Farewell Issues and Trends

Learning about the international early childhood field really was a great experience. It helps my mind think in a broader way.  It is good for people to see the world from another perspective.  Different countries view and solve problems differently and thus we can learn from one another.  

These past weeks I have felt much gratitude not only for my life but for the United States in general. There are problems but we are still way ahead of other countries.   Having international contacts is another way to build solidarity among early childhood professionals.  We could build a global network of our own. 

I hope that international awareness provides exactly that – awareness of the larger world. I would like us to develop empathy towards others and realize there is more than one way to live and that is ok. We can help one another. Also we can give this perspective to our children. Imagine if we taught our kids about children from around the world. Introduce them to the idea they are a part of a global community. It could have awesome repercussions.

I guess I sound a little childish with my “it’s a small world” dream but oh well. 

week 7

Well my time with Shay is drawing to to a close....

While we discuss quality and professionals in the field of early childhood, where Shay is people are mostly concerned with children surviving. She was telling me about the basics like health and money. Many children in Mozambique have to help the family by working in some way. The lives of children there are very different then the lives of children in the western world.

As of now she is in the Peace Corps and we were talking about how good it feels to know that you don't have to stay in one place forever. I have been going through some life changes and it's been freaking me out. But she was a source of comfort knowing that life can always change and be ok.

Week 6

First off I would like to say YAY for online school!  it is awesome that I am at Myrtle Beach staring at the ocean while doing schoolwork.

Ok so I am exploring the NIEER website and receiving their newsletter. I used the assignment Q's to guide this post. ...

·         Follow some of the outside links that you have not yet explored. Where do they lead?  one leads to Rutgers University. I am guessing NIEER has a partnership with them. I went to school in PA – my initial thought was if only there was such a thing as life do overs or time travel I would go back in time and go to Rutgers and I would direct my life towards working with NIEER.

·         

·         If you receive an e-newsletter, follow a link related to one of the issues you have been studying. What new information is available?  There were links to articles about re directing funds to pre K from K – 12. The first guy said that funding of K-12 needs to be going to removing lead from the world and investing in Pre K. Then another guy responded to how ridiculous that idea is. the second guy made a very good point when he says most of the thoughts about Pre K programs and the efficacy are based on the BEST programs whereas the thoughts on K – 12 are based on typical, average programs. So its hard to compare them and draw up clear ideas because the research/ thoughts behind it are different.

·        Does the website or the e-newsletter contain any information that adds to your understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education? Yes it does. When I first clicked, it was a bit overwhelming the amount of information. My instinct was to sit down and read it all but then I realized that would take an obscene amount of time. Instead I just read a few of the articles. The funding articles go way over my head. My brain is not wired for that. The access articles were amazing. There was one about how private centers are helping transform preschool. I have been trying to make up my mind about private centers because in my experience I feel like private centers have more leeway to get away with stuff like low balling teachers but also allowing for more play based learning. *shrug*

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

One article focuses on why math is important in early childhood classrooms. Literacy is often the focus of early childhood but he explains math skills are important and are often better predictors of school success.  I personally understand this struggle because I hate math. It has never been something I am confident in. Because of my own issues with math I tend to shy away from it with my kids, believing it’ll happen later.  I must focus on this bias i have and work to correct it. 


I am loving this website. I am such a research geek.

International Internet Issues

My dear classmates I am sorry to report that Shay's internet has been spotty this week [ I guess that happens in Africa ;) ] So what I did was I googled Mozambique. One of the links that popped up was UNICEFF and Mozambique's child survival.

Obviously this has ties to the economics of the country. What I really took away from this information was even though it's not a 1st world country there have been strides in helping children survive. It says that the rate of child survival has pretty much been cut in half over the past 20 years. This speaks to those in power knowing how important it is to put money into future generations. UNICEFF is such a wonderful organization.

One of the main threats to children living is malaria, a natural disease. It is awful that something that, in the states, is so rare is regularly killing children. Then I thought about the threats to child survival here in the states and all I could think of were man made things, guns, poor education, etc. All the things we have discussed in the past few weeks are things humans can control. Which leads me to ask....which is worse?

http://www.unicef.org/mozambique/child_survival_2933.html

Week 4

As you know I originally chose to explore WACAP.org because of my personal ties to it. However after reading this weeks assignment and realizing I couldn't answer all the questions I decided to switch websites.

The first question about professional development I was able to use WACAP. I loved reading about all the volunteer opportunities. They had two opportunities that spoke to me - Outreach and Advocacy and Family Support. Both of these are things that relate to me personally and professionally. I could utilize my professional and personal contacts doing advocacy. I could employ my passion for children and families doing Family Support. But as I said.I needed a new site....so I picked

http://nieer.org/  - stands for National Institute for Early Education Research.

Browsing through their website (my newsletter subscription is being processed, whatever that means) I found  an abundance of resources including professional papers. I decided to check out a paper on improving public financing of preschool programs.

it can be found here: http://www.nieer.org/resources/factsheets/26.pdf 

Basically its about the funding for programs being decreased but really it breaks down how and why the money needs to be increased.

this website definitely opened my eyes to all the research being done for early childhood. I am a geek for research (it's the Soc major in me). There is an entire section dedicated to economics and finance. It is both good and bad that economists are getting involved in early childhood education. Good because it validates our field to those outside it bad because it reduces children to things.

Introducing..... Shay!

I am pleases to introduce to you Shay S.

I made a connection with Shay through a friend from high school. Shay is currently in a country in Africa, Mozambique.  She studied psychology and child development at University of Idaho.  


She worked in a PreK program where she practiced English with her students and families. She got into the Peace Corp soon after.  


We were discussing poverty and she was telling me that her students asked if there were poor people in the United States. ...speaks to our image in other countries...she explained to them there are poor people in the U.S. but there are programs in place to help them out. 

As simple a thought as it is - I didn't know there not such programs in other places. But I guess, if the government is poor they can't afford to help their people. That sucks. It makes me realize that even though I hear so much complaining about the state of the country, we really are doing better than alot of places.

Week 2...WACAP

 

http://www.wacap.org/ 

WACAP is an organization based out of Washington state. It is the “largest and most experienced international nonprofit adoption and child assistance agencies in the United States.” (Wacap.org). In addition to adoption it also provides health and education opportunities for children around the world.

 It is also the agency I was adopted through. 

Me and my brother in 1988- soon after I came home

I feel like adoption is an important early childhood issue because in our careers we will probably work with students who are in foster care or who have been recently adopted. It is so important to support these children and their families. As we know early childhood is where the foundation is laid for the rest of these kids lives. We should be building a well foundation…I heard a quote somewhere about it being easier to build a child than it is to fix a broken adult. As early childhood educators we have the awesome ability to affect the lives of children in a meaningful way.

One of the things that caught my eye about this organization, besides my personal ties to it, was how hard it is for older boys to be adopted.  I have always known finding families for older child were more difficult. But what makes boys so different from girls?  I don’t know. I believe all children are deserving of a permanent loving family.

There are links to their newsletters since 2008. The link to their blog is provided. The blog is about personal stories and the impact WACAP has had on families. There are sections for both US and international adoption.

I’d recommend this website to others.