Research Around the World

The international website that I chose was the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA).  The website is http://www.eecera.org/.  Some of the current research topics are "What Constitutes the Preschool Curricula?", "Parental Influence on the Development of Children's Storytelling", "Stay and Play or Play and Chat; Comparing Roles and Purposes in Case Studies of English and Australian Supported Play Groups" and "Make-believe Play versus Academic Skills: A Vygotskian Approach to Today's Dilemma of Early Childhood Education." 
This website is one of the most prestigious early childhood journals in the world that is published four times annually.  It is also one of only four early years journals indexed by the Institute for Scientific Information.  The article that interested me was "Make-believe play versus academic skills: A Vygotskian approach to today's dilemma of early childhood education."  This article discusses the challenges facing early childhood educators in Russia and in the West as it relates to play and the Vygotskian approach.  Through Vygotsky's approach and what we have learned about play, children can gain necessary academic skills by engaging in make-believe play.  Basically, children learn best through play.

Research that Benefits Children and Families

The topic that I chose that would make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children is "Classroom Strategies that Support Positive Peer Relationships and Friendships."  The positive contributions would be that through my coaching and modeling appropriate behavior, children would be able to take turns, share and work together.  Children who recognize positive consequences of a behavior are more likely to behave that way again.  The main goal is to identify the problem and develop a plan to help children which would support positive peer relationships.

Personal Research

     My topic of research is learning how effective are early childhood curricula and how does it affect outcomes and program quality.  The reason I am interested in this topic is because I am a Center Supervisor for a Head Start & Early Head Start program.  In our program, we have changed from various types of curricula.  The one we have been using for about 10 years now, is the Creative Curriculum.  I am interested in researching other curricula to understand how effective others can be or not be and what type of outcomes and program quality it can enhance my program or other programs.  I want to be able to provide the best educational experience to the children in the Head Start & Early Head Start program that I serve.                                        

Establishing Professional Contacts

 I chose to establish contacts with Europe and South Africa.  I am excited about learning about early childhood education from other parts of the world.  I have not had any luck with hearing from my contacts as of yet, but I will keep trying. 
I chose the National Black Child Development Institute as my related website.  They sent me a confirmation stating that they would be sending me newsletters and information concerning their organization. 

My Supports

     One of my main supports is my mother.  She is always encouraging me to do my best in whatever I do.  She's my best friend.  I can talk about and share anything with her.  She is always there to listen and understand.   She is supportive in what I do especially going back to school to work on my Master's Degree.  Another support is my fiance'.  He gives me lots of support both spiritual and physical.  He's always there to listen, give me advice and help me through any issues that I may be encountering.  He always reminds me that everything will be okay and I shouldn't let little obstacles get in my way because I'm more than a conqueror.
     Another support are my teachers.  I have 25 teachers that I supervise and they are always there to give me the support that I need.  They brighten my day with the kind words and encouragement they give to me.  Sometimes I have to make decisions that they don't like, but they understand it is beneficial and helpful for them. I'm glad that I have a team of teachers who can take the good with the bad and still be supportive.
     My other support is my best friend, Deborah.  She calls me every day and gives me an encouraging word that gets me through the day.  When we're both not so busy, we take the time to go out for lunch, go shopping and enjoy each other's company.  I couldn't ask for a better friend.  She's always there whenever I need her.
     Not having support from anyone, would be a challenge for me.  I'm used to having family and friends to surround me with the love and support that I need.  Without having that support, I wouldn't be able to endure some of the things that I am faced with and I wouldn't have anyone that I could vent to.  Everyone needs some type of. support system
        

My Connections to Play

     Through play, children learn what no one can teach them.
                                                            Lawrence Frank

     Play is a child's life and the means by which he comes to understand the world he lives in.

                                                             Susan Isaacs


        When I was a young child, my family and my teachers supported my play.  As I can recall, my gramdmother and my mom would always say, "You need to play.  It's good and healthy for you."  Each day I would go outside and play with my friends.    I would make mudcakes and pretend they were pies, play house with my dolls and play games such as "Duck, Duck Goose', "Red Light, Green Light", "Hide-and-Go-Seek and "Simon Says."  Those were good days and fun days.  I was not allowed to sit in front of the TV all day.  The onl;y time  I really watched TV was on Saturdays because cartoons were on most of the day.  My teachers supported my play when I was in kindergarten and first grade.  There were centers set-up in the classroom which supported that extra play in addition to going outside for recess. It made school and learning more fun.  My favorite center was dramatic play because I always liked to dress-up.
         I feel that play today is similar and different from the play that I engaged in as a child.  Children still play the outdoor games that I played when I was younger.  Children have a more variety of toys and games to play with today.  I was limited to the toys that we had to play with.  I basically grew up playing with dolls, legos,  lincoln logs and the etch-a-sketch.  Today,  children have so many manipulatives and blocks to choose from.  Some children don't play as much because they have video games and the computer to occupy their time which is not healthy for them.  They're missing out on the physical activities as well as taking in some fresh air.  My hope is that more adults will understand the value of play and how it is meaningful to their children.  As we can see, more and more children are obese or have more health issues due to lack of play and engaging in physical activities.  Play is needed for all children.  There's more to gain than to be lost if you don't engage in play. 
         Although I'm older now, I still engage in play with the children at my center and they enjoy it.  Play is something that is fun and enjoyable and will never go away, but it will continue to go on and on whether we we choose to engage in it or not.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships/Partnerships are important to me because it gives you that sense of security in knowing that you have someone that you can confide in and trust. It's that feeling of knowing that when you are feeling down or going through situations that those who are close to you are there to give you advice, be a friend and to give you that support that is needed.
Several people with whom I have positive relationships with are my mother-Sandra, my daughters-Tiara & Shakira, my fiance'-Johnavon, my best friend-Natoshia and my pastor-Nicholas.  Each relationship is positive because they are always encouraging me to be the person that I am and strive to do my best in everything that I do by putting God first.  Factors that contribute to developing and maintaining each relationship is the unconditional love and the special bond that each reflects on my life.
Insights regarding challenges to developing and maintaining relationships that I have learned from my experiences over time are that you must be patient, able to accept constructive criticism whether good or bad and be a good listener, not always wanting to voice your opinions.
Special characteristics of these relationships are that I share a unique bond with each individual.  It makes our relationship special and strong.
My experiences with relationships/partnerships has impacted my work as an effective early childhood professional because I can better understand the issues or concerns that affect my 27 staff.  I have a close and positive relationship with each of them.  Sometimes it can be challenging, but they each know that I am there for them every step of the way. 

When I Think of Child Development...

   I reflect on this quote about children:  "We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today."  Stacia Tauscher
    We must support and encourage our children each day of their lives so that they will become successful later in life.  Thanks to everyone for your encouraging words and interesting stories.  It has been great!

Testing for Intelligence

         I feel that children's intelligence should not be measured or assessed.  All children do not learn at the same pace and are not on the same level.  What does measuring or assessing a child entell; how smart or not so smart children are.  Some children, regardless of their disabillity, can be smart in some areas and not smart in other areas.  Marian Diamond, a neuropsychologist at the University of California-Berkeley, has discovered that the human brain can change and improve with use.  Diamond's theory of the "Plasticity of the Brain" implies that environmental conditions, interpersonal stimulation and the way in which individuals think and behave actually change the body, brain and intelligence (Hine, 2007).  Every child is smart to varying degrees in each of the intelligences, stronger in some ways and less developed in others.  By broadening our view of intelligence and valuing and nurturing abilities of children, we can open doors by using the strengths of children as a means of complementing their less developed areas.
        In Japan, emotional intelligence is not a fad, but a cultural value.  Logical intelligence in Japan is seen as inferior to emotional intelligence.  The logical truth is set aside for the sake of getting along with one another.  They believe in letting children learn on their own.  In Japan, they believe that emotional intelligence should be avoided because the more conflicts that are encountered, the more opportunities you have to learn from it.

Hine, C. (2007). Developing Multiple Intelligences in Young Learners. Early Childhood News. Retrieved
    from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com
Suematsu, D. (2007, October 7). Should We Teach "Emotional Intelligence" to Our Children?  Retrieved
     from http://dyske.com

Stress on Children's Development

     One stressor that I experienced as a child was childhood diseases.  I recall contracting chickenpox as a young child.  While playing with my cousin over the weekend, he was already a carrier of chickenpox because he broke out in bumps everywhere on that Monday.  By the end of the week, I had broke out as well.  I had never experienced something so bad in my life.  All the bumps with the itching and scratching, taking lots of Benadryl and the misery.  I could not go outside to play with my friends.  That was horrible.  Chickenpox is a contagious disease that I don't wish on anyone.  I'm very glad that I was able to go through it as a child and not as an adult.  My grandmother experienced it as an adult and she had major complications and had a hard time getting over it.
     A part of the region that faces many childhood diseases is Haiti.  The children face diseases such as diarrhea, respiratory infections, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS which are the leading causes of death amongst children.  A lot of these diseases are due to poverty and inadequate access to basic health care.  It is estimated that there are 19,000 children with HIV/AIDS in Haiti.  Other things that are high risk are hepatitis A and E and typhoid fever which are caused by lack of water.  Children are particularly vunerable because they depend on adults to care for them.

          Resource:
Wilkinson, E. (2010, January 15). Haiti Children at Risk of Disease. BBC News. Retrieved from
     http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools 

Public Health---Malnutrition in Young Children

     Malnutrition occurs when a person does not consume a sufficient amount of food.  Roughly 9 percent of the world's children suffer from being malnourished because they do not get the calories they need for energy and the nutrients essential for proper growth and maintenance of body tissues. 
     This topic is meaningful to me because there are children all over the world who suffer from malnutrition.  Malnutrition can stem from a mother not eating healthy or properly during her pregnancy or children not having adequate amounts of foods to eat.  These children are underweight and they don't have enough body tissues to help fight off diseases that may attack their bodies.  Without proper nutrition, it can affect the child's brain development and cause marasmus.  Their growth stops, body tissues waste away and the infant eventually dies.  The right balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins including plenty of grains, fruits and vegetables that can reduce the risk of diseases.
     In India, 42 percent of the children are underweight and 60 percent of the children are stunted due to inadequate nutrition during the mother's pregnancy.  Research have found that poor nutrition is due to inappropriate feeding practices due to the ignorance about nutrition among Indian parents.  Parents focus on providing their children cereals more than any other foods.  Food prices have soared in India over the last six years, causing hardship for 455 million people who live below the poverty line.  This has caused the level of malnutrition in children to be exceptionally high.
     I don't see where the information that I have learned may impact my future work.  The Head Start program that I work for ensures that all children receive healthy and nutritious meals for breakfast, lunch and snack.  We offer trainings to families to learn how to cook healthy meals and how to shop and cook on a budget.  If any families that we serve are having any hardships about not having any food or low on food to feed their children, we have resources available to assist them with this issue so that their families will not go hungry.

          Resources
Berger, K.S. (2009). The Developing Person Through Childhood. (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth      
     Publishers.

Mudur, G.S. (2012, January 11). Nutrition Surprise in Rich Kids. The Telegraph. Retrieved from
     http://www.telegraphindia.com   

Childbirth and My Personal Birthing Experience

        My personal birthing experience was when I gave birth to my first child.  This was and still is a lifetime experience.  I was in labor with my daughter for 18 1/2 hrs.  After being in labor for that long period of time, she had not dropped far enough that I could deliver her, so the nurse asked me to walk around for a little to see if she would drop.  This was very hard for me to do because I was experiencing hard contractions, but I tried.  After walking for about 5 minutes, I made my way back to the room, only to discover that she still had not dropped any.  I was then taken to the delivery room and the nurse told me to start pushing , to see if she would start coming, but no luck at all.  The doctor had to use forceps in order for me to deliver her.  What an experience that was, but I gave birth to a healthy 6lbs. 21oz. baby girl on July 8, 1991.  I chose this example because this was my first born child and a personal experience that will stay with me forever.  There's nothing more precious  than giving birth to a child.  it gives you that assurance and confidence of knowing that for 9 months you carried and watched a fetus grow inside of you and now it has developed into a baby.  Childbirth has an impact on child development because it is where everything begins and progresses and develops through the child's life.
        In Africa, mostly the rural areas, where resources are scarce, ladies give birth at home with the elderly ladies of the family assisting.  If any complications arises while the lady gives birth, no help is available at hand.  They have traditional birth attendants that can advise them about nutritional needs and help the expectant mother with small changes that may be occurring with her body, but they are not reliable when the delivery progress starts.  I learned that in poorer regions of the world, ladies give birth at home and not at hospitals or medical facilities and without doctors, nurses or midwives.  I feel very grateful that i was able to give birth in a hospital, with support from my family, doctors and nurses.  It is very unfortunate that ladies who are from poorer areas or regions of the world are not able to receive any prenatal or medical care or assistance of doctors or midwives to help through the labor and delivery process.  This increases maternal and infant deaths, especially in Africa.

Ali, S. (2011).  Giving Birth in Africa: A Moment of Joy or Agony and Fear.  Retrieved from
     http://cureafrica.com/blog