Week 2 Building Relationships

Relationships/ Partnerships are important to me because they help me gain knowledge and find happiness in my life. The people I have relationships with are my 3 children, my husband, my in-laws, my parents, my sister and her children, my friends and the staff at my daughters school.

My animals have a special place in my heart because they bring many things to my life. I have had dogs, cats, and Yak that have touched my life. I find that my animals help me get through difficult periods in my life. My relationships with them extend past their lives. Having a pet is work because they rely on you for food and water. I feel that the love thy share with me is an extra part of my relationship. It is like they have allowed me to love them.

The relationship with my children have given me joy and knowledge. This relationship gives me reel purpose in life. I feel that my children help me understand why God gives us the ability to have off spring. They give me challenges but I learn from those challenges to help better our lives as a family.

My relationship/ partnership with my husband is very important because he is my best friend, lover and my partner. We work together to raise our children. We are very open and honest with each other on our feelings. We are able to talk about difficult subjects and still love and care for each other. We have had our ups and downs but because of our love and positive relationship we continue to grow and become a better couple and people.

My in-laws help me see new aspects of life. They are there form me when I need them. They show my children and me unconditional love. I feel blessed to be able to have in-laws that I get along with.

My parents are what built my foundation of who I am today. My parents help me see and understand things in life that are difficult. I enjoy spending time with them.

My friends give me support and an outlet for my life. They help me with ideas and activities.

My sister and her children are a positive relationship because they give my daughters and me family to have fun with. My sister is someone who is always supportive no matter if she agrees or not. She is always there if I need her. She will drop everything to help. Her daughters give my children the best friend relationships that they need.

My relationship with the staff at my daughter's school is on a professional level. We work together as a team to bring a positive experience for the children at the school. We communicate about activities a at the school. My daughters teacher's and I talk regularly to help provide my child a positive learning experience.

In order to maintain positive relationships in my life I have to have positive communication. I know especially with family you do not always get along but communication is the key. In order to keep my relationships in a positive way I have come to the understand that not everyone has the same opinion and if I respect our differences then I can have better friends and relationships. I am open and honest with the people I know and I do not take things personal. I understand that we do not always get along but we are individuals. I like to learn and gain new knowledge from the people I know.

The best thing that I gained from building relationships is that it takes all kinds of personalities to build a society. I have understood that we will have to work with difficult people from time to time. I find the best in that person and work from their. I try and help them understand me and I try hard to understand them. I do not give up easy and I work at all my relationships. I understand that relationships do not come easy they take work from both parties. People change over time and we have to respect the changes and learn to love and care for them for who they are.

Week 8 When I Think of Child Development

"Quotes"
The genius of play is that, in playing, we create imaginative new cognitive combinations. And in creating these novel combinations, we find what works.

Stuart Brown M.D & Christopher Varghan



Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.

John Dewy


In play, a child is always above his average age, above his daily behavior, in play, its as though he were a head taller than himself.

Vygotsky

WEEK 6 Testing For Intelligence

"According to the American Psychological Association, intelligence describes a person's ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt to the environment, to learn from experience, and to engage in reasoning and decision-making in all sorts of situations ( both new and familiar)" (Oswalt, 2010, p.1). Children are learning how to do these things from birth. I was recently talking to my daughter's teacher and she was telling me about her oldest son. He struggles with reasoning skills and being able to adapt when it requires him. He does not have the back ground in how to problem solve. His brothers and sisters all have the ability to accomplish these skills. So what makes him different? His mother contributes it to being in the public school system versus home school. All of his siblings were home schooled from an early age. He chose to stay in the public school system.  So, is intelligence an environmental issue as well. My children are very smart and I wish I could say that I am bragging but it goes beyond that. My 9 year old is 1 year ahead in school and all my children can problem solve very well. I have tried to raise them to understand the world they live in, they are allowed to explore the world. So back to the question what is the point of intelligence testing?

As a child is growing and developing we have charts that we compare their height and weight to an average child. There is room to move on the scale and the doctors like to keep a good tab on the growth of each child just in-case there is developmental issues. So why do we not do this with cognitive ability. I do believe how ever that the word intelligence is the wrong would to use because all of us are individuals.  my daughter's school has placement test at the beginning and end of school to measure the progress of each child. They use the beginning of school test to place them in the correct class. We have many 8th grades in 3rd or 4th grade grammar as just and example it does not matter your age but the learning environment is about ability. In the early 1900's Alferd Binet used intelligence tests to help the French educators from discriminating against special needs children. He realized that you have to take in account a child's age because then your data would be wrong. You have to consider age because a child's ability and capabilities expand over time. Leis Terman revised Binet's scale in 1916 and it is now what we call "IQ" (intelligence quotient). The IQ is based on a mathematical comparison of a child's age and mental age. So, it has evolved from just understand a child's learning level to mathematical comparison. I understand why Binet originally started the testing and it makes sense but I think it has gotten off course from helping understand a child to saying if you do not reach this score you are not smart.

Another topic about intelligence is emotional intelligent. Children have so many things going on in their lives that they do not always understand how to deal with their emotions. Raising and emotional intelligent child is very important.  Parents want a child to be complaint and obedient but they do not always understand why a child is misbehaving. Learning to be an emotionally-coaching parent can help your child have more general abilities in the area of their emotions (Gottman, 1997). Emotion coaching also helps parents maintain a close personal relationship with your child as the grow and mature. "The key to successful parenting is not found in complex theories, elaborate family rules, or convoluted formulas for behavior. It is based on your deepest feelings of love and affection for your child, and is demonstrated simply through empathy and understanding" (Gottman, 1997, p. 18). Good parenting begins with your heart and continues with listens and moment to moment working through a child's emotions. You have to listen and help a child work through emotional ups and downs not just ignore them. You need to understand your child and why they are having feelings.

"People in Western cultures, he suggests, tend to view intelligence as a means for individuals to devise categories and to engage in rational debate, while people in Eastern cultures see it as a way for members of a community to recognize contradiction and complexity and to play their social roles successfully" (Benson, 2003, p.1).  Some communities that have not yet been influenced by western schools do not distinction between social competence and intelligence. It has also been found that no matter what the problem is if it is in a familiar context whether in an industrialized country or non-industrialized country then that person can solve the issue. Many cultures that have not been exposed to western school measure intelligence differently and are concerned about other skills and abilities.
My believe is that intelligence testing should be used in a positive way to help understand a child as a whole and to help them succeed in society. Culture is a big part of understand intelligence and that needs to be factored in the test itself. I believe that children in Western society should be tested only to understand them and not as a measuring device to compare them. Parents need to understand the true intelligence of their child.


References
Benson E. (2003) Intelligence across cultures. Retrieved on October 4, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/intelligence.aspx

Gottman, J (1997) Raising an emotionally intelligent child.New York, NY, Simon & Schuster Paperback

Oswalt, A. (2010) Intelligence: the measurement of cognitive capabilities. Retrieved on October 4, 2015, Retrieved from www.mentalhelp.net/articles/intelligence-the-measurement-of-cognitive-capabilities/s.