A Special note of Thanks to my fellow learner practitioners at Walden University!!

I would like to thank each of my colleagues for your support, pleasant personalities, dialog and commitment during our educational endeavor at Walden. You have made this journey a memoriable one. Like the old African proverb, "it takes a village to raise a child". I believe it was through the caring learning community I've encountered at Walden that I has made it possible for me to have made it this far. I wish all of you much continued success. I'll see you in the next year, and in the next course.  Happy Holidays! Stay safe!

"Laurence Houseman once said, 'A saint is one who makes goodness attractive.' Surely, a great teacher does the same thing for education."
- John Trimble

Holistic approach and Assessment

The holistic approach to Early Childhood Development focuses on a child’s physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development. The term holistic simple stated sees a child’s development as a whole and seeks to expand and improve those areas through early childhood educational programs and education. In the United States, the federal government along with advocates for children has realized the importance of the early years on the developing child, and has set in motion programs designed to enhance learning and achievement in children.

Students being educated in Kenya follow a somewhat different educational journey. They began formal schooling at the age of seven through thirteen. During this period, it is considered elementary (primary) educational period. During my research, I found that Kenya has an international school whose curriculum is American based. They also have a magnet school. Education is extremely valued in Kenya, and parents realize that it is means of bettering their economic and family situations. Assessments are teacher prepared criterion reference test. I couldn’t find any other known assessment tools that were being used. Although at the end of the elementary period, those students who perform well are tested for future educational opportunities. Only those who could afford future schooling were allowed to continue.

Assessing children’s knowledge of material is necessary to gain information about recall, memory, and recognition of material. So much emphasis is being placed on assessments and achievement that the number of high school graduates in our area has dropped tremendously.  Students have begun buying diplomas online from schools that have no accreditation from the state. Those diplomas look good on paper, but they are not accepted by some colleges.

Stressors

Hunger is something I thought only existed in other countries. I’ve found that millions of children die daily due to hunger all over the world. It is a devastating fact of life, one that you think will never happen in your own family.  I never thought my own niece would have to still food to live. She actually had to still from stores, home and any wear she could get a bite to eat. She began stealing about the age of eight. She actually started at home. Her mother had married a man who was evil and won right low down. They lived in Laurel, MS. Hunger was not due to the lack of food, but because the husband kept locks on the cabinets, and only gave food out in portions. Whenever we went to visit, the children were sitting outside on the steps and they were always hungry. What type of person could deny children food when there is food in their home. The children would wait until night and sneak into the pantry when he forgot and left it open and stole food. Whenever they got caught, he would beat the bloody.

I couldn’t understand why my niece stayed in such a situation. I later found out that she was afraid to leave him. He beat her as well. When they became school age in an area where people knew the family, they would keep the grandmother informed of any abuse. Once the schools got involved, he moved the family away. Finally, one day the mother got tired, and decided to leave. She left, but did not take the children. The oldest girl, which was the outside child, is doing well. She has a job, and is currently working on her master’s degree. The other two are not in contact with the mother. This is a story of hunger, abuse, neglect, chaos, and an absolute mess, all wrapped together into one scenario.

We see advertisements asking for donations because of children dying from hunger. Ethiopia is the country that comes to mind. Children are dying from lack of nutrition, hunger, drought, and disease. The World Food Program, raises money to aid the children and people in that country. YouTube posted an article about the drought of May 2008 that caused hunger issues to rise in that country.  Health issues and rising prices are other stressors that affect that community. The government fighting in wars with neighboring towns that have do direct affect on their own town could also be considered a stressor. Abraham Maslow talks about the hierarchy of needs and how they must be met before one could move on to other issues. The basic of those necessities is food and shelter. This weeks readings dicussed stressors and how they affect child development in the areas ob biosocial, psychosocial and cognitive. As we know hunger will affect the body, brain, emotions

SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME (SIDS)

SIDS is a term used when a baby’s death cannot be explained even after thorough medical examination. Some refer to it as (Crib Death) or “cot death” because the majority of infants affected die in their cribs. Others refer to it as sudden unexplainable infant death syndrome (SUIDS).   SIDS is strongly associated with sleep. Although infants who die do not show any signs of pain or suffering, and the victims appear to be healthy before their death. SIDS occurs without any warning, and is the leading cause of death in children below the age of one year.

The exact causes of SIDS are not known, but it is suggested that suffocation, choking, and infection are not the cause. SIDS is also not contagious. Although I thought my daughter could catch something or would die if I went over to my friend’s house after the death of her baby. This was years ago, but the stigma of not knowing and not understanding death and SIDS still exist today.

I tried to find something about Uganda or Somalia that would reflect on living conditions or lack of adequate health care in some areas as a possible cause. The only thing that I found was that HIV was a major concern in some areas where I researched. SIDS is something that affects all nations, nationalities, and people. The risk of SIDS is higher in males. The age range is believe to be between age two three months, although babies up to a year have been diagnosed with SIDS. Other risk factors are low weight, premature babies, sleeping on the stomach, sleeping on soft bedding, smoking or abusing drugs during pregnancy and according to the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development some ethnic groups such as African American are at greater risk.

Prevention of SIDS cannot be guaranteed since the cause is unknown, but some things that have been suggested that we do to help reduce the risk of SIDS are:

o   Always place baby on back when sleeping

o   Avoid smoking near baby

o   Keep a comfortable room temperature

o   Keep soft objects and loose bedding away from area 

o   Provide firm sleeping surface

 As I read and learn about different parts of the world, I understand that certain diseases can affect you regardless of you race or cultural preferences. Although it is suggested that SIDS is a area of concern, that seems to target males and African American children the most. It is not limited to them only. SIDS is no respecter of persons and it can affect anyone including my children born under the age of one year.

Personal Birthing Experience

The personal birthing experience that I choose to write about is the birth of my five year old grandson Joshua. Joshua was born August 25, 2006. He is the second child of my youngest daughter who is now 26. Juanita had a normal pregnancy, and she received prenatal care during the months of her pregnancy. Joshua was born at a hospital in Mississippi. The delivery went well. After the baby arrived, our pediatrician went to examine the child. She noticed that the child’s color was not normal he was too blue. After the examination, the doctor told us that the baby was not receiving enough oxygen, and that his valves to his heart were not arranged right. So she recommended that he be sent to the University hospital in Jackson to the neonatal unit immediately. Upon arrival, we met with the doctor and he told us about the procedure he had to perform. Joshua has to be put to sleep and all the blood drained from his body, so that the valves to his heart could be reconstructed. Once the surgery was over, the doctor said that once they reconstructed the heart valves and put the blood back into his body, the heart was beating strong and he never missed a beat. Joshua was born with a defected heart. There was no detection during the prenatal period, nothing until the birth.

Chapter four of our text talked about the “bluish and pinkish blood color, visible beneath the skin” (Berger, 2009), as oxygen begins to circulate once the baby leaves the vagina(pg.114, par 1). Joshua’s color let the doctor know that something was wrong with his breathing. I thank God and the doctors for the use of the Apgar scale which quickly alerted them of the problem. Joshua still has to undergo periodic check with the heart specialist in Jackson, but his visits are only once or twice a year now. He is growing just fine.

I choose this example because I think that prenatal care and child development are crucial to the developing child. Without the proper research and technology having been done my grandson may not be alive today. I think it is important to know how the baby develops during pregnancy and beyond in order to make the proper informed decisions about the baby’s birth and development throughout life. I learn about attachment and how important it is during those first year of an infant’s life to receive nurturing from the mother and to bond with her, what about those infants in the neonatal unit who miss out on those precious moments trying to survive. I wonder if that would have any long term effects on the child’s development?

I read several article’s and one that struck me as interesting was one that I read about a postpartum beliefs and practices among Non Western Cultures. I found that in some countries women have little or no control over pregnancy and its outcomes. Some are centered about customs, and taboos they practice during pregnancy and the prenatal periods. One particular article was about a Korean woman who was also a registered nurse who came to the United States as an adult. She married and became pregnant, after deliver the American practices brought about many cultural conflicts and beliefs of her native culture. About thirty minutes after giving birth, she was told to take a shower and refresh herself. This was a conflict of her culture, as well as the consumption of cold liquid after birth. Her culture requires that no cold liquids be consumed and for about a month the mother was to only restore her health and family members can in to assist with everything else.

Reference:

Godwin-Kim, Yeoun Soo (2003) Postpartum Beliefs and Practices Among Non-Western Cultures, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, retrieved from:http:www.nursingcenter.com/prodev/ce_article.asp?tid=408218

Berger, K.S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.) New York, NY; Worth Publishers

Best of Luck!

Dear colleagues, I wish all of you the best of luck and success in this class, as well as the future. I've truely enjoyed working with all of you. Everyone has been great, the class participation, blog assistance and the collaboration as a whole. I can see Walden's vision working through all of you. A careing community of learners. Thanks for all that you all have done. I wish all of you success.

NAEYC & DEC Code of ethics

The DEC states:

We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value and human potential of each child.

NAEYC Code of Ethics

Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of human development

Respect diversity of children, family, and colleagues

All of the codes from NAEYC and DEC are meaningful to me. These three stand out because they pint to individual behavior that professionals, teachers and support staff should demonstrate when dealing with children. They also talk explicitly about children, family, and colleagues within the educational community. Respecting diversity is one of the cores of the educational profession, because children are unique individuals regardless of the ethnicity, or cultural background, and we must embrace that diversity in order to foster respect, responsive, and recipricol relationships within the learning community. These issues are important to me and my professional growth as a leader in the Early Childhood field.