Research Around the World

       The site that I chose to use was the site that focused on Australia.  One of the major issues covered on the webpage was the Kony campaign.  This has been all over the news here in the U.S. as well.The article calls for the capture and sentencing of the proclaimed leader of the insurgent group "Lord's Resistance Army".  He is accused of abusing and imprisoning children from all over the world.
       The thing that I found to be surprising while reviewing the website and the articles found on it was that the U.S. and Australia share many of the same issues when speaking in terms of education.  The students and teachers there strive to make high scores on achievement tests just as we do here. 
       I liked that the site has an area dedicated to best practices to practice in the home.  Many of the resources listed there cause me to presume that the parents of the children in Australia are expected to play a major role in the initial development of their children.  That attitude continues throughout school causing the parents to take responsibility for the education of their child rather than leaving them in the hands of a teacher to learn all they need to know.

Research That Benefits Me

     As a woman who was not able to have children naturally, I have spent a great deal of time researching treatments and other methods for conception.  Then I believe that God put it in my heart for my husband and I to adopt which required a ton more research.  Since Blake and I have adopted the kids, I have spent countless hours researching topics that help me and my family cope with our new family and the life that my children came from. 

     I would have to say that researching topics related to my children and ways to handle some of the things that they tell us about how they were treated before has helped me to maintain my composure in front of the children and be more proactive as a parent.  Things with the kids are not typical because they came from a situation of neglect with the birth family and then they were abused by a foster family.  Their past effects how we discipline them, how we reward them, and how we interact with them in general.  Researching issues or topics that present themselves helps me handle things in a better way.

My Personal Research Journey

     The topic that I have chosen for my research simulation is "research based practices that benefit children's literacy".  I chose general topic because so many children fall behind because they were never taught the importance of reading.  Not many of us willing do things that we do not enjoy; for children that have never been introduced to the many wonderful worlds of reading, that is a tedious task.  I am interested in the influence of books in the home, ways to encourage early literacy development and ways to remain on grade level in reading as my subtopics.  I have met so many students who have potential, but with poor reading skills, they struggle constantly. 
     As a child, I loved to be read to.  I learned to read in the first grade and ever since then I have been intrigued by literature in one way or another.  There is so much that can be learned and experienced through reading a book.  I read for pleasure even now that I am a teacher and have children of my own because I feel that it is important for children to see reading modeled by adults. 
     I would be interested to hear from some of my colleagues who work with Head Start programs to gain some insight into things that the program does to encourage literacy in the home.  I would also love to hear about your relationships with reading on a personal level as well as what you are seeing in your classrooms.  Please feel free to share any advice that you may have on the topic as well.
     I hope to be able to share some of my research findings with you as the course progresses.  I feel that the readings so far have really helped me distinguish quality research sources from those that are not so credible.