Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Teacher, Student

“Children are like wet cement whatever falls on them makes an impression.”   — Haim Ginott, child psychologist This quote says so much!  Maybe if we think about children in this way we will be more responsible with what we say to them, teach them and what we do around them. https://sayingimages.com/wp-content/uploads/quotes-on-kids.jpg As children continue to learn, they continue to teach us about life.  They have an unfiltered view and perception of the world around them.  Their unbiased opinions are fabulous and will enlighten any listener. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4d/59/a7/4d59a7aaadaf1156963eb20e18efe3c5.jpg This is so very true.  Playing with children is fantastic.  It will bring you a very different perspective of things.  It will remind you to find fun in the things you do.  It will make you laugh and just be happy.

When considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically, I believe that children should be assessed holistically.  To me, this means children would be evaluated based on meeting developmental and cognitive milestones in a project-type assessment.  For example, children would complete a project assignment that would assess their cognitive abilities, physical abilities, language, social, and emotional abilities.  It would determine how well children have grasped the concepts they have been taught within the classroom.  I believe that being assessed in this way we would be able to ensure that students are learning what we are teaching.  We test students throughout the year to ensure that they are remembering and comprehending what we are teaching, but are we testing to ensure that they can utilize the information in practical application?  I tend to believe we fall short on this part of the assessing.  In that way, we are not preparing our c...

I decided to research children and hunger in India. I learned that 4 in 10 children are malnourished. Because of this, they suffer from chronic illness and do poorly in school. (United Nations in India 2019) I was surprised to learn that hunger is so prevalent in India. I was also surprised by the number of people who do not have adequate shelter, 50%. These problems lead to adverse childhood experiences resulting in poor health and poor cognitive development. There are programs and initiatives working to remedy the hunger problem in India, including UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund). United Nations in India (2019). Nutrition and Food Security. retrieved from https://in.one.un.org/un-priority-areas-in-india/nutrition-and-food-security/ https://www.wfp.org/countries/india https://www.poverties.org/blog/poverty-in-india

My daughter, whom I adopted two years ago, came to me with some pre-existing conditions due to the violence and hunger she experienced with her biological father and step-mother.  She was victim to his and her anger and frustrations and is lucky to be alive.  She also experienced hunger due to neglect.  Before entering foster care, she walked on eggshells, tried to please everyone, ate out of garbage cans at school, hid her injuries, held in her tears, and rarely attended school. She lived in and out of foster care, starting at the age of 2 years. Since coming to live with me, at the age of 10 years, she has regularly attended therapy to help her cope with her PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), anxiety, and depression.  She is also taking an anti-anxiety medication to help her cope.  She attends school regularly, eats like a teenager (she is 13 years now), is a drama queen, cries often, shows age and situation appropriate emotions, and has a lot of frie...

Immunizations: According to Medline Plus (2019), “Immunization shots, or vaccines are essential.” While shots may be painful, they are beneficial because they prevent diseases that can cause health problems and even death.  Some of the diseases are measles, polio, pertussis, and tetanus.  Immunizations are required for children to attend daycare and public school. However, some states allow parents to choose not to immunize their children due to religious or other reasons.  This can be dangerous for those children and for infants who are not yet old enough to receive the immunizations, as well as for those children who are immuno-compromised due to health or medical reasons.  The topic of immunizations is meaningful to me because when my daughter was an infant she contracted a strain of bacterial meningitis that is now preventable.  She suffered a complication from the illness and developed hydrocephalus.  She was three and a half months old.  The ...

My son’s birth: It was August 13, 1992 (2:00 am). I was experiencing seriously painful contractions, but afraid to wake anyone up to take me to the hospital. I had already been to the hospital twice that week and was sent back home. I was living at home with my parents and younger sister and did not want to bother anyone. As the contractions got closer together and the pain intensified, I waited for someone in the house to wake up for work. Finally, my mom woke up, and I cried to her about the pain, and that I had a feeling that something was wrong. My dad took me to the hospital. They took me to labor and delivery. There they hooked me up to fetal monitors (8:30 am). I listened to my son’s heartbeat as the nurses were a blur around me.  They broke my water and waited for me to dilate. The pain of the contractions intensified. The sense of something being wrong increased. Suddenly, my son’s fetal monitor alerted that something was wrong. He was in fetal distress. I began to c...

It was wonderful getting to share feedback with all of my colleagues in this course. Best of luck to all of you. Thank you for your feedback. Rebecca