VARIOUS ARTICLES

Posted on September 13, 2011 by kidmissionjesus
August 19, 2011 / Mary Hicks
I think of my role model, Dr. Maria Montessori, her great wisdom and understanding of children and their development. She was so far ahead of her time, only now are many scientists and educators beginning to catch up to her.
NOTABLE QUOTES BY MARIA MONTESSORI
The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy.”

“The child’s parents are not his makers but his guardians”

“Of all things love is the most potent.”

I have tried and tried to upload some visuas, to my post and never could get it to work. If you all would like to scroll down, there are some pretty nice photos of children.
I have learned a lot in this course; and I would like to thank you, my colleagues, for much of that learning. Dr. Darrough, I would like to thank you for your assistance, when I was having trouble with my blog assignments. I believe this course worked as it should with just the right amount of collaboration. I also enjoyed the DVD presentations, and from reading the posts I believe you all did too. I wish each of you the best, a syou proceed along your journey!!


ORI
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August 6, 2011 / Mary Hicks
The best method of assessing student learning of required materials , is a controversial topic in the United States Today. Standardized tests,are usually administered yearly, and are controlled by each state”s department of education. For several years test developers have attempted to create tests that are more relevant and more culturally inclusive, than those of previous years.My belief is that standardized testing offers very little of value, to student learning.Even when test scores are appropriately disaggregated, student scores may be drastically erroneous, in terms of what a particular student has learned.I believe that assessment should be on-going, and should take many forms, such as portfolios,journals, teacher-made tests, oral presentations and classroom discussions. These types of assessments allow the teacher to see a problem area quickly and change his/her teaching method to make sure that the child understands and learns what he/she needs to. Using a variety of on-going assessments, also includes students who are currently labeled as disabled to be assessed along with the rest of the class. Varied assessments help teachers to see that a continuum of learning, exists and that special needs students are simply those who are at one or the other extreme, of the continuum.
Another question, in my mind, is whether and to what degree should children be expected to learn the same things. Do all children need to know Algebra, history, and chemistry? Obviously not! Children need to be assessed in what they need and want to learn. In my opinion a lot of what is taught in school will never be used by the students, so why show so much concern that the material, whatever it is has not been mastered. There are many general things that all adults need to know, but even that is changing, in today’s computer driven world. I remember learning to diagram sentences, as a seventh grader and I loved that activity. Now it may be obsolete, but I know I sure haven,t used it in the real world. Whatever assessment scores I received in that and most other subjects are moot!
If preschool children are to be assessed, it should be done in their natural environment, by their own teacher and with objects they are familiar with. Children ages 2 -6, may be asked to draw a certain picture, for example a person, at age 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 etc. Such assessment will give the teacher an idea of the child’s fine motor skills, cognition, perception,creativity, and the degree to which these attributes are developing over time, Berger (2009).
The student’s ability to draw a map, of aselected area, their state, nation or city can indicate spational knowledge, geographic knowledge and mathmatical skills. Assessments such as these should never be administered without first teaching the assessment material. One exception to this rule, is when baseline knowledge about the mapped area, is collected and then compared to post instruction knowledge.
Asking questions is another good method of assessment, that will provide information on student understanding and mastery, of subject matter. that has been taught.Running records of student interactions can provide information on social competency.
In general student assessment should provide teachers, with knowledge that will enable them to see and reflect upon their teaching skills; and find ways to help students learn better. Student assessment is a form of teacher assessment, in that it identifies weaknesses in teacher presentation of subject matter
Please read my post about education in China and the 2 following articles about assessment: The country I chose to read about and write about was China, I also included an article on Montessori assessment, which I think is far superior to most traditional assessments.
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August 3, 2011 / Mary Hicks
Children are greatly valued and cherished in China. especially since each family is allowed to have just one child. Educational officials ensure that young children get what is considered a proper education Their early childhood education, is more accademically focussed than the curriculum snd tesching methods which are the emergent., form of Early Childhood Education, in the United Sstates. Chinese educators emphasise academic work, in the classroom.This applies to children who are of preschool age.The Chinese believe that young childrren are capable of doing academic work and often discipline them in front of the class, for mistakes in their schoolwork.This disipline causes the children to “lose face”, which basically means people will not respect them. This seems to be an awful practice, that could damage the child’s self concept and self esteem.
Early Childhood professionals, in the United States have realized that young chilldren learn best through play, due to research findings in recent years. Educators and government education officials must have recognized this fact many years ago, because children did not start school until age six. In my part of the world there was no kindergarten or childcare/preschool when I was growing up, during the fifties and sixties. Children simply stayed at home and played during thes eyears. Very few mothers worked out side the home, in fact I can only recall one who did. Childhood was a wonderful time of “learning through play” for me and all of the other children that I knew.
Please read the following articles, they are very informative.
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August 3, 2011 / Mary Hicks

Measurement and Assessment

Williamsburg Montessori School math/measurementParents often become anxious when they learn that Montessori schools do not grade students, and understandably so. With the constant talk of standards of learning, benchmarking, and competition as traditional standards of a quality education, it is no wonder parents feel concerned. Although Montessori does not assign traditional grades, children are continuously assessed and observed to ensure that they are progressing intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about the Montessori approach to assessment.
Why aren’t traditional grades given at WMS?
  • Dr. Montessori believed that children possess an intrinsic motivation to learn. Testing and grading student progress works against this natural inclination by fostering a sense of competition with peers and assigning value to a grade rather than the acquisition of knowledge.
  • Basing student progress solely on test scores and grades offer a limited view of the child.
  • By assessing each child as an individual, directors are able to provide new challenges or more support as needed. Students do not have to ‘wait for the rest of the class to catch up’ to receive a new lesson or feel penalized if they need extra time to master a skill or concept.
How are Montessori students assessed? How is progress measured?
Certified Montessori teachers spend hours in training learning how to conduct, record, and interpret student observations. Assessment occurs in many ways…
  • Daily observations and record-keeping
  • Control of error built into materials
  • Regular conferences with elementary and middle school students to review work
  • Instruction in self-assessment of work
  • Portfolios and rubrics with older students
  • Quizzes and tests for older students
  • Project work culminating in presentations
  • Bi-annual and as-needed parent teacher conferences
  • Standardized testing in 3rd, 6th, and 8th grades
How do Montessori students compare to students from traditional settings?
Studies show that Montessori students tend to achieve at a greater rate than students in traditional programs (Holfester, C.,
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July 19, 2011 / Mary Hicks
I grew up in poverty during the 1950s and 60s, and lived in a housing project until age 16 when I got married. I would not been allowed to marry so young if my father had been alive, he died when I was 15 years old My husband and I continued to live with my mother, brothers and I for the first 2 years of our marriage. We were all supported by a 110$ check that my mom received monthly.As a child, I had not realized that we were poor, even though my parents never owned a car and we lived in public housing. In addition,I was constantly sent to neighbors homes to borrow things that we were out of,such as ciggerets, coffee, meal and sometimes, a dollar or two. My realization that we were very poor indeed, developed around age 18 when we, my mother, brothers, husband, baby daughter and I were living in a tiny 2 bedroom house without a shower or bathtub. The monthly rent was 30 dollars. My husband would not or could not keep a job, I was so ashamed for us to be sponging off my mother.Back then there were no such things as food stamps,WIC or Section 8 housing assistance. Mom cooed beans, cornbread and potatoes all of the time and they were wonderful. I was always excited to smel, the cornbread baking. Some grocery stores would sell food and othe ritems on creditand mom usually ran up a high bill each month. Being poor did not effect my desire to learn, and I was always considered extremely bright by my teachers. I also made good grades, in everything except math My mother, who had only attended school to fourth grade, did not really praise me for my learning and grades.It was my dream to go to college, and the dream seemed futile to me. No-one in my family had ever attended college, and I was a high school drop out with 3 children when, amazingly, I was blessed with a friend who was a college student. She encouraged me to get my GED, apply for financial aid and enroll in the university in our town At first I was so frightened of the process of entering college, but once I sat down in my first class all of the fears melted away and my heart wa sfilled with joy. I loved every minute that I spent in school, and graduated Suma Cum Laude.
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July 19, 2011 / Mary Hicks
Hearts & Minds- Information for ChangeSM
Children in PovertyAmerica’s Ongoing War
The Overall Picture In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared war on American soil: the War on Domestic Poverty. Since then, hundreds of billions of dollars have flowed from the U.S. government to large and small towns across America. Our government has provided free food, repaired dilapidated homes and furnished jobs to those in need.
Government agencies have indeed provided millions of Americans with much needed aid. Nevertheless, our country has not won the War on Poverty. In 1996, millions more Americans lived in poverty than in 1964. A 1996 Fordham University report says that the country’s social well-being has reached its lowest point in a quarter century, with children and young people suffering the most.
An Individual Example
When Fay Coffman hit rock bottom in 1995, she relied on only $700 a month in government aid to support herself, her mother, and her three children. Coffman said, “I was on welfare, food stamps, lived in the projects, no car, no way to make ends meet. It was hard, and it was very, very depressing.”
Today, thanks to her work at a self-help agency, Coffman and her family are doing well in their Missouri hometown. Coffman has her own home, a car and no longer worries about having enough food for her family.
Poverty’s Effect on Children Unfortunately, not all of America’s poor have been so fortunate. According to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau in September 1996, 13.8% of Americans live in poverty. Many more are on the borderline. Poverty affects all ages, but an astonishing 48% percent of its victims are children:
  • About 15 million children — one out of every four — live below the official poverty line.
  • 22% of Americans under the age of 18 — and 25% under age 12 — are hungry or at the risk of being hungry.
  • Everyday 2,660 children are born into poverty; 27 die because of it.
  • Children and families are the fastest growing group in the homeless population, representing 40%.
Poverty in New York City
Domestic poverty knows no geographical barriers, but it is especially widespread here in New York City. The latest study, released in 1995 by the Citizens Committee for Children of New York, reveals that New York children fare worse in virtually every category than their counterparts at the state and national level. This includes low birth weight, infant mortality, violence-related deaths, abuse and neglect, education, and job preparedness.
Life for New York City children is getting worse:
  • 25% of New Yorkers are children.
  • 762,000 children live in poverty.
  • 181 babies are born into poverty each day.
  • 10,000 children are homeless. This number has doubled since 1988.
In addition to these sad statistics, many New York City children read and do math below grade level. An estimated 38.9% of the city’s school children will graduate high school, compared to 68.8% of all American students.
How the USA Stacks Up Among the 21 most affluent nations, the United States has the highest percentage of poor children. In fact, our rate is twice that of the country next in line.
Furthermore, the September 1996 welfare reform bill cut $60 billion in aid to poor families within a period of six years. It is estimated that this will throw one million more children into poverty. Sadly, even though we are the richest industrialized nation, we are the stingiest with aid to our own children.
Prospects for Their Future Too many young Americans go to bed with empty stomachs. They also wake up to seemingly hopeless futures: school problems, unemployment, welfare, gangs, drugs and crime. Children of poverty are more likely to suffer young and violent deaths.
Mentally and physically malnourished for the first five years of their lives, they are unable to keep up in class. One national study projects that almost a million children who will have started school in September 1996, will encounter serious problems. Many will drop out or finish high school functionally illiterate.
Hopeful Signs
Fortunately, some Americans care. Three out of every four voters agree that our political leaders are not doing enough to help solve the problems facing our children. Despite strong concern over our national debt, two-thirds of the American electorate believes that government programs for children should be the last to be cut. This willingness to help children extends to voters of all ages, races, and political and economic backgrounds.
There are other hopeful signs. Independent Sector, a national forum to encourage volunteerism, reported in 1996 that giving and volunteering in America is slowly rising. In 1995, 49% of American adults regularly did some form of volunteer work — a total of 20.3 billion hours. Financial contributions also increased more than 10% between 1993 and 1995.
Independent Sector has uncovered key factors that motivate people to contribute and volunteer. Simply being asked emerged as the number one incentive. The survey found that when asked to give, 85% of respondents oblige. Clearly, we Americans are willing to make a difference.
Taking a Stand
On June 1, 1996, 250,000 people from all 50 states participated in the Stand for Children. In this non-partisan event, Americans of every race, age, and income group joined in songs, prayers, and commitments to help America’s troubled youth.
Even the youngest participants understood the significance of the event. Seven-year-old Tracy said:
”Today was a good day because we could eat and drink and have a lot of fun. All of this happened so mommies and daddies will be able to take care of their children, like my Mommy takes care of me.”
At the Stand for Children, people renewed their sense of responsibility for our nation’s children. Rose Avello, associate director of the Citizens Committee for Children of New York, sums up the view of many child advocacy groups:
“The major success story is that more and more citizens care about children, not just their own. People are realizing that children are our future and that citizens have a responsibility to ensure that all children receive quality care.”
As evidence, Avello cites the recent growth of her organization’s postcard campaign. Originally starting with only 100 volunteers, this annual drive for funds and awareness now includes some 10,000 New Yorkers. Even young children send in their allowance to help.
Photo of girls learning to ice skateWith a little help, every child can start to soar
In Conclusion Even a small amount of your time can make a big difference for a child. And society benefits, too. Crime rates decline, youngsters become better educated and then see their futures with more optimistic eyes. Says Eddie Ryeom, a volunteer with Operation Exodus:
“One of the major benefits of working with children is seeing tangible results, from their smiling faces to increased test scores. However small your contribution, you’re helping a community deeply in need.”
This testimonial and millions like it show that even one volunteer — perhaps you — can change a child’s life now and for the future. With up to 15 million kids in need, every volunteer is an asset in our ongoing war on child poverty. From helping an individual child to addressing the issue nationwide, there are many choices (some are below) on how to help — and find greater fulfillment for yourself, too.
There are many ways you can get involved – from national programs to one-on-one mentoring. See our Children in Poverty Links.
This web page and entire website © Copyright: 1997 – 2007 by Hearts and Minds Network, Inc. Photo © 2006 by Kimble L. Warren & photo of boy courtesy of Flickr user Carf & licensed under Creative Commons at http://www.heartsandminds.org/articles/childpov.htm – online 1997, latest changes March 31, 2007
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July 18, 2011 / Mary Hicks
© UNICEF/HQ98-0891/Pirozzi

Goal: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Targets by 2015:
Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.
Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
Reducing poverty starts with children.
More than 30 per cent of children in developing countries – about 600 million – live on less than US $1 a day.
Every 3.6 seconds one person dies of starvation. Usually it is a child under the age of 5.
Poverty hits children hardest. While a severe lack of goods and services hurts every human, it is most threatening to children’s rights: survival, health and nutrition, education, participation, and protection from harm and exploitation. It creates an environment that is damaging to children’s development in every way – mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.
One than 1 billion children are severely deprived of at least one of the essential goods and services they require to survive, grow and develop. Some regions of the world have more dire situations than others, but even within one country there can be broad disparities – between city and rural children, for example, or between boys and girls. An influx or tourism in one area may improve a country’s poverty statistics overall, while the majority remains poor and disenfranchised.
Each deprivation heightens the effect of the others. So when two or more coincide, the effects on children can be catastrophic. For example, women who must walk long distances to fetch household water may not be able to fully attend to their children, which may affect their health and development. And children who themselves must walk long distances to fetch water have less time to attend school – a problem that particularly affects girls. Children who are not immunized or who are malnourished are much more susceptible to the diseases that are spread through poor sanitation. Poverty exacerbates the effects of HIV/AIDS and armed conflict. It entrenches social, economic and gender disparities and undermines protective family environments.
Poverty contributes to malnutrition, which in turn is a contributing factor in over half of the under-five deaths in developing countries. Some 300 million children go to bed hungry every day. Of these only eight per cent are victims of famine or other emergency situations. More than 90 per cent are suffering long-term malnourishment and micronutrient deficiency.
The best start in life is critical in a child’s first few years, not only to survival but to her or his physical, intellectual and emotional development. So these deprivations greatly hamper children’s ability to achieve their full potential, contributing to a society’s cycle of endless poverty and hunger.
See map: Childhood is under threat from poverty
Fulfilling children’s rights breaks that cycle. Providing them with basic education, health care, nutrition and protection produces results of many times greater magnitude than these cost-effective interventions. Their chances of survival and of a productive future are greatly increased – as are the chances of a truly fair and peaceful global society.
UNICEF responds by:
Building national capacities for primary health care. Around 270 million children, just over 14 per cent of all children in developing countries, have no access to health care services. Yet improving the health of children is one responsibility among many in the fight against poverty. Healthy children become healthy adults: people who create better lives for themselves, their communities and their countries. Working in this area also helps to further Goal 4 – to improve child survival rates.
Helping the world’s children survive and flourish is a core UNICEF activity, and immunization is central to that. A global leader in vaccine supply, UNICEF purchases and helps distribute vaccines to over 40 per cent of children in developing countries. Immunization programs usually include other cost-effective health initiatives, like micronutrient supplementation to fight disabling malnutrition and insecticide-treated bed nets to fight malaria.
Along with governments and non-governmental organizations at national and community levels, UNICEF works to strengthen local health systems and improve at-home care for children, including oral re-hydration to save the lives of infants with severe diarrhoea and promoting and protecting breastfeeding.
Getting girls to school. Some 13 per cent of children ages 7 to 18 years in developing countries have never attended school. This rate is 32 per cent among girls in sub-Saharan Africa (27 per cent of boys) and 33 per cent of rural children in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet an education is perhaps a child’s strongest barrier against poverty, especially for girls. Educated girls are likely to marry later and have healthier children. They are more productive at home and better paid in the workplace, better able to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS and more able to participate in decision-making at all levels. Additionally, this UNICEF activity furthers Goals 2 and 3: universal primary education and gender equality.
To that end, UNICEF works in 158 countries, calling on development agencies, governments, donors and communities to step up efforts on behalf of education for all children, and then coordinating those efforts. Programmes differ from country to country according to needs and cultures, but may include help with funding, logistics, information technology, school water and sanitation, and a child- and gender-friendly curriculum.
Supporting good nutrition. UNICEF seeks to help stem the worst effects of malnutrition by funding and helping countries supply micronutrients like iron and vitamin A, which is essential for a healthy immune system, during vaccination campaigns or through fortified food. UNICEF, governments, salt producers and private sector organizations are also working to eliminate iodine deficiency, the biggest primary cause of preventable mental retardation and brain damage, through the Universal Salt Iodization (USI) education campaign. UNICEF also works through communities to talk with child caregivers about how to provide sound nutrition for children, particularly via breastfeeding.
In emergency situations, UNICEF assesses the nutritional and health needs of affected people, protects and supports breastfeeding by providing safe havens for pregnant and lactating women, provides essential micronutrients, supports therapeutic feeding centres for severely malnourished children, and provides food for orphans.
Assisting in water and sanitation improvement. One in three children in the developing world – more than 500 million children – has no access at all to sanitation facilities. And some 400 million children, one in five, have no access to safe water. Meanwhile, unsafe water and sanitation cause about 4,000 child deaths per day. Through advocacy, funding and technical assistance, UNICEF works in more than 90 countries around the world to improve water supplies and sanitation facilities in schools and communities and to improve and promote safe hygiene practices.
In emergencies UNCIEF provides safe water, and helps displaced communities replace or find new water resources and build latrines. Increasingly, UNICEF emphasizes preventive programs that strengthen the capacity of governments and partners to prepare for these worst case situations.
Creating a protective child environment. Conflicts are most frequent in poor countries, especially in those that are ill governed and where there are sharp inequalities between ethnic or religious groups. An environment of unrest heightens the risk of abduction, sexual violence and exploitation of children, as well as the struggle for shelter, education and survival.
Toward fulfilling a central goal of the Millennium Declaration, protection of the vulnerable, UNICEF advocates for awareness and monitoring of these issues, and for tougher laws for child exploiters. Working with individuals, civic groups, governments and the private sector in the field, UNICEF helps establish and strengthen local safety nets for children, like community child-care centers, schools, and basic social services.
Advocating, raising awareness and helping effect policies for children’s well-being. Lastly, UNICEF complements these on-the-field activities with policy advocacy at every level of government. Spreading awareness and offering technical assistance, UNICEF aids countries in forming and effecting programs that help ensure children’s rights to survive and thrive.
These include working with governments on developing broad national planning frameworks like Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and Sector-wide Approaches to Programming(SWAPs), which help countries and donors identify needs and form a results-based plan for change.
These policies and programmes don’t take shape in a void. Along with national committees, other UN agencies and international private groups, UNICEF helps countries carry out assessment research to define and measure child poverty, and then helps put a system in place to monitor results.
Progress
Some countries have made progress meeting this Goal, but success is mixed. India and China are on track to meet the income target at least, but in a classic example of national disparities, some 221 million people in India and 142 million in China are still chronically or acutely malnourished.
More than half of undernourished people, 60 per cent, are found in Asia and the Pacific. Thirty per cent of infants born in South Asia in 2003 were underweight, the highest percentage in the world.
Most sub-Saharan African countries will likely miss both targets. The region has 204 million hungry and is the only region of the world where hunger is increasing. More than 40 per cent of Africans can not even get sufficient food on a day-to-day basis.
See the UN Millennium Project overview report
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July 9, 2011 / Mary Hicks
One of my baby sons died from what was then called crib death at the age of 5 months. My previously born son had died shortly after birth due to a defect that can now be corrected in utero. Benjamin, (Benji), was one of the healthiest babies you could imagine. His death following the death of my beautiful baby Samuel, almost completely destroyed my life. I was only 21 years old. I had married at 16 and had 4 children and buried 2 before my 21st birthday. My two oldest children, Trula, my only daughter and Sydney my oldest son, also suffered greatly as a result of the toll the babies deaths took on me. Amazingly the Lord blessed, me with 2 more sons. The following articles shed more light on the topic of SIDS, in America and other countries.
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July 8, 2011 / Mary Hicks

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Many SIDS deaths can be avoided by simply making sure that the infant always has access to fresh air. Everyone who cares for infants should know these simple steps:

  1. Don’t confine the baby so that it can’t move its arms, legs and head.
  2. Don’t place the baby in a “protective” valley of pillows, blankets or clothing that might cause an ‘air dam’.
  3. Don’t raise the heat in the baby’s room (cool is just fine).
  4. Check the baby often, and don’t be afraid of entering baby’s room in order to avoid waking him or her.
  5. Introduce air currents in baby’s room. A fan blowing up to the ceiling or against a wall can create gentle air currents in an open crib.
  6. Have a source of fresh air that can enter the room — open a window, or keep the door partially open.
  7. Make sure window treatments don’t obstruct the inflow of air. Always leave shades or blinds up a bit to let air in.
  8. If bumpers are used, make sure there is space for the flow of air.
  9. Bumpers should never be used in playpens.
  10. Don’t place baby in the middle of a multitude of toys and stuffed animals that might cause an ‘air dam’.
  11. Carriages and portable cribs with raised sides should never be used indoors.
  12. Consider placing baby in an inclined sleeping position. Having the head in the up position lets exhaled air slide down to the feet.
  13. Keep infants off the floor and at least two feet above the floor. Heavy gases can concentrate in the bottom of a room.
  14. Be very cautious if you cook with gas, heat with gas, or use fireplaces, kerosene heaters, or when using a barbecue indoors. (Heating an apartment or house with a gas oven is very dangerous to everyone in the house.)
  15. Homes with attached garages can be a source of harmful fumes in adjacent rooms when cars are left running.
  16. Painting the inside of a house produces harmful fumes, as do cleaning solvents and furniture polishers.
  17. Put off having rugs and furniture cleaned until the infant is at least 6 months old. Some carpet cleaning chemicals use carbon dioxide as the cleaning agent.
  18. Postpone any home improvements until the infant is 6 months old to avoid large amounts of airborne dust.
  19. Try to avoid having baby sleep in a basement. Heavy fumes tend to collect in them without an easy escape route.
  20. New carpeting is another source of fumes that could be harmful to an infant.
Be sure to check this site periodically for updates to this list.
The danger period for SIDS is primarily between two and four months. For the first two months of a baby’s life, baby doesn’t sleep long enough to reach a dangerous condition. After four months the baby is much larger and more animated during sleep. The 5 month old baby has then “grown out of” the danger zone for SIDS; however, we know of cases as old as eleven months. During the first six months it is a good idea to always travel with a fan in or with the diaper bag, and never let down your guard.
Disclaimer:The information contained in SidsPrevention.Com is presented for the purpose of educating consumers on the possible causes of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Unfortunately, absolute prevention of SIDS may never be possible. We believe that the information provided on our site can help prevent SIDS, based on evidence and analysis we’ve provided here.
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July 8, 2011 / Mary Hicks
The Natural Child Project

An urgent message to our readers
Cosleeping Around The World
by James J. McKenna Ph.D.
For the overwhelming majority of mothers and babies around the globe today, cosleeping is an unquestioned practice. In much of southern Europe, Asia, Africa and Central and South America, mothers and babies routinely share sleep. In many cultures, cosleeping is the norm until children are weaned, and some continue long after weaning. Japanese parents (or grandparents) often sleep in proximity with their children until they are teenagers, referring to this arrangement as a river – the mother is one bank, the father another, and the child sleeping between them is the water. Most of the present world cultures practice forms of cosleeping and there are very few cultures in the world for which it would ever even be thought acceptable or desirable to have babies sleeping alone. Cosleeping is practiced in a variety of ways around the world. In Latin America, the Philippines, and Vietnam, some parents sleep with their baby in a hammock next to the bed. Others place their baby in a wicker basket in the bed, between the two parents. In Japan, many parents sleep next to their baby on bamboo or straw mats, or on futons. Some parents simply room-share by putting the baby in a crib or bassinet that is kept within arm’s reach of the bed. Most cultures that routinely practice cosleeping, in any form, have very rare instances of SIDS. SIDS occurrences are among the lowest in the world in Hong Kong, where cosleeping is extremely common.Cosleeping is actually more common in the U.S. than most people believe. The typical American home has a room that contains a crib for the baby, and parents report that the baby sleeps in the crib. Yet when researchers ask specific questions about who sleeps where, it turns out that the majority of mothers sleep with their young children at least some of most nights. Parents present themselves as having babies who sleep alone, following the societal norm of the baby in the baby’s room and the couple in the master bedroom, but that is not an accurate representation of what is really happening.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta collects data that provide information on all means of prenatal and well-baby stressors. Through this, we know that cosleeping is not unusual for American families at all. Roughly 68% of babies enjoyed cosleeping at least some of the time. Further analyses of the data show us that about 26% of infants coslept “always” or “almost always.” Combining them with the babies who cosleep “sometimes,” it appears that 44% of US babies from 2-9 months old are cosleeping in an adult bed at any given time.1
Japan, another industrialized country, not only has one of the lowest infant mortality rates (less than 3 infants per 1000 live births compared with around 7 for the United States), but one of the lowest SIDS rates in the world (between .2 and .3 babies per 1000 live births compared with approximately .5 per 1000 infants for the US). The Japan SIDS Family Organization reported that SIDS rates continue to decline in Japan as maternal smoking approaches practically 0, and exclusive breastfeeding reaches around 70-75 % . In fact, one report shows that as bedsharing and breastfeeding increased and as maternal smoking decreased, SIDS rates decreased. This suggests yet again that it is not necessarily bedsharing, but how it is practiced, that can be dangerous.
Interestingly, it may be that Japanese bedsharing rates do not differ all that much from those in the US, but the cultural acceptance of cosleeping as the norm is very different. In 1998, 60% of parents said they practiced bedsharing in Japan, only about 16% more than US parents. This means that the practice of cosleeping does not necessarily vary a great deal from culture to culture, but rather that the social acceptance of cosleeping is what varies.
1 Whiting, J. W. M. (1981). “Environmental constraints on infant care practices.” Handbook of Cross-Cultural Human Development. R. H. Munroe, R. L. Munroe, and B. B. Whiting, editors. New York: Garland STPM Press.Reprinted with permission of the author from Sleeping With Your Baby: A Parent’s Guide To Cosleepingby James J.McKenna (2007). Platypus Press. Dr. James J. McKenna is a Professor of Anthropology and the Director of the Center for Behavioral Studies of Mother-Infant Sleep, Notre Dame University.
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Child Development

Posted on September 9, 2011 by kidmissionjesus
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August 19, 2011 / Mary Hicks


I think of my role model, Dr. Maria Montessori, her great wisdom and understanding of children and their development. She was so far ahead of her time, only now are many scientists and educators beginning to catch up to her.
NOTABLE QUOTES BY MARIA MONTESSORI
The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy.”

“The child’s parents are not his makers but his guardians”

“Of all things love is the most potent.”

I have tried and tried to upload some visuas, to my post and never could get it to work. If you all would like to scroll down, there are some pretty nice photos of children.
I have learned a lot in this course; and I would like to thank you, my colleagues, for much of that learning. Dr. Darrough, I would like to thank you for your assistance, when I was having trouble with my blog assignments. I believe this course worked as it should with just the right amount of collaboration. I also enjoyed the DVD presentations, and from reading the posts I believe you all did too. I wish each of you the best, a syou proceed along your journey!!


ORI

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August 6, 2011 / Mary Hicks


The best method of assessing student learning of required materials , is a controversial topic in the United States Today. Standardized tests,are usually administered yearly, and are controlled by each state”s department of education. For several years test developers have attempted to create tests that are more relevant and more culturally inclusive, than those of previous years.My belief is that standardized testing offers very little of value, to student learning.Even when test scores are appropriately disaggregated, student scores may be drastically erroneous, in terms of what a particular student has learned.I believe that assessment should be on-going, and should take many forms, such as portfolios,journals, teacher-made tests, oral presentations and classroom discussions. These types of assessments allow the teacher to see a problem area quickly and change his/her teaching method to make sure that the child understands and learns what he/she needs to. Using a variety of on-going assessments, also includes students who are currently labeled as disabled to be assessed along with the rest of the class. Varied assessments help teachers to see that a continuum of learning, exists and that special needs students are simply those who are at one or the other extreme, of the continuum.
Another question, in my mind, is whether and to what degree should children be expected to learn the same things. Do all children need to know Algebra, history, and chemistry? Obviously not! Children need to be assessed in what they need and want to learn. In my opinion a lot of what is taught in school will never be used by the students, so why show so much concern that the material, whatever it is has not been mastered. There are many general things that all adults need to know, but even that is changing, in today’s computer driven world. I remember learning to diagram sentences, as a seventh grader and I loved that activity. Now it may be obsolete, but I know I sure haven,t used it in the real world. Whatever assessment scores I received in that and most other subjects are moot!
If preschool children are to be assessed, it should be done in their natural environment, by their own teacher and with objects they are familiar with. Children ages 2 -6, may be asked to draw a certain picture, for example a person, at age 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 etc. Such assessment will give the teacher an idea of the child’s fine motor skills, cognition, perception,creativity, and the degree to which these attributes are developing over time, Berger (2009).
The student’s ability to draw a map, of aselected area, their state, nation or city can indicate spational knowledge, geographic knowledge and mathmatical skills. Assessments such as these should never be administered without first teaching the assessment material. One exception to this rule, is when baseline knowledge about the mapped area, is collected and then compared to post instruction knowledge.
Asking questions is another good method of assessment, that will provide information on student understanding and mastery, of subject matter. that has been taught.Running records of student interactions can provide information on social competency.
In general student assessment should provide teachers, with knowledge that will enable them to see and reflect upon their teaching skills; and find ways to help students learn better. Student assessment is a form of teacher assessment, in that it identifies weaknesses in teacher presentation of subject matter
Please read my post about education in China and the 2 following articles about assessment: The country I chose to read about and write about was China, I also included an article on Montessori assessment, which I think is far superior to most traditional assessments.
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is this working

Posted on September 6, 2011 by kidmissionjesus
hopefully
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WELCOME

Posted on September 6, 2011 by kidmissionjesus
Students/colleagues! I am very excited to read your posts!
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Hello world!

Posted on September 6, 2011 by kidmissionjesus
Welcome to WordPress.com. After you read this, you should delete and write your own post, with a new title above. Or hit Add New on the left (of the admin dashboard) to start a fresh post.
Here are some suggestions for your first post.
  1. You can find new ideas for what to blog about by reading the Daily Post.
  2. Add PressThis to your browser. It creates a new blog post for you about any interesting page you read on the web.
  3. Make some changes to this page, and then hit preview on the right. You can always preview any post or edit it before you share it to the world.
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