Reflection

I would like to thank all of my collegues for your insights throughtout this course. I have gained a lot of helpful information through our blogs. I hope that we all take this information that we have gained thus far and use it in both our professional and personal lives. I look foward to working with you in the upcoming classes.

Working as a team

I would say that it is harder to leave a group that has a great performance because you feel like you are a part of something great.

Adjourning from my colleagues will be a bittersweet moment because I have gained so much valuable information while working with them, It will be a good moment in time because we have reached yet another goal and can continue moving forward, impacting our community, students, and everyone else around us.

recent conflicts

I recently had a problem with a grandparent. She was upset because her grandson did not receive a cupcake during a birthday party that we had. The children were told at the beginning of the day that they had to have a good day in order to participate in the party. The boy along with three other students was not given cupcakes due to their behavior that day. The grandmother called upset about what happen so I ask her what she suggest happen. She suggested that I tell his mother or put him in time. I explained to her that I had talked to his mother everyday through our behavior chart which has to be signed each night and the center does not allow us to place children in time out. In this situation it was important for me to stay claim and keep an open mind. The grandmother’s tone completely changed when I ask her for suggestions.  

communication test

These tests have opened my eye to how people around me perceive me. I was somewhat shocked by some of the results. The verbal aggressiveness test score was a little shocking, I did not expect to score that high. My score was 62 which is moderate. I would like to see that score be a little lower. According to the test I maintain a good balance between respect and consideration for others viewpoint.  I do agree that I try to argue fairly by simply pointing out facts of a position rather than the person holding that position. According to my brother’s test scores I fall under significant, scoring a 77. This is not surprising to me because he always feels that I am being mean to him. I feel that I am stern with him; he is at an age where he feels that most of the people around him are always nagging. I cannot agree with the test scores because it says that people that fall under significant often cross the line from “argumentativeness”, which attacks a person’s position or statements, and verbal aggression, which involves personal attacks and can be hurtful to the listener.

communicating with different groups

I do find myself communicating differently with other cultures. I am very open and try to be mindful of both my verbal and non verbal communication. i am more willing to accommodate them with things in there language. I believe I do this because they have a special place in my heart. I know it has to be somewhat scary and upsetting to have people around you who cant understand you or even try to help you.

Bubble Guppies

The show I chose to watch is called Bubble guppies, which come on Nick Jr. This was my first time seeing the show. I wanted to watch it because some of my students like the show. The show starts with several mermaids (both male and female) singing; I’m guessing the theme song which starts the show. They all seem very happy. After the introduction three goldfish come up and ducks on a roll appears on the screen. The fish seems happy as they swim to one of the boy mermaids.  I would compare the mermaid and fish to that of Dora and boots or Steve and blues clue. The fish and the boy talk, the fish depart and the boy swims over to the snail band. As the band is marching a duck steps in the way and the band has to stop and go the other way. The boy gets the duck to come and stand by him as the band leaves. The fish come back and the boy along with the fish go to what I am guessing is school with the other mermaids. You can see that everyone speaks to each other when they arrive. Their teacher is a big goldfish who seems happy to be there. The cartoon seems to be good. Everyone seemed happy throughout the show. They also solved problems in a nice manner.

Effective Communicator

My Godfather, Tyrone is one of the best communicator I know. He has taught me a thing or two about communicating effectively. He has mastered this gift while running his business. he will have you repeat things back to him to make sure you have to correct information. when he has clients he calls about an hour prior to confirm their appointment. if he doesn't understanding something you are saying he is not afraid to ask to to repeat it. These are just a few things he does to make communicating with him easy.

Final Blog

It is my hope that all students learn regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity or even where they come from. I hope that education be made to everyone and not be taken away from anyone because of their differences.

My professional goal, as an educator I will up hold a positive and diverse learning environment in which students will starve for excellence at all times. Students will be provided with a variety of experiences which present them with opportunities to develop academic, emotional, physical, and social skills. I have and will continue to stay abreast with studies on ways to promote and understanding diversity. My students are aware of each other’s cultures because of pictures and books in our class room. When a holiday from another culture comes around we will also celebrate it.

I would like to thank all of you for sharing your weekly blogs. I have gained some very insightful information through blogging. I hope to continue to gain knowledge from you in the next course.

My student from Yemen

I chose Yemen for my family’s country of origin. Yemen, is an Arab country located in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the Arab World, with a formal 35% employment rate.

I would prepare for the family by founding out their native tongue, beliefs, and address. I would then type up a welcome letter in their language explaining expectations, procedures, and welcome any questions are concerns. I could conduct a home visit once they arrive. In order for the family to feel a sense of welcome and expand the children’s knowledge, I would ask the family to come in and talk about their country; sharing information about their population. In order to make things smoother I would put together a resource packet with information about jobs, finding assistance, nearby attractions, etc. I would also try to find any school records so I can see where the child is academically.

I would hope that my actions will help create a bond with the family and myself. It would also help me better understand their culture which can help with come up with lessons for the child.

an example of prejudice, to kill a mockingbird

I can remember watching to kill a mockingbird in my English comp class. This movie has stuck with me over the years because there were so many examples of prejudice. An example of this is during Tom Robinsons trial. Tom was a black man accused of raping a white woman, a crime that is punishable by the death penalty. Even though all the facts proved that he didn't do it, the jury still found him guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt". Tom's life has been sacrificed to racism by the people who were there to protect him. The justice system didn't allow this man to have a fair trial because of the color of his skin. They disregarded his credibility or that of the other witnesses, all they could focus on was his race because that was all the window let them see. This situation brought about sadness and fear. It sadden me to see something like this happen and brought a sense of fear because man of color are more likely to be falsely accused of a crime. In order for true justice to be served, the jury and the justice system needs to change their outlook on people of color.

microaggression

I have had an experience at a summer camp were we listed stereotypes about other races, than we had to share as a group. Each group was broken down by race. At the end of the program the room was a little heavy because it was like wow this is how people view you simply because of your skin. It was interesting that Dr. Derald said some people may think that if you’re black you’re not smart, because that is what a group said about blacks.

I have also had an experience with what I believe was a mix of racism and classism. One day my grandmother and I went into a very expensive jewelry store and the lady working didn’t great us but greeted those that looked as though they had money. We walked around the store to see if the women was going to come ask us for help but didn’t. On the way out my grandmother told her that she was rude and shouldn’t have been because she wanted to make a purchase to replace a piece of jewelry she had lost. The women’s face looked like all the blood had left her face.

Diversity and Culture

After talking with several people, I found that I shared some of the same ideas about diversity and culture. Diversity is a commitment to recognizing and appreciating the variety of characteristics that make individuals unique in an atmosphere that promotes and celebrates individual and collective achievement. One of the examples of these characteristics is culture. Culture is a person’s lifestyle based on regional and familiar influences. Culture is where you come from, your roots, and your lifestyle. Diversity is accepting the many different cultures, religions, races, etc. in the world. It’s also what makes us unique. This assignment has helped me to see that many people around me share some of the same ideas about diversity and culture although we are all from different walks of life.

My Family Culture

I would bring my family photo, cookbook, and cell phone. I would bring the photo of my family so I can share it with everyone as well as have their memory with me in case I am unable to see them again. I would bring the cookbook because cooking is a big thing in our family and I would also want to share that with everyone. Lastly I would bring my cell phone to keep my families contact information. We are big on trying to keep in contact with one another.

If I was told I could only keep one item I would be devastated. I would have to say that I would have to keep the cookbook. It makes me feel close to my family when I can cook their favorite dishes. I believe that we often take for granted our cultural. This exercise has made me appreciate my family even more. It has also encouraged me to share some of our traditions with those around me.

Reflection

I have gained a better understanding of research and its process. Before taking this place I thought that it would be boring to conduct a research project. This class has sparked my desire to conduct my research project. I have learned to put together an outline which is detailed with things such as the goal, outcomes, variables, etc.  When conducting research you must have some type of background information on the topic and an idea of how the information will help someone. The terms were somewhat of a challenge for me because this was my first time seeing some of the terms. After this class, I now want to study more research studies.  

Early Childhood in Australia

The mission in Australia is somewhat similar to our mission, which is to advocate ensuring quality, social justice and equity in all issues relating to the education and care of children from birth to eight years. After looking around the website I found that there is a new ratio in place which is 1:4 ratio for children under 24 months. I think this is great because I have always been an advocate for small classes because you able to attend better to students needs.  The ratio was put into place on January 1^st, 2012. I like how the Research in practice series ( RIPS) index has numerous topics to chose from although you do have to pay for the books or articles.

resources: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

my research

For this week I chose option 2. Seeing that pre-k and kindergarten are not required in my state I am interested to know if it is really helpful to students when the programs are of high quality. If I could conduct a research project it would be does highly qualified early childhood and kindergarten programs really help children? if so does it have a more positive effective on those that live in poverty. The programs would have to follow my guidelines given to ensure that the program is really of high quality. Programs would have to show how though proficient in each area of the NC teaching standards are. Each day an observer would be in the room to make sure this is being done and that diversity is being promoted. After students move up to the 1^st grade, yearly reports will be done to see how they compare with their classmates by looking at reports and test scores.

My Personal Research Journey

Every since I can remember I wanted to become a teacher, but I just didn’t want to teach any group of students, I wanted to teach the group of children living in poverty because I wanted to not only give them a chance in life but also close the achievement gap. I am interesting in poverty and the effects that it has on children. I would also like to take a closer look at how it affects African American children because that is the group of children that I work with.

What is Poverty? According to Wikipedia, poverty is the shortage of common things such as food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water Poverty in this country is a common term. Poverty takes hold of both men and women. Poverty affects people in all states as well as all countries. Who is affected the most by poverty? Mainly African Americans.
This week’s reading was helpful to me because it taught me what to look for when looking for creditable research.

Final Post

The three things I have taken from blogging are

1.     Making international contacts are great for collaboration which can help us to solve the bigger problems that plague children and families worldwide, namely poverty

2.     I also learned that we share some of the same issues pertaining to early childhood.

3.     I learned that making an international contact is very challenging and I hope to one day make a contact because it would be a great connection to have.

education in Africa

This week I looked at the website and looked at the information under the world wide tab. I chose to take a closer look at Africa. I did not know that Africa is a priority for UNESCO and education is key to the region’s development. I strongly believe that we need to follow Africa’s example and work to keep education high on the agenda of governments and development partners. While browsing under the tab I also learn about the Major push for adult and youth literacy in Nigeria. The aim is to educate 4 to 5 million illiterate adults and 2 million out-of school children over the next three years. I think it is great that they can come together and push for the improvement of education in not only children but adults too. I was actually shocked to know that almost 40 million adults are illiterate and the overall literacy rate is close to 57 % because most of the time I find that people of African or Asia descent read very well.

Resources:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/dakar/about-this-office/single view/news/major_push_for_adult_and_youth_literacy_in_nigeria/

NAEYC

I chose to take a closer look at NAEYC. One article in particular talks about developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs. The article points out the shortage of good care for children in the highly vulnerable infant and toddler years have become critical. This difficulty is especially acute in the under-funded early childhood arena, especially the child care sector, which is losing well prepared teaching staff and administrators at an alarming rate.

Resources:NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap

Education in Brazil

I still have not heard from my international contact. I chose to look at Applying the science of early childhood in Brazil because I think it is cool to see other countries take on early childhood. I was excited to see that the Center is making history because it is launching Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância, which will be the first major programmatic effort outside the United States. I also noticed that they collaborate with a lot of people which in my option is always great because two heads are better than one.  I believe that they are headed in the right direction, I like how they plan to strengthen leadership around early childhood development through an executive leadership course for policymakers. I believe we should all do this for policymakers in our area that would like to get involved in the early childhood field.

Resources

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/applying_the_science_of_early_childhood_in_brazi/

professional development

I signed up for childcare education institute because I have to do workshop hours every month. I have learned a lot of new things such as types of abuse and neglect as well as signs of them. They also talk about making the curriculum child centered and creative.  Everything that has been presented has been helpful in my professional development because they are all topics that relate to the early childhood field.  Through the support of Association of Childhood Education International and Procare software has been great in supporting early childhood.

Resources

http://www.cceionline.com

The effects of poverty on the early childhood community

This week I did email my contact unfortunately she has not emailed me back yet. The website CHIP was also helpful to me. The Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre is a collaborative research and  policy programmer which involves Save the Children, the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC) and partners in China, India, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. The website said something very key, “Today’s poor children are all too often tomorrow's poor parents. Poverty can be passed on from generation to generation affecting the long-term health, wellbeing and productivity of families and of society as a whole.” I have seen this unfold before my eyes, well in high school I seen several girls who were living in poverty get pregnant and now they are parents in poverty.
I found this interview with Dr. Grace to be very informative. There were times in the interview where she would say something that would in a sense sting because I used to relate to what she was saying. She said when living in poverty it sucks the life out of you. That statement was not only a sting but a light bulb also went off in my head because it brought back memories of my mother always being tired and not waiting to do anything after working. I seen this and tried to help out around the house as much as I could. I didn’t realize until now she was always drained because poverty was literally sucking the life out of her. Now when I see her after work she is no longer like that. I did not it shocking to see that we are seeing the highest level of poverty within 20 years. I figured the recession played a role in this percentage.  Dr. Grace kind of confirmed it when she began to talk about middle class families not having money to buy food due to the recession.  She also confirmed the poverty has a bigger effect on those who are in poverty between birth to eight years of age. This is a very critical time for children. It is not only important that they get a solid foundation in education but health as well.
Resources
“The Effects of Poverty on the Early Childhood Community”
 http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Language diversity

I chose to look at Learn NC. This site caught my eye because it offers so many resources for educators. One of the purposes of the website is to raise awareness about bridging Spanish language barriers in southern. The website also offers growth in the classroom through lesson plans for k-12 as well as sharing the curriculum standards for NC. One of the best things about this site is, it offers articles dealing with a variety of topics and the NC professional teaching standards, which allow growth in your professional life.

One of the articles that is available is “Bridging language barriers”. The article highlights important facts such as the United States has the largest number of Spanish speakers in the world next to Mexico. I found that information to be very interesting because we are struggling as a whole to accommodate those that have Spanish as a native tongue.  The article pointed out a lot of great information dealing with the debate on the use of language other than English in public schools. It brings up the fact that the Brown V. Board of Education was passed to guarantee equal participation in public schools without affirming the right of minority groups to their own culture and the bilingual Education Act (1968) is suppose to provide supplemental funding for schools to teach those whose native tongue is not English; after reading this I have to ask why are we not offering an equal opportunity for those falling in this category.  I feel that students who learn better in their native tongue should be offered classes where the teacher speaks their language.

Resources:

http://www.learnnc.org/

international contact

This has been an exciting assignment for me! I am always interested to know what is going on in other countries. I started out by first contacting my grandmother to see if she could connect me with someone in Ghana because she is currently studying over there. I am waiting to her back from them. I also email another person in Africa but the email did not go through. The only email that went through for me was to Blesilda Rios in the Phillppines. I am hoping to hear back soon. I started my email off by introducing myself and sharing my beliefs about education. I went on to tell why I was writing and asks several questions. Some of my questions included what is your philosophy of education, and what drove you to the education field?

My Supporters

My supporters:

Brittaney Brown: She is my co-worker and she supports me by encouraging me to go above and beyond. When I began to have doubts about this profession she quickly reminds me of the great rewards. My Family: My family has always pushed me to do better than them and to keep God first. My students support me without even knowing, though their smiles, laughs, and learning I am given strength to continue my teaching journey. I am glad I have all of these support systems in my life, without them I be one to throw in the towel so easily and I wouldn’t have finished college and I would have quiet my job.

My Connections to Play

v  A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm. ~Bill Vaughan

v  Creative play is like a spring that bubbles up from deep within a child. ~Joan Almon

I chose these quotes because they represent my childhood. As a child I was encouraged to be just that, a child! My family encouraged me to play, learn, and get involved in activities that I enjoyed.

Anytime I played outside I had to either ride my bike or play basketball before I went inside. When I played inside I always pretend to be a teacher, I would line my dolls and teddy bears along the wall. I would also pretend to cook before I was able to actually start cooking.

v  In the United States today, there is a pervasive tendency to treat children as adults, and adults as children. The options of children are thus steadily expanded, while those of adults are progressively constricted. The result is unruly children and childish adults. ~Thomas Szasz

v  Children are one third of our population and all of our future. ~Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981

These quotes represent how I feel about the effects of little play in children today. Play has taken a back seat in today’s world. It has been replaced by standard testing, tv, food, and video games. Even in the school systems play is very limited, I can remember as a child we went outside every day, weather permitting for 30 minutes up until middle school. Now as I look at the school I see some children hoping to get outside just for 15 minutes. I also see that many children have become lazy and do not want to play, they prefer to sit in front of the tv or they are more interested in adult conversations. Too many times I have seen children being treated as adults, forced to play adult roles at tender ages like 4 and 5. It saddens me because I know that play for me awakened my inner child and has kept it alive, it has been a breath of fresh air for me.

Relationship Reflection

(Telora Thatch- Mother) My mother is a very outgoing person who is devoted to the mentally, spiritual, and physical growth of all of those around her. My mother has always encouraged me to do what is right in the eye of God and not man. She never allowed me to run with the crowds which I’m thankful for because most of my classmates and childhood friends are either dead, in prison, or have several children with little education. As a child I was able to try a variety of activities such as dance, basketball, girl scouts, choir, and many more. I’m grateful that because till these day I still love to dance.

(Thelma Wright- Grandmother) My grandmother has always told me that my job is to be a young lady and get my education. She has taken me along on many trips traveling to varies places like FL, TX, MI, CA, and many more. At a young age I was able to see many parts of the USA, I believe this is where my love from traveling comes from.

(Aunt Von) My Aunt Von is what we today call Ol School. If you are around her you are expected to say ma’am and sir. She is an advocate for education. Before I attended school she would care for me. I remember learning my alphabets, numbers, personal information like my address, phones number,etc., personal hygiene, and many more things that aided in my success. I can also remember when I first started school I did not know how to tie my shoe, one evening when we went over she made me sit at the table and practice tying my shoe. I couldn’t get up until I learned how to do so. I was upset at the time because I was missing my show but that was my motivation to learn so in less than 5 minutes I had shoe tying down packed!

(Mrs. Glover-former teacher)  She pushed me through high school, molding me into a stronger, level-headed young lady. She instilled in us that we are nothing without God or education.

 Because of the people in my life I have become the women I am today.When you are speaking about Temeka Twinette Thatch three words will come to mind; boisterous, energetic, and enduring. I am a woman who strongly believes in her roots and values. I am the back bone of my family. In hard times you will never see me throw in the towel, why? I always have a positive outlook on life. When hurdles come, I refer to my favorite scripture which is Phil. 4:13 which states “I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me.”