THANK YOU!

I want to say a great big THANK YOU to all of my classmates! My group (group#2) was the best!! Everyone in this group supported each other and encouraged each other just like family! I really appreciate all of your positive comments throughout the entire 8 weeks! I wish each  and every one of you the best in all you do! May God bless you and help you! Thanks again to EVERYONE!!

Quotes about Children

Before you were conceived I wanted you
Before you were born I loved you
Before you were here an hour I would die for you
This is the miracle of life.
Maureen Hawkins

This is the most fitting quote to state how I feel about ALL of my 7 children!

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
Angela Schwindt

How true this statement is! We spend our lives trying to "teach" children and if we listen, children can teach us soooooo much more!

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.
Walt Streightiff

This is a very true quote! Adults may see "7" wonders of the world but to a child EVERYTHING is a wonder! How awesome to look at life through the eyes of a child!

Human beings are the only creatures that allow their children to come back home.
Bill Cosby

LOL I really like Bill Cosby! Yes, at any time all of my 7 children are welcome to come back home! ;0)

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One is roots; the other, wings.
Hodding Carter

Roots are important for a child but (we the child is ready) parents need to give them their wings to soar! This is easier said than done!

Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.
Rabindranath Tagore

Considering our topic for week 7 was  technology, this seems very fitting! ;0)

If I had my child to raise over again
I'd build self-esteem first and the house later
I'd finger paint more and point the finger less
I would do less correcting and more connecting
I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes
I would care to know less and know to care more
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites
I'd stop playing serious and seriously play
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars
I'd do more hugging and less tugging
I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often
I would be firm less often and affirm much more
I'd model less about the love of power
And more about the power of love.

 Diane Loomans

Finally, this is the one parents with grown children seem to feel! Myself included so now that I have adopted children, I get the chance to do it all over again! I can't go back to do more with my first 4 children, but I can try to do better with my young children now! ;0)

I hope you enjoyed the quotes! I could not choose just one! LOL So I added a few favorites!

TESTING

Testing in school means different things to different people.  Most teachers will tell you that some type of testing is necessary to determine where the child is and in what direction the teacher needs to go with this child. The big question is what type of testing should be used? The No Child Left Behind Act has brought testing into a different light.  Should all testing be written tests? Should verbal testing be allowed?  One must look at the child as a whole to completely test the child. One child might score really low on a written math exam but given manipulatives, the same child might prove that he/she really understands the “concept” that is being tested. If all children do not learn the same way then why are we testing them all in the same way? Another child might not have the language capacity to tell you the answer to the questions but that same child might be able to draw a picture and prove that he/she really does understand the concept.  What about the students that freezes on test?  Is anyone really taking these things into consideration when testing? Are the allowances only being made for special education students?  Does a child that learns in a different way only going to have his/her needs met if that child enters special education? To me, this is not just a “test” or “not test” issue.  Our country tends to swing from one extreme to the other on several issues.  I decided to research testing in Kazakhstan. Well, it is different that’s for sure! In Kazakhstan, it seems to be an issue of “you get what you pay for” in education. The general schools do not have standardized testing. However, they do have more formal schools (more like our private schools) that do test and are very competitive with our American standards. These schools make sure that the National Standards are met. They hire teachers from all over the world to teach at theses schools. One of the biggest is in Almaty.  Kazakhstan has also started sending their college students to other countries to study. The government pays for everything for these students. In return the student must come back to Kazakhstan and work for at least five years.  The students must have an average of 4.5 on a 5 point scale to qualify for this opportunity.  So where does testing begin in Kazakhstan? Basically it begins at the college level. If the parents have a strong desire to have their child attend college, the parents begin pushing all they can into the child at very early ages. This is a very poor country that is trying to rise above. They see the advantage of educating their students in our American colleges. The People’s Republic of Kazakhstan wants these students to bring the knowledge of our country back to them.  They are trying to take the best of all countries to improve their country. Who knows, in a few years they may start testing their students at an earlier age too!

Racism in early childhood development

First of all I want to say that I hope this post does not offend anyone. Racism takes many forms and comes in many ways. This is something my family experienced many years ago in the 1970’s era.

My parents were both born and raised in Alabama and it was their home for many years. Lack of work caused my parents and my sister to move to the southern part of Florida to seek work. While there I was born. My dad worked and my mom stayed home with her two daughters. When I started to school my mother went to work with my dad at a plant farm beside our house. Many Hispanics worked at the same plant with my parents and there was never a racial issue. Many of our closest friends were Hispanics. We shared many meals, birthday parties, and fun family gatherings together. My sister and I attended a school that was basically all white.  It was the school we were suppose to attend because of where we lived. During the summer between my 2^nd and 3^rd grade, the school district rezoned the school district. Now we would be attending a different school. It was not a problem for me because there would still be other kids there and I would have more friends! So I thought. I had never heard my parents (or anyone else) speak about “racial” problems and I didn’t have a clue about what that even meant! When I walked into my classroom, it was full of children. That is what I saw all children. It just so happen that all of these children (all but 3 including myself) were black children. Some girls started saying some mean things to mean and I thought it was because I was new.  As each day came, it was just like the day before. I played on the play ground alone. The other “white” children had moved. I wanted to play with the children but they would not play with me. So I would play alone. One day in the classroom one of the girls was being worse than normal to me and a big (big for a 9 year old!) boy named Author (I will NEVER forget his name) stood up and yelled at these girls. He told them to “shut up” and to leave me alone! He became my personal bodyguard and really good friend! I still did not have the concept of what was going on. One day when I got home from school my sister was already home sitting in the living room with my mom crying. My dad came home from work my sister still crying and my parents were both upset. My parents tried to protect me from what was going on and they did a great job. It wasn’t until many years later that I found out what really happened. My sister was having a very hard time in school. The girls in her class had been calling her at home and threatened to kill her if she came to school the next day. These girls had been cornering her in the bathroom and even pulled a knife on her and told her to never come back again. She was terrified! She cried and cried and begged my parents to not make her go back to school. My parents went to school to see what could be done. The principal told my parents that there was nothing he could do. He could not promise to protect my sister. This really upset my parents that the school where their children are suppose to be safe can not be responsible for anything that might happen. So my parents packed up a U-Haul, left so many of our personal things behind, and moved their family back to Alabama.  I was really upset because I loved living close to the beach! I had made a couple of friends! Why on earth would anyone want to leave it?! My sister cried all the time but I was too busy playing to try to figure out what was wrong with her! I was going to enjoy everyday no matter what! The stress and pressure on my sister was more than she or my parents could take.  I am really glad that my parents didn’t feel the need to share this information with me. Although it was very traumatic on the family, my family did not feel hatred toward the black race.  They made the move to protect their daughter.  My parents thought that the girls that harassed my sister had some major issues; they never made racial slurs, comments, etc. My parents tried to resolve the issue but it could not be resolved so they chose a drastic step by moving their family to an area where they knew their children would be safe.  As an adult I look back and see what a sacrifice my parents made to protect their children.

Public Health Issue

Breastfeeding in China

As I did research on mother’s breastfeeding in China, I realized that the numbers are not completely accurate.  The numbers that are given are for mothers that actually had the baby and are raising the baby.  This rate did not include all of the mothers that gave birth and took their babies to an orphanage. These babies in the orphanage are not breastfed.  I read that only 20% of mothers in China actually breastfed for at least 6 months while 45% breastfed for at least 4 months. These numbers do not include “all” births. It is Chin’s plan to have 85% of babies to be breastfed for at least 4 months. Breastfeeding rates in China have dropped for a couple of reasons. One is just lack of knowledge on the mother’s part and the other is the misguided promotion from the formula company ads. The company false advertisement misleads the consumer by stating it will make the babies “healthier” and “smarter” if they use the formula! (8-8-2009)

In the United States, women have very different opinions on breastfeeding. Some women, such as myself, look at breastfeeding in a natural way to feed your baby and bond with your baby.  Others view it as inconvenient. Some mothers just can not breastfeed.  The research and information I found was important to be because of my daughters being born there and also more and more people are adopting children from China and they will be attending our schools.  This information is good for personal and professional reasons! Funny how being a mother and being a teacher so intertwine with one another!

Reference:

http://www.chinadaily.com/.

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