Relationship Reflection

Relationships/Partnerships are so important to me. The people who I have relationships with are the people I depend on. I am 24 years old and moved away from home about 1 1/2 ago and am still making choices about what I want to do with my life and who I want to be. I look to the people around more for guidance and support.

Kathy (my mom)

My mom still lives in Iowa but she is the person I can tell everything to and I know she will support me know matter what. Over the years my mom has changed from the parent figure to more of a friend. To keep our relationship we talk everyday at least once. It can be challenging being so far way from each other but we know that communication is so important to keeping our relationship the way it is. My mom is also a preschool teacher and has been doing it for a while. She helps me through problems I might be having at work and shares new ideas to make me a better teacher.

Andy (my boyfriend)

I have been seriously dating my boyfriend for a little over a year now. He is in the Navy and from Iowa like me. He is the person in Hawaii who I depend on. He is very supportive and a better communicator then I am. For maintaining our relationship we have to be very open with each, communicate and trust each other. Challenges for us our his deployments. He recently got back from a 6 month deployment and trust is very important for maintaining our relationship. We definitely have a partnership. He is the person who is the most supportive in me going back to school and furthering my education. 

Brennan (my roommate)

Brennan has been my friend for over 5 years. She is the person I go on adventures with. We have lived in Italy, Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands and Japan. We decided to move to Hawaii together and have been roommates sense. Communication is the key to our relationship, it is not always easy being someones great friend and roommate but we make it work. Brennan is also a preschool teacher for the Department of Defense but works at a different school. Having someone going through the same things that I am is really comforting. We are both young teachers at the schools we teach in and its nice to have someone to go through it together with.

Prima (my co-teacher)

Prima is my co-teacher. She has been working at my school for over 20 years and I could not ask for a better person to work with. I call her my mom in Hawaii because she definitely guides me and has helped me grow so much as a teacher and personally. Having a co-teacher can be challenging because you can’t just make discussions for your class you need to work with your partner to come to the discussion. Working that close to someone you see how important teamwork is and how you need to communicate all the time. Prima is a great partner and mentor to have.

When I Think of Child Development …

Quotes of inspiration...

“TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book.”       

-Unknown

"All children behave as well as they are treated."

-Jan Hunt

“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression."

-Dr. Haim Ginott

I want to personally thank every one of my colleagues. You make learning fun for me. I love hearing others opinions, you help me to think outside of the box. I wish you the best with EVERYTHING in your future and may you continued to inspire children!

Thanks! Amy Lester

Testing for Intelligence?

Growing up I was in the lower-reading groups, I never did that well on test and I think this followed me for quite some time. I was dyslexic (and probably still am) but I was not tested for it until I was in third grade. I went to the same school k-8 and my grades followed me, I was put in the lower reading group at the beginning of the year and just did not reach my full potential. I thought of myself as not as smart as everyone else. Luckily for me I went to a new high school and had the chance to really learn and did much better in school. Standardized test were horrible for me, it was so much information in such a short amount of time.

I do not think all forms of assessment are bad, I feel like I had a bad situation. I believe that test taking and assessing students helps with their performance it gives them a reason to learn, not all children are self-motivated, some need a little extra push. I hated standardized test but I understand the reason for them. Now I do not agree with children having to take test to get accepted into public schools. In Hawaii some of the school require test for children to get into Kindergarten and I disagree with this. I think everyone deserves a chance to learn at whichever school they want to attend.

Assessments in the China: 

Chinese schools study the same things as American schools do, they just focus more on homework and test taking. “(...) where their school blended a mostly Western elementary school curriculum with the emphasis on discipline and testing that typifies Asian educational styles. In Asia, such a march of tests for young children was regarded as normal, and not evil or particularly anxiety provoking” (Rosenthal, 2010). In China they focus more on the test results and less on the student.

I think our society needs to remember that we teach for the children and not for the test results.

Rosenthal, E. (2010) Testing, the Chinese Way. New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/weekinreview/12rosenthal.html.

Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

Muscular dystrophy is a disorder that weakens muscles and creates the loss of muscle, as the person gets old the condition worsens.

When I was four years old my family found out that my cousin who was just one year older than me had this disease. No one in my family really knew what it was or what caused it. Well over the next two years I saw my cousin be put into a wheelchair and lose his ability to use his arms and legs. At the same time my cousins condition was worsening my aunt and uncle found out they were pregnant with another child. When my new cousin was born he was also born with muscular dystrophy. His condition was worse than my other cousins from the start because he was born with it. It took awhile for my family to get used to the new routine, having two family members in wheelchairs and all the extra help that they would need but both of my cousins have incredible personalities and outlooks on life. My family quickly turned to MDA, Muscular Dystrophy Association for information and support. I know my cousins and their parents attended summer camps to help them cope with the disease.

MD in Japan:

Japan, has an organization similar to MDA, the Japan Muscular Dystrophy Association Corporation.  JMDA’s goals are to “Accumulates information on muscular dystrophies available to educate and enlight the disease to patients, their families and public.” They also want to , “Helps patients to adapt to their daily life and to improve their quality of life.” Lastly they try and “Promotes research into muscular dystrophy.”

Japan Muscular Dystrophy Association. Retrieved from http://www.jmda.or.jp

Child Development and Public Health

I remember when I was young, probably around 10 years old, I found out that my mom’s friends baby died. I remember her telling me the baby died of SIDS. At the time I did not understand but as I have grown up I have become a lot more interested in SIDS and feel as though I should educate myself on the topic because I do work in a Child Development center with infants.

When looking at how SIDS affects people from all around the world I found some interesting information from New Zealand. New Zealand used to have the highest crib rate death in the world, but new information has come out to change that. In 1994 a new campaign for wrapping infants’ mattresses came out. Researchers said the fire-retardant mattresses had harmful chemicals for infants in them, so they started wrapping them. Since these findings came out the number of deaths has significantly went down. They have also changed to having babies sleep on their backs as well, along with other forms of prevention.

The information and my findings on SIDS I have learned this week have helped me grow as an educator. This is syndrome that affects children in one of the age groups I want to directly work with. In order for me to be a successful care provider I believe that knowledge on medical issues, like SIDS, are vital to my job.

Websites referenced: www.preventsids.org and www.healthychild.com

In Your Life and Around the World

I have not yet had the opportunity to experience a birth, other than my own. I had the chance to talk with a couple friends about their experiences and talked to my mom about when I was born. Everyone I talked to, including my mother stressed the importance of the epidural! They all said they had great experiences. Both my mother and my close friend Tracy told me by month 7 they were ready for the baby to be out but once the time came, they both felt unprepared. My friend Tracy told me about her experience of having the placenta removed and how it was the worst part. To be honest I did not know before that conversation that the placenta even came out but it does not sound like a pleasant experience.  This is a very new subject for me and I do not have any experience with it but I do believe that right after the birth is the best time for the mother to start bonding with her child. I have heard that epidurals can have negative side effects to the baby, latching on during breastfeeding might be difficult, this could play a role on the child’s development.  Overall the birth is the parents beginning to raising their child and the choices they make will have an effect on the child’s development.

I chose to look at the Philippines and their birthing experience. I work with a couple of Pilipino women who shared their stories with me. After doing research and talking with some ladies from work the birthing experience in the Philippines is very similar to what women experience in the United Stated. They both go to regular doctor’s appointments during their pregnancies and have the same options when giving birth at hospitals. However, in some rural parts of the country and for some citizen who do not have enough money, they choose to have a midwife come to their houses, but this is only done if it is a normal pregnancy without any complications.  I was told that a pregnancy in the Philippines is not just an experience for the couple but that the whole family is involved. Having the whole family involved with the child will provide them with great support during their development. 

A Note of Thanks and Support

Alisa Tetley: I have not only gotten the chance to learn from you through your blog but also in our discussion group. I wish you the best in the future and thanks so much for your post. I can tell you have a real passion for working with children. You posted “Children are like wet cement.  Whatever falls on them makes an impression.”  By Dr. Haim Ginott, this quote is amazing thanks for sharing it.

Terri Moore: Thanks so much for all your post. I have really taken a lot from them. The Little Bill books you posted about in the beginning of the class are now in my classroom and I also use KidZone as a reference. You said “Teach with your strengths!” this is a great quote for all of us! Good luck in the future!

Mahitab Wasfy: Thanks so much for sharing Obama's book with our blog group, I hadn't heard of it before but it is such an inspirational book! Good Luck with everything in the future!

Carla Brown: The tittle of your blog is a Passion 4 Kids 
and I can really tell you have one. Your blog is so much
fun and I can tell you are a creative person! Good luck in
the future!

Tammy Sawyer: Thanks so much for your post. You really have
a lot of knowledge to share and I have learned from it, 
especially the medical website, I use it now. Thanks so 
much and I wish you the best in the future!

Good luck to everyone! I wish you all the best!