Talking about Good touch and Bad touch.

A topic that worries parents and teachers alike.Children as young as three years old can understand the basic concepts of good touches, bad touches and confusing touches. These young children can also understand the definition of sexual abuse and are not afraid of the words that send a chill up the spines of adults. Use the words “sexual abuse” when talking with your child because if a child is victimized, they need to be able to tell you that they were “sexually abused!”. As a teacher i feel very strongly that we must treat our young ones as young adults and not cute-fy things unnecessarily.

Inappropriate Touching:

 Surveys show that as many as 1 in 4 children have suffered some sort of sexual abuse by the time they reach 18. Statistics show that child sexual abuse crosses boundaries of race, class, culture, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, affecting all types of communities. What can you do as a parent to help protect your child?

Children today are around more adults on a daily basis than ever before. From childcare to sports practices to dance classes, not to mention camps and after-school programs, children are meeting and interacting with many adults regularly.

That’s why it is so important for parents to talk with their children — as early as age 3 — about inappropriate touching. And children even younger can begin to learn about their bodies.

What is “inappropriate touching”?:

The clinical definition of child sexual abuse is inappropriately exposing or subjecting a child to sexual contact, activity or behavior. An easier way to think of it – and to teach children about it – is by contrasting “good touches” and “bad touches.”

• A good touch can be explained as a way for people to show they care for each other and help each other. Examples you can give include hugging, holding hands, or a parent changing a baby’s diaper.
• A bad touch can be explained as the kind you don’t like and would want to stop right away, such as hitting, kicking or touching private parts.

Before you talk with your child, it’s important that you understand just what “inappropriate touching” means and are comfortable speaking about it. Quite often, the subject of sexual abuse can make parents immediately think, “It’s too awful to think about,” or “That would never happen in our neighborhood/family/school.”

The truth is, sexual abuse cuts across all cultural, racial and economic lines and in most cases the molester is someone the child knows. EVERY parent and teacher should be having this discussion with his or her children. Children are not usually threatened by this information; they embrace it!

1. Teach the “Safe Body Rule.” Rather than expect your children to judge a touch only by how it makes them feel (“good” or “bad”), give them a solid rule that they can follow. Using the “Safe Body Rule”, teach them it is NOT okay for anyone to touch their private parts, or what is covered by their swimsuits. It is easier for a child to follow a rule and they will more immediately recognize a “bad touch” if they have this guideline in mind.
2. Use proper body names. Sexual predators often take advantage of the fact that we don’t speak freely with our children about sex and our bodies. By talking about genitals and age-appropriate sexual matters to children in a respectful manner, we stop teaching by exclusion that all these things are secret and not to be talked about. One of the most important goals of having this conversation with your child is to let them know that they SHOULD speak up if something happens and should not be embarrassed or scared to talk about their own bodies or of your reaction
3. Prepare them to react to a “secret.” Explain that if an adult does something your child thinks is wrong and then tells them to keep it a secret, they should tell you immediately. Giving children specific examples like this will help them feel more empowered to act if necessary. Role-play can be a valuable tool in this step as well.

This video has certainly helped broach this subject with ease,and having played it usually at an interval of two-three weeks in classroom.A discussion on good and bad touch ensues as a by product,and cementing of basic knowledge amongst children

 

Delayed Speech Milestones by Ms Arshay Nida, guest writer.

Arshay,has lived most of her childhood in Abu Dhabi,adjusting to a new educational setup,meeting people from across the world.Even as a child,she was deeply intrigued by her teachers,who in every class managed to sow a seed of curiosity in her young mind.She knew that the joy of teaching is unparalleled and with a lot of encouragement from her parents she started exploring the Montessori Method from Amity University and subsequently took up a bachelors in education from IP University.

Love and Pedagogy invited her over for a guest post and this is what she had to say :-

I am usually disturbed when people especially parents fail to identify a speech delay,alternatively known as a delayed milestone. Let us first understand How do speech and language develop-

The first 3 years of life, when the brain is developing and maturing, is the most intensive period for acquiring speech and language skills. These skills develop best in a world that is rich with sounds, sights, and consistent exposure to the speech and language of others.

There appear to be critical periods for speech and language development in infants and young children when the brain is best able to absorb language. If these critical periods are allowed to pass without exposure to language, it will be more difficult to learn.

What are the milestones for speech and language development?

The first signs of communication occur when an infant learns that a cry will bring food, comfort, and companionship. Newborns also begin to recognize important sounds in their environment, such as the voice of their mother or primary caretaker. As they grow, babies begin to sort out the speech sounds that compose the words of their language. By 6 months of age, most babies recognize the basic sounds of their native language. Here I would also like to mention Dr Montessori’s idea of ‘sensitive period towards language acquisition as well as the Absorbent Mind’ the two powerful tools of mother nature.

Children vary in their development of speech and language skills. However, they follow a natural progression or timetable for mastering the skills of language. A checklist of milestones for the normal development of speech and language skills in children from birth to 5 years of age is included below. These milestones help doctors and other health professionals determine if a child is on track or if he or she may need extra help. Sometimes a delay may be caused by hearing loss, while other times it may be due to a speech or language disorder.

What are voice, speech, and language?

Voice, speech, and language are the tools we use to communicate with each other.

Voice is the sound we make as air from our lungs is pushed between vocal folds in our larynx, causing them to vibrate.

Speech is talking, which is one way to express language. It involves the precisely coordinated muscle actions of the tongue, lips, jaw, and vocal tract to produce the recognizable sounds that make up language.

Language is a set of shared rules that allow people to express their ideas in a meaningful way. Language may be expressed verbally or by writing, signing, or making other gestures, such as mouth movements.

What should I do if my child’s speech or language appears to be delayed?

Talk to your child’s doctor or teacher if you have any concerns. Your doctor or teacher may refer you to a speech-language pathologist or maybe a speech therapist.Someone who is a health professional trained to evaluate and treat people with speech or language disorders. The speech-language therapist will talk to you about your child’s communication and general development. He or she will also use special spoken tests to evaluate your child. A hearing test is often included in the evaluation because a hearing problem can affect speech and language development. Depending on the result of the evaluation, the speech-language therapist may suggest activities you can do at home to stimulate your child’s development. They might also recommend group or individual therapy or suggest further evaluation by an audiologist (a health care professional trained to identify and measure hearing loss), or a developmental psychologist (a health care professional with special expertise in the psychological development of infants and children).I sincerely hope that we as students and teachers can identify speech delays and work on them,without wasting much time.

Thank you love and pedagogy for this opportunity!

 

Mama is asking you, what did you do at school today?

What did you do at school today?  ‘i played’

No no, what did you do today?  ‘i don’t remember!

What did you eat today?  ‘i don’t know!’

Were you a good girl?  ‘ huh huh”!

Did you learn anything new? ‘ No…’

The above sounds familiar to me,does it to you? Do you roll your eyes much like i do,or giggle when you see a parent struggle to illicit answers to their questions!

Many parents are curious to know why, despite a rich environment and best facilities, many of the children return home and cannot recount what it is they have done in a day!  It is important to realize that for the very young child, it is difficult to both remember and recount their day.  However, the inability to answer “what did you do today?” also illustrates the power of the Absorbent mind, a power bestowed upon the child by nature Although any one child may have a day as described in his daily routine or by the adult in the class…the simplicity of the day belies the richness of what the child has absorbed from the environment.  Though he/she may have been working on one piece of material, all around him/her children were working or quietly conversing, the directress was giving a lesson, a small group was happening in the corner, and outside sun played hide and seek  The child between birth and six does not process these events serially as we do.  Rather, the entirety of their environment is captured by the absorbent mind- almost as a photograph.  Thus the child working on one piece of work,an activity though his conscious mind may be incredible focused on that work, is actually absorbing a wealth of experiences that we cannot even describe- and neither can the small child.

Montessori trained teachers are traditionally referred to as “directors” or “directresses” since “teacher” implies that the adult is bestowing knowledge on the child.  In the Montessori environment, the trained adult is there to assist the child in the natural unfolding and development of his self.  We therefore use the term “directress”. or just the term ‘adult’ in a case specific setting.

‘Education tends toward three goals: self-confidence, self-esteem and independence. The Montessori environment is designed to allow the child to move toward that goal. Much of the work is individual and each material there is only one copy. The child chooses, as far as possible, unrestricted activity. Coaching may be necessary, however. A child can manipulate a material when it has been presented by a teacher. A presentation will be performed several times if the child expresses the need. The teacher will invite the child to attend a presentation and handling equipment. The child can also take your time, think, observe. This also falls under autonomy’

-L’École Montessori de Paris- Casa dei Bambini,Paris.

A school that touched my heart,for being so simple and welcoming,yet respecting the quietude of the four year old worker,for not allowing us as visitors to click the kids unnecessarily,thereby disturbing their concentration at work.We were also asked strictly to keep our mobile phones away and rather enjoy the experience of walking around the corridors that will shape many a human beings,that will be sent in to the society.

For one,i urged myself to interact one on one with the teacher-as a fellow human,understand her-a crusader much like me-for once i urged my memory to work better and look at activities i could,make handwritten notes for my smart gadget-the smart phone was asked to be put away in a locker at the head’s office.I for once loved being without the phone,loved not being told by mind to click incessant pictures-i for once reflected on my learning,while enjoying the beautiful school that is

-L’École Montessori de Paris.

A picture that a fellow researcher managed –

 

Head over to :- http://ecolemontessoriparis.fr/  and translate if french is not your cup of tea!

A kitchenette in my classroom?!

When i first began working as a teaching assistant,i would often see my mentor whip up delicacies in a jiffy,or create a ‘fire free cooking activity’ or just add a seasoning to food that would make children sit up and take notice and gulp and gobble it.I observed her being self sufficient inside her own classroom and not having to run around asking for things,thus ensuring that not a minute was wasted nor were the kids left alone or wondering at any point.

A discussion ensued around this in a conference in Amsterdam,where teachers discussed why should one make a “home for children in the classroom?’ The answers were always within us and that meant for little ones still groping their way around the world it is important that comfort does be a paramount theme in their environment,comfort usually sets in when one makes an environment their own-by adding a personal touch.As an individual i wouldn’t be too happy if i would have to borrow stuff from my neighbors on a regular basis,which also means stepping out and leaving my children unattended.It can be a corner in the room,a shelf in the cupboard or maybe the window sill.Mine is housed in the cupboard!

A quick list for the kitchenette:-

– A knife – very handy to cute and serve fruits.

– A peeler for the same.

– Bowls,that facilitate mixing and serving.

– Extra plates,easy to serve snacks to groups in different areas of the room.

– Electric kettle to heat water,that allows me to make my own coffee or tea *wink*

This is one thing that i shall follow in every grade that i teach! saves time leads to effective class management!

 

India’s twelfth five year plan and education

Our nation has been experiencing a vast expansion in the enrolment of children in schools since the

last decade. It is set to increase with the opportunities offered by the Right to Education Act (RTE

2009) assuring every children’s right to quality education. That increasing enrolments do not necessarily mean attendance or learning, has come under severe scrutiny. Recent studies (ASER, 2012) and several anecdotal evidences confirm low participation and low levels of learning among children. The Twelfth Five-Year Plan by the Government of India emphasizes that ‘access to education’ cannot be separated from ‘quality of education’. One of the goals of the Dakar Framework (2000) in achieving Education for All is  ‘quality of education’. It is against this dominant prevailing sentiment that Tagore’s view of education as a ‘right which enables individuals and communities to act on reflection’ (In a letter to the International League for Rational Education, 1908)

assumes greater meaning. The teaching-learning practices in a classroom provide an opportunity for not just the development of knowledge and skills among children but of curiosity and eagerness.

John Holt(1967) in his book, How Children Learn observes, “children come to school curious, within few

years most of the curiosity is dead or silent……A child is most intelligent when the reality before him arouses in him a high degree of attention, interest, concentration, involvement—-in short, when he cares most about what he is doing.” Therefore, it is the life in the classrooms that pave way for children to develop a sense of love for learning and offers purpose to their childhood experiences. The teaching-learning practices in a classroom provide an opportunity for not just the development of knowledge and skills among children but of curiosity and eagerness.

 

 

Why is breakfast important for teachers?

Have always heard teachers tell the parents ‘your child must eat a little something…’ or to the child ‘has mummy not fed you anything?’ ‘Why are you so low on energy,no breakfast in the morning?’

What happens when teachers walk in to school with no breakfast and the same lame ‘i have no time to eat in the morning!’ For the ones who manage just fine are lucky,who don’t,usually end up with ‘ i need coffee before i begin my day!! or just plain shouting at the children and what about being fatigued and not having the energy to even make a lesson interesting….let alone interesting not being inclined to present in an interesting fashion!

Speaking to many of my teacher – friends i realized,an empty stomach gets the better of us as human beings (and educators too) We seem to have more energy at our disposal if we have had a little something in our tummies before we reach our classrooms.

A dear friend from Nigeria talks about how hard pressed for time she is,but she does ensure she has two small breakfasts before taking on her day.The first breakfast is when she wakes up and is halfway through her ‘getting dressed routine’. She sits down on the table and eats her sandwich,muesli,flakes and coffee while she ‘creatively visualizes her classroom’.While at it she also goes through her social media sites. Adebanke is regular with tweeting.She connects with the parent community as well as her former students,every single day through numerous tweets and retweets.

The second breakfast that usually contains a muesli bar/power grain bar and a fruit is had when she parks her car at the school.She also guzzles down a lot of water before she takes on the day.

I have understood why she does what she does! It simply adds to her energy reserves,as once we are inside the classrooms we forget all idea of water-food-snack while we are trying our best to get children to follow instructions.By the time we are through the day,we look like zombies..and not willing to even talk or text..Our energy reservoir in the body has been depleted because we need ALL possible energy to get through the day.Also,the gap between dinner the previous night and a possible breakfast usually is a good ten hours!! When i saw my friend,she was still her vibrant self at the end of a maddening day!

A quick fix also happens to be eating some chocolates with coffee- a good boost of sugar helps combat the fatigue which makes teachers plonk themselves on chairs and not involve themselves in the classroom activities!

I guess a good breakfast does help!

 

Michelle Obama’s attendance initiative- From the Wall Street Journal

First lady Michelle Obama is launching an effort to persuade more low-income students to commit to higher education, as she broadens her policy profile to support the president’s goal of having the U.S. lead the world by 2020 in the share of people who graduate from college. Mrs. Obama started the initiative Tuesday with remarks at a Washington, D.C., high school, where she told a group of sophomores they could follow her path from a working-class family to graduating from a top university. “No matter what dreams you have, you have got to do whatever it takes to continue your education after high school,” she said. “And once you’ve completed your education, you will have the foundation you need to build a successful life.” During her time in the White House, Mrs. Obama has met regularly with students, and she has spoken frequently about her and her husband’s determination to open doors of opportunity through education. But she usually focuses more on general aspirations than specific policies. Her most high-profile initiative has been the “Let’s Move!” campaign, which promotes childhood exercise and healthy eating. Mrs. Obama explained President Barack Obama’s higher-education goal for 2020 to a group of students who could graduate that same year if they attended four-year colleges after high school. Noting the U.S. is ranked 12th in the share of college graduates, she said, “That’s unacceptable, and we’ve all got a lot of work to do to turn that around.” An official in the first lady’s office said Mrs. Obama plans to work with the Department of Education on the effort, and her schedule is still being discussed. Mr. Obama has supported the Pell grant program and student-loan programs. In August, he outlined a plan to create a rating system for colleges based on their affordability, graduation rates and other measures designed to help students evaluate colleges. Eventually, the president said, student aid should be tied to an institution’s performance, an idea that met with mixed reviews from colleges and lawmakers. Higher-education experts have lauded Mr. Obama’s goal of boosting the share of college graduates and helping more low-income students enroll in college. But some have said the 2020 goal, which was first laid out in 2009, likely isn’t attainable, noting there is a long list of challenges to unravel in higher education. Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, said meeting the president’s goal would cost $200 billion more a year. “The issue is, how are you going to pay for it?” he said. Terry Hartle, senior vice president for the American Council on Education, said the likelihood of attaining that goal is “very, very slim.””We would have to make a much greater societal commitment” to achieve the goal—but it is important to make the effort.

We didn’t start the fire – why Billy Joel is relevant in circa 2014.

At places where teachers are honed we are taught that popular media can be used as an indispensable tool in the homeroom.I for one have always thought that this song would be a great choice during Contemporary World studies lecture in a Social Sciences class. I of course banged my head the the music as a gawky teenager,but it did roll out the sequence of events very well…in the stream of consciousness (shout out to Virginia Woolf!!)

Some serious throwback to Billy Joel.

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England’s got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn’s got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Bridge On The River Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather, Homicide, Children of Thalidomide…

Buddy Holly, Ben-Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician Sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah’s in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China’s under martial law
Rock and Roller Cola wars, I can’t take it anymore

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on and on and on and on
And on and on and on and on…

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it!

Our eighth-ninth graders need to know the events of the past to be able to have certain political perspective in mind and understand the state of world affairs.It is a give then,the headlines pertaining to Gaza-Israel are ignored for juicier headlines of someone ‘being just friends’.

Isn’t our skill much in knowing what our learners shall receive from a certain resource? What is your favorite resource idea?

The Peace Table-classroom management techniques

Most of the conflict at our home or classroom doesn’t come from children just fighting – usually it’s because they have difficulty making a decision together and have difficulty finding agreement.

Problem solving techniques I have learnt to give my children include;

• one person speaks at a time
• speak to each other how you would like to be spoken to – no raised voices or angry faces
• stick it out/persevere – don’t walk away upset, work on it until the issue is resolved
• stay calm – try to control your emotions and tears so that you can continue to communicate
• try to see the other child’s point of view
• consider taking turns
• be prepared to try something new
• be prepared to compromise
• try to suggest new ideas
• try to give suggestions, options and choice to the other child
• be prepared to apologise if you have made a mistake or hurt someone
• be patient, gracious, generous and kind

These of course cannot be explained to them unless they are ready to comprehend the real meaning.

Some of these concepts are directed more at a slightly older child. As the older child I have an expectation (as a teacher) that he will take the lead with problem solving and conflict resolution. It turns out he can be quite persuasive with his brother once he calms down enough to think things through.

When I have two children in tears or when the two of them just cannot agree I will do something which is reminiscent of the peace table.

I have the children face each other and hold hands. I ask for them one at at time to explain the problem and for his point of view (we usually start with the youngest he has less impulse control). After each child has spoken I might make a suggestion, give some ideas. As much as I can I prompt them to resolve the issue between themselves. Sometimes I will ask  do you have any ideas on how we can resolve this’ or ‘Is it possible for you to …(go halves, take turns)’. Sometimes I  am just silent – this creates space for them to think and take their time.

Usually when both of them have had the opportunity to clearly articulate their concerns they feel like the have been listened to and they have calmed down. Often the way to resolve the issue is clear.

I recently used this in a busy cafe here in Amsterdam and it de-escalated the situation immediately. I went from two children with quivering lips (about to burst into tears) to two children talking to each other. Yes it needs facilitation from an adult but it’s a way that everyone has the opportunity to express themselves and to be heard. It may not work with two three year olds but with our mixed age group it gives the children a way to work things out. I guess it also helps to have seen them in a homeroom/classroom setting.

Tim Seldin writes about the Peace Table as well.I love the idea of children have a structure to resolve their problems. Sitting down, hand on heart, taking turns at talking and ringing a bell to signify agreement.In the Indian context or from the Feng Shui perspective,the ringing of bell negates all negative energy created around and because of the argument. Once again this technique would de-escalate the situation and allow everyone to express themselves. Sitting down as table may also help as it physically removes the children from the place of conflict.

I think this will be of great help to parents who are raising two children,and can be useful for us as adults who struggle with disagreements way too often!