Sharing Web Resources

The name and link for the organization I selected is Zero to Three at http://zerotothree.org/.  ZERO TO THREE is a national, nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge to nurture young children’s early development.

Their mission:  To ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life.

From the website, I learned that President Obama included babies and toddlers as part of his 2014 budget proposal.  This budget proposal is to provide $7 billion over 10 years to ensure young children and families have access to high-quality child care.  The President’s plan also goes beyond home visiting to reach more families where they live, with information, guidance, and encouragement.  The budget proposal released also allocates $15 billion of funding over 10 years to invest in this effort.  “Babies don’t come with an instruction manual, and every parent can benefit from reliable information about early learning and a helping hand,” says Melmed.  “The President’s plan helps parents utilize what science and evidence-based practice has to offer in order to give babies, toddlers, and young children the best start in life.”

The President’s plan is specifically rooted in brain science, which shows that babies are born wired to learn. Starting on the first day of a child’s life, positive early experiences establish a strong foundation upon which all later learning and healthy development is built.  However, infants and toddlers who lack quality early learning experiences can fall quickly behind.  Research clearly shows that gaps can appear even before their first birthday.  The President’s plan builds on what we know works: start early with consistent, high-quality, evidence-based supports that match what parents need and help parents nurture the early development of their babies and toddlers.  

I think this information is great news, especially regarding the issue of dual language learners that I have been learning about this week.  I think when children receive high-quality early education, all children, regardless of their language, culture, race, religion, income, etc. will have a much better chance of being successful throughout school and throughout their adult lives. 

 

 

 

 

Getting Ready—E stablishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Part I:

Initially, the steps I took to attempt to make contact with early childhood professionals were to pick countries closer to my own country.  When I was unable to do so, I simply went through the list of names until my emails went out successfully without returning to me with a failed attempt to send message.  It took me over a dozen tries before I was successful in sending my emails out. 

In my email to other EC educators, I introduced myself, gave some personal information, asked if they would consider being a part of a special assignment for my class or if they might know of someone who would consider being a part of this assignment, provided information on what the assignment entailed, asked if they had any questions for me to provide, and thanked them for considering being a part of this assignment.  I am currently waiting for a response and am not sure at this time if I will need to choose the alternate assignment. 

Part II:

I choose the Zero to Three website as my main website to explore.  I also choose National Institute for Early Education Research, which focuses on pre-school aged children.  I felt these two websites will offer me the type of information that will support my knowledge and learning more about children birth to preschool.  I think websites that are age-specific will offer more detailed and insightful information on the ages of children I want to learn more about.  I also want to learn more about the types of issues families and children encounter and suggestions for turning these challenges into stepping stones towards effectively solving issues affecting them. 

National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/
(Newsletter: http://nieer.org/resources/newsletter/index.php )

Zero To Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
http://www.zerotothree.org/ (May have to use http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/ )
(Newsletters:
http://zttcfn.pub30.convio.net/child-development/from-baby-to-big-kid/ and
http://capwiz.com/zerotothree/mlm/signup/ )

My Support

     There are many factors within my daily environment that are supportive to me. One factor involves my family support. My family supports me by encouraging me to never get too discouraged when I am tired and do not want to continue with my education. My family encourages me with their positive words and through their support of watching my children from time to time to give me a break and some much needed quiet time to study. Another factor supporting me is relationship with my boss and his wife. They often tell me how important I am to their business and do their best to work around my needs, such as if I need more time to do activities with my children or need a half a day to study. My friends' support is another factor impacting my life. My friends' support me through asking me how my life is going and if I need anything from them. My friends also help me stay balanced by making go out and do fun activities from time-to-time instead of just kids, work, and school. And, last, but the most important support in my life is my faith in Jesus Christ. I believe without Jesus in my life I would not have peace and my life would definitely be very fruitful. I would be much more discouraged without my positive supports in my life and my life would seem more difficult. I think I would even feel empty and somewhat lost more often than not.

     A specific challenge to me would be if I were new to a country that did not predominately speak my language. I would need to have a translator in order to do my job as a hygienist and a teacher or I would need to have patients and students who spoke my language. I would probably have to find a job that made less money and required very little communication. My family and friends' support would likely not be enough to help me emotionally or financially, unless they sent me money to live on. I would definitely need to learn how to speak the native language, learn about the culture, and find other supports and services to help me linguistically. Having the type of support in a foreign country and trying to learn another language would not only be difficult for me to support my family, but would also be a challenge for my children to fit-in, learn, and grow without the support from that country's people valuing me and my family and helping us with our developments.

"My Connections to Play."

"My Connections to Play."
1. Quotes:
"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

~ Plato (Greek Philosopher)

"Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold."

~ Joseph Chilton Pearce


2. Pictures of toys for myself:





      When I was younger, my play was supported simply by my parents telling me and my siblings to go outside and play. I lived in a small town surrounded by fields, forests, and lakes. It was there, where I grew up, that before the age of nine I had been a princess, a doctor, a teacher, a police officer, a professional ball player, an architect etc. Of course, my professions were not earned, but rather acquired through my imagination and "interests of the day." The role of play in my life supported my interests and creativity and allowed me to be engaged in my activities. 
      Play today seems less meaningful to children than it was when I was a child. As a child, my play did not involve too many devices with screens. My play involved using my imagination and creativity along with learning to collaborate well with my peers in order to meet many of my goals in playing. Therefore, my hope for children today is to have more opportunities to be engaged in activities that are child-directed and provided materials that encourage activities that are meaningful and promote learning. 
    I think the role of play should positively impact children so that it is evident in their years as adults. Play supports children's learning about their environment. And, within an environment, children learn how to make sense of their world and how to solve problems more effectively. Additionally, children also are more likely to learn how to be effective communicators with others and gain better perceptions of others as well. Overall, play fosters the type of learning and skills children will need to support their success as adults.

　




　

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me for many reasons. One reason relationships are important are becuase positive relationships are edifying, support my self-esteem, and teach me how to treat others in a way they want to be treated.

Diana (Mother):

My mother and I have a positive relationship because she supports my ideas and encourages me to take risks. She also gives me honest advice when I ask her for it and she gives me suggestions on ways I might want to consider when making big decisions.


"Nanny" (Grandma):

My grandma and I have a positive relationship because she also supports my decisions and offers support by reflecting on what it was like "back in her day." Factors that contribute to my relationship with my grandma are commonalities between us. I enjoy learning about "her day" and believe that older individuals have a lot of wisdom to offer.


Kalpana (Friend):

My friend and I have a positive relationship because I feel we are both honest and open with each other. We give advice to each other, even when the advice is not something we want to hear. We also come from very different cultures, as she is from India and I am from the United States, and seem to value each other's cultures and beliefs, even when we think parts of our cultures are strange. Factors contributing to our relationship is our honesty and open-mindedness.


Patients (Dental Patients):

I felt I should mention my patients because I feel I have earned their trust and have formed a positive relationship with them over the years. Factors that have contributed to my relationship with my patients are having good listening skills, valuing opinions, and being compliant.



     Although my relationships are mostly positive ones, there are some challenges to developing and maintaining relationships that I have learned to experience over time. One challenge is learning what is important to them and how I can find ways to value their beliefs. Another challenge is to have effective conversations when I disagree with them. In addition, it is also challenging keep relationships current. I think one characteristic to my relationships being partnerships is having a common interest in something and cultivating that interest and a will in wanting to invest in forming a relationship with someone. I feel my relationships with others in my personal and professional life contribute to my work as an effective early childhood professional because I have effective relationships with individuals who have differing cultures, views, and beliefs other than my own. I also feel my ability to be a good listener and value differences will be supportive in my impact on being an effective early childhood educator.

Childhood Quotes

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.

- Hodding Carter

 

I have enjoyed getting to know everyone throughout this course and wish everyone the best of luck throughout our program.  It is an honor to learn more about infants and young children and to be a part of supporting children's learning and development by learning what they have to teach us.  Thanks for all of your posts!

Testing for Intelligence?

I believe according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (2003):

• Assessments should be made appropriate, valid, and reliable as central part of all early childhood programs. To best  assess young children’s strengths, progress, and needs,  use assessment methods that are developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically responsive, tied to children’s daily activities, supported by professional development, inclusive of families, and connected to specific, beneficial purposes. The purposes of doing assessment are: (1) making sound decisions about teaching and learning, (2) identifying significant concerns that  may require focused intervention for individual children, and (3) helping programs improve their educational and developmental interventions.

 

• Indicators of effective assessment practices • Ethical principles guide assessment practices. • Assessment instruments are used for their intended  purposes. • Assessments are appropriate for ages and other char- acteristics of children being assessed. • Assessment instruments are in compliance with professional criteria for quality. • What is assessed is developmentally and educationally  significant. • Assessment evidence is used to understand and im- prove learning. • Assessment evidence is gathered from realistic settings  and situations that reflect children’s actual performance. • Assessments use multiple sources of evidence gathered over time. • Screening is always linked to follow-up.  • Use of individually administered, norm-referenced tests  is limited. • Staff and families are knowledgeable about assessment.

However, some assessments, according to Asia Society (2013),such as China's language programs should focus on classroom assessment and external assessment. Although traditional testing is still widely used and serves its prescribed purpose, classroom assessment is also used to align with what students have learned and how they have learned. Because the goal of curriculum is for language use, it is important to require students to apply the newly gained communicative competence to similar but different contexts (Asia Society, 2013).

Among the assessment tools that teacher will use for classroom assessment include:

• Performance-based assessment tasks
  
• Self assessments
  
• Peer assessments
  
• Teacher observations
  
• Portfolios
  
• Quizzes and tests
  

Multiple measurements taken across time provide a more comprehensive picure of students' ability to use Chinese for meaningful purpose than would an assessment scheme that focuses on students' ability as measured by tests and quizzes alone (Asia Society, 2013).

 In addition, NAEYC (2003) believes:

• Indicators of effective curriculum • Children are active and engaged. • Goals are clear and shared by all. • Curriculum is evidence-based. • Valued content is learned through investigation and  focused, intentional teaching. • Curriculum builds on prior learning and experiences. • Curriculum is comprehensive. • Professional standards validate the curriculum’s  subject-matter content. • The curriculum is likely to benefit children.
  
  

Overall, I also believe according to the NAEYC 2003):

Assessing children should be integrated through support for programs implementing recommendations for curriculum and program evaluation requiring a solid foundation. More positive results and greater accountability from programs for children should have essential supports for teacher recruitment and compensation, professional preparation and ongoing professional development, and other appropriate practices of quality early education.   Moreover, to create an integrated, well-financed system of early care and education that has the capacity to support learning and development in all children, including children living in poverty, children whose home language is not English, and children with disabilities. Unlike many other countries, the United  States continues to have a fragmented system for edu- cating children from birth through age 8, under multiple auspices, with greatly varying levels of support, and with inadequate communication and collaboration. Many challenges face efforts to provide all young children with high-quality curriculum, assessment, and evaluation of their programs. Public commitment, along with investments in a well-financed system of early child- hood education and in other components of services for young children and their families, will make it possible to implement these recommendations fully and effectively.

References

Asia Society. (2013). Assessments. Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/education/chinese-language-initiatives/assessment

National Association for the Education of Young Children and National Association of Early Childhood. (2003). Where We Stand. Retrieved from www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/StandCurrAss.pdf