Daily Supports

I have numerous supports within my daily environment.  These include: God, my family, friends, co-workers and technology (via my phone).  God is the one constant in my life who is with me at all times, He is my biggest support.   Since I am living in a foreign country and my phone is constantly with me I am able to keep in touch with my friends and family and see what is happening in the world around me.  Additionally I am able to translate things into English when necessary.  I have a friend from college who also works in Japan.  She is like a sister and has been a great help to me, especially in the beginning when I just came.  She gave me lots of useful advice, helped me to identify things in the supermarket, helped me to navigate the transportation system and often cooked for me.  We continue to hangout and do a lot of things together. I am more settled now but I know I can go to her for help if I need it.  My co-workers are also a big support in and out of the work place.  At work they help me come with different strategies and resources for teaching my students.  Out of the office we often celebrate each other birthdays together and do different activities together.  Most of us are foreigners, so we end up doing most things together.  Without these supports I would be very lonely and probably depressed.  I would have no one to help me and I would be alone in a foreign country where I do not speak the native language.  Life would be extremely difficult for me.

One challenge I can think of is getting lost.  My family would not necessarily be able to help me but my friend and co-workers who live here could via technology.  God would keep me calm and keep me from freaking out about being lost in a foreign country.    If I realize that I am lost I could use the GPS on my phone to show me my present location and help me get to a familiar location.  I could also call my friend or other co-workers who would be able to talk me through getting back home or at least getting somewhere where one of them could pick up. They also have more knowledge about the transportation system, so they could tell me which bus or train I should take.  These supports help me feel like I have people I can rely on and a family away from home.  Without these supports I would probably be afraid to try new things and explore new places.  I would probably just stick to what I know and not bother to venture outside my comfort zone.    

My Connections to Play

Quotes about what play meant to me in my childhood

“Life is more fun if you play games.” 
― Roald Dahl, My Uncle Oswald

“We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything, than when we are at play.” 
― Charles E. Schaefer

Essential play items during my childhood

                              

I remember that I loved to play when I was younger.  I used to stay at my mom’s friend’s house after school, my mother would pick me up hours later after she was done with work.  Her friend had two sons, one was one year older than me and the other was two years younger than me.  A soon as I got to their house I would quickly finish my homework and we would all play for the rest of the evening.  We often played soccer, football and cricket but sometimes we would play hide and seek or just make up games on our own.  Play gave me a sense of freedom, it was exhilarating and helped me to be more vocal.

I think play today is much different than it was years ago when I was younger.  I used to play outdoors much more than I see children nowadays doing.  Most of my play involved popular sports from my country like football (soccer) and cricket.  I also played a lot with other children at school and within my community.  It seems that nowadays many children play a lot of videogames and computer games by themselves or with their friends, they also watch a lot of television and do not seem to play outside as often as I did.

I think play was important especially since I was the only child for my mother.  At home I mostly played by myself but I had friends within my community who I would play with sometimes.  At school play helped me to come out of my shell and interact with other children.  It also helped me to step outside of my comfort zone.  Play helped me to enjoy every minute of my childhood. I always enjoyed the age I was and enjoyed learning more complex games as I grew older. As I grew into adulthood play helped me to relax, de-stress and get to know other people.

Relationships

Relationships are important to me because they help to give my life meaning, warmth, joy and purpose.  Most of my experiences in life revolve around different relationships.  I have a positive relationship with God, my mother, Flo, Kristin and Apple.  My relationship with God is the most important relationship.  I am often strengthened and encouraged by this relationship. God already knows all my weaknesses and failings and still loves me so it is easy to go to Him and tell Him what I am going through. I maintain it through prayer  and through reading His word in the Bible. My relationship with my mother has strengthened over the years.  I trust her to give me good, sound advice and I respect and look up to her.  Factors that contributed to this were my mother was very open with me and she was also open to feedback from me. 

Flo is a very good friend who I met in college.  She is older than me so she passed on the knowledge she knew and helped to make my time in college more fun and comfortable.  She is like an older sister to me.  Factors that contributed to our relationship were that I would go to her room everyday so I got to know her quite well.  Secondly, she was very helpful and genuinely cared about me.  Lastly, we would bond over t.v. shows and talk about a lot of different things.

I have known Kristin for a little over a year but our friendship has grown, our relationship is an easy going one.  I feel like I can share anything with her and I will not be judged.  Factors that contributed to our relationship are: we work at the same place and live in the same apartment complex.  We also have similar personalities and shared interests.  Apple has been one of my best friends since high school.  We have kept in touch over the years and have even visited each other across states and countries.  Factors that contributed to our relationship are that we have a shared past and interests.  We know little things about each other that not many people know and we have seen each other grow and change.

Challenges to developing and maintaining a relationship include:

Distance, it gets increasingly difficult to stay in touch the further you are from each other.

Knowing each other’s limits. You have to know that sometimes you need to give the other person space just to be by themselves.

Since it is a relationship it cannot be all about you.  You need to consider the other persons feelings and stance on different matters.  If one person is always the “taker” in the relationship that can be draining on the other party.

Compromise. To make a relationship work you often have to meet the other person half-way and that usually involves compromise.

A special characteristic of the relationship with my mother is that we consult each other before we make any important decisions, in much the same manner as partners.  We also share similar views on many things and our personalities complement each other.

My experience with relationships will impact my work as an early childhood professional.  It will help me know what to do in order to establish trust with the parents.  It will help me to not only gather information from parents but also to give them meaningful feedback about their children, as relationships should be reciprocal.  It will help me to communicate well with parents, communication is key to any relationship.  It will help to remind me that just as I have friends who respond to the same thing in different ways this will happen with parents too.  I need to be flexible and may need to come up with different ways to communicate with different parents. Lastly, with most relationships you get out as much as you put in. 

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