This is quite an assignment. I actually sat and contemplated what was most important in my life, and nothing materialistic made the list. However, if I had to take three concrete objects, it would be my cell phone, (although I doubt it would work where I was going) because it holds many photos and addresses of those I could keep in contact with; a photo album to help me remember faces; and certainly the most important concrete object: my Bible. I would need this to remain close to God as I know we need to dwelve into scripture daily.
If I had to choose one thing, it would be my Bible. I have my internal memory to look back at pictures and important events in my life. I would feel pretty lost without my phone, but I would manage. I need God's word, and I couldn't leave it behind. His word is a guide for us all, and helps us remember what we should be doing.
As I mentioned previously, my phone would probably not work, and it would be almost useless other than for looking at pictures and addresses. Again, I would have my internal memory to reflect back upon.
As I sat and thought of this assignment, I realized my family is far more important than any concrete object. I love my photos, especially those of my husband and daughter, but those can be replaced. My family, and our God is what is most important.
Blessings,
Susan
Monday, November 5, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Perspectives on Diversity and Equity
Hello, all!!
I hope you are all having a great start to the first week of our new class. I think this is going to be an amazing journey that will teach us all so very much about diversity, equity, as well as acceptance!
My name is Susan Franklin, I am 38 years old, married to the love of my life and have one daughter, Madisyn who is almost 14. I currently teach pre-kindergarten, and have 21 babies that I adore and love! I enjoy coming to work each day, and wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world!!
I am looking forward to this class as I think we all need to learn more and more about diversity!
I am looking forward to your postings and insightful comments!!
Blessings!
Susan
I hope you are all having a great start to the first week of our new class. I think this is going to be an amazing journey that will teach us all so very much about diversity, equity, as well as acceptance!
My name is Susan Franklin, I am 38 years old, married to the love of my life and have one daughter, Madisyn who is almost 14. I currently teach pre-kindergarten, and have 21 babies that I adore and love! I enjoy coming to work each day, and wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world!!
I am looking forward to this class as I think we all need to learn more and more about diversity!
I am looking forward to your postings and insightful comments!!
Blessings!
Susan
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Thoughts on Research......
As we are approaching the close of this class, I found myself pondering the question of what I think about research. There are so many thoughts, and now they are not just thoughts of terror when that "research" word comes up; rather, the thoughts are of how can we be better researchers that can be a contribution to the field of early childhood.
I have gained many insights from this course. I have learned the value of research and what I must do to ensure my research is valid and ethical. It is difficult to be a researcher, but with the information I have gained I know I can at least attpempt to begin the process of research. I understand there are steps we must take when conducting research, and we must ensure we are purposeful planners when conducting a research study.
I believe each week offered a new challenge for me, especially when it invovled putting my research question down, and trying to actually narrow it down where it was not so broad of a topic. Each week I was given new terminology and vocabulary, which became quite challenging when working on the research charts and simulations. However, I realize we all must stay abreast on current research and ensure we are applying new, tested methods to enhance instruction as well as allowing educators, administrators and staff to become more aware of the ever changing field of early childhood education.
I believe one of the main ideas on research that really opened my eyes was the deficit model. I would never conduct any type of research that would make anyone feel as if their race, skin color, or income made them feel inadequate. I will ensure all of children in my class get the education they deserve, while being treated equal and fair.
I would like to thank each and everyone of you for all of the wonderful comments and suggestions you offered each week. This has been a very informative course, and without each of you, I would have not made it through. I wish each of you the very best of luck!!
Blessings,
Susan
I have gained many insights from this course. I have learned the value of research and what I must do to ensure my research is valid and ethical. It is difficult to be a researcher, but with the information I have gained I know I can at least attpempt to begin the process of research. I understand there are steps we must take when conducting research, and we must ensure we are purposeful planners when conducting a research study.
I believe each week offered a new challenge for me, especially when it invovled putting my research question down, and trying to actually narrow it down where it was not so broad of a topic. Each week I was given new terminology and vocabulary, which became quite challenging when working on the research charts and simulations. However, I realize we all must stay abreast on current research and ensure we are applying new, tested methods to enhance instruction as well as allowing educators, administrators and staff to become more aware of the ever changing field of early childhood education.
I believe one of the main ideas on research that really opened my eyes was the deficit model. I would never conduct any type of research that would make anyone feel as if their race, skin color, or income made them feel inadequate. I will ensure all of children in my class get the education they deserve, while being treated equal and fair.
I would like to thank each and everyone of you for all of the wonderful comments and suggestions you offered each week. This has been a very informative course, and without each of you, I would have not made it through. I wish each of you the very best of luck!!
Blessings,
Susan
Friday, June 1, 2012
Research Around The World
I chose to look at Early Childhood Australia. http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/. I found some great information on this website! There is a series of Research called, "RIPS" that is, Research In Practice Series. It is a group of experts and practioners who provides practical, easy-to-read resources for those involved in the early childhood field. "The books are designed to assist with those challenging issues which arise in the care and education of young children, by offering effective, new approaches." (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/) Below is a list of the ongoing research.
I was amazed at the information from each research topic. The only downfall would be each book costs around $15.
I also found a section that is titled, "Supporting Best Practices." Under that tab there are several subtabs, dealing with Emotional foundations for learning, learning and play, feelings and behaviours, learning about babies and toddlers, learning about children ages 3 to 9 years, learning and teaching, as well as children's rights. What I found very beneficial was under the subtabs, there was a wealth of information dealing with each. I did not want to post all of that information here, but I encourage you to browse this website as it is so informative!
I am a supporter of play and I was quite excited to read about play in Australia, as it does not differ much from the United States. Here is what was on the website about play:
"About play
Child's play - it's not just for fun
Some people say play is children's work. There is a large amount of development and learning taking place from birth to five years of age and play is a foundation for this learning. United States
What do children learn from play?
Adults support children's learning by protecting the time needed for exploration and discovery, and by interacting with children in ways that enhance their learning and development though play. Canada
An overview of children's play
Children play to learn. As they play children explore, discover, adapt and learn. United States
How do young children learn
Children have an inbuilt desire to explore and learn. Play is the tool for doing this. Simple games like "peek a boo" are playful at the same time as they engage children's minds in the learning process." (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/everyday_learning_and_play/about_play_and_learning/about_play.html)
Some people say play is children's work. There is a large amount of development and learning taking place from birth to five years of age and play is a foundation for this learning. United States
What do children learn from play?
Adults support children's learning by protecting the time needed for exploration and discovery, and by interacting with children in ways that enhance their learning and development though play. Canada
An overview of children's play
Children play to learn. As they play children explore, discover, adapt and learn. United States
How do young children learn
Children have an inbuilt desire to explore and learn. Play is the tool for doing this. Simple games like "peek a boo" are playful at the same time as they engage children's minds in the learning process." (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/everyday_learning_and_play/about_play_and_learning/about_play.html)
Under the tab, "Learning and Teaching" http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/learning_and_teaching/, there is a wealth of resources for educators. I will make sure I have placed this website in my favorites as I can use this site as a valuable resource.
Below is a link to a video from this website. It is Pam Cahir, the CEO of Early Childhood Australia, discussing how so many Australian children, under the age of 5 are in child care. Pam Cahir is discussing how children can be made smarter. It is quite an interesting video.
References:
Early Childhood Australia. (2000) Retrieved from May 31, 2012 from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Week 3 - Research that Benefits Children and Families
Hello, all!
This week has truly made me think about research and the risks and benefits. I was adamant about not subjecting children to research if the benefit was not guaranteed. However, during a conversation with one of my co-workers, I had to sit back and re-think this because of the research that was done on my daughter.
Three years ago my daughter was in the beginning stages of kidney failure. This put me in quite a shock as I had to make a decision as to what should be done after talking to the doctors. You see, I could wait and do nothing, and ultimately she would go into full kidney failure, begin dialysis, and be put on a kidney transplant. I certainly did not want any of those for my daughter; the second option was looking to be the clear, concise option to save her life. The doctors were quite honest with us in the very beginning; they did not know if this would be a successful surgery, but we had no other options.
The surgery consisted of re-building and re-routing her bladder, her colon, her bowel, and possibly re-routing her entire intestines. The doctors had to re-build her bladder using her Sigmoid bowel, and she now has to perform self-catherization for the rest of her life. Now, going in to this surgery we did not know if would work. The doctors could not tell us if this would be 100% guaranteed, but we had not other choice. We did not want to lose our daughter at 10 years old to full blown kidney and bladder failure.
I did not think of this as research while I was being so adamant about not subjecting children to research. However, I put my own child in more than minimal risks for the sake of research, but at the time, I did not think of research; I only thought of saving my sweet daughter. With this surgery and the outcomes, doctors can use the results as research findings and help other children who have her same problems.
I am proud to say this was a successful surgery; however, my daughter will never be totally out of the woods. We have to have kidney and bladder scans every 3 months (for the rest of her life0, we have to have 2 month checks ups (for the rest of her life) as well as trying to build up her immunities. This has, however, been quite challenging for my daughter as she has to leave class to perform her self-catherization. What I am most proud of is my daughter took this challenge on and has done wonderful. She is an avid athlete! She runs cross country, track, basketball, as well being a cheerleader. She has not let this set her back.
So, my opinion has somewhat changed in the name of research. Because of the surgery performed on my daughter, the results can be used for research. I am very thankful to my co-worker for making me re-think some opinions I had about research.
This week has truly made me think about research and the risks and benefits. I was adamant about not subjecting children to research if the benefit was not guaranteed. However, during a conversation with one of my co-workers, I had to sit back and re-think this because of the research that was done on my daughter.
Three years ago my daughter was in the beginning stages of kidney failure. This put me in quite a shock as I had to make a decision as to what should be done after talking to the doctors. You see, I could wait and do nothing, and ultimately she would go into full kidney failure, begin dialysis, and be put on a kidney transplant. I certainly did not want any of those for my daughter; the second option was looking to be the clear, concise option to save her life. The doctors were quite honest with us in the very beginning; they did not know if this would be a successful surgery, but we had no other options.
The surgery consisted of re-building and re-routing her bladder, her colon, her bowel, and possibly re-routing her entire intestines. The doctors had to re-build her bladder using her Sigmoid bowel, and she now has to perform self-catherization for the rest of her life. Now, going in to this surgery we did not know if would work. The doctors could not tell us if this would be 100% guaranteed, but we had not other choice. We did not want to lose our daughter at 10 years old to full blown kidney and bladder failure.
I did not think of this as research while I was being so adamant about not subjecting children to research. However, I put my own child in more than minimal risks for the sake of research, but at the time, I did not think of research; I only thought of saving my sweet daughter. With this surgery and the outcomes, doctors can use the results as research findings and help other children who have her same problems.
I am proud to say this was a successful surgery; however, my daughter will never be totally out of the woods. We have to have kidney and bladder scans every 3 months (for the rest of her life0, we have to have 2 month checks ups (for the rest of her life) as well as trying to build up her immunities. This has, however, been quite challenging for my daughter as she has to leave class to perform her self-catherization. What I am most proud of is my daughter took this challenge on and has done wonderful. She is an avid athlete! She runs cross country, track, basketball, as well being a cheerleader. She has not let this set her back.
So, my opinion has somewhat changed in the name of research. Because of the surgery performed on my daughter, the results can be used for research. I am very thankful to my co-worker for making me re-think some opinions I had about research.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Week 2; My Research Journey
Hello, classmates!!
I am currently a preschool teacher, and I am very interested in social-emotional development, and I am currently a supporter of play. So, while I was considering my subtopics, I thought of the two areas I want to know more about, and I combined them. I decided to begin researching how play in preschool promotes healthy social-emotional development. I have always been intrigued by play and social-emotional development. I also want to ensure I am doing what is necessary to promote healthy social-emotional development for my preschoolers.
I have seen the benefits of play in my classroom, but I am curious as to what different researchers are saying about play and social-emotional development. I have had several students who were very reserved and did not want to play in learning centers with other children, but through continual play and socialization time, those children are becoming very social and are not reserved. They are learning through play on how to be good citizens and control their emotions.
Because social-emotional development is such a broad topic, I am glad I have narrowed down my subtopic. Researching play has been much easier; however, I am having difficulty with a developing a general research question, but I am confident I will get to that point. I am feeling quite overwhelmed with the chart and literature reviews for our application assignments, but I know it will aid me in the future. Before reading about research, I had never heard the term, "triangulation" before. I had no clue what it meant and how it applied to research. However, I now know it means using different ways of conducting and using research.
I am still quite scared with the whole research "process" and any insights would be greatly appreciated. If any of you have any useful insights that would work for me and others to help alleviate such stress when it comes to the entire research process, I would certainly benefit from those!
I look forward to any and all comments from each of you!
Blessings,
Susan
I am currently a preschool teacher, and I am very interested in social-emotional development, and I am currently a supporter of play. So, while I was considering my subtopics, I thought of the two areas I want to know more about, and I combined them. I decided to begin researching how play in preschool promotes healthy social-emotional development. I have always been intrigued by play and social-emotional development. I also want to ensure I am doing what is necessary to promote healthy social-emotional development for my preschoolers.
I have seen the benefits of play in my classroom, but I am curious as to what different researchers are saying about play and social-emotional development. I have had several students who were very reserved and did not want to play in learning centers with other children, but through continual play and socialization time, those children are becoming very social and are not reserved. They are learning through play on how to be good citizens and control their emotions.
Because social-emotional development is such a broad topic, I am glad I have narrowed down my subtopic. Researching play has been much easier; however, I am having difficulty with a developing a general research question, but I am confident I will get to that point. I am feeling quite overwhelmed with the chart and literature reviews for our application assignments, but I know it will aid me in the future. Before reading about research, I had never heard the term, "triangulation" before. I had no clue what it meant and how it applied to research. However, I now know it means using different ways of conducting and using research.
I am still quite scared with the whole research "process" and any insights would be greatly appreciated. If any of you have any useful insights that would work for me and others to help alleviate such stress when it comes to the entire research process, I would certainly benefit from those!
I look forward to any and all comments from each of you!
Blessings,
Susan
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Week 8 - International Insights
Well, unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to have any type of contact with anyone outside of the United States. However, that certainly did not mean I didn't gain valuable information through the many resources available to me. I thoroughly enjoyed my podcast participants as they helped inform me of the many issues and trends in education internationally.
Before this course, I did not give a second thought to how things worked outside of the United States in early childhood education. I was sadly mistaken. I was very impressed with how Meridas Yora built a school for those who lost everything in a devastating storm. He wanted to ensure these children and family members had shelter, but he also wanted a quality education for them. His desire was wonderful, and I admired that. This again made me rethink my professional goals, as I have a strong desire for my children, but it needs to be a deeper desire to provide a high quality education for all children.
Throughout this course, I did not have any type of information on poverty, equity, or excellence in education outside of the United States. However, through my work in this course, I feel as if I am educated, as well as humbled. Just because children and families overseas are living in poverty does not mean there is not a desire for schooling. This also applies within the United States. As I have learned, many families are living in poverty within my own community, but that certainly does not mean they do not want their children to attend schooling. Meridas Yora enabled this for many families as he built a shelter/school that would aid in the education of children.
Blessings,
Susan
Before this course, I did not give a second thought to how things worked outside of the United States in early childhood education. I was sadly mistaken. I was very impressed with how Meridas Yora built a school for those who lost everything in a devastating storm. He wanted to ensure these children and family members had shelter, but he also wanted a quality education for them. His desire was wonderful, and I admired that. This again made me rethink my professional goals, as I have a strong desire for my children, but it needs to be a deeper desire to provide a high quality education for all children.
Throughout this course, I did not have any type of information on poverty, equity, or excellence in education outside of the United States. However, through my work in this course, I feel as if I am educated, as well as humbled. Just because children and families overseas are living in poverty does not mean there is not a desire for schooling. This also applies within the United States. As I have learned, many families are living in poverty within my own community, but that certainly does not mean they do not want their children to attend schooling. Meridas Yora enabled this for many families as he built a shelter/school that would aid in the education of children. Because of the numerous international resources I was able to view, I will be a more humble, compassionate teacher. All children, despite where they live or what type of home background they have, deserve an education from a professional that is loving and willing to give 110% of their time to these precious children. If I did not have a teenager and a husband, I would exhaust every resource given to me to teach outside of the United States. I have a desire to help all children, and now, because of the things I have learned, I want to help internationally. It may be years down the road, but I pray I am given the opportunity to be an educator to children in 3rd world countries!!
Thank you to all of my classmates! It has been a fast 8 weeks, but such an informative 8 weeks! I pray you have gained many valuable resources in this course, and I hope to "see" you again in another course!!
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