Reflection

As I look back on when I first started in the class I really thought that this class was going to be very difficult for me.  When I heard about us having to write a 12-15 page research paper from a co-worker that took this class before I was like oh no!  My co-worker told me that it wasn't going to be hard if I needed help come to her.  The blog was hard to set up but my daughter helped me set that up and I was able to help my co-workers set up her blog for 402 because she forgot how to set up the blog.  My journey through this class was rough but with the help, support and feedback from my classmates and teacher I amd it!!!! Wish me luck in 402 because this is the last class I have to take so that I can graduate.

Observing and Interacting With Families of the Children in Your Settings

During my observation I sat down and interacted with a Spanish speaking family.  The mother spoke a little English and the child didn't have any language at all.  The teacher told me that the child has a speech therapist that comes in and work with him.  Just so happen while I was there the speech therapist came in the classroom.  The teacher told me that I could sit off in a quiet area and watch the child and the therapist interact. The therapist sat down with the child and did one on one activities with the child on language.  After the therapist left I sat down with the parent and talked to her about language told the parent that I was doing my research paper for my class on literacy.  I asked the parent how often do she read at home and she told me that she read every ay only in Spanish.  I spoke with the teacher and asked her if I could give the parent some activities to do at home with the child dealing with language.  The teacher told me that it was okay so I gave the parents the activities to do with the child at home.  The teacher started the children with their writing and reading activities.  One insight that I gained from my observation was seeing how the child language really develop while working with the speech therapist.  The child was able to pronounce the words that were the cards that was shown to him.  Another insight was that the parent did read to the child but only in Spanish at home.  I asked the teacher was the child beng confused with the language and she told me no because she pair the child up with a English and Spanish child to do reading with.

Interacting with Professionals/Administrators and your Advocacy Plan

I had the opportunity to interact with the Infant& Toddler Specialist because the Site Director was out that day.  I learned what literacy is and how important it is to implement it to the students.  My understanding of advocacy is to go after something that is important and support it in the process.  I would address advocacy issues with professionals by asking them why they feel that literacy is important to them.   The learning experience that I can share was the day that I observed and interviewed the Infant and Toddler they had a literacy event that I was able to attend.  The literacy event gave me the opportunity to see how literacy is implemented with the parent and the child.  The event gave the parent the opportunity to read to their child and complete an activity.

Observing and Interacting

Observing and Interacting With Professionals, Children, and Families in an Early Childhood Setting

Name: Shanda Starks-Douglas

Date: January 26, 2012

Name of Program/Setting: Christopher House/Infant & Toddler classroom setting.  The Infant & Toddler classroom is set up into two parts.  One side is for the infants that are not mobile and the other side is for the children that are mobile.  The classroom has a quiet area, science area, art area, dramatic play area, block area and a water table area.  The classroom is well organized and very spacious.  The classroom also has artwork displayed around the room that the children has done.  The Christopher House is NAEYC Accredited and has just gone through QRS (Quality Rating Scale).  The classroom has three teachers; A Master Pre-k, two Assistant Teachers and 8 children. 

Who I spoke with:  During my observation and interaction I spoke with the Master Pre-k teacher in the classroom.  I talked to her about how she felt about Early Literacy.  The teacher explained to me that the Christopher House is very big on reading.  The teacher explained to me about how they encourage the parents to read at home to their child.  The teacher goal is to have the parent to read at home to their child for at least 30 minutes.  The classroom has a lending library for the parents to sign books out and take home.

What I learned about …my experience is that the teachers really implement literacy to the children.  The teachers have baskets of books in every area in the classroom to help the children to explore books and to be read too.  The teachers make sure that reading is also implemented in Creative Curriculum.  

Two insights, experiences, or quotes that I will share in my blog this week… One of the insights that I would like to share is that it is very important to start out reading to the child while in the mother stomach.  Another insight is that the teacher individualize with the children one on one if they are having a hard time reading.

Interview

Date: January17, 2012

Name: Shanda Starks-Douglas

Name of Person Interviewed: Shuniecia Brown

1.     I am thinking of focusing my research paper on the following area: Early Literacy.

-  What do you believe are some of the related topics?

- Some of the related topics of early literacy are policy and practice in preschool years, oral language, alphabetic code, print knowledge, speech pathology, reading & writing skills, literary analysis and language comprehension.

      - What are the current issues related to these topics?

- One of the issues are having children prepared for school, by demanding that parents and teachers are accountable for their role in the child’s education. Making sure the communities have the programs that fit their needs.

2. What other issues do you commonly encounter in your work or in discussions with colleagues?

- Some issues I encounter are parents not having the time or not putting aside the time to read with their child. Also some parents not having the ability/skill to read. Another issue would be language barriers, the parent not having books in their native language at home.

3. What advocacy efforts are currently under way in your area of interest?

- There are much research being done to make sure communities have the programs they need to assist parents and children. It’s being pushed more for parents/family members to read to children. More doctors are informing their patients about the need for them to read to their children in infancy. Schools and childcare centers are doing more activities and workshops on literacy. 

4. Which of these topics or issues are of most concern to you? Which do you believe are most in need of advocacy?

- I would say that oral knowledge is the most of concern. Oral knowledge is the time in which children learn to communicate with their parents and others. It is a natural and life long process that if developed successfully will be a great accomplishment for the child. Children learn and form the correct dialect from their environment and the people they are around.