When I Think of Child Development

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Adults as Guides and Facilitators

http://www.baby-pictures.org/baby-playing-piano-in-the-ph

"We should spend less time ranking children and more time helping them to identify their natural competencies and gifts and cultivate these. There are hundreds and hundreds of ways to succeed and many, many different abilities that will help you get there."

Playing kids | Stock Photo © Alena Ozerova #3098371

This quote resonates with me as a mother and a teacher, but especially as a teacher. I find that our school system fails to embrace the child as an individual and rather tries to force each child into similar shapes without regard for each child’s strengths and challenges. Most children can get through this antiquated system unscathed due to a supportive family or outside support but many children leave formal schooling feeling uninspired, tired of learning, and lacking in creativity. 

                                          Every child deserves to feel excited about learning, successful, and supported. 

Read more at http://quotes.dictionary.com/subject/child development, intellectual?page=1#JzgO7SEkozw5AZyR.99 We_should_spend_less_time_ranking_children_and. (n.d.). Columbia World of Quotations. Retrieved December 16, 2012, from Dictionary.com website: http://quotes.dictionary.com/We_should_spend_less_time_ranking_children_and

Adults as Caregivers and Nurturers

Retrieved from blackwomenshealth.com Title:CB106351

"At birth every infant has the potential to make the world more caring. Their need for a tender, nurturing mother can be met, or it can be denied. Most babies in our society fail. They do not get what they evolved to have. Is it any wonder, then, that our world is such an uncaring place?

"When we begin to face the truth about babies and what they need and are willing to provide it for them, then we will be on the road to becoming human again. We will not have to pretend to ourselves and to our children that we are a caring people. It will be obvious by the results."

James Kimmel, Ph.D.,

I found myself thinking twice about this quote because in my circle of friends and family, I feel like the vast majority of the children are having their needs met and are cared for in a kind, supportive and respectful manner. But on further reflection, I am forced to admit that most babies in our society do fail in getting THEIR needs met appropriately. Many parents might think that they are doing the best for their child when in reality, they are either continuing an inadequate cycle of parenting learned from their own parents or are faced with societal challenges that do not allow to fully meet the needs of their children.

Some of the societal pitfalls I would like to see change regard:

·       Breastfeeding: Even though I have yet to be harassed for breastfeeding publicly or in private, I know of many people who have a negative view of breastfeeding and I know women who have been harassed for breastfeeding in public.

·       Support for working moms: Many people believe that women need to choose between being mothers or having a profession. I do not believe that this ought to be the case for anyone who invested in a career and who wants to have the privilege of being a parent to a little miracle. With proper supports (such as maternal and paternal leave and child-friend work places), women and men would be able to be attentive and successful parents and professionals. 

·       Inclusion of fathers as active participants in child’s life: It takes a real man to be a kind, nurturing, and supportive father. This is a message that needs to become part of society today. It takes a support network of loving people to support mother and child. This network needs to begin with the father.

·       End to corporal punishment: Violence begets violence. And if not violence than low self-esteem (and low self-esteem has been linked to aggression.) There are more effective, respectful, and creative ways of guiding a child that does not require physical force.

·       Fostering emotional support and empathy for both genders: Both genders have emotional needs that need to be met and learning to regard the feelings of others applies to both boys and girls. Boys need to be able to express their feelings openly and have their feeling respected just as much as girls. 

A Word of Thanks

I would like to thank my Walden colleagues for their participation in this course. I have learned a lot from being a part of this blogging community as well as the EDUC community. The stories that my colleagues have shared have been very personal and educational. I have learned from the information they have researched and shared. It is inspiring to be part of a like-minded community. I hope that we can all do our part to share the ways in which we can support the healthy development of children around us. Children are priceless and they really are the future. We must raise our children the way we would want them to raise our future generations of people. If we want a peaceful society, we must start at home and within our schools, with our children. 

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In Remembrance

And last but not least, I would like to acknowledge the tragedy at a school in Connecticut. This tragedy has shaken educators and American society in general. It is time we take action and take care of all of our children.

Assessing the Whole Child- It’s Not All About Standardized Tests

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When teachers hear the word “assessment” most of us think, “Oh, no. When will we ever find the time to actually teach?”

When parents hear the word “assessment” most of us think, “Oh, no. How will my child measure up to the other kids in his/her class?

“Assessment” does not have to be the equivalent of a four-letter word.

Assessments are beneficial to teaching and learning- NOT STANDARDIZED assessments, but true assessments. Authentic assessments include a range of methods, not JUST STANDARDIZED, and serve a variety of reasons such as pre-assessments to find out what children know (Yes! Children actually come to class ALREADY knowing A LOT!), formative assessments to understand how our teaching is working and what children are learning in a unit, and summative assessments to see what children have learned and how they can apply their learning.

American education today is still stuck in the early 1900’s. Anyone who spends time with children-caring for them, teaching them, observing them- knows that children come in all shapes and sizes, with their own unique strengths and challenges, senses of humor, likes and dislikes, etc. They are UNIQUE. There is not a STANDARD CHILD. Why should we measure children who are UNIQUE against STANDARDIZED tests? It should be a crime but sadly it is a reality. France is one of the countries that is rethinking assessment to meet the needs of the growing immigrant population.

Educational Assessment in Germany

According to Rotberg (2006), Germany has a very distinct educational system. It is highly stratified and arbitrary based strongly on socioeconomics. There are three types of school Gymnasium (academic track), Realschule (vocational track), and Hauptschule (lower level education). They do not use examinations to determine placement. Parents and teachers decide student placement.

Rotberg, I. C. (2006). Assessment around the World. Educational Leadership, 64(3), 58-63.

Poverty In Central Appalachia

This blog post has been extremely hard to write. I thank God for having a very warm, loving, and supportive family while growing up and still now as an adult. It’s never easy to read about child stressors, but I feel especially sensitive to these sorts of travesties postpartum.

After giving this topic much thought I am choosing to write about someone I know that has a very sad history. This woman has faced many hardships and abuses, but I will focus on the ones that are pertinent to this topic. She was born and raised in Central America during a time of civil war in her country.  She lost her mother to breast cancer at a very young age and lived with an abusive father. She lived in poverty as a child and was sexually violated as a teenager. That act of violence resulted in pregnancy. This woman decided to keep the baby.

Her story is one that is wrought in abuse and does not really have a very happy ending. Granted, she is a productive person and able to function in day-to-day life. However, her experiences have left deep emotional and mental scars. She is unable to have a healthy and loving relationship with her children. Nor does she have healthy romantic relationships. She tends to be controlling with the people in her life as well as in her relationship with food. This woman is a compulsive shopper and will buy an article of clothing or shoes everyday. This is to compensate for having grown up in poverty.

She has never had a supportive network of family or friends. She has been in constant survival mode and tends to engage with most people in a way that is manipulative and with only her best interest in mind.

I choose to learn more about the poverty in Central Appalachia. In the course of my research, I have come across a fund that strives to make a difference through social change. “The Appalachian Community Fund (ACF) is a publicly supported, non-profit grantmaking organization that provides resources and support to grassroots organizations working to overcome the underlying causes of poverty and injustice. According to this website, there are very few hospitals in this region, about 20% of the population in that region live below the poverty line and there exists a monopoly on coal mines. Additionally, in a certain county, 40% of the population does not have access to clean drinking water. Socially, the people of this region are “consistently misrepresented in media”.

This organization works to mentor teenagers and help them attend college. They worked as a community to keep a nearby clinic open. They seek to keep the community safe and healthy by fighting against developments that will pollute the area and risk the health and safety of the community. They work with grantees that mobilize to change policies and systems that affect the people of Central Appalachia.

http://www.appalachiancommunityfund.org/html/success.html