Child Development

I chose this quote because it describes what I feel the role is for children in early childhood. Many parents would like to see their children busy learning their alphabet, numbers, shapes or some other early childhood academic skills. This quote expresses quite nicely the job our children have to do during this phase of their lives.

Our children will learn and develop. They will be more confident if allowed to develop at a rate comfortable to them. It is up to us as the adults in their lives to find a pace that works best with them individually and keep to it and try not to judge or compare them with each other.

ASSESSMENTS

Young children learn by touching and manipulating objects, by listening and acting out what they have heard in stories and real life situations, by moving and playing in different ways and in different environments Bowers (2008). As a result, any assessment given should reflect the way children learn and not rely primarily on the regular paper and pencil assessments. Some of the primary reasons for assessment in early childhood include determining a child’s progress over time and to providing feedback to the child’s parent Guddemi and Chase (2004). It is important that when a child is being tested that they should not feel anxious or nervous so it is suggested that the teacher gives the assessment. The assessment should occur over an extended period of time and not just in one sitting as the single moment of time could be an unfavorable one for the child. Assessments should bring about benefits for the children and they should be reliable, valid and appropriate for the children being assessed Guddemi and Chase (2004).

            I live in the islands of The Bahamas and thought to share how children are assessed here. In The Bahamas, there is a program known as The Bahamas National Screening Programme (BNSP) where cognitive or behavioral problems that could endanger school performance are assessed. The areas looked at are “vision, hearing, motor skills, speech, language, cognition and social functioning. The screening is designed to identify those children who would benefit from early intervention / remediation services due to delays in developmental areas and learning difficulties” Ministry of Education (2005).

            Children develop physically, cognitively, and socially all during the same period of time, but none at the same pace. All children are unique therefore they have different rates of development from other children. Children also come from different family, cultural, and experiential backgrounds. As a result of all of these variables, a typical “one-size-fits-all” assessment will not meet the needs of most children Guddemi and Chase (2004). The assessment has to be adjusted to fit the need and characteristics present in the child. In essence, the assessment must be beneficial to the child.

               

References

Bowers, S., (2008). Assessing Young Children: What’s Old, What's New, and Where Are We Headed? Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=210

Guddemi, M & Chase, B.J. (2004) Assessing Young Children. Pearson Education Inf. [PDF]. Retrieved from http://images.pearsonassessments.com/images/tmrs/tmrs_rg/AssessingYoungChildren.pdf?WT.mc_id=TMRS_Assessing_Young_Children

The Bahamas Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. (2005). The Bahamas National Screening Pilot Programme. Retrieved from

http://www.bahamaseducation.com/PDF/Docs/BAHAMAS%20NATIONAL%20SCREENING%20PROGRAMME%202005.pdf

POVERTY

My father has always told of how he and his family lived in poverty when he was a child. Being one of ten children during the era of World War II life was very hard. My father grew up on Cat Island, one of the many outer islands of The Bahamas. His parents supported their family by subsistent farming and fishing. As soon as a child was old enough he either joined his parents in the fields or stayed at home to take care of his younger siblings or helped out where ever he was needed.  My father’s family was poor by the world’s standards but was rich in love and concern for each other, and they are still closely knitted to this day.

Although he loved reading and learning my father was only afforded a few years of school and as a result, he did not complete high school. As a young man, he traveled to New Providence, the capital island in the Bahamas in search of employment. He worked well with his hands and took the opportunity to apprentice with licensed electricians and obtained his three-phase license. With this skill, he was able to support his family. Today he is a strong believer in education and has ensured that all five of his children have completed high school and the minimum four years of college.

The country I will look at where poverty is still being felt in a great way is Haiti. I saw a documentary on National Geographic a few years ago that showed some of the people eating ‘cookies’ made from dirt to still the hunger pangs in their stomachs  (Katz, 2010). I am so thankful to God to live in a country where there is food to eat and people do not have to resort to eating mud. Yes, I recall my father talking about eating ‘flour-pap’ a type of gruel made from flour and water and a little salt and sugar as available, but this is still much better than mud. Food prices around the world have gone up because of higher oil prices so Caribbean countries such as Haiti which depend on imports have been greatly affected.

  

As a result of global price hikes, together with floods and crop damage from the 2007 hurricane season, UN Food and Agriculture Agency to declare states of emergency in Haiti (Katz, 2010).

Reference

Katz J.  (2010) Poor Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt.  National Geographic News Retrieved from

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080130-AP-haiti-eatin.html

Immunization

Immunization is defined by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention as “A process by which a person becomes protected against a disease through vaccination” (2014).  The National Healthcare Services records that immunizations began as far back as 429 BC with Thucydides, the Greek Historian, who noticed that people who survived smallpox did not get re-infected. Thus began the process of immunizations. The Chinese are the first nation on record as having discovered and used a primitive form of immunization (NHS, 2014). Today there is a huge debate going on over whether immunizations are life savers or a death sentence. The United States government’s website on vaccinations claimed that “Vaccines are the most effective tool we have to prevent infectious diseases” (Vaccines). This claim is based on the research that shows a drop in communicative diseases after a vaccine was introduced.

On the other hand, there is a growing population of people who believe that immunizations can cause severe life changing adverse effects on children who receive them. Parents have scores of videos and articles online telling of their experiences with their children before and after immunizations. Some of these parents believe that autism is caused by vaccination, however, there is no scientific proof of this. The time period when some immunizations are given is the same time period when symptoms of autism occur. As a result, some parents believe the two are correlated.

            I looked at immunization in Mexico. It is said that the immunization process is better in Mexico than it is in the United States. In Monterrey, a major Mexican city if parents of young children are late in getting their child inoculated, a public-health nurse will come to their home, pull down the youngster's pants and give the vaccination right there in the living room with or without the parents’ presence and consent (Vaccination News, 2002). Obviously this will never happen in the US with privacy rights and the amount of forms and paperwork that must be filled for before the immunizations can be administered. Vaccination News reports that “After the measles pandemic reached Mexico in 1990 and killed 5,899 babies, the Mexican government established a central authority to oversee the national vaccination campaign, known as the National Immunization Program” (2002). While the United States experienced a measles outbreak in 2014 with 383 people in Ohio’s Amish country falling ill with the virus none was recorded for Mexico. This is possible because in Mexico everyone has the right to have access to vaccines, it is free to all citizens, and it is mandatory (Yutacan Times, 2015).

I am a believer in the benefits of immunizing children. My whole family has been immunized, and I immunized my daughter according to the governmentally based schedule. When weighing the risks of encountering life-threatening disease against the benefits of being immunized I decided that immunization was the best choice. The vast majority of children who are immunized do not experience anything worse than short-lived redness or itching at the spot of the shot.  As a practitioner in the early childhood field, the health and prosperity of children is my greatest concern. If asked whether I would recommend that parents immunize their children I would advise them to research the process carefully, pray about it, and confer with a number of physicians before they make any decisions concerning their children.

References

National Healthcare Services (2014). Vaccinations

Retrieved from http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/the-history-of-vaccination.aspx

Center For Disease Control and Preventions (2014) Vaccine and Immunizations

Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/imz-basics.htm

The Yutacan Times (2015) Retrieved from http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2015/02/while-the-u-s-faces-the-largest-measles-outbreak-in-recent-history-mexico-has-had-not-a-single-case-since-1996/

Vaccination News (2002) Retrieved from http://www.vaccinationnews.org/DailyNews/December2002/MexicoMore22.htm

Vaccines.gov (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.vaccines.gov/basics/effectiveness/index.html

Child Birth in My Life and In Jamaica

It was around nine o’clock on a Tuesday morning, July 8, 1997. I was admitted into the Princess Margaret Hospital, Nassau Bahamas to have a scheduled Caesarean Section to deliver my first child. I had already had a previous abdominal surgery that affected my womb and my doctor did not want to risk the complications labor could bring. I was fortunate to have an epidural so I could be awake during the delivery and my husband was also present with me. I remember being able to watch what the doctor cut me open through the reflection created by the stainless steel light shining in the ceiling above my head. I soon diverted my eyes as I thought the visual would be too much for me to handle at the time.  The greatest moment of my experience was however, when the nurse brought my beautiful daughter over for me to see.

            The Bahamas is an archipelago of islands with at least 20 of the islands inhabited. There are however, only three hospitals, two of which are located on New Providence, the capital, in the city of Nassau and the third is on Grand Bahama Island. As a result when women get pregnant on any of the other islands, they would relocate to Nassau for their third trimester in order to be near the hospital when the baby comes. It is the common practice in The Bahamas to have your baby in the hospital.  

            I chose to share the birthing experience of my first and only child because it is so significant to me and who I have become. I believe the birthing experience can have some effect on the development of the child. If there are complications during the birth it can affect the child depending on how serious it is and how long it last. Cerebral Palsy a condition that occurs due to complications at birth is known to affect the development in some aspects of the child. It can affect the physical, cognitive or both domains of the child’s development.

            Lois Wilson in her article ‘Birth as a Community Experience: It Can Be Achieved in a Hospital’ shares how the mothers in Jamaica support each other in their birth experiences. In Jamaica, births generally take place in a hospital with the help of a nurse mid-wife as available. The Jubilee hospital in Kingston is recorded to have sometimes more than 1000 births a month so it is probable that some mothers may end up having their baby unattended (Wilson, 1997). In prior years the mid-wife or ‘nana’ as she is called locally would attend to the mother at home. This practice was banned so expectant mothers now have to make their way to the hospital. The Jubilee hospital in Kingston, Jamaica has come a long way from the time when women lined up in benches waiting to see a doctor and if the hospital was too busy some mothers will be left unattended to have their babies unassisted. Now the experience at Jubilee hospital is a community experience with the mothers, nurses, and midwives helping each other. “When the birth of the baby is imminent, the laboring woman crosses the hall to the delivery room, climbs onto one of the five beds and is attended by the nurse or midwife who is to catch the baby” (Wilson, 1997). A number of births can occur simultaneously in the delivery room which has a number of beds. The mother and baby are then cleaned up and go to the postpartum room. With six or more beds and baby cots available in this room first-time mothers are able to be coached and encouraged by more experienced mothers.

Reference

My child: At Cerebral Palsy.com Retrieved from http://cerebralpalsy.org/information/cognition/

Wilson, L., (1997). Birth as a Community Experience: It can Be Achieved in a Hospital! Midwifery Today Retrieved from

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/community.asp

Sites to confirm Credibility of Resouce

The resources listed below will assure the credibility of your resources:

 “Critically Analyzing Information Sources”  http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill26.htm

“Evaluating Websites: Criteria and Tools”  http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/webeval.html

“Evaluating Websites” http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/research/evaluating_web.html

“Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask”

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

“Evaluation criteria for web site information”  http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html

Articles Resources Ethical Codes for Early Childhood Education

Articles and Resources for Early Childhood Education

·         Article: Rigby, E., & Neuman, M. (2005, January). Making a difference: Leadership in early care and education policy. Beyond the Journal:Young Children on the Web. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200501/Rigby.pdf

·         Article: Scott, D. M. (2005, January). Early childhood leaders on leadership. Beyond the Journal: Young Children on the Web. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200501/Scott.pdf

·         Excerpt: NAEYC. (2004). NAEYC advocacy toolkit. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/policy/toolkit.pdf

·          

o    Chapter 1: Introduction (pp. 3-4) and Chapter 3: Engaging the Members in Public Policy (pp. 14-16)

·         Article: NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

·         Article: The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
http://www.dec-sped.org/

·         Multimedia Program: "Sectors of the Early Childhood Field" 
This interactive presentation reviews the history, goals, major accomplishments, and some important contributors to the five sectors of the early childhood field.

Ideals from the Code of Ethics

The principles and ideals of the Code of Ethical Conduct of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a guide for the daily practice and behavior of personnel in the Early Childhood field. “Childhood is a unique and valuable stage in the human life cycle” (NAEYC 2005).  As educators in this field it is therefore our duty to foster the children’s development while we recognize and respect their individualities and diversities and teach them to play, learn, and live together. Three of the ideals and principles from the Code of Ethical Conduct that stood out with me were:

P-1.1—Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children. This principle has precedence over all others in this Code.

Our purpose in the Early Childhood arena is to help and not to harm in any aspect of the child’s development. All that we do should align with this principle to build confidence in the children and help them to thrive.

I-1.3—To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.

Every child is a unique individual, and must be treated as such. Sometimes when educators have the privilege of teaching siblings, we err on expecting one child to be like another. We should rather get to know each child individually and explore the potential in them all with no comparison to another but allowing each to perform and grow at their own pace.

P-1.2—We shall care for and educate children in positive emotional and social environments that are cognitively stimulating and that support each child’s culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure.

I-1.5—To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions.

I thought that principle 1.2 and ideal 1.5 supported and confirmed each other. It is important that when working with young children the environment is conducive for learning and development. It must be safe physically so the children would harm themselves or others, and must also foster cognitive curiosity and growth. It must be colorful and bright with varied textures and if possible have an area that mimics the natural environment or at least has access to the outdoors. It is also important that we respect the various cultures that our children represent. If the child does not feel safe and welcomed in our environment little or no learning will take place.

One principle that stood out to me from The Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children was listed under the professional and interpersonal behavior section.

1. We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value and human potential of each child.

Our actions may speak louder than our words however both must be welcoming and respectful when demonstrated. Our students must be able to read even with our body language the care and concern we have for them and our words need to be positive ones that help to lay a strong foundation for their self-esteem.

As an educator in this field it is important for me to be aware of understand and to be guided by the Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment of the National Association for the Education of Young Children as well as the Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children.

References

Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (2000) Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201620_02/MS_MECS/EDUC_6005/Week%207/Resources/Resources/embedded/dec_codeofethics.pdf

NAEYC (2005). Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201620_02/MS_MECS/EDUC_6005/Week%207/Resources/Resources/embedded/naeyc_codeofethicspdf.pdf

EARLY CHILDHOOD RESOURCES

Part 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices

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

·         NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf

·         NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness.   Retrieved from   http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf

·         NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved  from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf

·         NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8.   Retrieved from        http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf

·         NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf

·         Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved fromhttp://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller

·         FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved fromhttp://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf

·         Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Part 2: Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being

·         Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved fromhttp://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

·         Websites:

o    World Forum Foundation
http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization.

o    World Organization for Early Childhood Education
http://www.omep-usnc.org/
Read about OMEP's mission.

o    Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/
Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

·         National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/

·         The Division for Early Childhood
http://www.dec-sped.org/

·         Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
http://www.zerotothree.org/

·         WESTED
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm

·         Harvard Education Letter
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85

·         FPG Child Development Institute
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/

·         Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/

·         HighScope
http://www.highscope.org/

·         Children's Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/

·         Center for Child Care Workforce
http://www.ccw.org/

·         Council for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org/

·         Institute for Women's Policy Research
http://www.iwpr.org/

·         National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/

·         National Child Care Association
http://www.nccanet.org/

·         National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/

·         Pre[K]Now
http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067

·         Voices for America's Children
http://www.voices.org/

·         The Erikson Institute
http://www.erikson.edu/

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

·         YC Young Children

·         Childhood

·         Journal of Child & Family Studies

·         Child Study Journal

·         Multicultural Education

·         Early Childhood Education Journal

·         Journal of Early Childhood Research

·         International Journal of Early Childhood

·         Early Childhood Research Quarterly

·         Developmental Psychology

·         Social Studies

·         Maternal & Child Health Journal

·         International Journal of Early Years Education

Early Childhood Resources I recommend

•  earlychildhoodnews.com – Includes articles, activities and crafts
• ·         educationworld.com      -- Includes lesson plans, technology tips and professional development
• ·         Early Childhood Today Scholastic  -- Includes behavior and development, community involvement and school home connections
• ·         Early Childhood Teacher Blog -- Includes Teacher communities, classroom materials
• ·         Communityplaythings.com –Includes articles, furniture, free resources

I would recommend the following book. I believe that play is a very important factor in child development. The articles in the book show ways to connect play with learning from infancy through to early primary grades.

      Spotlight on Young Children: Exploring Play

By Holly Bohart, Kathy Charner, & Derry Koralek, eds.