Child+Development+Theories+and+Methodology

Hi Everyone! Tasks #3 and 4 are below the comments. Please work on them this week and next week. -Carrie Task 5 is for the week of 3/21.

**Task 1: **
A.) Draw a picture of yourself. B.) Write 5-10 responses to the question "Who am I?" C.) Choose one of two of what you would consider your "self-characteristics" and explain why that characteristic is important to you.

A follow up activity for Task 1 will be a part of the online work for next week (the week of March 21), so you should complete parts A, B, and C before you go online for next weeks class. You can do part's A, B, and C in your own personal notebooks or journals, they do not need to be shared on the wiki. We will share our reflections after you are given some more information next week.

**Task 2**: Read and comment-

In the article �Classroom Socialization: The Other Side of a Two-Way Street� by Carl A. grant, Associate Professor from the School of Education at UW-Madison, states: // The socialization process is not a one-way street. Both teachers and students are affected by // // one another. If schools are to have greater meaning for students, especially minority students, the reciprocal nature of socialization will have to be recognized and affirmed by both partners in the relationship. That should enable them to better understand and effect social change, instead of becoming victims of the faceless "they" who have too often and too long moved us in the wrong // // direction. //

On Friday, NPR reported: New Census data reveals one dramatic change in California. Over the last decade the Latino population in the state has grown so fast that the population under 18 is now majority Latino. I think what we're seeing in California, which is a bellwether of what's happening in the nation, is that the native population is primarily an older population. And because they're older, their fertility rates are lower. And what we're seeing now is parity between the Latino population and the non-Hispanic white population.

Given the growing diversity of our school�s population, how are we as educators socializing our students? ﻿ ﻿﻿ Carrie-blue Christa-﻿ orange Amy - green Audra ~ purple Irene-black Mark - Red Stephanie - blue Jennifer - Lime green Cheri-Yellow

I think that teachers have a very hard and huge job of making connections to their students regardless of their diverse backgrounds (and despite the growing classroom sizes) and then also ensuring that they create a classroom community and connections among their students. If connections are not made and a safe and secure learning environment are not created, then learning will not occur. In kindergarten, it's such a difficult balance because for some kids especially those who lack learning experiences, socialization is such a large part of what we do. Sadly though, the reality is that because of curriculum and assessments, socialization has to put to the wayside. This inevitably hinders the learning so it's a "catch 22". I think this is a perfect catch phrase! I have "superkid" in my classroom which allows every kid to share things about themselves, their families and their culture. However, a twenty-minute presentation once per week is hardly enough. But who has more time and what will it replace if we make time? <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> Teachers are put into a tough position where socialization should be a top priority, but it can't be because of constraints put on teachers to assess and meet certain benchmarks in the curriculum.

<span style="color: #ff6700; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I agree with Carrie, in that it is the responsibility of the teacher to build relationships and connections betweens themselves and their students, while also providing the students the opportunity to make these connections amongst one another. Through socialzation, children can grow and learn so much- about one another's culture and experiences, sharing, appropriate social behaviors and interactions, problem-solving skils, etc. All of these interractions and connections being made are necessary in providing the students with a safe, nurturing, and motivating learning environment, again regardless of diverse backgrounds. Students must be made to feel welcomed, wanted, supported, and celebrated within their classroom so that they may feel safe and excited about participating in the room. One way to also promote this would be to discuss, learn about, and celebrate each other's diversities, experiences, and uniquenesses, allowing every student to feel special and confident in themselves and their abilities. As Carrie also stated, this grows harder to include within the regular classroom day. So much time is taken away from such activities, and instead, put towards curriculum and assessments. Even in kindergarten, an age in which children should be socializing and exploring, applying their life observations and experiences- learning through social activitites such as play, very minimal time is allowed in the schedule to include such activities within the classroom. At my school, my kindergarten class has had a recess cut from their schedule, their is no rest period, and their is also no set "free choice" or play time blocked into our schedule. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Last year they took away our second recess. Every child in our elementary school has one recess a day! <span style="color: #ff6700; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> This is due to the many newly implemented curriculum programs, allowing no additional time in our day. We are also told that the students get enough of that (play-based learning) in 4K... explain that to 5 year olds or to the students that did not attend 4k and have not had the opportunity, or have not learned the skills needed, to socialize with others. :(

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Because we added a 35-minute "Intervention" time this year, something had to give in my schedule. We are doing less Reader's Workshop (which is a crime) and once per week I used to do a Friendship lesson. This taught social skills. Since I usually have the special education kids in my room, teaching these social skills became increasingly neccessary. Now I just squeeze it in if things get bad and we really need to address a problem that arises instead of teaching them the tools to prevent these problems from happening.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I also teach about the lives of many famous African-Americans during black history month. I love doing an experiment teaching about discrimination using their eye color. This year we did it for two weeks instead of the whole month. Eventually it will probably have to go completely since it is not officially in the curriculum. I am not exactly sure if we have a social studies curriculum mapped out. We always say it will be done next and then something more "pressing" comes up. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Christa, it's so sad that recess, rest and free play is cut especially in kindergarten. We have also cut out rest and free play doesn't happen everyday. It's so sad. Some people don't realize how important free play is in teaching socialization.

<span style="color: #8d00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: small;">It�s amazing to me, that for most students, school is their main form of socialization in their lives. This is due to parents who don�t teach their children this crucial life skill or allow them to socialize with children their own ages at home. For most kids these days, school ends up being their only form of socialization, because once the students get home from school, they only socialize with the computer screen and the characters in their video games. So because of this, teachers and schools have an obligation to take on some of this parenting job in the classrooms. I think that most teachers would agree with me when I say that a students� social life is as important, if not more important than their academic life. How can a child grow up to be part of society and get a job, if they have no clue how to communicate, problem solve, or frankly be a kind person? Coming from a special ed. view point, my special ed. students are usually the children who need to learn the most about how to be a friend and be kind. Due to their disabilities and also time out of the classroom or when they are working with a special ed. teacher or para, they miss out on many of the �teachable moments� of socialization that goes on throughout the school day. With that being said, they are left to lunch and recess to socialize with their friends. Guidance for 30 minutes a week is a tiny grain of salt in the entire picture. Teachers should have time built into their week to allow for social skills/life skills training. Or should we just expect it to be learned from home, the lunchroom, or at recess, and then when a problem between students arises, should we expect them to understand how to properly problem solve the situation?

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I think that in my class teaching socialization skills to my students starts before they even come in on the first day. I always send out a postcard to welcome them to second grade, introduce myself, and tell them how exceited I am to meet them when they drop off their supplies. I use the previous years' yearbook to look up as many of my new students as I can so that when they walk in I will recognize them and can say hello to them by name. For me that is the beginning of building a comfortable classroom community and learning about my students. I agree with the problems, lack of time, and cuts having a negative affect on our ability to contine to teach in depth socialization skills. Taking advantage of all the teachable moments that we can has been our most consistant way to try to "fit in" teaching very important skills that students need to learn how to build positive relationships. I get frustrated every year when we are told of the latest cuts or additions of curriculum squeezed into our already hectic day. We all have enough to teach already then we have to figure out how we are going to teach our students about friendship, respect, honesty, and manners. I really think having my own children at home has really helped me at school with my classes each year because they have taught me over the years how to take advantage of every possible teachable moment. Lately, it seems as if that is the only way for me to teach socialization in my classroom. I don't think the ever changing diversity in our schools is going to change that.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: small;">The special Ed department at our school is trying to set up a new student organization called "Best Buddies." It is actually an organization that exists throughout the country where students with disabilities are paired up with students without those disabilities (cognitive, or emotional). That pair is expected to meet and eat lunch together at least once per week, call each other and talk on the phone once a week and participate in group activities with the club once a month. It is a way to fight bullying but also to build peer relationships and socialize those students who do not get as much peer to peer interaction. This group seemes like a lot of work but I also know many schools have similar non-official programs like this for "lunch buddies." It could be an idea that could organize afterschool activities that could benefit the students.

I agree that school has become a major place for socialization, as families are becoming more disjointed. In teaching ESL, I teach a fair amount of American culture and social norms as well as the language, and I can address areas of concern if student behavior needs correcting. I think it would be harder for a child raised here to hear, �What you�re doing is not acceptable at school� when it has always been the norm at home. ESL students are already learning a whole new normal for how things are done at school, and seem to accept socialization adjustment pretty well. The hardest thing may be for parents to get the idea of what we expect in school�both foreign-born and American ones.

Well it looks like we are all on the same page. Socialization is important, although we all face the struggle of finding a way to bring it into the curriculum. High School time constraints are very similar to yours (minus the recess issue). We are so tied to our standards very often we put our head down try and plow through what we need to cover. For me, within social studies we look at US History and try to cover everything from the birth of our nation up to Sept. 11th, 2001. It is yet to happen. The trick is to try and find a way to tie it into our curriculum. What I have done this year with my American Government class (freshman) is to have students bring in Current Event articles and we discuss them in class. I actually have used the "Socratic Circles" idea from my choice book from term 1. Students discuss in a small circle just sharing their stories, asking each other questions to try and gain more information from each other about what is going on in the world. Afterwards the outside circle critiques them and offers suggestions on how to improve (such as how to get people involved that did not participate or only spoke one or two times, while other people dominated the conversation). Students have enjoyed that and we get to practice one of the most difficult things to do in society, discuss politics and not create fights because of them.

Any comments in regards to the NPR announcement posted above? I see that and just feel why it is more important for students in my school (not very diverse) to learn more about the latino culture. Even if they are from a school like Mukwonago and do not see many latinos in our building, we still need to socialize them to a point where they can work with people from other cultures. The growing latino population is a garauntee that students will be working with latinos at some point if they are not already and it is important for students to see the latino population as another trend in the immigration history of the United States and not as a threat (in the work force, or other areas). I try and stress this in US History when we discuss immigration in the 1890's (connection to today) and in the Civil Rights movement. They have learned so much about African American Civil Rights and Martin Luther King Jr. they are very surprised to learn of the Chicano Movement (Mexican American) near the same time and see how long Chicanos have been struggling for equality just like African Americans. I try and challenge those students who have already built up stereotypes about Latinos in the US who view them negatively. When students say the Civil Rights was good and they can't believe how people treated African Americans so bad we connect it to the treatment of Latinos, or the treatment of Muslims. It sparks some good conversation, critical thinking and hopefully understanding.

Jennifer, Socialization is different in my class, since I only see the kids one time a week for an hour. Our school has been doing responsive classrooms for three or so years and this is a community building and socialization program that is incorporated throughout the child’s day. Every year I do get more Hispanic students and although we are not an ESL school we still do the best we can to make the students feel a part of our school. Since art is a language in itself, I can communicate through demonstrations and simple gestures. My students who come from diverse backgrounds feel comfortable in art class, because they are instantly equal. As I assume they are in physical education and in some aspects of music class.

<span style="background-color: #0000ff; color: #ffff00; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Learning acceptable ways to act-socialization should be taught at home, but as everyone has stated for whatever reason it has fallen through the cracks. Children are coming to school without the appropriate social skills. So, it is one more thing we as educators feel the need to address in school, even through there are no curriculum standards that address this issue. In my Foods classes I really emphasis food from different cultures and cultural practices but it is part of the curriculum. <span style="background-color: #0000ff; color: #ffff00; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">As Pewaukee becomes more diverse, we will all have to incorporate more tolerance and model appropriate behavior. Our district wide effort to increase awareness of bullying is a good start.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">﻿ ﻿**Task 3:** Explain and discuss as a child if you were taken care of by a stay at home parent or family member, commercial daycare setting or in home daycare setting AND what are the pros and cons of each. In addition, if you have children or when and if you do have children, which option would you (or did you) choose? If you do not feel comfortable sharing this on the WIKI and would rather journal this discussion, feel free to do so.

<span style="color: #78cb2a; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Jennifer, My mom stayed at home until I was about 10 and then she got a part-time job. My Dad worked as a self-employed carpenter so he was home on and off and did most of the construction work (cabinetry) at home. My mom did all of the finishing work (sanding, staining, and varnishing) helping my dad with his jobs. My parents were always working on our houses (four, during my childhood) so as a result my dad was usually sleeping by 8 pm and my mom, was doing all of the household chores. I got my work ethic from my parents and as a parent; I also, followed a similar work path. I always worked part-time, (apartment manager, baby sitter, nursing assistant, and certified medical assistant) and took classes. The big difference in my upbringing and my kids is that I spent more time playing with them, taking them to every activity and sporting event, and making sure they were successful in school. All pro's and con's aside, here is the bottom line for parenting (my opinion). Your kids need to feel unconditional love and be able to say without any hesitation, that their parents love them and would do anything for them. This takes time to develop and is a feeling in your heart that you can't explain with words. My son gave me the greatest complement when he was about eleven, he was in the backseat with his friends and they were talking about who in their class had the nicest mom. I never heard my name mentioned and when the other boys were out of the car, I asked my son why my name wasn’t mentioned. Well he had the most serious look on his face and sincerely told me that I was not the nicest mom, but I was the best mom. So to this day, I do not aim to be the nicest art teacher, but rather the best art teacher.

As a child I was raised by a stay-at-home mother until I was in 6th grade. Even then, she became a teaching assistant so she had the same vacations as me and summers off. Therefore, I was never in daycare. The biggest disadvantage I feel was the lack of socialization outside of school, especially since I was an only child. The advantages are numerous: someone was there when I got home from school, I got help with homework right away(not after dinner when everyone is tired), mom could volunteer at school and with my girl scout troop, and just more time to spend together. When I had my own children, I felt lucky that my mom could watch my daughter. Then my husband's job changed and he and my mom shared the responsiblity raising both my kids. I feel my children have been lucky to have this time with their grandma and their dad. Of course, the disadvantage is that my children spent a lot of time together and I feel that they are supremely good at driving each other crazy! Perhaps this would have happened anyway, but if they had been in daycare they could have played with other kids and had some time apart. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">﻿ Amy, I had a very similar upbringing. My mom was a stay at home mom until I was in second grade and my brother was in kindergarten. I totally lacked the social skills. I then went to a variety of in home daycare settings. I found my children's babysitter from my best friend and a number of other great recommendations. Mark (our babysitter) is phenomenal. I feel great that my kids will develop the social skills and have a stable caregiver from the time they are infants.

<span style="color: #8c43b6; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">I had working parents. My mom is a teacher, so I too was able to spend the summers having fun with her. My sister is six years older than me, so we have always been at different stages in our lives. She was in school when I was born. During the school year, when I was younger, family took care of me. After a few years old, I was taken care of by a woman in her house who also watched a couple other kids. I thought it was great because I was able to have some socialization with other kids, but it wasn�t a huge daycare with tons of kids, so individual attention was given to us kids. I don�t have children of my own, but when I do, I hope that by that time, my mom is retired so that she can watch my kids (I think she wishes that she could retire RIGHT NOW too, I think you all can figure out why J ) or I hope that I would be able to find some type of in-home care and not a large daycare. I have baby-sat, taught, and known many children who have come out of a large daycare setting and have found that they have had that socialization with other kids, but they lack problem solving skills with those kids. I�m not saying that they are all that way, but I have seen what can happen. I, too, was raised by a stay-at-home mom, who went back to teaching part-time when I went to kindergarten, so she was always there with us before and after school. She was able to be involved in everything related to our activities, but I agree that I missed out on some basic socialization. Being the youngest of four children, I was the baby and got away with things that the others never would have. I might have been trained out of some behaviors by the school of hard knocks, if I had been around peers from age two to five, instead of landing in kindergarten with little exposure to the outside world. That�s the way it was in the sixties. In raising my children, I chose to stay home with them and live on a shoestring, rather than have them in day care. They did go to 4K half days Mon/Wed/Fri, but I didn�t send them to the Tues/Thurs which was for the 3-year-olds. I was pretty guarded about who they were with, and still am, they complain. I do think that they are better off than I was in my situation though, as my family was not very enmeshed with each other, and did not have good communication skills. I do try to talk about everything together, and be very real with them. Though they pass through difficulties, I think that communication with each other really helps. You can be very involved in social circles but still feel totally alone if you don�t have someone you can really talk to, and I felt that keeping those lines open was the best social investment I could make for them.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When my brother, sister, and I were little our dad lived in California and our mom worked at my grandparents restaurant. My mom started work at 5:30 in the morning and worked until 2:00 in the afternoon then she came home to sleep. All of us kids would take the bus to my grandma's house and then our mom would come to pick us up later. I remember as kids we hated being at our grandma's house because she always seemed mad or crabby about something, she was always yelling. As we got older we were so glad that we were able to stay home by ourselves. I guess for my mom the pros would have been that she did not have to pay for childcare, for us we were able to play with the kids in the neighborhood. <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When my kids were little I worked full-time because I needed to. Josh and Megan for many years went to an at home childcare provider which I liked because they were able to socialize but the group of kids was small. When they were old enough to go to school they went to the daycare that provided before and after school care. When Megan started kindergarten their dad and I got divorced, I quit my full-time job, started school, and began running the before and after school program at the daycare. I was able to get the kids off to school, I watched them myself after school, and then we went home together. I liked it, for me it was the best of both worlds. I was able to work, go to school, and be with my kids. Josh and Megan were able to be with their friends and still have some of those same friends today. I'm glad Josh and Megan were able to be around other kids when they were younger, they learned a lot of important socialization skills. I can usually tell if there are students in my classroom that have been at home with their mom with no siblings or peer interactions.

<span style="color: #ff6700; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">As a child, I too was raised by a stay-at-home mother. I am one of five children, having 2 older sisters and 2 younger brothers. My mom stayed home with all five of us, until my youngest brother went to kindergarten. There are 5 years between me and my youngest brother, so this would have put me at about 5th grade, or so. I feel very fortunate that my mother was able to do so, and spend so much time with us, being very activelky involved in our schedules. However to support a large family, this meant that my dad had to work 2 jobs, which meant that we did not get to spend as much time with him. After my youngest brother went to kindergarten, my mom took part-time jobs as teaching assistants or working in the school's food service, so she continued to have the same weekends, vacations, and summers off, as we did. She also was able to get everyone off to school in the morning, before she had to leave, and was home before we got there. My father was then also able to work just the one job, meaning he could spend more time with us as well. Due to this situation growing up, myself, nor none of my siblings ever attended daycare. Our first schooling experience, or out-of-home care, began st the preschool level. As Amy described, a large disadvantage to such a situation could be the lack of socialization amongst other children. However, because I was one of 5 children, I don't ever feel that this was a problem for me or any of my siblings. We had plenty of opportunities to practice social and problem-solving skills with one another, even if it was with a relative (which could sometimes be different than experiencing this with other children). As Amy also mentioned, I too feel that the advantages of being able to have a stay-at-home parent were great, there was always someone home when we were, our mom could volunteer at school and attend all of our sporting/ extracurricular activities, etc. I love my career, and not having children at this point, am unsure whether I would give it up for some time to play the stay-at home parent role. I have always imagined myself being home with my children, as this is what my mother did and I see such positives resulting from that scenario, however I also love being a teacher, and feel that I would extremely miss being in the classroom everyday. I guess only time will tell!

<span style="background-color: #0000ff; color: #ffff00; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">My mother always worked part-time. When my sister and I were younger, she worked weekends and my Dad or grandma took care of us, as we got older and could come home and stay by ourselves she started to work during the week. I stayed at home with my children until I started working part-time as a teacher’s aide at their K-8 school. It wasn’t until my son was in 6th grade, I starting working full time. My husband and I made the choice to have me at home with our children when they were young. I wanted to be the one to teach my children values and socialization skills. Both children did attend preschool for 2 years before going to kindergarten, which I feel helped with their social skills. <span style="background-color: #0000ff; color: #ffff00; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know I was fortunate to be able to stay home with my children and be able to send them to preschool, which I feel was the best of both worlds.

<span style="color: #9c2fda; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"><span style="color: #9848c7; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> ﻿ ﻿ ﻿ Task 4: ﻿Discuss the below statement:

In Gardiner Chapter 8, it stated that when comforting their babies who were distressed, mothers with more education tended to respond with more talking and facial expressions whereas mothers with less education responded with holding their infants more.

I think this staement is mostly true. I read about a study years ago that showed the amount of talking done in a home corresponded with the language development of a child. Children of parents who went to college had faster and better language development than those whose parents did not go to college. So it would make sense to me that parents with more education talk to their children more and use more facial expressions. However, I would assume that most of the time when these educated parents are talking to their children they are also holding them. Of course, now that I write that I remember how often I would be talking to my children in a bouncy seat while I was doing dishes or folding laundry. Could it be that parents with more education have jobs that require them to do more work at home and thus force them into multi-tasking to get everything done? Then I might agree that I might have held my children less than other people. That being said, I still feel like I still kiss and hug them like crazy. Pretty soon they are not going to like me doing that anymore. :( <span style="color: #832dc8; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">It's ok if they don't like that anymore Amy, you just keep on kissing and hugging them....make sure you embarrass them a lot too!!!!
 * Why do you think this might be the case? Do you think this statement is true or false and Why? **

<span style="color: #832dc8; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">When I read the above statement from Gardiner, it made me laugh. I've never read or heard about this "idea" before, but I myself have always felt like I get rather chatty (aka: baby-talk) and animated when I am around babies (and frankly children as well). I've always wondered if it was just because I love babies and kids, or am I just a chatty person, but maybe this idea makes sense. It does make sense, but is there any data or research behind it? In watching the movie, Babies, last time, I did notice that the third world moms did less talking directly to the child, than the urban moms. Would this support the findings in that study? Were they just camera shy? At least, that observation seemed to be true in that setting, but I don�t know whether it would be true in another setting or culture with more educated/less educated moms. I would want to know more about the study before making a conclusion. A vote for �Maybe.�

I will also vote for maybe. I'm not sold on the idea though. In the video the third world parents did less talking but I also think their environment and responsibilities played a large role. As they were learning how to parent and their socialization process, living in a third world you have other important responsibilities. If the family in Africa stopped grinding the maiz (or whatever work they were doing) the food would not be prepared for the rest of the family. If the urbanized family in California or Tokyo stopped to comfort their child and were not able to get dinner ready, they could throw a meal in the microwave, or order a pizza. Not that this is what will happen, but for some one living in Mongolia, they grew up with out that quick back up plan of a McDonald's down the road. I know this is just a food example but it could cross over to other family needs and scenarios.

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I don't know if I agree with the above statement. When my children were born I had not yet gone to college and I don't think I talked to them less or used less facial expressions. I also don't think that I held them more because I wasn't "educated." When my kids were distressed I think I held them and talked to them to try to comfort them. They turned out just fine and seem to be well adjusted kids. I did notice that in the movie, Babies, some families interacted with their children more often and in positive ways compared to others. I think we live what we learn and if that is how they were raised that is how they are going to raise and interact with their children.

I am also unsure of my response to this question. I am a very nurturing type of person, and although I do not have children at this point, I know that when I do, I will be a very "hands-on," "touchy-feely" kind of parent. I have heard that when babies are upset that you shouldn't always pick them up right away because then they will learn to expect this everytime and will fuss when not receiving this comfort and attention. I think that the facial expressions and talking still gives the baby that needed attention, however babies need to learn different ways to self-soothe. I know that this people say this to be true and better for the baby, but I know I will have a herd time not picking up and comforting my baby in distress. I don't know that the differences in parenting technique is due to education, rather I feel that it is more by personality type or experiential as to how you were raised or have seen.

Jennifer, a loaded question, I would say mostly true. Here is the catch; many highly educated women do not live in an extended family dynamic. Their learning comes from a very different perspective than a less educated woman who live in an extended family dynamic. Their education of mothering comes directly from close contact with extended family members living with them. The highly educated mother gets her mothering from a friend, doctor, book or video. Speaking from experience, my son was born when my husband and I lived in San Diego. We had no relatives close by and since we were so young none of our friends had children yet. I was alone with my son all day every day. I read books about the stages of development, used common sense and talked to him like he was my best friend. It sounds crazy, but he was my main social source. (I wonder if things would have been different if face book, e-mailing and Skype were around back them). So I think educated women use their children more in social ways, because they are more isolated. Less-educated women use their children in less social ways because they are surrounded by extended family members. (I have no proof, but it makes sense to me)

I agree with Jennifer. The more education a person has the more likely they are to read the latest research on the best way to raise a child. Also they are probably not living in an extended family, more than likely they are not close to relatives at all! With education usually comes money, so these mothers if they are not stay at home moms can afford to have Nannies are excellent care givers for their children.

What does the picture you drew of yourself and the answers to the question "Who am I?" tell you about yourself? Do you see certain values showing through in how you perceive yourself? For example your job, you family, your children...? Did this, or does this, affect what type of student you were or what type of teacher you are?
 * Task 5: After completing task 1, reflect on the following question: **

As I thought about the question, "Who am I?", I think that my priorities in life showed through (aka: mother, teacher, daughter, reader, cook, writer). I am not sure exactly if these affected what type of student I was. I did like reading and writing way back when I was a student and I loved all things school related, so I guess "teacher" was there as well. Who I am in life has definitely affected what type of teacher I am. When I became a mother I became a better teacher. I was more empathetic to the kids feelings and illnesses. I certainly became better at parent communication when I realized how little kids tell you about their day at school. I certainly understand the strains of taking care of a family and all that needs to be done in one evening and I now have more respect for family time as well as homework time. It is all about finding a balance. Being a mother has made me a better teacher and being a teacher has even made me a better mother. I feel like I have the inside scoop on what goes on at school- I can decipher education lingo and I can ask the right questions to get more answers. For example, my daughter was mentioning writer's workshop so I asked if she was creating a story plan, writing, editing or publishing. She was shocked and then gave me a big long description of what she did that day! I It pays to have this "insider information".

I think after drawing a picture of myself and answering the question of "Who Am I?" I realized that my list of who responses continued to grow larger than I thought it would. One of my responses, in particular, was "I am a daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, aunt, friend, and girlfriend." After answering this question, I realized just how many roles we play and how important my existence is to so many other people. I also thought about this question within the career sense, answering with, "I am an educator, coach, and waitress." But then I added to my list, "...care-giver, nurturer, referee, doctor, role-model, active learner, professional, etc." as I feel that the education field alone, entails wearing all of these many "hats." I think that sometimes people don't understand everything that being a teacher entails and the dedication and persistence that is needed required to do this profession, but I feel that for the people that are able to perform this job with quality, that alone speaks highly about the type of person that you must be. I also looked at the personality traits that I listed within my respones, including nurturing, caring, empathetic, patient, sensitive, but strong, understanding, forgiving, etc. I think that possessing these traits has positively aided in my teaching career. I feel that these traits, along with others, are necessary in being a quality educator. And not only in the teaching field, but I believe that these are characteristics that have helped me throughout my schooling, as well as the rest of my life experiences, as I believe that these traits are those of people that are hardworking, accepting, and always trying to better themselves, as a person, a citizen, a professional, a learner, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend, etc. (bringing me back to my original list of the importance of who I am).

<span style="color: #9c2fda; font-family: Georgia,serif;">When looking at the drawing of myself (very bad drawing mind you) and the answers to the questions "who am I?" I definitely see values showing through in how I am as a person and how I perceive myself. I started with my roles as a person such as a wife, daughter, sister, etc. and slowly moved into my professional roles and eventually I wrote about myself as a person. When I took a close look at my values and personality traits, I think that they completely shine through in my role as a teacher. Because of who I am as a person, that is what shines through in my teaching. Without these traits, I don't think that I would have the motivation to do what I am doing or be an educator today.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">When I started thinking about the question, "Who Am I," it seemed like it would and could be neverending. But, then my priorities came to light and you could tell by my answers. My first thought was that I am a mom, a wife, a teacher and so on. Then the list began to overflow with characteristics. I realized as I made my list that I wore many hats and played many roles. My proudest is being a mom, a wife and a teacher, but I am proud to be many other things too. By the end of the brainstorming, I realized that more than anything I am a work in progress. Hopefully one day I'll be a grandma, a mother in law and a confidant or best friend to my children when they are adults. I think being a mom has greatly effected how I teach and how I view my students. Now I look at my students from a parent perspective and think how I would like my own child's caregiver or teacher to treat them. I am a little more empathetic in some ways, but then I also expect more from the parents of my students. It saddens me when parents in my classroom do not make their children their number one priority as I do. I think my role as a parent and a teacher is so intertwined. I am a better teacher because I am a mom and I am a better mom because I am a teacher. My children and my students both benefit from each other.

<span style="background-color: #0000ff; color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 60%; line-height: 115%;">FFFf amily and educator are my two most important values. Family is so very important; it is the basis for early learning and socialization. A strong functional family is vital for children to grow to their fullest potential. Unfortunately due to many reason, some not in one’s control the family is not what it used to be. A place for love and support, a place where you could be safe and people would take care of you. Education is also very important, in today’s fast-changing, technologic world, education is so very important for the future of our society. I love to teach, not because I know it all but I really want to help my students, so they can go on to lead productive lives in the future, I am very fortunate that I **strongly** believe in the skills and content I teach, everything in Family and Consumer Sciences is important and very relevant to the student’s future. I am constantly looking for current events and information to help my students navigate in this ever-changing world. As a teacher, my goal is to empower the students with the knowledge and life skills necessary to lead productive lives no matter where their paths take them. <span style="background-color: #0000ff; color: #ffff00; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">