When I think of research....

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?

I learned not to panic!! The more that I kept reading the course material, the more my research started to fall into place.  So now I have the confidence that with researching as long as I keep looking for valuable information the easier the process becomes.

In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?

When I would think of research I thought that my desk would be covered in papers, open books everywhere with highlighted sections.  Research is more manageable than what I had originally thought.  When you find the right information things just start to fall into place.

What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?

I think that it was beneficial to do background searches on the research topic that you are conducting.  Having the insight and information that has been previously conducted on the research that you are wanting to conduct is very helpful.  It gives you ideas of how to conduct your research, and can even perused you in a different way to conduct your research.  It can offer a different perspective about important topics that might have been previously overlooked.

What were some challenges you encountered- and in what ways did you meet them?

I was difficult going through certain chapters in the book, and relating it to my research topic.  There were just different research techniques that made it challenging to try and figure out how it would relate to my research topic.  As long as I continued to do the work, and not give up, it was manageable. 

What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?

It has made me more aware of the vast abilities of an early childhood professional.  I think as educators in the field we take on a lot of responsibilities that we aren't even aware of.  No matter where we go in our journey as teachers we take on a role of a researcher, observer, a specialist and so much more. As an early childhood professional we are multitasking talented individuals!

Australia Early Childhood

The website that I chose is, Early Childhood Australia.  I went into their recent news section and read an article that they posted on October 30^th.  This article talks about the importance of investing in early childhood education.  “If we are serious about improving the education outcomes for future generations of children, then we need to start at the very beginning and invest in early childhood. The National Quality Framework should be seen as the first step in this area” (Early Childhood Australia, 2013). 

 

The surprising facts that I found, was that there is support for early childhood!

I have been hoping to see more support for early childhood development, and I was excited when I saw it on the Australia Early Childhood website.  There is so much negativity out there about how Americas should not put their money into preschool programs, or early childhood education because they do not see enough growth from it.  The fact is, is that there is growth at all in the area.  It is welcomed to see such support and positivity coming from another country, I hope that they succeed in getting their support, and that other countries will follow!

 

There is a section on their website called Everyday Learning. This part of their website has information about how to create positive learning environments for young children! This is helpful to me because, this is the information that I am researching for our assignments! So I am grateful to find another resource that might hold some extra information that could be very valuable to me in the upcoming weeks!

 

There is a lot of good resources on their website that I will be investigating further, to see if there are newsletters and such that I can sign up for.  It is nice to see that there is all sorts of information in one spot, of information that I have not seen before.  I am eager to see what more information I can gain from the website!

Positive Research

I originally saw this video on Facebook, and decided to research it further.  The title of this video is Fire with Fire. This is an amazing advancement in medical technology.  These doctors have taken the HIV virus and made it no longer harmful.  What they do is they take part of the cancer from the patient and put it with the non harmful HIV and reprogram the cells to attach the cancer. In this specific situation the girls cancer went into remission.  This treatment has been testing with other patients before, but it has only been used on patients that have leukemia or lymphoma.  They are working on testing out theories on other cancer treatments.
When I saw this video I astounded that medicine has come this far, that we are working with a strong lead on how to cure cancer.  I was skeptical about the research findings, and did research of my own, and concluded that it is quality research.  If you would like to see part of the study from the Dr. that is working on the trial click here: http://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g275/p2328. 

It is truly inspiring the way that this research has positively impacted young children and their families.  

Research Simulation

Ladies and gentlemen this is hard! The topic that I chose is positive support in the classroom.  I chose this topic because I feel that I currently work in a position where everyone is against what we (our program) does.  Everyone around us questions why we do what we do, and does not say anything positive about it.  They just kind of roll their eyes and walk away.  These instances set me up for the rest of the day!  If I come into the classroom with a negative attitude my students are going to feel it, and it can change their attitude as well.  So, I am looking for research about the benefits of positive support in the classroom.

I feel that I am going to have a difficult time with this class. I have the tendency to get excited about a topic, and while research it I will find another topic that intrigues me more, so I start researching that one and end up with no information for my assignment.  So I am hoping that with my current topic being short, sweet, and to the point, that I hopefully will not get as deterred as I could be.  Does anyone else have this issue?  If anyone has some pointers on where to begin or articles that they found useful, please let me know. 

Lets master this research class!!

Consequences

First consequence is not being able to make contact! There is such valuable information in being able to communicate with other people in the early childhood field.  The information that we could share between each other is invaluable.  I am sorry that I was not able to make contact with someone to directly talk to.  I was able to talk with coworkers that lived in other countries and worked as teachers, there was valuable information learned, but I was looking forward to more current information.

The second consequence is that there was nothing that I could do. In researching other countries and the way that families and young children are treated is saddening.  It just makes me want to do something.  It was encouraging to see that some countries see the benefits of early childhood education. It is just going to take time to see how it helps their population. 

The third consequence is the lack of governmental support.  In brazil there is a lack of records of children that are born, so there is not a true record of children that are living in poverty.  Governments have a hard time believing the importance of young children.  Having records of what children are born into the country can help a government plan for their future.  It will give them a better idea of how to plan for their future.

I hope that I am able to make connections in the future.  I want to have that connection with someone to work together and collaborate on ways that we can help each other.  I think collaborating with others is one of the most important parts of continued learning.  My goal is to find people that I can collaborate with, I want to have that connection. I think that it is an invaluable learning tool!

UNESCO's Early Childhood Care and Education

The first section that I explored on the website is the IIEP, International Institute for Educational Planning.  This area of the UNESCO advocates the importance of countries working together to educate their children.  When countries have little to no resources to help their community they want them to reach out to others.  If a country has figured out a way to help their community, share that information with others, so that can have a thriving community as well.  "Cooperation among countries to better manage the challenges and reap the benefits of the growing internationalization of education" http://norrag.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/funding-global-public-goods-in-the-education-sector-a-growing-challenge/. 

Next I went to the Governance and Management section.  This area talks about holding the government accountable to different representatives in various areas.  It does not just matter about making changes in the government, but all the people that are responsible below the highest power as well.

The third area that I looked into was the Highlights: ETICO, HIV&AIDS.  It was interesting to read about how teachers deal with children that have HIV and AIDS.  There is a disconnect on how teachers should work with, and teach these children.  There are things that they need to prepare for, that they do not have the knowledge about.  Not only do the teachers have to prepare for teaching children with this disease, children have to learn how to learn with it. 

This is a challenge that needs to be faced by the government, and the information needs to work its way to the teachers.  There needs to be a correlation between the two so that they can have the best outcomes for these children and families.  I would not know how to approach teaching in this situation.  It definitely makes you think about how to approach children and families to accommodate their differences. 

Web Resources

OUTSIDE LINKS
On the right hand side of the National Head Start Association website there are links to articles that are about Head Start. Currently with the federal shut down, there are several articles about Head Start classrooms that have been shut down.
I read  the article from the Bloomberg News with the title Children Play Alone. This article talks about a single mother that is in college and has a daughter that attended a Head Start preschool classroom. Now due to the federal shutdown the mother has to talk her daughter with her to college, to be stuck in offices for hours without much relief. The mothers fear is that her daughters education will regress if she does not get back into school soon. She wrote a letter to her lawmakers stating how this has affected more people than what they might think. " I am not sure if they know, or if they don't care." These are the harsh realities that the government is doing to the American people.


After reading about how the federal shut down has affected families in Florida, I went and clicked on the link Stop The Cuts Rally. This lead me to photos and videos from when they held the rally on Capitol Hill to stop the budget cuts that affect Head Start classrooms. It is a powerful sight to see, having parents and children gathered to support Head Start. No matter what happens on a daily basis in the classroom, it is nice to see people that support the program.


UPDATES section: Philanthropists Laura and John Arnold provide $10 million dollars to help reopen Head Start classrooms that were affected by the shut down! Once Head Start gets their funding after the government reopens, they will be able to pay back the Arnolds. In the mean time their funds will be put to good use, to reopen centers in six states.



I think most of their website is dedicated to equity and excellence for young children. I was surprised to read that someone was able to and landed $10 million dollars, because they understand the importance of early childhood education. Despite all the bad rumors and talks about Head Start not making a difference in children, it is apparent that people do really see the benefits of the program. That is exciting for me, because it makes me feel like the daily struggles that I go through are making a change for the better.

Getting to Know your International Contacts Pt. 2

On the Harvard University's Global Children's Initiative website there was some great information.  On the main page I liked that they talked about if a person is poor or rich it is about educating the high level decision makers. Such an important point, it is important that we do not exclude anyone in whom you share valuable information with. You cannot assume what you think people know about the early childhood field. 


In reading Studying the Effects of Global Adversity, Two Generations at a Time, they had some valuable information about studying children when they are young can give us a better insight about their future. Children that were soldiers in Sierra Leone were contacted when they were young adults. They wanted to see the effects of war, and how it impacted their relationships and children of their own. Theresa Betancourt is now able to study the mental health issues and how it effects these children as adults, and is able to research how to work with it when children are in these situations and not have to wait till later in life.

Another article that I read was Zambian Early Childhood Development Project. Previously there was not a great way to track children's development, but now they have created the first comprehensive assessment tool in Zambia.  With this new assessment tool they hope to concentrate on developmental areas that need support, and set up intervention strategies for the future.

It is great to see operations that are focusing on situations that have happened to children, and learning how they can help future generations in similar situations. This is a big step forward for Zambia to actually start finding out how the children's environment affects their growth and development. This information can be used in many countries due to similar situations.

Sharing Web Resources

Looking over the National Head Start Association website, there was some current information about budget cuts to Head Start.  Head Start is rallying at Capitol Hill on October 2nd to ask what is going to happen to Head Start if more money for children is cut.  They are asking people to Stand Up for Head Start.  They propose a question that I wonder about everyday. I work in Head Start, and our budgets are tight, and children have been let go from the program due to these cuts. At this current time it is not evident that politicians are supportive of the Early Childhood Field.  Hopefully next week there will be some talk about what is going to happen, and what took place when they went to Capitol Hill.
The webinar on the 30th might also offer some beneficial information on what economists, neuroscientists and politicians think about the current set up of the Early Childhood Field.

What excites me most is that October is Head Start Awareness Month! On their webpage on several different days, they will be hosting webinars about trending topics in the Head Start field.
October 9th : History and Mission of Head Start
October 16th: The Head Start Classroom and 21st Century Learning
October 23rd: Moving from Parent Involvement to Family Engagement
October 30th: Leading in Uncertain times

I am very excited for some of these topics, and am planning to listening in on most of them.  They bring up great topics that can pertain to anyone working with children, not just Head Start specifically. 

International Contacts

     It is very sad to say that I have not been able to reach anyone that I originally contacted. I have a friend that is stationed over in Germany and he happens to live next to a school.  I told him what I was trying to do, and apparently he went to the school the next day.  He talked to the secretary at the school and she said that she would ask around.  He went back the next day and no one was interested either for lack of language to communicate, or time.  I appreciated the offer that he went out on a mission for me. Next on my list is to try and contact some of the missionaries that keep in touch with my local church. 

     Until I make some kind of connection, I chose to look into Brazil's poverty situation.  I was not able to use the www.childhoodpoverty.org website.  No matter what I did, it would not open.  So I went to the UNICEF website and found information that regarded Brazil.  There is one article that talks about how there is a lack of understanding as to how many children were living in poverty, because there is a lack of technology that records all the children that are born in Brazil.  Not all children that are born are registered, and they are beginning to make it part of the birth requirements. 

     In reading through The State of the Worlds Children they talk that many countries use the poverty tool as an excuse to not properly educate their population.  Although there is documentation out there that shows just what a country  can do when they embrace their population, and educate them.  There seems to be a lack of control that governments wants to give out to the masses. 

     On www.ruralpovertyportal.org their statistics shows that there are 21.4 million, there were no specifics of whether that was just children or adults.  These people lack adequate access to water, food and nutrition.  The main source of poverty takes place in their rural areas, where people live off less than $2 a day. 
     I found this website very helpful in better understanding the situation in Brazil.  Things are very different there, than here.  I am going to try and contact some old friends this week, that might be able to connect me to their family in Brazil. I want to better understand the situation over there, and having a first hand knowledge of the situation would be amazing! I am not giving up hope of having a connection with someone!

Web Resources

     The website that I chose last week was the National Head Start Association.  Their focus is to
"To lead.To be the untiring voice that will not be quiet until every vulnerable child is served with the Head Start model of support for the whole child, the family and the community.
To advocate.To work diligently for policy and institutional changes that ensure all vulnerable children and families have what they need to succeed" National Head Start Association.  I respect their vision for children, and it is a long and tiring vision, but it well worth it to see the success of these children!

      While I awaited information on how to subscribe to one of their newsletters, I decided to read an article that they attached to their page.  This article is from the Tampa Bay Times http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/column-to-cut-head-start-is-to-scar-floridas-future/2141024.  It is about how the budget to Head Start has affected children in their local community. 
     Due to the recent federal budget cuts, more than 1,200 children lost their placements at educational centers.  This number does not include the teachers that lost their jobs, and parents that are in jeopardy of losing their jobs.  With funding being cut short children have no access to reliable childcare.  Parents have no one that they can call on for help.  This articles talks about two children that have developmental delays, and what kind of quality care are they receiving at home?  They fear that children are left in front of the television instead of being stimulated by smiling faces and teachers that care.  What is going to happen to these children?
     These stories break my heart.  I cannot fathom why budget cuts would be made to such innocent children, who need education the most at these beginning stages.  Do Congressmen and Senators not see what this long-term affects could be?  I know of one Senator that understands.
     Our Missouri Congressman came out to our local Woodland Early Learning Community School to discuss the progress that has been made.  I cannot explain how excited I am to be apart of this project!  Ever since our new director started last year in December, he has made it his mission to make a change with the families and the communities of the Kansas City area.  Within this short time span he has gotten people to understand the importance of these children's education, and he is making a change! I cannot wait to see what happens in the upcoming years working for these people! I encourage you to read this article, it shows what kind of change you can make when the right people understand.  http://governor.mo.gov/newsroom/2013/Gov_Nixon_announces_funding_for_Kansas_City_area_early_childhood_education_projects

Getting Ready

I went to NAEYC's page to locate professional contacts around the world. I chose some countries that have had personal connections in my life one way or another. I wanted to see what information they could give me, that might somehow explain the people that I have met from these locations. I was saddened when I instantly received an email back saying that the email address did not exist. I have received four of those emails saying that there is no email in their local network with that address. I still have hope for the other two contacts, that I will hear something within the next week. For those emails that I received rejected letters from, I am going to do some research and try and find alternative email information. My curiosity is not going to stop at a rejected email! So cross your fingers I can get a hold of some people, I really want to make that connection and have the ability to learn directly from another person.

The website that I chose is the National Head Start Association. Head Start is very close to me currently, because I am a Head Start teacher. This website was not my first choice, I did look into others, but this one was more informative to me currently. Our local area of Head Start has been affected by the recent budget cuts. We have had to modify our plan of action on how to get all of these children into our program. We lost 20 slots this past year, and they do not see them coming back any time soon. We currently have 706 children in our program in my area. And there are children that have been on the waiting list for over a year to get into the program. On the first day of school I had roughly 7 parents to and tell me that their children were in my room, because they wanted into the program so bad. It breaks my heart that I cannot accept them, and that education gets hurt with government budget cuts. In reading the monthly newsletter on the National Head Start website, it broke down where the budgets took place, and how they can further affect our students. I am excited to be able to stay up to date on information that the association puts out on their website.

My Supports

     This is a perfect week for me to discuss support.  This week I could not have gotten everything accomplished that I did, if it was not for my grandma.  My grandma decided to come up and visit and hang out for the week, because my family went on vacation, and it was perfect for us to have some bonding time.  When she came up I had just found out that for this upcoming school year I had been relocated to a new school on the other side of town.  So we took a trip south and went to go see my new classroom.  The minute we stepped inside we got to work.  There were supplies not from my old classroom, but from another one.  So we started "cleaning house".  We started rearranging furniture, clearing out the old stuff from previous teachers and making a plan of how we could decorate.  That night we came home ate dinner, and started crafting.  We put her cricut machine to work for house! The next morning we went to JoAnn fabrics to get material we had hunted down the night before for the bulletin board.  We finally make it back to my classroom with all my cleaning supplies, fabric for a bulletin board, our cricut projects and butcher block paper for another bulletin board.  We get to my classroom, and it has been flooded.  Everything that we had done the day before was pushed back to the back half of the room.  Apparently the sink had been left running in another room and had overflowed into my classroom.  Did that stop us? No! We got to work on those bulletin boards, and was there for about 6 hours doing what we could with what room we had.  Thursday we went back with the hopes that the water had been sucked out of the carpet and that we could start moving things again.  We were wrong.  So in the area that we did have, we were able to set up the Library area, and I was able to unpack about 15 boxes and throw away a dumpster full of crud that was left behind by other teachers.  We were there for another 5 hours that day.  When we came home we did not rest, we had more crafting to do.
      My grandma did not have to stay and help me, but she wanted to.  I would not have been able to get all these things done without her, and her crafting supplies.  I am so grateful to my grandma for spending this time with me, and helping me succeed in a position I was nervous about.  Moving to a new school on a new side of town was shocking to me.  I was looking forward to seeing some of my returning students this year, but with my grandmas help I feel better about my situation.  I have been able to make my room my own, and am excited for school to start. 
     I do not want to think of the day where my grandma will not be here anymore.  She has always been someone that I can talk to about our crazy family and she understands, and does not judge me for the things I think.  She is an amazing women, and I treasure every minute I get to spend with her! 

The Flooding

Bulletin Board just missing students pictures

The Library

The Library

Parent Info Board and blanket cubby

Job List #1

Job Chart #2

Library Bulletin Board

 

My Connections to Play

“We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything, than when we are at play.”
― Charles Schaefer 


"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." 
-Plato

“Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.”
―Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

I first two quotes I can relate to my childhood, and the third I found reflected my sense of self now.  
 

My brother and I would spend hours riding our bikes around town all year long.  It was essential to my youth.  I even remember getting up at 5 one morning to have a garage sale to sell my old bike so that I could get a new one. 

No matter where I spent my time, I was always doing some sort of art project.  I do believe this was the exact set that I had. 

I loved playing monopoly with my grandma during the summer.  It also came in handy because we did not have T.V. in my house for most of my childhood. 





Growing up in a time where we had neighborhood block parties in Arizona I knew everyone in the neighborhood at a young age.  During the day my grandma always allowed us to go between friends house, and we played outside.  We created ramps to go over our bikes with and my brother and his friend built a race car.  Now it was just made out of plywood, but it was the best creation ever!  Two of us would push and one got to drive it up and down the street, and then we would rotate.  Along with riding our bikes, that was the best outdoor activity.  When my dad would get a couple days off from work, he would take us camping.  He taught us how to read animal tracks, and how to pay attention to the world around us.
Now out at my mom's house we always had a huge yard.  So I spent a lot of time out in these old wooden structures, and would make them my "house".  If I wasn't out swimming, I was out in that house creating my own world. 
I do not think that play today is the same for everyone as it was 20 years ago.  Society has changed, children use to go outside without fear of kidnapping.  Now parents have a close watch on their children, and with housing growing so much there leaves little room for having backyards that I use to. 

I really enjoyed my childhood in regards to play.  I was always given the opportunity to create things.  That has affected me as an adult, because I tend to be an artistic person.  I love that during the summers I was able to travel to different places to see, and experience new things.  I was in a family that came from all walks of life, and each person in my family introduced me to something new.  It was a blessing!

Relationship Reflection

Even when we are children we seek out comfort from the people that we love.  For me it is the feeling of comfort to be around someone who enjoys me for me.  I have flaws,  I have learned life lessons and I have suffered heart ache.  But it is the people that stick with me throughout these situations that I hold dear to my heart.

My parents are some of those people.  They have witnessed me grow and change.  They suffered with me before I knew what suffering was.  Apparently I was not an easy infant, but the stories that they tell, just shows how much they loved me even when I was being difficult.  Now I have known for myself that I have been a difficult child from about 3 - 13.  As a child I did not like sock, shoes, clothes, following rules, naps, milk and following directions.  Most of the rule breaking happened when I was almost 2-4, but I do not remember most of that, so should it really count against me? Non the less my parents were advocates for me, and they still are, I treasure that everyday.

Now growing up I moved around a lot, and it was hard to keep consistent friends.  But I think that I have managed to gain a couple since my high school years, and there is one that has stuck around through all my trials in life too.  Ms. White was a friend in the youth group, who had a rotten living situation at home, but we bonded because we were both quiet people.  Through the years of moving around, she maintained contact.  It wasn't until my 20's that I started to appreciate the friendship that I had with her.  We are able to be completely honest with each other without the fear of judgment. We have both had our life experiences, and we share these situations to learn from each other. 

My grandmothers will always be the voice of reason in my ear.  I could go months without talking to them, and they will question everything and be completely honest with me, whether I like it or not.  Sure they care if it hurts me, but they rather be the ones to burst my bubble rather than someone else that is just going to make it hurt worse.

I have always appreciated my different family relations.  They have been hard to maintain.  The key to them all is communication.  I cannot be afraid to talk to any of them because of the outcome I think will follow.  But to have the courage to talk to them because we care about the same thing.  Without these relationships I would not have the confidence in myself that I have.  They are forever proud in what I am doing, no matter how hard I fall sometimes.  But I know that I can talk to anyone of these people and they will listen, and help me get through it.

I try to make this my example in my workplace.  I do not know everyone's story in their life, and it is not my place to judge.  But I can tell you that I will be there to listen, and I will help in anyway that I can. 

My thoughts on Child Development

We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt

This video is from Jimmy Kimmel Live. I chose this video because it shows that children at all different ages learn from people around them. Some are more resilient when they hear the news that their parents ate all their Halloween candy, and others are not.  Some use language, cognitive skills or gross motor skills to show their frustration with their parents. The last set of brothers give their mom a good lecture on why it is not healthy to eat so much candy. Children do listen to what we tell them, so always be mindful of what things you chose to say.

Testing of our Youth

I found this information very interesting.  I looked at how Brazil asses their students and what I found was intriguing.  What they do is they pass out surveys’ to all the public and private schools, to the children and teachers.  Throughout the survey they are asked about their home life situations and their study habits.   Many children from the early age of 7 are put into the labor force, and they go to work after school. This survey takes into consideration what students have to work, students that get to go home and study, and children that do not do either.  From these surveys they randomly select certain classrooms to take the standardized tests.

            It is very interesting that they only give out the standardized tests to random classrooms.  I am curious if the classrooms that are chosen are ones with the majority of students that work strenuous hours after school.

            But here is my question, if only a certain amount of students are being tested, what amount of students are being left behind? 

             I like the fact that students and teachers were asked to take surveys that reflected their home life situations and their study habits.  A child that has a rough home life might not have the ability to study at home.  Or a household that runs a family business, that child might have to work in the family restaurant.  Those are all possible situations that can happen to anyone in the United States.  I appreciate the fact that teachers are required to take a survey as well.  Every teacher in the 2^nd grade can have the same information to teach to their students, but most of them will not teach it in the same manner.  Based on the way that those teachers were taught or how they were mentored. 

            I am always concerned about students being left behind.  I worry that government sets these standards, and they do not see how students are actually functioning in their classrooms.  How do we fix this lack of communication?

Marcio Eduardo Bezerra, A. L.-K. (2007). The impact of child labor and school quality on academic achievement in Brazil. Population Association of America Annual Meeting, (pp. 1-38). Los Angeles.

Child Abuse

Childhood abuse is something that no one should have to go through, but it is something that far too many children see on a daily basis.  When growing up in Arizona I had one best friend, Monica.  We spent all of our time together, and my parents were not happy about that.  I did not understand why they did not want me to be friends with her, she was my age and just lived a couple houses down from my dad’s house.  I remember in the summer time we would do gymnastics in her living room to New Kids on the Block.  I never thought it weird that there was no furniture in the living room, I just saw it as a large cushioned area for my cartwheels.  It wasn’t until one day that I knew things were different at her house when everyone was gone.  It was an early morning, and her parents’ car was not in the driveway, so I went to her bedroom window and she let me in.  Well my brother had followed me, so he came through the widow too.  I do not remember what we were talking about, I just remember that we heard someone coming, and my brother and I hid in the closet.  Thankfully there was a hamper in there that hid us from her step dad that was walking into her room. He swung that door open and was yelling that he heard her talking to someone, she lied and told him that she was singing to herself.  He proceeded to check out her closet, and luckily he did not see us, but that didn’t stop him from dragging her out of her room anyway.  As soon as that man was out of sight, my brother ran through that screen window and bolted for home.  I never saw much of Monica after that, they never let her come outside, and they never answered the door.  Her family ended up moving later that summer to somewhere in California.  I received one letter from her, and all I remember is that she said that her new home smelled like ketchup.

Now I did not see the warning signs that my parents did, I probably saw more of them than they did, I just didn’t know it.  I hope someone along her life path was able to help her out of the situation that she was in.  The verbal and physical abuse that I saw was probably only the beginning.  When I lived out in California I thought of Monica all the time.  Anytime I would go to a different town, I would see if it had the faintest smell of ketchup. 

“There is no single known cause of child maltreatment. Nor is there any single description that captures all families in which children are victims of abuse and neglect. Child maltreatment occurs across socio-economic, religious, cultural, racial, and ethnic groups” (Ameyaw-Akumfi, 2013).  There are many factors as to why child abuse happens, the odds are slightly higher for a child if their parent was abused as a child.

Many authorities have to have proof of abuse before taking action because “there is a reluctance to inter- vene in what is still perceived in most societies as a ‘private’ sphere” (Versiani).  In Brazil low income families often send their children to live with a more stable educated person.  The family sets up the agreement that the child will go live with them and receive good education in return for doing household chores.  Most of the time children end up becoming slaves in factories.  "There are some 5,100,000 children between the ages of five and 17 who work -- around 500,000 are engaged in domestic labor, "it's a hidden form of slavery. Many of them don't go to authorities, and no one knows that they are working illegally and being badly treated in these houses” (Gallego, 2008).

This poor girl was forced to eat dog excrement, she was bound and her tongue was cut off in pieces.  My question is why?  What could a 14 year old girl do that was so bad to deserve this type of treatment? Nothing.  No one should have to live in these conditions, and it is reported that 5, 100,000 children could be in these types of conditions already.  Many people are afraid to report child abuse, because they do not see action being taken by the proper authorities.  How do we change the perception of the world that children should not have to live in fear of their families?

References

Ameyaw-Akumfi, N. (2013, May 30). Social Factors that may Increase the Child's Vulnerability to Abuse. Retrieved from SpyGhana: http://www.spyghana.com/social-factors-that-may-increase-the-childs-vulnerability-to-abuse/

Gallego, S. (2008, March 20). Story of Child Abuse Shocks Brazil. Retrieved from ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4488867&page=1#.Uai3pN4o7IV

Godoy, C. E. (2010, June 4). Child Abuse Underreported in Latin America. Retrieved from Gallop World: http://www.gallup.com/poll/139376/Child-Abuse-Underreported-Latin-America.aspx

Versiani, C. (n.d.). Violence Against Children in the Home and Family. UNICEF, 44-107.

 

 

Immunization, To get a Shot or Not get a Shot, That is the Question!

     The topic that I chose was immunization.  I think immunization has become a more popular topic over the last couple of years, regarding the importance of getting your child immunized.  There has been a lot of talk about the controversy of getting children immunized.  “Some parents, however, choose not to vaccinate their children because they fear vaccines can cause conditions such as autism and asthma” (Adams, 2013).  There has been no proof that vaccines actually lead to autism or asthma.  Most of the speculations come from the fact that the measles, mumps and rubella shot coincides with the first symptoms of autism.

     The book defines immunization as priming “the body’s immune system to resist a specific contagious disease” (Berger, 2012).  Since having specific immunizations available to people in the United States, there have been a huge prevention rate of specific diseases.  “In 2010, in the United States, only 61 people had measles, most of them born in nations without widespread immunization” (Berger, 2012). 

   Brazil has noticed the need for immunizations in their country, and has taken action against diseases.  “Brazil has one of the best and most complex immunization programs in the world, offering vaccines against a range of diseases, free of charge” (Portal da saude, 2012). 

     More countries have taken a notice as to how vaccinations impact their survival rates.  Without some of these vaccines there would be a lot more unnecessary deaths that would have taken place.  This information has given me more definitive answers on where I stand with immunization.  There are some immunizations that I think are crucial for children to get, and there are others where I do not.  There are some things that are bodies are designed to fight, and for me it is okay to be smart about which ones are necessary and not.  

Adams, M. (2013, May 18). The Immunization Controversy: Should Your Child Be Immunized? Retrieved from Keck Medical Center of USC: http://www.keckmedicalcenterofusc.org/condition/document/75739

Berger, K. S. (2012). Th Developing Person Through Childhood. New York: Worth Publishers.

Portal da saude. (2012, October 31). Brazil maintains 95% vaccination coverage over the last 10 years. Retrieved from Brasil.gov: http://www.brasil.gov.br/news/history/2012/10/31/brazil-maintains-95-vaccination-coverage-over-the-last-10-years/newsitem_view?set_language=en