Final Thoughts

I have learned so much in this course, and I am tad bit sad to see if come to an end.  I am looking forward to the next course.

I chose the following quotes and picture because they spoke to my beliefs in the educational process.

"The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men."  ~Bill Beattie

"Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail.  What you gain at one end you lose at the other.  It's like feeding a dog on his own tail.  It won't fatten the dog."  ~Mark Twain

"A child educated only at school is an uneducated child."  ~George Santayana

"He who opens a school door, closes a prison." ~Victor Hugo

Educational Assessment

According to my educator friends, teaching in the public school system is all about improving test scores.  Teachers are expected to teach test taking skills constantly, to create all assessments that look like their respective state tests, and to drill students about test skills daily.  In my limited experience standardized testing provides a great measuring tool to see what students have measured and how they compare to their national counterparts.  However, I do not believe that one standard assessment given one day of the year should be used to determine what a child truly knows, to determine if teachers are teaching, or to determine if schools are effective.  Test day is only a few hours of a child's life. Some people are not good test takers. Some have bad days.  Some are spiteful.  In my opinion, standardized tests should be triangulated with student portfolios, and teacher made tests to determine mastery. 

Assessments around the World

The best testing regimes, such as one finds in many European and Asian countries, capture the benefits through multi-level and multi-target systems.  Multi-level means administering high-stakes tests at more than just one educational level (i.e., primary, intermediate, lower and upper secondary).  European and Asian students typically face high-stakes tests at the beginning or the end (or both) of one educational level, and often for more than one educational level (e.g., the end of primary school, the beginning and end of lower- and upper-secondary school, the beginning of postsecondary education, etc.).

European and Asian examination systems exist in a variety that reflects the educational programs offered. Students are differentiated by curricular emphasis and ability level, and so are their high-stakes examinations. The differentiation, which starts at the lower-secondary (i.e., middle school) level in many countries, exists in virtually all of them by the upper-secondary level. Students attend schools with vastly different occupational orientations: advanced academic schools to prepare for university; general schools, for the working world or for advanced technical training; and vocational-technical schools, for direct entry into a skilled trade.  Typically, all three types of school require an exit examination for a diploma. Some of those exams are very tough.

 http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ750639.pdf

Stressors in Children

Growing up, we were not rich but not in poverty.  We never wanted for food, clothing, or shelter -- any of the basic necessities.  In fact, I can't think of any stressors I had in my childhood. But I am not naive enough to think that every one's childhood mirrors mine.  After all, I live in a small, Southern town where quite a few people live below the poverty line.  I've heard stories of families not having enough for food/meals three times a day.  And it is saddening.

The area of the world I chose to research was West Africa.  West Africa consists of 17 countries and most are stricken by civil wars.  The desire to work is strong.  Countless children, mostly under the age of 14, have left their families in search of work elsewhere.  Some departed "voluntarily" or at the urging of their parents to escape the severe poverty of their home areas. Others were ensnared by labour traffickers.  In almost all cases, according to some of the children who managed to return, they ended up in arduous and poorly paid jobs on plantations or in domestic service, often at great risk to their health, sometimes beaten or prey to sexual predators.

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol15no3/153chil4.htm

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexplained death of an infant who is younger than 1 year old. It can strike without warning, usually in seemingly healthy babies. Most SIDS deaths are associated with sleep (commonly referenced to as "crib death") and infants who die of SIDS show no signs of suffering.

Most deaths due to SIDS occur between 2 and 4 months of age, and incidence increases during cold weather. African-American infants are twice as likely and Native American infants are about three times more likely to die of SIDS than Caucasian infants. More boys than girls fall victim to SIDS.
Other potential risk factors include:

• smoking, drinking, or drug use during pregnancy
• poor prenatal care
• prematurity or low birth-weight
• mothers younger than 20
• tobacco smoke exposure following birth
• overheating from excessive sleepwear and bedding
• stomach sleeping

from http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/sids.html

More than 2,000 babies a year, about 7 of every 10,000 born in this country, die of SIDS in the first months of their life. Researchers have found that many of the deaths occurred while the babies, most of them boys, were sleeping on their stomachs, often on soft bedding or in a bed with someone else.

from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/science/01sids.html?_r=1

SIDS in England and Wales

• In 1996 the incidence in England and Wales was 0.9 per 1,000 live births.
• By 1998 and 1999 this figure had fallen to 0.45 per 1,000. Boys are more often affected than girls, representing about 60% of cases.
• The commonest season is the winter and the commonest time is early morning. This may be related to changing sleep patterns as the infant matures and biological clocks.
• Over the last decade, due to a greater understanding of the risk factors associated with SIDS and particularly the risk of the infant sleeping in a prone position, the number of SIDS deaths has declined significantly.

from http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Sudden-Infant-Death-Syndrome.htm

A friend of a friend lost her child to SIDS. She and her family were devastated.  I can only imagine the hurt, pain, and grief that they experienced mourning an unexplained death. 

Reading this information made me ever grateful for my children.  I will work to share this knowledge with any new mothers I encounter.

Childbirth

For the birth of my first child, I did everything I was supposed to do. I read all the books and parenting magazines, watched birthing videos, attended the birthing classes, and talked extensively with my doctor. None of these sources truly prepared me for the awesomeness and horror of birth.  Intellectually, I knew what to expect, but I was still stunned at the process. I held out as long as possible before asking for pain medication.  But the greatest part is that the pain is almost completely gone with the birth of a beautiful baby.  Holding that baby in your arms or against your chest is worth the hours of being uncomfortable.  I was more prepared for the birth of my second child because experience is truly the best teacher.

I chose to share some of my birthing story because my children are the most important people to me.  I am not 100% sure I understand how the birthing process impacts child development, but I am excited to find out.

Turkey
This European country has recently changed its approach to childbirth, according to Tulin Sevil, who comes from the capital city of Ankara. As recently as 20 or 30 years ago, midwives supervised most of the births in Turkey, especially in rural areas. Doctors were in short supply and most tended to practice in metropolitan areas, such as Ankara and Istanbul. But as more university medical schools were founded and the number of doctors increased, care shifted away from midwives in favor of ob-gyns.

from http://www.parenting.com/