Uplifting Stories

For me, I do not have any real-life experience with research for children or adults. I would however enjoy letting my children participate in a research study that would benefit them or other children of their age range that are in our community. I feel that as a parent, I have the capability to do my own research for my children and then I can make an accurate decision as to whether or not they will participate. 

When I first became a teacher and began working at a preschool in the afternoons, I did speak with one family that had had their children in a research study about baby foods. They had done their background research for themselves and the parents decided that it was okay for their older infant to taste several different foods. The parents watched the child's reaction to the foods and then they reported back to the research team. They had a good experience and I appreciated that they made the conscious choice as adults and parents to allow their child to participate. 

The child did not have any after-effects and the parents were able to save a little money on food items for the week that they served the food. If there were more research opportunities available, I would most definitely allow my own children to be participants. At 7 years old, my daughter would enjoy being a participant, as she has her own opinion about many things. And my son is 2, and would not be able to give the best feedback, but we would be able to use his non-verbal cues to see his reaction. It would be good for all of us!

Personal Research Journey

 For my research simulation, I chose to explore the topic of family involvement in early childhood education based on socioeconomic status. I chose to write about this topic because it is something that I do not have a lot of experience with. I have always worked in middle to upper-class locations where family involvement occurs in a wide range. I like to believe that all parents want to be involved in their child's education, but I fear that that is not always the case. It hits close to home for me because my own parents were extremely involved in my education. Because of my current marital status, my children's father has not always been as involved as he should have been. He trusted me to make the "correct" decisions and now because of our situation, he has begun second-guessing all my choices. He never cared before and now he does. I realize that this is something that is not always based on socioeconomic status, but it does. White, blue-collar men, dads, often times leave the decisions about childcare and education to the mother. 

In Philadelphia, there are plenty of families that send their children to school hungry and tired and only because they have to. If their child presents issues in the classroom based on their behavior or attention to detail, the parents are not always around to assist teachers in helping their children. One reason could be because they do not care. Another reason could be because they are too busy working to keep the lights on in their home. They could be the only parent in the household and are just "too busy" to help their child. 

Ultimately, I want to explore the situational circumstances of a child's home and their parent involvement. I am looking forward to exploring this topic further with the help of my colleagues. If you have any suggestions for resources for this topic, I would greatly appreciate you sharing them with me.