Connections to Play

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Relationship Reflection

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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.

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Violence:Child Abuse

A very close friend of mine was born in New York to a Ghanian father and Jamaican mother. When she was six years old, her family moved back to Ghana. She lived with her parents, an uncle and her older brother. A few months after moving to Ghana, she noticed her uncle was very friendly towards her. He always bought her things and would always want her to stay near her. However, his friendliness became too friendly. After about 5 months, her uncle raped her. She did not know what to do. She told her brother but he has Asperger's and he didn't really understand. She tried to tell her parents, but they thought she was lying. So she kept it all to herself. Her uncle did it once again, but this time her father caught him in the act. After that, her father moved the family back to America. I've known my friend since I was 12 but she did not share this story with me until we were 21. The hurt and pain had caused her to be very shy around guys. It also caused her to be afraid of males. She never could stay in relationships long because she would always think that the guy wanted to attach her. After she shared with me I was so sad, but i comforted her and we prayed. She told me that this was the first time she ever shared her story with anyone. She also said that sharing with someone who wouldn't judge her made her feel like a weight was lifted off her. Since then, she has made tremedous progress in her relationships with guy. She has forgiven her uncle and is able to move on and is able to slowly trust guys.

Child Abuse in Ghana:
I could not find much recent information on child sexual abuse in Ghana which I'm praying is a good thing. I did find an srticle from about 4 years ago with statistics on child sexual abuse. The report is from UNICEF. The report revealed that sexual child abuse is a major probelm in Ghana. The rate of rape was 181 in 2002 and 345 in 2008. The numbers are increasing instead of decreasing!! The forms of sexual abuse include unnatural carnal knowledge, defilement, rape, incest, child prostitution and indesent assualt. The report also said that many times the abuse comes from lack of parental support and poverty and many of the times the children do not inform anyone.

The steps that have been taken to reduce and eliminate child sexual abuse include passage and strengthening of the legislative environment, intensification of public education through the media, identification, counseling livelihood skills training and reintegration(www.uncief.org).

They also implemented The Five Year Action Plan on Violence Against Children from 2008-2012. The Five Year Action Plan on Violence against Children is a comprehensive plan for suppressing violence with measurable targets and indicators in which every Ghanaian, at all levels has a role to play. The aim of the plan is to create a safe environment that protects children from all forms of violence wherever they occur including the home, school, institutions, work place and community. (www.unicef.org). I tried to read more about the five year plan, but could not find much once again, except one article that stated that change in legislation does not mean change in society or behavior. I hoep to find out more information on the five year plan and to see if the statistics have changed or not.
It hurts me to know that children are going through this all over the world, not just in Ghana. I pray that there has been a signifcant decrease.

Corresponding Links
http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/wcaro_WCIII_good_practice_Ghana.pdf
http://www.ghananewsagency.org/details/Features/Ghana-Must-Stop-Violence-Against-Children/?ci=10&ai=20710

NAEYC 2012 Conference

The 2012 Annual NAEYC Conference & Expo is just around the corner!
It will take place from November 7-November 10 in Atlanta, GA.
This year's theme is Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the 21st century.
I have never been, but I found out about it when I registered to become a member of NAEYC.
After going through the conference schedule and session topics I am growing more excited about it.
Also, my favorite children musicians Greg & Steve will be there!!!
If you are interested in attending please click here for more information and to register!
Hope you will all join me there!