Web Resources

Relevant Information to my Current Professional Development

                The one article that I found on this website that I feel speaks to my current professional development is an article that I read on cuts that are being made in our economy.   Right now professionally I am trying to find better ways to make a difference in the lives of children.  This article stated how certain governmental offices want to make what they call cuts to “lower priority spending”.  This means that they would make cuts in public assistance to disadvantaged families and elderly.  Such cuts would be made in food stamps (which provide assistance with food for elderly, disabled people, children, and the poor).  The proposal is that 2 million people would lose their benefits completely and 44 million would have a reduction in their benefits.  There would also be a cut in student access to free and reduced breakfast and lunch at school.  Another proposal is to eliminate the Social Services Block Grant which provides child care assistance, protective services for foster care, and programs for meals on wheels.  This article states that there are other ways to find money such as cutting the tax breaks that many millionaires get every year.  This could pay up to 10 years of nutrition assistance.  I feel that this article hits home for me because I don’t think that I make my voice heard enough in issues relating to this.  I know that there are petitions you can sign and calls that I can make to let policy makers and government officials know that making cuts to these kinds of programs only hurt our youth and the families that they are coming from.  This website and article opened my eyes to the ways in which I can do a better job. 

Controversial Issue

                The one controversial issue that I found when researching this website was about a boy who was staying in a baseball park and sleeping on one of the benches.  He came from a single parent home in a neighborhood where gangs are prevalent.  After a sister’s boyfriend who was a gang member shot up his house, his mother moved in with a boyfriend and his sisters moved in with friends.  This 15 year old boy was then left to fend for himself.  He was able to stay with some friends, relatives, and school employees but at times found himself homeless with nowhere to turn.  He did not let this affect him negatively.  Instead he studied hard and now at the age of 18 got accepted to Harvard after turning down Princeton and Yale.  His story is one of courage, hard work, and perseverance. 

                What really bothered me about this story is the fact that this child had to go through this at all.  It angers me that his mother would leave him to fend for himself at the age of 15.  She said that she was happy for all of the people that God had put into his life to help him but my thoughts are that God put him in her life for her to protect him and she fell way short of this job.  I understand that people go through hard times and issues but there is nothing more important in this world than the well-being of our children.  She moved in with a boyfriend but did not take any of her children with her.  In my eyes that is totally unacceptable.  When we become parents we sacrifice all aspects of our lives for the children that God placed into our hands.  It angers me greatly when I find out about parents who are too selfish dealing with themselves to provide the kind of life for their children that they deserve.  I was really glad to read in this article that there was a principal of a school that took this boy into his home for a while and took care of him.  I would like to think that if given the opportunity, I would do the same for a child if I found out about such a situation.  I am so glad that this young boy beat the odds and now has a bright future ahead of him but it also made me think about all of the children that will never get this chance. 

Understanding of economist, neuroscientists, or politicians

                When researching this website to find information related to economists, neuroscientists, and politicians I found a link that took me to an Education Sector.  On this page I found an article entitled Off the Clock: What More Time can (and can’t) Do for School Turnarounds.  This article I found interesting because it kind of went along with what we were studying this week in relation to more time spent on academics in school.  In it I learned that there are millions of federal budget dollars spent on expanding learning time within schools.  This article was talking about the research behind this and how it shows more ill effects of this than positive ones.  The reasoning being that when schools want to add more minutes to their day they end up taking away extra programs and shortening recess and lunch periods.    They say that there has not been enough research done to show how this expanded time will affect children and the research that has been done has only shown a small positive effect on standardized achievement.  They say that the problem is that many schools only look at the quantity of days and time and do not change the quality of the programs which is the main issue.  The programs should become of higher quality if they are going to add time to the school day/year. 

                This issue and the studies that I did this week gave me a better understanding of these three categories because I was able to see the thinking behind each one and how they are usually not interconnected, but should be.  If the economists and politicians would use the research that is completed by the neuroscientists then they could create and support programs and policies that are effective in creating dynamic and influential early childhood programs.  Research should always play a factor in the creation of policies and programs and it should not be about the money or the political advantages.  All of these sectors need to make sure a child’s well-being comes first and providing the best possible outcomes for them should be the first item on every agenda.

New Insights on Issues and Trends

                One of the new insights that I gained from this website is about a national conference that they are holding in Cincinnati, Ohio to work at creating change at state, local, and federal levels for children who are living in poverty.  The issue of poverty is one that affects children all over the world and this conference connects communities of child advocates, faith leaders, young leaders, policy makers, and service providers to become voices for these children that often do not have a voice.  This conference is being held in July and if you would like more information or would like to become involved you can go to: http://www.childrensdefense.org/national-conference/.

Resources:
Children's Defense Fund. Retrieved From http://www.childrensdefense.org/