Child Development To Me

I love studying child development because it takes every single one of us back to where we became who we are.  I love the raw potential that every child has before life circumstances shape them and change them.  As a teacher and mother I love having the opportunity to provide an environment that nurtures that potential and values every child's individual personality, development, culture, family, and history.

One of the major reasons I love early childhood is that there are fewer years of life experiences that you have to deal with.  I like working with young children that are still innocent regardless of their home life.  My husband works with at risk high school students and I see how much harder he has to work to earn trust and break through built up barriers.  All young children love to learn while playing, want to love, and have someone love them, it is instinctual!   

I believe that all children should be given opportunities and experiences to learn at their own time.  I see my role as an educator to scaffold them from things they know to things they don't.  If we started assessing children's progress instead of comparing what they know and do to set standards, we could celebrate this constant growth instead of focusing on unlearned skills.

Finally, young children are just funny!

A special thanks!

I would like to say that I have enjoyed the many personal experiences and insights that everyone has offered during this course.  I have learned so much from reading all of the blogs this course!  I would like to give a special thanks to Kiendra Leonce for sharing so much about your home country of Barbados.  I really enjoyed your blogs that gave a different cultural perspective to that of someone in the United States.  I enjoy learning about education in different countries, but it is so rewarding hearing about it first hand.  Thank you for sharing your perspective.  I would also like to thank Tanya Meridith for your very clear and factual blog posts.  Your posts were very thoughtful and informational!  Thanks again to everyone and good luck in the rest of your courses!

ASSESSMENTS

Assessments are a good tool for teachers to evaluate what skill level some students are at.  For this reason assessments can be very helpful to the individual child.  National and state standardized testing, however, has very little if any information to offer about the individual child.  These tests are used to determine the lucky schools that deserve to have funding continued.  The major problem with this system is that we know low test scores are connected to poverty.  Therefore, low income communities end up defunded and/shut down.  The worth of the assessment, to me, is only as great as the information it tells you about the child…so most are not that great.

As educators we must ask ourselves what the purpose of the assessment is.  How can this assessment tell us what a student knows and what a student still needs to know?  According to Concept to Classroom (2004) students can “demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of ways, including essays, oral presentations, and/or a portfolio of work.  Then teachers can use this information to inform instruction for the things that the students still need to know.

References

How does constructivism align with state and national standards. (2004). In Concept to

Classroom. Retrieved December 7, 2013, from

http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/explor_sub4.html

We Should All Move to Finland!

“Teachers learn how to create challenging curriculum and how to develop and evaluate local performance assessments that engage students in research and inquiry on a regular basis. Teacher training emphasizes learning how to teach students who learn in different ways, including those with special needs. It includes a strong emphasis on “multiculturality” and the “prevention of learning difficulties and exclusion,” as well as on the understanding of learning, thoughtful assessment, and curriculum development. The egalitarian Finns reasoned that if teachers learn to help students who struggle, they will be able to teach all students more effectively and, indeed, leave no child behind.” –Linda Darling-Hammond (2010)

In Finland in the 1970’s there was a huge overhaul of their education system.  One of the key changes made was the education of their teachers.  Teachers began to go through a rigorous education program and then had to qualify for a fully funded program.  Education programs went from 3 year programs to 5 year programs.  Most Finnish teachers have a Master’s in education and their core subject.  This had a huge impact on changing education in Finland.  The most significant impact was how it changed assessments in Finland.  With highly educated and qualified teachers in the schools the government turned student assessments over to the teachers and the schools.  They trusted their teachers to accurately evaluate their students’ needs and implement appropriate curriculum.  For this same reason national standards decreased significantly as well.  The education of teachers was standardized and therefore curriculum didn’t have to be.  More power was put in the hands of local government, schools, and teachers.

One of the most intriguing aspects of assessment in Finland is the emphasis on student self-evaluation.  The curriculum focuses on critical thinking and problem solving in all subjects.  Children are taught how to think critically and evaluate whether they are meeting set goals.  Education like this is more about the process than the product.  Children are rarely if ever tested on standards, but instead have to show and explain their knowledge.

The government also supports equality in education.  They do this by providing small schools (300 pupils), and small classrooms (under 20) with teacher assistants, and equally equipped schools.  They also provide free meals, free health care, and counseling equally in all schools across the country.  With these basic needs met children come to school on a level playing field.

The following references and resources are well worth your time!

References

Darling-Hammond, L. (2010, November). What we can learn from Finland’s

successful school reform. In NEA. Retrieved December 7, 2013, from

http://www.nea.org/home/40991.htm

Resources

Student Assessment in Finland-Basic Education:

http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/34520105.ppt

Hackschooling makes me Happy: (This kid is amazing and it will change your whole perspective on education!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY