This is a quote I found on Naketa's Blog (our fabulous ICT facilitator!) - and I thought it inspiring...
" The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of mind - computer programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch numbers. But the keys of the kingdom are changing hands. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind - creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. These people - artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers - will now reap society's richest rewards and share its greatest joys. "
Human rights have been disregarded this week. Two young children - twins - three months old - were murdered. After two years of investigation, a charge filed against their father, a trial, and TEN MINUTES of deliberation - somebody has gotten away with murder.
This CAN NOT happen! New Zealanders CAN NOT let this slide!
I do not know if their father, Chris, who has stood trial for their murders, did deal the final blow. Maybe it was their mother, who is rumoured to have gone out drinking on the town the night the children died, who beat them so badly before going out for the night.
The Day Chris and Cru Died - Macsyna King returned from a night away and discovered the boys had sustained substantial bruising. She and her husband took them to the GP - "who ordered immediate hospitalisation for the infants. Instead of going to Middlemore Hospital, which was only 10 minutes away, the parents went to McDonalds and returned home after several hours" (wikipedia). When the children were eventually taken to the hospital it was discovered that they had suffered serious brain injury as the result of skull fractures from blunt force truama.
As the investigations began the public were told that the Kahui family refused to speak to police. WHAT does that mean? How is it that children can be murdered in their home and the ones in the house at the time can decide whether or not they would like to speak to the police? I did not understand then and I do not understand now why the police scrambled as the whanau (extended family) pointed fingers at eachother, defended the parents, and defied police. Why did the police investigating these murders allow this family to get away with it? It took 5 months for a charge to be laid.
During the trial there were many references of the abuse that Chris and Cru suffered at the hands of their parents. It is not doubted that these children sustained continual abuse during their 3 traumatic months. And even on this the law enforcers seem powerless to act.
Are we really going to allow New Zealanders to get away with the abuse of children AGAIN? Are we really going to allow New Zealanders to get away with the murder of their children?
You can read a slightly different but equally as brutal, version of events here.
Does anyone know of a public online forum, where New Zealanders can have their voice? A site that has a moderator who will oversee a mature fight for justice. I would like to see somebody like the Commissioner for Children facilitate such a site. Children need us to fight for their rights. We need to fight for our children!
As I curl onto my bed and surf the net before I shut my eyes - with wireless broadband I can help to change the world!!!
Tomorrow BlogCatalog is running it's initiative - uniting bloggers around the world to raise awareness of a single topic of world wide concern. Bloggers Unite's previous campaigns have addressed Organ Donation Awareness (sorry I missed that one), Bloggers against Abuse, Acts of Kindness. On the 15th of MAY 2008- bloggers will unite again to raise awareness on Human Rights Issues.
So surfers on the web, on the 15th of May, will find themselves reading a similar message over and over again as more and more people unite on world concerns.
For my small part - I discussed this event with Ash at the new and responsive DotDash social network. They too are joining this event. Hopefully more and more social networks, ...... schools, teachers, students, parents and more.... will use this time to band together and unite on a single topic of world wide concern... and use the internet as a POWER FOR GOOD.
How will Early Childhood respond? How will YOU change the world from your place in it?
I have realised that many of my blog posts are not so much about ICT in early childhood - but are focusing on ICT in schools. The reason for this is that as a teacher in the early childhood sector, dedicated to making education relevant, exciting and explorative, I find it motivating to see and share the ICT exploration happening in the primary and secondary sectors. I have been concerned about our students moving on to primary and secondary schools where there is a very 'traditional' approach to education. So it is really motivating to come across videos such as Mathmaticious. I highly recommend Early Childhood Teachers, Parents and School teachers check this out and encourage a wider spectrum of learning methods. See what school children are saying about this approach to learning via theYouTube comments.
Thought this was a great place to display my own photos, but it is also a great site for students looking to extend their knowledge about countries and cultures around the world. Students can also add their photos depicting their view of their world. Like a photographic wiki.
As a kindergarten community exploring the possibilities of information and communication technology, we continue to discuss and promote it's uses higher up the education spectrum. Where are our children heading? What will their primary and secondary schools be offering to further their excitement of learning using technology as a resource?
Second Life is not new to Education - but I challenge you.. are YOU thinking beyond the classroom walls?
Then again, I challenge myself. Is there any room for young children in Second Life? What are the implications? What are the possibilities?
You might like to engage in discussion about this here through comments or at BlogCatalog as part of the Education Today group.
Ok - I looked up YouTube about Education some months ago and found an interesting video that made me think about my support for a new way of thinking and teaching in today's educational environment. It seemed to support some opinions I had heard about the way children are taught today. I thought at the time Maria McDermott (Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Rochester ) made some good points. Something upset me about this and I hesitated to reflect on it because I was nervous that I might have to rethink my basic fundamental beliefs about today's education (both positive and negative).
After a good deal of personal reflection, discussion with colleagues, and research - I am happy to share this video with you, and encourage you to think about it's message - and TO READ FURTHER. Compare this video with the accompaning video below and the post "Back Up Educaiton". Tell me your thoughts, reflections, on what you know, see here and other research you have discovered.
After re-searching for the above video - I also discovered this YouTube video. Watch and compare. I have added the crux of the lyrics (but not the repetitions - you can retrieve all the lyrics from the YouTube site).
LYRICS: what you know about math what you know about math what you know about math
hey, dont you know I represent LC when i add, shorty subtract Got my notebook where I'm showin' all my work .......
Rollin 24s, mathematicians in the business We'll be your future boss Don't make us mad or you'll be useless. .........
ti-89 titanium know I'm shinin' dog fresh batteries in the back to do my natural log
(hey)you know we multiply (hey)while memorizing pi (hey)take limits to the sky (hey)be sure to simplify
graphing utility(okay) does trigonometry(okay) I'm goin' to GT(okay) dont you cheat off me
(oh)distance is rate times time (oh)the sine graph ain't no line (oh)exponential decline (oh)bet your score can't beat mine
(cheah)here everybody hates (ch-ch-ch-cheah)cuz i can integrate (ch-ch-ch-cheah)we're bout to graduate (ch-ch-ch-cheah)not gettin many dates
(what)i got to find a mate (now what)but girls just player hate (now what)and always make me wait (now what)but i know im not gay ........
calculators too slow test is done i gotta go all the maths inside my brain final grade is 10 Hoe!
(ey)we rollin twenty fo's (ey)Reimann sums are low (ey)now calculus is known (ey)thank GALILEO
few things here i wanna say I can integrate all day e to the 2x is fine gimme something worth my time
so what you wanna do (okay) derivative or two (okay) think i know a few (okay) now i wont be screwed
(oh)see all those like terms (oh)them things you never learned (oh)nothin' to calculate You must have skipped that day
(what)you're stuck in algebra 1 (now what)you'll never have this fun (now what)quadratic equation (now what)forgot you're too dumb ....... (BROCK) -- "I Know All About Math"
---------------------------------------- ---- YouTube Quote "This video was made for the furthering of math by myself and my friend. Among that it was also made for a great math teacher(featured ending) that myself and others have come to respect over the years. I used an idea from the original video(www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooa 8nHKPZ5k) and made it my own. This video is by all means a REMIX. Also, this video stands as a response to all others willing to compete with their math-rapping abilities as well as video editting skills. 100% of the video was made by those SEEN in the video. Yes, Steven and I know math and yes we are that funny. Steven really is that white, I really wrote that solo, and I really do play guitar!"
Now read Back Up Education post. Your thoughts are welcome. Please leave your comments.
This blog focuses on issues relating to children and teachers using ICT in education. I am a teacher at Manaia Kindergarten. We are part of the New Zealand Ministry of Education's CORE Education ECE ICT Professional Learning Programme. As a result of this programme I am specifically interested in the use of Information and Communication Technology to enhance children's learning and development. Our research question for the project focuses on building links between the Kindergarten and our wider community and how theses links benefit children. This blog is about my personal professional reflections and broader topics will be investigated from time to time as I advocate for the well being and empowerment of all children, and the upskilling of teachers in the implementation of ICT in education.
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