Alice Guynn said...

I would like to thank all of my classmates. I have learned so much from our discussion. I have truly enjoyed this class. I am so excited to write my research paper. I pray that you all have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Alice

When I Think of Research...

The insights that I have gained in this class about research is that quality research is always ethical, purposeful, well designed, transparent, contextualized, credible, careful, Imaginative and equitable. Also that there are different types of research and terms such as Quantitative research which produces facts and figures, Qualitative research produces meanings and understandings, Deductive research proves or disprove a hypothesis, and Inductive research may suggest a hypothesis. I also learned there are four ways to gather data for your study 1) data triangulation: the use of a variety of data sources in a study, 2) Methodological triangulation: the use of multiple methods to study a single problem, 3) investigator triangulation: the use of several researchers, and 4) theory triangulation: the use of multiple perspectives to interpret a single set of data. And finally Equity is very important when putting together a study it state in our text that an understanding of equity involves notions of justice and fairness, it goes on to say that it moves beyond equality, as equality signals understanding of party, equivalence and making things equal, which do not necessarily equate with justice and fairness. In order to be just and fair, it is necessary to move beyond making things equal.

The ways my ideas about the nature of doing research changed when I learned more about methodological triangulation methods using three different ways to gather my data for my study help me reassure that I would get enough information to get the results I needed for my study.

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did I learn was to make sure when planning make sure that the validity is the process of establishing the “truth” of the research outcomes, Methodological triangulation will be the method I will use to gather my data for my study and making sure that everything is ethical, purposeful, well designed, transparent, contextualized, credible, careful, Imaginative and equitable.

Some of the challenges I encountered—and in what ways did I meet them were, one I am dyslexic so I had to read over and over again to make sure I was understanding the reading. I also communicated with Dr. Davis making sure I was on the right task. Some of the challenges I think I will encounter with my study is parent participation.  

Some of the ways my perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course is that I feel with this type of research early childhood is going to be taken more serious. The more research we have the more we will be come professionals and not baby-sitters.

Research Around the World

The international web site I chose to visit was the Early Childhood Australia web site http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/ it had many topics such as Environments for Belonging, Being and Becoming, Part One: Setting the scene for learning, Part Two: Talking with families about early childhood practice, Part Three: Providing space and time for extending periods of play, and Part Four: Thinking about environments for a sustainable future. The surprising facts/insights/and new ideas about early childhood I gain form exploring this international early childhood website is that the child activists in Australia are conquering the same issues we are conquering here in the United States. My focus was on the first topic Environments for Belonging, Being, and Becoming. This video was center around three advocates discussing how the environment in which children attend school is important to the children as well as the teachers. They discussed how change is not good for the children. They felt the children feel safe when they can come to a place were they know where everything is. Their classroom is where they have a steady routine and sometimes changing their routine can sometime become uncomfortable for the children. They when on the say that we gauge children interest by change so sometime change can be good. It was suggested that change should happen slowly or even involve the children when changing their classroom. I myself have experience this same topic in my own classroom and I know that involving the children when changing the classroom around is very helpful, not only do you get the help from the children but you can use their ideals. I was nice to hear that child activists that live on the other side of the world with the same issues.

Research that Benefits Children and Families---Uplifting Stories

When my son was in the third grade he was involved in a study at his school for overweight children. At first I did not want him to participate because I did not want him singled out, where he would be laughed at by his peers. He was already having behavior problems and I did not want anything to bring more attention to him. I was informed that the study would be away form the school and know one would know that he was participating. I signed the permission slip and both my son and I had to participate in the study. I had to record his entire food intake for a year and my son had to try new foods and do psychical activities such as playing outdoor and participating in organizes play such as T-ball, basketball, and soccer. Know one knew my son was in the study but the school counselor. At the end of the study my son had lost weight and started eating foods he never liked before. There was minimal risk to this study not one child was ever in danger.

I do believe that there are studies that children are put at high/risk when dealing with saving lives of others. This is very hard for the parents who have to give to permission for their children to be genie- pigs for others. Again I know how this feels; I had a daughter who only lived for 21/2 months after she passed away I was asked if they could study her to help save other babies. Even though she had passed away I did not want them to cut her up for a study. I prayed on it and I did give permission, this was very hard for me, but I though she may help another baby. Even though she had passed away it was still very hard for me so I know it hard for parents who have living children that are being put through studies. It is very hard to not want to save another child.

My Personal Research Journey

I chose Social-emotional development in Early Childhood Education. The reason I chose Social-emotional Development in Early Childhood is because I have a son who is ADHD. I saw the signs when he was in daycare I tried to address the problem but I had problems with his teachers agreeing and his pediatrician they all said that let’s give it more time. I notice that my son was a lot more active then most children his age. I have been in this business for a long time I have seen a lot of children who I thought were ADHD and they all were or they had some other kind of Social-emotional disorder. I am very concern about the children but most of all about the parents who have children who have some kind of social-emotional disorder. At one time I absolutely did not like my son and wanted to give him up because it was so hard to live with him. I thought I was going to hurt him because I did not know how to handle him and his behavior. Since then I have spoken to many parents who have children with Social-emotional disorders and they are having the same problems I had. I do not want another parent to dislike there child and I do not want a child feel not wanted because they could not control their behavior.  I am open to ideas, links, or resource suggestions that will help me find away to address this issue.

Final Blog Assignment Issues and Trends See You In Our Next Class

The organization that I chose to learn more about throughout this class was a organization called CHIP (Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center). They are a research organization that keeps the word out about poverty around the world. Just knowing that over 600 million children world-wide lives in absolute poverty - an estimated 1 in 4. In many countries, rates are much higher with over 60 percent of children living in households with incomes below international poverty lines. Over 10 million children under five still die every year from preventable diseases - the vast majority of them in developing countries. As one of the most powerless groups in society, children often bear the physical and emotional costs of poverty. This organization has broadened my knowledge of poverty around the word and with the links that were provided I also researched groups such as Chronic Poverty Research Center (CPRC) which is an international partnership of universities, research institutes and NGOs which exists to focus attention on chronic poverty. It aims to stimulate national and international debate; deepen understanding of the causes of chronic poverty; and provide research, analysis and policy guidance that will contribute to its reduction, and still others such as Save the Children who work in more than 120 countries, they save children's lives. They fight for their rights of children. They help children fulfill their potential. Learning that the world's worst food crisis is in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia where devastating drought and soaring food prices are leaving children desperately and malnourished. I know I can not do much for these children but to put them in my prayer everyday, but it also let me know that I should be doing my part here in my community were children are living in poverty.

I have truly enjoyed that class reading your blogs as well as our discussions. Cheryl my grandfather was half Aniyunwiya most know as Cherokee Indian and I do not know much about my culture as a Native American but after reading your blogs and discussion I will be doing this very soon. I thank you for opening my mind to the Native American culture. I have also enjoyed reading all the rest of my colleague’s blogs and discussions. Learning about different countries and there ideal in daycare has also broaden my knowledge. I hope that we will be in the next class together to continue to lean and share with each other.

My Professional Hopes, Dreams, and Challenges.

My professional goal is to develop and school surrounded by a community center that will incorporate a health clinic as well as a mental clinic, a employment development department that will also have suits for interviews for parents to interview for jobs. It will also have a dental office and optometrist’s office for the families of the children in the school as well as the community. There will also be a food pantry and clothing pantry.  Our focus will be on children with ADHD, Autistic Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Transient Tic Disorder. In order for your child to attend this school parent involvement is imperative. Parents will have to participate in group counseling and personal counseling. This is to help each other by sharing what is happening in their lives. So times they can share things that can help another parent, or they can learn new things that can help their lives a little less stressful.  Psychologist will be presented when groups meet. Parent will also have personal meeting with a psychologist. Children will be evaluated and if counseling is needed they will get the help they need. This program will be designed for families in the middle income range. Low income families already have government help and wealthy families can afford the help they need.

“No two children are the same”. How often have you said that? Take any class of children in your school. They may be the same age but are they all alike? No! How do they differ from one another? Some are tall; others are small. Some are shy; others are forward. Some learn quickly; others are slow. All children should feel that they will be successful in anything they do.

Deprivation

Some children’s growth and development is impaired because their environment causes them harm or does not support their well being. They may not have enough food or a good diet; they may live in poor housing and are prone to illnesses; they may be beaten; their parents may have separated; they are refugees or survivors of war. Sometimes they live on the streets. They may abuse drugs.

Impairments

Some children are born with impairments such as eyes that do not see well; arms and legs that are deformed, or a brain that is not developing in a typical way. Some children can be left with impairments after childhood illnesses like measles and cerebral malaria or from accidents such as burns and bad falls. Often these children are called ‘disabled’ or ‘handicapped’.

Children with Disabilities

Over 650 million people around the world live with disabilities which can exclude their participation in society. They often have little hope of going to school, getting a job, having their own home, creating a family and raising their children, enjoying a social life or voting. For the vast majority shops, public facilities and transport are not accessible.

The 2010 EFA Global Monitoring Report states that, while globally comparable, reliable data are notoriously difficult to obtain. One widely cited source estimates that 150 million children worldwide live with disabilities. Around four in five children with disabilities are in developing countries. In addition, many millions of children live in households with parents or relatives who have disabilities. At all ages, levels of both moderate and severe disability are higher in low- and middle-income countries than in rich countries. They are highest in sub-Saharan Africa (data source: WHO and UNICEF, 2008).

Web Reference

http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/sne

Save The Children

The website that I selected at the beginning of our class is CHIP which is a Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center. They do research and publicity so governments and leaders of communities know what is going on in their areas.  I found a link that was attach to the CHIP web page that also work to stop childhood poverty.

Save the Children

They work in more then 120 Countries. 

What They Do......

Child Poverty

Many children around the world still die because their parents cannot get the treatment they need, or afford enough food to keep them healthy. And in the UK, 1.6 million children are living in severe poverty. Being born in a poor family dramatically reduces a child's chances of a brighter future. This must change. 

Children's Rights

Every child and young person has rights, no matter who they are or where they live. Nearly every government in the world has promised to protect, respect and fulfil these rights, yet they are still violated worldwide.

Climate Change

The impact of climate change in uneven. A baby born to family living in poverty will be among the most affected by shorter growing seasons, more frequent disasters and changing disease

patterns associated with climate change.

Education

Education has the power to transform children's lives now and for generations to come. They help millions of children to go to school.

Emergencies

More than 60 million children are caught up in emergencies every year. They respond quickly to meet their immediate needs.

Health and HIV

It's the one thing parents cannot bear to imagine - the death of a child. But, in many countries, it's not only imaginable, but likely.

Hunger

Children die uhen poverty, poor health and hunger conspire to end lives. They work flat out to tackle malnutrition through there work.

Protecting Children

Forced into sex work. Recruited into armies. Shut away in institutions. Their focus is into sex work. Recruited into armies. Shut away in institutions. Their job is to ensure vulnerable children are protected, to the best of their ability, wherever they are. 

What are they doing right now? 

They opened five child-friendly spaces in some of the largest evacuation centers in Japan. 

They get essentials to families who have fled the violence in Libya. 

In countries such as Sierra Leone they are building stronger healthy systems.

The Have Many Resources

• Personal Stories
• Online Library
• Multimedia
• Volunteer Resources
• Teaching Resources

Please visit this website:

http://www.youtube.com/savethechildrenuk

Young Children Develop in an Environment of Relationships

In the article Young Children Develop in an Environment of relationships it stated that “New research shows the critical impact of a child's "environment of relationships" on developing brain architecture during the first months and years of life. They went on to say that “they have  known for a while that interactions with parents, caregivers, and other adults are important in a child's life, but new evidence shows that these relationships actually shape brain circuits and lay the foundation for later developmental outcomes, from academic performance to mental health and interpersonal skills.” What is important is that many of the nation’s policies are not taking into consideration that the most important of the environment of the relationships with children and what the effects it may have on the children’s well-being.

I feel that this is an ongoing problem in all nations. When parents/caregivers have to work to provide for their children it affects the child well-being. Children benefit from the love and relationships that starts with their parents/caregivers. Brain development starts when the child is in the mother’s womb. If the mother is not health when caring her child this is the beginning of an unhealthy environment for the child.  I feel that the most important part that affects the Childs Environment and relationships comes down to economic in that child life. The more money in the child’s life the better their health, better schools better social environment, unfortunately equity is not the case so we as caregiver have to step up to the plate and develop strong positive relationships so our children will develop healthy happy lives.

Reference:

National scientific council on the developing child                 

www.developingchild.harvard.edu

Poverty

I have not heard for my resources person in Hungary I will continue with my organization CHIP this website is intended to be a resource for policy makers, practitioners and activists concerned about childhood poverty.

CHIP

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre 

There is a crisis of childhood poverty

Over 10 million children under-five still die every year

current rates of improvement, about one billion children will be

growing up with impaired mental development by 2020.i and atii

A child who is poorly nourished, experiencing high morbidity,

has poor education and low aspirations may be unable to reverse

these accumulated problems later in life.

is critical because poor nutrition in the first five years and 

Good nutritional intake for under-fives, adolescents and pregnant

women during pregnancy, which frequently occurs during adolescence, has devastating and irreversible effects which perpetuate poverty cycles. Enhancing nutrition will break very harmful and yet preventablepoverty transfers.

Economic growth and poverty

Most current economic policy aims to promote economic

growth, and sees this as fundamental for poverty reduction.

The relationship between growth and poverty reduction is

controversial - taken together, most research suggests that it is

difficult to sustain the reduction of income and non-income

poverty without growth. However, the extent to which growth

can reduce poverty depends largely on levels of inequality- growth

can be three times more effective in reducing poverty where

inequality is low than if it is high

global inequality since the mid-1980s, this implies

greater redistribution poverty. Three kinds of redistribution may have particularly

strong impacts on families and thus children in poverty:

•

Countries with equitable distribution of land and access to

education grow faster and convert growth into poverty reduction

faster because poor people are the drivers of growth, rather than

the eventual beneficiaries. Adequately sized cash transfers can

also help poor people build up productive assets.

• - ensuring pro-poor growth growth will reduce poverty most

when it is concentrated in labour-intensive sectors with the

potential to employ unskilled or low-skilled people. In many

contexts this means agriculture and microenterprise. As growth

in these sectors may also increase children’s workloads, they may

need to be combined with policy and programmatic measures to

ensure children’s education.

•
investing in basic services to promote human development, in

particular health, education and water and sanitation. As well

as its intrinsic benefits, and contribution to improved health,

education is particularly critical in enabling poor people to

benefit from and drive economic growth.

Reference for Childhood Poverty Reserch and Police Centre

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre’s page (http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/)

Please look at the posting below that refers to this reference.

CHILDHOOD POVERTY

I did have good luck in getting one of my sources out of the country just today. We have just exchanged email address today so hopefully I will be able to share information next week with you about Children and their Families in Hungary.

I am posting today the podcast alternative: Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP)

CHIP is a organization that provide research about children in poverty. In this issue they research four countries. China, India, Kyrgyzatan, and Mongaila. They publicize information to make the government and politician aware of the child poverty exciting in their counties. I am sharing information that I found important about this website.

CHIP
Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre

CHIP - Knowledge for Tackling Childhood Poverty

The crisis of childhood poverty

Over 600 million children world-wide live in absolute poverty - an estimated 1 in 4. In many countries, rates are much higher with over 60 percent of children living in households with incomes below international poverty lines. Over 10 million children under five still die every year from preventable diseases - the vast majority of them in developing countries. As one of the most powerless groups in society, children often bear the physical and emotional costs of poverty.  

Poverty denies opportunities to people of all ages. Lost opportunities in childhood cannot always be regained later - childhood is a one-off window of opportunity and development. Poverty experienced by children, even over short periods, can affect the rest of their lives. Malnutrition in early childhood, for example, can lead to life-long learning difficulties and poor health.

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. Tackling childhood poverty is therefore critical for eradicating poverty and injustice world-wide.

The international community has committed itself to meeting the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This includes halving poverty rates, cutting by two-thirds the deaths of children under five and ensuring that all children in the world complete at least primary education. Already progress is slower than is needed - only substantial investment in children now will enable this vital reduction in different forms of childhood poverty to be achieved.

About this website

While the funded phase of the CHIP program is now over, this website is intended to be a resource for policy makers, practitioners and activists concerned about childhood poverty. It contains policy briefings, research reports, photos, case studies and links on a wide range of issues related to childhood poverty, all of which can be accessed via the menus at the left and bottom of each page. This website will continue to exist until at least 2007.

CHIP was funded by the UK Department for International Development, Save the Children and the Chronic Poverty Research Centre.

CHIP Rationale

CHIP aims to fill some of the gaps in knowledge about childhood poverty internationally and in partner countries, and to work with others to gain commitments to action. This web page explains some of the general gaps in knowledge about childhood poverty, and the rationale for the CHIP program.

·         Knowledge varies substantially between countries. In some countries, very little is known. There may be statistics showing the number of families in poverty or percentage of children undernourished. But what poverty means for families - and how the ways they cope affect children may not be understood. In other countries, more is known overall, but information about children in particular groups - such as among disadvantaged minorities or in isolated areas - is lacking. Elsewhere, there may be good statistical information but this is not linked to an analysis of the trends and policies underlying child wellbeing. CHIP research sought to address specific knowledge gaps on children in poverty.

·         Research focuses on specific aspects of childhood and is rarely well linked together. Internationally, children and childhood have attracted much research. However, this research has tended to focus on particular areas of education, health, psychology, or on particular groups of children such a street children or child workers. Often this knowledge is not brought together. It tends to focus on the nature of problems faced by children in poverty and rarely links this to wider knowledge about the causes of poverty. This means that opportunities for using this knowledge to tackle problems of children in poverty are often missed.

·         Impacts of key development policies on children are poorly understood or documented. The debate continues as to which policies or sets of policies are most effective in reducing poverty overall. However, even policies that reduce poverty overall may not help poor children, and in some cases make their situation worse. We need a clearer understanding of where, when and how different kinds of development policies improve or worsen the situation of children in poverty. Though much is known about how particular sector policies, such as health, education or social security policy, can improve the situation of children, knowledge about the most effective combinations of social and economic policies is limited.

·         Little is known about how children can be trapped in poverty cycles and what can help them escape. For example, under what circumstances does working in childhood trap children in poverty, and when does it provide useful skills for the future? What kinds of education best help children escape poverty? What sorts of economic and social policies are most helpful for preventing poverty being passed between generations? Answers to these questions are critical for breaking poverty cycles permanently. CHIP has started to answer some of these questions, though more context-specific knowledge is needed.

·         The broader policy environments that best promote child wellbeing are poorly understood. What kinds of political environments tend to reduce poverty among families and children? What kinds of relationships between aid-giving and receiving countries promote child wellbeing?

     

Mongolia

Young boys fetching water at sunset

Young boys fetching water at sunset from one of the soum centre’s tapstands,  Khalkhgol, Dornod Aimag.
Children usually fetch water for households in rural areas like Khalkhgol and some are paid by their neighbours for the service.  Some children spend the little money they earn on sweets and games, but some use it to support their families to buy basic necessities like flour and clothes.

by Jenni Marshall/CHIP

 

Kyrgyzatan

Mother with baby in their home

This young mother lives in the house shown in this photograph with her 6-month-old daughter (pictured), her 9-year-old son and her partner. The house, however, does not belong to them - their relatives have given it to them temporarily. Like many other young families in Kyrgyzstan, they find the cost of buying or building a house of their own too high.
There are two rooms in this house at present - the family lives in one of them, while using the other for storage. It is often cold in the living room as they can only afford to heat it with their metal stove. Because of this, the baby catches cold easily.
According to CHIP research, cutting down on heating in winter is a common money-saving strategy among poorer families in Kyrgyzstan. As a consequence, though, a high percentage of children catch cold or 'flu in winter - and, for older children, this means they are more likely to miss school in winter.

by Kyrgyzstan CHIP Team




India
Boy selling ice ceam in India


China

Babies in China

SHARING WEB RESOURCES

http://www.icrichild.org/

Empowering the Village to Raise the Child.

ICRI works to improve the lives of children and families around the world. We focus on early childhood care and education, children’s rights, empowerment of women and girls, maternal/child health, and grassroots community development. ICRI’s credo is “we only go where we are invited,” and all of our programs advance local leadership and promote community collaboration. Since ICRI was founded in 1981, we have developed or operated over 300 programs in over 50 countries, all with the goal of empowering the village to raise the child.

National Black Child Development Institute
http://nbcdi.org/blog/2010/08/21/parent-empowerment-project-pep/

Parent Empowerment Project (PEP)

PEP is a program that seeks to educate, motivate and inspire parents to excellence as their Child’s first teacher

The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) introduces an exciting curriculum for parent education.  Parent Empowerment Project (PEP) is a unique program that seeks to educate, motivate and inspire parents to excellence as their child’s first teacher.  Under the auspices of NBCDI, PEP was designed by and for lower income African Americans, but hasdemonstrated effectiveness with a broad spectrum of parents.
Parents participating in PEP are enhanced by the experience.
They begin to:

• Express and demonstrate knowledge of child development and parenting skills
• Stimulate their child’s growth and development appropriately
• Increase their knowledge of community resources and how to access them
• Develop confidence and positive self esteem

Since 1970, NBCDI has worked to advance and improve the quality of life for Black children and their parents through a variety of innovative programs, educational publications and dynamic training conferences. Our nationwide affiliate network allows NBCDI to provide our constituents with direct services, public education programs, leadership training and research.  PEP is one example of our commitment to excellence for African American children and represents a fresh approach to parent education.
The distinctive aspects of this curriculum are:

• Affirmations – Inspiring and thought provoking affirmations, many of which are African proverbs, highlight the values of the lessons and stimulate discussion on the subject.
• Parent Driven – The parents determine what topics they will study. With the support of a facilitator, they are able to choose from a buffet of topics, empowering them to tailor the curriculum to meet their needs.
• Active Participation – This fully interactive approach enables parents to retain more of the new information through role-playing, art, music, brainstorming and other forms of active participation.
• Weaving the Story – The curriculum consists of three major units:

Successful Parenting focuses on child development, discipline and child rearing strategies.
African American Culture is a cultural component tied to history, values and achievement.

My Vision for the Future promotes self-sufficiency, to help parents balance home and work.
The facilitator helps to “weave” the African American Culture topics into Successful Parenting and My Vision for the Future at appropriate junctures, in order to reinforce the lessons learned and provide cultural foundations and education.


The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) is one of seventeen divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) - the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted. DEC is especially for individuals who work with or on behalf of children with special needs, birth through age eight, and their families.

OUR MISSIONThe Division for Early Childhood promotes policies and advances evidence-based practices that support families and enhance the optimal development of young children who have or are at risk for developmental delays and disabilities.

http://www.dec-sped.org/About_DEC

The three organizations listed above are the three organizations I have subscribed for newsletters. There is no one specific issue that I am focusing on just getting all the information I can get to help in anyway I can. I am very  interested in working for low income families. I am particularly interested in African American children and their families and or families of color. I have worked most of my life  with these children and families and I feel this is where God wants me to be. I did received a email from all three of these organizations letting me know that by newsletters will be arriving my next month.   

Establishing Professional Contacts

I was unable to speak with anyone from other cultures out side of the United States. I was able to speak with many of my friends who are from different countries. One of my friends is from Mexico, one from Nigeria and another from Hungary. They all are going to gather emails and phone numbers of family and friends who are still live in there home land. I have also e-mail two UNICEF Websites with no reply as of yet. I also started a facebook page with International Child Resource Institute (ICRI) I am so impress with this organization that I will be joining I will also be joining National Black Child Development Institute and The World Forum Foundation.

I had to put this article on my blog I just could not believe what I was reading. You think you have it bad until you read someone else's problems. I will never complain again when one of my teachers call in sick.

In the article Early Childhood Trends around the World open my eyes to what is going on in the world in early childhood. In The article it states that in Nepal’s during the 11-year long armed conflict in Nepal, a large number of people living in rural and remote areas of the country migrated to the urban areas, mostly to the Terai (plain) areas. On one hand, the number of students in the schools in the hilly regions has dropped. In some schools there are more teachers than students. On the other hand, the number of students in the schools in the urban plain areas has increased disproportionately. A single classroom has to accommodate more than 200 students and be taken care of by a single teacher. This has led to a shortage of physical facilities and teachers and adversely affects the academic environment of the schools as well as the overall performance of the children. On top of that, the school authorities and teachers are not trained to deal with the psychological trauma the children are living with because of their exposure to different violent incidences during the conflict. Interestingly, even after the restoration of peace, people are not willing to return to their original places Neugebauer 2007. I could not imagine being this teacher.

My Supports

                                                                                          

                                                            My Biggest Support Is GOD

The Encarta Dictionary defines support as: to keep something or somebody upright or in place, or prevent something or somebody from falling. My first and foremost support that I receive on a daily basis comes from God. If I did not have God in my life I would be completely lost. The reason I have gotten as far as I have in my life educationally is strictly due to my faith. During my life I have achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education and also a Master of Science Degree in Community Psychology.
I have had the privilege of working with children since high school. I was also blessed to be born in a family with 15 children. We were raised by the best mom and dad anyone could have. I have a strong Christian background and God has always come first in my life. Keeping God first in my life and knowing my family is there to support in all that I do is my biggest support system.

                                       My Supportive Teem My Children

I also have dyslexia and I depend on help from the computer, dictionary, thesaurus, and family and friends to help me with spelling and using the correct syntax when I am writing and speaking. The dyslexia causes me to sometimes say things backwards. If I did not have this support, I would be lost. Going through grade school and high school for me was a nightmare. Teachers told me I was lazy and talked about me to other teachers not knowing I could hear everything that they were saying. I would literally become very ill in the month of August because I knew school will be starting in September. I had good friends that helped me and my family who always told me that, "I can do it!" Without their support I would have quit school. I did not go back to school after graduating from high school until I was 44 years old. My daughter was attending college and was having problems. I felt lost because I did not know anything about college and at the same time the director of the daycare I was working for was telling us that we had to go back to school to get our degree in early childhood education. I went back to school very afraid that the experience I had in grade school and high school was going to repeat itself. Instead I had wonderful support team of teachers who understood my learning difference. I learned how to use the computer, dictionaries, and thesauruses. With the support of my family, friends and teachers I graduated with honors and the valedictorian of my class with a GPA of a 3.98. I went on to get my Masters of Science in Community Psychology and now I am working on my Masters of Science in Early Childhood Studies - Teaching Adults in Early Childhood Education. Without putting God first and the support of my computer and family and friends I would not be the person I am today.

My Supportive Team My Family

The specific challenge I would imagine myself to have would to have my sight and then go blind. Being in the darkness would cause me to have to depend on my other senses and to use them to help me navigate through life. The challenge of living in constant darkness would mean that I would have to rely on my memory of the surrounding terrain. I would have to depend on my children, family and friends for my support and I know they would not mind but I would feel bad to put them in that position. I would have to start a whole new life, seeking out more outside support to teach me how to live in a world of despair and the feeling of hopelessness to help me with both my inside and outside environment.

The biggest support I would need would be counting on my family for emotional, physical and practical support. I would have to depend on them for everyday tasks such as: overseeing my finances, wardrobe choices, and making sure that my nutritional needs are properly met. They would also assist me with mapping out my environment so that I could gain the knowledge to live independently. Eventually, I would need them less and less as I start to master these skills on my own, because I know I would want to continue to go to school and I would want to continue to work with children. Without the support of these people in my life I would feel lost, alone and most of all miserable. I do feel I would not stop trying to be successful. It would just take me a little longer. I would certainly stay close to God. I would pull myself up and continue to be the person I am today; God is my support at all times.

My Connections to Play

Quotes: Children at Play

“When kids play, they remember. They may not be aware they are learning, but they sure
are aware they are having fun. When you have a good belly laugh with your siblings or
parents or friends, that stays with you. And the great thing is that is comes so naturally…
if we only let it.”

--Rebecca Krook, play facilitator for kids with disabilities

Play for young children is not recreation activity,... It is not leisure-time activity nor
escape activity.... Play is thinking time for young children. It is language time. Problem-
solving time. It is memory time, planning time, investigating time. It is organization-of-
ideas time, when the young child uses his mind and body and his social skills and all his
powers in response to the stimuli he has met.

--James L. Hymes, Jr., child development specialist,

                                           

My Easy Baked Oven was one of my favorite toys that I played with all the time. I love to cook now I think it was because of my parent getting me my first Easy Baked Oven when I was 9 years old. I when through about two or three of them in my childhood. My second favorite toy that I played with a lot was my baby dolls. I just loved them I like the real size dolls. My mom always had a baby and I wanted to be just like her. Another toy I played with was my bike. It was pink and I like feeling the wind in my face when riding it.

I have 11 brothers and 3 sisters we all played together. Our house was the house that everyone came to play. We played hide and seek all summer long. We also play kick ball and soft ball all summer. I just love summer time because we played outdoor all day long. Another thing we played was house, school and church. We are a very close family and I do believe it is because our parents encourage us to play together and we prayed together also.

Play today is so different then when I was a child. Children today find going outdoors playing in the heat is a punishment. If they are not playing a video game or talking on a phone or playing with something that is making some kind of noise they are not playing. My hope for children today is to experience real imaginative play the way we did as children.

My play as I grew up help me understand real life. We played house all the time I sometimes was the mother who took care of the children and sometimes I was the big sister who had to cook dinner sometimes when mother was busy. I also play the teachers roll and I love playing the teacher. I always told my mother I was going to be a teacher when I grew up. My parents were very good about letting us grow using our imagination.