My Supports

My Support

It's funny how small but big my support system is. I have the support of my family, friend and co-workers as I tread through my path in which I am destined to do.

Let's start with my workplace

As you know I work for New York City Children's Services. I work as a child protective specialists where I deal with the daily abuse of maltreatment of children. At times I think to myself how I have made it 4 1/2 years at this job. We deal with a very difficult middle-class to poor underprivileged environment. There are times where we are disgusted, upset  and frustrated but with the support of my co-workers we are able to let out that frustrations of dealing with a difficult family. We talk about our cases and is able to   relieve some of that stress. Imagine dealing with sexual abuse, physical abuse, educational neglect etc.. Without having the support of managers and supervisiors who sits down with you to come up on a plan. 

Friends

There aren't many friends you can count on and support you in time of need. Your friends are supposed to be an extension of your family. You're friends know things about yourself that your family may not know. They know your secrets at times because your friends are supposed to be non-judgemental as your family maybe especially if you are brought up a certain way. My best friend is the epitome of a best friend, she knows about myself when I have an argument with a family I can call her and not be judge. She listens to me and I wouldn't know what to without her. 

Family 
My family has supported through thick and thin. I have my sister who has supported me though thick and thin. We have grown in an environment of a two family house and we we able to have the support of the mother and father who stressed the importance of an education

My Connections to Play

I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.
~Harry S Truman

Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.
~D. Haim Ginott

Cabbage Patch Kids

Growing up with the cabbage patch doll it symbols taking care of something else. It brings back memories of loving and having a partner in everything you do.

Super Nintendo was before the Wii and the Xbox, it was a game system where you can play with the whole family and the games were a fun thing we did as a family. I remember playing with my cousins and thinking this was a good day.

Books are my loves and reading a book with my fellow friends and classmates was very interesting, It transported us to a time of far away fun and it exceeed our thoughts of dreams that we can become or do anything,

My family always supported my play time. My play time did consist of my family members because we were all in the same age. My mother would watch us play with our toys or come up with a game. There are times my family members were included in the games. They loved our imagination and they encouraged to be together and to play with each other and never leaving anyone out. We learned to socialize and engage others, things I still do this to day.

Play today has changed drastically. Children can now play with friends in differents part of the world. Children pay on computers for hours instead of dealing with human contact. The generation gap of non human contact is diminishing. Children are now having myspace, facebook, twitter, these social networks that makes "play" as non existent.

The role of the play has greatly influenced throughout my life. I learned how to deal with a society. I learned how talk to another person. I know how to take turns. I learned how to be a leader and a follower off by "playing."

RELATIONSHIP REFLECTION

My Best Friend and I

Relationships are important to me because they somewhat define who you are. The people you have positive relationships reflect your character and also reflects the type of person you are when it comes to dealing with some. 

I have positive relationships with my sister, my best friend and my family.

By having these positive relationships...

• You love more
• You have a support system when you feel you want to give up
• Your self confidence is improved
• You learn to trust
• Values become important in positive relationships

For maintaining these relationship, I learned to be patient, kind. As these relationships grow I learn to be humble and I learn that they will be disagreements and fights but if I built a positive relationship so it won't break.

By learning to have positive relationships it makes me understanding to children needs and wants. I am able to focus more and build a rapport of trust and understanding.

Considerations and Reflections

"What we remember from childhood we remember forever - permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen."  ~Cynthia Ozick

This statement is so true and realistic, children forever remember their part of history, no matter what it is. We as educators must make a special moment for a child and teach them something positive for them to take in the adult world. They will forever remember.


To Susana and Evita and poem for commenting on my page:

"You must be sick of seeing me
All this time--five days a week.
I'll just cut to the chase and say
thanks for everything, Teach!"

Testing for intelligence

A child's success is measured by the test scores on the paper. A child recognizes 2+2=4 but what happens when that child has had a bad day and thinks it's 5 because of being not focused. Home environment, stress levels all play a major factor in a child's academic testing. It is true in other countries environments play key but we must think of a child's developmental stage. A child who us 7 who grows up in a two family home maybe focused than a same 7 year old who has to care for a 4 year old and a 6 month old because mom is on drugs. They may not be as focused. 



"China education is the largest education system in the world. There are more than 30 million students enrolled in China’s higher education institutions. Investment in education accounts for about 4% of total GDP in China. In 1986, the Chinese government passed a compulsory education law, making nine years of education mandatory for all Chinese children."



Throughout compulsory education, students are required to take end-of-term examinations and tests or check-ups at the end of each semester, school year of before graduation. In primary schools, the Chinese language and mathematics are the required examination subjects for graduation, while the other subjects are checkup subjects. In secondary schools, the graduation examination subjects are determined within the scope of the general subjects taught in the graduating class set by the state, while the students' performance in other subjects are only checked up.

References http://www.chinaeducenter.com/en/cedu/psedu.php

Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

Racism

Racism has been here forever, can we ever give an exact date when it has started. There is an issue of racism including color, religion, sex, abnormality. We can never really know when it hits us but it does in every shape and form.

I can tell you a story of how color affect a country, In the the country of my parents Haiti. There is heavy racism between light skin and dark skin. When I was younger I didn't understand it because my mother said likely light skin people were rich and dark ones were considered poor. It did not matter if you were educated, in some parts of Haiti if you are dark skin, some parents would forbid their daughters or sons from marrying them because they would feel that child would grow up and be ridiculed.

As I am older, I have seen the effects because my mother is using bleaching cream. Also my aunt is a different tone of black and as it shows that the everlasting effects of thinking being dark skinned is considered ugly and light skin is pretty.

Africa

Africa and their issues on poverty and education is something that interest me very much.
On the Unicef site http://www.unicef.org/mdg/poverty.html there is a pleather of information regarding poverty and education.

"More than 30 per cent of children in developing countries – about 600 million – live on less than US $1 a day.
Every 3.6 seconds one person dies of starvation. Usually it is a child under the age of 5.

Poverty hits children hardest. While a severe lack of goods and services hurts every human, it is most threatening to children’s rights: survival, health and nutrition, education, participation, and protection from harm and exploitation. It creates an environment that is damaging to children’s development in every way – mental, physical, emotional and spiritual. " (unicef 2011)

There are trying to fix this by

-Building national capacities for primary health care.

"Some 13 per cent of children ages 7 to 18 years in developing countries have never attended school. This rate is 32 per cent among girls in sub-Saharan Africa (27 per cent of boys) and 33 per cent of rural children in the Middle East and North Africa.
-To that end, UNICEF works in 158 countries, calling on development agencies, governments, donors and communities to step up efforts on behalf of education for all children, and then coordinating those efforts." (Unicef 2011)

Breastfeeding

Breast-feeding interested me because of the discussion from week one. Breast feeding is a bonding mechanism from a mother to a child. The mother is continuing the bonding process where the child receives milk in which the mother produces. It cost efficient, prevents disease and promotes health.

I learned in Africa that Breastfeeding is very normal. As women they are free to walk around and breast feed their children. In some studies it showed mothers who worked did not have time to breastfeed, but in poor areas the mother was adequately able to breast feed.

There was an interesting study I wanted to share with everyone. It was a study
Explore why women initiate breastfeeding early or late, who gives advice about initiation and what food or fluids are given when initiation is late.

Two facts that stood out to me where:

Beliefs about ‘first milk’ were mixed. A belief that it was harmful sometimes resulted in delayed feeding as women waited for the ‘good’ milk to come, however, some women squeezed the milk out and fed on day one.

Other reasons for late initiation were that the baby did not cry (indicating it was not hungry) or because the mother or baby needed rest after a long or difficult birth.

My work is impacted by the way, I need to be more cultural aware that breastfeeding is accepted in some families and some may not and that is okay. I know that maybe if the child is lacking some bonding with the mother, that I may not impose my views of maybe suggesting breastfeeding.

 Reference:http://www.countdown2015mnch.org/2005conference/alldocs/Tawiah.ppt

Birth Development

I never had a personal birthing experience except for my own. My mother told me I was one month early and I could not wait to come out. She had a pretty easy pregnancy, she didn’t throw up and she only had one craving during birth and that was strawberries, hence the birthmark on my bootie : ). She stated she went to all her prenatal appointments, took her vitamins and she was prepared for me to come out. I will never remember that event but she did let me know that I cried for a few minutes and that was it.

My thoughts on child development is one sentence..”Without Life, Life Can Not Move On.”

Birth in the US vs Third World Country

US	Third World
Prenatal Care	No Prenatal Care
Prenatal Vitamins	No Prenatal Vitamins
Sterile Instruments	No Sterile Instruments
Family Support	Family Support (Some countries do not allow it)
Days off work	Some mothers are to work the very next day
After Care	No After Care if a Child is Disfigured they may be killed.

Code of Ethics

"We shall provide services and supports to children and families in a fair and equitable mannerwhile respecting families’ culture, race, language, socioeconomic status, marital status, and sexual orientation."

DEC Code of Ethics 

This plays a big part to my professional and personal life. Services should be applied to every household that have children. A child who doesn't speak English should recieve services from a educator who is giving those same services to a child who can speak English. Money, culture and even sexual orintation of a parent should never play a part in giving a child good quality education.

"We shall involve the family in significant decisions affecting their child."

Naeyc Code of Ethical Conduct 

Involving the family is always an important and meaningful thing for me. Families sometime just don't care, don't have the time, or just not knowledgeable in the school system. We must include them if it means phone calls, letters, showing up at the door.



"We shall use research designs and analyses in an appropriate manner by providing a clear

rationale for each. We shall provide enough information about the methodologies we use so that others can replicate the work."

DEC Code of Ethics

Research is important but I must state that allowing to test children from more areas and stop foucsing on one area so we can get better understanding from each child's preception.

 

Course Resources

Part 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/63694/CRS-CW-5364588/educ6005_readings/naeyc_dap_position_statement.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al.  (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42–53.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title. 

Part 2: Global Support for Children’s Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
   
• Websites:
  • World Forum Foundation
    http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage 
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep-usnc.org/
    Read about OMEP’s mission. 
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/about/
    Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.

Additional Resources

National Network for Childcare

http://www.nncc.org/

Caring for Our Children

The National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education publishes Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care, 2^nd Edition 

 http://nrc.uchsc.edu/CFOC/ 

Early Childhood

http://www.earlychildhood.com/

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

"Whenever we define readiness in terms of a specific level of accomplishment, we are omitting children from this definition who have not had similar life experiences or opportunities for learning." (Miesels, 1999) 

"We have the opportunity to shape a child's life." -Sandy Escobido

Personal Childhood Web

When you see me, I can be funny, loveable, educated, serious, bold, unique etc...These words are as important as the people who have made me who I am today.

My mother has always been a focus in my life. She is the one who gave birth to me. She always was there when I fell on the floor, when I got my first job, when I graduated from school. She loves me for my quirky ways and accepts me for who I am. The reason why I don't care what anyone says about the funky way I dress and the way I say something funny is because of my mother today.

My dad has made me headstrong as I am today. I can have a disagreement and not get mad and that is because of my father. He has always been the one who has told me that education and getting a good job is very important and I have kept that with me until this day. He sometime can be crazy like me but that what makes me love him more and more each day.

My sister Shurida Lundi is the serious one. She is 10 years younger than me but you would think she was the older one. She is headstrong and also very upfront. She makes me think about the world in front of me because she is the younger generation. She has made me more calmer but she is one person who understands me because at times we can say the same thing at the same time and we just laugh.

My first grade teacher Ms. Sharon Scarville. She was the sole reason I wanted to become a teacher. She was always kind, understanding and she remembered your name after many years. She loved all her children, I wanted her soul because it was so kind and no harm could come from it. She is very special because she is one of the reason I want to be a teacher.

This is my best friend Deeny Leslie and she has been my best friend for 15+ years. Since high school she was the best friend who was there when I needed to talk to and scream. She was the one out of my family circle that is a sister to me. She was the one who pushes my buttons to do something because I can procrasinate when it comes to certain things.  

The Center of the Master's of Science in Early Childhood Studies Program

This is me and my favorite pasttimes as a child. Dancing as free as I can be, no worries, just me and the music!

“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.”  

Deepak Choprah

This line reminds me of when you take everything as a child and open the door to adulthood.

Favorite Book

One of my favorite books is “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch. This book tells the story of a man despite the age and how far he went; his mother’s love was unconditional. She would every night she would bring her baby to bed and sing this lullaby….

“I’ll love you forever

I’ll like for always

As long as I am living

My baby you’ll be”

These words are little but hit you so strong. Love is a powerful word and Mr. Munsch play with the word where love is forever and like is always but forever trumps always.

Reconnecting

This is my first post and I look forward to being insightful and also learning new things from everyone who passes and read this blog.