Reflection

Throughout this course, I was fed lots of information. Most early childhood courses I have encountered in the past has been basic instructed courses whereas this course broke down developmental domains and gave more analytical backgrounds through research. This course allowed me to really see the set foundation of a child’s ongoing development.

I would like to learn more information about child developmental milestones, considering that each child is different and unique and learns differently. I would also like to know more about community practice, finding out what the issues are in my community and how to address those issues. As much as I do, I do not feel as though I am involved enough.

One of the things I have found valuable throughout this course was the resources. There were many resources that I was able to share with families. I created a folder for doctoral research and dropped most of the resources in that folder. Some of them are useful for my practicum as well.

An idea on how we as scholar practitioners can effect positive social change would be to be consistent and fearless when working with children and families. We cannot be afraid of positive change and the more we notice needs to be changed, the more responsibility we will gain. Don’t sleep. Do not become lazy, the world may not know it, but they depend on us because we as early educators set the foundation for young children in order to be successful throughout their lives

Language and Literacy development Journey

As a scholar practitioner and family advocate in the field of early education, it is evident of how much of my passion has become a lifestyle. I eat, breath and sleep early childhood education. I currently run my very own educational support services. I provide tutoring, homeschooling and parent advocacy in regards to their children. Daily I am fostering language development with students.

One of the memories I have is with one of my Japanese students. This student of mine moved here from Japan not speaking any English. Two weeks later she was speaking chopped up sentences. I am so proud of her progress because she had to adapt to new friends, new surroundings, change of language and lifestyle.  I’m glad this big change happened while she is younger because it’s easier for younger children to adapt.

During our sessions I would go back to the basics and have her review each letter and then in the weeks to come letter sounds. She is a very fast learner. I then had her identify lower case letters by participating in small activities. One particular activity she loved was rainbow rice and bottle tops. We took a bag of white rice, used four different pans, Ziploc bags, food coloring and vinegar. I then used a bunch of old water bottle tops and wrote lower case letters on them.  Once we mixed all the ingredients, let them dry and mixed all the rice together, we had ourselves a rainbow rice party with letters.

As my student picked up letter and letter sounds fast, I then introduced her to reading. We would look at pictures and I would have her tell me what she sees and then match up the word to that picture by sounding out the word that sounded close to what that picture was. I have been working with this student for two years and now she is fully speaking English, reading, writing and singing at the age of 4. She is now learning addition, subtraction  and reading  at a second grade level all while continuing her sessions with me.

I have found this course highly effective in my field of practice. I have been attuned more towards the child language development versus a child overall development. Most childcare development courses I have taken just look at a broader aspect of all domains. This course focused on a specific domain.

An article I found in this course that was interesting as it relates to my experience with my Japanese student is What happens in the brain when you learn a language?  It was discovered that your brain actually expands when you learn a second language (Mackey,2014).  “Early language studies based on brain research have shown that Japanese speakers can learn to hear and produce the difference in “r” and “l” by using a software program that greatly exaggerates the aspects of each sound that make it different from the other” ( Mackey, para. 7.,2014).It is a great advantage to learn a second language overall.

I would still like to learn about the milestones of children in language and literacy. How can you predict when a child is supposed to know or had developed this many words or an understanding of that when each child’s development is different? I believe that more information of this topic will affect my future topic greatly for parents. I have been dealing with competitive parents who wonder why this some kids are smarter than their kid or why the sister is not as smart as the brother in reading and writing. This would help me explain to the families on a research level versus my basic answer for them.

Mackey. A. (2014). What happens when you learn a language? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/04/what-happens-to-the-brain-language-learning

Blog: Week 6: Sharing Your Language and Literacy Development Journey with Your Community of Practice

Blog: Week 6: Sharing Your Language and Literacy Development Journey with Your Community of Practice

Language and literacy as we all know starts at birth. It has been quite a journey with my conceptualized child involving factors her diagnosis and environmental situation. Language and literacy predicts success in life. My conceptualized child is affected by such skills because of her condition

I am writing about a child named Gracie. She lives in one of the lowest poverties areas of Detroit. Her mother and teacher have just found out that she has ASD. How does a teacher focus or work on this only child in a classroom full of children? I teachers deal with many students a day. Almost as if they are single parents. I have experienced this as a teacher, but not with an exceptional student. This is the stage that is most difficult to me because after preschool, I do not know what is supposed to be mastered during the elementary years. I have no experience with kindergartens and elementary students. It is difficult to write on something that I have no experience with.

Introduction piece on the child

Gracie’s mother is a single parent living in the city of Detroit. Being a single parent can be very challenging Gracie’s mother was always on it when it came to follow up appointments. When Gracie had turned five years old, she was officially diagnosed with autism. The suspicions had been there for a while, but what parent wants to face the reality of their child actually having autism. This opened up many doors of fear for her mother. Gracie’s mother did not know where to go or where to start, but she stayed positive and hopeful.

Week 4: section on Gracie’s support system.

Family and cultural influences is like a master over mind type deal. We read and see so many articles that projects what a child is supposed to be doing at this age, how they are supposed to act, by this age and what should be developed by this age. All of those assumptions and facts go out the window because every child is different. Every child is their own unique individual. When we study the background of families and their living situations, we then get the scope of the child. Gracie has been growing up in a poor environment. She has a pretty good support system though coming from her grandmother, uncle and church members. Even though Gracie has all of this support, it does not mean she is getting the actual help that she needs. Her mother tries her best to provide for her, but what about her overall development? It makes a difference when we have educated parents versus un-educated parents. What can the teacher do?

Areas of feedback;

·         What can teachers do if they’re hands are tight with curriculum and classroom management?

·         Would all areas of domain be affected by Gracie’s condition?

Sharing thoughts on prenatal care

Discussion 1 assignment,

Anya Maria is no different than any other mother. She made have taken different routes and steps to what she thought was best, but seems to want what’s best for her unborn child. Anya confided in the program executive.

To me that means she sought help. I do believe she should have sought a doctor the moment she found out she was pregnant. Anya also mentioned that her job was a bit stressful. She definitely to take it easy with that as (Music, 2011) explains that high levels of stress can affect the unborn child.

A baby’s brain is the first thing to develop in fetus. Neuroscientist has predicted that early stress, maltreatment and neglect can have long term effects if pregnancy is no properly treated early on (The Urban Child institute, 2015). In this case I would highly recommend Anya see a doctor right away. I would also provide her a list of resources so she can read up on the importance of early effects of an infant.

When looking at this scenario I think of all the experiences I have encountered with other children and families. I think of the pregnant women I was surrounded by and the precautions they had to take to ensure health and safety of their unborn, especially being in an environment of other children and adults who were sick.

Thankfully today there are so many resources out there for women and free health care. For educators there are workshops, classes and articles to stay informed for ourselves and to be resourceful to others.

References

The Urban child Institute.(2015). Baby’s Brain Begins now: Conception at age 3. Retrieved

http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/why-0-3/baby-and-brain

Music, G. (2011). Nurturing natures: Attachment and children’s emotional, sociocultural, and

brain development. New York, NY: Psychology Press

As an advocate I would see to it that this person gets the right prenatal care and support system. Many women are not aware of the affects that can happen if they are not taking the right steps to a healthy baby. A healthy pregnancy means a healthy baby. The National Institute of Child Health and Human development talks about the importance of a healthy pregnancy ( NIH, n.d.). It talks about preconception care on things to avoid and things to do before considering a child as well.

Working in the profession of Early Childhood Education, it is my obligation to address societal issues through applied practices and research. The best way to advocate is to pursue and take action of my passion. In my field of profession I have had the opportunity to impact lives by connecting with children, families and experts. What better way to connect with parents that come into the school and my office?

This particular cause is important to me because everything starts the minute women conceive. I have seen many children in my years of experience lack skills under domains of their overall development. These lacked skills can and or will carry them through elementary school. I would hate to know that a lot their issues could have been avoided by the parents in the beginning. As an early educator we set the foundation of these young children.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (n.d.)  What is prenatal care and why is it important. Retrieved April 4 th ,2017 from https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pregnancy/conditioninfo/Pages/prenatal-care.aspx

Final Good by

Three most learned throughout my graduate experience:

1.      Research is so important because it is always changing

2.      Communication in the work environment

3.      Providing feedback to your students

My long term goal is to positively impact students and teachers by following my dream of becoming a professor and professional trainer.

I have gained so much knowledge and experience in this course than I thought I would. When you think you’re doing your best and it’s not enough Dr. Daragh always provided great feedback that kept me interested and encouraged to keep me working on this capstone project.  I had to dig deeper into research for this project and found more interesting facts about family engagements. It was also nice that I had helpful peers that gave great insights, feedback and helpful resources to help in in my research. I greatly appreciate my colleagues, family, peers and professor for all the support. So many times I wanted to just quit and come back to it. WE MADE IT!!!

“A CHILD EDUCATED ONLY AT SCHOOL IS AN UNEDUCATED CHILD”- ANONYMOUSE

Kwe’Shonte Mathews

517-348-7432

kwem@craniumeast.com

**My photo or video would not upload for some reason. sorry

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

extensions.org http://articles.extension.org/childandfamily

Child and Family learning network, a national community of practice of collaboration of family and consumer sciences. This site appealed to me because it focuses on the field of child, youth and family development. We need communication for family development. Young children will do better at everything when families are practicing great communication skills. This site provides community help and resources and they host family webinars. There were no jobs posted, but another interesting thing I saw was that they promote and advocate in research for the wellbeing of children today.

https://www.ncfr.org/

National Council of Family Relations (ncfr) is a national nonprofit organization that focuses on family research, practice and education. The thing that appealed to me the most in this site was that they offer a certified family life credential and they provide career development for all members at all levels.

A position I would like to apply for through this organization is Assistant professor, Human develop and family studies as a full time position.  Some responsibilities are

·         Teach undergraduate program courses.

·         Provide vision for program initiatives and accreditation.

·         Supervise student field experiences and internships in agencies/settings serving families and children.

·         Collaborate with professionals from private and public settings to enhance the degree program.

·         Serve on university, college, and departmental committees.

·         Advice and mentor undergraduate majors.

The qualifications are:

·         Doctorate in Human Development & Family Studies or closely related field. (ABD nearing dissertation completion may be considered at instructor level in a non-tenure track position.)

·         Subject matter expertise in Family Studies or Family Life Education

·         Ability to work collaboratively with departmental members in maintaining and strengthening the program.

·         A minimum of two years recent work experience in a family life/studies, family and consumer sciences or related position.

·         Successful record of scholarship commensurate with rank.

National Childcare association

http://www.nccanet.org/

What appealed to me the most on this site was that this organization supports only what is beneficial to children. They question the morals of policy makers because of the delivery of their plans and intentions. This organization research before they follow through on what is best. I only saw membership  opportunities.

Blog Assignment: Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

The National Child care association (NCCA) – Professionals in the early education field provides services to communities and families in need. The professionals also provide services to those who are also interested in the ECE field.

It would be very interesting to be an advocate for this organization because it seems competitive in ways of competing for clients. The services are good for children and families. This Site does not show job listings but a great organization to pursue.

www.nccanet.org

I have always wanted to live in Tennessee, so I started looking at Tennessee Department of Human resources website. The position that caught my eye was the Child Care Program Evaluator. This position stood out to me because I believe that teachers and or administrators always benefit from consistent training. This position requires you to oversee facilities. I would have to evaluate these facilities making sure they are following proper protocol and up to date on certain paper work.

·         Starting salary is $2,369

·         Great benefits

·         A bachelor’s degree in the early education field or administration

·         Experience working with children

·         Professional experience in inspection of facilities

·         Assisting teachers at a licensed facility

Valencia College, located here in Florida where I reside is hiring a professor for an early childhood education position. This is my dream Job and at a great college. This position is what I am most passionate about in this field. I have worked in the classroom with young children for nine years now and now even more excited about sharing those experiences and insights with those who are interesting in going into the ECE field.

Requirements:

·         Unofficial transcripts

·         Resume and cover letter

·         Employment application

·         Learning centered statement