Connetions to Play

Quotes about play

Play is hard to maintain as you get older. You get less playful. You shouldn’t, of course.

Richard Feynman
American physicist
1918–1988

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

George Bernard Shaw
Play was a huge part of my life as a child.  What I most remember is playing dress up with fabulous coats, dresses and big shiny jewerly my aunt left when she died.  I loved Barbie dolls and when I wasn't in the house, we were at the beach playing in the sand and flying kites or in Rock Creek Park riding bikes.


        
Both my mom and dad encouraged play, providing my sister and I lots of space, materials, toys, and time to play. I played daily as I was not allowed to watch TV during the week and we did not have gaming systems.  Play was very important as I learned how to work with others, fostered my imagination, and dreamed of going to other places and becoming whoever I wanted to be.

I feel sad when I think about the current state of play.  TV and video systems have replaced play and spending time outside.  When I was a child I was told to stay outside until the street lights came on.  Now, many children come home and sit infront of the TV or play video games until its time to go to bed.  In school, play time has drascally decreased, if it occurs at all.  It is my hope that parents,educators, child care providers, and caregivers learn and recognise the importance of play.  I hope that children find joy in pretending, will one day build cities with whatever they find, and create, imagine, and enjoy being a child.

Relationship Reflection

I have learned over the years the importance of true friends and the value of having authentic relationships with friends and family.  Relationships, of all kind, I have come to believe support  who you are at the core.  Relationships are not meant to comply but should compliment a persons beliefs and values.  I learned your real friendships and relationships keep you humble, encourage growth, and love hard.  My most successful relationship has been with my girl friend Danielle.  We have been friends 19 years in August, truly my longest friendship ever (I'm 28 so its almost my entire life).  Danielle and I do not always agree be we have learned to respect our differences, we challenge each other when we think we should, we question each other especially when it comes to decisions about health and men, we support each other even when we disagree.  She loves hard, tells the truth when you don't want to hear it, and will ring the alarms when its time to handle business.  I have learned that a true friendship supports, loves, are is truthful 100%.  My other best friend is a guy named Reggie.  He is my right hand.  We have known each other for 11 years but have been very close for 6.  He helps me to see things differently and challenges me to be better, especially in regards to my relationship with my significant other.  With Reggie, I also learned the value of truth.  But more importantly, I learned that real friends accept you for you and not for what you can do, will do, or should do. 

Currently I am in a relationship with a great man, Kullen.  Kullen and I have been together for almost 4 years.  This is the most difficult partnership I have ever had.  Although we are in a relationship we are also in a partnership as we both help to successfully raise a child and run a home.  Communication is the biggest challenge in this partnership as it took, and it still taking, us a long time to get it.  We found that we have to work hard to ensure the other partner is digesting the information in the meaning we intended.  I have learned the power behind my tone of voice and I am learning to have better control with it.  Within this parentership there is a lot of compromise and sacrifice which at times is difficult.  The difference between friendships and partnerships is the degree of compromise and Scarface. Kullen and I are working toward forever goals and although my friends and I will always be forever, the work to maintain each relationship is different. 

Aside from the boyfriend and best friends I have an awesome relationship with my dad and mom .  I have learned through all of these relationships that it takes two for a relationship to flourish and survive and it requires work.  Within my relationships, I have learned the importance of self reflection and the power of honesty and real love. My friendships and relationships all challenge me to be better and advocate for me.  Having someone always in your corner, supporting you, cheering you on, and just being their is an indescribable feeling.  Just as important it is for adults to have that person, whether family member or other, children also need that person, and sometimes that person is the teacher.  ECE professional should understand the value of creating relationships with young children as it helps to foster positive self image and creates an environment for trust. 

Interesting Quote about Children

"Each of us must come to care about everyone else's children. We must recognize that the welfare of our children is intimately linked to the welfare of all other people's children. After all, when one of our children needs life-saving surgery, someone else's child will perform it. If one of our children is harmed by violence, someone else's child will be responsible for the violent act. The good life for our own children can be secured only if a good life is also secured for all other people's children".

- Lilian Katz

Measures of Assessment

 
I have hated the idea of formal standardized testing since I had to take them in grade school. My dislike for such test increased when I began teaching in the classroom and I realized the focus was not if the child has mastered the skill but more on the overall performance of the school and what it said about the school and its admin team. There has to be some type of measurement to assess mastery of skills, but it should be modified to support the various learning styles.  By doing so, a more accurate depiction of what a child has mastered can been seen. As teachers, modify lessons for the various types of intelligences in their classrooms, test takers should be allowed the option to show mastery in a format that best suits their learning style.  As we all learn differently, we also express our intellect and mastery differently. In ECE I think social emotional growth and development should be assessed only. Without foundations of social emotional competency, children will have a difficult time in school and in life. As children get older, math and literacy skills should be assessed but in a manner that aligns with individual learning styles.


In Australia, children are formally tested at certain grade levels; 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th grade. The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numbers (NAPLAN) consists of multiple choice, short answer, and extended response questions. NAPLAN is used to assess how students are progressing in the study of literacy and math. Number, writing, reading and language are assessed with this test.


NAPLAN sounds very similar to those standardized test children are given in the US, as they too are also used to measure the quality of teachers and the schools.


References:
National Assessment Program Literacy and Numbers (2012). Ourkidz. Retrieved from http://ourkidz.com.au/content/view/87/156/lang,en/

Childhood Stressors

This assignment was difficult for me in that I have never experienced any of those stressors listed growing up as a child.  It was not until college where I heard my first stories of people growing up poor.  I remember the story my friend told me of her experience.  Her, her mom, and her brother lived in a 1 bedroom apartment.  They received public assistance to pay the rent, get food, and pay bills.  They all slept in one bed in a rodent infested building.  On morning she was sleeping and woke up to a dead rat in her bed.  She said she was forced to work as soon as she turned 13 to help bring income into the house.  She said there were many days were they had limited food and many times she went to bed hungry.  Her mother worked but did not make enough to fully provide for the house.  Her experiences with poverty are her driving force for the work she does today.  She is a member of many organizations that empower girls and help guide them to make the right decisions.  She is extremely money conscious, ensuring that she and her son would not fall into the situation she was raised in as a child.

There are many stressors children face in Brazil.  Poverty and drug use are very common among children as more than half of the countries population lives in extreme poverty (Children  of Bahia, 2005).  It is estimated that 8 million children are living on the streets.  Brazil has one of the highest populations of AIDS in South American, which effects families and children (Children of Bahia, 2005).  Last year the government implemented a program called Brasil Sem Miseria (Brazil Without Poverty).  This program is designed to provide health and education programs as well as giving money to the poor (BBC, 2011).  In return for some of the services, guardians must ensure their children attend school and are vaccinated (BBC, 2011). 


Resources

Children of Bahia (2005). Child Poverty in Brazil. Retrieved from http://www.childrenofbahia.com/childpoverty.htm

BBC News (2011).  Brazil launches scheme to lift millions out of poverty. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13626951

Child Development and Public Health- Malnutrition

As I work in different areas and schools, I understand how important proper nutrition is to the development of young children.  Many school districts are beginning to implement healthy breakfast for all young children at no additional cost.  I can be honest and say I had reservations around breakfast being served to children in school, as it is one less responsibility parents will have.  However I know in low income areas, children do not have access to healthy meals and snacks and developing healthy children is the responsibility of everyone who functions within the society.   Malnutrition causes 30% of deaths in young children from birth to age five (WHO, 2012).   Malnutrition can effect proper brain development, stunt physical growth, and increase acceptability of diseases (Berger, 2009, p.157).  Malnutrition is affecting almost 195 million children around the world.  An insufficient amount of essential nutrients, including protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, is the main source of malnutrition, not just a minimal amount of food (Doctors without borders, 2012, para. 1, 3).

 There are the “hotspots” for malnutrition which includes Sahel, South Asia, and the horn of Africa.  In some South American countries, the implementation of nutritional programs has begun to decrease malnutrition rates among young children (Doctors Without Borders, 2012, para. 5, 7).  In South Asia, malnourished children have high deficiencies in iron, vitamin A, and iodine.  Poverty is the main cause of malnutrition, although status of women in society, low birth rate, poor hygiene, and poor child feeding practices also contribute.  Approximately, 1/3 of children are malnourished and over 1/3 of women are underweight and malnourished (The World Bank, 2011). 

It is important that parents and teachers are educated about nutrition and the effects of proper and improper nutrition.   I will include such information as part of my advocacy work with parents in efforts to increase their support for healthy development for their children.  In my work with teachers, I will begin to include more nutritional pieces as it is vital to the development of the “whole child”.

Resources

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers

Doctors Without Borders. (2012). Malnutrition. Retrieved from http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/issue.cfm?id=2396

The World Bank. (2011). South Asia. An urgent call for action: undernourished children of South Asia.  Retrieved from http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:22264595~menuPK:158937~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:223547,00.html

World Health Organization (WHO). (2012). Promoting proper feeding for infants and young children. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/infantfeeding/en/index.html

Birthing Expereince

It is difficult for me to write about a personal birth experience.  Of course I do not remember my own, I do not have any children, and I have not been in the delivery room for any of my friends (only 3) who have had children.  What I can say is that of all my friends who have had children, all asked for assistance from pain medicine, and 2 of the 3 were vaginal.  The cesarean birth was not by choice but a choice made by the doctors.  When the time comes for me to have children I would like to explore the process of natural birth with the assistance of a midwife and doula.  I think the birthing process is amazing.  The impact of the process on child development for me focuses on the parents and how the birthing experience can enhance, change, or deepen their feelings around the freedom and exploration they give their children has they grow. 

In Japan, the birthing process is different than that in the US.  Many women choose to not use pain medicine as representation of suffering in the Buddhist religion. Enduring pains through labor is a representation of the pains and challenges a women will endure during child raising.  This practice of not using pain medication is slowly beginning to change as the use of meds can allow for a more pleasurable birth experience.   During labor in the US, fathers are often the labor coaches and/or present during delivery but, that is not common practice in Japan.  Fathers are only allowed to be present if they have taken prenatal classes with the mother.  Also in Japan women stay in the hospital much longer than women in the US after giving birth.  My friends who had vaginal births were sent home in 3 days and my friend who had a cesarean delivery was sent home after 7 days.  In Japan, mothers stay at the hospital for at least 5 days after a vaginal birth and a minimum of 10 for ceserean birth.

Resources

Schalken, L. (n.d.) Birth customs around the world. Parents. Retrieved on March 3, 2012 from http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/?page=4