Thank you

To Julia and Elizabeth,

I want to say thank you for giving me the oppurtunity to be part of you semester.
I have learned a lot from reading your discussions and blogs. Makes me feel better
about the decision to seek higher education. I know that my experiences here in the
Oklahoma are not unique experiences. There are more caring educators out there and I
am so thankful to have encountered you ladies.

Thanks Keisha

Children Quotes

*"We must bow before only two: the emperor and a child's tears."
     - Japanese proverb

*"It is better to bind your children to you by a feeling of respect and by gentleness, than by fear."
     - Terence (c. 190 - 159 BCE)

*"We've spent a generation trying to reorganize schools to make them better, but the truth is that people learn from the people they love."
     - David Brooks

*"Affection is crucial from the day of birth; it is the basis of life."
     - The Dalai Lama


There were so many quotes about our children that I could not just pick one. The Japanese proverb hits me the most, and that's why it is first.
The proverb puts children second behind their emperor. That speaks volumes about where their priorities are. Seems as though they have
caught on to the notion that children are our future and should be treated and represented like that are that important to all of us.

Intelligence Testing

I feel a commitment to the healthy habits of a child’s life should be viewed holistically. These habits are something they learn from parents, teachers and peers. This is why we must surround children with who are more like them whether it’s based on race, health issues or sex, it helps make them more amenable to taking care of themselves. Just like everything else in a child’s beginning healthy habits need to be addressed and taken care of in an attempt of early intervention.

In Brazil instead of attending school in their school age period, most children are considered street children who sell fruit, candy and other products to earn their living. Of course working in the streets meant that they did not spend much time in school or even worse never attended school in the first place. If they did happen to be tested they scored poorly on most standard math achievement tests. This is no surprise, but is a very sad realization.

I feel as our children begin to grow, we need to take more time out to teach and nurture them. This is the time period where children really begin to see what’s going on in their worlds and begin to make their own perceptions of “life as they know it”. It is up to us as teachers and parents to help guide them. I am completely excited to make sure an impact on a child’s life. I feel as though this is my purpose in life.