Module 8 Assignment 2 Early Childhood Professional Blog

Early Childhood Professional blog
            The book entitled Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs (2012) is a very inspiring resource for the development of children from birth through age 8. This book is very thought-provoking because it is suggesting that “an excellent teacher makes it a priority to develop a warm, positive relationship with each child” (Bredekamp, 2012). Immediately after reading that statement I started to reflect to make sure I was in that category. I am! The authors stated that relationships are vital to young children’s learning and development in all areas (Bredekamp, 2012). Discovering other practitioners creating classroom communities and making it a point to learn about each child’s personality, abilities, interests, and ways of learning inspires me to do the same in my classroom.
            The most current research that challenges my thinking is how “toxic stress” can affect “executive functioning” in young children and their parents. The Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University (2011) explained “children depend on their emerging executive functioning skills to help them as they learn to read and write however disruptive effects of toxic stress on the developing architecture of the brain can impair the development of executive function skills (University, 2011) Young children need the development of executive functioning skills for working memory, attention, and inhibitory control skills (p.7). The authors Bredekamp & Copple  (2012) mentioned “the abilities are just beginning to emerge in the early primary grades and should be taught like other skills” (Bredekamp, 2012, p. 274).
Links to websites:
www.developing child.harvard.edu
One image I selected in relation to child development, learning, and culture is this one.
The reason I chose this one is because some young children do not get to develop healthy. They do not get a chance to go to school and learn because they are trying to adjust to adverse environments. Will they ever get to experience a normal childhood without poverty, wars, and abandonment? Will millions of other displaced children get the opportunity to have caring adults to give them the childhood they deserve? We cannot turn a blind eye on any child and especially the children who need help the most.


References
Bredekamp, C. C. (2012). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs.    Washington D.C: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
University, C. o. (2011). Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System: How Early    Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function. Center on the Developing       Child at Harvard University, 1-17. Retrieved from: www.developing child.harvard.edu    


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