Sunday, December 20, 2015

How a Child Processes Information

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."
-Confuscious

Confuciuos. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/confucius136802.html

When I read this quote it lets me know how children really process information. I just can't tell them. I have to give them hands on activities so they can remember.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

College Should Be in High School

I have always said that teenagers should earn their degree in high school and the state pays for it rather than going to college to learn your degree. To me it is a perfect opportunity for teenagers to focus more on what they want to learn instead of what the state say they should learn. For example, I do not use Algebra, Chemistry, Geometry, and most of World History in my day to day life. Only thing that was really useful was English or Language Arts. I would have been better off studying Psychology in high school. The point is that children should be measured on their own intelligence. If a child is good at music, measure that intelligence. If a child is an artist, measure them on that intelligence. I am good at studying behaviors, I would have rather been measured on that intelligence. This country would definitely would have less drop outs.
Meanwhile in China, they have developed a system called high-stakes testing centuries ago. They teach their children through intense rote memorization. They have long hours of school and tons of homework. Of course they test, test, and test to see who the best student is. The teachers keep their jobs based on how well their student’s academic achieve maybe (Mathews, 2014).
I would love to develop a school where they learn skills that can be used right out of high school like it used to be. No offense Walden University. You are a great school but I wish I would have taken these courses in high school 1996-1999.


Mathews, J. (2014). Don’t Go Overboard Praising China’s Schools. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dont-go-overboard-praising-chinas-schools/2014/02/09/bbd51248-8edc-11e3-b227-12a45d109e03_story.html

Saturday, November 7, 2015

How Does Immunization Protect the Society?

Anyone who has a child knows that children are to get vaccinated against fourteen diseases that were very common before such as measles, rubella, mumps, etc. We get these vaccinations because we are told that it will immune us from these diseases. In the USA 90% of parents vaccinate their children, 9% delay or skip shots, and 1% does not vaccinate at all. If that 90% drops just a few points then we can start to see more cases of past diseases come back. One way a disease does not come back even though everyone is not vaccinated is called Herd Immunity. Herd Immunity is when there is a high vaccination levels keep most people safe because the likely hood of unvaccinated people running into someone with the disease is very rare. Those who do not vaccinate their children are afraid of what might be in the vaccine or it may cause reactions that can damage their child. However, damage from a vaccination is very low in percentages. It causes more harm than good to the society (Pemberton, et al, 2014).
How does a vaccination work? We know that white blood cells are the protectors of the body. When a disease enters the body it begins to fight against these invaders. If they win the war they have a way of remembering the disease they attacked before. White blood cells actually stores memory. Wow! In the event the disease tries to come back it will fight before it gets too aggressive. In the case of vaccinations, when we get a shot the doctor is actually injecting the very disease that you do not want to invade your body but it is in a weaken state. The white blood cells still attacks the invader and remembers the disease in the event the stronger disease appears in the body. They will remember it and fight and win and you may never know it attacked you (Pemberton, et al, 2014).
How did doctors know that vaccinations worked? Well, about 1000 years ago in India small pox was severely spreading in the country. India’s healers would scratch the upper arm of an infected person and then scratch an uninfected person without the disease. When the disease is given to the uninfected person the disease is in its weaken state. The uninfected person would not get infected with the stronger disease because they were immune (Pemberton, et al, 2014).
I am responsible for making sure the immunizations are up to date. However, sometimes it is hard to pressure parents to get the immunization forms into the center. I will have to somehow let the parents know how important immunization are to society and to our school. I can suggest the topic be in our newsletters with a story of a child not being immunized and its affects.
 
Please join our group Within the Walls of Childcare: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wallsofchildcare/


Pemberton, S., Washington, S., Efron, D., Fensterszaub, S., Geschwind, D. H., Larson, H., Middleman, A. B., ... PBS Distribution (Firm),. (2014). Vaccines: Calling the shots.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

My Birthing Experience [Video]

          I thought I would do a video telling you a story about my birthing experience because I wanted you to feel the highlights of my event through spoken word.  . Click Below!


          My heart went out to the women in Africa that had to endure such poor conditions while giving birth to their children. My heart sunk when I watched this video. I learned that even though I had a scary experience with my son’s hear rate dropping I was thankful I was surrounded by great doctors provided by the U.S. military to make sure my baby and I survived. If I was one of those women in the video fourteen years ago he probably would not have made it because they may have not had the equipment to detect a low heartbeat.  Click Below To Watch



          How you give birth is very important for the development of a child. The doctors have to be knowledgeable and the proper equipment needs to be in place to make sure extra precautions will and can take place. It could be the difference between a great life, a poor life, or death.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Assessments are Important to Education



According to NAEYC Ideal 1.6, assessment tools and the method of implementing the assessment should be appropriate for the child so its data can help improvement in their developmental areas. I have always loved assessing children. It gives me the story of their mind and their soul. I like to predict their lives by their character traits and what skills they are best at. It also gives me a picture of what area of development they need improving. According to NAEYC Ideal 1.7, the data collected is very valuable in supporting the children’s individual education and can be used to address any special need services (NAEYC, 2005). This data is like an assessment on how well the teachers and the center are doing. I used to assess children three times a year in the fall, winter, and spring. I could print out a report to see how much skills were increased from fall to spring. I could also look at the observations and see the link between the activities and the report that caused the skills to increase. An assessment tool is valuable but the question is do children need to be assessed each year under six years old or just when they are in Pre-K? According to a trainer for Discovery Point, the answer is just Pre-K because they think that all the skills should be developed regardless if it is monitored every year or not. By the time they are five years old they should have developed the skill.  I understood her point but what if the child could be on a higher skill level if assessed along the way?

In Atlanta Metro, I have noticed the quality of care is different according to income level of the families. If a family has low income they may only can afford low tuition that might be able to provide all of the high quality resources as high tuition childcare centers. I have worked in both arenas. However, there are non-profit organizations that have scholarships based on income and free childcare from Head Start government programs. According to the Division of Early Childhood’s Code of Ethics we are to advocate for every child to have high quality services (The Division for Early Childhood, 2000). In Georgia they are requiring all childcare programs to be quality rated assessed by 2017. By doing this, it will weed out programs that are not a quality rated service for our children (Quality Rated, n.d.).

The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
http://www.dec-sped.org/
Quality Rated. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2015 from http://www.georgiachildcare.org/quality-rated

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Early Childhood Resources to Think About





Glassdoor.com is a site where unanimous employees can express their thoughts about the company they might work for. I enjoy reading the Pros and Cons of certain information about different childcare centers. I left a link for KinderCare, Goddard School, and Bright Horizons. I use this as a resource to find out what might be going on in the ECE industry. I have solutions for much of the issues that employees speak about. What I have concluded is that pay is definitely too low for teachers in this industry and there needs to be better management. Employees even give their opinions on how management should treat employees. This is very valuable information for any director. You have to register to see all the reviews.



 
 
 
This organization has been around since 1948! It’s mission is to improve the quality of care in ECE.
 
ECE educators and advocates supports policies of children.
 
 

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Inspiring Words from Top Educators

“Never Help a Child with a Task at Which He Feels He Can Succeed”

-Maria Montessori

“Free the Child’s Potential, and You Will Transform Him into the World.”

-Maria Montessori

“My inspiration did not specifically come from one of my teachers, but I was inspired when I was getting my MBA at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford. I had previously received my doctorate in education (also from Stanford) and had worked in education for several years. My older son was born at the beginning of my second year in the MBA program, and I faced the same challenges that many new moms face -- trying to find quality care for their children while pursuing their professional careers. While I was extremely fortunate to be able to balance these goals, I was inspired to seek a career that allowed me to apply my expertise in education with my then newly acquired business skills. I have been incredibly fortunate to have a career that has allowed me to spend my professional time working to improve the lives of children and families” (U.S. Chamber of Congress Foundation, n.d.).

-Dr. Elanna S. Yalow CEO of Kindercare

 

Maria Montessori’s Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/maria_montessori.html

U.S. Chamber of Congress Foundation. (n.d.). EXECUTIVE PROFILE: Elanna Yalow. Retrieved from http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/bhq/executive-profile-elanna-yalow

 

Sunday, September 20, 2015

A Realistic Personal Childhood Web

Mother- My mother made sure I was fed and there was a roof over my head. She took me to church where I learned a lot of my values and morals.

Dad- I know my dad always cared about me. I did not grow up with him but we now have a relationship as an adult.

Aunt Gilda- My aunt was in and out of my life but she taught me about manners and how to do certain things. Now my aunt is in my life and we are there for each other.

Church Members- My childhood church members were members I looked at from a far and observed and learned from. I related more to the children of the church than children my age. I learned a lot of values and morals from the pastor and other church members.

*I have to be truthful with my audience. This was a hard post to write because I grew up as an only child and was not around family that much. I did not know my family from both sides of my family very well. I learned a lot through observing other people and going through my own challenges that hardly anyone explained how to get through my struggles as a child. I did not have much comfort from my parents. I had no siblings that I lived with. If church members gave me hugs it felt like out of Christian duty except for a few members that were very special to me. This lack of much family impacts me today. It is very hard for me to take criticism and I don’t really like asking for help. I am getting a little better but certain situations takes me aback.

The Mosley Family- This family was a special family to me. Their children were the first children that I knew I was great with children. I played with them and taught them things. I helped them with their homework. Their parents and aunt were very loving and accepting of me. They were my example of how a family should be. I always wanted a family like theirs one day. I am sad to say that their father and aunt (twins) both passed away within three years of each other. You do not know how much someone impacted your life until they are gone.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

My Whole Life Ahead of Me-What Do I Tell Myself?

As I sit down on this grass watching the camera that will take this photo of me I can only imagine what I am thinking. I'm sure I had no clue what was really going on. I now stare at this picture and my mind fills in the blanks of her life after this moment. I think about my preschool days when I mixed my orange juice and milk together to see what it will taste like. I fast forward to my elementary days when I experienced my first fight walking home from school. I remember my teenage years feeling isolated from the world and staying in my own bubble. I related to children more than to teenagers around this time too. Once high school was over I entered the military only to realize that I was unable to use my creativity like I desired to do. Later, I had my son then got married only to divorce later. I learned how to be a single mother. I learned how to be a better mom working in Early Childhood for twelve years. Now I finally graduated with a degree and now pursuing my graduate degree. I take a look at my baby picture again. She did not know all that and more was going to happen. Her life at that point was not going to be perfect. There are things and situations that baby is going to have to grow up to learn from and grow up to fix. However, she will make it to this moment where she is writing to share to the world her story. She will have something to offer the world no matter how many obstacles she will have to beat. She was me thirty-five years ago. I am me thirty-five years later. I tell myself now to keep going and never give up. You are stronger than you think or feel.
This is my quote that I place on the back of my t-shirts to inspire others like it inspires me.
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein The Giving Tree is one of my favorite childhood stories that walks you through a person's life from childhood until he is an old man. This tree has been there for him throughout his life. I love how this book shows the different stages and its perspective of what is needed at each stage of his life (Silverstein, 1964). Silverstein, S., & Row, P. (1964). The giving tree. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Monday, August 31, 2015

Stay Ahead To Really Get Ahead

I have finally obtained the title of Assistant Director of an Early Childhood center. I have 12.5 years of experience in Early Childhood Education teaching ages 0=12 years old. I love being creative and coordinating ideas for my staff. I want to be an inspiring leader to my staff. The challenges I face is having to repeat myself on rules and standards that should be followed. I also have the challenge of being more familiar being a teacher and knowing the challenges of their low paying job than a manager who has to oversee the center as a whole. However, I am up for the challenge and I have ideas that I would like to present to solve these problems. For example, prepare weekly memos to address issues to teachers instead of waiting a month to address them. Also, market out drop-in service to part-time and stay at home parents. I as an Assistant Director am a thinker, innovator, coordinator, and a problem solver. I have achieved my B.S degree in Child Development Psychology as a member of an online community. It is much of the same requirements that are expected in an online community under a different roof with furniture rearranged. I love expanding and learning from my fellow peers. I hope my 12.5 years of experience in Early Childhood Education will bring ideas and inspiration to my peers. Also, I do take advantage of asking for help from my peers and offering help in return. That way we can become more of a community although we reside in different states. Meanwhile, it is often a challenge working as a single mother in school to stay on top of assignments. However, at the moment I am writing this sentence it is August 28 at midnight. I am getting ahead and writing this post in a notebook only to later type it to submit. My new motto for this new school year is STAY AHEAD TO REALLY GET AHEAD.