Your Personal Research Journey

For too long, teaching children to read has been seen as women’s work. New research recognizes this limits child development. Fathers play a critical role in learning, too.

—Robert W. Ortiz, Ph.D., Cal. State, Fullerton

As I think about my own childhood I remember my mother attending all the meeting, events that took place at school. Even though both parents worked, the schooling was designated to my mom. With that being said I would like to focus on getting fathers more involved in their child’s education. For many years the childhood education has been seen as women’s work. Through research we have found children really do benefit from having both their parents involved in their lives and it is clear that children are getting the short end of the stick due to the fact that their fathers are missing from that partnership.

Some of the top reasons that I found as to why fathers are not involved in education are:

_ Head Start staff consists mostly of women who may identify with and are more comfortable with moms.

_ Some staff and mothers may have bad feelings toward fathers due hurtful relationships.

_ The past cultures show women as primary caretakers, particularly of young children.

_ Some staff may not understand role a father plays in his child’s healthy development.

_ Some staff may assume that fathers do not want to participate.

_ Some staff may not know how to get fathers involved.

In my research over the next couple of weeks I plan to address ways to utilize fathers in the classroom and  show how this involvement is beneficial to the child.

My Supports

I am presently an employee of a Head Start program. This program is one that I was able to start with first as a parent, then given the opportunity to take my intern, then a full time teacher. So i am able to understand many different angles of this agency. Part of the support that i received as a parent was knowledgeable teachers and a program that offered a wonderful environment for my child to play and learn. Later as a teacher I was able to pass on to my students the same services but more. Part of the support that I receive is from the professional development staff, agency provided incentive program and agency support staff. This includes speech and language, Occupational and physical therapy. My agency provides information on training offered throughout the community. Part of the staff development staff is to provide information to teachers. Other support facilities include Childcare connections. Here we can find information on other agencies and training to update certifications and personal development. Other support may also include family support, health and nutrition and incentive for parent involvement. 

My Connections to Play

I am now 38 years old. I remember when I played outside with my sisters and our Saturday night board games. Things are so different now and my own children are not exposed to the form of play that I was exposed to. When I think about play this quote by Mr. Rogers really sums up what play and learning is all about; "Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning…They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play.” ~ Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood).

I am also very fond of this quote as well;

“Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.” Friedrich Froebel (founder of the concept of kindergarten)

Over the last 20 years the way that children play and learn has changed tremendously. Children are more interested in playstations,  xbox360,  face-book and anything computer related. When i was younger we used more our imagination through outside play and board games, drawing and family days and vacations. Parents were more involved in their children and gave them that family time together.  My outside time involved bike riding, hiking and many days at the park and in the mountains. It is terrible now to think a child can not play due to the fact that playing outside is more dangerous.

 

One thing I have learned as i got older is that no matter how old you are it is a positive thing to continue to play. It may look a little different to an older person but it serves the same purpose.

Relationship Reflection

I understand that everyone has a story. In my story relationships and partnerships are important because i know first hand that tomorrow is  not promised. Eight years ago I lost a child. during the time of grieving i had to chose to reflect on my life and what i wanted to make of it. Most people plan for tomorrow I just plan for today. I try not to stress over the things that I can not physically change on my own. I have become more accepting of others and I do not hold grudges. It makes no since to me to be mad over something. That is the time that my body is not happy. At this point in my life I want to be happy the entire time I am awake.

As an individual I advise others to choose healthy relationships. My life's experiences have thought me that negative relationships can cause more problems in my life that is unnecessary. The positive people in my life are my husband, children, my mother, sisters and the children and families in my classroom. Everyday I build a stronger bond with them. Having people in my life to talk to and people that i can relate to is very important to me. Strenght and support, Substance over style, positive communication is the key to a successful, healthy life.

When I Think of Child Development …

When I Think of Child Development … these are the quotes that come to mind. A child is not a salmon mousse. A child is a temporarily disabled and stunted version of a larger person, whom you will someday know. Your job is to help them overcome the disabilities associated with their size and inexperience so that they get on with being that larger person.
Barbara Ehrenreich
 This quotes reminds me of my children. I look at them and realize that they are tiny version of my self and my husband. I see facial expressions and body language that remind me of myself. I look at my children and I want to give them everything that i never had. but when it all comes down to it, I give them the main thing that I never did without. That is a mother that loves them very much.

The next quote that remind me of children and how important they are is Children are curious and are risk takers. They have lots of courage. They venture out into a world that is immense and dangerous. A child initially trusts life and the processes of life.
John Bradshaw
As a teacher it is my job to take that courage and to help it grow into something beautiful. Teaching children to take risk and to rely on there own judegment is a part of growing up.

To my classmates, thank you for putting forth the effect on take on the lives of children and their families. The last thing i would like to leave with you is this "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong.  Because someday in your life you will have been all of these".  ~George Washington Carver

Child Development and Public Health

I thought about how important the use of clean water. It serves many purposes and we could not survive without it. The first thing that comes to mind when think of clean water is it is used for drinking, cooking and washing. As a teacher I continue to encourage my children to consume more water instead of soft drinks and juices. In one part of Africa the use of clean healthy water is a problem that has been on the rise for many years. People use buckets to gather water from a watering hole. If and when that hole runs dry another has to dig in a new area. This same watering hole may be used by local business, families or medicals facilities. In Blantyre the population has grown from 113,000 in 1966 to 670,000 in 2008, according to the National Statistical Office. Because there is not suffient clean water, dirty linen from the hospitals are left soiled and bloodied. The workers continue to complain because there is not way to wash the linens or the patients.

In an article from the 2003 CNN (Water shortages may make Africa more aid dependent) experts say that by 2025 as many as 523 million people in Africa may be without access to clean water. This means that farmers will not have enough water for their crops. Since many parts of Africa are in droughts that lack of water any were will affect every part.


A couple of years ago I started to really monitor how often my own children drank water. Their drinks consisted of sodas, juices and just like mind lots of sweet tea. In a week my family consumed about 10 to 15 pounds of sugary drinks. So with that being said I stopped buying sodas, I did not make kool-aid. The sweet teas I still struggle with. (I just do not make it at home for the kids). I switched to crystal lights and I put a water cooler in the kitchen. My children are more aware of the importance of clean water for their bodies and I can tell they are making better choices on their own with their drinks when away from home.
Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/11/01/water.shortage.reut/%20retrieved
September 18, 2018 from Water shortages may make Africa more aid dependent


Hospitals Struggle Amid Water Shortage by Charles Mpak/http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=56886 / retrieved September 18, 2011

Childbirth––In Your Life and Around the World

I remember the birth of each of my children like it was yesterday. Each was completely different and each made me feel differently as far as being a new mother and the new things I would do with that particular child. In the readings I learned more about how the mental state of the mother effects the fetus. The first birth was a boy, I was 18 and in a different state of mind than with the later births. This child was later diagnosed with cerebal palsy and developmentally delayed. I am not sure if my worrying about having a child so young, without being married or what everyone would, think had anything to do with his problems, but as a young mother of course i blamed myself. With each of the other births I know that I was extra nervous as each birth got closer because of the unknown.

As I looked at births around the world I choose to focus on Guatemala. This is the population that i am in most contact with in my classroom so I thought I would find out more about the beginning life of the mothers and grandmothers of the children that i deal with. What I found is that most of the midwives have minimal to no training,lack the skills to provide life threatening techniques to expecting babies or mothers mothers. Women that take on the midwife (Comadronas)role are normally women that is trusted in the community and are usually older respected women. Some of the problems that take place is the lack of vehicles to get to the doctors or hospital, sanitation areas and even the location of a help center. Like my own births i had much family support. So I found that in most non-Western cultures the birth of a child in this area of care is the same. The family members (especially female relatives) provide strong social support and take care of the majority of the mothers and the new born child needs. The midwife continues to also provide care and support of the mother and child.(Holroyd et al., 1997;Nahas & Amashen, 1999).

With the birthrate in these rural ares (BIRTH RATE: 39.6 births per 1000 persons) http://www.quetzalnet.com/c_profile.html so low i understand why a lot of these families make every attempt to come to the US. Here they receive the proper care for the mother and child. They also learn better ways to insure a healthy and happy child.