to grow up in a home where I was raised healthy, loved, and cared for daily. Not all children are as lucky, especially ones where I teach. We have social service workers in our school and a guidance counselor to work with our children with mental and emotional problems. I have the same hopes at TJ for my own students. I really enjoyed listening to her podcast and making some personal connections with someone in the field outside of our country.

Sharing Web Resources

Pre-Now is an organization that was based under the Pew Research Center. I was interesting in finding more information about the center. I found out that the Pew Research Center works on developing reports, data trends, quizzes and graphics, which inform the public about issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Pew Charitable Trusts funded the 10-year campaign to develop high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all three- and four-year-olds in 2011. Through its accomplishments, Pre-K Now reformed the national conversation about pre-k education, and in its final report, challenged the nation’s policy makers to transform public education by moving away from the current K-12 system to pre-K-12. The pre-k now website has a lot of links to articles, videos and reports relevant to the Pre-K Now organization’s research and studies.

While continuing my search through the Pre-K Now website, I found some very interesting articles that apply to what we are learning this week in class. The first article I came across was called Tapping Title I: What Every School Administrator Should Know about Title I, Pre-K and School Reform. The article discussed how several school districts have difficulty discovering resources to provide needed early childhood programs for families in their communities. One largely available funding source that can be utilized more to fund pre-k is Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Title 1 is the biggest source of federal funding for public schools that ensures all children living in high-poverty areas receive an effective and high-quality education.  Title 1 and Pre-K both have similar goals: “to help reduce achievement gaps and improve academic performance among students living in poverty.” The article also gave strategies that are pre-k related to complement Title 1 school reform:

·      Increase pre-k access for at risk children

·      Align pre-k through 3rd learning goals and standards

·      Establish common standards and expectations across all Pre-K programs

·      Extend pre-k program hours and/or school years

·      Offer additional literacy instruction for ELLs

·      Provide joint professional development opportunities

·      Implement age-appropriate screenings and assessment tools

·      Provide comprehensive services (i.e. health, nutrition, social services)

·      Hold parent-education seminars

The next article I read was titled Meeting the Challenge of Rural Pre-K. The article stated that accessibility to pre-k in rural areas are lower than urban and suburban school districts. Low accessibility for pre-k in rural areas translates into low school readiness for those children. To be more specific, research found that children in rural areas are 15% LESS likely to start kindergarten with important early literacy skills and 50% LESS likely to know beginning sounds than children in urban and suburban areas. They are also 60% MORE likely to need special education versus children raised in non-rural areas.

The following article titled The Pre-K Pinch: Early Education and the Middle Class discussed how middle-class families earn too much to qualify for state pre-kindergarten programs, so private early education and care is among the most burdensome expenses. They went onto say how by providing high-quality pre-k to all, policymakers can help these strapped families while enhancing children’s school readiness and our nation’s human capital. Only eight states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to extend eligibility for pre-k to all children whose families want to enroll them, and only Oklahoma has achieved an enrollment rate greater

than 60 percent of four year olds. For the remaining 30 states with pre-k programs, 20 use family income on its own or with other “risk factors” to determine eligibility. In the majority of these states, a family of four earning a little more than $40,000 a year would not be able to enroll their children in pre-k.

The website has many more interesting articles I look forward to reading as the year goes on. These were just a few that stood out to me that I believe appli

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I watched the podcast about Maysoun Chehab. She works with early childhood practitioners, policy makers and the Arab Resource Collective (ARC) community. ARC is a not-for profit non-governmental organization based in Beirut, Lebanon. She helps raise awareness about early childhood care, early childhood development, and child rights. She also trains early chidhood caregivers on best practices and produces Arabic resources for parents and teachers on issues related to early childhood.

According to Maysoun, her most rewarding project she worked on was a psychosocial support project that took place in July 2006. A lot of young children were affected by the war that lasted for 30 days. 126 primary schools were destroyed. Families, teachers and young children needed support. After the war, they went into the affected villages and implemented psychosocial projects where trained parents and teachers emotional and social reactions that children would have in post conflict situations. The most successful part was targeting parents and teachers to help support children by training them for 6 days on coping techniques and strategies that supported themselves and children. Afterwards the parents and teachers were more confident in dealing with young children.

I have yet to hear back from Maysoun, so I researched information regarding equity and excellence from Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website. In association with the Global Children’s Initiative, the Center on the Developing Child is beginning the Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância. This is the center’s first major program outside the boundaries of the U.S. In partnership with native experts, this project targets child health and development to assist in the development of greater policies and bigger investments that can help benefit young Brazilian children and their families. The organization aims to construct a program full of Early childhood development scholars as well as translate and communicate the organization’s goals and resources to a Brazilian audience. They also hope to build leaders in the field by providing training for policy makers.

While knowledge and research has been developed in many developing countries, there has been little evidence that is made available on early childhood development in sub-Saharan Africa. In response to this, a combined effort to evaluate the outcomes of an continuous anti-malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia. It is believed that their work will not only improve comprehension of child development in this context but also help develop necessary interventions towards improved outcomes in a rapidly changing developing world.

The last insight I have gained would be how science research is showing that investments in early childhood and in healthy life course for young people in hardship have a social and an economic impact. Theresa Betancourt, a Center-affiliated faculty member designs invertventions for parents and children in Rwanda. For example, even with strong antiretroviral therapy made available to them, many HIV-infected parents in Rwanda see their diagnosis as a death sentence rather than a chronic illness, like diabetes, that they could live with and still be great parents. She encourages outside interest in doing family-based interventions with groups experiencing other forms of adversity, such as extreme poverty or communal violence.

All three of these programs not only work with young children, but they also include the child’s families.

References

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/applying_the_science_of_early_childhood_in_brazi/

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/zambian_project/

Lawton, M. (n.d.) Studying the Effects of Global Adversity, Two Generations at a Time. Center of Developing Child. Harvard University.

Sharing Web Resources

First off, I want to apologize for my late posting this evening! I usually try to get my work done in the morning, but found out yesterday afternoon that my Grandpappy passed away so I've had a hard time concentrating on my school work. But I finally got some motivation to finish it tonight, so here we go! 

While searching through the Pre-K website, I found an article that was relevant to looking through an economists eyes at the benefits of early childhood education. According to Albert Wat (2007), the Pre-K now’s research on several high-quality pre-k programs (for children ages 3 to 4) have confirmed that children who attend high-quality pre-k are more likely to graduate from high school and acquire secondary education. Pre-K now’s research also validates that a more educated workforce increases a nation’s productivity. Pre-K Now’s research concentrated on early childhood education’s impact on the nation’s macroeconomic growth and provides reasoning for growth in investing in nationwide Pre-K programs.  Through studying the research done by Pre-K Now and really focusing on how economists view the importance and value of Pre-K programs, I just wonder what it will take for our society and government to take action and make it available for ALL children. Also in the article by Wat (2007) he mapped out the lifetime benefits of Pre-K.

Some examples are:

Education Impacts

• Lower special education
• Lower grade retention
• Increased high school completion
• Increased test scores

Social & Emotional Impacts

• Fewer behavioral problems
• More self control
• Improved peer relationships

Economy Impacts

• Increased Earnings & Tax Revenues
• Decreased Reliance on Social Services/Welfare
• Decreased Criminal Activity

Child Well Being

• Less child abuse, neglect, and maltreatment 

Improved Health Behaviors

• Less Reliance on Health Services
• Better Health Outcomes

More Skilled Workforce

• Increased Productivity
• Higher employment
• Higher earnings

A new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field that I have gained from exploring the Pre-K website is that with the ongoing research and studies being done in our field, other professionals in varying fields are starting to see the importance and value of what we do. It makes me feel proud to be part of something that even thought we don’t get the recognition and appreciation we deserve, that I know I am doing something important and making a different for every child that walks into my classroom door.

References:

Wat, A. (2007). Dollars and Sense: A Review of Economic Analyses of Pre-K. Pre-K Now.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

Delfena Mitchell 

Delfena Mitchell is Director of the Liberty Children’s Home, on the outskirts of Belize City. This program opened in the summer of 2005 and is licensed to house up to 40 children, predominantly between birth to 5 years of age. However, older children who have younger siblings in care are and will always be accommodated. All of the children at the care center have been abandoned, abused or orphaned and many have disabilities, special needs.

From the podcast I learned that the Liberty Children's home is located in Central America. Belize City, unfortunately has the number 1 incidents of child abuse in the Caribbean. There are 42 children in Liberty Children’s Home. Children come to the Home because they have been physically or sexually abused, neglected or abandoned. When the children arrive, they are really broken down and need time to heal. So the workers there will give the children time to transition and get them back into school. They get to the know the child and let them open up when the are ready.

She gave an example of one young boy who came to them at 9 years old with 6 other brothers and sisters. He had not spoken in over a year because he came from a home where he was physically abused and observed his sister suffering the same. They started off homeschooling him because he wasn't ready to be in a normal classroom. When they did enroll him in school, he was kicked out in the first week. She took him horseback riding, and in that 30 minutes he began to talk about his abuse from his grandmother and how she would beat him with a stick and he'd take his food under his bed to eat so no one would take it away. Delfana had trouble understanding him at times because he had regressed in language development because of the abuse he suffered. He began to say a couple words as the weeks went on. They would give him informal sessions of school for a few hours a day and let him spend most of his time in the gardens because he loved it. With the combination of his meds and going back to school, he began to change and talk more as the weeks went on.

I have not heard back from Delfena yet, so I read information on childhood poverty and here are my 3 New Insights Regarding Poverty from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php

1. There is a crisis of childhood poverty is heartwrenching. An estimated 1 in 4 children (that's over 600 million kids) worldwide are living in poverty. In many countries there are over 60% of children whose family are living in poverty.
2. One of the effects of poverty is that over 10 million children under 5 years of age are dying from diseases that can be prevented. I believe that children, especially in developing countries that are bearing these effects, should have more advocates because these children are bearing both the physical and emotional costs of poverty such as death, malnutrition, poor health, life-long learning difficulties and lost opportunities.
3. Poverty tends to be passed on to children from their parents. This is why I love my job teaching in a Title 1 school. At my school 90% of our students are on free/reduced lunch (living below the poverty line) and 220 children out of about 500 benefit from our FUEL program. (FUEL program is through Kroger stores.... people buy FUEL bags of snacks for our students in the program to take home every Friday for days they can not benefit from food at school. I believe teaching my kindergarteners and giving them a good start to their education is the first step in tackling childhood poverty. To give them the necessary tools (to read, write, and do math) they will need to become whatever they dream to be.

Sharing Web Resources

Pre-K Now believes that the success of public education begins in Pre-K.  In 2001, they began a campaign to encourage more states to invest in high-quality Pre-K programs. In 10 years, the amount of state investment has increased over 50%. The Pre-K Now campaign ended in 2011, but left with a challenge for all policy makers to move away from our current K-12 public school system to a Pre-K-12 one. 

Here is a short video giving an overview of their campaign...

 

 There are two current issues in the field that I am facing in my own career that has been unintentionally left out of our course due to the time constraints. As a kindergarten teacher, I am implementing the new Common Core standards this year. These standards have changed the expectations for what children must know when entering and "graduating" kindergarten. This means, that the early learning standards must change to align with our new common core standards. I also believe with the amount of knowledge my students must know before leaving, they would be more successful if they had exposure to letters, numbers, reading, cooperating with others, following directions, and listening to a teacher in a pre-k class. This is why I chose the Pre-K now campaign because I am a huge advocate for their focus and goals.

Looking at a graphic of data that shows the increase of investments in Pre-K by state, I was disappointed in Tennessee's growth (my home state). Click HERE to see the visual and see how your home state has grown. I was happy to see that they more than doubled their investments, but I don't feel that it's where it needs to be. For example, in my school district, ONLY qualifying families (low-income) may enter the public school pre-k system. It is my belief that EVERY child should be given the opportunity for public school pre-k. Our pre-k teacher at my school is WONDERFUL and prepares her students for kindergarten. Every year they are my highest students and are reading. Imagine how far I could take my students if they ALL came prepared to kindergarten! The possibilities are endless! 

Every being in my body wishes that this campaign was still alive so that I could become a Pre-K now advocate! I love everything I have read about this campaign and it is my hope that I can aid in the education to the country that Pre-K is as important as Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade when it comes to education!