My Supports

            My biggest support comes from my family. When I decided to return to school, I told my kids that I would need help getting things done around the house in order to have time to do everything that is required for my job and school. To be honest, they have spoiled me. I help with grocery shopping and some cleaning or laundry, but they do the majority of the meal planning, cooking, and cleaning. This frees my time to do lesson planning and preparation for work as well as time for my school work. They are also good about not letting me get so wrapped up in these activities that I forget to have a good time. They occasionally “kidnap” me to go to the movies, etc. Without their help, I would find it extremely difficult to accomplish all that needs to be done in a day.

            I have support at work as well. One support that I have truly come to appreciate is that which is offered through interventionists in the community. I am lucky that my community has organizations that provide services for children with special needs. I have typically worked with the same two women over the past several years and have become friends with them through these interactions. They provide me with information, ideas, and equipment necessary for helping some of my students. Sometimes they serve as a sounding board and a source of encouragement when I am struggling in my dealings with certain students. Although I am sure that I could find pertinent information on the internet that may help me deal with my special needs students, I don’t think that I would have access to some of the equipment that has come in handy. I also think that without the support of these professionals I would probably find myself overwhelmed in my classroom.

            Recently, I was offered a job in a different city, which would have required me to move. On top of considering whether or not I thought I would be a good fit in regards to the school’s philosophy, etc., I also had to imagine what life would be like without the support of my family. Would I be able to adjust to a new classroom environment, life as a single person, and continue with my education? I decided not to take the job, primarily because of philosophical differences, but I have to admit that part of the reason was my fear that I would not be able to continue my education.

My Connections to Play

As a child, I was not a huge fan of the Mr. Rogers Show; I preferred Sesame Street, Captain Kangaroo, and Electric Company. But, as an adult, I have come to admire Fred Rogers and his commitment to children. He had an innate understanding of children and how they are wired.

Albert Einstein has been recognized as one of the most brilliant minds of the twentieth century. Perhaps those of us of more average intelligence should take heed of this statement. I am sure that Dr. Einstein had much more time to play than the majority of children in America today; it obviously did not keep him from reaching his fullest potential. Why then is most of America convinced that allowing children time to play freely will somehow hinder their intellectual development?

This picture depicts my favorite kind of play that I participated in as a child. Whether I was playing by myself with my brothers, or with other children in the neighborhood, the majority of our time was spent in imaginative play. Some imaginative play included the use of actual toys, like cap guns and a bouncy horse when we played cowboy; while at other times we used items in place of toys, like a towel as a cape or my mom’s silver gravy boat as a magic lamp. Still other types of play only needed the great outdoors – hills, trees, rocks and streams.                  

 

This particular photo displays an adapted piece of playground equipment. Society has deemed these to be too hazardous to be included on playgrounds anymore; but, when I was growing up, this was my favorite piece of equipment on the school playground. There was nothing better than pushing the merry-go-round as fast as I could and then jumping on to enjoy the ride – preferably by hanging on to one of the bars, leaning out and facing the sky as it spun around.

                As I think back about my play history, it seems that the majority of my memories come from the summers. I believe that this is due not to the fact that I didn’t play during the rest of the year, but to the amount of time dedicated to playing during the summer. We played pretty much all day, from the time we woke up until the time our parents would make us come in at night. My mom was a school teacher, she was at home with us, but she never told us what to play. If we told her what we were playing and asked for help with something, she would help us. She helped us build sheet tents, tied on “capes”, etc., but most of all she allowed us the freedom to explore our environment.

                I remember one time when we had found a bunch of little, hard, green balls in the woods. She told us that they were walnuts but the nuts were inside the little balls. When we noticed that our hands were turning colors from handling them, she explained that was stain like carpenters used on wood. We spent days fooling around with those things, trying to figure out how we could dry them out so we could get to the nuts inside. Mom provided different things that we asked for and reminded us not to wear any of our favorite clothes when we were playing with the walnuts so we didn’t have to worry about staining them; but she didn’t share any thoughts about how to accomplish our goal. To be honest, I can’t remember if we ever got them dried out or not; but I do remember playing “factory” on and off for days as we tried to figure it out.

                I believe the biggest difference in the play that my brothers and I participated in and that of children today is freedom. When I was a child we were permitted to play in the woods behind our house by ourselves, or walk to the park or a friend’s house by ourselves, as long as we told Mom where were headed. I don’t know of very many children who have that kind of freedom today to explore their environment. In fact, society has become so safety conscious that a mother was recently arrested for allowing her 7 year old son to walk to the park, which was ¼ of a mile away, by himself; she was charged with child endangering. Apparently, even providing a means of communication for your child does not prevent the community from raising a stink. Another mother was arrested when she allowed her child to play in the park, which was across the street from her job, while she worked even though the child had a cell phone and pre-arranged times to physically check in with her mom. This child, by the way, was a pre-teen. While I understand the underlying fears that cause us to be so watchful, it still saddens me to know that my kids didn’t have as much freedom as I did, and my grandkids may have even less.

                I have continued to enjoy playing throughout my life. This fact may be part of the reason I have chosen this profession since it is one of the few jobs in which having a playful spirit is a job requirement…or, at least it should be.

Relationship Reflection

            The relationships in my life which are the most important to me are those with my family, particularly my daughters. I am close with both of them; we enjoy hanging out with each other. My oldest daughter not only lives with me, along with her husband, but she works with me as well. For a while we even worked in the same classroom. People made comments about the two of us being “freakishly close” and said that, although they loved their mothers, there is no way they could spend that much time together without being at each other’s throats. Our relationship is such that this close proximity is not an issue. We have similar dispositions and agree on many subjects, and we know when to give the other their space without making a big deal about it.

            My youngest daughter’s temperament is more a reflection of her father than of mine but, like her father, we have learned to appreciate each other’s opinions. She frequently makes me laugh. We like spending time together, whether we’re out and about or just sitting around watching television. Our relationship has evolved as she has gotten older. Her father passed away when she was a sophomore in high school, and there were times when our relationship was strained a little as we both were learning to adapt to our new situation. (For a while it was just the two of us because my oldest had gone away to college.) Although I know she still respects me as a parent, I feel like now we are friends as well.

            Another relationship that I enjoy is one with a former pastor, and boss, and his wife. When we worked together, we quickly developed such a good working relationship that people thought we had known each other before I had started working there. My husband and I would spend time hanging out with him and his wife and our children became friends. (My daughters occasionally refer to them as their other set of parents.) They have been present for many milestones in my life, from making a four hour trip to preach at my husband’s funeral, to making a nine hour trip to attend my daughter’s wedding. Although we are no longer in close proximity geographically, we remain close friends and make an effort to see each other at least once a year.

            For reasons I will not go into here, I tend to be a rather guarded person. It is not easy for me to open up with people in my private life, which can make it difficult to start new relationships. However, for some reason, I don’t usually have this issue when it comes to work. I have been able to maintain positive relationships with more than one former employer, former employees, colleagues, and both former and current parents of children in my class.

            Any relationship that lasts for any length of time will have periods of disagreement about one thing or another. I think the key to riding out these disagreements, and maintaining the relationship, is to recognize that they do not define the relationship; the love and respect that you have for that individual is not changed just because you have differing opinions about something. This is true whether that relationship is with a family member, a co-worker, or a family member of a student. It is especially important for me to remember that fact as I seek to partner with those families.

Every child is gifted, they just unwrap their packages at different times.

                                                             Author Unknown     

I imagine that special education teachers especially identify with this quote; but I feel that it speaks to everyone in education. Although all children develop in a systematic way, they do not all progress through their development at the same speed. If we keep that in mind, and take this quote to heart, we can help the children in our classes reach their full potential.                        

            Is it necessary to assess children? Is it necessary to assess their learning?

            I believe that the assessment of children is necessary. Assessment of children provides information as to a child’s strengths and weaknesses. These assessments indicate whether or not there are medical issues that need to be addressed, such as hearing loss. They can also indicate problems with cognitive or social domains. Once that information has been gathered, it can be used to guide teachers and healthcare providers to insure that the child receives the proper care and education.

            Because these assessments involve the whole child, they require the participation of several different professionals. Medical professionals are needed to determine if a child’s physical development is on track; while educators determine if a child’s cognitive and social skills are on a par with his peers. If a child is determined to have delays in either of these areas, it may be necessary to involve other specialists.

            Whether or not it Is necessary to assess a child’s learning is a hotly debated issue. The problem that I see with standardized testing is that it is used to determine the success of the school system; this reduces the student to the status of a product. Since we are talking about individuals, this is a distasteful situation. While I understand that people are looking for a way to hold their schools accountable, I’m not convinced that standardized testing is the appropriate avenue.

            While I was researching what other countries do when it comes to assessing their students, I found it interesting that many of the arguments raised in Germany sounded like those that have been voiced here. Germany is relatively new to standardized testing. They didn’t begin using them until around 2004 and they did so in response to poor showings on an international standardized test. From the beginning, concerns were raised about teachers potentially “teaching to the test” and ignoring instruction in subjects that were not included in these tests. There were also concerns that the tests had a narrow focus on cognitive objectives without any consideration of factors that affect a child’s learning.

            On a positive note, it seems that some countries are realizing that there are other aspects of a student that should be looked at beyond their cognitive achievements. Several countries, including Germany, have begun testing a child’s creative ability. I think that this is a good thing because things change so quickly in the world now, being a creative problem-solver is an important skill.

Waddington, D. J., Nentwig, P., & Schanze, S. (n.d.). Making it Comparable. New York, NY: Waxmann. Retrieved October 11, 2014

Environmental Effects on Childhood Development

                When my son-in-law was a youngster he was discovered rummaging through trash cans for food for himself and his younger brother. His mother was a drug addict and neglected to care for the boys. Fortunately, both of the boys were placed in a foster home and were eventually adopted by that family. This family provided stability and love and food – all of the things that their mother did not. Through the county, the family took advantage of necessary medical care.

 Although all of this took place when the boys were quite young, he was three years old, it did not totally compensate for those early years of deprivation. Both of the boys also needed some therapy as a result of those early years. They both had trouble with impulse control and aggressiveness that needed to dealt with. Luckily, for them the county helped the family find the help the boys needed.

The region that I have chosen to look at is the Detroit area and the effects that poverty is having on the children there. A group called Kids Count has stated that approximately 71% of children in the Detroit area live in families that are 200% of poverty level or lower. Even when families are as much as 200% above poverty level, they have difficulties paying rent and utilities as well as being able to provide adequate food, medical care, and stable child care. This same group has offered statistics that indicate that children ages 0 – 5 are the most affected group, with percentages as high as 58% (detnews).

“Research shows that children who grow up in high-poverty neighborhoods are at much greater risk for health and developmental challenges in almost every aspect of their lives, from education to their chances for economic success as adults. These challenges exist regardless of their own family's income” (Speer, 2013). I find this statement to be very interesting. Apparently, even when children are living in a family that does not suffer from the effects of low income, the prevalence of other families in the community who are suffering can still affect them. Michigan has placed an emphasis on Head Start and Early Start programs to try and offset some of the effects that poverty has on these youngsters. Recently, some have also suggested that changing to a year-round school would also be beneficial. This move would not only prevent what is called “the summer slide” when it comes to their learning, but it would insure that these children continue to be provided healthy breakfasts and lunches through the school lunch program.

Another problem these families have to deal with is that many of them live in what the USDA describes as a food desert. A food desert has a lack of accessible grocery stores, farmer’s markets, and other healthful food outlets (Nutrition Digest). This does not mean that there is no food in the area; however, it tends to be junk food that is readily available. Recent movements have been trying to counteract this problem by establishing urban farms and/or fresh food trucks for these areas.

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=131#ixzz22209nQpf

Higgins, L. (2013, June 29). High poverty areas need a community strategy. In Detroit Free Press. Retrieved September 27, 2014

Speer, L. (2013, May 16). Kids in High-Poverty Communities: 5 Ways It Affects Us All. In The Whole Child Blog. Retrieved September 27, 2014

The USDA Defines Food Deserts (n.d.). In American Nutirtion Association: Nutrition Digest. Retrieved September 27, 2014

Many of you are probably aware that there was a problem with the water supply in Toledo, Ohio earlier this year.  Due to an algae build up in Lake Erie, the water was deemed undrinkable. Residents were told that even boiling it would not make it safe to drink. But the news got even worse when the residents were told that they shouldn’t even bathe in it. Although this was a temporary problem for the area, it got me thinking about the many ways that water is a necessity in our lives and about the areas of the world that deal with water problems similar to this on a regular basis.

One common water contaminant is arsenic. It is estimated that over 200 million people in the world are drinking water that contains levels exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended levels. Many of these people live in Southern Asian Countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, India, and Vietnam. However, several Latin American countries are also experiencing high levels of arsenic in their water. One such country is Peru.

Arsenic can occur naturally in water sources due to exposure to certain metals and volcanic  rocks. However, it can also reach the water supply through human activity such as mining and smelting. Peru is a major supplier of gold, silver and copper to the world market, as well as one of the main producers of arsenic that is used to make pesticides and insecticides around the world. A recent study has shown that this activity may very well have contaminated a large portion of Peru’s water supply. Although poor, rural areas seem to be the most affected, it is disturbing to note that samples taken from the river that runs through Lima, the nation’s capital, also tests high in arsenic content. The most disturbing aspect of the results concerning Lima is that, in some parts of the river, tests showed levels to be 5 times those that are recommended.

Prolonged exposure to arsenic has many detrimental effects to one’s health, ranging from cancer to cardiovascular, neurological, and respiratory diseases. Arsenic has also been proven to have adverse effects on a child’s cognitive and motor development. Because of these facts it is important that countries, like Peru, take advantage of technology that aids not only in testing for arsenic, but also in treating the water to mitigate the amount of arsenic that is in it.

People have long recognized the need for human beings to have access to clean drinking water. In fact, in 2010 the United Nations recognized the need for clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right. As such, all nations must take steps to ensure that their citizens are not denied this basic human right. As a citizen, I must be vigilant in my efforts to keep contaminants from reaching my water supply. As a teacher, I need to make sure that my children are not only afforded adequate amounts of water throughout the day, but also ensure that water is safe for them to drink.

References:

Rush, E., (2013). Water: neglected, unappreciated, and under researched. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition,67(5), 492-495.doi:101038/ejcn.2013.11

George, C., Sima,L., Jahuira,Arias,M., Mahalic, J., Cabrera, L.Z., Danz, D. & Gilman, R.H. (2014). Arsenic exposure in drinking water: an unrecognized health threat in Peru. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 92(8), 565-572. doi:10.2471/BLT.13.128496