Final Communication Blog

Dear Colleagues,

I just want to say thank you to everyone.  Some of you I have had multiple classes with and others this may have been my first but all of you have touched me and helped me in one way or another.  I have learned many things from you all and I hope to keep in touch with you as we near the end of our journey.  I have really enjoyed reading the great posts throughout each course and they have given me inspiration for my own posts.  I enjoyed reading the different views of everyone.  It was interesting to read through everyone's posts and reading how someone interpreted something in a completely different way.  Again thank everyone and keep in touch.

Tanisha Poche

Team Building and Collaboration Part 1

The group I spoke about in my discussions are the people I work with everyday so there is no separating.  although the adjourning phase still exists in a sense.  Even though I work with them everyday we still go back to our daily events in which we do not work as closely and as much together.  We may have had trouble communicating and building trust while working together on our Family Literacy Night project but when it comes to what we plan on a weekly basis for our students we really come together and make it work.

When it is time to adjourn from my colleagues that I have met throughout this program while be a bitter sweet moment because we have worked together and helped each other through the program so in these aspects it will be sad to say good bye but we will all have accomplished the goal we set out for so it will also be a happy moment.

The adjourning phase is an essential stage to teamwork because it really shows how the team came together as one.  If the team separates with no emotion and with joy than to me they were not really a team even if they were successful.  I believe a team will not want to say goodbye.  They will look forward to working with and communicating with the other team members in the future.

Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

This week I have been learning about various ways to deal with conflicts.  I am going to share a personal conflict.  My brother and I disagree about a lot of things.  The most recent was about how he could get a car.  My brother is the type of person who thinks he knows all the answers and when you try to help him with solutions to his problems, he always has an excuse why it won't work.  I approached him with a couple of ideas about selling his current vehicle that does not work in order for him to get another vehicle.  I listened to what he had to say then I would reply.  This goes on for a few minutes until I can't take it anymore.  I used to try and ration with him but know I have gotten to the point I just say ok to whatever he says.

When dealing with my brother the two strategies that I can use is to listen to his point of view and not cut him off because I think he is wrong and I can also try the 3 R's.  If I demonstrate the 3 R"s maybe it would rub off on him and we could actually finish a conversation.

Who Am I As A Communicator?

This weeks assignment was very interesting and insightful.  I had fun with the assignment because I like to see what others think.  Believe it or not but all three of us evaluated me the same.  We had slightly different scores, but I fell in the same category for all three tests.  I was most surprised with the results from the Communication Anxiety Inventory.  Myself and my two evaluators all scored in the moderate level.  This surprised me because I am petrified to speak in front of others.  i do better in a small group but the thought of speaking to a large group frightens me.  I have always been very shy and as I have gotten older I am slowly but surly coming out of it.

One insight that I gained this week is that I am a caring and empathetic listener.  I am a person who is always thinking of others and the Listening Styles Profile showed it because it says I am people orientated. This can help me on the professional level because in the early childhood field that is what a child and his/her family needs, someone who cares.  Another insight from this week is how we are all different.  After looking at the results and reading through all the results, I realized that everybody learns, listens and talks differently.  we all process and deal with things differently and it is important to remember these things when dealing with young children and their families.

Communication and Culture

Communication is important because without it we do not know what is going on.  As hard as it is to admit I do communicate with people in different ways.  At my school the population of Spanish speaking families grows every year.  I find myself speaking slower and using fewer words, assuming they do not speak very good English.  In some cases this is not true.  Another example of changing the way I communicate is when dealing with a family who may be lower income or less educated.  I hate to admit this but I do change the way I communicate with them.  I lose my good speech that I would normally use at work.  This is very unprofessional for me to do this and it is something that I noticed and began working on last school year.  I would like to treat everyone with the same amount of respect because everyone deserves it.  Everyone deserves my best effort even when it is through communication.

Three strategies I can use to help communicate better is:
* Look beyond first impressions.  Give each person a chance to talk and treat them equally no matter what their appearance is.
* Choose my words carefully so that I do not offend someone.  When talking with parents, I have to practice giving bad news in a good way.
* I will also take my time and truly listen and hear what people are saying.  I have a very bad habit of tuning out parts of a conversation.

What is communication?

As a communicator I know I have some growing to do.  I have never been one to speak up or speak out.  I have always been afraid to speak in front of people.  My former principal was a great communicator.  I feel Mrs. Kelly is a great communicator because she is a very confident but not overly confident speaker.  She was always well spoken.  She got her point across without being overbearing and loud.  She gained everyones respect by being a great communicator.  Mrs. Kelly made me feel comfortable and because of her I feel like I will one day be a great communicator.  I would love to model some of my communication methods after her because she is very knowledgable and a speaker you would not mind listening to.

Professional Hopes and Goals

In our society today we have no choice but to work with a diverse group of people.  Our country has so many different cultures that a person would have to lead a very sheltered life not to be involved with others of different cultures.  One hope I have when thinking about working with children and families who come from different backgrounds is to remain open minded and understanding of the different backgrounds.  I hope I can give the children and their families that I work with the best possible support for what ever they need.

One goal I would like to set for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice is for the field as a whole to keep an open mind about differences.  The early childhood field needs to work towards making the children and families from other cultures feel more comfortable by keeping their needs in mind.  Their needs are slightly different than a family from America because a family from America can understand what is going on.  At my school we are getting more and more Spanish speaking families and Asian families.  My two kindergarten colleagues both have students and families who do not speak English.  The early childhood field needs to find a way to service these families.

I would like to thank everyone for their posts and comments.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this class.  I have learned so much.  I wish we had a couple more weeks to continue learning about diversity.  I enjoyed everyone and hope to see you in the next class.  Thanks!!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

My family's country of origin is the country of Nicaragua.  I am familiar with the name but nothing else.  In doing this assignment I learned that Nicaragua is populated mostly by Mestizos, Amerindian and white mixed.  White is the second largest of the the population while blacks make up only a small portion.  There is also a small population of Amerindians who are unmixed descendants of the countries indigenous inhabitants.  While Spanish is the principal language, English is taught in high school.  The black population speaks English Creole as their primary language and Spanish as their second language.  The most popular sport is baseball.  Most Nicaraguans are Roman Catholic.

Five ways I would prepare myself to be culturally responsive to this family are:
1. research the culture, food, and language of choice,
2. find out how the education system works and what level the child will be on,
3. learn a few important words in the families language so I can have some sort of communication line open,
4. plan a multicultural day so everyone in the class can learn about each others culture and make the family feel welcomed by showing interest and,
5. have pictures, music, food etc. to make the family feel more welcomed and comfortable.

I hope these preparations will give myself and the family some sort of connection.  I want the family to feel at home rather than outsiders in a foreign country.  These preparations will give me the chance to become more acquainted with how the family lived  and possibly what they expect from me.  The preparations will benefit the family and I because I will have a little understanding of how they lived, ate, and so on.

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

As an African-American female I have experienced and witnessed many instances of bias, prejudice, and oppression.  Living in Louisiana doesn't help.  Many people down here are still stuck in old ways.  I can recall an experience of bias and prejudice earlier in the summer.  My boyfriend and I went into a small family owned grocery store that sells cooked food for lunch.  There were two white ladies in front of us and a white lady serving.  She was very pleasant with them but when she got to us she acted as if she didn't want to serve us.  An African-American lady came to help her and instead of sending her to the next customer, a white man, she went to him and sent the African-American lady to help us.  We noticed immediately what she did and discussed it when we left the truck.

The white lady made it very obvious that she did not want to help us.  She had one attitude when helping the customers of one race but a very nonchalant attitude when it came to helping us.  Equity was diminished when she changed her attitude and did not serve us.  We were not given equal service.

This incident brought up some very hurtful feelings.  I hate that people still look at skin color and make a judgement.  The color of my skin does not tell you who I am.  Watching someone serve someone in a nice and pleasant manner then get to you and is completely different is very hurtful but is also a reminder that everyone is not over skin color.

Greater equity could have been achieved simply if the lady would have served us in the same manner as she did the previous customer.  If the lady serving would have kept her nice and pleasant attitude this story would not have made my blog site.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggressions are everywhere in our society.  We can see and hear microaggressions in our everyday living, television, movies, at work, or at the store.  One microaggression I can remember from a movie is in Boomerang.  Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and David Allen Grier, who are all African-American, were in a high end men's suit store.  The white clerk came over and instead of asking them if they needed help he made a remark as if they were going to steal instead of buy a suit.  This is an example of racial microaggression.  When watching the movie I was upset at what the clerk implied.  All three men were already well dressed and successful but because of their skin color the clerk expected them to steal.

When I was in college I had a male friend, African-American just as I am, who made a comment to me that I have never forgotten.  Where I am from girls who have a lighter complexion are said to be stuck up and think they are more than others and the girls who are darker are said to be cooler, nicer.  My friend at the time told me "You act like you are  brown skinned are something cause you are real cool."  I asked him what he meant and he said you know light skinned girls are stuck up but you are cool.  I did't know how to take that because I didn't think skin color mattered when it came to your attitude.  I was somewhat offended but also thought it was kind of a compliment.  I think this was an example of racial microaggression but between two people of the same race.

This week I have noticed many microaggressions on television and walking around in stores.  I also was able to remember things that happened in the past and put a name to what happened.  I found that I encounter racial microaggression more than any other.  Prejudice and discrimination still happens way too often in our society.  I also think gestures could fall under microaggressions also.  Many times while walking in a store I have experienced someone moving out of my way when they really did not need to. When walking through a store many white women move their purse closer to them when my boyfriend passes them.  These gestures hurt just as bad as some comments.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Finding out other peoples definition of culture and diversity was very interesting.  My boyfriend said culture is a mixture of different things you learned from your ancestors.  He said diversity is taking the different lessons from all different backgrounds and combine them into one society.  My sister-in-law said culture and diversity go hand in hand.  Culture is the way of life, a tradition or practice.  She said diversity is many choices.  Diversity can be a variety of different things.  For example we can be diverse with race.  My mother said she thinks of different cultures when she thinks of diversity.  Diversity is many different things.  She said culture is different races and how they carry out their various traditions.

The answers I received for culture and diversity was not what I expected.  I got very general answers to the questions.  "Surface" culture was brought up, for example, race, traditions, practices.  These things are all very general but good points.  I think race is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about culture and diversity.  Although the answers were general and not detailed, I think they were good answers because they are their own definitions.  It is what they believe these things are.

As I said above only things that would be considered "surface" culture were mentioned, mainly race.  They did not mention anything that went deeper into someones culture.  Gender, profession, and relationship to someone was not brought up.

Listening to other peoples point of view has widened my point of view.  I am learning more and more about myself and others by being in this class.  I feel that children learn best from their peers and in this class I feel like we are learning a lot from each other.  Having to ask people for their view on culture and diversity was interesting to watch and listen to.  They had to take a minute and think about it before they could answer.  I thought it was interesting how they all worded things differently.  Before this class I would have said culture was all about race and also included religion and the way people do things.  Now I see things a little differently.  I see deeper into what culture is.

My Family Culture

My family is very important to me.  We don't have things that have been passed down from one to another but we are very close and love each other unconditionally.  The first thing I would grab would be my photo album.  My family lost a lot of photos during Hurricane Katrina, which means we lost a lot of memories.  I would not want to lose anymore memories.  The second thing I would grab is my laptop.  My laptop contains many things that would help me survive in a foreign country.  I would have my music, additional pictures, hopefully the internet!  The last thing I would grab would be my St. Jude Novena book.  This would keep me uplifted through the troubling times.

Having to give up two of the items I brought with me would be a difficult decision.  I do not know how I would choose.  I can always to speak to God from my heart so I may give up the Novena book.  If I were in a country where there was no electricity it would not make any sense to keep the laptop.  So I guess I would keep my family photos.  I already know how it feels to lose a lot of belongings and it does not feel good.  Fleeing a hurricane is similar to this assignment.  You bring what you can and hope you have something when you return.

Doing this assignment made me really appreciate my family and what we have.  It brought up very painful memories of Hurricane Katrina but I'm glad.  Is still feel a lot of pain from it because I never really talked about it.  It took me a year just to return to New Orleans.  This assignment made me remember how important my family my family is to me.

When I Think of Research...

First I would like to thank my classmates for all the great posts and comments throughout the course.  I think we learn so much from each other and I appreciate all that I have learned from each and every one of you.

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
Before this course I had little knowledge about research and was not interested in research.  I assumed it was a lot of boring reading.  This course has shown me the actual steps and stages that a researcher must take before a research study can take place.  By understanding this, I am now more interested in research.

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?
As I stated above I was previously not interested in research but now I am because I have a better understanding of the research process.  Research was somewhat intimidating to me before and now I think I can handle reading or even conducting research.

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?
This question would have made no sense to me before this course.  I learned about the different types of studies, how to choose participants, and the biggest thing that sticks out for me is the ethical issues that exists.

What were some of the challenges you encountered--and in what ways did you meet them?
My biggest challenge was learning how to think as a researcher.  In the beginning of the course I think I was over thinking things instead of going with what came to mind.  Once I relaxed in the class and just went with the flow, I realized that I could be a researcher one day if I put my mind to it.

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?
I now realize how important research is to the early childhood profession.  I didn't realize that some researchers of the early childhood field are early childhood professionals who want to find out more about young children.  Early childhood professionals have many issues to deal with on a daily basis and should appreciate the research that is done.

Research Around the World

I chose to research the website for European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA).  This website included many resourceful things.  Some of the research issues are Professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care, Outdoor Play and Learning, and Children's and Parent's Perspectives on Diversity in Early Childhood Education.  The European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ) is where I found these articles.  This journal is one of the most prestigious early childhood journals in the world.

Something interesting about this website is that it has Special Interest Groups (SIG).  There are currently eleven active special interest groups.  These groups cover a variety of topics.  Each group has its own purpose of why it exists and also provides contact information of the persons who run the groups.

I found it interesting that the EECERA is a voluntary association wholly owned by its membership.  There were areas on the site that only members could enter so I could not get all the information that I was looking for.

Research That Benefits Children and Families: Uplifting Story

There are many topics that came to mind when thinking about what I would research.  When thinking about children in my class I came to the conclusion that would like to research children who are adopted and if it has any affects on their academics or behavior.  This comes to mind because I have one student who is adopted.  I don't know if he knows but in the beginning he was BIG trouble in the classroom.  As the year went on his father tried many different medicines because he was diagnosed with ADHD.  Well one finally worked but after a while he started hallucinating and acting weird.  He now sees a child psychologist every other week but he still has other issues.  He has anger issues and can't seem to let things go.  So I wonder if being adopted has anything to do with his issues.

My Personal Research Journey

The general topic play.  I am a firm believer in play in early childhood classrooms.  The subtopic I chose to use in the simulation for this course is how play can encourage the different developmental areas, social, cognitive, and language.  Play is a vital part of a young child's development.  Children learn many things, good and bad, from interacting with their peers.  Play is being pushed out of early childhood programs and I can see first hand the effect it is having on children.  I believe that many behavior problems would not exist if the proper amount of play was still incorporated into early childhood programs.  For example, the reading program my district has adopted has my kindergarteners sitting on the carpet for at least an hour everyday.  I was always taught to keep carpet time less than twenty minutes.  I do a lot of correcting behavior because they get very restless and I can't blame them.

So far the simulation process has been interesting to me.  I came into the course not sure what to expect.  I saw the word research and thought lots of boring reading.  But so far I have to say it has been quite interesting.  Filling in the charts have taught me how to go about reading research and how to better understand research.

Does anyone have any advice and/or insight that might help with the process?

Final Blog Assignment

Throughout this course I made contact with three different international contacts.  Two were in Bolivia and one in Mexico.  My Bolivia contacts stayed in contact with me through the first half of the course then I don't know what happened and my Mexican contact was a cousin of the Spanish teacher at my school.  Gabriella Garcia, my Mexican contact, was a great help and pleasure to talk with.  She gave me great information and is very passionate about the early childhood field.  One consequence of learning about the international early childhood field is learning how many things are similar around the world.  Another consequence is learning how fortunate we are.  There is a lot to be done in the United States when it comes to early childhood but compared to some other countries we are doing just fine.  I am thankful for that.  One last consequence would be that no matter where you are in the world, someone will have a passion for the early childhood field.  Even though I lost contact with my Bolivia contacts, I could still feel the amount of passion they had from the few emails I received.  A slow response from the international contacts is also a challenge that I had to deal with.  Luckily I was able to make some connections but it was not a quick and easy path.  I just happened to be talking about my blog assignment at work and the Spanish teacher gave me the contact information for his cousin in Mexico.  She turned out to be the best contact of all three.

One goal for the early childhood field in relation to international awareness of issues and trends is to keep in touch with my contacts and to continue to learn more about what is happening in other parts of the world.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts Part 3

Unfortunately I was unable to get information from my contacts in Bolivia but I was able to continue conversations with my contact in Mexico, Gabriella Garcia.  The biggest trend in Mexico for basic education has been incrementing coverage over the population.  Before 1993, universal education was only six years (primary school), some secondary (middle school), but they did not pretend to cover the population.  Since then secondary school is compulsory for all children in Mexico.  Since 2008, three years of preschool is obligatory for all children in Mexico.  Preschool coverage has increased to 90% in recent years.  Garcia says their is a great lack of training for on the job training in Mexico.  Programs have changed but not "waterfall" training.  This type of training means so many people are trained in the middle that by the time it reaches the schools, the information is diluted.  She also says that a few years ago it became a requirement for the main teacher in a preschool classroom must have four years of college.

Ms. Garcia expressed that she would like to return to school and receive some sort of graduate degree.  She didn't say for what.  She also mentioned eventually coming out of the classroom but she is not sure of the path she wants to take.  She said she would like to stay as hands on with the children as possible for as long as she can handle it.  She says her biggest challenge as an educator in Mexico is having 45 children in a class at one time.  Since communicating with me and finding out the number of students I have she says she wish she could have so few.  Keep in mind I complain about my 25!

Sharing Web Resources

I explored the Initiatives links on the National Black Child Development Institutes website.  In this link there are different subjects that you can choose.  The subjects are Child Welfare, Early Childhood Education, Education, Health and Nutrition, Literacy and Archives.  I looked through each of these links but I was somewhat unsuccessful.  Most of the articles and information were from last year and one section is under construction.  This site needs to be updated.  It still has March news up.  I signed up for a newsletter twice and I still have not received anything.  I enjoyed some of the information on the site but I am disappointed that it doesn't have more and that it is not kept up to date.  In the welcome section of the website it tells about the mission of this institute and it mentions equity and access.  It says how the community must play a pivotal role in equity and access in order for it to become a reality for our children. I also explored the section titled About then clicked news.  I read an article from January in The Wall Street Journal titled "The Lowly Child-Care Worker," which talked about how little a child care worker makes.  The mean hourly wage is $9.73 an hour, falling short of a coatroom attendants and short-order cooks, and barely outpacing dishwashers and burger flippers.  The article went onto say that higher pay is needed to keep good teachers.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 2

In my first blog about international contacts I introduced two contacts from Bolivia.  For this assignment I was unable to contact one of them and the other one referred me to someone else who didn't respond back. But in talking with the Spanish teacher at my school about the assignment he got me in contact with his cousin in Mexico, Gabriella Garcia.  She was able to tell me a little about what goes on in Mexican classrooms.  She teaches first grade and has 45 children in each class.  She teaches  half day program.  A morning session from 8-12 and an evening from 3-7.  She is allowed to send a child for a branch off of a tree and spank the children.  The Mexican education system is divided into four levels: preschool (K1-K3), compulsory basic education (1-9), upper secondary education (10-12), and higher education.  The government is officially responsible for providing compulsory basic education, although it is also involved in the other three levels.  Public schools serve 87% of all students in the country.  A key issue in The Mexican education has to do with insufficient enrollment and high dropout rates beyond the primary levels, insufficient supply of upper secondary schools, and low student achievement levels.  This was the only information should provided  but I look forward to keeping in contact with her.  Hopefully this contact will stay a contact by it being the cousin of one of my coworkers.

Sharing Web Resources

Unfortunately my web resource of choice has not sent me a newsletter yet but I did continue to explore the website.  The National Black Child Development Institute had something relevant to my current professional development.  In the early childhood section of the website it talked about the president of the organization, Carol Brunson Day, attending the speech President Obama gave at a middle school in Arlington, VA.  He was speaking about education funds not being cut at the federal level.  He wanted everyone to know that education is being supported at the federal level.  Obama wants to fix no child left behind.  President Obama says, "It's not enough to leave no child behind.  We need to help every child get ahead."

On the National Black Child Development website they have different initiatives listed.  One of the initiatives is literacy.  The NBCDI partners with Reading is Fundamental to offer an early literacy training program to early childhood educators to build their capacity and resources to develop and enhance early literacy skills of African Americans.  This made me think of early literacy in a new way because literacy is very important and it is important for the educators to be well trained in this area.

The only thing this website about the way a politician feels about is what I mentioned above about President Obama wanting to fix no child left behind and supporting education on the federal level.

I'm sorry to say that I haven't had any other new insights because parts of the website are under construction and I haven't received any newsletters yet.

Bolivia

I did not think I was going to make any international contacts.  I sent over 15 emails, most of them came back to me saying it couldn't be sent.  I was giving up and preparing myself to listen to the podcasts.  But late this week I received not one but two responses.  They were both from Bolivia.  My first contact is Juan Carlos Borda.  He works in the early childhood area of UNICEF/ Bolivia like a social communicator, making advocacy and communication activities.  I got the most information from him because he responded on Wednesday and I was able to ask some questions.  Bolivia is among the five poorest countries in South America, with high maternal and infant mortality rates.  Two-thirds of the population live in poverty.  In 2005 Bolivia changed political administration and now have an indian president (Evo morales Ayma). Many changes have occurred, including laws that seek to provide greater benefits to the poorest in the country. One of the most important changes was the State Constitution. One of this changes is the educational law "Avelino Siñani - Elizardo Pérez" who insert in his content those articles:
"Article 11. Structure Subsystem Regular Education
Regular Education Subsystem includes:
a) Community Family Early Childhood Education
b) Community Primary Vocational Education
c) Productive Community Secondary Education
Article 12. Community Family Early Childhood Education
Is the fundamental basis for the formation of the child and the child is recognized and
strengthens the family and the community as the first social and learning.
Five-year, comprises two stages:
1. Community Family Early Childhood Education-school
Responsibility is shared between family, community and state-oriented
to recover, strengthen and promote the cultural identity of the environment and child, the
family support in prevention and health promotion and good nutrition to
psychomotor development, socio-emotional, spiritual and cognitive development. Three years
duration.
2. Community Family Early Childhood Education schooling
Develop the skills and cognitive skills, language, psychomotor, social-emotional,
spiritual and artistic attitudes favor of autonomy,
cooperation and decision making in the construction process of his thought,
to initiate systematic learning processes to the next level. Two years
duration."
Unicef, from the first childhood area is working for viable this law through same actions:
1. construction of the curriculum for early childhood.
2. Making advocacy with Mayors and Governors to include the issue of first childhood in their local politics.
3. Make a mass media communication about First Childhood with the objective to increase de knowledge of the subject.
4. Produce educative material for the educational technics
5. Help to the Ministry of education to build a public policy about first childhood.
6. Coordinate with other Agencies, NGOs and ministries activities looking the integrated child development.
7. Implementation of a measurement of first child development.

My second contact is Olga Alarcon. She just responded on Friday so all I have from her is information about what she does. She works in the Ministry of Education. She is charge of beginning education in Familial Communities that cover ages 0 to 6 years of age, the first primary ages 0-3 are non enrolled school age children, 4-5 years are enrolled school age children. She also mentions the new educational law. I hope to get more information from Olga before our next assignment. I would like to learn more about what she does.

As for new insights for me, my eyes are wide open now. I have always heard of poverty but never took the time to understand what it is and what it means. To see all these people around the world living so poorly makes my heart ache. I didn't have a hard childhood so not having was never something I had to deal with. I could not imagine having to live like other countries.

Sharing Web Resources

I viewed several different sites before choosing one.  I chose The National Black Child Development Institute.  The website is www.nbcdi.org.  For the past 40 years the National Black Child Institute has been working towards its mission to improve and advance the lives of Black children and their families, through advocacy and education.  The affiliates, which are volunteers from across the nation, have been working to improve child welfare services, make universal early care and education a reality, build family support services, press for educational reform and provide vital information regarding our children’s health.

One of the Institutes initiatives is Literacy.  Love to Read is the National Black Child Development Institute’s (NBCDI) national early literacy public education initiative designed to help parents and other caregivers improve African American children’s academic performance. Love to Read is targeted towards parents and caregivers of children ages 0 through 6. NBCDI has partnered with Reading is Fundamental (RIF) to offer an early literacy training program to early childhood educators to build their capacity and resources to develop and enhance early literacy skills of African American.

I chose this site because African American children are falling farther and farther behind other children in school.  Many of them don't even complete high school let alone attend college.  Their are many affiliates in major cities.  I am thinking of joining the one in mine!

Professional Contacts

Part 1

When I first read this assignment I was intimidated.  I couldn't understand how I was going to create contacts in other countries.  My biggest concern was the language barrier.  I must have looked at the sites for the blog resources about four times before I chose anybody to contact.  In the end I chose South Africa, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.  I just did this yesterday so I haven't heard back yet but hopefully someone will respond. I'm actually anxious about getting the responses.  I'm looking forward to what I might learn from these professionals about early childhood in their countries.

Part 2

I looked at a couple different sites for this part of the assignment.  But I chose National Black Child Development Institute.  This organization's mission is to improve and advance the lives of black children and their families, through advocacy and education.  I chose this organization because I agree with the things they are working to accomplish.  I signed up for newsletter updates and I am thinking of joining the organization.  I found out their is an affiliate in my city.

My Supports

There is no one in this world who does not need, want , or have some sort of support.  I have many support system that get me through the day.  Some I can live without and others I could not.  My family is one of the greatest support systems that I have.  Without them I would not be where I am today and that includes in this program.  They all provide me with a tremendous amount of emotional support.  I was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and everyone in my life keep me going.  My co-workers provide me with support at work by always having my back and being there when I need them.  My car, money, computer, and cell phone all also provide me with support.  Without my car I could not get to and from work to make the money that is needed to live on and pay bills.  Without my computer I would not have the option of being in this program.  And last but not least i depend on my cell phone to keep in touch with everyone, to wake me up in the mornings, and to remind me of what I need to do for the day.  As I said some I can live without but others I can't.  I can't imagine my life without the support of my family.  But without all the others in my life, it would be hard  but doable.  I haven't always had a car so I know how to ride the bus.  I haven't always been in a supportive work environment so I could deal with that.  And I have not always had a cell phone and a computer.  Life would be harder but I would make it.

As for the challenge I choose to be disabled and in a wheelchair.  I chose this because it is something I have to face sometime later in life.  I may not need a wheelchair but I will be disabled in some way.  If I were in a wheelchair, my biggest support would be my wheelchair.  Without it I wouldn't be able to get around.  I would have to depend on others a lot to do things for me.  I know being in a wheelchair doesn't mean you can't do anything but having a support system around that are willing to help you is definitely needed.  Without a good support system life would be very hard.  And without a wheelchair I would be bound to my house and possibly the bed.

Connections to Play

Quotes about childhood play:

Play for young children is not recreation activity,... It is not leisure-time activity nor
escape activity.... Play is thinking time for young children. It is language time. Problem-
solving time. It is memory time, planning time, investigating time. It is organization-of-
ideas time, when the young child uses his mind and body and his social skills and all his
powers in response to the stimuli he has met.

                                                                        --James L. Hymes, Jr., child development specialist, author

It is a happy talent to know how to play.

                                                                     --Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher, poet, essayist

         

    









These three things were essentials when I was a child.  I always had a jump rope and still do.  Cabbage Patch kids were the only dolls I would play with and I treated them like they were my children.  And a kickball was essential because all the kids that lived on our block would come together for games of kickball and dodge ball.  Kickball was a neighborhood favorite.

My mother is an early childhood teacher so she always understood the importance of play.  As a child all I remember doing was playing, whether it was inside, outside, or at the ball park.  My brother and I always played.

The only way I think play is similar is that all children like to play.  They may not play the same games as we did growing up but they still want to play.  I grew up in the 80's and all I can remember is wanting to play outside.  My brother and I would get up on Saturday mornings, do our chores as quickly as possible and get outside to play.  Children these days only want to be involved in electronics.  Whether it's a game system, computer or some sort of music device.  Cell phones are even becoming big with children at a young age.  I grew up with all boys so I was a tomboy.  I could run faster and play sports better than a lot of the boys and I enjoyed it.  Now girls want to be cute all the time.  I miss the games of kickball, hide and seek, kick the can and dodgeball.

The role of play is very important because it teaches so many things.  I think adults forget how to play.  Adults need a little playtime here and there also.  We as adults and educators need to encourage play as much as we can.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding

I chose the topic breastfeeding because I believe it is the best thing for a baby.  I tried to breastfeed and was quite disappointed when it did not work out.  I try to promote breastfeeding to anyone I talk to who is pregnant.  Here in the United States it is more common to give our babies formula instead of breastfeeding. Many women don't even give it a try.  They don't want to go though the pain.  I was going through a lot of pain but I was trying everything to give my baby the best thing for him.  I read that in Kenya breastfeeding is a priority.  A woman who does not breastfeed is frowned upon.  It is nothing for women in Kenya to whip out a boob whenever and where ever to feet their baby.  It is so common that the mothers don't even use a cover up.  No one pays a breastfeeding mother any mind when she is feeding her baby.  If a mother in the United States tried to breastfeed in public with no cover up or anything, she would be frowned upon and maybe arrested for indecent exposure.  I think it is ridiculous that a lot of the poorer countries have enough sense to encourage breastfeeding but women in the United States just think of themselves instead of the baby.  I believe a lot of mothers in the United States are being selfish in a sense.  One goal of mine is to give workshops to parents to help better themselves and the life of their children.  Breastfeeding would be a great topic for one of my workshops.  I would show how mothers around the world don't have a choice but to breastfeed and all of the positives of breastfeeding.