Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I subscribed to is the National Black  Child Development Institutehttp://nbcdi.org/
(Newsletter: http://nbcdi.org/support/sign-up-for-nbcdi-newsletters/ ).

The focus of this organization is to improve and advance the lives of black children and theirs families. Some of their previous news letters addressed  health issues such as asthma, obesity, and poor  nutrition. They also had information in regards to childcare assistance, child welfare, cultural competence, and many more.

However, the issue of obesity and poor nutrition stood out for me. This was a hot topic for me because I grew up with a lot of obese people and I later realized that most of them were obese because they were not educated on nutrition. I know a lot of people who still do not know how to shop for good nutrition or how to properly prepare food and as result they end up passing their poor habits down to their children.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Part 1 Establishing Professional Contacts

Because I was not able to find any international  early childhood professionals, I decided to do the alternate assignment. I went to the "World Forum Foundation" and listened to podcast with Barbara Jones and how she started her own Montessori School and Susan Lyon who is the Director of The Innovative Teacher Project. I sent both of these professionals emails via their organization's website and I am currently waiting on a response. I am hoping these women can assist me with learning more about international issues and trends and establishing some international connections with other early childhood professionals.

 Part 2 Expanding Resources

 The early childhood organization that I decided to study is the Black Child Development Institute. I chose this website because I am an African American, single parent who understands the issues and obstacles that many African American children are faced with. Therefore, I would like to learn ways and strategies for helping these children overcome their obstacles so that they are able to close the learning gaps become successful students and human beings.

Sharing Web Resources

One of my favorite Early Childhood Development resources is the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) http://nieer.org/. This is one of my favorite sites because it keeps me informed on EC issues and research. I can always go the site to get the latest news on early education in any state. The organization also keeps up with what Congress is doing in the field.

The main goal for the National Institute for Early Education Research is to provide information and research that will help professionals in the field with establishing high quality centers and programs for young children.

One issue that caught my attention was the article in the New York times about cuts that were made to Head Start Programs.


Cuts to Head Start show challenge of fiscal restraint

Date: Mar 10, 2011
Source: The New York Times
By: Jennifer Steinhauer

Head Start was chosen for large cuts in the House spending bill because members of the Appropriations Committee concluded that the program was getting too much money given what they felt was its effectiveness, and that too much of its financing had gone to administrative costs rather than new enrollment. In addition, a Government Accountability Office report last year found eight instances of fraud, in which families with too high an income were enrolled in the program. Further, they cited research questioning the program's effectiveness.

My Support

I am blessed to have a very good support system at work and outside of work. First, at home I have my grown daughter who helps me dearly. She volunteers twice a week to help some of my struggling students with reading and math. She also assists me on a daily basis with grading papers and other paperwork.  Then there’s my sister who also helps me with paperwork and errands. She’s also loans me her ear when I need someone to listen to me vent. 

In addition to my support system at home, I have a pretty good system at work as well. I have a mentor who constantly guides me and gives me good advice. Then, there’s my 1^st grade team. My  team supports me in many ways. First, we meet every week to talk and collaborate on what went well and did not go well in our classrooms. In addition to that, we talk to each other about personal things and offer support to one another. 

Not having support from my daughter and sister would be difficult because they are the only family members that I have in my state.  My daughter and sister save me a lot of time which allows me to focus on other important things. Not having the support from my team at work would be difficult as well because I’m a first year teacher and I wouldn't have learned as much as I learned thus far. My team has helped me learn the ropes quickly and effectively.

My Connections to Play

I grew up Michigan were the winters are long and very cold, so I very seldomly went to the beach. This is part of the reason that I moved to Florida. Therefore, if  I could go back to the age of 5, I would place myself at the beach. I would have five of my friends with me and we would have a good time in and with the sand. We would have buckets, shovels, and baggies (for collecting things like shells). One thing that we would do is work together to build sand castles and/or a sandman. We would also bury each other in the sand. We may also play frisbee, race, and chase each other around. Last, I would have my mom there to make sure no one gets hurts.

        

My mom, aunt, and grandfather totally understood the importance of play because I had any and every toy (kitchens, dishes, dolls, swing sets, etc.) imaginable. I played dress-up, house (mommy), teacher, doctor, etc. Also, because I was an only child for the first 10 years, I played mostly with my aunt or by myself. However, on some weekends I was either taken to other family member's houses to play with other children or children would spend the weekend at my house playing.

It's unfortunate that many of the children today are missing out on play. Play today is very different from the way that I played. It does not seem to be very physical or socialable due to technology. I remember how all the children on my block would be outside and we would play tag, hopscotch, kickball, race on foot or big wheels all kinds of physical activities. Now, a lot of children are in their houses playing alone with video games or on the computer. Even though I love technology, I sometime wish that some of it did not exsist.

Play has a lot to do with the person that I am today. I am friendly and I am able to interact and get along very well with others. I'm also a pretty good problem solver and thinker. I believe play is a contributing factor to all of this characteristics.

Whoever wants to understand much must play much. (Gottfried Benn)

Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn. (O. Fred Donaldson)

Child Development and Public Health

Malnutrition is the topic that I chose to research. Malnutrition is when a person does not consume enough food or enough of the right foods in order for the body to receive an adequate of amount of nutrients. Some of the causes of malnutrition consist of poverty and uneducated parents and some of the symptoms are respiratory problems, depression, immune problems, fatigue, irritability, and many more.

As an educator, nutrition and malnutrition is very important to me because I know that in order for students to develop properly and be successful in class, they need to have a balance diet and some of them are not receiving a well balanced diet. Additionally, many of these children do not consume fruit or vegetables unless they are at school. They are consuming too many sweets and processed foods. They are also drinking too many soft drinks and not enough water. As a result, students are not getting the nutrients that they need to grow and develop adequately. Furthermore, school-aged children are unable to think quickly or critically, pay attention, or concentrate in class.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, over 4 million children die annually and over half of the deaths are due to malnutrition. Malnutrition is not only a major issue for Africa, but for many third world countries and it does not have to be. Some of the causes of malnutrition come from poverty and a lack of some of the basic necessities. Malnutrition can be resolved if countries, families, and communities would work together.

All of the information that I learned was very informative. This information will be valuable to me when I open my own childcare facility. I will be more conscious of the types of foods that I will offer the children that are in my care. Lastly, I plan to educate my children's parents on benefits of a good nutriental diet in addition to the negative effects of a poor diet.

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/subjindx/113hung.htm

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1405