My family offer me support daily in every aspect of my life; financially, emotionally and intellectually. I am able to seek their opinions when I encounter difficulties which helps me a lot.
My toddlers offer me the greatest support in my Masters program. I have come across so much information about early childhood that I may not have understood clearly if I had not been involved closely in the lives of young children, keeping in mind that I am just delving into the field of early childhood. I see things through their eyes more day by day and it definitely puts so much into perspective for me as a future educator and as a mother.
The country I live in gives me support with the technology I need to keep in touch with my family back home, have a mental break when I feel overwhelmed and also be efficient in my Masters program. I have constant power supply as well as unlimited internet connection, which is a big deal for me as someone coming from a country with a lot of problems concerning electricity and connectivity.
Without all of these, I may not be able to function optimally because the stress would definitely take a toll on my health and my mental state as well considering how important each of these are.
The challenge I imagine would be if I had dyslexia. I would want my family to support me emotionally and physically. I would hope that I would not be regarded as the slow, unintelligent child but rather as a child that learns differently and one that they would be willing to assist to achieve milestones. Another support I would expect would be from my teachers and the school. it would be encouraging to have teachers that can modify their teaching methods to accommodate my learning style. If these supports are absent, it would definitely affect my self confidence as well as my ability to thrive in the society as an independent adult.
Time Well Spent
At the start of this program, I did not know what to expect because I made a complete career change from having a Masters degree in Biochem...
I like that you mentioned technology, Adiele. It's a support that hadn't occurred to me. While I grew up in America, my family was very poor. We didn't always have electricity or running water. When I went to college, my friends had brand new textbooks and fancy laptops, whereas I couldn't afford most of my books and scraped together enough money to buy an old desktop computer secondhand. As an adult, I don't face these same struggles, but I can only imagine how much more difficult school would be without technology!
ReplyDeleteAdiele, as educators their is so much to learn about how children learn. Observing and working with children on a daily basis is the best way to learn how to teach them about academics and about the world around them. It is important to treat children with disabilities like they can achieve goals because everyone learns differently. If the right resources are used to help people with disabilities, they will overcome barriers in life.
ReplyDelete