My Supports

There are certain things I don't think I could live without. Here are a few:

• Lists - I love them. No, I NEED them! I make lists of what I need to do, what I am going to do, what I have done, things I need to buy, the order in which I am going to clean...
• Pets - They are my constant comfort.
• A Clean Space - Although, as I sit here now, my apartment is far from clean, I usually work better in a clean space. It just frees up my mind to focus on other more important things in my life.
• Bathtub - When you have a bad day at school, nothing makes it better like a warm bath.
• Family & Friends - Which I think goes without saying. Everyone needs socioemotional support.
  

If I lost my job today I would rely on my family and friends to help me pull myself together emotionally. Then I would make a list of everything I needed to do. Resumes to rebuild, bill collectors to call, and the networks I would need to contact. I would then draw a warm bath and while soaking I would talk to my cat who sits on the edge of my tub. If I didn't have the supports and comforts I do now I would like to think I could manage in a stressful situation, but it wouldn't be nearly as easy.

PLAY

I grew up with an older brother. He is six years older than me and was never home when I was. He stayed at his dad's on the weekends and pretty much didn't want to hang out with his baby sister. So I played by myself or had friends over. My mom would send me outside almost every day. Since we didn't have a play set or concrete for a hoop I had to make up my own games. I would take my imaginary friends on nature walks (or my real friends, if they happened to come over that day). I grew up in North Central Florida with all of the old oak trees. They lined our front yard until I was in high school. Each tree was huge and covered in Spanish moss. The palms and shrubs below would cover the ground. We also had a hickory tree and sweet honeysuckle for me to identify and play with. I would pick the blossom off of the honeysuckle and carefully remove the stamen to suck the sweet nectar out. When I went over to my best friends house growing up we would play in her sinkhole. I know what you are thinking, who in their right mind would let to little girls play in a sinkhole!? Isn't that dangerous!? Well, if you grew up in Florida you know which sinkholes are stable and which ones are active. The one in her backyard was stable and not sinking anymore. It was FULL of palms and brush. Her brother was the same age as my brother and I remember having water ballon wars among the shrubs. I don't have a picture of her sinkhole, but I do of another Florida sinkhole. Her's didn't have this much water in it, unless it rained a lot that year.When I did play inside it was mostly with normal "girl" toys. Polly Pockets, Barbies, Play-Dough, Little People, and American Dolls were just a few of the things I liked to play with. Now my play is a little different. I like to play board games with friends or play with my kitten who will fetch a marshmallow like it's no one's business!

Relationship Reflections

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, “What! You too? I thought I was the only one!” – C.S. Lewis

This is how I identify with all of the relationships in my life. I build relationships that are based on mutual understanding, kindness, sarcasm, love, and happiness. Through all of the good and the bad I find that all of the relationships that matter just grow closer and closer together.

There are five people that come to mind when I think of my support system. Dad, Mom, Micah, Casey, and Amanda.

My dad is of course one of my biggest cheer leaders. I feel support and love when I think of him. He sternly makes sure I am doing well at work and school. He asks with a furrowed brow if I have enough money. He emails when he sees a funny picture I would like. He has been there to move me seven times in the past seven years. Only a dad would do that! Part of maintaining my relationship with him is being sure to talk to him on a regular basis. It is important to call and talk even when neither of us has much to say. I usually call with a funny story from school. This is one of the two relationships in my life that are never going anywhere.

My mom is the other half of that equation. She is strong and nosey. She is loving and always thinking of me. She was always at my soccer games and made sure to take me to church every Sunday and Wednesday. Because my mother and I were so close there were always fights. We always disagreed and yelled, but we never left it at that. It was always forgotten in the morning. Now that I am grown my relationship with my mother is more of mutual understanding and trust. We talk on the phone and have dinner every so often.

Micah is my boyfriend of six years. He is my confidante. The person who makes me laugh, smile, and cry. He knows me better than anyone else and often knows what I need before I do. Our relationship is ever growing and we rely on each other to be understanding and supportive.

Casey and Amanda are my best friends. They are the two that will be there for me no matter what. I lived with Casey, which means she knows more about me than any one person should. She opens my eyes to culture, music, books, movies, etc. I wouldn’t dare be as smart as I am today without her. Amanda is the calm, peacemaker. She is the “Hey do you want to take a walk at the trail?” or “Do you want to stop and get some tea?” kind of best friend.

Each of these relationships teach me something about myself and helps me relate with other individuals. This will help when I go to meet those that I teach and work with.

When I Think of Child Development...

“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.”

“Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.”

“The child can develop fully by means of experience in his environment. We call such experiences ‘work’.”

-Maria Montessori

Testing for Intelligence?

Assessment is such a sticky situation, it sparks controversy and debate anywhere you go in the United States. In fact, a quick Goggle search will ignite a firestorm of response on your screen. Let's look at a few of the pro's and con's of standardized assessment in young children.

Pro's -

• Standardized tests are reliable and effective measures of a students achievement of specific measurable standards.


• "A Nov. 2010 report by McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, found that school systems in 20 countries 'that have achieved significant, sustained, and widespread gains' on national and international assessments, including Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea, had used "proficiency targets for each school" and 'frequent, standardized testing to monitor system progress.' "


• "Standardized tests are inclusive and non-discriminatory because they ensure content and testing conditions are equivalent for all students."


• Competent teachers know not to teach "to the test".


• Standardized testing allows for an accurate collection of data.


• Stricter state standards and accountability have been created because of testing.


• Cheating is very rare and hard to do on standardized testing.
  

Con's -

• "Before age 8, standardized achievement measures are not sufficiently accurate to be used for high stakes decision-making about individual children and schools. Therefore, high-stakes assessments intended for accountability purposes should be delayed until the end of third grade (or preferably fourth grade)."


• "Norm-referenced tests were never intended to measure the quality of learning or teaching. The Stanford, Metropolitan, and California Achievement Tests (SAT, MAT, and CAT), as well as the Iowa and Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS and CTBS), are designed so that only about half the test-takers will respond correctly to most items. The main objective of these tests is to rank, not to rate; to spread out the scores, not to gauge the quality of a given student or school."


• "Virtually all relevant experts and organizations condemn the practice of basing important decisions, such as graduation or promotion, on the results of a single test. The National Research Council takes this position, as do most other professional groups (such as the American Educational Research Association and the American Psychological Association), the generally pro-testing American Federation of Teachers, and even the companies that manufacture and sell the exams. Yet just such high-stakes testing is currently taking place, or scheduled to be introduced soon, in more than half the states."


• "The time, energy, and money that are being devoted to preparing students for standardized tests have to come from somewhere. "


• Standardized testing creates a socioeconomic division that is unparalleled.


• Standardized tests are unreliable forms of measurement due to uncontrollable variances in testing atmospheres and students lives.


• Tests narrow the curriculum leaving out important, valuable life information and skills.
  

Even within the Pro and Con lists above you can argue the facts and see the discrepancies. In the state of Florida standardized testing starts in kindergarten and is judged in third grade. Are students cognitively ready for such a test? How do we consider socioeconomic disadvantaged students? What about the student with the flu? Or the one that had to walk to school today because mom had no money for gas? Or the student that didn't have breakfast and was beaten that morning for asking about it? How about the student that has severe testing anxiety? There are far too many important factors that do not get attention from policy makers. In my humble opinion, as a teacher in a high poverty area (1/3 of my students are homeless) to put the future of a child on a one day standardized test is, to say the least, ridiculous.

Children should be tested using standardized tests. However, they should not control whether a student will pass or fail, and they should not control a teachers pay. Standardized tests are very helpful in detailing what standards students need help on. They create a guideline for lessons and direct units.

After doing some research on the Asian culture, and their take on standardized testing I found a very interesting article by the Denver Post:

"Teaching in Asia, I encountered a system that, while effective there, may not transfer here. For example, Taiwanese students are required to "test" into their middle schools, and many are eliminated from college opportunities by age 12. Additionally, most students attend "cram schools" in the evening to prepare for their tests. The South Korean government has at times shut down all airports nationwide while prospective high school students take the listening portion of their entrance exams.

Japanese schools literally lock their gates at the start of school, and any tardy student is out of luck. Additionally, nearly all these countries use standardized tests to separate students early in life, and most countries offer graduation at the age of 16.Read more: In education, U.S. isn't Singapore (but should we be?) - The Denver Post"

It would seem that we have a fairly relaxed standardized testing system compared to Asian cultures...who knew!?

Sources:

http://www.denverpost.com/voices/ci_14472758

http://www.caesl.org/briefs/Brief5.pdf

http://standardizedtests.procon.org/

http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/edweek/staiv.htm