Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Many of my classmates know that Eunice Kennedy Shriver is my hero.  I admire her commitment to advocating for children with special needs.  She opened up her back yard every summer to children with varying abilities; they enjoyed swimming, horse back riding, baseball, soccer and many other athletic events to support gross motor development and self-esteem.  In 1968 she organized the first Special Olympics with about 1000 athletes participating.  The speech Eunice Kennedy Shriver provided during the first Special Olympics in 1968 included this quote,

"Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

With fewer than 100 in attendance to watch the Special Olympics there was not much hope that this would be a successful annual event.  Today, thanks to Eunice Kennedy Shriver and her son Timothy Shriver's dedication and hard work there are about 3 million athletes training year round to participate in this event, an event that is life changing for so many families.
http://www.eunicekennedyshriver.org/bios/si

Identifying Strengths through Assessments

Assessing pre-school age children will support creating individualized plans for each child.  In an environment that is nurturing and safe, teachers can use observations, work sampling, discussions with child, and family interviews to gain information on the development of the child cognitively, socially and physically.  Through these techniques, the teacher can identify the strengths of the child and potentially use the strengths to reach the identified developmental goals that are in line with the early learning standards.  Taking a holistic approach means assessing all three domains of the child, cognitive, physical and social.  The interplay of all three developmental domains that happen during the development of the child constitutes the need to assess the whole child.  Assessing children with this holistic approach also provides the teacher an opportunity to know cherished details about the child that will support an emotional bond.  When teacher and child have this close connection, the child’s development is supported to reach his/her full potential.

I learned about examinations in Singapore when I found the video titled, “When Children Learn, Nations Prosper”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn2I90km_-8.  The video started by describing the devastated economy in the very small country of Singapore and how the educational system supported a new generation to create an economy that now produces wealth.  Interviews with teachers talk about creating students who are “enthusiastic about life”, who want to build character and attitude to sustain a job. 

In an article titled, Assessment Around the World, I learned more about examinations in Singaport.  Students are tested to determine “student placement in the education system and access to elite academic programs."   The results of these test scores are not a reflection on the teacher.  Singapore students are under enormous pressure to score well on all exams as these scores play a major role in the child’s future.  This examination system also demands the students to memorize large amounts of materials.

Both the video and article are wonderful resources to have and I anticipate I will be using them quite often in my career.

Rotberg, I. C. (2006). Assessment around the World. Educational Leadership, 64(3), 58-63. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.