Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I was able to find a podcast that had to do with helping children cope through trauma in their lives.  Dr Steven Berkowitz is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine and is very knowledgeable of what is best to do for children and trauma.  I felt this podcast was applicable to challenges we are currently facing in the world, especially with the terrorism attack that recently occurred in Paris and that goes on in other parts of the world.   It is important for teachers to understand that each child varies on their responses to trauma.  Children who are six and under should not watch the news (Berkowitz, 2015).   Watching the news can cause children to believe that the same awful thing they experienced is occurring again.   It is important to make sure that children know that they have an adult there and they are safe.  For older children, teachers and parents can look at previous stories and correct false ideas that children might have.  Rumors are easily transferred through social media and so it is important to talk about the facts.  Adults need to recognize their reactions around children because sometimes children don’t have an understanding or control over their responses.  Children are naturally more self-centered and so problems that have in distance locations, such as Paris, may have no effect on children and that is OK. Seeing or hearing something can be a traumatic experience for children and younger children will show this in a change of behavior (Berkowitz, 2015).  It is our responsibility as adults to help children feel safe and secure.

I was able to study Harvard's Center on the Developing Child website and found out interesting ideas about things that are happening around the world in early childhood systems. Currently in Brazil, there is an interdisciplinary group of Brazilian scholars that are teaching and guiding policy makers about child development.  In Canada, the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI) works to supporting research in early brain and biological development, including mental health, and addiction, and translating that research for policy makers, healthcare communities, and the general public (Center on the Developing Child, 2015).  The Center on Developing Child has a partnership with Grand Challenges Canada, called Saving Brains that seeks to improve outcomes for children living in poverty through interventions that nurture and protect early brain development in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life (Center on the Developing Child, 2015).

References

Davis, V. & Berkowitz, S. (2015). Terrorism: How to talk to your students, say this, do not say... Every classroom matters Retrieved from
http://www.bamradionetwork.com/every-classroom-matters/3514-how-to-talk-to-your-students-about-terrorism-say-this-do-not-say

Harvard University’s Global Children’s Initiative. (2015). Working globally. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/about/what-we-do/global-work/

Sharing Web Resources

One of the sections of NAEYC's website has to do with play. I strongly believe in the importance of play and feel that it is something that I will have to be an advocate for as it continues to become decreased in children's lives.  An article that I chose to study talked about the threats of play that are happening for preschoolers.  A point in the article that struck me was the fact that so many children have threats to play, but especially those in poverty (Snow, 2015). When children aren't receiving play at home and then have to go to school and not have opportunities to play, it can be very destructive to children.  Play supports children's academic-related skills, as well as physical and social skills (Snow, 2015).  The fact that children are not receiving opportunities to play in elementary schools is bad enough, we can't take it away from preschools too.  Preschool should be a time to play and learn.  That is how three and four year old children should be learning; everything else is too inappropriate.

On NAEYC's home page was a video talking about a new paper reflecting developmentally appropriate practices and common core standards.  It can be easy to only focus on making sure that everything gets taught that is needed for the standards, rather than using developmentally appropriate practices to teach the material.  In order for teachers to provide children with developmentally appropriate practices, they have to take the time to decide what is best for each individual child, as well as the age of the children.  One way that teachers can ensure they are still teaching appropriately is to not limit the curriculum to only common core, but rather include other important domains of child development (NAEYC, 2015).  I don't have children, nor do I teach in an elementary school, but from what I know about the common core standards I do not feel like they are the best way to teach children.  Implementing the ideas provided in this article is an excellent way to still incorporate developmentally appropriate practices.

While looking for ways in which NAEYC included economists, neuroscientists. and politicians I found an interesting public policy update about how those in early childhood education can contact members of congress to express concern for early childhood education investments.  In order for politicians to make a change, they have to know that one is needed.  By taking a stand and sharing your beliefs it is possible to spread awareness and make a difference in our country.  There is even a sample message provided to help in knowing what we can say to congress members or other politicians.

NAEYC. (2015). Developmentally appropriate practice and the common core state standards: Framing the issues. Retrieved from http://issuu.com/naeyc/docs/15_developmentally_appropriate_prac/1

NAEYC. (2014). Public policy update. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/policy/federal/07_23_14

Snow, K. (2015). Research news you can see: More threats to preschoolers' play. NAEYC. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/content/research-news-you-can-use-more-threats-preschoolers-play

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

I had to choose the podcast alternative assignment, which was very reflective and helped me learn and understand more of working with children in poverty.  The podcast I listened to was, "8 Things to Consider When Teaching Students Impacted by Poverty" by Brad Currie, Billy Krakower, with Ruby Payne as the guest speaker.  Dr. Payne talked about the importance of doing a resource analysis with children who come into your classroom.  Some of the things a teacher should look for are whether or not the child's physical, mental, and financial needs are being met. Having knowledge of where your students are can significantly help the teacher understand each student.  It is also important to know if the child has a support system, or if they have to be their own support system (Payne, 2015).

Some of the best practices that teachers can use when working with children in poverty are to know where your referrals come from.  Most referrals come from students and staff.   There are also challenges that need to be considered in poverty stricken areas.  Most families in poverty do not have access to the Internet.  This was unfortunate for one school who gave iPads to all of their students, only to find out that half of the children had no Internet access (Payne, 2015).  A lot of homework is nowadays done on a computer which makes it very difficult for children who don't have a computer, Internet, or knowledge of computer and keyboard skills.  One of the best things a teacher can do is to work with and train parents in poverty.  54 percent of children in America are on WIC (Payne, 2015).  Helping parents learn what they can do to help and provide for their children can make such a large impact on their child's life.

I chose to study more about poverty in Thailand.  My sister lived in Thailand for 18 months and I was hoping to get to email with a teacher that she knew, but the language barrier is too difficult and my sister doesn't remember Thai well enough to translate.  I knew that poverty levels were high when she was there ten years ago, but thing are increasingly getting better, "the proportion of people living in poverty in Thailand dropped from 21 per cent in 2000 to 8.5 per cent in 2007" (UNICEF, 2008).  I found it interesting how the family structure has changed in Thailand and has changed from being mostly three-generation family households, to now being "skip generation" households with only the grandparents and children (UNICEF, 2008).  It seems like the family structure is being changed and impacted all around the world. Thankfully children have their grandparents, but they also need their parents in their life.  The last thing I found interesting about Thailand is that, "the GDP per capita increased from 39,104 baht per head in 1990 to 128,607 baht per head in 2007" (UNICEF, 2008).  With the hope of the GDP continually increasing, child poverty will continue to be less of a problem in Thailand.  I was pleased with most of the results I found in my studies.  There are still many difficulties that families have to face in Thailand, but statistics show that it is starting to look up for the Thai people.

References

Payne, R. (2015).  8 things to consider when teaching students impacted by poverty. World forum foundation radio. Retrieved from http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/radio.php

The Thailand Development Research Institute (2008). National report Thailand. UNICEF.  Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/files/Thailand_Childwellbeingreport-fullreport.pdf

Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I have selected is the National Association of Education for Young Children, or NAEYC.  Their website is www.naeyc.org where you can find their publications, beliefs, knowledge, and position statements on what is best for working with and teaching children.  I chose to study their position statement on diversity.  Diversity is something that should be respected and welcomed in the classroom, with preservation of any home languages. "Linguistic and cultural diversity is an asset, not a deficit, for young children" (NAEYC, 2009). This quote perfectly explains how diversity should be looked at in early childhood education and with all children.  The position statement gives recommendations of what teachers can do when working with children, such as ensuring that children continue to remain cognitively, linguistically, and emotionally connected to their home language and culture (NAEYC, 2009). I also believe that children's culture and home environment needs to be respected and preserved as much as possible because it is truly what makes them who they are. Working with families will show that the teacher cares about the children and want what is best for them.

References
NAEYC, (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. NAEYC. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf