Sharing Web Resources

The site that I have been keeping up with is NEA; National Education Association  (http://www.nea.org/). Everything about this site relates to my profession. Its all about education! From the educational goals to the tools and ideas for teaching, I am loving this site!

The one thing I would wish would be included in the site is more early childhood focused topics. Many of the educational issues, grants and information deal with those in elementary school and so forth, although teaching tactics can be applied to ANY classroom, it would be great to have the option to focus on what grade level best applies to you and your classroom. Nonetheless, it isn't too often that I go onto the site and  not come across articles or topics that catch my attention, or come across ideas that I can share with my fellow educational staff.

Although I have not yet come across many articles pertaining to the participation of economists, neuroscientists, or politicians, I am sure this information could be obtained in the grants and events section discussing representative, annual meetings, and annual meetings with staff and supporters from all over the world and from different professional friends, all in favor of enhancing education.

There is a lot of social media, video clips, and daily teacher articles that discuss and express issues and trends in and out of the classroom.  Educational gaps and funding are common issues expressed on this site. The highlight topics are currently core assessments, testing standards, supporting troops and high school graduation.

Web Resource

The website I have chosen is

http://www.nea.org/

On the site presently, there are four main highlights under the issue and trend topic:

1) Wanted: Educators Expertise on Student Assessments
2) How Hard will Budget Cuts Hit Your State?
3) Common Core State Standards
4) Experienced Educators share their Best Ideas

 

The Topic that made Editors Pick is

Students, Parents, and Educators Score Big Win Against Flawed Standardized Testing

 

 

 

This website is just so informative, not only for parents but for professionals. The best thing about it, while looking through these articles is that it highlights all current issues that are going on and /or may be a concern to so many families and educators all over the world. I never get tired of gaining information on a topic that I KNOW will eventually come up in the workplace.

 

The one highlight that really caught my eye, with the current topic of culture and diversity at hand is the highlight putting emphasis on a specific culture.

FOR THE CLASSROOM

Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Explore contributions to American history and culture with these multidisciplinary curriculum resources for all grade levels.

 

    

 

For those that are teachers or work inside of a school, this may be something to share in the classrooms.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

        A college friend of mine was blessed to get a job in China teaching English to young children. I have kept in touch with him, excited to hear about the culture, the difficulties teaching and all the other entertaining stories he tells so well. I have never considered contacting other educational professionals outside of the United States. However,  I do enjoy meeting new people and learning about other cultures, so expanding my professional contacts brings great opportunity.
I have contacted UNICEF in Jamaica and through NAEYC through the Global Alliance program I have chosen to contact Ghana, Africa. I am currently waiting for replies.


        One resource that I find to be very informative in terms of education, other than NAEYC is the NEA (National Education Association). http://www.nea.org/home/18163.htm. You can find lots of information on Early Childhood Education. Issues and trends, Tools and ideas you can use within your own educational experiences, and if you are like me, and share information with parents and families of children, then you can also gain knowledge on new and upcoming grants and events.

My Supports

 My Cell Phone

Who could ever live without their CELL PHONE? Not I. My cell phone not only serves as my form of communication to the world, but it is also my calendar/planner, calculator, GPS system when traveling, camera when I need to capture a moment, internet when my laptop is not present, and provides inderect conversing when I do not really want to speak, aka TEXT.

My Contact Lenses

Unfortunatley, I am as blind as a bat. So it is imperative that I wear my contact lenses or else Id be seeing nothing other than colors of blur. As part of my job, I travel a lot from house to house and meet with many families, I could not imagine trying to perform these duties without my biomedic55's!


My Friends!

I am the first of my family to attend college or even work in the career field of my choice, therefore it is easiestto relate to my friends. We are all going through this post-graduate/ career driven/ self- learning stge of life. It makes it easy to be able to call up some friends and discuss or joke about all the things we have in common and be supportive for one another through this journey.


I would imagine that one challenge would be the challenge of communication/ language. Communication is major is everyones lives. It is nearly impossible to go on an entire day without communicating in some way.  I am currently in a position where I am responsible for families who have dominant languages that are not English. I am familiar with some spanish, but not enough to hold a great conversatioon, and I feel so bad watching the parents and their children struggle to communicate with me in english.  In 2010 I traveled to France. I was so culture struck and had such a hard time communicating with the French that I chose to just give up and not communiucate ( other than saying Bonjour) with anyone other than my friends. I couldnt even say FRENCH FRY. It was so discouraging. I have recently invested my money in an electronic translator for those sudden moments where I come across someone who speaks another language. I am also trying to learn basic signs of sign language for those who are not able to voice whts on their minds.

My Connections to Play

 

“Play is the highest form of research.”

~ Albert Einstein (scientist)

 

The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.”

~ Plato (Greek philosopher)

 

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning…They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play.”                  ~ Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood)

 

 

“Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul.”

                    Friedrich Froebel (founder of the concept of kindergarten)

 

 

                

  

 

 

 

 

       I never realized it until I was older, but many of the toys my mother bought for me were INDEED toys that would prepare me for adulthood. She was very big on play household items, such as vaccums, irons, kitchen sets, baby dollas and the strollers, carriers, bottles, easy bake oven, a toy register to help me learn the concept of money. One toy that I remember to be one of my favorites was a washing machine. You could REALLY put water and soap in a dispensor and watch your clothes spin, to say the least; al lof my baby dolls and barbie dolls had dish-washing and bubble bath fresh clothing! I also became really comfortable with technology, I LOVED nanos and tamagotchi pets, I collected them. I loved them so much because my mom would not let me have a dog, so I had as many computerized pets as I wanted. I couldnt find the perfect picture, but I also had an awesome compyter pad where I culd play games, learn to spell, learn math, and much more. It was my FAVORITE toy because I could take it anywhere with me, and no one ever beat me in the brain twisting games. Lastly, what girl didnt love Barbies. I took interest in collecting the dolls, the ken dolls, the kelly dolls, the pets, the clothes, the cars, EVERYTHING, I even had barbie lingerie, from a barbie line called fifth avenue. I was often alone or around a bunch of adults, so my family would always load me up with lots of toys to keep me busy and keep my mind going.

 

      Play today is totally different, and I see that as I watch my 6 yr old sister grow. She is so into technology, she doesnt have much of an interest in barbies. She loves riding her bike and being outside, but long hours of play just doesnt seem to be as popular with her and her friends, theyd rather listen to their radios, go on the computer,play make-up or play cell phone games (I believe society does push children to be more mature than they are). Because the technology is advancing everyday, her interest advances everyday, so many toys get thrown away because after a month she is no longer interested.

 

     

 

 

 

 

Relationship Reflection

People come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Each leaving behind their mark and a lifelong story. The relationships that we build with one another are for sure a blessing, regardless of what their purpose is in our lives and  regardless of how long term or shortly ended they are.

I have had many of different types of relationships. The first being the blood bonding relationship I have with my family.Without my family I would not be the person that I am today or have the motivation to strive to be exactly where I want in the future. My family is definitely in my life for a lifetime. I have three younger sisters that I can guide and watch grow and mature into young women, which to me is one of the beautiful cycles of life.

♪♫"Friends, how many of us have them? Friends, ones you can depend on."

My small circle of friends are are so very supportive and encouraging of all my ideas and successes. Many friends have come and gone, or must I say, have been a season, but the women that I have grown close to have a sisterly bond with are without a doubt amazing, and so wonderful to have to confide in and depend on.


A group of people that I would say have come into my life for a season, reason and lifetime. are my coworkers. I have formed strong friendships with many, learned much from some, and have been able to teach others. Either way, there is no doubt that the relationship formed with coworkers is a very necessary one. How else would I work so effectively with someone?  My favorite part of working, is the fact that I have hard working, dedicated people to work alongside with.


Growing up, I have learned that one of the difficult things about forming relationships is that you have to be willing to form a bond. You have to be able to trust, respect, and appreciate the person that you are forming a relationship with. You have to be able to not only talk but listen, not judge but guide, and the be able to accept their differences. As my grandmother would always say "Do onto others, as you would want them to do onto you." Maybe cliche, but it definitely holds so much weight and is so much easier said than done.
Rather a relationship is a personal or professional relationship, treating a person with the fairness and kindness that you would want in return is always key. Showing patience when patience is needed, lending a hand when a hand is needed, or offering a shoulder to cry on when crying is needed is showing that you are more than your title, but a caring, selfless individual. You never know, it may be you on the other end. Every relationship requires give and take, and as we all have heard  "to whom much is given much is required."

Quotes

In the final analysis it is not what you do for your children,
but what you have taught them to do for themselves
that will make them successful human beings.
-Ann Landers