Sharing Web Resources

 

The website I have chosen to review is http://www.naeyc.org/ the website for the National Advancement for the Education of Young Children. The NAEYC was founded in 1926. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children with nearly 80,000 members, a national network of more than 300 state and local Affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations. The NAEYC is the leading membership association for those working with and on behalf of children from birth through age 8. NAEYC convenes thought leaders, teachers and other practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders and sets standards of excellence for programs and teachers in early childhood education.

Since I am a member I can receive their publications, but I have not received the most recent one so I decided to check online. One recent trend which I found on the site was an article titled “Bringing Boys and Girls Together: Supporting Preschoolers' Positive Peer Relationships”. The article discussed different reasons why children segregate, such as why boys play with boys and why girls play with girls. The article also suggested tips for bringing boys and girls together inclusively in preschools.

While searching the site, I also discovered an advertisement for a book titled “The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation”. This sparked my interest because the contact that I am connecting with from Italy works in the Reggio Emilia area. I thought that was interesting that there is a book in response to the changing demographics of that area in Italy.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Establishing Professional Contacts 
For Part 1 of this assignment I chose to establish professional connections in the countries of Nigeria and also in Canada. I chose Nigeria first because it is my home country, my family is from Nigeria and I also want to establish an early child development center over there in the future. I chose Canada because I do not know much about anything in Canada and I am interested in learning more about education there.
To get started I began researching schools and organizations via Google. However, I was not getting any results or finding anything interesting so I decided to check the list under Resources. I first clicked on the link for the Global Alliance for the NAEYC. Under Nigeria, I noticed a school in an area of Nigeria where my parents have a home so I decided to try to contact the director. I sent her an email and still have not heard back from her, I called her early today but still no response. My husband suggest I try the number early Monday morning because of the 6 hour time zone and being that it is a weekend she may not be at the school. I will try that and if I still do not hear from her I will try the alternative path.
I wanted to contact the Canadian Child Care Federation. Their website was very informative. I first tried the email listed under the Global Alliance's webpage, but no one emailed me back. I went on the website and noticed that the lady I contacted is not even listed as a staff, I guess the list needs to be updated. I contacted the new director via email and called him when I did not receive. The person that I spoke with told me to call Monday as he is on vacation.
I really hope to speak with these two contacts and connect with them, it has been frustrating not reaching them right away, but I will practice patience until Monday and I pray it works out well.

Expanding Resources 
For Part 2 of this assignment, I chose to follow the NAEYC's website http://www.naeyc.org/. I chose to follow their website because I should and I do not. I am a member of the NAEYC and I love what they do as an organization. I chose them so that i will challenge myself to visit their website on a weekly basis and know all that they have to offer.

Connections to Play

To view my Connections to Play page, click on the tab that is above this post. Thanks!

Relationship Reflection

To view my Relationship Reflection page, click on the tab that is above this post.

Thank You!

I am very grateful for each one of you for all of your support and encouragement through this course. All of your comments have inspired me in some way. I also enjoyed reading all of your blogs. You are all amazing and I wish your all the best. I pray you all will achieve all of your goals. Keep on pushing, we will all make it to the end!! 

Inspirational Quote

"I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!"

~David Vitter, US Senator

Testing for Intelligence?

When it comes to assessing young children holistically I think that everything about the child should be measured. Young children are still growing and developing physically, emotionally and cognitively; therefore, all of those areas should be assessed. Young children are using every thing around them and about them to learn, not just what they learn in math or science class. They are learning language skills from their families. They may learn how to sing from listening to the radio. I have always believed that assessment and standardized tests do not accurately measure how much a child knows. I can remember taking an assessment test in Kindergarten and feeling so nervous to do my best so I wouldn't disappoint my parents. I can only imagine how much pressure children feel when having to take a test to prove that they are not "behind". Nervousness alone can cause a child to not do so well.

One again I decided to look at assessment testing in Nigeria. They give assessment tests from primary schooling up to college. I found that educators are looking towards a more holistic approach as a means of measuring students performance. They use the tern  "Holistic Assessment Measure" which measures cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. They did a study with teachers using this new approach and many found it to be very affective.

I think it's great that educators in Nigeria are choosing to assess their students holistically. I think that if we all assess children holistically we will appreciate children and their uniqueness. We will also be able to understand why a child may be struggling in reading or when a 2 year old has fewer words compared to his classmates.

Click here for the full study done in Nigeria.