Quotes

Here are some quotes that embody my feelings about early childhood development

"Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand."
- Chinese proverb

"Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate."

Anonymous

"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them."

Lady Bird Johnson, former U.S. first lady

Assessment

Assessment is an important part of education.  It is what a teacher uses to see if she is effectively teaching her students and to determine the weak and strong areas of her students.   “Assessment is generally carried out for two main purposes – (1) to measure pupils’ attainment and report evidence of learning in different learning areas and (2) to support pupils’ learning and classroom teaching.” (Parents in Education, 2013).  However the same type of assessment does not work for every child.  Some children are excellent test takers but others are not.  If we as educators want to carry out assessments we should not only test one area but other areas as well.

I think educators should observe children in their everyday settings and interactions so there is no pressure.  They can still administer a few exams but do not make it a stressful thing for the children, de-emphasize its importance.  The best approach is to assess children holistically not just as test takers but also their social skills, emotional skills and cognitive skills in areas other than exams.  A holistic approach would also include being familiar with the child’s home situation as this does affect how they perform in class.

In Jamaica children usually start some type of  pre-school at three years and they move on to primary school at six years old (Budd, 2012). Starting in 2014 four year old Jamaicans will “be assessed for their readiness to move on to the primary school system” (Budd, 2012).  According to Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan the assessment is to “determine whether the children have the skills and resources to meet the needs of the grade one curriculum….. it is not a test” (Budd, 2012).  This assessment will determine if they are where they should be developmentally and if there needs to be some sort of intervention (Budd, 2012).  The children tested “would include those with vision, hearing, cognitive problems and those who have nutritional and other issues of circumstance, such as being from impoverished or abusive home environs” (Budd, 2012).   The assessment would help to determine: “children who do not need additional support once they start primary school, children who may need additional support in grade one and children who may need a special education environment” (Budd,2012).  According to Reid (2010) many children who are diagnosed with learning disabilities are forced to attend mainstream schools as there is not enough space in specialized institutions.

Primary education lasts from grade one to grade six.  In grade six all students sit a nationwide exam, the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) (Ministry of Education Jamaica, 2013).  This exam tests students in five main areas: Mathematics, English, Social Studies, Science and Communication Task. A student’s score on this exam determines the high school that they will attend.  At the end of grade 11 students take a Caribbean wide exam, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), usually in eight to ten subject areas of their choosing.  Students who go on the grades 12 and 13, usually take the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) at the end of each of these grades (Ministry of Education Jamaica, 2013).

When children are assessed, regardless of the results we should show that child that he or she is valued. Oftentimes children with disabilities, in whatever form it may take, feel less than human.  We need to still encourage these students and help them to reach their full potential. 

References:

Budd, J. (2012). ECC to access 4-year-old’s readiness for primary education. The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved from http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/ECC-to-assess-4-year-olds--readiness-for-primary-education_13044927#ixzz2mhAGU9MX

Ministry of Education. (2013). About Us. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.jm/node/16

Parents in Education. (n.d.) Holistic Assessment. Retrieved from http://parents-in-education.moe.gov.sg/primary-education/what-and-how-will-my-child-be-assessed/holistic-assessment

Reid, T. (2010). Special Need’s Children Long Wait For Care. The Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100221/lead/lead6.html

Stressors

While growing up I experienced poverty. I believe there are varying degrees of this, mine was not the poverty that had me going to bed without food or without a roof over my bed. My father has always been present and supported me throughout my life but I have only lived with my mother for most of it. All the money that my mother earned went into paying for our basic necessities. For years we did not own a refrigerator, television, a dining room table and chairs. We used to put things in water to help keep it cold. I had a rectangular cardboard that I used to eat on, in case I made a mess. I remember my mother telling me this is not the way people eat and that if I went to someone’s house I should eat around a table. I often wore second hand clothes from my cousins because we could not afford to buy much new clothes. Since we had very little furniture I used to make what should be the living room and dining room into a play area. I never owned a Barbie but I did have other toys to play with. There were things that I wanted sometimes but my mother would explain that she doesn’t have the money to buy these things. My mother once told me that when I was younger I got sick but I did not tell her that I was feeling unwell. When she asked me about it I told her that she does not have the money to take me to the doctor. To this day I don’t like to waste food, I always try to finish everything on my plate, I try to conserve energy and it is hard for me to buy clothes or shoes over a certain price. As I grew older and our economic situation improved I still disliked asking my mother for money even if it was for school supplies. Though I did not have much, I thoroughly enjoyed my childhood. My mother and I grew and continue to be very close, we talk about everything.

According to UNICEF (n.d.), in Ghana some stressors that affect children are: diseases, malnutrition mostly due to poverty, and access to safe drinking water, and child labor which is sometimes accompanied by violence. In order to counteract this UNICEF has partnered with other programs. One such partnership, UNICEF and the Guinea Worm Eradication Program, has seen cases of the disease drop by 85 per cent between 2007 and 2008 (UNICEF, n.d.). UNICEF has partnered with the government and others to form a child protection systems such as anti-human trafficking units and domestic violence and victim support units (UNICEF, n.d.). “In December 2005,the Government passed a comprehensive anti-trafficking bill, with assistance from a variety of international organizations” (Johansen, 2013). The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and APPLE, a local NGO “both rescue children from trafficking situations and bring them back to their families” (Johansen, 2013). Organizations such as Free the Children (2013) partners with communities. They help to provide clean water systems, latrines, hand-washing stations and water and sanitation education (Free the Children, 2013). Additionally, the organization will provide health education and training, implement nutrition programs at schools and provide an alternative income for men and women through new business development (Free the Children, 2013).

References:

Free the Children. (2013). Ghana. Retrieved from http://www.freethechildren.com/international-programming/where-we-work/ghana/

Johansen, R. 2013. Child trafficking in Ghana. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes. Retrieved from http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/child-trafficking-in-ghana.html

UNICEF. (n.d.). UNICEF Ghana. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/Countries_1743.html

Immunization

Immunization is a key part of health programs in many nations. It is responsible for almost and in some cases fully eliminating certain diseases. Immunization is simply giving an individual a milder version of a virus so their body can build up immunity to it by developing antibodies for that disease (Berger, 2012). This ensures that if the real virus attacks their body their body will already have antibodies that can fight off the disease (Berger, 2012). It is incredible that with just a couple of injections a variety of diseases can be prevented or diminished within a population (Berger, 2012). Immunization is a preventative measure which can save a country millions that they would otherwise have to spend on people with diseases. It is unfortunate that some children do not have access to immunization and die from diseases which could easily have been prevented. 

Jamaica’s Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) has been praised for being one of the best in the world by a representative of Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) (Ministry of Health, 2012). EPI started in Jamaica in 1977 and has helped to greatly decrease infant mortality rates. Before the program’s inception “the infant mortality rate from infectious diseases including vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, polio, neonatal tetanus, tuberculosis, diphtheria, bacterial meningitis and pneumonia was very high at some 51 per 1000 live births in the 1960s and 32 per 1000 live births in the 1970s.” In April 2012 the infant mortality rate was 21 per 1000 live births. “The last case of polio was in 1982, the last case of locally transmitted measles was in 1991, the last case of diphtheria was in 1995 and the last case of rubella (German measles) was in 2000” (Ministry of Health, 2012).

 This information helped me to see how effective immunization can be if it is implemented and how much of a difference it can make in infant mortality rates. In the future I will spread information about the benefits of immunization to young children. If possible I will try to arrange for a medical team to come into my school and immunize and or check the immunization record of each child annually.

 References:

Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Ministry of Health. (2012). Jamaica’s Immunization Program Lauded as Among the Best in the World. Retrieved from http://www.moh.gov.jm/general/latestnews/1-latest-news/513-jamaicas-immunization-programme-lauded-as-among-the-best-in-the-world

My Birth

On September 2, 1988 my mother started having contractions around 10 p.m. (M. Rose, personal communication, October 31, 2013). She and my father got to the University of the West Indies Hospital around 11 p.m. where the contractions continued for the rest of the night and the following day. My father left the hospital that night but returned the following morning. He had to leave again to inform his aunt and my grandmother of my impending birth, by the time he returned I was born (M. Rose, personal communication, October 31, 2013).

 My mother was registered and shown to a room on the maternity ward (M. Rose, personal communication, October 31, 2013). She was taken to another room where she was given an enema. Afterwards she returned to the first room. While she waited in this room there was a doctor that stayed with her and massaged her stomach whenever she got contractions. She was put on a drip after a couple of hours because she had not eaten since her enema. After more than 13 hours had passed she was finally put on a gurney and taken to the delivery room. She was told to push each time she felt a contraction. When she did, she screamed from the pain. It got harder for her to push because she had not eaten for hours and was feeling very weak. At one point she had to stop pushing, which was hard for her, because I had started crowning. The doctor then performed an episiotomy on her. When I finally came out she felt a huge relief and emptiness. I was born at 1:15pm on a Saturday. The attending nurse cut my umbilical cord and I was shown to my mother some time afterwards. She was told to look and determine my gender and to count my fingers and toes. Then a tag was put on my arm and I was taken away from her. She describes me as being extremely tiny, tall and pink with long black hair. I weighed 6 pounds. My mother was not given an epidural at any point during my birth (M. Rose, personal communication, October 31, 2013).

 I was too young to remember anything about this event. I wrote about it because it is the only birthing experience that I have been a part of. Birth can have a tremendous influence on a child’s development. Birthing conditions need to be ideal for bringing a new life into the world. During birth many complications can arise and if these are not addressed immediately and effectively the child can be affected for the rest of his or her life. For example if the umbilical cord starts choking the baby and cuts off his or her oxygen supply to the brain this could lead to developmental problems.

 In 2005 in Japan 98.8% births occured in hospital or private clinics and 1.2% of births occurred in maternity homes and homes (Matsuoka & Fumikoa, 2009). “In Japan, labor pain is considered as an important and necessary element of childbirth as a woman grows into motherhood through the experience of pain” (Matsuoka & Fumikoa, 2009). Most Japanese women do not use any pain reliever during birth. They think that enduring the pain and going through natural birth is best and that this also facilitates bonding with their child. (Matsuokoa & Fumikoa, 2009). According to Fiedler (1996) “medical intervention such as epidural analgesic use, induced labour, episiotomy, and instrumental deliveries, are relatively common procedures in abnormal or 'difficult' births in Japan, compared to a very low level of intervention for normal births”. My birth bears a lot of similarity to a birth in Japan, the only exception being that an episiotomy was performed during my birth.

 References

Fiedler DC. (1996) Authoritative knowledge and birth territories in contemporary Japan. Med Anthropol Q., 10(2),195–212. doi: 10.1525/maq.1996.10.2.02a00060. Matsuoka E., & Fumikoa H. (2009).

Maternity Home in Japan. In R. Davis-Floyd, L. Barclay, B.A. Daviss, & J. Titten (Eds.), Birth Models That Work (pp. 213-238). Berkeley, California: University of California Press.