Inspirational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

Listed below are some of the best quotes I have seen in regards to children and developing them as whole human beings.  These individuals have seemingly committed a large amount of time learning the tools needed to bring up great people.

“Discipline is not something we do to children, but something we develop within them.” –Dr. Becky Bailey (Conscious Discipline)

“The child supplies the power but the parents have to do the steering.” –Dr. Benjamin Spock (BrainyQuote)

“All the time a person is a child he is both a child and learning to be a parent.  After he becomes a parent he becomes predominantly a parent reliving childhood.” –Dr. Benjamin Spock (BrainyQuote)

Passion, Motivation and Commitment

“Happiness is mostly a by-product of doing what makes us feel fulfilled.” –Dr. Benjamin Spock (BrainyQuote)

“I’ve seen the wonderful impact that using what I call an anti-bias approach has not just on the children but on the teachers who have to kind of figure out who they are and understand themselves and uncover their own discomforts and misinformation.  So I see adults finding their voice... it’s like they reclaim and heal.” –Louise Derman-Sparks on her passion for helping children discover who they truly are. (Walden University)

“Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” – Rita Pierson on her commitment to developing positive relationships with the children she taught. (TED Talk)

References

Conscious discipline:  Celebrating 20 years of (n.d.).  Retrieved from https://consciousdiscipline.com/twenty/

Every kid needs a champion.  TED Talk.  Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion

Five early childhood professionals share passion, motivation, and commitment to the early childhood field.  Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_16312897_1&content_id=_43428734_1

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/benjamin_spock

Personal Childhood Web

1. Ethel was my paternal grandmother. We had the most special bond for the first eight years of my life before she passed away. She nurtured me by cooking for me, letting me comb her hair (I’m sure I was a terrible stylist) and just genuinely loving me. When she passed away, I was devastated (since it was sudden) but as I now remember how I used to feel around her and I try my best to ensure that I give my own daughter the same love she gave me and I do my best to make sure she shares the same bond with her grandparents.
   
2. Alvin is my dad. He taught me a lot about having respect for myself and for others and to show people compassion, the same things he showed me. As a child, I didn’t always think he loved me because he was what I consider strict. But, as I grew, I found that the things he taught me were for my benefit and are the same things that I try to instill in my daughter. He also instilled a love of all kinds of music because he is a music teacher. To this day, I look rely heavily on music, no matter the mood, the time or the place.
   
3. Pamela is my mom. Very similar to my dad that she taught me to be kind to everyone and she also taught me to cook. She taught me how to carry myself like a young woman.
   
4. Laura was my maternal grandmother. She was also a nurturer and the grandmother that let me get away with a lot of things. She was kind and gentle. And reflecting on her and the times we spent together makes me realize that she was a nurturer of my social relationships. At least once a month, she would take my cousins and me and host a sleepover for us. Those were the times that we would get together and play. As we got older, we grew closer and those bonds still exist today.
   
5. Ms. Grissett was my Language Arts teacher through my middle school years. She was the teacher who pulled out the best in all of her students. Also, she was the teacher who made sure that the environment was as comfortable as possible. I remember one of the big projects we worked on would be a poetry book. She would turn on good music (usually jazz) and dim the lights and let us write and design our books. When I talk to my classmates from those years, we all agree that being in Ms. Grissett’s room was one of our fonder memories during middle school 
   

A person's a person, no matter how small.

"A person's a person, no matter how small." - Dr. Seuss 

One of my favorite books is titled, "A Bad Case of Stripes" by David Shannon.  I love this book because it touches on the importance of children being themselves and doing the things that they love, regardless of what other people think.  Camilla loved lima beans but because no one else liked them, she avoided eating them because she wanted to fit in and impress people.  She got a bad case of stripes (which manifested itself as her taking on the things that people said about her be a reflection of her - literally).  Camilla's attempt to fit in (not eat lima beans) affected her so much and there was nothing anyone could do to cure her until one day, an older lady knew what would fix her bad case of stripes - all Camilla needed to do was eat lima beans.  Once Camilla did, all of her troubles went away and she realized that she didn't care what anyone else thought about her and her desire to eat lima beans.  If that meant she was a little weird, she was ok with it.  At least she would be happy!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Underwood Education Connection.  I'm Alvia and I'm an Alabama native.  Previously, I lived in Ohio and now I reside in the Sunshine State - Florida.  For my professional career, I work for the Department of Defense with Child and Youth Programs and I absolutely love what I do!  Being in my position has afforded me opportunities to learn so much about the development of children from birth to 18 years of age.  Additionally, working for the Department of Defense has given me the opportunity to serve the military community and the unique challenges that come with the military lifestyle (deployments, multiple moves, etc.)

It is my hope that, through this blog, we will be able to share our experiences and knowledge pertaining to children!  Happy Blogging!