Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

During this course we were asked to contact professionals internationally to learn about how they impact the early childhood field in their country. I have not been able to connect with an international professional and so for this week’s assignment I decided to connect with a colleague from Sheltering Arms Learning Center, Ms. M. Reedy. It was refreshing to talk with a colleague who in some ways shared some common interest, goals and concerns.

I asked Ms. Reedy the following questions and responses were as follows:

·         What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?

“At my center my center director felt it was important to present the staff with professional training in order to make sure the staff as a whole has the necessary tools to flourish in and out the classroom.  My center director expressed the organizations policy on education and compensation and how the organization tried to make sure all teachers and staff members were compensated accordingly to qualifications, professional attributes, and educational background.”

·         What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

“In this field we often times get looked over and it is my hope that law makers and society as a whole, begin to look at early childcare workers as contributing members of society and also the workforce. It is my dream that locally, state and nationally policymakers will one day be able to see the importance of the profession and make sure across the board that there are enough funds to fund early childhood education nationally. One challenge that resonates with me is the constant struggle with families and the success rate at strong positive relationships. I t has been difficult at times for parents to put forth the effort and do their part when it comes to making sure we are working as a team and no one team over the other.” 

Blog Assignment: Sharing Web Resources

I followed some new links that I have never explored before and came across some wonderful sites. I found the Harlem Children’s Zone. This particular website interested me greatly. After looking through the site, there was this certain section called the baby college. It is a two in a half month workshop for expectant mothers and parents with children under the age of three. These classes promote verbal discipline and accurate reading skills. All services are provided free of charge to participating families. The purpose of this program is to provide each family a fair opportunity to raise a healthy and well developed child from birth. Yes, there is a newsletter about this program that goes into detail about the program requirements and expectations.  I learned that multiple child care aspects are developed and introduced through this program.

                            

References

http://www.hcz.org/programs/early-childhood

http://www.hcz.org/images/stories/pdfs/ali_summerfall2002.pdf

Blog Assignment: Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

Early childhood education affects all children and not just the children here in the United States, but all across the world. In 2006 at Harvard University the Center on the Developing Child was founded on four basic principles:

·         Building a unified science of health, learning and behavior

·          Leading the design, implementation, and evaluation of innovative program and practice models

·         Catalyzing the implementation of effective, science-based public policies

·         Preparing future and current leaders to build and leverage knowledge

              Sometime later Harvard and the Center on the Developing Child later founded and launched the Global Children’s Initiative. The initiative was put into place to address the needs of children around the globe with strong emphasis on early childhood education, research and through leadership. I was intrigued how the initiative played a major role in activities geared towards awareness in child development, children in crisis, and children impacted by mental health. I found it interesting because often times we forget about those areas and in return because more damage for the child, but through awareness and the initiative we will be able to better address those needs and situations. I believe it is crucial for light to be shine upon the early childhood field.  I believe through awareness children will benefit greatly around the globe and educators, families, community and nationally leaders will have all the necessary tools to help in areas needed to make a difference in all children.

References

 http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/download_file/-/view/778/

Sharing Web Resources

•What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

This week’s assignment I decided to research the http://www.naccrra.org/ website. I decided upon this link because I believed wholeheartedly in their mission statement and vision which states:

Our Vision

“A nation that supports the development and learning of all children.”

Our Mission

“To promote national policies and partnerships to advance the development and learning of all children and to provide vision, leadership, and support to community Child Care Resource and Referral.”

Professionally I want to be effective and most importantly I want to make a difference in the lives of all children I come across and have the necessary resources which could help them reach their full potential developmentally.

•Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

From exploring the website I was came across the parent newsletter titled, “Are We Leaving Children to Chance?” The newsletter caught my eye from the title alone and I am pleased with myself for taking the time to actual read the article, because the information provided was very informational.  The article discussed the various qualifications for child care centers and provided, the numbers from research, licensing requirements and how being aware of this things could influence the well-being of the child. As an aunt and educator it made me want to make sure the childcare provider my niece and nephew attended, met all the quality qualifications and If not help them get into centers which were enriching.

•What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

The website provides a link which focuses primarily on the early childhood field and when you scroll over the links you are to find important information for each state, parents and the high cost of childcare, and other topics which deal with the economists, neuroscientist, and politicians perspective or insight.

•What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

Also, from exploring the website I was able to get information on school readiness, quality care, information from a parents perspective , and  information on licensing, just to name a few.  I found the information very insightful for me professionally, and plan on sharing my findings with my colleagues and parents. 

      Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

For this week’s blog assignment I decided to research the country Mongolia.  I chose Mongolia because I wanted to learn more about a country which I was not too familiar with. In 1990 Mongolia went from a socialist country to a multi-party democratic state. Due to the transition Mongolia has experienced hard time in getting back on its feet and above poverty level. The adjustment and changes to the economy has also called for basic services and welfare to be reduced. Mongolia was once a country that had various resources to help all families but because of the transition some families have had to go without basic needs.  According to the article, in 1998 36% of Mongolia’s population was living below the income poverty line. Majority of the families affected by poverty are presided over female households and impact the lives of children 0-16 years of age. I found very interesting how poverty and the transition influenced the children of Mongolia. Many Mongolian children are forced to work to help support their families and had to give up their right to education to support the one’s they love most.  Hopefully with time Mongolia can get to a point where they can reduce the numbers of families below or at the poverty line and put into place a system which aids all families in need.

Reference

http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Changing demographics and diversity are changing the way educators, families and children address education. This week’s lesson on demographics and diversity pushed me to want to know more about the UNICEF. I decided to research the UNICEF partly because of its name United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. I wanted to know more about the International aspect and learn about the UNICEF, and what it means for all children.  UNICEF believes in uplifting all children, regardless of social class, race, gender, or any other discriminatory factor. Diversity is huge aspect of education and educators must be open-minded to all demographic s of students.  The purpose of UNICEF states, “We believe that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress.  UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path.  We believe that we can, together, advance the cause of humanity” (UNICEF). In some countries girls are not afforded a right to education and with the help of the UNICEF, girls are afforded the same education as boys.  UNICEF promotes diversity and over the next few weeks I want to learn about all programs and resources provided by the UNICEF.

                 

http://www.unicef.org/index.php

This week marks a new start to another class on my graduate studies journey. I was asked to contact two early childhood professionals and so I decided to contact the following to establish communication:

2kdotcom@ghana.com (Ghana)

arebimbo@yahoo.com (Nigeria)

sannas@ycef.com (Hong Kong China)

sabtodomigo@unicef.org (Dominican Republic)

I have not been able to contact anyone as of yet and strongly believe I may need to choose the alternate assignment for Part 1.  I chose to contact professionals from countries I knew very little about to gain as much knowledge as I could about early childhood education and their country. I decided to select the National Black Child Development Institute. The National Black Child Development organization believes in advocacy and helping all families in improving their way of life. I felt it was important to gain as much knowledge about children and programs of color, which could benefit me in my classroom daily.