Week 4 Blog (Course EDU-6990)

One of the organizations that I chose was HUD. I am interested in this program because it makes living that American dream and owning a home while living in poverty a reality for families. Not only that, they pay rent and security deposits for those families that qualify. Another organization that has piqued my interest would be the free health clinics. In every state, families have access to these free clinics because very few families living in poverty can afford the cost of health care. It is important that they are able to afford health care due to illnesses that may occur that could be life threatening. Last but not least, the TANF program is a federally funded program that seeks to help families in poor communities. It has been instrumental in providing assistance to those who really need it. Currently, there are two jobs that I would like to have and those two jobs are mental health counselor or a school counsselor. I chose these two jobs because poverty can cause a child or the parents to be affected mentally and emotionally. It can't be easy going through life knowing that you can't feed your children. Furthermore, it can't be easy for a child to be sitting at school knowing that he/she won't eat when making it home. Poverty leaves an emotional scarring as well. Children at school are tease because they are poor. I would love to be in a position to help the children and the families involved. The skills that I would need is of course, be certified and more than anything, be empathetic and sympathetic. You must also be a good listener and a great communicator.

Week 2 Blog for (Course: EDU 6990-6)

The three organizations that appeal to me would be the Red Cross, the Literary Council, and Habitat for Humanities. I chose each of the three organizations for the same reasons and those reasons are that they seek to help those in need within the community. These organizations have been around for a while, yet many people aren't familiar with them because there are just actually people out there who haven't given/donated to these types of places. The job opportunities that I am interested in would be a social work, a case manager, and a sociologist. The skills that I would need in order to be competent at these jobs would be the fact that I would have to be a people person, be willing to go make myself visible within the community, be a good communicator and be proactive when it comes to providing assistance to those involved. The three jobs that I have listed doesn't seem to be ones that make a lot of money in my area, but money isn't my driving force--I honestly love working with children and families. These are three jobs that will fulfill that interest.

Week 8 Blog

This course has made me reflect a lot about my plans for the future and on those that I hope to come in contact with. For the most part, I hope to become someone who is more collaborative in my efforts to serve the families of "all" students regardless of their color or background. I hope to somehow include the parents in daily activities that involve the child so that the parent, teacher and student can interact on a one-on-one level. Not only that, but I am grateful that I got a chance to work with a group of students/professionals who were able to share insight into the discussions and the blogs. I appreciate you all and I hope to work with you again.

Week 7 Blog

After visiting the unicef page, I decided to bring my focus to Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a country that is war torn and education hasn't been a main concern for some of the people there. At one point, girls were expected to get an education and many of them are required to adhere to a group of rigid rules and laws passed down by the parents through the government. Because of this, there really isn't much for the female population to look forward to. Unicef has made advancements to help in the area of education as shown in the following: "Programmes provide women between the ages of 15-24 with basic reading, writing and numeracy skills, as well as vital information on health, nutrition, hygiene and sanitation that can benefit their wellbeing and that of their children and families. With one of the lowest literacy rates in the world, particularly among women, many people in Afghanistan lack access to critical information. Literacy courses empower women to actively participate in the social sphere, providing opportunities for them to gather together, share experiences and build self-confidence and esteem. This year, 72,500 women are acquiring literacy skills at 2900 literacy centres in 34 Provinces." I am sure that emotionally the children will be scarred, if nothing is done to insure that they have a chance in society, and they may also go through some sore of identity crisis, but unicef and other organizations are working to counteract the problem of education. Personally, my heart goes out to these families and to the female population because I can't even fathom what they are going through. I empathize with them in their time of need. Professionally, I sometimes wonder, if I am prepared to teach a child from such a diverse country. Not only that, as a professional, I know that I would make every necessary attempt to make the child comfortable. The website opened my mind to things and allowed me to see from a different perspective--the child's perspective.

Week 6 Blog Activity

My reaction to the article that deals sexualization of early childhood didn't surprise or shock me based on the fact that sex is everywhere you look. The television and magazine ads are filled with pictures of young girls and teens wearing provocative clothes which leave nothing to the imagination. It has me to the point where I began to question the intent of the ads. I have had more of a professional experience with sexualization, rather than a personal one because I grew up in a home where the adults made the rules and the children followed them. The adults made the decision as to what we wore and how we wore it; the children didn't make money to buy clothes; therefore, they didn't have a say-so in the process of buying clothes. Professionally, I see girls on a regular basis who choose to wear provocative clothing and frequently hang out in places where they have already been established as adult places. Not only are they dressing like adults, they are hanging out with people who are almost twice their age. These children are growing up too fast and this could be dangerous to them physically and emotionally. For the most part, a pedophile or a sex offender could take advantage of them and the long term effect of this could be that the child doesn't trust adults or it could leave them blaming themselves whereas they never get over this idea that someone has taken advantage of them. As educators, I believe that we ought to form an alliance with the parents so that we may help them talk openly with the children. I think that we should keep parents inform on what the children are doing at school. We could also make sure that we are not guilty of showing provocative images or allowing our children to have access to particular magazines and books.

Week 5 Blog Activity

As an educator, we take on various areas of responsibility;there, it is imperative that our mindset and psychological well-being are not in shambles. In my personal life, I have had to deal with a few bouts of racism. It hasn't hindered me to the point where it has caused me to be biased towards people of different races. I try to interact with everybody regardless of their nationality. I will admit that although I haven't been affected by my experience with racism, I do recognize that it could have caused problems with my job. My job requires me to be objective, but if I allow racism to consume me, then I can't honestly say that I could be objective in the classroom. Racism may cause a teacher (anyone) to mistreat children of different races. Many of the racist people in society have been brainwashed into thinking that some people aren't deserving of respect but the reality is everyone deserves respect. It doesn't matter what color or nationality they are. I also believe that emotionally, I wouldn't be able to connect with my students on a personal level. This would be a problem because we have to get to know our students in order to be able to teach them.

Observing Communication

The place that I chose to conduct my observation in was at a store. Needless to say, I enjoyed what I saw. I found it to be cute and funny. Let me share with you what I saw: A woman walked in the store with her four year old daughter. Women became fixated on the child because she was so cute. One woman in particular was talking to the mother about the child as if the child wasn't there. I am a firm believer that children understand more than what we give them credit for. The look on the child's face told the whole store. Her face went from smiles to frowns. She actually looked like she wanted to be a part of the conversation but she wasn't invited to join. I read an article from the resources entitled "Communicating with Babies," by B. Kovach. It states that "You may have witnessed this scene countless times. Most adults talk to other adults about the baby in front of the baby. The problem with this is that even though the baby is the focus of the conversation, he or she is being described as if she is not there." This is true. Children want to be in the conversation anwering questions that they can answer. They can't have sophisticated conversation but they know some things about themselves. I believe that this conversation could have been more effective had the child been able to participate and answer some things for herself. The child actually looked hurt. Her feelings were sincerely hurt. I have learned thi week that when it come to young children, I am not a good communicator. I am guilty of what the woman in the store did. I talk to the parents about small children without directly talking to the child. I grew up in a house where it was believed that young children are to be seen and not heard. In order for me to be a better communicator, I need to pay more attention to the child. I need to look at the child as an individual.