Quotes about Young Children

"The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don't tell you what to see."
-- Alexandra K. Trenfor

I love this quote, because I think it is so important to encourage a child's natural curiosity.  Children who are inquisitive are great thinkers and problem solvers.  I hope to encourage and inspire my students to be lifelong learners.  My job is not to tell them all the answers, but to guide them with great experiences and questions.


Children's games are hardly games. Children are never more serious than when they play.
- MONTAIGNE, Essays

 

This is another favorite quote of mine.  Play is work for children, and too many adults do not realize this.  When children are playing, they are exploring and learning to make sense of their world!

Assessment

Assessment and young children is definitely a tricky subject.  I do think that there need to be assessments of some kind in order to measure achievement and growth.  Assessments also allow a teacher to track developmental delays.  I think that assessments should give a picture of where a child is so that you can take them to the next level that makes sense for them.  Some areas that I think should be assessed or measured include physical skills, social/behavioral skills, and cognitive skills.  All assessments should reflect age appropriate skills and be very hands-on and informal.  Many assessments on the growth of young children can happen through observation or informal game play.  If the results of an assessment are not used, the assessment is useless.  Gaining information and compiling facts should not be the end game when assessing children.  I feel assessments should be used to find a current level, track growth, and help inform a teacher’s instruction.

I chose to look at the assessment of school-age children in Sweden.  From the information I gathered, Sweden has recently moved to their assessment system looking a lot like that of the United States.  In 2011, they implemented National testing in 3^rd, 6^th, and 9^th grade.  They also added different grading standards as a way to gauge student progress (Swedish Institute, 2012).  Sweden shows a commitment to educating the whole child that few other places do.  Schooling is free and they provide free school lunches on a daily basis to all children.

My school recently went to online assessments 3 times a year for all children grades 2-5.  We were given the option of adding Kindergarten and first grade to this assessment schedule as well.  I fought hard to make sure that my students did not have to participate.  An online assessment seems to be more an assessment of a child’s computer skills, reading skills, and patience than anything actually helpful.  When I work one-on-one to assess my Kindergartners I gain valuable information.  I can tell if they are nervous, they show me how quickly/confidently they can respond to my questions, and I can easily find their “next steps” based on their current level.  When children are given cookie-cutter online assessments their teacher gets a printout.  Does that data actually tell them anything?  Do they actually use it?  I struggle to believe either of those answers is yes. 

Swedish Institute. (2012, June). Education in sweden: Lessons for life. Retrieved from http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Education/

Consequences of Stress

The only major stressor from the list that I recall experiencing as a child is natural disaster.  When I was a child, I was often home alone after school until my parents returned from work.  One day, there was a big thunderstorm as I was walking home from school.  I got home and started to watch TV, but the power went out.  Being little and home alone, I was very scared.  I remember hearing the tornado siren in our neighborhood go off.  I ran to the basement and sat in a corner to wait out the tornado.  My hands were shaking and I was crying because I was so nervous about the storm and possible tornado.  The whole situation lasted probably an hour before my mom was able to get to me from work. 

I know that this is nothing like a hurricane Katrina-type disaster.  There were really no after effects of the storm on our house or the neighborhood.  I was, however, scared of storms for a very long time after that incident.  I compensated for my fear of storms by staying home when it was storming out.  I even slept on the floor in my parents’ bedroom when there was any kind of bad weather.  While it wasn’t a huge natural disaster, it still had an effect on me growing up.  I cannot imagine how a child might be shaped or influenced by a real natural disaster.  It must be very hard for them to cope with the traumatic event.

For my research of another country, I chose to look at Africa.  One of the major stressors facing children in Africa is hunger.  Many children in Africa are facing hunger because of poverty.  To fight the growing issue of hunger in Africa, many organizations are working to send food and money.  There are also organizations that allow people to sponsor children, learn about their lives, and contribute money to help feed them.  UNICEF is one organization working to provide relief to children in Africa.  I also read an article that talked about the types of things mothers are being forced to provide for their children because they have nothing else.  The article talked about mothers having to pick leaves and berries to feed their children.  They spend all day finding and picking them, and the leaves and berries are hard, bitter, and nearly inedible.  It is sad to hear stories about the amount of poverty and hunger facing children in other countries.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/05/facing-hunger-crisis-in-west-africa-families-pick-leaves-berries-to-survive/

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm

 

Breastfeeding

This week, I chose to look at breastfeeding.  Many of my friends are new moms and are currently breastfeeding their babies.  I think that breastfeeding is talked about much more now than it was in the past.  The openness with which people talk about nursing their babies has showed me how complicated it is.  I never realized that there was so much to it!  With all of these new moms, I’m hearing all about milk not coming in, trouble breastfeeding, and different products that they use.  I also see how differently every mom goes about feeding their baby in public.  I have some friends who need to nurse in a completely separate room and others who will carry on a conversation uncovered.  I was interested to learn more about views on breastfeeding in other countries.

When I began to research breastfeeding, I found facts about its many benefits.  Breast milk carries all the nutrients a baby needs in its first six months and had antibodies that help fight disease (Unicef, 2005).  Mother and baby create a special bond while breastfeeding.  This bond leads to a healthy attachment and healthy growth later in life. 

In the North America and Western Europe, breastfeeding in public is seen as very taboo.  This is because breasts are associated with sex.  “In many other countries, breasts are seen as functional, so it is not immodest for them to be uncovered” (Attachment Across Cultures, 2002).  It was interesting to read that different cultures had such different views.  I also read that in places like Africa and South Asia, they have a time of postpartum rest where the family and community members help out to allow time for mom and baby to form attachments and focus on feeding.  This is generally a 30-40 day period (Attachment Across Cultures, 2002).

 

My current line of work (Kindergarten teacher) does not require me to have extensive knowledge on this topic.  While it might not be immediately useful to my career, I would love to share the information I have learned with my friends who are new moms. 

Attachment Across Cultures.  (2002).  Breastfeeding, Culture, and Attachment.  Retrieved July 13, 2013 from http://www.attachmentacrosscultures.org/beliefs/bfeed_culture.pdf

Unicef. (2005, January). Nutrition: Breastfeeding.  Retrieved July 13, 2013 from http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_24824.html

Birthing Experiences

My good friend Leah recently had a beautiful baby boy. She and her husband were well prepared from the start. They attended birthing classes and read many books. While Leah wanted to try delivering without an epidural, she and Brian discussed that having an epidural would not mean her plan was a failure. They went into the whole experience in a very calm manner.

On the day of her son’s birth, Leah wasn't feeling well. Her husband asked if she wanted to go to the hospital, and she thought they should, just to be sure. In the car, Leah began having contractions. By the time they got to the hospital, the nurse informed her that she was fully dilated and effaced. She was going to have her baby very soon. The doctor was called and Leah was brought into the birthing room. She got her gown on and lay in bed. As soon as the doctor arrived, he informed her she was too far along for an epidural and would need to begin pushing. Leah pushed for only 10 minutes before baby Louis was born.

I was shocked at how quickly Leah gave birth. Many first babies take hours, but she had him 30 minutes after checking into the hospital. I was also surprised by the limited interaction the doctor had in the birth. Nurses were with Leah constantly, but the doctor came in just to “catch” the baby.

For my comparison, I chose to look at births in Sweden. I found that in Sweden, midwifes take care of every step of the birth process. The doctor there is even less involved, only coming in to check on the baby or assist if there are major complications. Save the Children rated Sweden the safest place in the world to give birth. Their c-section rate is around 17%, where the US is around 31%. The major difference I found was that in Sweden, your hospital stay and medical care is free. Hospitals are considered more "homey" and families are well taken care of. From what I read, the experience is much more of a celebration than a medical procedure.

References:

http://blogs.transparent.com/swedish/giving-birth-in-sweden/

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/09/health/best-worst-birth-places

Thanks and Support

The last 8 weeks have introduced us to many new concepts and new people.  It has been an eye-opening experience.  I did not realize how much I still had to learn, especially in regards to advocacy and working with families.  "Meeting" new colleagues in the field of early childhood has been great.  I have appreciated all of the feedback on discussion posts and blog assignments.  Learning together online was a whole new experience for me.  Even though we were not in a traditional classroom setting, I appreciated that there was still interaction between colleagues.  Thank you for the support and good luck in all your future endeavors.

Significant Ideals

Ideal I-1.1—To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.

I believe that we are meant to be lifelong learners.  It is important to stay informed and up-to-date on issues relating to your profession.  Students need to know that the important adults in their lives are learners as well.  I want the children in my classroom to see how passionate I am about learning new things; hopefully it will ignite their passion for learning, too!  There is always something new to learn and try.  I strive to have a humble attitude and readily admit that I have a great deal of room to learn and grow.

 

Ideal I-1.7—To use assessment information to understand and support children’s development and learning, to support instruction, and to identify children who may need additional services.

When you start out as a new teacher, it is sometimes difficult to know what to do with assessment data.  You assess because you are required to, and you want to know what children know and still need to learn.  Then what?  I think it is important to use assessment data for a purpose.  Analyzing data will tell you what you need to re-teach, what children are struggling, and what children need more of a challenge.  Data can also be tracked to monitor the progress of a student who may need special services due to a learning impairment.

I-1.12—To work with families to provide a safe and smooth transition as children and families move from one program to the next.

Having strong connections with families is important.  When children are moving from grade to grade, I think it is great to have open communication about the transition.  I take parents questions and comments into account when thinking about the teacher that will get their child the next year.  Spending time deciding the teacher who best matches each student that transitions out of my classroom ensures them a great start to 1^st grade.  It is important that these transitions occur smoothly so children know they are well cared for, no matter where they are in the school community.