ECE AROUND THE GLOBE!

When I first began to think about who I was going to be interviewing I must admit I was a little nervous about sending out a random email and asking someone questions about their early education journey.   As I was perusing though the website options for the alternative to part one I remembered that I had two family members in this field! I have an aunt in Barbados that is a nursery school teacher and and aunt in St. Kitts who is the principal of an elementary school.  I've downloaded a texting app called "Whatsapp" that allows you to text people in other countries free of charge to both parties.  While I'm interested in learning more from both of them in regards to their experiences in this field, finding a third person that I do not have any ties to has suddenly become more intriguing than scary.
  In regards to which organization I decided to study, I picked Harlem Children's Zone.  I picked this because when I was in high school I interned in their fiscal office and other than that sadly I do not know much about what they offer.  I know they have a multitude of programs in the city and they provide many services for children and adults, but that's barely scratching the surface.  As I was going down the list of possible organizations I found it sad that the one place I should know the most about I honestly knew the least.    I could navigate through the zero to three website with ease and can't name three programs the organization I worked for when I was 16-18 provides for the early education community.  That's going to change!

MY SUPPORT SYSTEM

Having a strong support system makes all the difference in accomplishing daily tasks.  Support can come from everywhere throughout your day.  Between family,friends, coworkers, and even the children in my care, I am constantly surrounded by various support systems.  My biggest support comes from my mother, who without fail sends me everything from good morning texts with everything from prayers (reminding me to put faith in God in regards to all I do), youtube videos, and jokes at 630am makes sure to check on me throughout the day as well.  She even talks to me when I leave my second job at midnight to make sure that I have someone to discuss my day with and to make sure that I make it  to my house safely.  I don't remember us being this close before I began living alone, but she's always been extremely supportive.  In fact the other day, I had a dream about becoming an astronaut and called her to tell her about it, to which she responded "well you said that a lot when you were younger, i don't see why you can't still make it to space".   I don't know anyone else on the planet that would have responded with support to my wanting to visit the moon.  I can picture my dad and brother laughing in my face or waving me off if I even brought that up.  Another huge pillar of support in my life is my mom's youngest sister (she's one of 22 kids, I call them the original Brady Bunch), my aunt Jennifer.  My aunt is just as supportive as my mother, they both encourage me to succeed and celebrate my accomplishments daily.  I'd rather not discuss how difficult it would be to exist without their support, because currently I cannot imagine that and the thought itself is overwhelmingly scary.   Support also comes from my coworkers, I can't count the number of notebooks I have filled with information learned from other teachers.  I can't imagine being a successful teacher without support from coworkers.  Sometimes I might not understand or agree with what I'm being told, but I always feel comfortable enough to express my feelings.  Sometimes, coworkers and above do not like being told that their way is not the correct way, but one thing that I've learned after taking three classes at Walden and not getting to physically see any of my colleagues was that keeping quiet doesn't help anybody.  I've had extremely informative conversations, debates if you will, in regards to topics and how I've responded and how others responded, all while remaining respectful and open minded.  I didn't even realize until now that I can officially add Walden to my support system list.  Being a teacher without a support system would be extremely hard.  There have been times where I was not prepared to deal with certain behaviors or not able to reach a child academically and felt frustrated because in a sense I was failing the child.  The only way to help, was to seek help from people who had gone through similar situations in classrooms for years before me.  
A challenge I came up with would be aving any terminal illness.   I know my family would be my support system through that, I got a tooth pulled a few years ago and my parents got me a bell.  Even if I'm sick now, my mom urges me to come over and stay with them.  Which is comforting, even though my mom thinks the solution to every ailment is tea haha.   Constant support and encouragement from my family would be enough to help me continue.  Becoming seriously ill is out of your control and that's why I would need the support, I wouldn't survive without that lifeline.  Without it, knowing I wasn't well enough to make a difference in my classroom or that I didn't have anyone rooting for me would kill me.  I can't even imagine, I tried, I really did, the mere thought of losing my support system and not being able to contribute to the one thing I am extremely passionate about is depressing

MY CONNECTIONS TO PLAY

QUOTES:

(That remind me of my childhood) 

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” – Mr. Rogers

"In play a child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior. In play it is as though he were a head taller than himself"

Lev Vygotsky
Russian psychologist
1896–1934

From what I remember, I really enjoyed playing with.....

... I still play with my Super Nintendo, I encourage my God son to play with pots and pans to make music, my little cousins love playing with my huge Barbie selection, and playing with sticks with my class is the most fun part of each day!

When I was younger I played with everything from sticks outside to my rock and shell collections, all the way to barbies and action figures. I loved dressing up and pretending to be a doctor and dressing my younger brother up in turn giving myself a sister. My mom even has pictures of me somewhere playing with pots and pans.  My parents grew up in the West Indies and often reminisced about how they made their own toys, from milk carton cars to grass dolls. Their upbringing and strong feelings to wards children needing to play and explore influenced my love of playing and getting as creative as possible. I'd make dolls out of clay and paper, plan extravagant trips for our toys, pretend the living room table was a spaceship.... Anything. I played for a long time, when most people were turning away from toys my Christmas list was still full of requests.

     Play today is much different because parents today seem to think kids are fragile. I hope I'm able to explain that correctly.  I remember going to the park, climbing over rocks, falling down skinning my knee, getting back up and making friends. What I've seen recently is parents limiting play locations to playgrounds and indoor play spaces. There's not as much leeway to go exploring as I remember growing up, then again the world is crazier than it used to be so I understand the need to be safe and contained.  There's also a lot of playing on IPADS, which upsets me. Apps are not substitutes for running around outside, socializing, and playing. It's infuriating that so many parents have given up on letting their kids be kids and have settled for plopping them in front of an iPad to get their daily dose of playtime. 

     I've always loved play. My parents encouraged it when I was younger and they're both still playful now. We played dodgeball in my house last thanksgiving! I play scrabble with my mom occasionally, we all take turns playing with younger generations.  My brother lets my younger cousins play games where he's the "bad guy" and needs to be captured.  I'm thankful I was born into such a playful family. I play basketball with my godson and video games by myself, play will always be apart of my life. The parents of my students always always always make comments about how much fun I am and how they love watching me play with their kids because you can't tell us apart (myself at age 26 and 3-4 year olds ha). Play is important for all ages, whether you have access to toys or need to get creative, you need play to flourish and learn. 

References 

http://www.oneperfectdayblog.net/2013/02/21/quotes-about-the-importance-of-play/

http://www.museumofplay.org/education/education-and-play-resources/play-quotes

RELATIONSHIP REFLECTION

Relationships are important to me because they help you gain a better understanding of who you are and what your place is in the world.  A relationship can help build you up or knock you down, you can learn about skills you didn't know you embodied or you could learn about your weaknesses.  Everyone that you have a relationship with is important, from the family you are given to the friends you choose.  Every relationship that I maintain is important to me.  I don't make a habit of keeping anyone around me that does not have a positive effect on my life.  Along my personal journey I have had to let go of family and friends alike that brought me down.  Sometimes people use their relationship with you to manipulate you and see how much they can take, which is horrible, but that journey is also one I appreciate because it helps to build strength in character. 
 My most important relationships are the ones with my family.  Over the years I have added friends to that list as well, but I'm referring to my immediate family.  My mom is one of 22 and one of them I include in my immediate family as well because she helped my parents raise me since they both worked full time.  I could not imagine not being able to communicate with them, they provide everything from advice to support on a daily basis.  Even though my brother only answers his phone once in a blue moon, I appreciate him as well.  It took me awhile to realize how important family was, I had a long stage where I thought that I only needed my friends.  Boy am I glad that I grew out of that!  Especially now that I live alone, I spend more time bothering my family than I do any of my friends.
I met my best friend when I was eight years old.  Her version of our meeting starts at age ten, in fifth grade, but that's something I've been working on letting go... Even though she is wrong haha.  I love my best friend! She was the reason I initially realized I was interested in the early childhood education field, despite my mother telling me for years to become a teacher.  I could talk to my best friend about everything and nothing at the same time for hours.  She's also married and has a son, and the relationships I have with her new family (as well as her old family) are ones that I cherish as well!
My friends from undergrad have also turned into my family as well.  I started school early during the summer before fall semester and was apart of a science program where I was able to meet some really great people.  The lessons learned from age 17 through graduation at 22 were incomparable to anything I've ever experienced.  My roommates have taught me more than I could have ever imagined learning from anyone, my friends I speak to on a daily basis.  Every once in a while I'll even get a random text or email from someone with a random memory or simply checking in on how I'm doing.  I appreciate my undergrad relationships.  It's amazing to have gone through the early stages of adulthood and finding myself with such great people. 
I've also gone to a ton of concerts, my friends that I've made concert hopping are also considered family now.  We've road tripped, had amazing luck stories, hung out with stars, lived backstage at concerts, and experienced a slew of other extremely rad moments that nobody else would ever understand or believe.  We're a group of misfits that found each other one by one and we all love each other.  
I also appreciate my relationships with my coworkers.  Both in school and at the hospital.  The wealth of information I learn from them is overwhelming.  Living in New York City it has been impossible for me to live and only have one job, so I spend most of my time working.  Between teaching, overnights in a hospital, tutoring, and babysitting, I am always busy.  Being around my coworkers for most of my week has been a joy for the most part.  When they aren't being crazy and letting work get to them, they are all amazing people.  I have one in particular that knows literally everything about everything and inspired me to finally get my masters! 
My biggest challenge is making time to maintain these relationships.  Everyone above (minus my family and best friend) is constantly upset with me because I put work first.  As much as I would like it to, catching up and not working does not pay my bills and a lot of the people in my life don't understand my dedication.  I love them, I know that they love me, but I have to do what makes sense.  These relationships will change if I end up being in a position where I need more than a conversation because I chose to hang out instead of work and lost my job & home.  That's my biggest problem with relationships and partnerships, there aren't enough hours in a day to please everyone.  I try, I really do try, but I can't keep up most of the time.  
Having a partnership, to me, means you are working towards a common goal.  Everyone in my life wants each other to do and have better than they do.  One thing about the relationships that I have is that, while they may seem selfish when they don't receive enough attention, they want whats is best for me and they remain supportive.   
Being an early childcare professional has helped to develop and enhance my patience.  I believe that has helped my relationships in life more than I could have every imagined.  I'm able to problem solve and listen better, I don't get upset as easily...  If you can solve a dispute between three year olds, watch a four year old learn how to read, and spend a year preparing young minds for kindergarten while paying attention to all problems and maintaining a relationship with their families your chosen relationships and family relationships become much easier.  I love all of the classes that I've been apart of, I even keep in contact with some of the families till this day.  I went to a birthday party upstate a week ago, I babysit previous students, and tutor others.  I'm thankful for those relationships as well.
 

Thank you

I appreciate the wealth of knowledge shared between everyone in the class via our blogs.  Thank you everyone!  Over this course I have saved your sources and learned so much about so many topics and I am extremely appreciative! Best of luck!

 Kara Cashwell,
During this course I had the pleasure of discussing various issues with my colleagues, some we all agreed on and some we were able to politely discuss our opposing views and come to an agreement.  For that reason, the first person that comes to mind that I would like to thank is Kara Cashwell.  I even wrote about how much our week six debate helped me in feeling more secure and assertive with being able to express and explain my beliefs at work, listen to feedback, and be more open to understanding where someone else is coming from.  I appreciate you for sharing your opinion while still being open minded to listening to mine.  I also really enjoyed reading your blog entries and discussion posts!  Wishing you the best on your journey!

Kind Regards,

Sherria Green

Lisa Brownell,

During this course I looked forward to reading your blog.  Your entries are always full of information that I can take with me and utilize in my own research and at work.  You explain everything and support your findings with superb sources, and I am extremely grateful to have gotten to learn from you a second time.  I have also saved (and fallen in love with) your Dr. Seuss quote, "a person is a person no matter how small". Thank you for always making your entries interesting and descriptive, while getting straight to the heart of the discussion quickly.  Wishing you the best on your journey!!

Kind Regards,

Sherria Green

Education, creativity and learning!

       I enjoyed learning about Piaget's view on education and learning, so what better way to end this chapter of my Walden University journey than to use quotes from Jean Piaget.  I will be taking everything I learned from this course along with me as I continue my way through this exciting field. Everyday in my classroom is a refreshing experience and my time at Walden is enhancing every moment.  The deeper I get into this journey the more I am able to assist my colleagues and feel more comfortable leading my class.  Piaget encouraged creativity and letting kids take the time to learn on their own and giving children the tools necessary to aid them in finding out who they are and how they learn.  That belief is what I pride myself on, helping my class learn how to question everything and to think for themselves without being told how to think and accepting everything for face value.        

        I've enjoyed this course and appreciate everything I have learned so far at Walden. Wishing everyone the best of luck as they continue on their journey, hope you enjoyed my blog as much as I have enjoyed reading through yours!

The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive and discoverers, who can be critical and verify, and not accept, everything they are offered.  All while remaining creative and thirsty for more knowledge. 

-Jean Piaget 

"Play is the answer to how anything new comes about"

-Jean Piaget 

Reference 

Jean Piaget Quotes. (2014). Jean Piaget Quotes (Author of The Psychology of Intelligence). Retrieved June 28, 2014, from http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/12064.Jean_Piaget

Standardized testing

Considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically, in my opinion, should not include standardized testing.   There are children that can recite everything they learned over the course of the year with their eyes closed and hands tied behind their back that get nervous when they are expected to sit in a timed exam knowing their advancement into the next grade depends on their scoring.  It has a negative impact on their anxiety, it can be overwhelming, and stressful to make children take multiple exams on various subjects.  

When I was in high school I went to what was called a "portfolio school".   Where everyone else had to take many regents, outside of math and English, we had to put together a presentation under a rubric created by the school that gave each of us a chance to utilize everything we learned over the course of the year and present it to a board of teachers that were not necessarily the ones we learned from.  That to me was a true assessment of what was learned over the year. I believe that is the type of assessment kids should have to undergo. There were options on how you could present what you learned, it was always fair because you were presenting to teachers that did not know you but knew the material that u needed to know, and it wasn't as stressful because you were showcasing exactly what you knew. As opposed to a three hour long test full of 100 random questions that you might not be comfortable with. 

As I was finding information that would support my opinion I stumbled across ascd.org. The website explained why standardized testing did not measure children holistically. "Recognizing the substantial pressure to sell standardized achievement tests, those who market such tests encounter a difficult dilemma that arises from the considerable curricular diversity in the United States. Because different states often choose somewhat different educational objectives (or, to e fashionable, different content standards), the need exists to build standardized achievement tests that are properly aligned with educators' meaningfully different curricular preferences.  The problem becomes even more exacerbated in states where different counties or school districts can exercise more localized curricular decision making" (www.ascd.org).  How can you measure kids on a whole and everything they've learned over the year with one test when the curriculum varies by school? It simply does not make sense. 

In 1975 the Netherlands created a national curriculum for everyone to follow (http://Eric.ed.gov). Along with Sweden and Germany the educators believe that standardized testing does not always tie into what they teach during the school year. I Originally tried to find more information on St. Kitts and Barbados (my parents islands of origin), but wasn't able to, but I also have family in Europe so that was my next step. Apparently the consensus (of the internet at least) is that only America doesn't seem to understand that the standardized testing of children is ineffective and unfair. 

I loved that my high school gave us the portfolio option. I believe children as young as eight and nine would be able to decide on a project and showcase what they learned over the year and explain it to their educators. Giving them a choice and allowing them to show their strengths allows the educators to witness their weak points and explain them to them and decide if they learned enough over the year. A standardized test doesn't let you know what you messed up on, you just get placed in a percentile.  

References 

1. http://Eric.ed.gov/?id=ED304455

2. www.ascd.org