Ideology on my Controversy

I am going to now tie together all of my previous posts on my preschool debate by answering the questions listed out to me. 

I think that every teacher, no matter the level or discipline, every parent or future parent, and every business is involved in this issue. Not only is it political, but the ideas of the roots of the children in this nation are for us all to admire and encourage. While there are two sides to this issue everyone has a point of view on it that makes a big difference to our future. Companies involved in the education system such as ASCD and MapleBear, as well as early education specialists and parents are all involved in this huge topic that doesn't seem to be a big topic of discussion when it should be. The fact that the building blocks for all learning starts in the preschool setting and that each child who goes through the system will need to be able to eventually put forth their knowledge and bright minds into the world, means that the way in which we teach them at 3 has a great impact on the job they have, the family they keep, and the car they drive in 20-40 years from this moment. The unacknowledged teachers who are struggling to fit in both the strong education-oriented curriculum set in place by the state and the play-built willfulness of fun, engaged learning, just doesn't seem fair. The fact is that there are only two sides to this issue: the first is that children should be structured from an early age and learn discipline and learning to memorize and be smart, and the second is that learning should be fun and engaging to the child. Both could yield the same or different results but the fact is that the results won't show up for another 20 years or so. 

Evaluation of Social Media Sources

Next, I looked up two articles from Storify to find social media related posts to further the debate on the education of a preschooler. I found two posts to be best beneficial to my debate.

The first, an article by ASCD; The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, which states how important preschool is to a young child and to a future student and scholar. This association is directly linked to how a preschool will teach toddlers and so this post is highly important to determine their stand on the issue. Since this is a journal article from this association directly, it is hard to say who would be the main collaborator. This company collaborates with other companies with the same or similar missions on social media, though they tend to post their own articles, journals, books, etc. for the public to read. The article shared is from 2013, so it is still relevant, though there may be new and improved information on this topic. I would say that this source is reliable due to the fact that it is the ASCD.

The second, an article by MapleBear Canadian School systems, is a great article on how preschools around the world, in particular, India, are using play effectively through their program. Showing the perspective outside of the United States tends to pull in more interest from the audience of a paper and to show contrast. I think this post is credible since it is posted by an education system. Since the MapleBear Canadian school system is all over the world, including in India, their company is directly linked to someone in the India school system, so location doesn't seem to be greatly effected. I would say that this post is also highly reliable.

• Credibility - Can you corroborate who the person who posted the social media message is. Can you Google them? Do they belong to an organization or institution that bestows credibility on them (for example, a university, governmental organization, non-profit, company, etc.)?
• Location - Are they in the place they are tweeting or posting about? Are they directly involved with any of the events relevant to your controversy?
• Network - Who is in their network and who follows them? Do other individuals with institutional credibility associate with this person on social media?
• Content - Can the information they’re relying on in their tweet or post be corroborated from other sources?
• Contextual updates - Do they usually post or tweet on this topic? If so, what did past or updated posts say? Do they fill in more details?
• Age - What is the age of the account in question? Be wary of recently created accounts.
• Reliability - Is the source of information reliable?

Evaluation of Scholarly Sources

I looked up two scholarly articles for my assignment on preschool education and the debate between play-oriented and academic-oriented preschool education. I used LexisNexis through the University of Arizona to complete my search. The links these articles are linked to are from this website and will not work with other programs.

The first scholarly source I found was a journal, "Making Play Work for Education" by Deena Skolnick Weisberg, Audrey K. Kittredge, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, and David Klahr. Published May 1, 2015, this article is extremely timely and relevant to current political debates faced now in America. It is from Kappanmagazine.org.

The second scholarly source I found was also a journal, "Promoting Pretend Play in the Preschool Years: TeacherPractices and Strategies for Involving Families" by Marna Wintera & Heidi Hollingswortha. Published May 12, 2015, this article is also extremely time-relavant which is why I chose these two articles. The more timely an article or journal is, the more likely the information has not been disputed and proven false, also making it the latest facts on a subject.

Both articles have the same purpose; to encourage play-oriented education in preschools through education of the teachers and parents who are in close contact with children of this age group or similar age group or developmental level.
Both journals cited many other academic journals, some of 2014, some later, which help to back up the facts discussed in their journals. These citations would also make for great references if I were to pursue them further.

Evaluation of General Sources

I was asked to look at controversies in my field of study to discuss as well as to practice citing properly. I chose the key words "Preschool controversy 2015" and "Preschool debate 2015" because I knew that there is a huge debate going on right now in America in regards to how to treat preschool- in a more academic way or play-based. I prefer play-based learning due to the fact that the kids want to learn and learn on their own through the activities we guide them through. Besides, who wouldn't want to play all day anyway? Others in my field would disagree and feel that a more structured beginning will result in a more formal and structured process through college, paving the way early for homework, assignments, and other school-related things. 

The first article I found was: "Academic vs. play-based preschool debate fading in favor of intellectual discovery". 

The following is more information on this article.

• URL: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2015/04/01/Academic-vs-play-based-preschool-debate-fading-in-favor-of-intellectual-discovery/stories/201503310025
• Author: Jill Harkins
• Last Updated: April 1, 2015
• Purpose: To educate teachers and parents on the development of play-based favoritism. 
• Graphics: There is one graphic of a little boy playing with music bells.
• Position on Subject: Play-based oriented preschools tend to see more goals being reached by the toddlers who follow this type of learning style. 
• Links: There were no other links or suggested articles to read in completion of this article. 

The second article I found was: "The National Preschool Debate Intensifies".

The following is more information on this article:

• URL: http://www.edutopia.org/preschool
• Author: Michael Lester
• Last Updated: May 29, 2007
• Purpose: Inform politicians, teachers, and parents of the increased in heated debate.
• Graphics: There is one graphic of a little girl writing her ABCs on a chalk board. 
• Position on Subject: Feels that the political debate is strong when it comes to preschool because preschool is a strong foundation for children and can improve poverty rates if handled appropriately. 
• Links:National Institute for Early Education Research  is the link provided for futher information. 

 

My Profession

I was asked to explain my profession of interest to you all so here it goes! 

I am a Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) major. Students in my program learn to understand and break down speech and language into the core building blocks in order to help those who need help with speech, language, or hearing. As a student in this field, I have to be able to understand how speech is different from language and understand the principles of Audiology. My major is primarily for those wishing to pursue a graduate degree in either speech pathology or audiology. From there, these students either become a speech pathologist, an Audiologist, or a teacher in one of these areas. The frusterating and beautiful thing about my major is that my peers and I are always divided. Speech and Audiology are so similar and yet so different that the class is usually clearly defined; a little under half of the students in my core classes prefer audiology and dislike speech, and a little more than half prefer speech and dislike audiology. You will probably never find a student in my major who is undecided between the two fields. 

I was drawn to this field in an attempt to rediscover the zest for life I lost as a nursing major. I am a transfer from New York, and being a nursing major for three years crushed my love of learning and life in general. Once I knew that I wanted to work with toddlers, it was hard to see myself as a nurse who holds down the screaming three year old while I inject a painful shot. So as I hunted down the next step in my life I can across Speech pathology and loved it. 

I am currently studying in an internship under Dr. Beeson, head of the department of SLHS and one of the most well known professionals in our field. She is nationally known for her wisdom and genius articles published. ASHA, American Speech, Language, Hearing Association, is the leading certificate program in our field. We strive to uphold the highest ASHA standards, read ASHA magazines, follow their pobcasts, and follow their protocols. ASHA is HUGE in our field as everything revolves around it. ASHA is the most highly regarded and awarded program, but there are a few other articles and journals we look to. NSSLHA, National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, is a huge database for our field as well. Written by students, published by students, it is a great tool for students to participate in and learn from. The American Journal of Audiology is a big site for those interested in Audiology and is published by ASHA. 

Time Management

I was asked to reflect on my time management for this course through a blog post. Since I only work during the school year as a preschool teacher, I don't think I need to worry about my time management. More likely, I will need to work on my procrastination tactics because I have a lot of free time on my hands. I work during the day at an internship but since this is only a few hours a day my month of July is rather free for English. I don't see this as an issue during this month. I am just glad I changed and am taking this over the summer and not during the semester so I have the time to focus.

My Thoughts on Comments

Recently I read an article on Donald Trump which states his opinion on the verbal and medial attacks he has faced since speaking out about illegal Immigrants in the United States. I then read the 10 chosen comments posted by my professor on this subject. Following that, I have been asked to write responses to the four questions she posted in relation. 

I agree that some of the comments expressed fears or anxieties, both rational and irrational, that could be centered around jobs and illegal immigration and it's potential to corrupt the government. I believe these fears have been around for a long time. I think since we as Americans started coining the term "Illegal Immigrants" there has been a fear of these unknown persons 'taking over' our country and colonizing under false pretenses. I understand that Trump feels threatened due to his large investments in companies and resorts which rely on money from within a tight circle of wealthy individuals. These people are often threatened by the unknown taking their money through hard work because they don't see a profit from that money once another earns it. I believe that those that commented are afraid of the unknown as well. One comment from a listed "Al'n" posted that they are a first generation of illegal immigration and that they took great offense to Trump's statements. They spoke of the hardships and determination it takes to become a citizen and how if it were not for their mother's decision to come to America prior to gaining citizenship, it probably would not have been accomplished. They then continue into stating that the misconception that all illegal immigrants are untrustworthy and cowardly is just that - a misconception. 

The beliefs and values I noticed in the comments ranged greatly. While some focused on our need for American jobs others focused on the ability for immigration to take place. I think these beliefs and values are all based on the experiences of the individuals and what their life has led them. Some come from families which are based on immigration while others are upset about the lack of jobs or the crime facts of a particular region.

Some comments seemed more reasonable through the amount of factual information provided in their comment. While some didn't seem to take any amount of text away from the article, such as the one about dog fighting which doesn't relate any sentence in the above article at all, others add a lot of outside factual information to back up their opinion. Those that included facts, no matter their viewpoint or how it correlates to my own, seemed more reasonable because the people who commented seemed well read on the subject. 

Those who did not include facts or outside information to justify their responses did not seem trustworthy or worth the read at all. The anonymous person about dog fighting and the one about Hitler were both just unnecessary comments to get a word in on this article which, for some odd reason, has a lot of reads. There is no point to their comments and therefor no trustworthiness about them. Those that backed up their opinions with facts, either about personal experiences or the facts about the crime Trump tries to use as an example for his own claims, prove that they both read the article and added something else that they found relevant and important to possibly sway another into their opinion. 

EDIT: 
JG asked me if I thought the more factual comments or the more emotional ones left a stronger image in my mind. To be honest, I found the comments that were the most ridiculous to be the ones that I thought the most of later. I think this might be the sad truth of our social society today - we crave the absurd to such a degree that we forget reality. Thank you for reading my post and commenting on my thoughts. I do try to stay in the middle of an argument instead of taking one side over another; playing both fields is fun and engaging! 

I commented on the following two blogs. There were a few people who didn't have blog links up yet and so I couldn't even access their blogs to read. Bummer. 

http://lazssummerofenglish.blogspot.com/2015/07/my-thoughts-on-comments.html?showComment=1437111832867#c5066790887917974836

http://helenofalaska.blogspot.com/2015/07/public-speech-acts.html?showComment=1437112199971#c4247514488170423025