Hello my fellow Early Childhood Studies Colleagues. I can't express how overjoyed I am to have worked with such kind and helpful classmates. At the beginning of this journey we met and formed relationships over a virtual classroom. We have learned some important facts about each other and how we view ourselves as well as our careers. We have had some ups and downs in some of the classes, and we have had to reach out to each other for help. The times that I asked for help you guys were right there for me willing to give me tips and push me along the way. There were times during the research class that I was really struggling and you guys helped me through with words of encouragement, and helpful suggestions. I am well please with having begun this journey with you all. I pray that as we start our specialization classes that we never forget one another and that we go on to be the very best early childhood professionals that we can be in the field. May the Lord watch over you all and continue to guide you. It has been my pleasure to work with such fine colleagues.



Your Friend,


Melanie

Look me up on facebook. Melanie Holloman Carridine

Scooby Doo and the Gang: Adjourning

The group that I can remember the most that was truly the hardest for me to leave was the group of 11. The pre-k teachers and assistants. We have a very small pre-k with only 5 lead teachers and 5 assistant teachers. There was 6 classes, but unfortunately last year one died and they did not replace her. That took some of the wind out of our sails over at pre-k. The reason why I chose this group is because I had been a part of this group for 4 school terms with this school term being the 5 if I had stayed at pre-k. I can truly say that we were able to make it through all five stages. I have to be honest nothing about it was easy, because there are 10 teachers and a principal that all have to come together and agree for the children's sake. I really hated to leave this group because over the years we had gotten to know each other. We knew what each of us liked and disliked, we learned to listen to each other's opinions, and we learned to compromise with each other so that the children would get the best outcome possible. After building such a relationship with the other teachers that was comfortable and one that I knew well, I did not want to leave but I knew that I had to. It was truly saddening to leave pre-k after being there for 4 school terms. The lead teacher that I worked with and the parents of the students that were in my classroom all got together and threw me a surprise going away party. The children were great and they made me feel great that day because I knew that they really did love me and that they would miss me. So the experience that I had as I left pre-k is one that I will always remember..

I have to be honest I know that I am going to hate to see my colleagues and I part whenever we are done with this degree program. I want to be able to keep in touch with them so that I can still talk with them. I have to tell you that there have been some times in this program where I just wanted to quit and give up. Mainly in the research class that I took if it had not been for some of my colleagues that helped me through I would have given up. I had a difficult time in that class and I was given support by some of my colleagues, but there was one colleague in particular that responded to my e-mail for help in a nasty way. She said some things to me that did not help the situation at all, but there were others that helped to pull me through. That is what team work is about. I am so grateful for everyone that has helped me up unto this point. Thanks guys for your support. As we come to this end we will be in the adjourning stage. This stage is the most important stage because it proves that groups are able to make it pass their differences. They established mutual respect for each other and were able to work though their differences to come up with solutions that everyone agreed upon. At this point the group has become a success at what they set out to accomplish and they should be proud of themselves for trying and working so hard to make it through the process. So with that in mind all of us that is in this master degree program should be rejoicing because we are almost there to the adjourning stage.
                

                                    




The perfect example of team work, and working through your differences!!!!



Constantly Disagreeing

I have not had any conflicts with anyone outside my family, but I am in a constant battle with my son. He is about to turn 11 in Aug and he thinks that he is 25 already. We are constantly disagreeing and I have to get onto him about the same things everyday it seems like. I have had sit downs with him, his dad has, even our Pastor has talked with him. He is a great child, but he has this habit of wanting to talk back and be disobedient what we down south call "hard headed". I was raised "ole school" where talking back was just not allowed. I had a mother that would bop you in the mouth for talking back to her. I feel the same way and it upsets me when he is in that mode. So I am dealing with my son and we have conflicts constantly. I think that I have tried every conflict solution in this case, but too no avail.The one conflict resolution that I use is separation, I have to separate myself from him sometimes so that I do not allow myself to get so upset with him and do or say something that I will regret later. The only thing that I know to do is to give it to God because I can't fix it God will have to fix this for us. That is currently the only conflict in my life right now, we're in Spiritual Warfare right now.



Perceptions of Communication

As a part of my job I am required to hold group meetings for the Parent as Teachers requirements. I have to be able to communicate with he parents and their children in a very effective manner while addressing important teaching information that can be used by the parents. During these communication efforts that I engage in I assumed that I was always respectful to others and their opinions and that I would have a score that reflected such communication on the verbal assertiveness scale. My score was moderate which means that I maintain a good balance with respect and consideration of others' viewpoint, and the ability to argue fairly by attacking the facts of a position rather than attacking the person that is holding the position. That surprised me because I thought that I would be low which would mean that I am respectful to the intelligence and viewpoints of others, and that I attempt to change their minds with gentle, and inoffensive suggestions that do not attack their self-concept. 

I learned that through the evaluation done by my husband and friend that they hold me in high regards as being an effective communicator.

I also learned that I am on the significant level sometimes when it comes to dealing with my oldest son. He is at the age where he thinks he knows more than I do and sometimes my verbal aggression level rises with him.

I have resolved that I will strive to bring my verbal aggression level with my son to a low point on the scale.

                                                                           





"DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH"?

The tittle of my blog comes from the motion picture Rush Hour. There are times when I am speaking to different groups of people that I have to change the way I speak. Sometimes my language is slang. I use that type of language when I am talking with my nephews. They have their own language that they use when they communicate with them and I my self use it when I am talking with them. It makes the atmosphere more agreeable when we are speaking. I have learned that when talking in my culture that you have to use the dominate language of the conversation to fit in. So when I am around my nephews talking with them I use slang, when I am around my family we use what people in big cities call country talk. Which is an informal way of speaking that is not always using correct English, with some occasional verb splitting.



In my neighborhood my family is the only Black family. Our neighbors are all White and we sometimes talk when we meet each other outside. Whenever I speak with them I do not have to change my way of speaking because we all speak on the same level. We have conversations that are long and short at times and we are able to effectively communicate with each other on a level that is understood by all.



3 strategies that I will use to help me communicate effectively.

• Talk on the same level of the person/people that I am communicating with. I have learned that when I talk with the children and families that I serve I have to be like a chameleon, able to switch back and forth with the language that I use. The reason being is that people like to feel comfortable and relaxed when they speak without feeling inadequate or dumb. So when I talk to people I talk on the level that they communicate so that I am not offensive to them.
• I will have an open mind to their point of view and not have the conversation fastened on how I think things should be. I will apply the Platinum Rule principle while engaged in conversation with the families that I serve.
• I will take into consideration the culture and diversity aspect of the people that I am communicating with. I will have to remember that culture determines how people communicate, and I have to respect the various means of communication that is exhibited by the many different cultures in out society.

                                                                                  



Lets Talk TV Assignment 2

The TV show that I decided to record and observe was Heartland on The CW this is a movie about ranching, guys with jeans, hats, boots and horses. There were many scenes in the movie that had a lot of nonverbal language that I was able to guess correctly.

In one scene a guy dressed like a cowboy was sitting at a counter in a dinner and he was talking with his waitress he was smiling and he looked happy.  As he was talking the waitress gave him this look and said some words to him with an attitude. You could tell by her body movement, the look on her face and how she walked away from him that she had said something smart or offensive to him.

So when I watched the same scene in the movie with sound I was right. The guy liked the waitress and he was trying to make small talk, but she did not want to hear what he wanted to sat because she thought he was nothing but trouble and she walked away leaving him sitting at the counter. Then another girl walked up to him and he asked her “what did I say” she replied “it is not what you said but how you look”. The guy had a black eye. The waitress concluded from his black eye that he had been in a fight and that he was probably a trouble maker.

 

The second scene was one in a stable and a horse was giving birth to a fowl. There were three people there a young guy and young girl and this man that was much older and acted as a vet. All three of them were on their knees with the horse. The two guys had on elbow length gloves that were covered with blood. The older guy was reaching into the horse, and you could tell by his facial expressions that he was reaching around felling the fowl. Then he said something to the girl and her face turned red, her eyes filled with water, and she dropped her head.

The guy was telling her that the fowl was dead and she was asking him was he sure and why couldn’t they help it. I was able to tell from the facial expression that she had that something was wrong.

There was this one scene where this older guy was fussing at this younger guy. I thought he was giving him pointer on how to rustle a bull to the ground, but he was actually criticizing the guy telling him that he was not doing what he had told him, and that he did not listen to a word that he said, and so own. But after watching the show with word he was actually upset because he had moved past his prime as a bull rustler and wanted to get back to it, but he had lost it and it was time for him to pass it along to someone younger.

There scenes were easy to predict what was going on because of the body language, but not all of the scenes were that easy to figure out. If I would have been watching a TV show that I watch all of the time line Meet the Browns I would have been able to tell you exactly what was happening and what was being said because I have learned the characters and I know their persona.

Competent Communication

I have heard many people talk giving speeches and lectures from professionals in early childhood and other educations, as well as Doctors, lawyers, policy makers, Pastors, and Ministers. Of all of the people that I have heard communicate there is one that if I had to be like them I would be like her. She is my oldest sister, Assistant Principal at the middle school, and Minister of the Gospel Bernice Johnson Martin. Bernice has a way of communication with people that catches all of their attention. Her way of communicating actually draws you into a deep understanding, and the way she communicated what she is saying is easy to understand and grasp. When I see her in action it is like she is in dual roles. She is at one time in teacher mode then in other times she is in Minister mode, but in either mode she effectively gets her point across to the listeners. She never loses her listeners in fancy jargon that is an onslaught of words without meaning. The communicating style that she has is understandable to those who have little education to those that are of highly educated. She has a great way of getting people to understand what she is saying and it all makes sense. Bernice delivers her words in a clear concise manner that always captures the attention of her listeners. She is an excellent model of competent communication

Bernice Johnson Martin

Assitstant Principal Turner Co. Middle School

Professional Hopes and Goals

One hope that I have for working with children and families from a diverse background is that I want these families and children to realize that I am a woman that they can depend on to help them press their way through any situation that they might go through, and that I truly care what happens to them and their children.


One goal that I would like to set for the education field related to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice would be a Cultural Awareness Liaison for the school system in Turner Co. This person would have a multicultural educational background that would allow them to advocate for fairness in the schools for the children in the marginalized groups.


I would like to thank each and every last one of you for your feed backs on mt blog postings as well as on discussion postings. I have enjoyed this course and I leave truly believing that I have learned something that I can use in my career as an early childhood educator. Again thanks you guys for being there.




Sincerely,




Melanie

My New Russian Student

I am a teacher at the local elementary school where I teach 4th grade and I have been notified by the Principal that I will be getting a new student and that student is from Russia. I have no idea what the customs and culture is in Russia so I began to prepare my self so that when I am introduced to the child and his family I will be prepared. I want to make the new student feel at home so I will have to learn things from his Russian life so that I can incorporate it into his new life at school.

5 ways I will prepare myself to meet my new Russian student and his family.

• When I meet the new student I will give a firm handshake to him and his dad and look them directly in the eyes. It is Russian custom that whenever you greet each other that the males will give a firm, almost bone crushing handshake, maintain direct eye contact, and give the appropriate greeting for the time of day. The handshake for a woman is less firm. If I were good friends with the mother I would kiss her on the cheek three times starting with the left and then rotating.
• I would be able to tell the new student's fathers name the students middle name which would be the fathers first name with "vich or ovich" added to it.
• If I were invited to their home for dinner I would dress in office clothes because this shows respect for the hosts. I would take a small gift along with me. If I were a guy I would take flowers, but not yellow flowers because they are seen as bad luck.
• I should know that Russian children attend school from ages 6-17, and elementary education lasts for 9 grades. After the 9th grade they either go to secondary school or vocational school. So I will have to help the child adjust to his new school system. After secondary education the student can go onto high education which is equivalent to college for us.
• I will need to keep in mind that the Russian schools have classroom that range from 20-30 students, the students are together from the 1st grade to the last grade, the students in primary school will stay with the same teacher for all subjects and do not change classes, the school day is from 8:00-1 or 2:00.

This information that I have learned would help me to be able to help the student adjust to a new school system with very few problems, because I would be able to lead him through the changes that he will have to make in order to adjust to an American school system which is very different from a Russian school system. i would also need this information so that I would know how to operated as a teacher to a Russian student. I would have to make adjustments as well as the student.



Personal Experiences of Bias, Prejudice, and/or Oppression

One day I was in a clothing store browsing around to find me something to wear. So I was just walking from place to place in the store just looking around. So I noticed that this employee was following me around in the store. So I would move around intentionally to see if she was following me and everywhere I would move she would follow. I had found a shirt that I liked and really wanted it, but after the employee kept following me I put it down, and left the store. I went to another store and bought what I needed.

That lady was following me around as if I was about to walk out with that whole store stuffed under my shirt.I know that she was watching me to see if I were going to steal something, but rest assured I do not steal and if I do not have the money to pay for it then it will stay in their store. I have seen it many of times where there are workers in a store that will follow a black person around in the store and not follow anyone else. I guess that is because they think that black people will steal, but there are people from every race that steals so one group of people can't be singled out as thieves.

I have to be honest when that happened to me it upset me because I do not steal and I was being followed as if my picture and name had been left at the store by the cops identifying me as a thief. I am not sure that they employee would be able to change because she felt that she was doing her job.Maybe that store had had an increase in missing products and the employees were ordered to follow the shoppers, who knows. I only know that I do not like being followed around in a store on the assumption that I might be a thief.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

The microaggression that I experienced was last week. I bought some apples to take with me to work to snack on in case I got hungry. I put the apples on my desk and the data entry clerk saw them. When I walked into work one morning after she had seen the apples she said to me "are you on a diet because I saw the apples on your desk"? I thought immediately how does seeing apples on my desk indicate to you that I am on a diet. She had spoken with me prior to that event about a wight loss program that some of our other colleagues were talking about and maybe she thought that I was on a diet, but that just threw me for a loop. I know she didn't mean any harm, but that offended me. I was actually on a fast at the time and wasn't eating, but I did not tell her that. I realize that I have probably done the same thing unintentionally, but I pray that from now on I am able to word without offending anyone.

I believe the data entry clerk thought that I never ate nutritious food because of my size. I am a large woman, but over the past three years I have gone from a size 28 to a size 22 and I can get into some 20's depending on where I by them from. This was a great assignment to help us pay more attention to what we say and what others say. Like I said earlier I am praying that the Lord word my mouth so that I do not say anything to anyone to offend them.

Big or not I think that I am a beautiful woman, always have, always will !!! You go girl!!!

What's Your Definitions?

I was given these definitions by my sister Assistant Principal of the Middle School.

Culture is shared commonalities among any group, i.e beliefs,    practices, ideas, rituals.
    Diversity means different, i.e.is the difference among any cultured    group.

    These used to be easy to define when people were not as mobile.  But    society, values and practices have changed so much, it is almost    impossible to "group" people anymore.  In my opinion, the term    culture diversity is obsolete and is replaced by multicultural.  I    think that before segregation and the Civil Rights movement, we were    culturally diverse.  Since then, we are a multicultural society.     Black society use to hold a set of common belief as did the White,    Hispanic and others.  But look today, our beliefs and values are    blended.  We are no longer a tossed salad society where each    ingredient (group) retains it own identity but we are a melting pot    where everyone is blended and does not hold one particular set of    values and belief.
    Segregation was good and bad in my opinion. Although segregation    afforded blacks opportunities to be exposed to more human and    physical resources, it It forced blacks to loose part of their    culture by forcing them to adhere to a "white" education system.     The system never addressed black culture but forced blacks to    conform to the 'white culture' expectations.  Although, other ethnic    groups have been adopted into this system as well, they have    programs like ESOL and Migrant education to address cultural    diversity or differences.  Textbooks and literature so-call    addresses cultural diversity but they do not truly recognize    cultural diversity.  Cultural diversity is a mindset, a change in    the way things are done and the expectations.  Cultural diversity    today would be to expect blacks to be louder with bass in their    voices, a little blunt and aggressive and always in survivor mode.     But this is viewed as disrespect or no home training.  We cultural    diversity is truly addressed, young black men will no longer be    gunned down for being black in a white neighborhood.

I was given these definitions by my BFF. Vanessa Bateman
Culture: The way we define who we are by looking at the different qualities that make up our lives, such as food, clothing, language, neighborhoods, etc.

Diversity: Differences held by people and society.

 These Definitions comes from the person that is culturally different from me. Mrs. Fitzgerald
Culture: the things that we have learned from our families that we honor and recognize as unique.
Diversity: The differences that we share.

As I read the definitions of the words culture and diversity from my family and friends we are all on the same page as far as the meanings of the words. Although Mrs. Fitzgerald is from a different culture than I we hold basically the same definitions of the words. All of the definitions that I have received have been touched on in the readings that we have has so far in this course. Even that opinion by my sister as far as how society views culture has been touched upon.

Some of the facts that have been omitted are the deep meanings of culture. With the last two sets of definitions there is a surface view of culture. We have learned that we should go beyond the obvious in ones culture into the deep understanding of culture.

My definitions are some similar to the definitions of the ones that I received, but I have learned to look deep into the cultures of others so that I can really get a true understanding of their culture.

My Family Culture

I would really hate it if I would have to be torn from my life as I know it and to be thrust into some country that I have never been to and that I am unfamiliar with. Sometimes major events happen in our lives that we have no control over. If a catastrophic event were to take place and I did have to relocate to another country and I could only take a change of clothes and three small items I would take:

1. My family scrapbook/photo album
2. My Bible
3. A pair of earrings given to me by my mother on my wedding day.

I would explain that the scrapbook.photo album holds all of the memories that I cherish most from the beginning of life with my children, family historical events, and memories of how we looked long ago compared to how we look now.
I would describe the Bible as being the root of my life and that every word of it was so important that it was a life and death situation.
I would describe the earrings of a tangible blessing that my mother gave me as a symbol of her love and support of me.

I would be devastated because each one of the items listed above mean so much to me and I wouldn't want to part with any of them. The first thing that I would give up would be my Bible. The reason why I would give up that physical Bible would be because I have the words of the Bible written upon the table of my heart and no one can take that away. That is why the Bible tell us to study to show thyself approved.

Some of the most simple things that mean so little to me, might just mean the world to someone else.

When I Think of Research

My God, this has been a long journey for me. I came into this class skeptical, but optimistic at the same time. I have to be honest with you I have really gained a lot from this class. I have learned to put my ideas together and to search ddeply for answers. This class has taught me some of the proper techniques for designing a research project, and puting it all together. The way that I view research has become more refined, because during research the researcher must make sure that the project will fall into an acceptable research project with all factors of the research taken into consideration.

One of the most exciting part for me was th fact tht my research smulation would have observations in it. That is exciting for me becasue I would love to see what I am researching unfol before my eyes. This method has to be be done very carefully as to not have biased opinions about what is being observed.

I have to admitt, this class has whipped me. I made so many mistakes trying to get this simulaton up to standard with a real research project. My thinking at times was too broad and genaral. Sometimes my areas were not lined up with each other. The research topic that I chose was a good one, but by the end of the course I had refined it so that it was not the original subject that I wanted to know more information about, but had become a totally different subject. I had to he help not only from the professor, but from you guys as well. Although I didn't do the best job in this class as I would have liked, there is still a need for research. The area of early childhood is constantky in need of research that will shed some light on the difficult tasks that arise in the field. so even though it is difficult I do support ealry childhood research and back it 100%.

Thanks to everyone that helped me to get through this class, I am truly grateful.


Sincerely,

Melanie

International Research: A Look Around the World

 

The site that I chose to visit was the Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Upon entering this site I was directed to a list of research projects that were being conducted.

Topics of research:

·         The Status of Coordination and Supervision of Early Childhood Education in Ghana.

·         Coordinating the Development and Implementation of the 2003 – 2013 National Action Plan (NAP) for Children in Malawi.

·         Improving the Quality of Childcare Through Parenting Enrichment and Training of Trainers: The Eritrean Model.

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I chose took review Curriculum Development Using Community Resources. This research was conducted to view the characteristics of school community relations in Bristol County in Rhode Island. The study focused on the use of community resources in reinforcing pre-primary and elementary school curriculum. The project is going to be used as a guide for the Horn of Africa by partnership management and structures, as well from correlation of theory and practice. This research project used the quantitative analysis method which was used to measure the community involvement in schools such as

•   percentage of parental engagement and involvement
•   the school performance classifications on the basis of students and schools’ meeting standards and other indicators (SALT survey data, infowork
•   the demographic and socio-economic background of the subject communitie
•   annual average household income

The partnership with Bristol communities and schools were positive. The schools welcome community involvement they invite the community in, accommodate them and create conductive environments. Parents and community members are keen in making a difference in the education of their children and in the overall improvement of the education system in the area.

The community and schools go to great extremes to make sure that they are working together for the benefit if the students. The one thing that caught my attention was the fact that the partnership formed the school improvement (planning) team (SIT). SIT is comprised of members of school committee, parents, teachers and the community. SIT holds a monthly meeting. Its goal is to develop school objectives and program activities, strategy for implementation and to ensure their completion.

Research and Children

The topic that I would choose to further investigate would be The Effect of Home Environments of Children. The reason that I chose this topic is because I see a lot of behaviors at school that stem from home environments. Some of these behaviors are postive and some are negative. For instance I have seen little girls who come to school and conduct themselves in a proper manner. What I mean by this is they are like little women, they know how to sit properly with a skirt on, they use their manners,and they want to be little helper in the classroom. These trait that I see I assume is being taught to them at home. Now on the other hand there is right now a little boy who is at pre-k now and he is struggling badly. He has to be sent to the principal's office at least 3 or 4 times during the week. He is disruptive in class and he is constanly getting into trouble. He recently had an evlauation or observation done by the SDD teacher, and during the evaluation or observation he was having a make believe phone conversation with one of his homeboys and they were talking about going to get some liquor so that they could get drunk. Now in my opinion he has picked up these things from his home environment. Sometimes parents do not realize that the environment that a child is expossed to has a lasting effect on how that chld will act and function. This type of research can help educate parents and teach them that every environment is not the right environment for children.

Researching My Way Through

The topic of interest through this course is finding techniques that will teach children to comprehend all lessons that they are taught. I had to narrow down my research topic and I what I chose to explore was learning through play. Learning through play has been a topic that we as early childhood studies students have recently been introduced to. I have seen first hand in the classroom how play is demonstrated by the kinds. When children are at play they will show exactly what they know. This is one method that can be explored to actually see if the children will comprehend.

Coming up with this topic for a simulation was challenging to me because my first sub-topic that I chose was to broad so I had to come up with another topic. I really would like to come up with a topic that explores teaching techniques that will enhance and ensure comprehension of students in early childhood.There was a technique previously used by teachers at pre-k that taught a letter every week, but Bright from the start did away with the letter of the week because they thought that it was not a successful way to teach children the alphabet. There are other techniques that can be implemented in the classroom that will get the job done.I want to explore those techniques and use them in the class room. So if there are any ideas please feel free to share with me.

My research chart is coming along well. There is one definition that I would like to share with you guys. During the reading of chapter 2 I saw that the book stated that the researcher should chose a topic of Significance. I found too that it is relevant that a research topic is of interest to other people besides that of the researcher. That way it will ensure that other people will follow and back the research.

Week 8 Assignment

I have learned through Michele’s Adventure and Godfrey her international contact who is an Early Childhood Education and Development Specialist from Kenya.

Godfrey shared

v  That their government is addressing the issue of equity because there are a large number of children who do not benefit from early childhood services due to inaccessibility and poverty.

v  That  Parliament is currently considering a policy that will make early childhood education part of the education system and therefore mandatory

Consequence:

I have become more aware of the issues in early childhood from an international perspective and I have realized that many countries are facing the same challenges in this area.

I have learned from the article Fostering Child Development through Empowerment, Unity, and Cooperation.

v   In a rural village in Paraguay, a Catholic Church relief organization named Pastoral Social, established Pastoral Del Nino. This organization employs a community-building model which teaches parents about their children’s needs and helps them by encouraging them to work together to strengthen the community.

Consequence:

I have learned that international communities employ programs and have organizations that are put into place to give it’s children, families, and communities a chance at learning skills that can benefit everyone as a whole and help educate the children and families alike.

Consequence:

I have learned that although I live here in the US other countries have similar struggles in their educational systems as we so, other countries set in lace programs and organizations to aid in the education of its children, and that the world as a whole is focusing on educating its future leaders.

One goal for international awareness:

I have resolved that I will continue to search for an international contact that I can communicate with. I was so impressed by Michele’s contact and how informative he was on the current issues in country. This type of contact can benefit me in my pursuit of this Early Childhood Studies Degree.

UNESCO'S Early Childhood Care and Education Web Page

The insights that I gained from Unesco were found under the news section. One article spoke on the role of education in a world of seven billion people.  Unesco believes that

v In a world of seven billion everyone has a right to an education

v Considers education to be the best insurance against poverty. It stresses the importance of education for sustainable human development and supports countries to improve access and quality and to redress inequalities in their education systems.

v Champions the efforts of 75 million teachers to provide quality education, and advocates for the training and recruitment of an additional 2 million teachers to achieve Education for All by 2015.

The article every child has a right to an education speaks on the Convention on the rights of the Child. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Convention, the biggest challenge is to eliminate disparities in education and to ensure that the core obligations of States regarding the right to education remain in the forefront, not only for accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, but for pushing the Education for All agenda forward. The right to education is not only a human right in itself but also essential for the exercise of all other human rights.

The article Early Childhood Care: The Earlier the Better states that Early childhood care and education carries enormous potential to address this emergency. From the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien in 1990 to the Dakar World Education Forum in 2000, UNESCO has constantly promoted an expanded and inclusive vision of learning. Over the past year, we have organized world conferences on inclusion, literacy and adult learning, education for sustainable development and higher education to further encourage this integrated, lifelong vision of learning. We also call it a holistic or a comprehensive approach. It simply means that we consider that learning enhances a person’s potential throughout life, from the earliest years through adulthood.

These articles opened reinforced my beliefs about early childhood education. I do believe that every child deserves the best education possible and that they deserve a teacher that will stop at no cost to make sure that they have imparted valuable and life changing lessons into a child

A Look At Inequity

 

Wow, this is fascinating we are studying this week about inequities and the newsletter that I subscribed to has an article about racial inequities. I am going to share it with you so that you can read it for yourself.

Racial Inequities: What Schools Can Do

EducationWorld is pleased to present this resource shared by the State Education Resource Center (SERC) in CT. This adapted material originally appeared in the SERC document Equity in Education: A Transformational Approach.
This article offers an overview of the problem of racial inequities in education and discusses changes that can be made in the area of leadership in order to meet this challenge. See part 2 of the article for additional strategies in the areas of professional capacity, school climate, school-family-community partnerships and teaching and learning.


W.E.B. Du Bois wrote in 1903 that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line—the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea.” Over 100 years later, we continue to see that problem of the color-line in our schools today: incredible disparities between the educational outcomes of children of color and their White counterparts. “In nearly every category associated with positive academic outcomes,” according to Pedro Noguera of New York University, “students of color typically are underrepresented, and in categories associated with negative outcomes, they are overrepresented.”

The State Education Resource Center (SERC), as part of its commitment to improve the achievement of Connecticut's children and youth, provides professional development and information dissemination in the latest research and best practices to educators, service providers, and families throughout the state, as well as job-embedded technical assistance and training within schools, programs, and districts.

The state of Connecticut and the nation as a whole are currently confronted by what is being called the civil rights crisis of our time: the loss of our students of color to the racial predictability of the achievement gaps. But students of color are not failing; our educational system is failing them.
For centuries, we have avoided discussing institutionalized racism and its detrimental effects on our students of color as well as their White peers. Such avoidance is mainly due to the uncomfortable feelings and reactions brought about by racial discourse. Feelings of resentment and guilt are some of the most common emotions experienced by people who engage in racial discourse.
Conversations about race and culture are not meant to be easy, but without them we will never begin to understand the root causes of our racial disparities and challenge our current thinking.
Educators within our school systems ask repeatedly for prescriptive strategies that will help them improve the academic achievement of students of color on high-stakes tests. What we need is a pedagogical approach that focuses not on racialized instructional strategies but on creating an educational environment that is culturally relevant and respectful. Based upon the work of researchers and practitioners in the field, SERC [State Education Resource Center in CT] defines a culturally relevant and respectful environment as having the following elements:

1. Teachers who are highly aware of their own beliefs, attitudes, and biases and those of others;
2. Students who are empowered to use their own cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives for academic success; and
3. A curriculum that engages and affirms both students’ and teachers’ identities, cultural and experiential reference points, and world views in the process of learning.

Only when instructional strategies are implemented in a context of mutual respect will we begin to see the impact of our efforts. A culturally and racially relevant approach allows educators to relate to students and allows students to connect to the curriculum and demonstrate their knowledge in meaningful ways.
Potential Solutions to Addressing Systemic Inequities
Creating equity at the district, school, and classroom levels requires this systemic and culturally relevant approach. The literature is replete with information on the essential elements of educational reform. Based upon the work of the Consortium on Chicago School Research, SERC has considered five critical elements: Leadership, Professional Capacity, School Climate, School-Family-Community Partnerships, and Teaching & Learning. These elements are essential in order to achieve systemic transformation in education and ensure an equitable education for all children.
Leadership
According to Hilliard (1995), in order to eradicate the racial predictability of the achievement gaps, leaders must have the skill, will, and knowledge to uproot the underlying factors that contribute to them – qualities that are often overlooked. Educators need to examine the structural practices that perpetuate the isolation of students of color in an educational system that historically was not created for them. This requires leadership positioned to provide the necessary pressures and supports for the development of this skill, will, and knowledge.
Almost every approach to educational reform acknowledges the role of leaders in directing efficient and sustainable change. Therefore, educational reform efforts must begin with leaders who demand high expectations for all students. Any tendency of a district, school administration, faculty, and/or staff to rationalize the failure of students of color as “normal” must not be tolerated.
Whether that rationalization is one of complacency because of a history of persistent and pervasive failure, or abdication of responsibility because of poverty, or a misperception that certain families do not value education, does not matter. Leaders must challenge any attitudes and beliefs, including their own, that accept the failure of students of color.
To move to a climate of high expectations and achievement for all students, leadership must focus on assessment and instruction that are effective for all students and ensure that results are continually monitored against the goals set forward to improve academic outcomes. Leaders must facilitate opportunities for members of their staff and community to courageously dialogue about the intersection of race and education. The understandings generated by such dialogue will serve as the platform to develop structural systems, policies, and practices that lead to higher student achievement. Leaders must assist school personnel and community members to clarify their understanding of what the Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change (2004) referred to as the “forces that maintain the racial disparity status quo and constrain the potential success of strategies for change.” We refer to this understanding as professional capacity.
References (in order of mention)
Du Bois, W.E.B. (1903). The souls of black folk. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co.
Noguera, P. A. and J. Y. Wing, Eds. (2006). Unfinished business: Closing the racial achievement gap in our schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
State Education Resource Center. (2009). Culturally responsive pedagogy working definition. Middletown, CT: SERC.
Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago (CCSR). (2010). Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hilliard, A. (1995). The maroon within us: Selected essays on African American community socialization. Halethorpe, MD: Black Classic Press.
Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change. (2004). Structural racism and community building. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute


This was interesting to me. There was one statement that I want to stress and it is that educational reform efforts must begin with leaders who demand  high expectations from all students. I agree with this, I too ask my students for their very best that they can give me being as they are pre-k  students.

Global Child Development

The Global Childhood Initiative has three strategic objectives that are used to build a portfolio of activity.

      Early childhood Development

      Child Mental Health

      Children in Crisis and Conflict Situations

Applying the Science of early childhood in Brazil

The Center aims to use the science of child health and development to guide stronger policies and larger investments to benefit young children and their families in Brazil.

This project represents a unique opportunity for the Center to work with Brazilian scholars, policymakers, and civil society leaders to adapt the Center’s programmatic model for the local context in order to catalyze more effective policies and programs that will, ultimately, foster a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable society.

Together, these organizations will engage in the following activities:

       Building a scientific agenda and community of scholars around early childhood development;

       Synthesizing and translating scientific knowledge for application to social policy. This will include working with the Center’s longtime partner organization, Frameworks Institute, to effectively communicate the science of child development in the Brazilian cultural context;

       Strengthening leadership around early childhood development through an executive leadership course for policymakers;

       Translating and adapting the Center’s existing print and multimedia resources for a Brazilian audience.

Articles on Early childhood Education

"Protecting Brains, Not Simply Stimulating Minds"

In an August 19 commentary in Science, Center Director Jack P. Shonkoff makes the case for scientists, practitioners, and policymakers to work together to design and test creative new interventions that mitigate the harmful effects of significant adversity in early childhood. As Shonkoff states in the commentary, "New strategies will be needed to strengthen the capacities of parents and providers of early care and education (beyond the provision of additional information and supports) to help young children cope with stress."

"Building a Foundation for Prosperity on the Science of Early Childhood Development"

Center Director Jack P. Shonkoff authored this article in the Winter 2011 issue of Pathways, a publication from the Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality. In the article, Shonkoff describes how poverty harms the cognitive development of children and impairs the biological “memories” created by gene-environment interactions, and discusses what can be done to break this entrenched cycle.

"Science Does Not Speak for Itself: Translating Child Development Research for the Public and Its Policymakers"

Science has an important role to play in advising policymakers on crafting effective responses to social problems that affect the development of children, according to this article co-authored by Center Director Jack P. Shonkoff and Susan Nall Bales, a contributing member of both the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and the National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs.  The article, which appears in the January/February, 2011, issue of Child Development, describes the work of a multi-year collaboration and underscores the need to view the translation of science into policy and practice as an important academic endeavor in its own right.

"Neuroscience and the Future of Early Childhood Policy: Moving from Why to What and How"

This article, by Center Director Jack P. Shonkoff and Pat Levitt, science director of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, advocates for greater synergy between neuroscience and innovation in early childhood policy to improve life outcomes for children experiencing significant adversity. As the authors state, “Neuroscience can play an important role in catalyzing the creative, new thinking needed to shape a new era of policies.”  The article appears in the September 9, 2010, issue of Neuron