This week's blog is a quote from one of the Early Childhood people I chose to write about in the discussion. I had chose the two people because they were here in Chicago. Samuel Meisels has worked on assessing children one of his methods is what we use in the head start program I currently work in the ESI which is the Early Screening Inventory to assess the children's development. Well I found a quote from one of his presentations that says "The best way to improve a child's performance is to teach the child, not test the child".( Meisels 2008)  I agree schools systems want to test the children there needs to be just as much focus on working with the children teaching them and trying to improve in the areas where it is needed. Sometimes it is good to test the children to find out where they are developmentally and that way the teachers can develop a plan to help the developing child.
Referenced
Meisels, S. J.,( 2008) Empirical Studies of the Ounce and Work Sampling in Infancy and Early Childhood[PowerPoint]. Retrieved from http://Erikson.edu/about/directory/Samuel-meisels

Aisha Ray is my second choice she is also from the Erikson Institute she has worked on many projects one that I was able to access was about how to prepare teachers to successfully educate all children there is an excerpt from the writing that says " A growing consensus acknowledges that early childhood teacher preparation and professional development must help all teachers gain knowledge and practice skills that contribute to the educational achievement of all children ( Ladson- Billings, 1999;NAEYC,2002;Ray,2000).  When teachers are failed of these skills they are not able teach and problems can arise. They should be prepared to teach children from all backgrounds of culture, low-income, special needs, second languages. Schools offer us classes that will contribute to our trainings to better prepare us for the adventures of teaching it is also up to us to take what we learn and use it appropriately in the classroom.

 A professional from the video segment is Louise Derman- Sparks Professor Emeritus at Pacific Oak College, Ca she was one of the first professionals that was on the video. She said one of her passions was that she always wanted to be a teacher. She felt that she could fix all injustices in the world through teaching. Her motivation to continue to work in the early childhood field is the joy that she had felt when she first began in the field. She said that it was the most joyful experience and everything had become whole. She strongly believes that the preschool years are the most fundamental because this is when the children are learning noticing their skin color, ethnic identity, the stereotypes of who they are. The providers are able to have an Anti bias approach in the classroom. She had stated that she thinks that the adults may then find a voice while teaching that they may not have had for the children.

Another professional in the video is Laticia Lara LCSW  Regional Manager Outreach and Professional Development Zero to Three She finds that passion begins with a individuals values, beliefs, ideas that lead to what is in their heart. Her personal and professional passion comes from her own background she mentioned being a woman, Latina leader, and experiences have a contribution to where she is in her professional career. Being from a Latino heritage she says that families need support. Her own family when they immigrated here her mother struggled because she needed bilingual support. She had to help her mother with going to the market because of the language barriers. She loves being able to help the families give the parents the resources they may need to thrive in their community.

Referenced
Ray, A.,Bowman, B. & Robbins,J. (2006). Preparing Early Childhood Teachers to Successfully Educate All Children: The Contribution of State Boards of Higher Education and National Professional Accreditation Organizations, A Project of the Initiative on Race, Class and Culture in Early Childhood, Final Report to the Foundation for Child Development, New York,New York.


"The Passion for Early Childhood"[ Course Media]

My Childhood Web

This week's blog is my Personal Childhood Web. I don't really have five people that made much of an impact in my childhood. I have a few that have inspired me as an adult. In my childhood I moved a few times around the Hammond and Gary area. Until we moved back to Hammond where I graduated high school. My mother had to move a few times because she was a single mom she did not have any financial help while raising me so she had to move where she could afford to take care of me. 
Well the first person I would like to tell you about has cared and nurtured me from day one. My mother Karen was a young mother but she raised a strong woman despite what we went through. We have a close relationship she is my mother and my best friend. We can talk about anything especially now that I am an adult our relationship has gotten stronger. As a child and as an adult my mother has been by my side through it all. Never passing judgment on my decisions that I have made but being there to make sure I think them through. My mother has been the main person in my life to show me love and affection it has only been us. I am her only child. My mother showed me how to be strong and go for my goals. With her support I finished high school as a teen mom and even though I was a teen mom and disappointed my mother I still did not give up. I have now completed two degrees and now working on my Masters my mother is very proud of me now and then. She told me not to long ago that through out my struggles in life she is very proud of the woman I have become. And I thank her for that.  All my memories as a child were great but the most memorable was when my mom surprised me with a trip to Disney World. She had packed our bags and would not tell me where we were going I was so lost trying to figure out where could we be going I did not get it until we entered the Florida turnpike.







Another person in my life and childhood is my grandmother Dora Jean. We were close I was the only grandchild she had. So I guess you can say my granny spoiled me. We would have shopping outings, we would have sleepovers where she would buy ice cream and watch movies. All the old movies I would see with my grandmother. My grandmother use to sew and I can remember sitting and watching her put a pattern together with the her pins and sew on her machine. She was starting to teach me how to sew on her machine and how to stitch buttons on doing the basics. Before she passed away she would make my Easter dresses every year and she had started a scarf business . She was selling scarfs she had created on the train on her way to work.  Spending the time with my grandmother was enough to show me she cared about me as her grandchild and I was thankful for the time I was able to spend with her. I pray everyday that I am making her proud of me as my mother her daughter is proud of me and the woman and mother I have become. A memory that I have of my grandmother is when she was teaching me how to put a button on with needle and thread. We laughed and talked about how school was going.





I have another person that was an impact in my life. She was my high school math teacher. Her name was Mrs. Debok she was such an awesome teacher. She was there for me when I needed the most help. I have always struggled with Math. So to help me with my grade and I STEP she was tutoring me one on one in the morning before school. She had told me that she can see so much potential in me and that if I am willing to do the work she is willing to help me. She was my favorite teacher. Because she was willing to help me get to where I needed to be and not just barely let me pass along. All through high school when I had Math,  Algebra and Geometry she was my teacher so she knew me well enough and would tell my mom on me only because she knew I could do better. I sometimes wonder if she is still at the school teaching. When she told me those words about my self it felt great and I managed to pull B's out of math. She had an impact on me wanting to teach.


I have always been the type that loves children. I was the babysitter in the family. When I was growing up my cousins and I would play school all the time. I was the teacher and we would have books ready to read because their mom was a teacher and she would bring home old books and desk for us to play with. I always wanted a husband and big family. I think that was from me being the only child. I loved children when I would go around my family I would go play with the little ones the whole time I was there. It has been a part of me for so long I cant really say when I first knew I wanted to work with children. I knew my heart and mind was into when I first began my journey in school to get my CDA diploma. I have always been told that I have such a loving and caring personality.


Today my impacts and inspirations are my children. My marriage did not last but I have three healthy loving children that inspire me to continue to go for my goals. And I have my mother, my family members and my best friend that has become my man in my life that also inspires me to shoot for my goals to never give up. That I am able to do what I put my mind to. They all let me know that they are proud of me . Like I said through out my struggles I have managed to finish two degrees, be a niece, mother, a daughter, sister(my fathers daughter), big cousin, and a partner to my love.

   The picture to the right is me now at 30 and on the left is me at 19 with my first born child. Yes I am a teen mom that has over come many obstacles in life.
 This picture is my favorite drawing of my class. My students made a giant card for my birthday this past year. I got teary eyed when they gave it to me.




The Cat in the Hat is one of my favorite books. That cat makes such a mess but manages to clean it back up. He was so annoying but he kept his word and mother never knew he was there when mother was out. And the poor fish was so exhausted from panicking through the whole story but he was right no one should be home when mother is out.

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