Final Week

A famous quote that I love about children is:

"I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!" David Vitter

This quote is so true to me, and dear to my heart. If educators and parents are supportive of the children and guide them they would go far in life. Children need to feel loved and want someone to believe in them and help them succeed. All children have potential to succeed.

I always tell my students and children that they could become anything they dream of becoming. The sky is the limit!

Holistically....The impact on kids

At all ages and grades students are tested for various reasons. Some testing is to see if the child is prepared to advance to the next grade, if the child understands the materials, if the student needs special one on one help, and etc. I believe that testing is a good thing if assessed the correct way and for a good reason. The school system has to assess students, and parents and guardians should understand that, the problem comes from over usage of it.

According to worhnetweb.princton.edu, holistically means emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole. I think the child as a whole should be assessed. The reason I think that is because every individual have a weak spot, and should not be punished for it. For example, I am quick and fast in math, but slow in reading. Should I be placed in a special need reading class because my 3^rd grade assessment was low? What if my 2^nd grade test was normal? My point is that children should be assessed as a whole, and not parts. For example, I use to have a student that was smart and capable of completing his work. He went to public school, and they are trying to place him in a special needs class for the wrong reasons. He was assessed and has behavior problems. Yea, we know he has behavior problems, but is placing him in a special needs class the way to go because he was assessed and his teacher said so. I had this student before he went to public school) for 2 years and his work was well, and I was able to control his behavior. I think it could be overused.

Children in the UK get assessed in somewhat the same way as they do in the US. The teacher assesses them in the classroom, during particular age groups. They also use 3 National curriculum levels that assist them. They aim to make sure that everything is balanced in the classroom. The systems are similar to how our educators do things, which could have its perks.

Children do need to be assessed, but it is a thing called over-measured. The child should be looked and assessed as a whole and not in parts.

Consequences of Stress

Although there are many common stressors, I would like to focus on diseases. A few years ago when I was completing my Undergraduate degree in healthcare, I learned a lot about different stressors and how it affects children. One of the courses that I had to take was centered on AIDs prevention. I attended a seminar called AIDS 101, it was one of the best experiences that I could have had. I met a sibling that explained how they were born with the illness, and their mom died when they was young from complications from the disease. They elaborate on how their childhood was. They had doctor’s appointments every week, hard to keep friends (when they find out they have AIDs they get scared), always sick, play no sports, missed a lot of days of school (the brother dropped out), etc. I could imagine how their childhood was, because it’s a lot for a child to handle.

AIDS is a major problem in other countries, a bigger problem than the United States. Africa has most of infected people living in sub-Saharan Africa.  It is a number of reasons why the disease can spread so fast. The poverty level, economic status, or lack of knowledge could all be factors on why this particular disease could be affecting so many people in Africa. Children also have to stay in the hospital longer than any other patients.

AS a child growing up in Trinidad, AIDs is a huge problem. On the radio station, boards, schools, etc., they discuss the prevention and the importance of being educated about the disease. The children whose parents the disease spend a lot of time with other family members and friends, because their parents was sick a lot and weak a lot. My aunt is a nurse at the hospital and she came home crying many nights because of the death of child from the disease.