Expanding Resources

National Black Child Development Institute
http://nbcdi.org/

I really enjoyed this website, I learned a lot of beneficial information on this website, and I love how this organization do so much for children's education. From this website I found out that my state Alabama and other states last year made progress in both raising achievement and closing achievement gaps in reading and math. I will be using information off this website throughout my masters program. I also signed up for there newsletter.

Professional Contacts

Ghana
Rev Charles Arko-Nunoo
P.O. Box MK 157
Mankessim
C/R Ghana
Tel: + 233 42 34180
Email: 2kdotcom@ghana.com

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Center for Educational Initiatives Step by Step
Radmila Rangelov- Jusovic
Email: radmila@costepbystep.ba

I emailed both of my contact to let them know that I would like to learn more about  early childhood education in there countries, and different programs they would like to share with me and helpful information while I'm working on my masters in early childhood education.

Children Quotes

Children Quote by Joseph Joubert

"Children need models more than they need critics."

Jim Rohn
"Formal education will make you a living; self education will make you a fortune."

Quote by Christopher Dodd
"Our nation's children are our greatest asset and our most precious treasure."

All three of these quotes I truly stand by, because they are very honest and any child or adult can understand exactly what they mean.


I really enjoyed this class, and learned a lot of new things. I hope every student in this class greatly benefited from the information we received and gets a passing grade. I hope to see many of you in the next class.

Thanks,
Ashley Watson

China and Mathamatics

Mathematics is the most important subject in China. China does a lot of assessment in mathematics. In China they enhance the interest of mathematics to their student by having mathematics contest. As a supplement of the elementary education in mathematics as well as an extracurricular activity in mathematics, the Mathematics Contest in China has become the "Second Classroom" for mathematics study.

Assessmet Middle Childhood Stage

I think assessment is important, but not to the instinct of a child being able to go to the next level or grade. Testing a child to see if he/she need special assistance is very important, because this way the child is getting the accommodations they need to be successful in school. I do not think standardized testing is important, because these test are very hard on children. It makes them very nervous and puts a lot of pressure on them. Standardized test also put a lot on the teacher, because they usually have so much pressure on them trying to teacher there students how and what is on the test, they are not able to teach there regular instruction. I think the teacher made weekly test are enough for the student. These test let the teacher know if the students are getting what she is teacher, if they are, they are right on schedule, and if they are not the teacher need to make some accommodations to his/her lessons. So, my opinion is standardized testing is out teacher made testing Great!

Haiti Natural Disaster

Year after quake, thousands of Haitian children still suffering – UNICEF

One year after Haiti's earthquake over a million people, 380,000 of them children, still live in crowded camps

7 January 2011 –

One year after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, more than 1 million people – 380,000 of them children – still live in crowded camps despite extraordinary relief efforts by Haitians and the international community, according to a United Nations report issued today. “We have seen results in the past year, but significant gaps remain and much more must be done,” UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Haiti Representative Francoise Gruloos-Ackermans said of her agency’s report, “Children in Haiti: One Year After – The long road from relief to recovery,” stressing that the recovery process is just beginning.
“Haiti poses huge institutional and systemic issues that predated the earthquake, and that require more than an emergency response to resolve,” she added of the 12 January 2010 tragedy, noting that 4 million children in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere continue to suffer from inequitable access to water, sanitation, healthcare, and education services and protection from disease, exploitation, and unsanitary conditions.
“This places even more emphasis on the need for organizations such as UNICEF to focus on developing and reinforcing structural interventions that will adequately prepare this country and its inhabitants for the future.”
Water, sanitation and hygiene were on the decline prior to the quake, with only 19 per cent of people having access to basic sanitation facilities in 2006, down from 29 per cent in 1990. UNICEF provided more than 11,300 latrines serving over 800,000 people. Every day, over 600 latrines are desludged as part of ongoing efforts to maintain safe sanitation standards.
Immediately after the quake, UNICEF, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and partners conducted emergency campaigns immunizing 2 million children against preventable diseases such as polio, diphtheria, and measles. Some 360,000 insecticide-treated bed nets were distributed to over 163,000 households in the malaria-endemic southern coastal regions.
At the height of the emergency response, UNICEF and partners trucked a daily average of 8.3 million litres of safe water to some 680,000 people. With the ongoing cholera outbreak that erupted in October, UNICEF is providing more than 10.9 tons of chlorine and over 45 million water purification tablets to ensure safe water for 3 million people in Port-au-Prince, the capital, and surrounding towns.
As of 29 December, 3,481 people had died of cholera and over 157,000 cases had been reported, according to Haitian Health Ministry statistics. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned today that the epidemic threatens 2.2 million school children due to the lack of clean water and sanitation facilities in schools throughout the country.
Overall the quake affected 1.5 million children and 63,000 pregnant women, UNICEF said. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is currently reaching close to 2 million people with various aid programmes, including hot school meals for over 1 million children every day and cash-for-work programmes and nutrition.
The $1.5 billion quake relief appeal launched by the UN and its partners has been funded to 72 per cent at the end of 2010, while the $174 million cholera emergency appeal launched in late 2010 is only 25 per cent funded, OCHA spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs told a news briefing in Geneva today. It is vital to reach a level of funding above 25 per cent in 2011, she said.

Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

The stressor I chose was natural disaster. Recently in Alabama we had a horrific tornadoes. On April 27, 2011 hundreds of people lost their lives homes and sense of security. I personally know a family that lost everything. The family consist of a single mother and three children ages 16, 10, and 5 years old. all of the children of course were devastated however the five year old had a very hard time understanding what happened. He kept wanting to go home to see the devastation that happened to his home. He constantly talks about the train that crashed his house. The family was in the bathroom when the tornado hit their home and they describe the sound as a train coming through. The family is trying to get back on their feet the five year old is still adjusting as life will never be the same for him after this disaster.