BLADEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

EDU 131: Child, Family and Community

 

Instructor Information:

 

Name:  Claudia A. Anderson                            Office: Building #1, Room 109

Telephone: W - (910) 879-5554                      Office Hours:  M- 10:00am -11:00am

E-mail: canderson@bladen.cc.nc.us                  TTH - 11:00am -12:00pm; 1:00pm-2:00pm;

 

Course Information:

 

Section: 01

Meeting Time: MWF, 1:10-2:00

Location:  Building #1, Room 123

 

Required text: Home, School, & Community Relations, 5th Ed.,  By Carol Gestwicki (2004). New York: Thomson Delmar Learning ISBN: 0-7668-6307-7.

 

Credit:  3 credit hours

 

Course Description:

 

This course covers the development of partnerships between families, inclusive programs for children/schools that serve young children with and without disabilities, and the community. Emphasis is placed on requisite skills and benefits for successfully establishing, supporting, and maintaining respectful collaborative relationships between today’s diverse families, centers/schools, and community resources. Upon completion, students should be able to enhance the educational experiences/well-being of all children.

 

Course Objectives:

 

Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:

  1. Describe the characteristics of diverse families and communities within the societal and cultural context.
  2. Demonstrate strategies and techniques that include and empower all families as partners in promoting comprehensive child development and recognize them as the first and most important teacher and decision-maker for the child.
  3. Develop strategies for building family-teacher-community partnerships that include early childhood agencies for all children and families of diverse backgrounds and developmental abilities.
  4. Develop a family involvement plan and policies for a program for young children.
  5. Identify and compile community resources available to all families and early childhood programs.

 

 

 

 

Course Requirements:

 

Reading Assignments:  Reading assignments are expected to be completed in advance of the assigned week.  The student’s ability to participate in class discussions will give evidence of how current the student is with the reading.

 

Exams/quizzes:  Exams will be given throughout the course.  They will be listed in the course calendar.

 

Homework and Class work: There will be weekly homework assignments designed to provide practice with terms and concepts covered in the course to reinforce learning.  These assignments will be collected and graded.  Use of a computer or word processor is recommended but handwritten assignments will be accepted; therefore good penmanship is required.  Use blue or black ink. All assignments must be completed in the student’s own words and in complete sentences. Late papers will only be accepted if the absence has been excused.

 

Class Participation and Attendance:

 

·        Attendance at all class meetings is expected.

·        Lecture and in-class activities will be used to demonstrate important concepts and ideas. Full participation ensures a better understanding of the material.  Students should contact the instructor prior to class when they anticipate being absent.

·        Students whose absences exceed 20% of all scheduled contact hours may (the number of classes will vary depending on whether the class meets 1/2/3/4 days a week) be dropped from the course by the instructor for excessive absences.  In such cases, re-admittance to class will be at the discretion of each instructor. If you are concerned about your absences, ask the instructor.

·        Attendance policies provided to students by individual instructors through course syllabi will reflect the existing policy of the college.

·        Students must turn off all cell phones in class. Cell phones may be put on VIBRATE ONLY if the student has a legitimate need. Students who refuse to comply will be asked to leave/or will be dropped from the class.

·        Students are expected to arrive for class prior to the scheduled time. The instructor may refuse entry to students who arrive after the roll has been taken and class lecture has started. Students who repeatedly arrive late or leave early may be counted absent and/or dropped from the class.

·        Absences, whether excused or not, may impact your final grade by making it impossible for you to make up missed work and/or impairing learning of important concepts.

 

Assignment Information: Once of the requirements of this course is to complete a journal. A journal is made up  of weekly entries of the student’s thoughts about class discussions, readings, that relate to the topics throughout the course. A student must write a weekly journal entry that shows their understanding of the information and relate that information to their own personal experiences or those of others they have observed. The journal will be turned in periodically so the instructor can grade them and verify that the student is understanding the concepts introduced. At the end of the course, students will turn in their journal for a final grade and must show they have written a journal entry for every week of the course beginning the second week of class and ending the week prior to exams. Every student should have a minimum of 15 entries in their journal.

 

Evaluation:

 

Grades will be equally weighted and  assigned as follows:

 

90-100 = A

80-89 = B

70-79 = C

60-69 = D

59 and below = F

 

Academic Integrity: In addition to good academic performance, students should exhibit honesty and integrity. If there is any question that academic honesty and integrity are not honored, students may be required to redo any assignments in the presence of an instructor-selected monitor. Proof of dishonesty, including plagiarism, will make students subject to disciplinary action. Please consult your college catalog for more information.

 

All assignments are expected to be completed by the student alone unless otherwise specified by the instructor. It is important that students understand that plagiarism will not be tolerated by any student. Plagiarism is “the intentional copying or use of the writings, words, thoughts or another and representing them as their own.” In other words, it is handing in an article you downloaded from the Internet with your name on it. It is copying more than a phrase from a book or magazine or research journal article and not citing the author in your references. If you are uncertain how to write a paper properly consult the library staff or your instructor. There are strict rules for citing works which must be followed. Your instructor will be happy to provide you with information on this process.

 

Access/Disability Policy

The colleges goal is to insure qualified students equal opportunity and access to all programs and facilities. Our goal is to integrate disabled students into the life of the College and help them participate and benefit from the programs and activities enjoyed by all.

 

Services for students with special needs are coordinated through Student Services. It is the student’s responsibility to provide current documentation of their disability so that the college can arrange for necessary services. Requests for special services should be made at least four weeks prior to needing special accommodations and registering for classes. Every effort will be made to accommodate each student.