Blog Assignment 5

Watching this video on language development made me think of a fellow mother in a playgroup whose child was referred to a speech specialist because he showed delayed language development. She was trying to raise him bilingually in the U.S.--she spoke to him in Japanese, his father spoke to him in English, and he attended a U.S. school. But because he was deemed as having a "problem," I think she gave up trying to speak to him in Japanese. That is just too bad. As was the case with my kids, sometimes it takes time for kids in a bilingual environment to show true fluency in one language, and if the language support is not strong enough, he may not ever become fully fluent in one language. But the cognitive and cultural gifts that knowing a second language are too great, and so as a parent, I will continue to support my children's dual language development. And as a teacher, I will wholeheartedly encourage second, even third language use at home.

Bog Assignment 4 What it means to be relational

Before this program I only thought about how to teach and engage students, but now I realize teaching is so much more--the best learning happens where there is a connection. I see now that I need to get know my students, beyond their learning capabilities and as individuals. One teacher in a teaching video I viewed this summer shared that on a regular basis, he asks students to tell him how they're doing in a private note that he collects. He looks at each note and responds. This same teacher also makes an effort to attend school plays and sporting events. Though time-consuming, these kind of efforts seem like they would pay off immensely in the classroom, and I would like to try these avenues when I become a teacher.

Blog Assignment 3 More money for early childhood development

After watching the videos on Attention and Emotions, I am even more convinced the importance of early childhood development.  The more effort we as parents, educators, and taxpayers put into this critical stage, the more benefit we will see in social behavior and learning capabilities of children. And it seems that "early childhood" should start with prenatal training and extend beyond age three, since the environments in utero and after three still impact the brain. Rather than money put into "No Child Left Behind" I wish the government had funded "Head Start" more and provided money for parent training.....