The Whole Child

I understand that it is the standard to measure student academic achievements by using standardized testing however I totally disagree with these tests because we are trying to educate student to math, reading, English but what about equipping them with an emotional education one that would dramatically improve the quality of their lives.  It is imperative that we teach children emotional intelligence we are teaching them how to recognize their feelings and to learn how to deal with their feelings. 

 

 I believe that the whole child approach or holistic commitment should be to focus on the following:

 In Colombia students at the age of 15 years they take an assessment called (PISA) it assesses the extent to which 15-year-olds students near the end of compulsory education have acquired key knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies. The assessment does not just ascertain whether students can reproduce knowledge; it also examines how well students can extrapolate from what they have learned and apply that knowledge in unfamiliar settings, both in and outside of school. This approach reflects the fact that modern economies reward individuals not for what they know, but for what they can do with what they know. PISA offers insights for education policy and practice, and helps monitor trends in students’ acquisition of knowledge and skills across countries and in different demographic subgroups within each country. The findings allow policy makers around the world to gauge the knowledge and skills of students in their own countries in comparison with those in other countries, set policy targets against measurable goals achieved by other education systems, and learn from policies and practices applied elsewhere.

https://www.oecd.org/pisa/PISA-2015-Colombia.pdf

  

       I use TED Talks videos in my class at the junior college and I wanted to share this one in particular that talks about the ‘Whole Child’ and what it means for us to use a holistic learning and teaching practices that will create a higher level of social justice and well-being by uncovering emotional, social, academic, and spiritual/metaphysical potentialities in our children. 

Impoverish Kids in Mexico = Hunger & Malnutrition

As I grew up one of the overwhelming experiences that made my heart ache was seeing so many poor kids in Mexico.  During Christmas time my dad has always put together over 100 food baskets.  He would reach out to local groceries to donate food, as well as he would reach out to anyone at the church to donate food items.  There have been times where he has struggled with people and groceries wanting to donate but he has never lost his faith.  Since little we would help my dad put the food boxes together and get them ready to deliver them in impoverish neighborhoods in Mexico.  

The day would come when he asked kids and adults to volunteer and help us deliver the food baskets.  It was an awesome feeling to provide families and kids with food but at the same time as a child I would be sad to see how much poverty there was.  Some kids were not even wearing proper clothes or shoes especially during the winter I could tell they were freezing.  As an adult and now having my own kids I wanted to show them what poverty is and the many children that do not even have roof under their head or a warm meal to eat.  The tradition to help and feed impoverish kids during Christmas continues up to this date.  My dad has been putting food baskets together for over 35 years and now my kids have participated in helping grandpa with feeding the poor kids in Mexico.  I can see the satisfaction in my own kids face when they hand over a food basket to a child.  I love seeing them making kids happy for a moment.  

                In researching further about a poor country, I came across with Mexico and it reminded me on how this is a reality for millions of kids in Mexico.  It is said that more than 20 million children in Mexico live in poverty and more than five million live in extreme poverty.    What was more depressing to learn was that more than 14 percent of children under the age of five years old do not develop or their development is slowed as a result of malnutrition.  Also, when children live in poverty it has an irreversible impact on their development and it increases the probability of being passed on to future generations. 

                I know that 100 food baskets do not nearly feed 1% of those kids living in extreme poverty however it does help a few children during Christmas time to bring them food to their table and a little smile of happiness to their faces during the Holidays.  It was impressive to see that every Christmas those kids would remember us and as soon as we drove into their terrain they would come running to meet us.    

Finally, I would like to share this video with you. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnqg39lMxhs

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44549#.WTOX_MZlCUk