I Have A Dream

Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech August 28 1963

 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

 

I have a dream that all children will receive a quality education.  That we as a society will work together to assure that every child is given the same opportunities as the next child, regardless of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.  I believe that God has placed me here to be a advocate for young children and that is what I plan to due.

 

 

Lhakpa Gurung  and Richard Wright, I enjoyed both or your blogs and post on the discussion board.  You both have great ideas and shared wonderful and helpful information.  I will not be in school the next eight weeks but I will be posting to my blog and will continue to read yours as well.  I wish you both nothing but success and I see great things coming from you both.  Take care.

 

Sherry

 

Testing for Intelligence?

Considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically (i.e., a commitment to "the whole child"), what, if anything, do you believe should be measured or assessed? Explain your reasoning.

 I feel that effective assessment should measure the full range of student ability; social, emotional, and academic achievement. Through various measures, including portfolios, presentations, and tests, multiple learning styles are supported.  Standardize testing methods have their Pro’s and Con’s. In article by Derrick Meador, called Standardized Testing Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing here is the list of pros’ and cons he found:

Pros

1. Standardized testing holds teachers and schools accountable. Probably the greatest benefit of standardized testing is that teachers and schools are responsible for teaching students what they are required to know for these standardized tests. This is primarily because these scores become public record and teachers and schools who don’t perform up to par can come under intense scrutiny. This scrutiny can lead to the loss of job and in some cases a school can be closed or taken over by the state.

2. Standardized testing allows students located in various schools, districts, and even states to be compared. Without standardized testing this comparison would not be possible. Public school students in the state of Texas are all required to take the same state standardized tests. This means that a student in Amarillo can be compared to a student in Dallas. Being able to accurately compare data is invaluable and is a major reason that the Common Core State Standards have been adopted. These will allow for a more accurate comparison between states.

3. Standardized testing is typically accompanied by a set of established standards or instructional framework which provide teachers with guidance for what and when something needs to be taught. Without this structure a third grade teacher and a sixth grade teacher could be teaching the same content. Having this guidance also keeps students who move from one school district to another from being behind or ahead their new school.

4. Standardized tests are objective in nature. Classroom grades given by a teacher are at the very least minimally subjective in nature. Standardized tests are often scored by computers or at the very least scored by people who do not directly know the student. They are also developed by experts and each question undergoes an intense process to remove bias.

5. Standardized tests provide accurate comparisons between sub-groups. These sub-groups can include data on ethnicity, socioeconomic status, special needs, etc. This provides schools with data to develop programs and services directed at improving scores in these sub-groups.

Cons

1. Standardized testing evaluates a student’s performance on one particular day and does not take into account external factors. There are many people who simply do not perform well on tests. Many of these students are smart and understand the content, but it doesn’t show on the test. Many students also develop test anxiety which hinders performance. Finally, there are so many external factors that play into test performance. If a student has an argument with their parents the morning of the test, chances are their focus isn’t going to be where it should be.

2. Standardized testing causes many teachers to only “teach to the tests”. This practice can hinder a student’s overall learning potential. With the stakes getting higher and higher for teachers, this practice will only continue to increase.

3. Standardized testing only evaluates the individual performance of the student instead of the overall growth of that student over the course of the year. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) only focuses on whether a student is proficient at the time of testing

4. Standardized testing can create a lot of stress on both educators and students. Excellent teachers quit the profession every day because of how much stress is on them to prepare students to perform on standardized tests.

5. Standardized testing can be wrongfully used as fuel for those with political agendas. This is a sad reality far too often across all levels of the political realm.

I do feel there should be some type of testing to make sure children are ready for the world when leaving school.  I had a friend who made it out of high school without being able to read.  I to this day cannot understand how a child can make to the 12th grade and receive a diploma and not be able to read.  I blame the school because somehow this was greatly missed.  I don’t feel standardized testing will solve all our problems with the educational system but it is a start.  We must look at the pros and cons and fix the cons and improve the pros.  I don’t feel everyone will ever agree there will always be issue with testing but there has to be some way to hold schools and educators accountable. 

In what ways are school-age children assessed in other parts of the world

In China they have a skilled assessment system.  I found a study that broke down this system.  The Chinese’s schools system is broke down into three stages; Primary schooling children over 6 year’s old lasting for 6 to 7 years; Secondary schooling this schooling last 3-4 years.  In both primary and secondary schooling there is no testing required to enter.  Senior Education last 3 years and Senior high schools select the junior high school graduates based on the examinations organized by local educational administrative departments.  Each schooling has term and year end testing for the students.  Each schooling also had graduation examinations as well. 

What additional ideas, comments, suggestions, examples, and/or concerns related to assessing young children would you like to share with your colleagues?

Parents also have to be involved in their child’s education.  We can’t only put blame on the system parents as well need to be held accountable for their child’s education.  The problem with that is you may a parent you didn’t complete their education and just my not simply understand what their child is missing out on or needs help with.  So we must help educate the parents as well. 

Holistic education is working the “whole child”.  The parents, considering their environment, the economic status, and so on.  In the time we are in today you can’t just look at the formal part of education what the whole aspect of the child. 

 

References

Zhang, Juwei . "China’s Skill Assessment System." Institute of Population and Labor Economics Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Revised (2004): 25. China’s Skill Assessment System. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1126210664195/1636971-1126210694253/China_Skills_Assessment.pdf

Meador, Derrick. "Standardized Testing." About.com Teaching. About.com Teaching , n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. http://teaching.about.com/od/assess/a/Standardized-Testing.htm.

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

 

 

 

I was five years old when my parents’ divorce.  This had a life altering effect on my life.  I didn't understand why my dad didn't live with us anymore.  I notice a change in my mother and the way she was.  She went from being happy and energetic to sad and depressed.  Now at five years old I didn't know what the change was called I just knew there was a change.  This change affect my school work as well.  I regressed and became silent and unwilling to do the work required to complete the kindergarten.  I unfortunately had to repeat the kindergarten.  There was not much conversation or explanation for the change in our household we just had to deal with it.  My father would pick myself and my sister up on the weekend and drop us back off Sunday nights.  After a year or two of going back and forth from house to house my parents finally realized that hey this didn't just hurt them but had a dramatic impact on us.  My parents gave up the arguing and became friends.  My father would have dinner with us sometime.  How I cope with the divorce was with the help of my mother.  Ounce she could full deal with and understand what happen, she came out of her depression and focus on us.  My mother went back to school and received her Associates in Social Work.  We became closer as a family and we were happy again.

 At the age of fourteen, my father moved to Atlanta, GA.  This was another stress I had to deal with.  This time was prepared to be strong.  I didn't see my dad most of my teenager years, but I did speak with him often.  I was fortunate to have a great support system.  My grandmother (my father's mother) made sure myself and my sister had the best possible childhood.  We visited her every school break, and holiday. 

The stressor I choose to focus on is poverty.  I was fortunate to not have to deal with poverty directly. My mother was not the riches mother but she made sure we had everything we needed to survive.  But other children across the world are not as fortunate. 

One in six children is underweight or suffering from stunting; one in seven has no health care at all; one in five has no safe water and one in three has no toilet or sanitation facilities at home.

• Over 640 million children live in dwellings with mud floors or extreme overcrowding; and over 300 million children have no TV, radio, telephone or newspaper.

 

• Over 120 million children are shut out of primary schools, the majority of them girls.

 

• More than 30,000 children die of preventable causes worldwide every day.

  (Save the Children, 2004)

 

In Brazil the level of poverty is well above the norm for middle-income country.  The participation of children in the labor force in Brazil is at least twice as high as in any other country in Latin America.  In the North and Northeast regions, about a quarter of children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition. (The World Bank, 2013).  The head of household in Brazil is most likely illiterate.  The head is also tends to be young, does not have a labor card, and most commonly works in services. The poorer households significantly have less access to water and sanitation and services than do better off urban households.

 

Paulo Freire Project 
The Ceará Secretariat for Agrarian Development will implement the Productive Development and Capacity Building Project in the State of Ceará (Paulo Freire) over six years.

The project will cost a total of US$95 million, with US$40 million in financing from IFAD, US$40 million from the Ceará state government, and US$14.9 in contributions from the beneficiaries themselves.

“The project looks to reduce extreme poverty in the project area from 43 to 28 per cent, grow household assets by 30 per cent, and provide 60,000 households with training, technical assistance and the tools they need to grow their businesses, access markets, protect the fragile semi-arid environment and lower their risk profile,” said Cossio. “We’ve found that an investment in women and youth is an investment in a sustainable future. With this in mind, over half of the project beneficiaries will be women and young people” (Benchwick, 2012).

Dom Távora Project 
The Rural Business for Small Producers Project (Dom Távora) will be implemented over six years by the Agricultural Development Enterprise of Sergipe agency under the direction of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Agrarian and Rural Development.

It will cost approximately US$38 million, with US$16 million in financing from IFAD, US$12.6 million from the state of Sergipe and over US$9 million from project beneficiaries.

“The Dom Távora Project focuses on fostering local talents and supporting local businesses, with the goal of increasing incomes, supporting producer’s associations and creating a better life,” Cossio said (Benchwick, 2012).

 

REFERENCES

 

Brazil: A Poverty Assessement

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPA/0,,contentMDK:20206734~menuPK:443285~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:430367,00.html

 

Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.

Smidt, S. (2013). The Developing Child in the 21st Century: A global perspective on child development. The Developing Child in the 21st Century: Routledge

Benchwick, G. (2012, September 23). IFAD social reporting blog. : Knowledge is central to overcoming poverty in Brazil. Retrieved February 2, 2014, from http://ifad-un.blogspot.com/2012/09/knowledge-is-central-to-overcoming.html