Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because you learn a lot about yourself and the person you’re in a relationship with.  Relationships help you take a good look at yourself and help you understand who you really are.  I feel like you first have to know yourself before you can truly have a positive relationship with someone else. There are several people in my life that I have positive relationships with. This section is dedicated to the main people in my life who helped mold and shape me into the beautiful woman I am today.  I am an only child.  My mother raised me as a single parent until I was 12.  I knew my biological father, but he was never around during my childhood.  My mom married my step-father (pictured below), and he is the father figure that has been in my life.  My mom has been my rock.  She has given me so much guidance throughout the years. We have a bond that can’t ever be broken.  If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to be the nurturing mother I am to my girls. 

                         Mom & Dad

My mom has five sisters.  They are pictured below. My aunts are all like sisters to me. I can laugh and talk with them about anything.  They all gave me advice when I got married, and had my first child.  I am so thankful to have all of these ladies in my life. The relationships formed with my aunts have truly made me appreciate and value life and family.

 

Aunt Savannah, Aunt Ednalene, Aunt Dorothy, Aunt Gennetter, Mom, Aunt Jackie

This last section is dedicated to my wonderful husband (pictured below).  Our relationship started when we met in college in 1999.  We got married in 2003. He has been my biggest supporter next to my mom.  If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have the patience I have today.  Our relationship has taught me to communicate, listen, trust and be honest no matter the outcome.  I am the only child so it was hard to open up and let him be the provider for me.  I was so used to doing everything on my own.  He has truly made me a better person. 

It hasn't been easy having positive relationships over the years.  The good thing about family is we can agree to disagree and still be close as if nothing ever happened.  The experiences that we shared has only made us stronger.  I feel like these positive relationships will impact my work in early childhood because I can adapt and adjust to any situation.  I am now a better listener, and I can take criticism with no hard feelings. 

When I Think of Child Development

Testing for Intelligence?

I feel like assessments are needed to assess how well a child is progressing.  However a lot of students don't test well so I don't think assessments should be the only tool used to measure performance. It has gotten to the point were educators have to be so focused on assessments that they are only teaching the material that they know will be on the assessment.  I was having a conversation with a teacher at my daughter's school, and she said they have to do so many assessments that it is getting to the point where there is not enough time in the day to focus on teaching.  I hate that education has gotten to this point because it's making  a lot of educators look into other fields.  I came across an article about how China is winning the school race.  This article goes in to detail about how competitive China is regarding assessments.  In Shanghai more than eighty percent of older secondary students attend after-school tutoring. They also spend another three to four hours each day on homework.  They are under close supervision by their parents while doing homework.  The parents are devoted to their children's education.  I think that's the major problem we are facing here in the US. Parents have gotten so busy that they don't have time to sit down with their children to do homework.  The responsibility is being pushed back on the educators, but they can only do so much.  It goes back to parents needing to review homework, and asking questions to reinforce what the teacher is teaching.  Schools should feel like a fun place where children want to learn. It shouldn't be an environment where the kids are so stressed out about passing assessments that they can't even focus on learning the material to retain for years to come.

Reference

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-14812822

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

In today’s society, there are a lot of stressors that affect children.   I don’t know anyone personally that experienced these stressors as a child.  However, my mom shared with me once I got older about the violence she went through with my biological father.  He is now deceased.  My mom and dad got a divorce when I was very young.  She said that he would go out and have drinks, and once he returned home he wanted to fuss and fight.  She said that was not the environment she wanted to raise  a family in.  She would leave and go stay at her mom’s house, and he would beg her to come back.  Her mom and sisters were her support system.  They didn’t want her to be with him because they knew how crazy he acted when he got drunk.  He would give her a sad story about how much he loved me and her.  She would constantly go back only to endure the same violence month after month.  She finally got fed up and couldn’t take it anymore. That’s what brought them to divorce. 

Poverty is a stressor that affects a lot of children.  I know poverty affects a lot of countries, but I chose to explore the issues in Guyana.  Guyana is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, but has a wealth of natural resources, including fertile agricultural land, minerals and large swaths of tropical forest.  It ranks 117th out of 187 countries on the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index and is classified as a lower-middle-income country by the World Bank.  Roughly two-thirds of Guyanese citizens living in poverty, or 29% of the population, can be classified as being extremely poor. Most of the poor live in rural areas and work as agricultural laborers. Though Guyana’s farmers have access to adequate land resources, their productivity is extremely low.  It saddens me to know that countries such as Guyana experience poverty like this.  It really makes me appreciate the abundance of resources that we have in the US.  I hope that one day these same resources can be sent to places like Guyana to help eliminate some of the stressors the children face.

References

http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/country/home/tags/guyana

Child Development and Public Health

I chose breastfeeding as my topic for this week.  Breastfeeding is meaningful to me because I breast fed both of my kids.  After taking a breastfeeding class with my first child I knew I wanted to at least try it.  My first child was breastfed for six months because we had some latching issues from birth, and I had to supplement with formula.  At first I was beating myself up because I had to supplement.  I had read all these comments about how you are letting your child down if you are not strictly breastfeeding.  I finally had to get myself together and realize that as long as my child was getting the nutrients she needed that was all that mattered.  I received encouragement from a breastfeeding peer counselor that really helped me through the process.  The encouragement I received just reinforced my reasoning for wanting to breastfeed when I had my second child.  My second child was breastfed for one year.  We didn't have to supplement formula with her because she latched on with no problem from birth.  She was a stubborn baby that wouldn't take a bottle so needless to say she was attached to me.  With my first child, I had to get comfortable with breastfeeding in public.  However with my second one, I wasn't nervous at all about breastfeeding in public.  I came across an article that talked about how different parts of the world view breastfeeding in public. In this article a mom talked about how in the US people frowned upon her when she breastfed her baby in public.  However once she moved to Europe, she  didn't experience any bad looks.  I feel like breastfeeding is the best for a baby.  Unfortunately not all moms are able to breastfeed, and they shouldn't be criticized if they are not able to.  I feel like as long the baby is healthy and getting all the nutrients he/she need society shouldn't be making a big deal out of it.

References:

http://wsimag.com/wellness/10973-breastfeeding-in-europe