Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development would be as follows:
1) I learned that other countries put more importance on early childhood education than we do.
2) Gender inequality is an ongoing issue in many countries and not enough is being done to rectify this situation. Mindsets have to change which is very difficult.
3) Economics really drives what is being done around the world especially when it comes to our most vulnerable children.
One goal I have is to keep informed about issues. One issue that really resonated with me was gender inequality. I hope to learn more and at least be able to find an organization I can support financially that is doing a good job trying to change this.
To all my colleagues, congrats on all of your hard work and dedication. Good luck to all of you.
Welcome to my blog.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Getting To Know Your International Contacts - Part 3
Unfortunately, I couldn't get in contact with anyone internationally. I really don't know what I didn't do correctly. I am kind of disappointed that it has been so long and I have not had success. So, again, I had to do the alternative assignment. I looked at the website http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/. One thing that I can come away with is that there are many organizations working to improve success for all of our young children.
1) One way UNESCO, defines quality, is that ealry childhood care and education programs should emphasize the child's holistic development and extend beyond assisting the child's transition to formal schooling. It just seems that everyone understands what is necessary to have success but the actual implementation of that type of system is more complicated than it seems.
2) UNESCO has education regions. They include Africa, the Arab states, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America and Latin America and the Carribbean. I just wondered how this is done logistically. Issues in America will be vastly different than issues in the Arab states. I wonder how religion and gender equity plays a role and what is actually being done about it. If we are to educate all of our children then girls must be a part of that process. I wonder how difficult this actually can be in some places.
3) With that in mind, I looked at the agencies' priorities and they included Africa, gender equality, education for all, sustainable development, ethics, cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue, and knowledge societies. I found it very interesting that it included gender equality. It is such an important issue because girls do not normally complete much education in certain areas. They are used for domestic help or early marriage. I couldn't really get a clear picture of how this is dealt with but I found it very interesting. I will have to take more time and explore. Maybe that information I can find it in the news portion of the website.
1) One way UNESCO, defines quality, is that ealry childhood care and education programs should emphasize the child's holistic development and extend beyond assisting the child's transition to formal schooling. It just seems that everyone understands what is necessary to have success but the actual implementation of that type of system is more complicated than it seems.
2) UNESCO has education regions. They include Africa, the Arab states, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America and Latin America and the Carribbean. I just wondered how this is done logistically. Issues in America will be vastly different than issues in the Arab states. I wonder how religion and gender equity plays a role and what is actually being done about it. If we are to educate all of our children then girls must be a part of that process. I wonder how difficult this actually can be in some places.
3) With that in mind, I looked at the agencies' priorities and they included Africa, gender equality, education for all, sustainable development, ethics, cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue, and knowledge societies. I found it very interesting that it included gender equality. It is such an important issue because girls do not normally complete much education in certain areas. They are used for domestic help or early marriage. I couldn't really get a clear picture of how this is dealt with but I found it very interesting. I will have to take more time and explore. Maybe that information I can find it in the news portion of the website.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Sharing Web Resources
I am following http://www.zerotothree.org/. I get weekly newsletters from this website. This week I decided to follow the newsletter where I was able to download a copy of Separation and Loss Due to Political and Social Conflict The Impact on Early Childhood Development. Since our course is entitled issues and trends I thought this was a relevant issue. Having the experience of dealing with refugees while in Maine I found this interesting and relevant for our generation. We have many students in our class that might have parents deployed or have refugees in our classes.
Also in the newsletter I was able to download a brochure entitled Little Listeners in an Uncertain World: Coping strategies for you and your child during deployment or when a crisis occurs. It was informative and gave examples of what can be done for adults when they are stressful and how to help their child to cope also.
I explored Free Parent Brochures and Guides. There is so much available. I also liked that some handouts were available in Spanish. I though this was a very useful tool to use for parent-teacher conferences, meetings, or workshops. There was general parenting topics such as Every Ways to Support Your Baby or Toddler's Early Learning, Tips for Child's Development Assessment, and Healthy Eating Strategies for Young Children. There are many age-based handouts, healthy minds: Nurturing Your Child's Healthy Development, and The Magic of Everyday Moments, and Your Baby's Development. I actually looked at the information under Self-Control for 24-36 months old and found it informative and helpful especially when Arianna was having tantrums.
I think the brochures and information here for parents help them better understand their children thus helping parents be better at parenting. I think this promotes excellence in the home thus promoting excellence in the school.
Also in the newsletter I was able to download a brochure entitled Little Listeners in an Uncertain World: Coping strategies for you and your child during deployment or when a crisis occurs. It was informative and gave examples of what can be done for adults when they are stressful and how to help their child to cope also.
I explored Free Parent Brochures and Guides. There is so much available. I also liked that some handouts were available in Spanish. I though this was a very useful tool to use for parent-teacher conferences, meetings, or workshops. There was general parenting topics such as Every Ways to Support Your Baby or Toddler's Early Learning, Tips for Child's Development Assessment, and Healthy Eating Strategies for Young Children. There are many age-based handouts, healthy minds: Nurturing Your Child's Healthy Development, and The Magic of Everyday Moments, and Your Baby's Development. I actually looked at the information under Self-Control for 24-36 months old and found it informative and helpful especially when Arianna was having tantrums.
I think the brochures and information here for parents help them better understand their children thus helping parents be better at parenting. I think this promotes excellence in the home thus promoting excellence in the school.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Getting to Know Your International Contacts - Part 2
I looked at http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/. It was very interesting. I learned through the Global Children's Initiative activities that this organization looks at early childhood development, mental health, and children in crisis and conflict situations. What I paid particular attention to was the children in crisis and outcomes. This group focused on child status in post-earthquake Haiti and Chile and they also addresses acute malnutrition.
Looking at Child and Family Mental Health they stress that addressing these emerging emotional and behavioral problems when children are young is an important social issue. This confirms all that we have been learning. We have learned about early stress becoming an indicator of later behavioral issues. So there is value in addressing these needs.
Relationship-based conditions contributing to early emotional difficulties, such as maternal depression, also have been well-documented effects on developing brain function. I thought this was so interesting because lately there has been more awareness on maternal depression especially with Brooke Shields bringing maternal depression to the forefront and lack of understanding clearly stated by Tom Cruise. I think it is still misunderstood and scary. This is a personal issue to me because I experienced baby blues with my firstborn and it was terrifying because I felt that I wasn't me. It is interesting to see that this affects the child and the ways it affects the child.
Looking at Child and Family Mental Health they stress that addressing these emerging emotional and behavioral problems when children are young is an important social issue. This confirms all that we have been learning. We have learned about early stress becoming an indicator of later behavioral issues. So there is value in addressing these needs.
Relationship-based conditions contributing to early emotional difficulties, such as maternal depression, also have been well-documented effects on developing brain function. I thought this was so interesting because lately there has been more awareness on maternal depression especially with Brooke Shields bringing maternal depression to the forefront and lack of understanding clearly stated by Tom Cruise. I think it is still misunderstood and scary. This is a personal issue to me because I experienced baby blues with my firstborn and it was terrifying because I felt that I wasn't me. It is interesting to see that this affects the child and the ways it affects the child.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Sharing Web Resources Part 2
I am currently examining http://www.zerotothree.org/. I found particular interest in Public Policy this week. In this particular section we can see Action Center, Building Early Childhood Systems, Federal Policy, Infant-Policy Issues, Policy Guide and State and Community Policy.
This site has a lot of professional resources. An example is Babies and Toddlers in the Policy Picture: A Self-Assessment Checklist for States and Communities. I was able to view a PowerPoint entitled Developing Plans to Improve Services for Infants and Toddlers.
An idea that made me think aobut an issue in new ways is the issue of children in foster care. The Zero to Three website pushes a policy for permanent placements for children in foster care. This is an idea that I haven't seen or read about anywhere. When you think about all we have learned about early childhood development and the importance of creating a bond with someone it makes total sense. Unfortunately, this is not what happens and this organization is seeking to change that.
I realized through viewing the power point how complex it is to actually deliver policy change. There are so many different components of what needs to be accomplished. Many people need to come together and agree on what needs to be done, how to do it, how to finance it, and then how to actually implement these changes. It is not as simple as we would like it to be. So even when politicians, economists, and neuroscientists are on the same page, actually agree on what needs to be done, have the finances in place to do it, then there are all these logistical things that need to be done, which is what we usually refer to as "red tape".
This site has a lot of professional resources. An example is Babies and Toddlers in the Policy Picture: A Self-Assessment Checklist for States and Communities. I was able to view a PowerPoint entitled Developing Plans to Improve Services for Infants and Toddlers.
An idea that made me think aobut an issue in new ways is the issue of children in foster care. The Zero to Three website pushes a policy for permanent placements for children in foster care. This is an idea that I haven't seen or read about anywhere. When you think about all we have learned about early childhood development and the importance of creating a bond with someone it makes total sense. Unfortunately, this is not what happens and this organization is seeking to change that.
I realized through viewing the power point how complex it is to actually deliver policy change. There are so many different components of what needs to be accomplished. Many people need to come together and agree on what needs to be done, how to do it, how to finance it, and then how to actually implement these changes. It is not as simple as we would like it to be. So even when politicians, economists, and neuroscientists are on the same page, actually agree on what needs to be done, have the finances in place to do it, then there are all these logistical things that need to be done, which is what we usually refer to as "red tape".
Friday, March 18, 2011
Getting to Know Your International Contact
I'm disappointed that no one I contacted got back to me. Not even my friend from Dominica has returned my email. Maybe she will do so later on. Because of this, I had to do the alternative assignment.
I chose India because I just finished watching a show about child sex slaves with Lisa Ling. I thought it was horrific what was happening there and decided to learn more about the issue of poverty in this country.
1) One major issue in India is education. The country struggles with getting 33 million children living in poverty to get into an elementary school, then finish at least the primary grades. There is also gender discrimination for education. Only 66% of girls attend secondary schools. India has 20% of the world's out of school children.
2) Another major issue is health. The health of the poor is a major problem. There are many communicable diseases, malnutrition, and maternal and perinatal illnesses (www.childhoodpoverty.org/). Because of changes in modernization of their systems, urbanization, and economic conditions the issue of HIV/AIDS is becoming a fast problem. There is alot of malnutrition and children are born low-birth weight.
3) The country of India is trying to improve the conditions of the poor. As of late, they are trying to implement a Child Policy. It just seems that they are not doing enough. Maybe it is because there is just this pervasive attitude about poor people. They do have a caste system so maybe the majority of the people believe if you are poor that you are in that situation because of what you have done in your previous life. That is clearly my opinion.
I chose India because I just finished watching a show about child sex slaves with Lisa Ling. I thought it was horrific what was happening there and decided to learn more about the issue of poverty in this country.
1) One major issue in India is education. The country struggles with getting 33 million children living in poverty to get into an elementary school, then finish at least the primary grades. There is also gender discrimination for education. Only 66% of girls attend secondary schools. India has 20% of the world's out of school children.
2) Another major issue is health. The health of the poor is a major problem. There are many communicable diseases, malnutrition, and maternal and perinatal illnesses (www.childhoodpoverty.org/). Because of changes in modernization of their systems, urbanization, and economic conditions the issue of HIV/AIDS is becoming a fast problem. There is alot of malnutrition and children are born low-birth weight.
3) The country of India is trying to improve the conditions of the poor. As of late, they are trying to implement a Child Policy. It just seems that they are not doing enough. Maybe it is because there is just this pervasive attitude about poor people. They do have a caste system so maybe the majority of the people believe if you are poor that you are in that situation because of what you have done in your previous life. That is clearly my opinion.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sharing Web Resources
I have chosen to share more about http://www.zerotothree.org/ This organization focuses on children from Pre-natal to age 3. The website gives a lot of information. For example it includes behavior and development, maltreatment, care and education, and public policy. I looked this week at care and education. They had a lot of valuable information but I chose to focus on school readiness which is interactive. I focused on self-control and watched a video. I found it interesting that they do not advocate for time-outs for children aged two or three. They said it is ineffective.
There also is download of the week. This week is the Magic of Everyday Moments - 24 to 36 months.
I was sent an article to my email. It was a free article from their newsletter where Matthew E. Memed writes A Call to Action for Infants and Toddlers in Foster Care. He argues for policy agenda making vulnerable infants and toddlers a priority and creating a developmental approach to their care.
As far as cultural diversity, I would have liked to see more things related to being bilingual, or resources in Spanish. Maybe I will see it later on, but didn't see it now. I have to explore deeply.
Found it:
http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_par_1224_selfcontvid1
Spanish Video :))
There also is download of the week. This week is the Magic of Everyday Moments - 24 to 36 months.
I was sent an article to my email. It was a free article from their newsletter where Matthew E. Memed writes A Call to Action for Infants and Toddlers in Foster Care. He argues for policy agenda making vulnerable infants and toddlers a priority and creating a developmental approach to their care.
As far as cultural diversity, I would have liked to see more things related to being bilingual, or resources in Spanish. Maybe I will see it later on, but didn't see it now. I have to explore deeply.
Found it:
http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_par_1224_selfcontvid1
Spanish Video :))
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