Judge Mablean episode on Sandra Johnson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1iz_JyCWp8

This is an episode from Judge Mablean.  The young lady has denied her race, and her mother.  Unfortunately, she does not like the skin that she is in and has decided to live a lie.  This is a tear jerkier!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1iz_JyCWp8

Interviewees and Course Project

Please allow me to introduce to you the two interviewees.  First, Dr. Florence Williams is the principle at Clay Elementary School, in Mableton Georgia.  After working over 40 years as an educator, she has decided to retire at the end of this year. 

Next, Dr. Elbonie Metcalfe, a Special Education Teacher, is also a valued educator at Clay Elementary School.  I have always been so impressed by Dr. Metcalfe.  When I met her, she was perusing her goal of obtaining a Ph.D.  Her main focus is on the children!  She is not distracted by gossiping teachers, troubled parents, or circumstances that are beyond her control.  In fact, I have never known her to complain or give up on a child.  But rather, she is more concerned with providing equal opportunities for success for each child that she come into contact with.

I am so grateful that Dr. Williams and Dr. Metcalfe carved out time from their busy schedules to help me with this interview assignment.  Dr. Williams has always supported my needs in my quest for Professional Development in Early Childhood Education.  In return, I have always strived to give the students at Clay Elementary School my personal best.  On the other hand, Dr. Metcalfe is much younger than I, and she helps me to stay in tune and up to date with technology and all of the 21 Century devices used to benefit our students.  I consider the opportunity to bond with these two busy practitioners a success.

I am happy to report that my interviews are completed.  I selected the suggested list of questions from our assignment.  The only challenge that I faced was selecting five of those superb questions to ask my interviewees.  For example, my original plan was to ask each interviewee a different set of questions.  Finally, I decided to allow the interviewees select which ones they felt more comfortable with.  Ironically, both interviewees selected the first five:

1.     What have you learned about yourself and your own influences (cultural, social, or environmental) in working with these families?

2.     Could you share case in which you saw positive change in a child’s life as a result of your work (or your community’s work)?

3.     What challenges and triumphs have your experienced in your position?

4.     What does an average day consist of for you?

5.     How have you seen children influenced by their families, culture, and society?

One thing that I connected with most was Dr. Metcalfe’s response to the last part of question number 5.  She stated that she have seen students pressured by their peers, television, and their home environment, which is in turn connected with the society in which they live.  I can relate to this as a teacher, but more so as a mother.  For instance, I have seen positive influences of our church home and a relationship with God work in my children’s lives.  However, it saddens me when I see how my children are heavily influenced by social media.  For instance, I purchased a laptop for my daughter to help her learn how to type and to use as needed for her education.  I was alarmed and shocked to learn how she and her friends used laptops post videos that I may consider shameful, to bring them popularity and fame via media.  As an educator, I have seen my second and fourth graders attempt to bring negative influences from their older siblings into our classroom.  Whenever my student have access to the internet, without a doubt, I have to monitor their activities closely.  I am taking any suggestions from my colleagues at Clay Elementary School and Walden, of ways to provide closely monitored internet access to my students.   

The topic of my Course Project (Major Assessment) is Mental Illness:  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  With the help of the Walden Library, I have been successful in locating the articles that are specifically related to stress, trauma, and risk for example.  Moreover, Kim et al. (2014) a Korean researcher, links attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder with obesity in children.  The authors demonstrate how the economic status and the dietary behaviors of a child could promote issues with ADHD. 

Also, I have found the Walden Writing Center to be helpful with reviewing my annotative bibliography papers for correct response to instructions, format, and APA Style.  In addition, the articles that I have selected have provide interesting and in depth information.  Some of the strategies that I gleaned from these articles are useful in my classroom.  For example, if a child should bring an unhealthy snack into my classroom for lunch or snack, I make sure that both the child and the parents understand positive benefits of consuming fruit for snacks.  I feel quite confident that my Course Project (Major Assessment) will be on target as I strive to increase my knowledge on the issues surrounding ADHD.  I can certainly benefit from additional successful testimonies and strategies from which teachers, students, parents/families have benefited from recently. 

Reference:

Kim, E. J., Kwon, H. J., Ha, M., Lim, M. H., Oh, S. Y., Kim, J. H., & Paik, K. C. (2014). Relationship among attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, dietary behaviors and obesity. Child: Care, Health & Development(40), 698-705. doi:10.1111/cch.12129