a favorite quote

"Many see what is, but we must see what can be"
-Albert Einstein

I doubt that Prof. Einstein was thinking about early childhood development when he expressed his belief, but this one rings true for young children as they develop, and especially for those children who have disabilities. When we see a child who needs help walking, we must not stop our vision there. We must ask ourselves, "What if we tried..." or "What if she could do it this way?" So many innovations that benefit children with disabilities have come from a vision of what might be.


" Part of the problem with the word 'disabilities' is that it immediately suggests an inability to see or hear or walk or do other things that many of us take for granted. But what of the people who can't feel? Or talk about their feelings? Or manage their feelings in constructive ways? What of people who aren't able to form close and strong relationships? And people who cannot find fulfillment in their lives, or those who have lost hope, who live in disappointment and bitterness and find no joy. no love? These, it seems to me, are the real disabilities."
-Fred Rogers

Children's social/emotional development must be regarded with equal, if not greater importance than physical and cognitive accomplishments by those who care for them.

Testing Children's Aptitude

      I am mystified by the  practice of administering IQ tests to any child at any age. The IQ score is said to be a predictor of later educational and lifetime success (Berger, pg. 324).  How can such a test be considered accurate for determining a child's capacity for learning when there are so many other factors that influence a child's learning? We know that the brain is plastic, and can develop or not develop according to environmental and epigenetic factors (Berger, 2009). Why bother submitting children to a test that has an outcome ignores the child's biosocial and psychosocial development? A capacity perceived as limited will limit the efforts of child and teacher. A capacity perceived as beyond average but is actually limited by social/emotional factors is no capacity at all. The Flynn effect is the explanation for the general IQ of entire nations rising, when IQ is believed to be genetic, and so fixed. (Berger, 2009. pg. 324). The learning capacity of children can be changed by the environmental and social experiences they have. The IQ score is not useful in educating children. Children should be assessed regularly, routinely, and naturally by their adult caregivers and teachers to determine their present level of biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial development in order to plan for the child's next level of advancement. Here is where this child is performing today. Here is where we want to go tomorrow. This is how we are going to get there.  This is real capacity for success without regard to IQ.
      It seems as if Finland uses individual measures for determining a child's success in school and career. The Finnish National Board of Education determines the curriculum, and local schools are given authority to educate in the methods they deem best for their community of learners. Acceptable performance is determined by teachers who stay with young children throughout Primary Education. Depending on the needs of the children, there may be as many as 3 teachers in a classroom. Basic education begins at seven years old, which coincides with Piaget's theories of the beginning of concrete operational thought (Berger, pg.338). The assessment process is described as the evaluation of learning outcomes,  and is "encouraging and supportive in nature" (FNBE) . The school system teaches and encourages self-evaluation to promote a child's self-concept and learning potential.
      The practice of administering IQ tests to determine a child's potential for learning seems inconsistent with research regarding the influences on child development and the plasticity of the human brain. It is at best a waste of time and effort, and at worst, a burden that limits what a child is really capable of with individual and group support.

Resources:

Berger, K.S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
The Finnish National Board of Education. Retrieved from http://www.oph.fi/english/education

A Stress-less Time

Over the Thanksgiving holiday drive to and from Chicago, and during dinners and down-time with family and others, I put the question of the week to a few: "What stressors did we experience as kids?" and "How did we manage it?" From siblings, I heard more than I could come up with alone. Getting good grades put a lot of stress on my brothers, because there would be lots of yelling and privileges lost if the grades were poor. Not having a wardrobe that wasn't entirely out-of-style hand-me-downs was all that I could conjure up. Not that our childhoods weren't without many unpleasant memories, just that there was no long-term chronic pressure that caused any of us to grow into less-than-equipped adults. I am quite sure that my parents felt the weight of pressure applied by the leadership of the Catholic Church not to practice birth control, resulting in a family that was larger than a man's salary could support. (But thank God for it, or we wouldn't be here!) My father worked two jobs most of my life, because one job didn't cover everything that six children and two adults needed. His career job was Police Officer in a dangerous city on a small salary; pretty stressful. My mom was a full time parent of six children; very isolating and demanding at the same time. Now they felt stress, but the children never really felt it. We lacked nothing, even if we didn't think so. My parents developed strategies that kept us well, safe, educated, and independent when adulthood came. They were hard-working tight-wads, and they did well for themselves and us even after they died, and so they were successful parents. The Thanksgiving conversation included my sister-in-law, who recalled her childhood in Mexico as the tenth of eleven children. She recalled the stress of widespread alcoholism, and blamed the common Mexican practice of youth consumption, and the customary machismo attached with drinking the vile stuff. More sad stories of how alcohol abuse split families and took lives of loved ones followed. I looked up some information about Mexico's early childhood difficulties.
Mexico's children have an overall lack of access to education of any quality, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty. Poverty is a "Which came first?" problem that includes poor nutrition, home and community environments that are void of cognitive stimulation, child abuse, gang activity, drug related social problems, and teen pregnancy. Poor educational quality in the matter of undereducated teachers contributes to the lack of preparation of children for entry into the work world, keeping them hostages of poverty. (Zurlo, 2006). Children born into this cycle seldom escape, because they cannot get one of the very few good jobs that will propel them to a better life. Advocates for Mexican children are appealing to the U.S. for help as a way to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the border states. This Win-Win strategy is the most likely to succeed in improving education first, and then the very existence of children and families in Mexico.
You see, me and most of my sisters and brothers now know that we did not suffer under these stressors as children. What we may have called " childhood stress" is really childish misconception. We were the lucky ones.
More information about the plight of undereducated children can be read in the sources listed below.

http://www.alasthemovement.org
Zurlo, Luanne. (2006, January 20). Addressing a Root Cause of Mexican Migration Pressures to the U.S. The Link Between Education and Immigration. Retrieved from http://www.worldfund.org

Child Development and Public Health

When my oldest daughter was 11, I decided that it was safe enough for her to visit her father's family in Colombia, South America. There were a number of real safety issues to consider: Her father was at the top of the list of dangers, then the U.S. Department of State warned US citizens not to travel to Colombia because of terrorist activity by drug cartels. There were a few concerns as the list went on about travel-related issues, and at  the bottom of the list of dangers was the water. We have all jokingly heard the "Don't drink the water" warning when traveling outside of the United States, and I was prepared with my mega-bottle of Pepto Bismol and an assumption that there would be plenty of water bottled to purchase. There was no bottled water to purchase, and my host family made sure that the water we used for cooking and drinking was boiled (We did not drink the water!). But even sanitized by boiling, there was some unidentified "stuff" floating in it. The house was equipped with a tank on the roof for rainwater, which was piped into the house plumbing for use when the aqueduct was closed. The aqueduct supplied the city with water from the mountains. Very often during the hot summer months, the aqueduct was closed during the day, open only at night. If there was no reserve in the tank, water could only be drawn for cleaning, cooking, showering etc, at night. My host family felt no hardship for lack of water, even though very often they had running water when most were supposed to be sleeping. They even laughed at my very large bottle of pink relief, joking with me that I didn't need to bring it. (I never told them that I did not drink the water.) My daughter and I kissed the ground in Miami, though our trip was a once in a lifetime blast, a very unusual family bonding experience for sure. I don't think that many of the conveniences that we have at a touch are appreciated by her, however. Perhaps she was too young to remember or care much about the lack of water during the day, or routine bouts of blackout when the electricity failed. Perhaps now that she is a mother, we should revisit places where clean water is scarce, and where children die from diarrhea, to better know just how our lives depend upon access to clean water and generally expected services every day.
Kenya has adopted into the Constitution of Kenya a right to sanitation: 'everyone has a right to a reasonable standard of sanitation'. (WHO. 2004) . The problems of an unavailable or unsafe drinking water supply are complex. Large bodies of water may not reach into the populated areas. Lack of rainfall may be the norm in desert climates. Clean sources of water can be polluted by human or animal waste, as plumbing and sewers are the other half of water supply. Unsanitary storage and handling of drinking water also contributes to the growth of bacteria in the supply. At its worst, the lack of clean water results in diarrhetic diseases that are responsible for the estimated 6000 deaths (worldwide) each day of children under 5 (Public Health. 2005). The transport of water from the source to the home can use up time and energy better used in schooling for children or productive work, as opposed to maintenance, for adults. (Mullen.Winter, 2005). The World Health Organization has determined that the "Investment in water and sanitation yields health and economic benefits." (WHO. 2004.). It seems like a waste of time for world leaders to prepare, meet about, and discuss reports that declare the economic advantages of bringing to its citizens clean, healthy water, the most basic need for life. Why is a cost-benefit study needed to determine that death from lack of clean water is a liability on the spread sheets of nations, not an asset?

Resources:

Mullen, Rhonda. (Winter, 2005). Safer Water. Public Health. Retrieved from http://whsc.emory.edu

Mullen, Rhonda (Winter, 2005). Collaboration in Kenya. Public Health. Retrieved from http://whsc.emory.edu

World Health Organization. (2004). Investments in water and sanitation yields and economic benefits. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/

The Stories that No Mom Forgets

Birth stories are the great remnants of the art of story-telling. Story -telling as a means of entertainment and preserving tradition have given way to a multitude of more technologically advanced entertainment media. Just ask anyone if they would rather hear a good story or watch Prime Time TV and chances are the story would not get told. The great exception to this development is the magic that comes over the face of any parent, or even a grandparent, who has experienced the birth of a child, and you can't keep the story in the box. We are actually assigned to tell our birth story, as we have one. What an invitation!
I have three children and three grandchildren, and except for the youngest two grandbabies, I was there and a full participant in the exciting, painful, messy, noisy, foreign, funny, and not-so-funny events. My oldest was born at New York University hospital. My obstetrician was a close-to-retirement doctor for upper income women. I was NOT one of those women, but ended up in her office with a very good medical insurance plan offered by my employer. She was Hungarian, with a thick accent, and a lab coat thrown over her glam dress, jewelry and stiletto shoes, and she called everyone "Daahh-linck". If you remember Dr. Ruth, they could have been sisters. Everyone loved her, and so did I. She was also full of motherly advice and the wisdom that is freely given by people who no longer worry about being offensive if truth be told. The ride to the hospital when I went into labor on a Sunday morning was material worthy of a Saturday Night Live skit; a non-English-speaking taxi driver plowing frantically through NYC traffic with a very-loudly-in-labor fare in the back seat. I made it in PLENTY of time. The hospital staff was marvelous, professional, and kindly answered all of my questions about the process and the machinery used. (They all loved my doctor too, and treated her patients with special care.) "Dr. Ruth" delivered my daughter with few complications, and when the messy gloves and scrubs came off, she looked dressed for a night at the opera. Everyone was happy and glowing, including my beautiful baby girl. At almost every birthday and at baby showers for new moms, this story gets told (maybe with a few different details added here and there, as such is the story-telling tradition.).
I do not know how the stories sound in Kenya, where my church sponsors one of our clergy and his family of six. Recent articles report that Kenya has one of the highest maternal death rates in the world. Most women use a traditional birth attendant (TBA) that may be untrained and/or uncertified, but very often known to mothers. Emergency transport is less available, crime makes night-time trips dangerous in poverty-stricken slums, and the cost of maternity related medical services is much more than the majority of women can pay. A demographic health survey indicated that 57% of women give birth at home, and only 28% assisted by the TBA. (Anyangu-Amu, July 26, 2010.).  The danger of emergency travel is not limited to those who live in slums. The general infrastructure of passable roads and public services, such as ambulance and hospitals or clinics available within a close range of the population, make these services unavailable to even those who may have the money to pay. Electricity and the utilities that are readily available in the United States, so much so that we are panicked when the lights go out, are simply not available 24/7 or reliable in many areas of the world. Medicines are not always on hand. The issues of maternal health are issues of national infrastructure, not necessarily of  tradition, personal choice, income, abilities, or desire to have healthy, happy babies. In many cases, they are not even about poverty, but are about poor national leadership and distribution of national resources and aide haphazardly or irresponsibly. Beyond the birthing conditions that are reported upon in Kenya, I am willing to bet that the "When you were born..." stories retold by mothers to their children are not too much different in family lore than they are anywhere else in the world. I will be in touch with our missionary family there, when they are able, and perhaps they can fill me in on some Kenyan childhood insights.

Resources:
Anyangu-Amu, Susan.(2010, July26) Kenya: Jury Still Out on Traditional Birth Attendants. Retrieved from http://ipsnews.net

Kenya-maternity medical centers in Nairobi are death traps. (August 31, 2010)  Retrieved from http://urbanhealthupdates.wordpress.com

Examining Codes of Ethics

NAEYC principle P-1.1. "Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children. This principal has precedence over all others in this code." (NAEYC, 2005, April) The principles listed to support the ethical responsibilities we have to children immediately reveal the complex and sometimes frightening nature of an early childhood professional. We work with young children and families because we love them, plain and simple. Yet, in too many of the child care centers I visit, I hear harsh or belittling language, even sarcasm spoken to children. I hear staff talk about the children's parents in a less-than-supportive manner within earshot of the children. I observe rolling eyes when a child has a toileting accident, or spills food, or even touches the floor after washing his hands before lunch. This behavior covers all of the harm described above, with the exception of physical harm. These environments are licensed centers and Head Start programs, and are full of harmful influences. State licensing continues to overlook this behavior in preparing inspection reports, and Head Start employees appeal to their union to protect them from dismissal from their jobs as teachers, assistant teachers and food service staff. How might monitoring agencies correct or eliminate harmful attitudes? Perhaps training in NAEYC Code of Conduct for all early childhood programs is a strategy needing an advocacy push.

Sometimes, the ideals addressing the reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect run counter to the employer's policy regarding such reporting. (P-1.8 through P-1.11 describe ethical conduct about reporting suspected abuse or neglect.) The Ideals of Responsibilities to Employers in Section III B specify that laws and regulations designed to protect children override program policies, and that "one should do nothing to diminish the reputation of the employer, unless the program is violating child protection laws." (NAEYC, 2005, April.) Here is where an early childhood professional must advocate for children regardless of the personal consequences. This is where morality meets ethics. Has anyone else been at this crossroad? It is truly a sad and scary place to be, when the employer denies the appearance of abuse or neglect, and requires the reporting staff to ignore their observations and concerns.

Both DEC and NAEYC Codes address the ethical responsibilities to collaborative agencies, and this concept is truly in the best interest of children, providing a safety net of services that is strong and tightly woven. Once again, however, early childhood professionals sometimes find the politics of authority and funding to be a barrier to collaboration. In the examples above, licensing and Head Start monitoring agencies may not always act in the best interest of children when they consider the needs and wants of the adults before those of the children. Remember those wonderful words of Renatta M. Cooper, "This can never be about you." . (Professionalism, Advocacy, and Leadership in Early Childhood). This quote would be a very appropriate title for these collections of ethics.

I am convinced that this will be a focus of my future advocacy efforts,
to actively and purposefully teach these ethics in my daily communications with early childhood caregivers.


Resources

Video Program: "Professionalism, Advocacy, and Leadership in Early Childhood"

NAEYC.(2005, April). "Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment." Retrieved May 26, 2010 from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). "Code of Ethics". Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www/dec-sped.org/

Early Childhood Development Resources

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/53029/CRS-CW-4477713/educ6005_readings/naeyc_dap_position_statement.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~images/pdfs/snapshots/snap33.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al.  (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42–53.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title. 

Part 2: Global Support for Children’s Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
   
• Websites:
  • World Forum Foundation
    http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage 
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep.org.gu.se/English/about_OMEP/
    Read about OMEP’s mission. 
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/about/
    Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week’s Application assignment.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
• Children’s Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
• Institute for Women’s Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
• Voices for America’s Children
  http://www.voices.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=22807
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/
     

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library
Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to “How Do I...?”, select “Tips for Specific Formats and Resources,” and then “e-journals” to find this search interface.)

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Educatio

Additional Resources:

http://www.ode.org/         website for the Ohio Department of Education
www.ed.gov/                  website for the U.S. Department of Education
www.boysadrift.com/       website of Dr. Leonard Sax, MD, PhD. about current social issues faced by boys from early childhood to young adulthood.


Tough, Paul. (2008) Whatever it Takes. Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

The following is a one-way listserve site that delivers new studies and reports related to the early childhood field several times a month.  It has been an invaluable recource for me to stay abreast of current issues in early childhood.
 To subscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@unc.edu with a blank subject line. The text of the message must be: subscribe natural_resources2    Note: Type the message. Do not copy and paste. Be sure the Subject is blank, then send the message.

Wisdom from the Field, and From my Heart

Words to remember from The Passion for Early Childhood (video)

" It's not all about you. You've got to take your ego out of it and think about what's best for the child." Renatta M. Cooper

"What do I do so naturally...that is challenging to others?"     Leticia Lara, LCSW

Dr. Stanley Greenspan on overcoming his own learning difficulties

"... people have an enormous capacity to use their strengths to compensate for any areas of vulnerability."

Dr. Stanley Greenspan

Some advice from Dr. Edward Zigler

"In the good years, work very hard to win everything that's possibly winnable. In the bad years, work just as hard to keep your losses to a minimum. There are good times, and there are bad times. But you have to stay in the game."
Dr. Edward Zigler

My Childhood Support Web (Under Construction)

My parents were the strongest, most influencial supports throughout my childhood, though it wasn't until I was a parent that I understood their contributions to my early childhood development. So much of what parents do for their children is invisible even when children seem to see and experience the effort. Does a child really have any idea of what it means for an adult to work two jobs to provide food that they may complain about eating? Not likely until they struggle with the same for their children, thirty years later. I know the support was there, but I sure didn't know it then.

I have three sisters and two brothers, (No wonder my parents didn't give us much individual time!) We grew up in shifts; the three oldest and the three youngest. My brother Bill was the most supportive of us "little girls". He hated to see us cry, and so he was the one who came to the rescue when our fish died, or our bikes fell apart. His girlfriends thought we were cute, and took an interest in our dance lessons and pets. I suppose they were also a part of my emotional support network. My sister Monica was my friend and companion growing up and she still is. We shared everything, yet we were, and still are, very different people. The sibling bond must always be tended by parents with care. It can be the most lasting friendship a person has. I have observed parents dismiss the fighting of their children as normal, but children must learn to treat their brothers and sisters with special care, as their relationship, good or bad, will be lifelong.

I started dance lessons when I was five, and my dance teacher, who was the most beautiful woman I knew, seemed to take an interest in every single student. She laughed with us, and this was different for me to be with an adult who acted like she had fun when we, the kids, were around. We were not work for Margaret Johnson, we were fun. She was my friend well into high school. To this day I am warmed when the teachers I am with sincerely talk and laugh with children. This kind of joyful interaction is powerful and memorable.

I remember neighbors, teachers, extended family who made my life better by their interactions with me, even though they were not a direct part of my early life. Even a neighbor's kindness in passing can be a memorable event. When I was a child, neighbors watched out for the safety of the kids on the street, and kept in touch with other parents about safety or social issues. There was a feeling that most parents on the block could be trusted, even if they weren't yours. These neighborhood relationships may still exist, but they are not the norm anymore.

"The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein is my favorite story to read to my granddaughter. The "Whys" she asks are never easy to answer. This is a psychology lesson disguised as a children's book.

Setting up Early Childhood Blog

I really have no clue about this blog process. I don't understand the navigation or the techno-speak, and so I am not yet aware of how a blog will help me grow.