My Supports

As I reflect on my daily supports, the first person that comes to mind is my husband. When my husband and I depart from one another in the mornings, we usually do not see one another until late in the evening. In spite of, he is a great motivation throughout the day with simple texts and quotes that inspire and uplift which are most helpful on my toughest days. In the case that something happens, good or bad, throughout the day, he is the first person I'm contacting. He comforts me  through my worst situations and congratulates me through the best.
My parents are directly in line, just after my husband in regards to supports. My parents have always been my biggest supporters. For as long as I can remember, my parents have always been there to push me when I needed additional motivation and they have always been there to cheer me on for my biggest accomplishments. Even in my adult life, my parents continue to support me with their love and willingness to jump in and help wherever they can in my times of dismay.

My more recent support has been my forteen and twelve year old niece and nephew with whom I currently have guardianship over. My niece and nephew have been living with my for the past nine months and though they entered my home for reasons that are somewhat unfortunate and they initially entered for my assistance to provide for them and ensure their well being, they are showing me so much and have also become a huge part of my support system. They seem to know when I have had a rough day and are willing to take my two year and nine month old, away within our home to allow me to gather myself when I need a minute to recollect, alone. They love me flaws and all, they admire and look up to me and that in itself is a great support because they inspire me to want to do even better.

One of my biggest fears is not being able to contribute to my family's well being financially. A life challenge that immediately comes to mind is the idea of being out of work without a source of income. Without a doubt, I am sure that my husband and my parents would be more than willing and ready to help me out in any way. My mom would be directly on my side on my hunt for new employment and would probably sit in on the interviews with me if she could. My dad would be ready for transport in the case that I lost my vehicles in the process. He would be my personal escort and body guard as needed. Now my husband, he's going to be the one to maintain the house, because Lord know things will be tight, but he will not complain and he will work as hard as he has to to make sure that our family is okay. In return, I would do everything in my power to make sure that he doesn't have to endure the additional stress for too long.

I think about how I would manage without my supports and I know that through prayer and my faith in God, I would make it, there isn't any doubt in my mind, but it would be extremely difficult without a source of income, two small children and two additional adolescent children that depend on me. We would be extremely tight budgeted and our living environment probably much less comfortable than it is currently. Our home environment would probable most stressful, but it would get done.

My Connections to Play

When I was younger my Barbie dolls were my
EVERYTHING!! Rather I had lots of company or none at all,
my Barbies kept me entertained for hours  

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.” -Kay Redfield Jamison

As I shuffle through the memories of my childhood, simply the idea of playing as a child brings me so much joy. I remember the care free times in my life when my biggest worry was trying to persuade my mom to allow me to stay up past my 9:30pm bedtime or choosing my clothing on my own. 

I think about playing hide and seek with lots of cousins and neighborhood friends, to random water fights with my dad when my mom was away at work and playing so many different made up games. Those times, those laughs, those memories have fueled me in my own adult life with my own family, to never forget to laugh. Even when life seems to be overwhelming and your heart and mind seems full, a good laugh is always exactly what the doctor ordered.

I used my bike, upside down, for transportation. The front tire 
was my steering wheel and with the right amount of imagination
 it could be any type of car I would like, a princess carriage even.

My biggest issue with today’s generation is that though technology is great, it has handicapped our children in many ways. So many children now consider fun as sitting in front of the television and playing video games or stuck in front of a screen of some sort on social media websites. So many children have no idea of what it means to use their imagination and it is very unfortunate. When I consider the places that one can go and the things that one can do simply by using their imagination, I want that for the children that I encounter because the possibilities are endless.

In my own home, I try my hardest to promote activities that ignite creativity within my children as well as my nieces and nephews when they visit. Fortunately, my husband and I are on the same accord on our idea of having a good time with family. Family quality time is priority to us. The children in my family love visiting my home because they say that we’re always doing something. On nice days, we get out and have impromptu baseball and football games, make up creative obstacle courses and random competitions. It will be those memories that we create that last long after we have departed from this earth.

   

My radio was great for karaoke though it only played the radio, some stations
clearer than others, and cassette tapes. I could use the music to sing on the Apollo,
in the choir, or even pretend to be my favorite artists Mya or Christina Aguilera.

“And at the end of the day, your hair should be messy, your feet dirty and your eyes sparkling.” -Shanti

Relationship Reflection

I am a daughter, sister, mother, niece, aunt, granddaughter, godmother, and wife. Because of the many titles that are so important to me, I share many positive relationships with the people in my life. Some consist of relationships with God my husband, my children,my parents, co-workers and most importantly myself. The positive relationship I have with myself fuels my self confidence and empowers me with the courage to step out and build relationships with the people around me. It is my positive religious relationship that keeps me grounded and helps me to understand my shortcomings as well as others, from day to day. My positive relationship with Christ helps me to keep my sanity when it seems everything around me is falling apart. My relationship with my parents has molded me into a loving and caring wife and mother. It is our relationship that provides a daily blueprint for my own family life. My relationship with my husband motivates me to do the best I can at whatever I do and my relationship with my children gives me that additional push when I feel I have nothing left to give. (As a full time working mother, wife, student and everything in between, I have those days at times). When it comes to my relationships as they relate to Early Childhood Education, I believe the positive relationship with my coworkers is most important. The positive relationship that I share with my coworkers is most beneficial because they are able to support me when I have done well and correct me when I am wrong and vice versa. My coworkers do not hold back, but it is always done out of love and I appreciate the constructive criticism because it helps me to understand my faults and reminds me to take time to evaluate myself as well.

    Developing and maintaining partnerships can be challenging at times. Positive relationships can develop into partnerships. A true partnership though should never be one sided and will require lots of give and take on behalf of the parties involved. Successful partnerships require positive motivation, showing concern for one another and all parties involved working towards success.

Many daily experiences from relationships have an impact on my work as an effective Early Childhood Professional. I am able to collaborate with other coworkers as we provide motivation and guidance towards one another. Expectations are clearly understood. It encourages me to accept new tasks enthusiastically and give 150%. My relationship with my children helps me in the workplace because in any situation involving the children, lesson plans, daily interaction, etc., I am always sure to give the same things I would want for my own children. I work hard to make sure that I engage in positive interactions with the children in the classroom throughout the day. If I have a child who may be having a rough day, I may give that child a few extra hugs throughout the day because I would hope that someone could find just a little time in the day to comfort my own children in the case that they were having a rough day.

In a world, where it seems everything is falling apart and people are getting crazier everyday, it is important that educators remember their roles in their children's lives. Often times people remember a special teacher all of their lives because of the impact that teacher has made. We have to be sure that we leave positive imprints. We have to remain motivated to be excited about teaching so our children can remain excited about learning.

Test Me if You Can!

Assessments are fundamental when serving to educate children, or anyone for that matter. For the sake of this post I will focus solely on children. Assessments help us to determine if the goals of education are being met and if we are being effective in our methods of teaching.

As important as assessments are though, I do not believe that traditional, standardized tests should be the only method of determining a child’s placement within a learning setting. Nor should standardized testing be the determining factor in rather a child should progress to the next grade or not and in other cases rather they should graduate. A child’s performance and proficiency are also factors that should be considered.

In a 2002 interview, Grant Wiggins (pictured above), a nationally recognized assessment expert, stated that a test is simply a small portion of an assessment. Testing can be viewed as one piece of a portfolio, but it is important that we consider the whole picture. (Wiggins, 2002)

In an article, Testing, the Chinese Way, a mother refers to a time when her family lived in China. The mother explains that at ages 7 and 8, her children received “mad math quizzes” twice a week and regularly scheduled spelling quizzes. The Asian school curriculum placed an emphasis on discipline and testing, therefore testing for young children was considered normal. The mother recalls nearly constant tension between the Asian parents, who more tests and homework in addition to what was already being assigned, and the Western parents, more concerned with whether their kids (at such a young age) were having fun — and wanted less. (Rosenthal, 2010)

References:
Grant Wiggins: Defining Assessment. (2002). Retrieved December 5, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/grant-wiggins-assessment#graph1
Rosenthal, E. (2010, September 11). Testing, the Chinese Way. Retrieved December 5, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/weekinreview/12rosenthal.html?_r=0