Imagine that you possess the means and the knowledge to conduct
research studies about any topic in the early childhood field. Imagine
further that you are not restricted by the reality of the present.
Imagine that your study will make a major positive contribution to the
well-being of children and/or their families. What topic would you
choose? What can you imagine the positive contribution(s) would be?
I would choose to study the source/cause of passive-aggressive behaviors in young children toward peers, teachers, and family members. In a perfect world - a world free of disjointed families, needy children, abuse of any kind, hunger, negative discipline issues or lack of discipline, and free of families run by children - I think that passive-aggressive behaviors would still exist. I've seen children act out in this manner for a variety of reasons, most of which I have just listed. But I also noticed that there is this sense of anger and passive-aggressive behavior even in the "good" families and the "good" kids. Maybe the family is good at hiding secrets or abuse or anything that may cause this behavior. Maybe they don't have anything to hide at all - I really think there are families out there like this. They deal with behaviors from their children and have no idea why it is happening. I would do extensive research in this area so that I might help families to find peace and understanding with one another. So that these kids could maybe lead a normal life without impulsive behaviors just happening, often out of their control. And so that educators might better meet the needs of these children.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Saturday, September 14, 2013
My Personal Research Journey
I've chosen to research the topic of nutrition in early childhood. I am interested in nutrition and had I not chosen to major in education my second choice was the medical field, namely nutrition sciences. Now I have the opportunity to combine both worlds within this research competency course.
I have looked into some data and statistics that WIC has developed as well as statistics from various states across the country. I've also done some looking into the impact of good nutrition on the early childhood years (nothing extensive). I know the importance of teaching children at an early age to become eaters who make wise choices.
Have any of you done research on early childhood nutrition? I'd love some links to peer-reviewed websites/articles/resources.
I have looked into some data and statistics that WIC has developed as well as statistics from various states across the country. I've also done some looking into the impact of good nutrition on the early childhood years (nothing extensive). I know the importance of teaching children at an early age to become eaters who make wise choices.
Have any of you done research on early childhood nutrition? I'd love some links to peer-reviewed websites/articles/resources.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Ready for Research!
...or maybe not. :)
It has been awhile since I've done a research project. All courses we have been in thus far at Walden have, of course, required a little bit of research for parts of the course but we haven't had to do any major research yet. I look forward to this refresher on research and welcome personal growth in this area. Thank you all in advance for your input over the next few weeks! Hopefully we can be an encouragement to one another!
It has been awhile since I've done a research project. All courses we have been in thus far at Walden have, of course, required a little bit of research for parts of the course but we haven't had to do any major research yet. I look forward to this refresher on research and welcome personal growth in this area. Thank you all in advance for your input over the next few weeks! Hopefully we can be an encouragement to one another!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
They said it...
Some quotations about children and/or education that I've come to appreciate:
"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure."
-Emma Goldman
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
"We've bought into the idea that education is about training and "success", defined monetarily, rather than learning to think critically and to challenge. We should not forget that the true purpose of education is to make minds, not careers. A culture that does not rasp the vital interplay between morality and power, which mistakes management techniques for wisdom, which fails to understand that the measure of a civilization is its compassion, not its speed or ability to consume, condemns itself to death."
-Chris Hedges
"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure."
-Emma Goldman
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
"We've bought into the idea that education is about training and "success", defined monetarily, rather than learning to think critically and to challenge. We should not forget that the true purpose of education is to make minds, not careers. A culture that does not rasp the vital interplay between morality and power, which mistakes management techniques for wisdom, which fails to understand that the measure of a civilization is its compassion, not its speed or ability to consume, condemns itself to death."
-Chris Hedges
Sunday, April 14, 2013
A Holistic View
It is my belief that children learn many different ways. One child may be a visual learning while the next kinesthetic. There is no one correct way to teach just as there is no one correct way to learn. It's tricky when looking at how schools test children so much to try and determine what they know or have learned. I, for one, do not find it fair. There needs to be anther way to measure knowledge that considers the whole child. Sure, it would require a lot more work on everyone's part but it would be for the benefit of the child.
I know that in some areas there are vocational schools. I'm not talking just a VoTech school that high school students can go to in the afternoons after doing gen ed courses at the public high school. I'm talking about the vocational schools that children in middle-high school can choose to go to instead of regular public high school. These can be found in other parts of the world, but there are also a few in the United States. I think that they are great in that they meet the needs and interests of each student; these kids can choose their focus and really excel! They don't need to waste time on things that they don't care about and probably will not do well at. One example is in Philadelphia at the Mercy Vocational High School. Here students can choose from the following areas of focused study: business, carpentry, computer, cosmetology, culinary, electric, and nursing.
Around the world you can see a variety in means of assessment of school-aged children. My husband observed while in China that some school-aged assessments were mainly group effort and not based on individual assessment. In the times that I have visited Spain I noticed that school-aged children are expected to sit and listen to lecture-style instruction and then are given formal assessments on what they have heard. In third-world countries many children do not even attend school. They are assessed by their community by how they perform self-care tasks or other things that are important to their particular culture.
I know that in some areas there are vocational schools. I'm not talking just a VoTech school that high school students can go to in the afternoons after doing gen ed courses at the public high school. I'm talking about the vocational schools that children in middle-high school can choose to go to instead of regular public high school. These can be found in other parts of the world, but there are also a few in the United States. I think that they are great in that they meet the needs and interests of each student; these kids can choose their focus and really excel! They don't need to waste time on things that they don't care about and probably will not do well at. One example is in Philadelphia at the Mercy Vocational High School. Here students can choose from the following areas of focused study: business, carpentry, computer, cosmetology, culinary, electric, and nursing.
Around the world you can see a variety in means of assessment of school-aged children. My husband observed while in China that some school-aged assessments were mainly group effort and not based on individual assessment. In the times that I have visited Spain I noticed that school-aged children are expected to sit and listen to lecture-style instruction and then are given formal assessments on what they have heard. In third-world countries many children do not even attend school. They are assessed by their community by how they perform self-care tasks or other things that are important to their particular culture.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Consequences of Stress on Children's Development
"The beneficial aspects of stress diminish when it is severe enough to overwhelm a child's ability to cope effectively" (Middlebrooks & Audage, 2008, pp. 4).
Stress is an important part of life. There is good stress such as starting a new school, meeting new people, and getting shots. There is also bad stress such as abuse, neglect, and other long-lasting issues. Some stress is right in the middle and includes things such as death or a disaster. Stress can have a positive impact on life if dealt with in a healthy manner. Otherwise, stress is harmful especially to children.
An acquaintance - let's call her Suzie - shared her stressful childhood with me. Suzie was neglected as a child. She started school and went until 1st grade and then her parents pulled her out. They didn't want to send her, so they didn't. Nor did they homeschool her. Online school was nonexistent then. Suzie was left to fend for herself at home most of her life. She learned what she taught herself... without the use of a TV, radio, or any other outside connections. When Suzie turned 18 she left. She moved far away from her neglectful family and home. She took in any bit of information like a dry camel filling up on water. The world became a wonderfully exciting place that could give her things nobody else ever had. She eventually married and now has a child who is in PreK. Suzie is not a product of some horrific neglect stories; she took care of herself and believed in herself when nobody else did. She is taking evening classes to get her GED. She talks excitedly about things such as long division, chapter books I read in middle school, and reading in general. You see, Suzie can barely fluently read a children's book to her child out loud. She has come such a long way and is doing everything that she can to provide her child with the life she never had. Her child is smart, well taken care of, and exuberant. The child is full of life that is backed up by a caring mom and dad. Suzie learns new things from her PreK child and checks with me to be sure the child is correct before believing her sometimes! It's an exciting life to be involved in.
My mom works closely with Asian exchange students here in the US. She places them with host families, helps them with traveling, meets with them to study, and does evaluations. I have gotten to know several of her students and have observed some stress in their lives. Many of the students do not take time for social interactions. They go to school and come "home" and study. The study on the weekends, too. Most of them, when asked by my mom to go do something as a group, say they would rather stay home and study. It seems as if there can never be enough studying. I decided to look into this stressor a little bit. It just so happens that Asian children are "taught to respect, honor, and obey their parents" (Fung, Ho, Louie, Martinez, & Lau, 2010, p. 176) above all else. Individual goals are often pushed aside in order to fulfill family goals. A positive side of this is that there are less conduct problems with Asian young-people but this in turn effects them developmentally. Studies on Asian children show high levels of achievement academically, even from a young age, but also show low achievement socially in the areas of self-esteem and social interactions leading to loneliness and depression. The big stressor, even in young children, is in that fulfillment of family oriented goals. Success is a family thing; succeed and the family succeeds, fail and the family fails.
I think that the exchange programs deal with this well. They encourage social interactions, especially within the host family. Students come to the United States to study and get to know other students their age and desire to fit in. They begin to open up to peer invites to hang out or go do social things. Perhaps some of them take this lifestyle back to Asia with them and allow it to influence their lives and those around them.
Resources:
Fung, J., Ho, L, Louie, J., L., Martinez, J., & Lau, A. (2010). In F. Leong, L. Juang, D.B. Qin, H.E. Fitzgerald (Eds.) Asian American and Pacific Islander Children and Mental Health Handbook, Volume 2: Prevention and Treatment. California: Praeger.
Middlebrooks JS, Audage NC. The Effects of Childhood Stress on Health Across the Lifespan. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2008.
Stress is an important part of life. There is good stress such as starting a new school, meeting new people, and getting shots. There is also bad stress such as abuse, neglect, and other long-lasting issues. Some stress is right in the middle and includes things such as death or a disaster. Stress can have a positive impact on life if dealt with in a healthy manner. Otherwise, stress is harmful especially to children.
An acquaintance - let's call her Suzie - shared her stressful childhood with me. Suzie was neglected as a child. She started school and went until 1st grade and then her parents pulled her out. They didn't want to send her, so they didn't. Nor did they homeschool her. Online school was nonexistent then. Suzie was left to fend for herself at home most of her life. She learned what she taught herself... without the use of a TV, radio, or any other outside connections. When Suzie turned 18 she left. She moved far away from her neglectful family and home. She took in any bit of information like a dry camel filling up on water. The world became a wonderfully exciting place that could give her things nobody else ever had. She eventually married and now has a child who is in PreK. Suzie is not a product of some horrific neglect stories; she took care of herself and believed in herself when nobody else did. She is taking evening classes to get her GED. She talks excitedly about things such as long division, chapter books I read in middle school, and reading in general. You see, Suzie can barely fluently read a children's book to her child out loud. She has come such a long way and is doing everything that she can to provide her child with the life she never had. Her child is smart, well taken care of, and exuberant. The child is full of life that is backed up by a caring mom and dad. Suzie learns new things from her PreK child and checks with me to be sure the child is correct before believing her sometimes! It's an exciting life to be involved in.
My mom works closely with Asian exchange students here in the US. She places them with host families, helps them with traveling, meets with them to study, and does evaluations. I have gotten to know several of her students and have observed some stress in their lives. Many of the students do not take time for social interactions. They go to school and come "home" and study. The study on the weekends, too. Most of them, when asked by my mom to go do something as a group, say they would rather stay home and study. It seems as if there can never be enough studying. I decided to look into this stressor a little bit. It just so happens that Asian children are "taught to respect, honor, and obey their parents" (Fung, Ho, Louie, Martinez, & Lau, 2010, p. 176) above all else. Individual goals are often pushed aside in order to fulfill family goals. A positive side of this is that there are less conduct problems with Asian young-people but this in turn effects them developmentally. Studies on Asian children show high levels of achievement academically, even from a young age, but also show low achievement socially in the areas of self-esteem and social interactions leading to loneliness and depression. The big stressor, even in young children, is in that fulfillment of family oriented goals. Success is a family thing; succeed and the family succeeds, fail and the family fails.
I think that the exchange programs deal with this well. They encourage social interactions, especially within the host family. Students come to the United States to study and get to know other students their age and desire to fit in. They begin to open up to peer invites to hang out or go do social things. Perhaps some of them take this lifestyle back to Asia with them and allow it to influence their lives and those around them.
Resources:
Fung, J., Ho, L, Louie, J., L., Martinez, J., & Lau, A. (2010). In F. Leong, L. Juang, D.B. Qin, H.E. Fitzgerald (Eds.) Asian American and Pacific Islander Children and Mental Health Handbook, Volume 2: Prevention and Treatment. California: Praeger.
Middlebrooks JS, Audage NC. The Effects of Childhood Stress on Health Across the Lifespan. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2008.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Breastfeeding - From Central PA to Hong Kong
I am a strong supporter of breastfeeding. I realize that not all mothers are able to breastfeed their children for a variety of reasons, but when it is possible it should be done. Breastfeeding is meaningful to me because I have done it; in fact, I am still breastfeeding my son who is now 13 months old. I plan to continue until he decides to stop or the next baby comes along. Breastfeeding has fabulous benefits: bonding time and many health/nutritional benefits for baby. Why wouldn't you want to do it if you could?
Many women in the US don't feel as if they have enough rights when it comes to breastfeeding, especially in public. Depending on what state you live in the law varies. In most states breastfeeding in public is not against the law. The only problem is this: although it's not against the law there is not any way for the mom to enforce her right should she be harassed. I think that some mom's are scared out of breastfeeding because it's difficult to go out in public especially when the baby is young and still feeding often. There have been many lawsuits filed regarding breastfeeding in public, many of which have not been yet settled or have not been settled in a sufficient way. Perhaps this is the bigger issue in the US.
In Hong Kong breastfeeding is becoming more 'normal' these days, although the majority of the population don't breastfeed for long. Many mothers quit between 1-3 months. I found that the reason for this is mostly cultural influence. Breastfeeding is considered embarrassing (especially around anyone else), and there doesn't seem to be much support from family, the workplace, or other organizations as there is in the US. (We have lactation consultants... WIC services... and it's just not abnormal around here so employers tend to be more supportive of pumping, etc.). More recently the government in Hong Kong as well as the World Health Organization has begun to actively promote breastfeeding for at least 6 months exclusively and then up to a year. Perhaps more women will do so in the future.
As a PreK teacher in the daycare setting I interact with many families, not just my PreK families. I have had discussions with new moms several times about breastfeeding and I plan to continue to do so. It was interesting to look at this topic from another perspective and I think that I will continue to look at other countries and how they handle breastfeeding. I'm sure the the more developed countries do it less and the less developed ones do it more. I guess I'll find out!
Oh, and a website that I have taken a liking to - for personal information as well as research now - is the LLL site:
La Leche League International
It's great! There's great information for mothers (or anyone interested) as well as links to information from around the world.
Another great resource is:
Breastfeeding Law
*Some of my info about Hong Kong came from the following article:
Tarrant, M., Fong, D. Y. T., Wu, K. M., Lee, I. L. Y., Wong, E. M. Y., Sham, A., . . . Dodgson, J. E. (2010). Breastfeeding and weaning practices among hong kong mothers: A prospective study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 10(1), 27-27. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-10-27
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