Note of Thanks to my Colleagues

Just wanted to say thank you for all your support and for the posts that you have shared not only through blogging, but also through discussions.  I am blessed to be able to continue my educational journey and am thankful to have the support of each of you as well as your thoughts and experiences on various issues that we may encounter as we look at early childhood together.  I hope to share again with you in future classes.  Good luck as you continue on your journey and I hope that we will "meet" again!

Amy McCoig
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.."
Collosians 3:23

Childhood Development Quotes

“Play permits the child to resolve in symbolic form unsolved problems of the past and to cope directly or symbolically with present concerns. It is also his most significant tool for preparing himself for the future and its tasks.” ~ Bruno Bettelheim

 

"Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand."

~Chinese proverb

“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.” ~ Dr. Hiam Ginnot

Children Learn What They Live

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

If a child learns to feel shame, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement he learns confidence

If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.

He a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.

- Dorothy Law Neite

Testing for Intelligence

When thinking about children as a “whole child”, and consider what should be measured or assessed, I think first about who the child is and where they come from.  What is their family situation?  What is their home life like?  Do they have siblings?  Are they healthy?  Do they live in a safe environment?  Are they being raised by a parent, parents, grandparents or some other person?  After getting a good glimpse into what their life is like, then I think you need to look at assessing or measuring what they know.  Through carefully observing these children, we can tell a lot about what kind of learners they are.   When children enter school, we need to make sure they are healthy and that they feel safe so they are ready to learn.  When a student feels connected to their school, they are more likely to stay in school. 

One thing that I think we need to look at is each child as their own individual.  Children do not learn the same way and therefore we need to carefully observe and think about how we can best meet their learning style.  Do they learn better through:

Ø  hands on activities

Ø  visual – pictures, graphs, diagrams

Ø  music – turn lessons into lyrics

Ø  interaction with peers

I think that we have to identify our children and include all types of learning styles when we are assessing or measuring the success of our children.  I do think that we over assess our children.  We will soon be testing our kindergarten children with a Brigance test, SAT-10 test, and STAR test.  First and second not only has the SAT-10 test and the STAR test, but also will be taking their nine weeks tests.  Third, fourth, and fifth will be taking TCAP, STAR, a 6^th grade placement test and a Math Common Core (CRA) test.  All these tests begin April 23^rd and will be completed by May 9^th.  I do think that we need to measure and assess our children, but I think that we may over assess our children to some degree.  Children are more than a test score.

School age children in Mexico are assessed by teachers who give examinations five times a year in each grade.  The tests must cover the national curriculum, but are developed locally.  There is a national examination at the end of the school year, and students who score less than 6 out of 10 on the test are retained in the same grade level for the coming year (McLaughlin, 2003).  Many children will drop out after primary grades (1-6) or secondary grades (7-9) as Mexico deals with a high rate of education failure.  Only about one-third of the children in Mexico who start school complete a high school-level education and one-tenth complete a post-secondary university or technical degree (Stein, 2004). 

References

McLaughlin, J. H. (2003). Schooling in mexico: A brief guide for u.s. educators. ERIC Digest,

Retrieved from http://www.ericdigests.org

Stein, R. (2004). Mexican and u.s. schools: A world apart. The Term Paper, 3(1), Retrieved from http://www.piton.org