Testing for Intelligence

Considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically (i.e., a commitment to “the whole child”) what, if anything, do you believe should be measured or assessed?  Explain your reasoning.

Every child born into this world has the potential to succeed in whatever they do and certainly with great expectations from his/her parents.  But there is a fine line between what they are capable to do physically as well as academically.  Every child learns at different pace, some faster than others.  But if we can get a good understanding how each child learns and at rate each child develops we can understand the whole child.  I believe a child’s ability should be measured individually.  Once each child is individually measured then at that point a comparison can be done with the whole group to see where improvements are needed. 

In what ways are school-age children assessed in other parts of the world?  (Choose a country or region of the world for which you have a personal affinity.)

Standardized testing of school-age children is used across Canada to measure the performance of students from province to province.  They are concern that students are performing on basic things like reading, writing, and math (Global News, 2012).

What additional ideas, comments, suggestions, examples, and/or concerns related to assessing young children would you like to share with your colleagues?

I don’t feel standardized testing should be totally done away with.  I believe we have to monitor a child’s progress in order to make sure children are developing on point.  I also believe in order to see a child’s full potential we must move outside the classroom into a more kid-friendly environment.  It is important to evaluate the whole child and not only look for and report back on the areas that don’t meet certain levels but look for those areas that exceed beyond the norm.  I think other ways for monies being granted from the results of testing should be sought.  Overall, concentration should be on the whole child if standardized testing is going to continue.

References

Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2012.

Read it on Global News: Global News | Canadians worried about kids’ grasp of math, literacy: poll

Coping with Death of Toddler

The stressor I chose was the tragic death of my four-year old cousin.  Many times we don’t understand how a child feels because they are unable to express themselves or their feelings in full detail and a way we can clearly understand them.  They don’t voluntarily share that information because being unable to connect with the person they’re trying to explain their emotions to makes them more frustrated then anything else.

Seeing a sibling fighting to be rescued helplessly from a fire, which in a matter of seconds, faces life then death and then trying to come to grips with the fact and finally realizing she didn’t make it out alive is very traumatic for anyone.  Death is never easy no matter how old an individual is.  Though it is a little more understandable when the deceased person has lived a full life, has seen all but the moon and finally has been called from labor to rest for whatever reason (illness, aging, etc.).  Questions arise when it’s a toddler, questions where answers aren’t always available, questions as to what could have been done to prevent such a tragic event.  Furthermore, why did such a thing happen?

            Death changes every aspect life once had.  Later in life that same toddler who witness that death is still affected and questions what this person possibly would of become in their life.  A child’s coping method is totally different than an adult and whereas we have learned different coping methods and still struggle when it comes to the actual test.  We must learn ways to assist children when expressing themselves.  Toddlers have emotions which we sometimes label as unhappy times especially when those times are uncertain or seem impossible. 

The coping I can remember that was used during this tragedy was just being around loving family and being comforted.  We were told my cousin was in Heaven and that we would see her again.  Day after day the conversation about the event grew fewer and fewer and within two to three months very little was being said returning life back to normal. 

Similar incidents such as this one have happened in Africa where the young children have lost their lives due to a fire.  I would like to research how the death from a fire is compared to children dying from living in poverty or being diseased stricken and see what coping methods are used and if it is different for each incident. 

Good nutrition is so important in a child’s life.  Cognitive development is a term that covers human perception, thinking, and learning.  Nutrition, genes, and environment are three major factors impacting cognitive development (www.nfsmi.org).  As a caregiver for children it is our role to provide and encourage children to eat nutritious food.  We also can introduce them to new foods, food out of the ordinary.  Children are more likely to eat what they see their caregiver eating which is a way to encourage variety and those new foods.  Children love raisins and marshmallows.  Unfortunately, celery is not a well-liked food.  But by making “Ant on a Log” and allowing the children to decorate it with the marshmallows or raisins children usually will eat their creativity.

The effect of nutrition on the brain begins before birth – with the nutrition of the mother.  Undernutrition and the resulting negative effects on brain development during pregnancy and the first two years of life may be permanent and irreversible (www.nfsmi.org).  Children who lack good nutrition have low levels of energy.  They have no interest in playing for long periods of time or interacting with other children who are energetic.  Poor nutrition provides the energy and nutrients people need to meet their physical and mental potential.  Proper nutrition fuels the body, which gives children the energy they need to play and exercise. (www.livestrong.com). 

The reason good nutrition is meaningful to me is believe it or not there are children suffer from poor nutrition.  I know for certain the children I provide care for do at least receive one nutritious meal while in my care.  Depending on the time frame they’re in my care they may receive two or three nutritious meals.  As a future director of my day care facility my goal is to push nutrition knowing the lasting impact it has on the child as a whole.

References

www.livestrong.com

www.nfsmi.org

My personal birthing experience was the birth of my oldest daughter.  Books can only teach you so much but when reality really strikes you tend to forget everything or at least just about everything you learned or read about the dos and don’ts of childbirth.  Administering the Epidural wasn’t around during the time of my childbearing days and I experience great amounts of pain.  I remember the nurse telling me how I would be okay in the middle of a contraction, which is definitely something someone in that type of pain does not want to hear at that particular moment.  But in the end, the birth of my firstborn erased that pain shortly after.

I choose this example because I have never experienced anything like it and I’ll never forget it.  Even though at that time it was very painful and I’m sure even more before my time having a baby in this day and time seems to be a whiz.  While thinking back I understand some of things the book tried to fore warn me but I do believe experience was my teacher and if I could I probably would do it all over again.

The region I chose was Nigeria.  Only 57.7% pregnant women receive prenatal care (www.tradingeconomics.com).  At first I didn’t realize how important it was to seek prenatal care.  It literally thought it was a waste of time but having this available made so much of a difference and helped my to think of what was expected even though I didn’t remember much during that time.  What was interesting about this was that this is on a decline when in January of 2000 over 63% pregnant women sought prenatal care.  Prenatal care can depict early signs of defects and it monitors the baby’s growth.

References

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/pregnant-women-receiving-prenatal-care-percent-wb-data.html

Erin (littlelaughter@wordpress.com):

I wish I could have figure out how to get to your blog earlier in the course but I wanted to share with you a "Word of Thanks."  Thank you for your creativity in your blogs.  I've learned so much and even though I received very little replies from my colleagues I appreciate the time and efforts you shared with everyone.  Good luck in all of your future endeavors.

Roslyn (rozecs@blogspot.com)

April (addaringer@blogspot.com):

Just a "Word of Thanks" for sharing throughout this course.  I really have enjoyed reading every post you have made.  Not only were they interesting but it also opened my thought process and either confirmed or changed the way I thought about certain things.  Good luck in all of your future endeavors!

Roslyn

NAEYC and DEC codes of ethics

1.  I-1.1  To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood education and to keep current through continuing education and in-service training.

2.  I-4.6  To support policies and laws that promote the well-being of children and families.  To oppose those that impair their well-being.  To cooperate with other individuals and groups in these efforts.

3.  I-3A.1  To establish and maintain relationships of trust and cooperation with co-workers.

It is so important to establish a trusting and cooperative relationship with co-workers because down the road we all need support from each as we venture out into the early childhood field.  We also need to be familiarized with issues concerning early childhood.  By attending seminars or taking college courses you will stay current with any issue.  This will prevent early childhood professionals from giving misleading information to the families we serve.  Finally, we must support any policy or law that promotes the well-being of children and their families.  Just as we look for support those individuals responsible for making those policies and law also need our support.