Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

This week I reached out to other professionals in the early childhood field. From a list given in the Issues and Trends course, I chose to contact a professional from Ireland as well as Spain. I chose these countries simply based on personal interest. In my email to both individuals, I gave a brief description of who I am and why I was contacting them. While I have not yet received further communication from these professionals, I am hopeful that I will connect with them soon.

I also chose to subscribe to the e-newsletter with the Zero to Three organization. I have heard that the organiztion has some of the most recent research and is also a great resource of information. In the past I have read some articles published by through the organization and I am eager to learn more about what they can offer me as a professional. I have copied the link to the Zero to Three organization for everyone to take a quick look yourselves.

http://www.zerotothree.org/

My Supports

My supports include my family, especially my mom and sister, my boyfriend, my coworkers, and my boss. These people provide an abundance of professional motivation, knowledge of resources, and emotional comfort to help me get through every day and look to the future. Other supports in my life are my career (which supports my finances and passion for children), my education, my experiences, and my values/morals. Without my people, I would not be as strong and motivated to keep going through the tough times. Without my education, I would not be successful in my career because I would not have the knowledge necessary to work effectively with the families. Without experience, I would have nothing to draw from to give personal touches in my interactions. Without values and morals, I can’t imagine where I would be because this is what makes me who I am.

The challenge I chose to imagine is that I must relocate to another state. My supports in themselves would be challenged as my relationships with each of my people would be severely strained because I am dearly close to my mom, sister, and boyfriend as well as the change in relationship from professional to friendship between myself and my boss and coworkers. My career would be challenged as I would be forced to make a switch in job/company. My education and experiences however, would still support my career as they are the background to my professional success. My values and morals would also carry on to support me as I face challenges of renewing myself in a foreign city and state. While my relationships would change with each person in my life, I am confident that they would still provide me emotional support as well as motivation in a new city.

Without my supports, I would not be as successful as I am in my life and would struggle in my everyday challenges and long-term goals. My supports are the foundation to my being.

My Connections to Play

Quotes about play:

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

-Plato (Greek philosopher)

"You can do anything with children if only you play with them"
-German Proverb

Essential Play Items:

Baking might not seem to be a play activity, but I learned more about my family during these times than any other time. Baking was my chance to "pretend play" with real tools and food.

When I was drawing, my imagination could go anywhere.

 Some of my favorite memories was when my mom was playing this game outside with me and my siblings.

My mom was one of the biggest supporters for my play time. She played games with me and my siblings any chance she had and encouraged us to get out of the house on all the sunny days (which aren't too many in our area unfortunately). My siblings also supported my play as they frequently allowed the "little sister" join in the games they were playing with their friends. I remember tagging along with my older siblings everywhere they went; through the woods, in the river, or just across the street to ride bikes.

Today, I don't see as many children running around and just being kids. I see many stuck in front of the television, from their own choice or the parents. I don't hear many parents telling their children to go outside and play. This lack of physcial activity I believe leads to some of the health issues that children frequently have. The toys frequently advertised also are more sedentary games rather than the toys that get kids outside or just up and moving. I also see lots of children and paretns buying into the advertised toys rather than recognizing that creative games are just as fun. That is, games and toys that can be created at home use more of the child's imagination. I feel there is a lot of truth in teh statement that you can buy a child all the toys in the world, but they still just want to play with the box.

Parental involvement is so important to a child's play. Without my mother playing alongside me, I don't believe I would have gained as much knowledge about the activities we were doing, like baking. It is also important for the parent to engage in this play time as well. This is where they will gain insight into their child's development firsthand. Another reason play is so important for both children and adults is that it is the chance to let go of worries and to just have fun. Everyone needs to have the chance to relax and just be a kid again.

 

 



Relationship Reflection

While there are many significant people in my life, there are two people that keep me grounded and at the same time motivated to be a better person.

The first person is my sister. She is my best friend and motivator to achieve success no matter what stands in the way. Sheila is a childcare center director and has 3 children aged 14, 11, and 2. On top of this she is working on her bachelor's degree. She motivates me to be a better person because I see everything that she has been through in her life and she just keeps going and striving for a better life for not only herself but also her children. Because Sheila and I are in the same career field, we continuously bounce ideas and information off of each other. Because of these positive interactions professionally, we have formed a partnership in our community to stand up for children and educate not only the children but the families as well. (We were even co-teachers in a classroom at one time).

My boyfriend is the other person that keeps me grounded. When I have had a rough day, he supports me by helping me to understand how I can turn things around to make it better the next time. He is the one that somehow can keep me calm when storms hit. This helps my professional career because he understands how important my work is and he reminds me of why I am in this career when things feel overwhelming. This partnership enables me to move ahead and strive for more. he also has been my biggest supporter in continuing my education by reminding me that it will be worth it in the end when I have gained more knowledge and experience.

Both of these relationships seem to do the same thing in the end but are valuable in completely different ways.  If it weren't for these healthy, strong relationships, I do not believe I would have the guidance and direction I need in pursuing my passion for this career.

Every child has an inner timetable for growth--a pattern unique to him. . . . Growth is not steady, forward, upward progression. I...- MOREEvery child has an inner timetable for growth--a pattern unique to him. . . . Growth is not steady, forward, upward progression. It is instead a switchback trail; three steps forward, two back, one around the bushes, and a few simply standing, before another forward leap.

Dorothy Corkville Briggs

Read more at http://quotes.dictionary.com/subject/child%20development,%20general#aLugrIVWJ5PEAg3F.99

Children are natural mimics. They act like their parents in spite of every attempt to teach them good manners.

GRENVILLE KLEISER, Dictionary of Proverbs

Schools in Finland

“We prepare children to learn how to learn, not how to take a test,” (Hancock, 2011).

This sentiment is highly regarded in Finland. Schools are frequently ranked highest in the world when given standardized tests. However, these standardized tests are rarely seen or used in the nation itself. The country prefers to use highly skilled teachers and individualized lessons.

Hancock (2011) explains that teachers consult with each other in preparing lessons and special needs teachers work as a team in classroom as children rarely leave the classroom if they have learning disabilities. One-to-one teaching is used during lessons allowing for the individualization needed for each child. Many lessons take place outside and are presented in a playful manner in recognizing the importance of play in a child’s life. One teacher stated “We value play.” (Hancock, 2011)

Finland aims to start economic growth within the country starting even with schooling for young children, as stated, “If we want to be competitive, we need to educate everybody” (Hancock, 2011). Teachers in the country are also prized in their role and highly respected the same as doctors and lawyers, (Hancock, 2011). Rather than using standardized tests, teachers are highly trained and given incentives, such as free workshop trainings after attaining their master’s degree.

The idea of using standardized tests seems to me that children and their parents are stressed to achieve a rating, and if they do not achieve such rating, they are considered unsuccessful. This does not seem to look at the child as a whole as Finland seems to do. Finland regards children as the future and accommodates to the needs of the child by recognizing the need for frequent play. One of my favorite ideas from the article by Hancock (2011) was that after each lesson, children are given 15 minutes of playtime outside, in addition to incorporating lessons with the outdoors. Rather than setting aside one hour each day for the child to run around, the children are given multiple opportunities to exert their physical energy.

Too measure or assess a child would require so many different areas to be examined that I do not see how any test could possibly do so. I believe the child’s ability to take part in these multiple areas may be observed throughout time while the teacher makes time for any areas the child may need extra help in and work the child at that time, rather than waiting for test results to confirm what the teacher likely already knows. 

In the words of the sentiment expressed in Finland, “whatever it takes,” (Hancock, 2011).

References

Hancock, Lynnell (2011). Why Are Finland’s Schools So Successful? Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved June 9, 2012 from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html?c=y&page=5