Violence

In almost all families of every income, ethnicity, and nation, parents want to protect their children while fostering their growth. Yet far more children die from violence (Berger, 2016).

A common stressor that is constant on my mind is the topic of violence in a child’s life. Studies show that 3-4 million children between the ages of 3-17 are at risk of exposure to domestic violence each year (Domestic Violence Roundtable). After college graduation I worked at a center for young children and there was a particular young boy that I constantly remember that young boy. Kindergarten was the first time this child was ever exposed to human interactions other than his mother and step-father. He had no social skills and was extremely violent. He would bit, pinch, slap, and even kick anybody. He would come to the center before and after school and usually his mom would pick him up. As the child constantly got in trouble at school and at the center we would have frequent meetings with mom. Through the meetings we found out that his father was violent man. His mother had been in a domestic abuse relationship until he was three years old. He had watch as his father beat his mother constantly. Now he lived with a step-father that was aggressive and enjoyed teaching the child about hunting and weapons. Most experts believe that children who are raised in abusive homes learn that violence is an effective way to resolve conflicts and problems (Domestic Violence Roundtable). I often wonder what happened to him because his violent behavior would escalate it got to a point that he was being suspended for hitting the teacher. The last time I saw or heard from him was before Christmas break as he was expelled from the school. The police had been called, he stabbed another child with a pencil. The child that had gotten hurt had needed surgery to remove a piece of the pencil from his stomach. I often wonder since the police was called did they press charges on the young boy? He was only 5 years old. Witnessing domestic violence is the single best predictor of juvenile delinquency and adult criminality (Domestic Violence Roundtable). This is constantly in my mind and I often wonder what ever happened to that young boy.

The counselor, the psychologist, and many other school officials had no idea what to do he would get his recess and play time taken away. There were many things that we all tried to help this young boy. One of the most important was constancy and routines because he did not have those at home. The child’s mother would often say that she would continue the same things at home but sometimes the child would return worse to school, especially after holidays. I believe that many young children experience violence in different levels at different ages, some even while they are still in the womb. Domestic violence can scar a child for life.

Since this incident is constantly on my mind, I often do research on this topic because I often wonder could we as professional have been able to do more for this child? If we did could we have prevented the incident of another child getting injured? I have added more resources as I think we could never have too many and maybe if I am ever faced with a similar incident I can have more resources available. I believe that domestic violence can have ramifications on all domains of human development. A child from a domestic violence home learns to accommodate to his or her environment as part of survival. if he/she is the oldest, learn to care for the young siblings and at some point become the caretaker. They can learn to have trust issues and are usually quiet because they are afraid. Cognitively it can affect their language skills, how they learn, and how they think because they are constantly trying to find ways find ways to help and avoid those domestic violence incidents. Domestic violence can also affect psychosocial development because a child can be socially withdrawn, afraid to express emotions, or even make friends. Domestic violence can also affect biosocial development because growing up in a home where there is violence can affect a child’s growth development.

 

 

Resources:

Berger, K. S. (2016). The developing person through childhood (7^th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

http://www.domesticviolenceroundtable.org/effect-on-children.html

https://www.mcedv.org/children-exposed-domestic-violence

https://cdv.org/2014/02/10-startling-domestic-violence-statistics-for-children/

https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/domestic-violence/effects-domestic-violence-children

Click to access BehindClosedDoors.pdf

https://www.womensaidni.org/domestic-violence/children-and-domestic-violence/how-are-children-affected/

 

 

 

Breastfeeding

The public health topic I selected is breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a topic of importance to me due to a lot of the media attention it has gotten in the last few years. I also selected this topic because I wanted to do more research. I know that breastfeeding is a part of nutrition, a bonding experience between the mother and child, and helps prevent diseases. Babies who are exclusively breast-fed are less often sick, partly because breast milk provides antibodies and decreases allergies and asthma (Berger, 2016). Disease protection continues lifelong: Babies who are exclusively breast-fed in the early months become less obese less often that thus have lower rates of diabetes and heart disease (Berger, 2016). Therefore, one of the main reasons babies need to be breastfed is because they need the nutrients to build a strong immune system.

There are cultural variations when it comes to the topic of breastfeeding. In some parts of the world mothers breastfeed for years and in other places around the world mothers use baby formulas more than breastfeeding (Berger, 2016). In the United States for a number of years, women were encouraged to exclusively breastfeed their infants for 4-6 months (Medscape, 2011). In reality, breastfeeding is not effortless, and the breastfeeding experience varies not only from woman to woman, but also from culture to culture. From cultural traditions to laws, we will explore the differences that shape the way in which woman feed their children (Mothering, 2017). I have learned that Magnolia is a country that celebrates and encourages breastfeeding. Mongolia leads the way of developing nations when it comes to early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding at six months, and continued breastfeeding at the age of two (Mothering, 2017). Magnolia also encourages mothers to breastfeed in public and until a child is two years old. Brazil is also another country that supports breastfeeding. There are over 220 milk banks in Brazil, the largest in the world that helps support breastfeeding throughout the country. Unlike Brazil and Mongolia, Iraq is a country that does not have have much education, resources, and information on the topic of breastfeeding and therefore, breastfeeding remains relatively low (Mothering, 2017).

As an early childhood educators we need to be aware of public health topics that can affect a child’s learning and behavior in the classroom. I have learned that there needs to be more advocacy done in regards to the topic of breastfeeding. Mothers need to be educated about the benefits about breastfeeding. I think the more we learn the more we can provide education for women around the world. We can begin providing information for our families so they are educated on the health benefits of breastfeeding children. I have also gathered information I can share with my family and colleagues.

 

Resources:

Berger, K. S. (20016). The developing person through childhood (7^th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/751905.

http://www.mothering.com/articles/10-breastfeeding-traditions-from-around-the-world/

Child Birthing Experience

at 17 years old being able to drive and speak English made  me a resource to my family members. On February 02, 1997 I was getting home from attending classes at California State University, Bakersfield when my Aunt (my Uncle’s wife) called and ask if I can driver her to the hospital because she thought she was in labor. At the time I agreed because I thought my only responsibility would be to drive her to the hospital. I picked her up and drove her to the 3rd floor of the hospital and labor and delivery section. I helped her do the paperwork as she didn’t speak English and got her settled in her deliver room and went to the waiting area. A few minutes later a nurse comes in and asks if I brought the pregnant woman, when I replied that I had she told me that none of the nurses nor the doctor spoke English and I needed to translate. I did not know what to say and told her if I could borrow the phone and call my mom. When I called my mom she told me I had to because nobody else could be there for my Aunt. I was scared and told the nurse I would go and translate. I was in the delivery room with my Aunt for about 7 hours before she had my cousin who is now 21 years old. Coming from a Latino household the topics of childbirth and sex were tabooed. We would not talk about them.  At 17, I learned about my Aunts water not breaking and the nurse having to do it for her while she was already almost 5 centimeters dilated. I did my best to translate and not embarrass myself or her when asking her uncomfortable questions. I felt that my chicks were red the whole time. I learned about contractions and epidural. I saw my aunt in so much pain and I felt guilty because I could not do anything for her. Seven hours later I saw my cousin being born piece by piece as she came out the birth canal. I even got to cut the umbilical cord.  But what I remember the most is hearing my cousin’s little beating heart and her cries when she was born which made everything seem less important. That experience was a like nothing I have ever experience. At 17 this experience taught me that I didn’t want to have children right away. I think this experience was the best birth control experience because until I was about 21 years old all I thought about when sex came up was that childbirth experience.

I decided to find childbirth experiences within the Mayan culture since my maternal grandmother was full blood mayan. From a very young age she was trained to be a mid-wife and she was a mid-wife from 1940 at the age of 15 years old until 1983 for a total of about 43 years. She was a mid-wife for all her grandchildren that were born in Guatemala until 1983. Before she passed away she and I talked and I remember asking her about how many children she had delivered throughout her life and she told me she couldn’t remember, but she would deliver at least 5-7 children a week within the surrounding areas of where she lived. Traditional midwives in Guatemala attend approximately 80% of the country’s births (Lang, 1997). My grandmother explained to me that she was taught how to do massages for women to help alleviate pain and help her deliver her baby. I have learned that there many places in Mexico, Central and South America still use midwives in rural areas.  She said there were other ladies that would help her in other words kind of like a team. She was trained how to clean the child and help the woman deliver the placenta.

 

References:

Lang, J.B., Elkin, D.E. (1997). A Study of the Beliefs and Birthing Practices of Traditional Midwives in Rural Guatemala. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, 42 (1). 25-31. doi:10.1016/S0091-2182(96)00069-9.

Professional Development Appraisal

Hello Colleagues,

I know this blog post is not as part on an assignment, but I would like to ask everyone a question.  Any feedback would be appreciate. This is for my own personal growth and development.

During the appraisal, I realized that I need to work on the following:

I take care of myself in all developmental domains (physical, cognitive, and psychosocial) so that I can fulfill my professional obligations from a position of physical, mental, and emotional stability and strength (Laureate Education, 2010).

 

How do you take care of your developmental domains? 

 

Thank you for your suggestions.

Anna 🙂

 

 

NAEYC: Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment

After review the NAEYC: Code of Ethical conduct and Statement of commitment, I realized that it would be difficult to select which are more important than other because they are all there for a reason. I believe that all principles are important when working in the early childhood field because they remind us that children depend on us and we are there first and foremost to ensure the safety and well-being. After thinking long and hard I found the following ideals were meaningful to me:

I- 1.1. – To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.

I-1.10—To ensure that each child’s culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and valued in the program.

P-1.2—We shall care for and educate children in positive emotional and social environments that are cognitively stimulating and that support each child’s culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure.

P-1.7—We shall strive to build individual relationships with each child; make individualized adaptations in teaching strategies, learning environments, and curricula; and consult with the family so that each child benefits from the program. If after such efforts have been exhausted, the current placement does not meet a child’s needs, or the child is seriously jeopardizing the ability of other children to benefit from the program, we shall collaborate with the child’s family and appropriate specialists to determine the additional services needed and/or the placement option(s) most likely to ensure the child’s success. (Aspects of this principle may not apply in programs that have a lawful mandate to provide services to a particular population of children.)

P-1.8—We shall be familiar with the risk factors for and symptoms of child abuse and neglect, including physical, sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse and physical, emotional, educational, and medical neglect. We shall know and follow state laws and community procedures that protect children against abuse and neglect.

These ideals are important to me because I think after ensuring that children the safety and well-being of children we need to ensure that as early childhood advocates and educators we are prepared with the knowledge base, education, ad training to work with young children and their families. We also need to be life-time learners and continue to educate ourselves and keep up to date with changes in the field to provide the best quality education we can for young children. As educators we need to learn to see for sign of any kind of child abuse whether to provide the help and support children and their families may need.   We also need to ensure all families feel welcome and are included in their children’s education. That as educators ensure that families, school, and community work together to provide all resources children will need to be successful.

As a professional and future college professor of early childhood education I want to be able to prepare as many individuals as possible to work with young children and families. I would like for this to be commitment and contribution to the field of early childhood education.  I would like for students to understand the commitment they are making to be mentors and role models for children and families.

 

“It takes a village to raise a child.”  –Chinese Proverb

 

Resources:

Article: NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

Collection of Resources

I feel that as educators and professionals resources are extremely important. After this week and watching the video The Resources of Early Childhood, I was reassured that I should continue to find resources that will be helpful for so that I can help and guide children and families. I often do research because I do want to be up to date on current issues. Also according to Ms. Cooper, “There is always something to learn,” (Laureate Education, Inc,m 2010).

I do have a personal collections of books that I use as resources. These are books I have used many times when it comes to early childhood theories or people who have influenced the field of early childhood education. One of my personal resources also includes books on Lev Vygotsky. I have learned so much from his theory of Zone of proximal development not only for my profession, but also for personal life as I guide some family members that as for my guidance when it comes to childhood issues. I have to say that I am a follower of Lev Vygotsky and Maria Montessori’s work and therefore, I have many resources about his work.  The other two books on theories of Development have provided me with information about many contributors to the field of early childhood.

 

List of Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). The resources for early childhood. Baltimore: Author.

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf

UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

Cain, W. (2000). Theories of Development: Concepts and Application (4th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Cain, W. (2004). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications (5th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Kozuli, A. (1990). Vygotsky’s Psychology: A Biography of Ideas. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Moll, L. C. (1990). Vygotsky ad Education: Instructional Implications and Applications of Sociohistorical Psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Press.

 

  Quotes by Vygotsky:

• What a child can do with assistance today, he can do alone tomorrow.
• A mind cannot be independent of culture.
• People with great passions, people who accomplish great deeds, people who possess strong feelings, even people with great minds a strong personality, rarely come out of good little boys and girls.
• The teacher must adopt the role of facilitator not content provider.
• Through others we become ourselves.

 

   Quotes by Maria Montessori:

• The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ’The children are now working as if I did not exist.’
• We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being.

 

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

This week I learned about Dr. Lilian Katz and Dr. Ann Turnbull. Their motivation and dedication to the field of early childhood education has inspired me to want to learn more and to better prepare myself so I can support and guide children and families.

 

Quotes by Dr. Lilian Katz,

“Provide lots of opportunities for children’s natural curiosity to manifest itself. With very young children, our role is one of supporter and guide.”

“Experts generally agree that taking all opportunities to read books and other material aloud to children is the best preparation for their learning to read. The Pleasure of being read to are far more likely to strengthen a child’s desire to learn to read than are repetitions of sounds, alphabet drills, and deciphering uninteresting words.”

 

 

Excerpts from Dr. Ann Turnbull:

“Disability impacts the whole family.”

“Too often partnerships between families and professionals falls short of recommended practice.”

 

 

 

Personal Childhood Web

There are many people that have helped influenced my in one way or another. Those five people were my Maternal Grandmother Agripina, my Mother Leonarda, my Father Max, my fourth grade teacher Ms. Shouse, These people cared and nurtured me as I was growing up. I have to say that I have become the person I am today because of their support and guidance. Another person who influenced my life a great deal was my fifth grade teacher Mr. Shouse-Allen. Mr. Shouse-Allen was Ms. Shouse’s father. He was the one who taught me truly enjoy reading. Through him I also had a connection through his daughter for another year as well.

My maternal grandmother, Agripina was influential in my life because she was always there growing up. My parents would work late or on weekends and my grandmother would be home with us taking care of us, feeding us, ensuring we completed our homework, and making sure that our chores were done. My grandmother was from Mayan descendant and she taught me about our culture, our customs, and traditions. She taught me how to read hieroglyphics. She taught me that my Mayan symbol is the butterfly and ever since then I feel the connection to the butterfly. I continue to learn about my heritage and my culture as I continue my life. My grandmother has also supported me as I was the first female to obtain a Master’s Degree and even though she was ill she had my relatives drive her to Sacramento to witness my Master’s Graduation on a rainy winter day. I am sure she would continue to support my educational journey if she was alive.

As I grew my parents were very influential in reminding me who I was, where I came from and they constantly supported my decisions when it came to education. My parents were very involved in my life and we always did everything together as a family. They taught me to share and care for my younger siblings. Which my siblings still say I do. My parents always made sure that their children were busy with after school and weekend activities because they didn’t want us to be out in the streets they wanted us to learn responsibility, and to become productive members of society. Due to this growing up I was a participant of both club and school sports such as Baseball, Softball, Soccer, and Cheerleading. On weekends I learned to swim and I learned to play the piano as well. Growing up we also had chores which my mom would rotate so that we all learned different skills. My parents have supported me in everything I have ever accomplished. Even though it is not culturally acceptable for me as a female to be unmarried and continue to pursue higher education my parents continue to support and cheer me on.

I learned I wanted to make a difference in people’s life because Ms. Shouse my fourth grade teacher. Ms. Shouse was an amazing role model and mentor and I think she was the person who influenced me to become an educator. She taught me get involved, and to participate in class, to have a voice, and always help students who needed help. I would enjoy staying after school and help her organize the classroom and she would walk me home because I lived close to the school. I felt useful and important to be able to help her. I enjoyed being in her class so much that I didn’t like missing school unless I was sick. I also never missed completing any class and assignment. I remember because I received a certificate from her that I still have.

My wish is to one day built a library in my house. Mr. Shouse-Allen was also an amazing teacher and mentor. He taught me to love reading by truly enjoying books by using my imagination and escaping into the story. Since then I have no idea how many books I have read. Thanks to the coaching, guidance, and support from my fifth grade teacher I have learned to carry my reading book wherever I go so that I do not waste time and read. Yes, I am one of those people who are in a line waiting her turn and reading, the one waiting for her appointment and reading her book, but I am never bored. My family knows me as the ‘nerd” so when birthdays or special occasions come along I am the one who gives books not toys. When my cousins want to get their children interested in reading I am the person they come to so I can be the auntie to take them to Barnes and Nobles so they can find a subject of interest to begin reading. I am also the person who checks books reports because most of time I have already read the book my nieces and nephews have read.

Early Childhood

Favorite Quote:

“Early childhood education is the key to the betterment of society.”                                     Maria Montessori

 

Favorite book: The Giving Tree             by: Shel Silverstein                                                            (this was one of the first books I learned to read once I learned English. It taught me that the more we give the better someone else will be).

 

The picture of the child is from my five year old niece who is learning to draw actual people and not stick people. It reminds me that children evolve and learn to change as they mature.