Research around the world

I chose the link http://www.wcdvu.org/ssa/majorreports.php
this site was based on research done in Africa. I saw that research done there dealt with everything from adminstration,teachers and professional development, parents and caregivers, the community, nutrition,and curriculum development. These are the same issues that we look at in the United States pertaining to research. I found it amazing that Africa being so far away that they are interested in the same issues we are. It just goes to show that education no matter what contry you are from is still very important. One topic that caught my eye was Involving Fathers in Early childhood Care and Development. In the school where I work we are constantly coming up with ways to get fathers into the classroom. We see the mothers all the time but hardly ever see the dads.
I learned that just because a country does not have the same as we do here in America, the education of thier children are still very important.

Research

If I had the power and means to perform a research for the early childhood field my research would be on how a culturally resposnive classroom enhances learning and creating a classroom family. This research would benefit children and families in becoming a part of the classroom family. All children would benfit from being in a culturally responsive classroom by learning a new language and learning that children celebrate and have different family and life experiences. I think this is a research topic that should be done because some places such as the city I live in do not have many children from different cultures, and this would help in preparing for different language . I also think this would help because culture does not always mean that you are from another clture. We have so many children with different backgrounds that man classrooms are culturally diversed.

Research Subtopic

The subtopic I chose was Can play enhance a child's ability to learn the content standards within the early childhood classroom. I chose this subtopic because next year I will teach Kindergarten and I am a handson teacher and believe that students need to move and use the social skills to learn instead of sitting and only doing worksheets.
I have not had much expereience with research. When I attended Brewton Parker College and was doing my student teaching I had to do an action research on the effects of a pre-test and post test. However I have never had to come up with research information on my own beside a few for science paper. T

Eventhough we have only been in class for two weeks, I have learned alot. The major things I beleieve I have learned would be to make sure that my information is current, unbias and written by an author who is connected to to the issue .
The advice I would give to my classmates would be to stay on top of assignments and to help each other when we can. I believe that feed back is a great asset to any class. Good Luck.

Consequences of International Correspondence

The first consequence I would say would be a benefit is the fact that learning that teachers around the world are also interested in continuing their learning about children thorugh professional development courses.
The second beneficial consequence is the understanding that schools around the world are facing the same exact issues. this issues could pertain to finiancial restraintents, diversity and poverty issues. I was amazed to learn that within one country two school had a totlly different economic make-up.
The third consequence I had was not a good one. I had one teacher that would not get some of my responses to her post. I guess that is the joy of technology.
A goal I would like to see for the international field would be a web site where teachers around the world could conversate with one another. This website would allow teachers to discuss issues within their schools and maybe find way that other schools have used to help solve the problems. The site could also be use as a teacher resource for new lessons or teaching ideas.

PArt 3 of Exchange with teachers

 I discussed with the teachers with whom I correspond with about the requirements we have for our professional development. In Pre-k we have to attend training once a year plus some for our school board. In pre-k it is mandatory for 2 people to be in the room at all times so we have to have subs on the days of training and when we are absent due to sickness.   

 Jackie from England stated that  in their district,they have less short courses at our local teacher's center due to monetary constraints - no money to release teachers!  However, there are lots of opportunities for CPD through our universities and we currently have three teachers studying for masters - one in the 'every child a writer project' , another in maths education and a third in family learning.   Our head and the board of governors are very supportive of any extra training any teacher wants to take on and some has been part-funded in school. Within school, we have peer observations and mentoring projects to support both new and existing staff- you're never too old to learn new things!

 Kathy who teaches at an airforce base in Japan stated  that the teachers there  have to renew our certification every 5 years and you must have 10 credit hours in your field to renew.  We have in the past had Scholastic courses offered that were paid for by the school.  None offered this year though.  We have a University of Maryland and University of Phoenix school here on our base that offers some graduate level education course.

 I think it is neat that they have Unniversities there on the base.  I also find  it very pleasing to  see that teachers around the world  continue their learning. I like the idea of having peer observations and the mentor projects, I think this would benenfit every school as well as teachers.

Web site and Newsletter

 I went to the resource tab on the Prek now website.  The tab gave many sub links I feel could be very beneficial to an early childhood edcuator. There were many articles that dealt with  the issue of Pre-k in Education reform.   On the newsletter from Pre-k now there is an article that continues the discussion on Pre-k and funding. The article states the Governor of Iowa want to replace the state preschool program with a schlorahip program which would be based on finacial need. Again this brings into account the equity of  children who attend preschool programs.  According to PAul Gausman a school superintendent of Iowa, there is concern on this issue, not for the high-poverty level or the middle -upper students but those students who are in the middle. In the article it gave an example of a family of 4 who make 67,000 a year would not recieve any state help for preschool.
 As I view this newletters because I get one daily, I find that as we all have know since the beginning edcuation truly evolves around funding. I get frustrated that our governement wants to cut our early childhood education but can afford other things that are not necessarily important to the state as a whole.

http://www.preknow.org/

Issues of equity

  I have only got a reply back from one of my contacts. Mrs. Kathy Sanders a teacher in Japan states  that all Japanese schools insist that students wear uniforms and there are restrictions on hair length for boys and girls.  They pretty much have the same haircut.  Japanese students attend school from 8-4,  Monday through Saturday.  They pretty much want students to all look the same, boys and girls.  No hair color, jewelry, ect. Ultimate conformity.  I am sure this cuts down on distractions .   How do tink our students would like to go to school on Saturday or our teachers?
 As soon  as I hear from other two contact I  will post their answers.

Web site and Newsletter

  Pre-k now send me newsletters  of articles daily that keeps me up to date on issues concerning pre-k from my state as well as other states.  The major issue that is mentioned lately is how states with Pre-k is  proposing cutting pre-k in some way or the other.  I find this interesting because last week we were told  that our GA governor  wants to put a salary cap on teachers who teach pre-k.  I would cap at what I currently make now with a 10 % paycut. I will be moving to a new grade next year due to recieving my Masters in order to get paid for my new degree.
 On the website  there is a tab that goes with a part of our discussion this week. The tab is called the Business and Community leaders. Then there are links to chose to get information on resources from community leaders and business. There is also a tab for families that I think is a great help to  parents. This tab discusses resources that are available to parents. 

Poverty

 Kathy who teaches  on an Air Force base in Japan stated that at her school, she does not see any poverty. However, she mentioned working at a school where 70%  of the children recieve free lunch.
 Gillian who is a teacher who teaches in England  discussed how many of the families thier were unemployed. There is a 90% male unemployement in the area where she teaches. Children come to school without breakfast and many students do not have hot water in their homes.  The school has a washing machine so that the studnets can wash their clothes and the school provides  hot showers. She also discussed  'Red Nose Day" this is where money is raised for specific projects to alleviate poverty worldwide.
 Jackie who aslo teaches in England stated that the school she works in has a mixture of economic status. The school started a program for children that the know will not have any food to provide food for them. The school also have welfare officers that help connect school. social services and families.

Early childhood programs in Japan and England

 Since  I joined the Pre-k know website. I begain to think about the countries in which I communicate with teachers? Mrs. Sanders who teaches in Japan stated that in that country they have the  Sure Start program which is similar to our Head start.  Mrs. Warren stated that the children there spend one or two years in a nursey class taught by certified teachers. Then the students go to a compulsory school at the age of five.

Organization Pre-k

 I joined the Prek now website. http://www.preknow.org/
 This website and newsletter deals with issues pretaining to the Pre-k programs that many states have. The website offers links to teachers and parents of children in the pre-k programThe main issue of the newsletters I have recieved since joining have dealt with the issue of cutting the pre-k programs.  This issue caught my attention because I am a pre-k teacher in the state of Georgia. I as a teacher and a mother know how important early edcuation is to a child's future. I have heard a lot from the Kindergarten teachers who are just as concerned as I am about this issue.  At first the governor of our state wanted to make pre-k a half day  but after much debate he  is leaning toward a six  hour day program and cutting the number of days to 160 instead of the 180. He is also suggesting putting 2 more students in each class.  There is no final answer as to our state government is still in session and has not voted on this issue.
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Connections

  For this assignment, I called on some people who I work with in the Worth County School System. The director of our pre-k  has a friend who teaches in Japan. Then our  school improvement  person has a friend who pastors a church in England and he talked to some friends whose wives were teachers.  Mrs. Sanders teaches  in Japan on the base there. Mrs. Davison and Mrs. Benjamin both teach in England.  Mrs. Sanders and Mrs. Benjamin both teach special needs and Mrs. Davison is a general ed teacher. I am looking forward to corresponding with these teachers. Mrs. Sanders sent me some pictures of Japan and it is beautiful.
 I am waiting for a reply from Mrs. Davison and Mrs. Benjamin.
 I decided to  view the Pre[k] now website. http://www.preknow.org/.  I teach pre-k so I thought this would be a great resoure for this class as well as for me.  I read an article that was posted on the site and I was amazed that other pre-k teachers in other states are going through the same thing as I am here in Georgia with pre-k. Our Governor is looking into cutting our pre-k day.  What will be next?

My Support

  My definition of support is  someone or something that allows you to be you, helps in ant situation and offers honest advice.
My first support during  any day is God. I pray to God every morning to help me make it through the day. Another support of my day is my family. My husband and children support me at everything I do.  They were very supportive when I made the decision to go back to get my Masters.  In any teachers job my students give me support. Their support come from their amazing ability to be honest and to be themselves. Another daily support comes from my colleages, especially my co-teacher. Their support allows  me to be a better teacher.  We are cosntantly talking about new ideas and ways certain children learn.  The challenge I would like to discuss is  when I have a  student that has a behavioral issue and I have tried everything I can to help this child improve the behavior. The support that God gives me is the  reensurance that everything is going to be fine. The support I get from my colleages is new ideas and techniques that they have tried in their room for similar behavior.  The support that I would get from my students would be the love and friendship that they offer to the student.  Thier honestly and the way they want to be friends with everyone is amazing. The support from my family would be that I can handle any problem or task. 
   Without the support of this group I know I could not make it through the day. I do not think I would be where I am today if I did not have this support team.  I feel that everyone needs to have a great support system.

My Connections To Play

My Connections to Play

 I believe that play in my early childhood was very beneficial for me as I grew into an adult. Through play I learned that I could be anything or anyone that I wanted to be by using my imagination. I can remember riding my bike and pretending to be a school bus driver, stopping at different spots in my grandmothers yard to pick up students. I do not remember any adults in my play in my younger days before the age of ten I mainly played with my sister and cousins. I do remember my dad helping me to learn how to ride my bicycle without the trainging wheels. I lived with my grandmother and grandfather until the age of ten. We lived on a farm and when my sister and I played we were outside. When my cousins came over we were always outside while the adults were inside.   The play I did mainly pertained to things that I saw in my environment. I had a kitchen set on my grandmother’s back porch my sister and I played with. We pretended to cook supper and cakes like my grandma. I do remember having the game called Merlin. This game was a hand held game that taught me to listen to sounds and watch the lighted areas in order to match the right sequence to win.  I believe that play has changed from when I was I believe that play has changed from when I was younger. I think parents have become more aware of the importance of play and take part in their play.  I also think that the play is different due to all the technology our children have today. I also can remember when I was younger that we could ride our bikes up and down the road and not have to worry about someone coming by and kidnapping us or offering us drugs. I feel that play is very important for children. I did not have that much to play with as a young child at my grandmothers, but I learned a lot by playing out in nature.  I think this play is what leads to my love for animals and the outdoors.  As I grew older my play lead to more games such as cards. My step mom taught me how to play many games that taught math skills.  I think we can learn many skills through play at any age.

Here are some pictures of a kitchen set that is somewhat similar as well as the bicycle. The red game is called Merlin. Have any of you ever had the Merlin game. I think it is neat after my grandmother died this year we found the Merlin that my sister and I played with.

Quotes:  Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning....They have to play with

what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they

learn in new forms of play. --Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood

The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.” Plato

    

Immunizations

 

 I chose to talk about immunizations. I feel that immunizations are a very important inexpensive way to protect our children from childhood diseases.  I understand that there are some side effects from the vaccines. However, there are side effects with any medicine.I know of some people who chose not to get theri children the immunizations due to the side effects. I  chose to give the immunizations to my three children.  I feel that  we could handle the side effects but I could not handle my child suffering from a disease that I could have prevented with a simple shot.
 Immunizations simplely place a small dose of the disease into the body, which then builds up immunity to the disease. Then if a child come in contact with the disease the body immune system goes into action. Immunizations  helps to make children stronger and when children have a strong immune system they do not miss out on school or  things they want to do.

I did some research on Africa and Immunizations. In Africa one of every  eight children dies before the age of five. Pneumonia and dirrahea are the biggest killers. Polio is also a disease that is killing  African children.  There are a large number of children in Africa who do not recieve immunizations in Africa due to funding. This is way many organizations such as UNICEF is aiding in getting vaccines to the poorest countries in the world.
 I feel that this information is helpful in my line of work because when children come to school with a healthy immune system there is less likely to be the spread of  disease such as chicken pox and sickness like the flu.

http://allafrica.com/
 An eveluation of infant immunization in Africa; is a transformation in progress.
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/6/06-031526.pdf