Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

I was reading an article which talked about the positive outcome of children who come from a married family of the same biological parents. I find this this be very true because I came from a dysfunctional married family because I had a stepfather. I hated that my mom was married to him but I was intrigued by the idea of marriage. My brother and I turned out pretty descent, but I know kids who came from a married family with the same biological parents who seemed to excel faster. Now this may just be all in my head, but I know they had more material stuff and in some cases a slightly higher average than kids who were from a single parent home or a home similar to my own.

I don't know my real father, the last time I can remember seeing him is around the age of 4 or 5. This cause a major void in my life, but also drives me to be an integral part of my children's life. Those issues in which I dealt with growing up have impacted my life so much that I am striving to be the best for my family as well as be there for them ad give them the best.

Your Personal Research Journey

The topic I chose is "Culturally Responsive Care and Education. I chose this topic because I know how important culture is in the development of children. Culture is transmitted from generation to generation through families making it seem normal and natural. Children tend to emulate what they see people close to them do. Families really shape the growth and development of children more than anything else. I can attest to this because my children say and do just about anything my wife and I do. My daughter is three and my son is two years of age and my son does just about everything in which his sister does. My daughter will come and sit in my lap and my son will soon follow. I wish he would follow her with the potty training though. He hates to use the potty. I've seen him sit on the potty and hold it for a long time and then be walking around and have a bowel movement. I've been trying to train him for about a year now and I'm open to all suggestions.

Final Blog Assignment

The three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field are: research and comparison, communication, and career opportunities. This blog was very challenging for me because I was never able to connect with an international contact. I did, however, gain a lot from reading my fellow collegues' blogs. Education is basicall he same all over they were as far as being taught. Now the children and parents recieving it can be different. I find that other countries take education more seriously than some of my students from the research that we have done. I think a lof of kids take things for granted because we are more fortunate than other countries in some ways. I am going to stay positive and pray that things change for the better.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

From a professional experience this has been my most challenging year. A lot of the students are out of struggling and it seems that no one outside of the school system is motivating them. So we as a staff have been coming up with different ways to improve student learning with very little support from most of the parents. There is also huge shift in staff this year. A couple teachers resigned mid-year and many more have stated that they will not return after this school year. I however am still fighting to reach my professional goals which are to be the best and most influential certified teacher that I can be. I aim to advocate for children and families that are desperately in need. I hope one day to accomplish my goals. I also aim to be apart of remaining staff that will do whatever it takes to turn things around.   

Sharing Web Resources

SOS Children's Villages believes that children will develop to their full potential only if they have a very protective and supportive famliy environment. They do everything in their power to make it a reality.
At the centre of our SOS Children’s Villages programme is the individual child. We encourage children to actively take part in the making of decisions that affect their lives. They work with disadvantaged families to prevent crises that may lead to the seperation of families. They offer various forms of support to stabilze and strenghten families in order to help children grow up with their own familes instead of foster homes. They aim to build skills as well as the capacities of the caregivers and their communities in order to help children enjoy a caring and positive relationship. He is a piece of what this organization does below.

Family strengthening programme in Patzún (Guatemala) © SOS Archives

We also strengthen SOS families and foster families, which provide stable and consistent care to children who cannot remain in their family of origin, and for whom family-based care is considered the best option. Short-term solutions may be offered in crisis situations.

SOS Kindergarten Tbilisi (Georgia) © Alan Meier

Individualised care

Whether located all together or dispersed within a community, SOS families provide individualised care and promote the development, education and health of each child. We work together with communities to develop and improve local education and health infrastructure. In some cases SOS Children's Villages runs kindergartens, day-care centres, schools and vocational training centres, as well as medical centres.

A leading voice for children

Building on our experience, we are also a leading voice for children who have lost their parent or whose parents cannot care for them. We aim to make a change that will improve the lives and living conditions of all these children, their families and their communities.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

I still haven't heard from any of my international contacts so I did the alternative assignment. Targeting toxic stress in children was the article I read. This article was in its experimental phases but it had some great insight. Toxic stress in children can enable them to cope with normal stress in their adult life according to this article. Some of the causes of toxic stress in children are recurrent abuse, chronic neglect and constant exposure to violence. Another important fact from the article was that not all children from poverty are affected by toxic stress. Children that have adults in their lives making them feel secure and helping them deal with the stress have a better chance in developing skills for their adult lives

Sharing Web Resources

• What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?  This organization is really touching because it stated that over 90 % of children have biological parents who cannot support them. This hits close to home because my students are going through some of the same things. They have parents for whatever who aren't taking care of them and some are living with grandparents, foster parents, or other relatives. The benefits of government assistance is really another deciding factor in most of my students survival.
• Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways? I didn't see anything to change my perception of this organzation other than the fact that they have such powerful supporters.
• What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field? This website names a few world famouse personalities such as Angelina Jolie, the Dalia Lama, Nelson Mandela, and Anna Netrebko as contributing friends and supporters.  They are helpful by spending time with the children, supporting the organization, giving donations, and in some cases helping the children to find homes.
  
• What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter? I was sort of shocked because I didn't know that so many major people played a role in helping this organization.  It was really good to see that they are helping because sometimes when I watch television I think that those are paid infomercials.