Collegial Relations

 Incorporating international awareness on the current issues we all are facing is important in ECE field. A goal of mine would to be more aware of how our neighboring countries handle issues of poverty, budget cuts, and other issues related to the field. I feel it would be great to share experiences and ideas of the field and observe new techniques to teaching small children.

My Supports

When reflecting on my support system, I would definitely have to say that my three children, my twin brother and extended family would be my greatest supports. My three children have given me the strength and courage to live another day and to continue to strive for a better life for them. Being a single parent, I'm all my children have to lean on and look up to, with that said my main focus is to be that positive role model for them. My twin brother has Cerebral Palsy and he also looks at me for strength and guidance. He lives independently with two roommates who have CP as well. The have around the clock care with supportive staff to assist them. He is my support system solely because I know that he relies on me to make sure that the company who cares for him is following protocol and guidelines when it comes to him. Considering I'm the only one within our family who checks in on him on a regular basis, he relies on me heavily. My extended family supports me with my goals and tries to offer valid and useful advice. When I look back on the support that I have, it reveals how others rely on me to help them or be that person they can always come to in need of help or a listening ear. This type of support is fine with me because it's what keeps me going everyday. Just knowing that I am needed by someone is a great feeling. I don't have an idea as to where I would be without my children or family. They have given me the inner strength to be the person I am today and to continue to reach for higher goals.

I often think about what it be like if the shoe was on the other foot and I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. I would wonder who would be there for me and how. My hopes would be that my family would support my everyday living and be proactive in my life. Just knowing that I have someone who looks in on me often and makes sure that I'm receiving the ultimate care in my living situation would be all that would need in terms of support. I would like to live as independently as possible but be aware that help is there if needed. Having a support system in place would mean a lot to me because with the challenges of CP can be overwhelming and to know I have family and friends who are there to comfort me through these challenges is what would brighten my cloudy days. Without them, being in this condition could be detrimental to my whole being.

My Connections to Play

Spending time at a small stream is delightful with so many things to explore around me. I would spend my time throwing small pebbles into the water to see the splashes that it would make. The  flowers around me smell so good I would almost enhale the whole stem. Lying in the grass around the stream is one of my favorite past times. I like to look up in the sky and count the clouds while the sun is gleaming in my eyes. Sometimes I imagine the shapes of the clouds and pretend to touch them. My mind wonders about how the the sun and the clouds are so far in the sky. Often there has been times when I take my favorite toys and coloring books to the stream and lie on my blanket and spend my day creating various pictures from the ones I have colored. My mom comes to get me from the stream when it's time to eat lunch or when it's getting late and I have to come in for the evening. I have so much fun when I'm at my special place at the stream.

Relationship Reflection

Having a strong bond with someone whether it be a family member, friend or significant other is important to who we are mentally and physically. It's about having that person you connect with on such a greater level opposed to a typical coworker or neighbor. The people I have in my life that I feel that  unbreakable bond with are my best friend of over 20 years, my sister and two cousins and my aunt who passed two years ago. These people are imperative to my life because they keep me grounded and I can discuss anything with them without the worries of how will they digest the information I have just given them or fear that they will reject me in any way. I trust them wholeheartedly and try reciprocate that trusting bond with them. These relationships grew over the years and throughout it all managed to be unbreakable. Friends come in and out of our lives for different reasons and seasons, however bonded relationships are there to weather the storms and enjoy the rainbows at the end.


When I loss my aunt, it was like losing my mother. She was always there for me and we were like best friends. She was there when I delivered my son. She taught me how to be the woman I am today. I appreciated her wisdom and support throughout the years. The strangest thing was how the same connection we had , she had similar relationships with the majority of the family. She was the glue which held the family together. I loved her so because when my own mother relinquished her responsibilities as a mother, my aunt gave me what I needed to feel whole. I will always love her for that


My children are within that bond as well, but their existence brings me a much greater joy. I am the mother of three beautiful children a son who will son be 17 and two daughters ages 9 and 5. They are my world and are the reason why I breathe.  The love that they give me is unconditional, and they look for me to give them guidance. I try to be that positive role model for them because I know they are watching me at all times. Their mere existences is what gives me the drive to push forward in all my endeavors.

By having such a strong relationship with close friends and family is important to have outside of the early childhood profession because it's that extra key we need to feel whole. There is nothing greater to know that you have a support system in place when things go right or wrong. It's a sense of fulfillment in order to be complete mentally and physically. Without it how can we teach children to build healthy relationships with their peers if we are lacking the concept of what a healthy relationship is.

GREAT QUOTES ABOUT CHILDREN

"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure."
                                                                                                   Emma Goldman

Testing for Intelligence

Measuring and/or assessing a child’s intelligence are some things that do not sit too well with me. In my opinion putting children through rigorous standardized tests such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), to measure their strength and weaknesses in certain areas seems unnecessary. Once the testing is complete what does it prove? How does the child feel when he or she does not score as high on these tests? These are a few concerns that I have when children are tested for intelligence. In developing the whole child, we must embrace their individuality, creativity, and their intellectual by not administering tests like children are lab rats or something of the sort. The results can be devastating and mentally harmful to the child who does not score high on the scale. And for the child who scores off the charts, what does he or she become? The child is now known as a genius based solely on a test. My question is how this affects them mentally and socially. Does their status change with their peers? These are issues that children should not have to worry about.

In Greece, the state has vaguely supported the idea of psychological testing of children even though the need for it has been documented. The majority of instruments are adaptations of foreign tests and range from a mere translation of the instrument to limited standardization effort with children residing in the capital of Greece, Athens. The present study investigated the performance of 731 children of various ages from five cities on the Matrix Analogies Test-Short Form as measure of nonverbal intelligence. Data analyses revealed that the performance of the Greek sample was very similar to the USA standardization sample with significant differences obtained for two (8 and 9 years old) out of 12 age groups. Mean scores for the Greek sample were somewhat lower, an average of 21.7 raw score points. These differences might be due to sampling error, and/or to the structure of the Greek educational system. The studies findings suggest that the MAT-SF can be used as a screening measure of nonverbal intelligence with Greek children using the US norms until Greek norms become available. (Bardos, Petrogiannis, & Randou, 2000)

http://spi.sagepub.com

Living in Total Chaos

As a child I grew up with a girl who had many distractions in her life. Her mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol and was physically abusive to her and her siblings. The abusive mother eventually lost custody of all her children and they were placed in foster homes. The children's maternal grandmother decided to step up and take the children and raised them. My friend was not happy with her grandmother because she only wanted the children for monetary purposes only. She wasn't loving or caring, she was abusive mentally and physically as well. All my friend could think about was moving out once she turned 18 because this was what her grandmother had embedded in her head over the years. She learned that the age 18 meant the government would no longer be providing for them financially. My friend moved out of her grandmother's home and moved in with her uncle and his wife. She began to experience life in a whole new world. There was no one breathing down her back, being mean and totally hateful towards her. My friend realized that she had a voice, an opinion, and how she felt about things mattered.
My friend later went on to becoming a mother of three beautiful children whom she cherishes to all end. She works very hard for her children providing them with all the love and support she wished she had as a child. She also provides care and mentors other young mothers who feel they can not make through the challenges of being  a mother. My friend overcame all the chaos in her life to become a small business owner and is now working on her Masters at Walden University.


Poverty in Africa
Over 25 million people who live in Africa are facing one of the worse cases pf poverty and the deadly HIV/AIDS disease. Many children are orphaned throughout Africa due to their parents losing their battle to this disease. Many children are diagnosed HIV positive at birth. This is so sad because they are not given a fighting from the start. There is a high chance that they won't make it to see their 5th birthday. Most cases of poverty and diseases exists in towns of Africa that have limited access to hospitals and clinics. They do not have access to clean water and this creates water related diseases such as cholera and infant diarrhea. Poverty causes malnutrition and diseases and therefore people of Africa have the constant struggle to survive