Exploring Issues in Early Childhood

Good Morning

This week we are exploring issues and controversies in early childhood education and child development. Currently I am in Latin America and have gained the opportunity to expand my horizons within learning about different cultures, communities, and issues that accompany children from various socioeconomic backgrounds throughout the world.

Unfortunately, internet here is not the best so streaming a podcast this week was not an option. However, upon researching Save The Children- an organization that helps children in The United States and abroad as well as National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), I have come across a plethora of information that has expanded my knowledge on childhood development while raising questions.

Firstly, Save The Children is an international organization that helps children in The United States and abroad grow up happy and healthy through means of assisting in poverty alleviation, health and nutrition, and education. 1 in 5 U.S. children grow up in poverty with 90% of them in rural communities. That BLOWS my mind seeing as we are the world's leading super power and a first-world developed, industrialized country.

In a country run by capitalism and the global economy, HOW can we have 1 in 5 children in poverty? Resturants and chain stores like Whole Foods and MCDonalds literally throw money away when they toss hundreds of pounds of fresh food that goes unsold at the end of the night. Immigrants literally flock to our country to study at the leading universities because of our quality education system yet some of our own citizens go without educational foundations like pre-school.  Health care is LITERALLY a monopoloized market that puts people in precarious situations where they have to decide between their health and livelihood.

HOW!?

I teach ESL to rural students in Ecuador and every last one of them idolize The United States. They literally dream of going to give themselves and their familt a better life and live the "American Dream". It baffles me how The United States- my country- can be the world's leading super power and an international influence while still maintaining third world country conditions to its nations less affluent citizens.

This discussion lead me to look into the NBCDI because I have NEVER heard if it before. As a Black woman, firstly, I am PROUD that this organization was created by BLACK WOMEN in support if how the American Education System treated Black children. #BlackGirlMagic

As an African-American, I grew up in this disparities that are often normalized in my community as the status quo. It wasn't until high-school and college where thise disparities came to light through my lack of education in simple subjects like The Cold War (Which I still don't get) and WWI that made me realize I was grade levels behind my peers and had to work twice as hard just to get the same grades.

What I enjoy about the NBCDI is that that center the whole-child through their methods through reaching and engaging policy-leaders, communuty officials, professionals, and parents to ensure Black children are allowed a quality foundation in their education. Programs, trainings, and advocacy are just some of the limited resources available to educators, professionals, and parents of Black families that assist in the development of cultural knowledge of Black children as well as educational tools to better serve our youth.

I enjoy how this is exclusively fit to serve the demographic of Black children because we as a community have our own issues that cannot be coupled into the "POC" umbrella. Programs that are available to educators and ECE professionals that help enlighten and inform on best practices to serve the serve these vulnerable populations of children allow The United States to increase our stance and dedication towards early childhood education and assisitng in decreasing the amount of children that lack access to quality education.

My Supports

Happy Saturday lovelies :)

I hope this week has been a good one for everyone. I have had both a traumatic and exciting week but feel indifferent to it all due to the timing of everything and how everything is currently playing out. 

I find it ironic how this week's blog is about our support systems and how they keep us grounded. This past Sunday, June 11th, 2017, I was sexually assaulted my a former lover of mine. It was a traumatic experience and one I am currently dealing with privately. I feel dazed, confused, and often replay that evening over in my head repeatedly to see if there was something maybe I did wrong since law enforcement here in Chicago practice victim/slut shaming when called to investigate attempted rape cases- but I digress. 

I also was recently hired by the Ministry of Education in Ecuador to teach English to pre-k children for a year and will be leaving Monday. 

So much excitement and trauma has occurred within the last seven days that I am a mixture of emotions and unsure how to feel. But one thinf remains sure is that without my support system, I would be a wreck and lost without guidance. 

Even before my current events, my support systems have been consistent and a driving force in my life. 

My number one support system is my faith in GOD. I know that despite all things past, present, and future that may be negative or positive GOD will guide me through it with grace and humility. My favorite bible verse since I was a kid, and the only one I truly remembered verbatim, is: "I can do all thibgs through Christ which strengthens me"; Phil: 4:13. 

I live that verse in my daily life through my troubling and exciting times because it tella me I can do anything. From learning to turn my pain of losing my only son into love for others to taking another position in another country despite fear, to persuing my Master's; I can do it all with Christ by my side. 

My second support system is my family and friends. 

My family and friends have always been by my side. I have three best friends I have known aince junior year of high school that I am still as close, if not closer, to this day. After almost ten years of friendship, they are considered family more than friends. 

My family and friends are my support system because they aren't afraid to tell me the truth and are there for me when I lose my way. Family and friends have your best interest at heart and only want what is best for you; despite what you may have for yourself.  

My mother is a very opinionated lady whom I love to death. She feels that going abroad again isn't the best career move for me but supports me anyway. She feels I should find permanent employment and root somewhere. Ultimately, that is the plan; but not on her timeline. She only wants what's best for me even if we bump heads about it. 

Same for my best friends. They feel I should take a semster off to deal with the recent happenings of my life and maybe they are right; but I don't want to put my life on pause whether it be professionally or educationally because of a bump in the road. I know myself better than anyone and if anything, school serves as a release for me because it keeps my mind busy. 

Ultimately, between my faith and my family/friends, I have a strong support network that keep me grounded and guided throughout my personal and professional journey. Without them, it would be difficult to undertand how to deal with life and life's unique situations . 

 To have a quality support system means to have a foundation that strengthens your growth and development through your process of finding yourself. We as educators are the foundational support systems for our students much like our support systems are to us. We are here to ensure the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical neess are met of each child while ensuring that we build close-knit relationships where we can enter their personal space and support them in difficult areas of development with guidance, nurturing, and understanding. 

My Connections to Play

Happy Friday friends!

After a long work week working with the kiddos, I just want to "play" by getting into my favorite pajamas, firing up Netflix, and sipping sangria with my hubby.

Speaking of play, our topic this week has been all about childhood play and how important it is in terms of development. We established that play is essential in developing social, physical, and cognitive skills in children while also learning that play has different variations and cultural backgrounds.

Growing up, play was different for me than some of my peers. I grew up on Chicago's south side and didnt live in the best of neighborhoods. Running around outside in grassy fields ans meadows is uncommon for me while playing kickball with my friends was something I never heard off until middle-school.

Play for me was double-dutch on the street until the street lights came on, block party dance contest to Chicago juke music, and Saturday night skate parties at "The Rink" with my friends.

Due to the area of my upbringing, I wasnt allowed outside much and going to a neighborhood park was not common unless it was the one downtown where it was safe- and that was every so often.  When I was outside, I socialized with my friends from school and my block; jumping double dutch and slurping on bomb pop popscicles for $1 while the boys played basketball at the court across the street fron us.

Play is different than it was when I was a child because it is very technology driven. Children arent encouraged to go out and be active anymore and are more interested in their mobile devices and electronics than getting dirty and sweaty in the summer heat. When I was younger, my mother would force me out the house just to get active and "be social".

I had family and friends support me during my play as it was engrained into my culture and background upbringing. Soing much od anything else would deviate from the social norms at the time. As an adult, I apprecoate ny mother encouraging me to branch out and become social with other young ladies because I could sometimes be a loner. My mother was concerned with my social development and felt outside interaction and play would create friendships- which they did.

If I could pick two quotes to describe my childhood play they would be:

"Hey Chanel (Yeah?)...Are you ready (For What?)....To Jig (Jig what?)....JIGALO"- Childhood Game Lyrics

"Be back in this house before them street lights come on!" - Black mothers in America

Relationship Reflection

Happy Saturday everyone :)

I intentionally chose to wait until today to write my blog because of the nature of today's discussion topic and blog.

This week we spoke on relationships and partnerships within the earlychildhood profession. I have still relatively new to the early childhood profession and have adjusted quite well. However, the knowledge of the importance of creating and maintaining healthy relationships is something I never truly understood or necessarily considered until I became a pre-school/toddler teacher.

As an educator, of course I always aimed to have an amazing rapport and relationship with both my students and parents. However, it was not until I entered early childhood that I realized that the impact of these relationships shape the overall development of a child in more ways that I previously thought.

So, it is only befitting to reflect on my relationships and how I have developed from them over the years. I initially wanted to do my mother and my father-figure, my uncle; but decided against it because of ywo things. 1) I felt it was a bit typical and cliche and 2) The past 2 1/2 years of my life I have developed and prospered more as a woman and as a person courtesy of two amazing souls.

My Fiancee, Husband-to-be on September 3rd,2017- Stephan Dilworth

I love this man to the moon and back. He is literally my foundation and my solace. Met him back in Jan 2015 and been inseparable since. He is the yin to my yang. I am a fiery, hot tempered, impulsive soul and he is a kind, gentle, level-headed spirit that balances my fire with his coolness of encompassing my entire being into tranquility. (fun fact: he is a earth sign and I'm a fire sign)

We have a relationship that is of course romantic but also friendship. We help build each other up, encourage one another, and find the best in each other while acknowledging our worst flaws as imperfect perfections. He balances me and I balance him- both using our unique strengths to overcome our weaknesses.

We also maintain a partnership. An example would be for our home life. My hubby only has a high school diploma and I am obtaining my Masters. I am the primary breadwinner but know that my man is the hesd if our home. I make the most but what I make goes towards savings and expenses such as date night excusrions and vacations, etc.; my hunny would spend every dime of his check to maintain our home.

In other words, he is the foundation that holds our house afloat and I maintain what goes in it. Our partnership allows for us to feed off our relationship skills of communication, understanding, and patience.

My Hubby and I :)

 Last person that has helped how I view and grown with relationships and partnerships is my son, my angel, my rock- Isaac Henry Taylor Dilworth

Today is actually his birthday (which is why I chose today to write the blog).

My son would have made one years old today. He was born at 24+6 weeks on May 20th, 2016 at 9:49pm. My son lived on this earth for ten days and passed away May 30th, 2016, on Memorial Day.

My son taught me a lesson in ten days that some people take a lifetime to learn. Long story short, my son passed away due to contracting E Coli from my digestive tract during utero. It was revealed I have ESBL and the next time I become pregnant, I have to be on antibiotics to protect my child.

My relationship with my son taught me how to be a blessing to others and how to truly love another human being. Of course we love our spouses and parents, but we rarely experience a love where our life's mission and purpose becomes entrenched into making another person (or people) happy. I experienced that with my son and through that relationship, I decided to go into early childhood education and begin to form my non-profit that helps at-risk mother's have equitable resources to a healthy, viable pregnancy- Isaac's Purpose.

Through these relationships, I have learned valuable tools of communication and understanding that I take into my own professional life inside my classroom with my students and their families while also using it personally, to better myself and how I interact with loved ones.

Your daily interactions with your students and their parents leave a lasting imprint on their spirit as to your personality and who you are as a human being. Being conscious of our daily interactions with our youth and their families is a great way to start and be mindful of how important it is to build and maintain healthy relationships within our profession.


              My son, my pride and joy- Isaac

Thank you!

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world"- Nelson Mandela

As Nelson Mandela eloquently quoted, education is a powerful weapon which we as educators are arming the next generation to use. These young minds that come with kissable cheeks, runny nose, and boundless amounts of smiles and giggles will eventually transform into the men and women that will make important decisions for themselves, their community, and possibly the world.



I enjoyed this education course with Dr. Horton and the rest of my colleagues. Your blog posts and discussion sections have been thought-provoking and insightful. I wish each and everyone of you the best in your professions and to keep in mind of the impact our prescense has on our children.

Have a great summer and rest of the school year!

To test or not to test....That is the question

Good Morning lovelies! Happy Good Friday!

Hope everyone had an amazing week
 The discussion about redefining disability has been quite the good one as well as the conversations that has branched from it.

For today's blog post, the controversial topic of standardized testing is posed.

"Should WE test children?"

When I say WE, I mean us as a society- a cukture. We have normalized testing to where we do it in everyday situations. As a Pre-School teacher, I find myself "testing" my kids on if they were listening to me or not by asking them to repeat my directions in the order I gave them. A mother may "test"  her child by doing an intentional act that measures the accountability of her child. Society put it's people to a "test" once they reach a certain threshold to see if they can measure up to great amount of success.

Overall, testing is pretty normalized. In terms of education, I feel it is double-edged sword. As an educator that has worked with all age groups with varying degrees of intelligence, I do feel testing is a productive way to measure where a student is at currently and see what can be improved to keep them on grade level-if not excel beyond it.

However, as a Pre-School teacher in one of Chicago's more affluent areas, I see first hand the education disparities of the children I work with to the children I identify with. I don't need to work in Lincoln Park to know my city's segregation is at the expenses of Black and Brown children's education; I grew up in that reality. However, being an educator myself has given me different perspective that does not come from my own personal narrative.

My students are 4 years old and know words like "irreconcilable", "hostile", perplexed" and "microscopic". However, my seventh graders from Auburn-Gresham (with the exception of a handful), couldn't even spell these words....Let alone use them in a sentence.

Putting all children from all backgrounds to the same test when we as a culture and as a country do not provide the same resources to succeed in a equitable way is unjust and cruel to these children. Children are answering the same questions on material they may not have been taught due to their school climate and are put to the same grading scale as other schools that have over 70% of their school population at or above grade level.

I do feel testing is a means for measuring where a student is, but should not be the definite measuring tool or method to obtain information on a child's intellectual develoment.

When I taught ESL in China, students in fifth grade were gearing up for a test similar to what we have in the states for ACT/SAT. The GaoKao is their national equivalent and much harder; with much more emphasis on individual achievement being a predictor on overall individual outcome for the future. Students must choose between a hard-science track with a focus on physics, chemistry, etc. Or a soft-science track such as education, humanities, social-science. These students choose this track their first year of high-school and begin studying for that track from that point forward. There is no switching tracks and only courses within that chosen track are offered to that student.

Students are tested the end of their senior year and based on their scores, it is decided which schools they can be accepted into and what careers they may entertain. Unlike in America, there is no "redemption" of yourself if you fail this test. There is no community college and future acceptance into a four-year university. This test has been criticized because it puts much pressure, stress, and anxiety in young children while forcing them to choose a career path they have yet to explore, let alone fully know about because they barely know themselves.

While I see benefits of testing, I feel alternative methods should be used to counterbalance the sole reliance of testing so we as a culture can move forward towards better Education and standards.

My childhood

Good Morning lovelies!

I hope this week went well for everyone and your weekends are starting off well.

This week is all about our enviornments and their impact on our physical, mental, and emotional health- biosocial and psychosocial. As we have discussed all this week, a child's development is greatly dependent on his/her enviornment and experiences. To paraphrase Harvard researchers, the brain is built from bottom to top and a child's personal experiences help shape their schema's and build nueral connections and pathways.

With that being said, stressors and factors that impacted my childhood were chaos and poverty. I was born and raised on Chicago's South side to single-mother. I'm the oldest of four but more like a second mother than anything to my siblings. My father decided that I was too much to handle and decided a family was something he was not interested in. My other three siblings have a different father from myself- him also leaving after my mother's marriage ended to him.

My mother was always the primary breadwinner while my step-father used his masculinity to control and dominate my family until the marriage ended. My mother had stepped out on faith and decided to start her on transportation service when I was five because she wanted to alleviate the fear of other mother's sending their children out to school in crime-ridden Chicago. My step-father never supported her and always fought her about going against the grain, dreaming big aspirations, and-most importantly- not staying in a woman's place by being as strong-willed, determined, and fearless as she was.

I have only seen my mother move mountains and part oceans throughout my childhood. Most children's childhood smells involve fresh baked cookies and dirt from playing outside; mine involves the smell of diesel fuel from gas trips to Indiana and McDonald's Happy meals because my mother was too tired to cook after working fifteen hours a day.

We struggled for awhile due to her new company being a startup business in a low-income neighborhood. Lights, gas, heat, and water were turned off so much that we made games for them when they were and learned how to survive without them. There were times were food was scarce and non-existent; my siblings and I wondering how in the hell our mother made a full course meal that tasted DELICIOUS out of ramen noodles, frozen "chicken slivers", dried fruit, and miscellaneous cans of beans from the back of our dusty pantry.

I was forced to grow up by age eight; when my brother was four and I began babysitting more and more often. Most of the kids from the neighborhood played outside after school or went to the park on weekends with family and friends.  I came home after school and fed "the kids" while helping them with their homework and on weekends, I would watch my brother for hours alone while my mother went to work on our family businesses  with my step father disappearing regularly.

By ten, I knew how to cook full meals, clean and disinfect the entire house, fix minor damage to the house , change a diaper in two minutes flat, and pay overdue or late bills over the phone using my "Emily" voice. I was a miniture adult that had been shortchanged a childhood.

My mother and stepfather also argued daily at some point. They argued so much that I began to normalize it and didn't recognize when it would escalate to violence because it was so common. Common, in fact, that I thought it was a common form of expression of love in my own personal relationships.

I didn't realize I had negative effects of my childhood until recently when I lost my son and engaged in psychotherapy. I figured my childhood had only made me thick-skinned and gave me a perspective of not letting anything stand as an obstacle between me and my goals. However, once I engaged in therapy, I realized my childhood- despite the wonderful moments that I had sprinkled in during those years- had a negative impact on how I view a healthy relationship between partners, I have developed a sense of apathy towards others, and I do not know how to properly express my emotions as times.

As a child, I was exposed to a world that forced to me assimilate- an adult world where there was no filter of what was reality. My mom was very transparent with me from day one. I knew everything from finances to their struggling marriage. From this, I was unable to form and develop basic childhood experiences that would foster development of my adult ones.

This would explain why I am a twenty-five year old that enjoys playing with bubbles and chalk in her spare time.

However, I don't regret anything in my childhood because I know it was literally the best my mother could have given me at the time and she did it mostly on her own.

Another part of the world that I would love to know more about would be the childhood of children in China and how they manage to be happy and survive in a damaging political and social climate while experiencing high levels of air pollution.  When I taught in China, I was taken aback how anyone would live in a country where the air can literally kill them if exposed to it for extended moments of time. Wearing a face mask everyday to work was abnormal to me yet it was treated like a fashion accessory from the natives. Government crackdown on pollution from manufacturing was non-existent and regulations that would keep people from getting I'll from drinking and eating contaminated water and food were simply suggestions.

Also, certain minority populations in China were harrassed daily- Muslim- and often threatened with death. Women are still seen as second-class to some degree while a state test determines your future; high rates of suicide and anxiety amongst children out of fear of failure.

Therapy is something that is not talked about, let alone suggested and tea is a cure for all-including social situations.

I would love to see my students five to ten years from now to see how and who they become based on their childhood experiences and if there would be anything they would have liked to have been done differently.

Overall, childhood is a miraculous period of life for everyone but it varies from person to person. Keeping that in mind would allow educators to remain cognisant that each child they encounter as experienced a different narrative than their own and to be sensitive of that in how they are treated.