Children Left in Hot Cars

Video from Ocoee, Florida (October 30, 2007).



Injury Prevention (2005,11:33-37) has research results of Gardi and Gallagher, who studied 171 fatalities involving children dying in parked cars from 1995 to 2005. They found that 73 percent (125) of the children were left by adults. More than 25 percent of the adults were aware they were leaving children in the vehicles; while 50 percent of the adults were unaware or simply forgot. "Forty three percent (54) of deaths to children who were left were associated with childcare: 32 children were left by family members who intended to take them to childcare but forgot and went to work instead; 22 children were left by child care providers or drivers."
The researchers concluded that the reported deaths could have been preventd by "keeping cars locked, educating parents, implementing informed child care transportation policies, passing relevant laws, and working with auto and child safety seat manufacturers to build in warnings and other design features."

More on Dyslexia

I have a keen interest in research on dyslexia because I have a form it. In any case, I found new information concerning dyslexia research at the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience at Children's Hospital Boston. What's different with this research compared to other research on dyslexia is that this research posits that sound training can help rewire the brains of children with dyslexia. The research group used MRI imagining, which detected that the brains of children with dyslexia have a problem processing fast-changing sounds. Researchers believe that young children with dyslexia are prime candidates to receive hours of training in daily increments that would help to rewire their brains prior to the children learning to read. I discovered an article about this research at Science Daily.com. Here is a link to the article for additional information:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071030114055.htm

Teachable Moments

If you ever want to draw me into a heated discussion, you need only to assail teachers, schools, and caregivers for students' poor performance. I'm touchy about this topic because I find it incredible how often in the the "discussion" of students' performance, parents are left out of the equation. Somehow children's first teachers in life, the people who spend the most time with children, perhaps the most influential people in children's lives, are given a free pass in many discussion about educating children. What's more, I'm shocked at how few times educators correct the situation by pointing out how more important parents and home life are than the influence of teachers and schools.

I've always thought that a concerned parent would take note of what a child is studying in school and use everyday situations to point out how practical the information is, particularly in early childhood education. For the younger ones, a game of pointing out colors and shapes is so easy. I suspect the game would have less to do with learning and more to do with quality interaction.

In any case, follow the link below to a story I found on the Freakanomics Blog. Freakanomics is a highly readable books about economics of everyday things with chapters as "Why do Drug Dealers Live With Their Moms" and "What Makes A Perfect Parent." Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, the authors of Freakonomics have started a blog, which I check fairly often.

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/

Minnesota's Scholarship Plan for Childcare

I think the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is moving in the right direction with development of a program to give scholarship to families for early childhood care. From what I can see, this program is much different than Headstart in that the quality of teaching is higher and accountability will be stronger. In an NPR article on NPR, written by Larry Abramson, the Minnesota plan is articulated by Art Rolnick , director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. The plan would provide scholarships to poor families to receive high quality childcare. The vision of this plan is that early educational support of children would help society in the long run with reducing the number of children having problems later in life. Available research indicates cost savings in investing in early education verses accepting the high cost of maintaining students and adults in correction facilities. This plan could be a template for other states. Read more here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15665307

Words from Carl Sandburg

I'm always in awe about how young children make connections that translate into learning. For that reason, I like this poem from Carl Sandburg's Fogs and Fires:


CHILD MOON

The child's wonder
At the old moon
Comes back nightly.
She points her finger
To the far silent yellow thing
Shining through the branches
Filtering on the leaves a golden sand,
Crying with her little tongue,
"See the moon!"
And in her bed fading to sleep
With babblings of the moon on her little mouth.

Early Day Care Attendance May Help Reduce Asthma

Some researchers are indicating that children who attend day care early in life may reduce chance of developing asthma later. Apparently, the bodies of young children who attend day care produce an antibody that helps to fight asthma. Read more at this link:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071019172711.htm

Another Reason for Children to Be Physically Active

Researchers at the University of Alberta in Canada completed a study that looked at the connections between athletic skill and social acceptance among school children. The researchers found that children place great value on athletic ability, and youngsters who are considered unskilled by their peers often experience sadness, isolation and social rejection at school. Read more information here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071019085951.htm

A Child is Born With a Heart of Gold

The title for this blog post was taken from the Earth, Wind, and Fire song, Way of the World, one of my favorite songs. I truly believe children are pure of heart until societal influences have an impact. I think it's becoming more difficult for children to maintain a pure heart.

I understand that in many situations attacks on children, physical and mental, relate to power issues by adults. What I don't understand is why. Sometimes I conclude such attacks on children as cowardly acts; other times I conclude those attacks result from mental illness. In any case, I think adults should be severely punished for attack on children or for failure to protect children. I also think judges and other officials should be investigated when they support adults receiving second chances for attacks on children. At the same time, I believe anyone making a false accusation against an adult concerning an attack on a child should be investigated thoroughly for accuracy and punished for intentionally providing false statements. A mistake in either direction is unacceptable.

Again, a child is born with a heart of gold, and it is the duty of adults to treasure children--all children.

Parents Handling Children's Emotions

A University of Illinois study (detailed in Child Development, September-October 2007 issue) indicates that how parents handle a young child’s emotions can help the child gain experience in properly managing emotions. The researchers studied kindergartners and concluded that "When a young child is angry, sad, or frustrated, the best scenario seems to be if one parent comforts and problem-solves with the child while the other parent hangs back a bit and gives the child space to process what he's feeling," according to Nancy McElwain, a U of I assistant professor of human development (as reported in the Daily Science Digest).

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070927133324.htm

No Laughing Matter

Did you read the Reuter article that indicated that childcare workers and other personal care workers have the highest rate of depression at 10.8 percent among workers? The writer speculated that low pay maybe one reason for this level of depression. I believe other factors that help to cause the high rate of depression may include working conditions, limited career path, daily stress, etc. Read more at : http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071014/ts_nm/depression_usa_dc_2?.

Gail Collins indicates in a New York Times op-ed (Oct 18, 2007) that the average pay for a childcare worker is $8.78 per hour. She also reports that few politicians are willing to address this situation. Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/18/opinion/18collins.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

I’ve had the opinion for a long time that when a manager can’t provide the level of pay that would be fair to workers because of financial constraints, then that manager needs to be clever enough find other ways to reward workers. There are unlimited options available to reward workers and create a high quality work environment.

Active Blog Day

I just read at http://www.slashdot.org, where I get daily technology information, that today is Active Blog Day. Today each blogger is encouraged to write something about the environment. In my case I want to tie the environment topic to early childhood education.

As an educator, I'm concerned with providing a healthy environment for children. Actually, I focus on the cleaning of apparatuses used in activities. I freeze almost everything before a child touches it. Also, instead of using typical cleaning products, I use a vinegar and water mixture or drops of grapefruit seed extract and water mixture to sanitize materials in an earth-friendly manner. In my woodworking projects where I develop objects for children, I use water-based polyurethane. In small ways I try to be environmentally conscious while helping children.

Will We Leave Children Behind?

Diane Ravitch reported in a New York Times Op-ed on Oct 3, 2007 (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E6D91031F930A35753C1A9619C8B63) that the success claims surrounding the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 is overstated in general. Instead, the academic gains have been mediocre when compared to years prior to the program. She further reports that the central goal of the act requires all students to be proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014, but that goal is unattainable and testing students in grades 3-8 has lead to an unhealthy obsession toward standardized testing. Moreover, the focus on those subject areas has lead to other subjects being shortchanged. Ms. Ravitch’s solution is presented in the title of her article: “Get Congress Out of the Classroom.”

So, what does this have to do with early childhood education? Well, I was surfing the net the other day and located information concerning a National Academies of Sciences project titled, “Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young Children.” This 20-month project (http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=48786} started in September 2006 and has the following purpose: "’review and provide guidance on appropriate outcomes and assessments for young children.’ The committee will focus on two key topics: (1) the identification of key outcomes associated with early stages of child development for children ages 0-5, and (2) the quality and purpose of different state-of-the art techniques and instruments for developmental assessments.” I suspect that this project may become a program similar to or be attached to No Child Left Behind since Congress is involved. If that is the case, then my concern is that we need to “fix” the current No Child Left Behind initiative before considering expanding it or establishing a similar program. There is also the strong possibility that I’m becoming paranoid about all of this…

Young Children Language Development

Here are some recent research pieces concerning language development in very young children:

Research by conducted at the University of British Columbia and Ottawa reported in the Society for Research in Child Development (cited the Science Daily Digest) reveals that infants raised in bilingual homes learn similar sounding words at a later time than infants in monolingual homes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070928092050.htm

The Science Daily Digest also cites a related research article from the University of Pennsylvania that indicates that a child’s first year is significant from the standpoint of acquiring language. The research also indicated that toddlers are learning language skills sooner than projected to the point that by 18 months toddlers understand enough of the words of their own language to identify how speakers use sounds to convey meaning. Researchers discovered that toddlers also ignore sound that don’t occupy an important place in their native language.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071001172817.htm

Gymnastics and Play Program for Young Children

It was by accident that I saw a small advertisement concerning a preschool play time at a gym in a local Sunday paper. The program is available at the Gulf Breeze Gymnastics & Cheer (http://www.gulfbreezegym.com) in Gulf Breeze, FL, a short distance from where I live. Curious about the program as to whether it incorporated FL educational standards for preschoolers, I decided to visit the location and receive a first-hand impression.
Driving into the parking lot, I saw that the grounds was well maintained. I walked inside and was surprised that the building was fairly dark and quiet—no classes that morning I later learned. I located Kim McCleary (director of activities for 3-5 year olds), who was working at the front desk on the computer. The owner, Susan Yonehiro, wasn’t available. I introduced myself and explained that I was interested in learning about pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs the gym offered. The director was happy to provide a tour of the facilities and to offer an explanation of the activities available for preschoolers.

The space for young students was a nice size room with colorful padded equipment. Students received structured activities in that room and were allowed to play in the large gym afterward with close supervision.

I was pleased that the owner and director had already inquired about educational requirements for preschools. They were aware of the state educational standards for 3-5 year old students, but didn’t have a copy of the requirements on hand. The staff used other resources to address physical training requirements for preschoolers. (A few days later I provided the staff with an outline of the FL School Readiness Performance Standards and information concerning the FL Voluntary Kindergarten Program).

I think families should have a wide range of educational resources to choose from toward the development of young children. These resources, however, should incorporate state educational standards so that everyone is helping to support young children by using the same guidelines.

Lastly, it was a pleasure to see a clean, well-organized establishment with caring providers who help develop children.

Sermon Sign: Postmodern Parenting

I saw a sign on a church billboard: Postmodern Parenting -- What is the the right thing to do? I was confused, mainly from the idea of postmodern parenting. Postmodern, to me, had to do with lack of structure or rules, free form. To think a postmodern philosophy would be used in parenting would be asking for trouble. The more I research I see the pattern developing to indicate that children need more structure from parents for effective development. If postmodern parenting doesn't promote structure, where is a child to receive it? Also, if a child doesn't get it in the formative years, the door starts to close on certain positive behaviors that evolve from structure.

I considered contacting the minister of the church that displayed the sign for the sermon, but I thought that might end up with me receiving an impromptu sermon as well as an invitation to hear a live sermon.

I must admit the sign also caught my attention because I believe many parents are using the postmodern approach with their children. Actually, I see parents operating at either extremes: too controlling or too unstructured. Regardless, I think in many cases our society has failed to hold parents accountable enough. The recent proposal by the Escambia County School District (FL) to hold parents more accountable for students' school attendance--including jailing parents for students' excess absences--is a good start.

Dog Bites

United Press International reported on Oct 3 that the breed of a dog biting children accounts less than behavioral or medical problems of the dog. The study by the University of Pennsylvania was published in Injury Prevention. Of the 111 dog biting cases studied, the results indicated that young children were more likely to be bitten when dogs sensed treat against food or toys. Dogs defending territory was the chief reason for older children being bitten. It is significant to note that the researchers observed that three-quarters of the dogs studied exhibited anxiety when left alone by owners or when exposed to loud noise. Also, half of the dogs had medical conditions. Young children’s unpredictable movement and noisy behavior may also factor in with that group be prone to dog bites.

Notes from the Conference - Part 4 (Last One)

Here are pictures of a demonstration of using an activity that incorporates Florida educational standards for 3-5 year olds.

Volunteers received a one-minute time limit to put together a fabric puzzle using a picture of the completed puzzle that was projected on the presentation screen. After the construction of the puzzle, I received feedback concerning the standards used, then I displayed the skills from the standards I had targeted when the activity was developed. The activity inspired a few of the attendees to use the idea to smaller puzzles for their children.

All in all, the conference was a great learning experience for me. There were so many presentations and workshops that I missed much information, particularly since I was seeking the most current information on educational standards from state officials because I use educational standards in my consultations.

It’s interesting to note that I heard no information concerning lead paint and toys from China. I wondered whether that issue was low key since many toy companies were represented at the conference. I was curious about risk management at childcare centers and other locations serving children in regard to toys as well as predators and other safety issues. I’m assuming that I was in a different learning track and that those issues were discussed.

Notes from the Conference - Part 3

On Saturday I provided a presentation titled “Connecting Activities to Florida Educational Standards.” The attendance for my presentation started out slowly, but a nice size group arrived. A few conferees left during the presentation, and I got the impression that they wanted a kit to use to apply the educational standards—one person even asked for one. Apparently, conferees were aware of state educational standards that have been in the field for at least four years, but the standards haven’t been applied broadly. In many cases children center haven’t either trained staff members or ensured staff members have been trained to apply the standards. At the conference attendees were on a search to find free lesson plans, kits, and etc. to carry back to their centers and use without having to work developing activities using standards to fit their particular situation.

Business Funding Source for Women

On one of the financial information shows, I learned about a business funding source for women. Here is the link:

http://shop.avon.com/HelloTomorrowFund/

Notes from the Conference - Part 2

Dr. Eugene Garcia (Arizona St. University) provided the keynote address on Friday morning of the conference. He related a story concerning a young Hispanic girl being “renamed” by a teacher upon entering school because the young girl’s name was too difficult for the teacher to pronounce. The young girl accepted the name along with the discomfort of having it. This story was interesting to me because I heard a similar story while living in Africa in 1992-1994. In Kenya I was told that Africans children were “renamed” by missionaries as part of the entrance requirements for missionary schools. I guess one can call this process “re-culturing.”

Another interesting point at the conference surfaced at the Children’s Rally Luncheon. The speaker, Cathy Powers (Early Childhood Association of FL Vice President of Public Policy), indicated a plan for childcare providers to have bachelor degrees. One attendee was highly offended by the idea and remarked so. From the force of the attendee’s comments I understand her discomfort.

When I taught the CDA certification course at a local college I realized that a significant number of childcare workers had weak academic skills. Being forced to attend college courses was frustrating. I got the impression that being a childcare worker and being able to teach basic skills to children was comfortable and perhaps even an escape from higher academic pursuits, in some cases.

I understand the need to have highly knowledgeable caregivers. To assume that such caregivers, however, need to have a college degree is faulty logic. A college degree would be less efficient, I believe, than a childcare specialist certificate in early childhood education. I think having skills to transition students from a home environment to a school environment in a positive manner is more useful in childcare than the ability to teach academic skills to young students.

Notes from the Conference - Part 1

Over the next couple of days, I’m going to post a few entries concerning the 52nd Annual Early Childhood Association of Florida Conference I attended on September 28-29. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the attendance level for the conference was estimated at 3,000, which included only 20 were males, according to one registration official. Of the 3,000 I recognized only one person who was from the area where I lived. The group was friendly although I felt some attendees wondered what I was doing there--one of only two Black male attendees.

The conference opened at about 8:45 a.m. on Sept 28 after professional development sessions the day prior. The dais members were introduced and afterward, Amy Goldin, a teacher-singer-composer-arranger-conductor (http://www.amygoldin.com/), lead the conferees through a high-energy series of kiddy songs. My initial impression was: She has a beautiful voice, but it's w-a-a-a-a-a-y too early for me to participate in "happy-happy" songs without benefit of a cup of coffee! Perhaps only having a few hours of sleep the night before may have accounted for my attitude. I felt guilty not fully participating in the rousting activity and wanted to take a photo with Amy Goldin to reduce my guilt, but when the session ended, I couldn't locate Amy Goldin.