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

                                                 

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

The blog assignments in this class seem to be something that I will be able to use and cherish for long after.  I am always interested in learning about what is happening in the early childhood field around the world and so this assignment is something I definitely look forward to.  I have had some difficulty in finding two professionals in other countries to email back and forth with, but I am still going to keep trying and use other resources.  I also looked into the World Forum Foundation and listened to a few of the podcasts.  If the need arises for me to do the alternative assignment I feel that there are many great things that I can learn from the podcasts.

The website that I will be exploring more deeply throughout this course is NAEYC, or the National Association for the Education of Young Children.  The reason I chose this website is because I have always appreciated the things they stand for, in regard to young children.  They are very resourceful and I oftentimes find myself using their principles in my work and studying of children.  I have been a member of NAEYC since I was in the final semesters of my Bachelor's degree, but I have struggled with using all of the resources to my benefit.  The NAEYC website shares what the organization is about:
             
          "The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional                 membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young                     children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research.                   We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for,                     educate, and work on behalf of young children."

What I appreciate most about NAEYC, is that they work to promote high-quality early learning for all young children.  For me, that is the goal that I strive for in working with young children.  I want every child to have the opportunity to receive high-quality education and I believe it is through working hard, being an example, and especially being an advocate that makes this truly possible.  I look forward to learning more about this website and connecting with other professionals in this field.

References

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2015). About NAEYC.
Retrieved from
http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc

My Supports

I feel I have been blessed with so many supports throughout my life.  Some of the daily supports that I have are my incredibly talented parents who can create nearly anything.  My husband is a great support and is very handy which means we are able to save a lot of money.  My parents and husband also provide me with great emotional support and encourage me to do whatever I set my mind to.  My brother and sisters are always willing to provide time to help me with what is needed.  I have a very flexible job which I believe to be a great support.  My husband and I live very close to all of my family members which is a support because they are always close if I need them.

The challenge that I chose to imagine was opening my own preschool from home because it is something that I have often considered.  The supports that I have in my life would be an enormous help to me in opening a preschool.  I know that I would have my parents to help me with anything I would want to make or create for the preschool.  They are very creative and imaginative which would be such a help for me.  They would also be close to help me if anything was needed quickly or if I needed to have a babysitter in the future.  My husband would be there to handle any of the play structures and would be great at fixing anything.  He would also support me in making the decision to have a preschool in our home.  My current job has the flexibility for me to continue working for them, while still opening a preschool which would be a great support if my family needed extra funds.  My family would all be very supportive and encouraging of my decision and I know that I wouldn't be alone if I did this.  I would never feel comfortable starting my own preschool without all of the supports that I currently have.
 
 

My Connections to Play

     


 

My parents were always very supportive of my play and would encourage me to explore anything that I thought was possible.  They were always willing to play with me and would keep my imagination alive. I feel like play is much different now than it was when I was a child because of the amount of technology that is used.  It is interesting for me to see little one and two year old children being obsessed with phones and iPads.  It seems like young children would much rather spend their time watching television or playing with different types of technology, instead of playing outside or with toys.  When I was young, my siblings and I would spend a lot of time playing outside with our neighbors.  This is something I never see in my neighborhood anymore.  I have young relatives who have an iPhone and they spend all of their time on the phone.  They never seem to read any books and when their friends are with them they mostly just play on their phones.  When I was young, my friends and I would love to pretend play "school" and "house" and could spend all of our time with imaginative play.  I also enjoyed playing with my siblings and we would all pretend play with our kitchen and dolls. Play is still a part of me today.  Play is crucial for healthy development and is something that I will always support.

Relationship Reflection

As human beings, it would not be possible to survive without human interaction.  Having positive relationships are some of the greatest things to enjoy in life.  The most important people in my life are my family members and a few close friends.  I cherish the time I get to spend with them and there are no other people I would rather spend my time with.

My husband is the absolute most important relationship I have.  My husband is someone that I know I can trust with anything.  He is there for me during the happy times, as well as the hard times.  Above all, he is my best friend, which makes life very enjoyable.  The best thing about being with my husband is that I don't ever have to feel uncomfortable with who I am, because he always accepts me.
The next relationship in my life that I am so grateful for is with my mom.  Everybody who ever meets my mom absolutely loves her because no matter who you are, she has the ability to make you feel like you are the best.  I have been so blessed to have her in my life as my greatest cheerleader.  No matter the accomplishment, she can make me feel amazing for what I do.  She is also very encouraging and motivating and has the most positive energy imaginable.  She is an amazing example of service and would do anything for anyone.

One of my best friends from college is so important to me because we are able to talk about our passion in life-children! We met in one of my first child development classes and instantly became best friends.  She is someone that I enjoy being around because we are able to deeply reflect about different child development topics together.  Even if we aren't talking about child development, we are still able to have meaningful conversations that I so appreciate.  She is such a confident person and truly inspires me to be a better person in all that I do.





I have learned throughout my life that there are so many ways to find commonalities between people that you never thought possible!  One of the most important attributes to being in a relationship is your listening skills.  There is nothing more disappointing than trying to tell someone how you feel and feeling like they aren't listening.  Showing someone that you have time for them lets that person know that they can trust you.

I appreciate all of the attributes that my husband, mom, and best friend have.  They are excellent listeners, trustworthy, compassionate, motivating, and so much more. We can learn from the people we are close to about what is necessary to being in a positive relationship. We can then use the attributes that we appreciate, to be in positive relationships with the families that we work with professionally.  It is important for the families that bring their children to us, to know that they can trust us that we will provide their children with the best possible outcomes.

When I Think of Child Development

"Children are not things to be molded, but are people to be unfolded."
  — Jess Lair

I have loved taking this class and learning about child development in more depth.  It has been wonderful getting to learn from each of my classmates in the discussions and through each blog post that I have read.  I am also so grateful for professor Cara Wicks-Otega and have appreciated all of her guidance and instruction. Being able to study child development has been such a blessing in my life and I am grateful that Walden has given me the opportunity to extend my education.

Testing for Intelligence?

I don't believe that standardized tests are the most accurate or appropriate way to determine the understanding that a child has.  In order to determine what a child knows, they should be assessed in many ways.  When standardized tests are used, teachers are only able to learn about one dimension of the child, not the whole child.  Many children struggle during these long and tedious tests and it makes it difficult for them to do well, even if they do know the content of what is being tested.  A more appropriate way to assess children is by allowing them to use hands on measures.  It is also important that the assessments are being done over time so that it is clear to see what the child is learning.   Each child should also have a portfolio and be assessed with one on one time or in small groups so that the teacher can personally see what the child is learning.

We study a lot about how well children in Finland learn and since my brother is currently living there, it always fascinates me to learn about their ways of learning.  In an article I read about Finland changing their ways and coming out on top, I was intrigued when the author quoted that, "The Finns have worked systematically over 35 years to make sure that competent professionals who can craft the best learning conditions for all students are in all schools, rather than thinking that standardized instruction and related testing can be brought in at the last minute to improve student learning and turn around failing schools (Sahlberg, 2009, p. 22)" (Darling-Hammond, 2015).  It takes intelligent people, who care about children, to make the difference that our country needs.  Standardized tests don't do anything to help children succeed.  Finland has completely gotten rid of external standardized testing in schools and only has one exam that can be taken before going to a university, but is not required (Darling-Hammond, 2015).  This type of testing that we use too often in America, takes away the power that teachers have to teach to the needs of each child, instead they have to teach to the test and it takes away a lot of the important learning that should be taking place.  Standardized testing is so focused on rankings, that the children sometimes seem to be forgotten here, but in Finland the "main purpose of assessing students is to guide and encourage students’ own reflection and self-assessment" (Darling-Hammond, 2015).  Finland was not always successful in their educational system, but they learned how to succeed and I believe that our country could gain a lot helpful ideas from them.

References
Darling-Hammond, L. (2015). What we can learn from Finland's successful school reform. National education association. Retrieved from        
http://www.nea.org/home/40991.htm