Final Blog Assignment

During the course blog postings, I was able to explore international early childhood. Before the course began, I was not aware of the connections, devotion and motivation for young children all around the world. The 3 consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development is that I learned about the different aspects of early childhood education in another country. The other consequence is that I was able obtain tools and facts about the issues and trends in international early childhood education. The third consequence of learning about international early childhood is that, I was able to be connected with other educational professionals and to share the insights and leads to other important links from my colleagues. The consequences help to understand and gain insights from a different perspective about the trends and issues that are relevant to the children’s future and well being. I did not have a clue about the education system internationally, and it was very interesting to find out the trends and issues are spread throughout the nation. The links to international early childhood will lead educators to resources to share with other colleagues and parents. There were resources for educators to stay connected and began self awareness and self evaluation to help them better serve children and families with the quality and excellence of early childhood education. The more information that I was able to obtain from the course and from international early childhood education, the more I feel the need to continue my professional and personal goals to help children and families that are struggling with funding, access and equality. The continuous communication through the blog postings help to form a network from different professionals that are desire to help and assist families and children from different backgrounds and poverty levels. I will continue my mission to educate, advocate and care for children of all ages. I learned the importance and relevance of blogging and the information that any professional can gain from the connections of other professionals in the same field and passion. I enjoyed and learned from reading and exploring the different resources available from my colleagues and authors that stayed connected on the blogs.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

Alternative

Some of the insights that I have gained about issues related to international early childhood education that relate to my professional goals is that the first priority is the wellbeing and development of the child. The international early childhood education and my goals are to provide the quality, access and attention to children and their families. There are so many children and families especially the poor that need the attention from government officials to help with cost, quality and access. International early childhood education and my professional goals are in the same playing field. As a team we want to establish equality amongst all children to have the education and quality that is deserved. Quality can help establish and build a child’s social ability, cognitive skills, brain development, more parent participation and physical capabilities (UNESCO, 1995-2011).

I gained the understanding of knowing that children all across the world are dealing inequalities and if the priority of children is given by government officials and policy makers that this can help mend the gap on the inequality in education across the board. The goal is provide equal quality care, resources, access and affordable education for the children of all ages. Another insight that I encountered while navigating through the site is that play is included as a important part of a child’s development. Play is a way for the children to develop their social skills and be able to explore the world around them. Play also gives the teacher a chance to observe the children from their inner ability to be creative. Another topic on the site that was a great idea that I gained in regards to international early childhood education that relate to funding. Funding is a valuable part in ensuring that all children are treated equally in the education sector. Receiving investment funding from profitable and nonprofit organization will help build more effective ways to help the most disadvantaged and families that are challenged with financial difficulties (UNESCO, 1995-2011)

Reference

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (1995-2011). Early Childhood Care and Education Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Sharing Web Resources

The link that I explored was http://www.qualitycareforchildren.org/ quality care for children in the state of Georgia. The links lead me to resources for families and professionals to provide a quality education, early learning experience and nurturing. The link also demonstrates the inconsistency in quality among more than 400,000 children in Georgia. The link believes in putting the children first and making sure they reach their goals. The site is to help guide children to a successful and healthy future. The link provides other links and resources to public assistance programs, so that educators can provide them to families. The area that I focused on was Georgia Alliance for Quality Child Care. I found that this area of focus will help with save time and money on supplies, marketing and administration so that educators can focus more on the needs of the children. I also found that you can become a member to stay connected with other education professionals, parent handbooks, evaluations, have resources during difficult financial times. The site that I selected at the beginning of this course was http://www.naecte.org. The site offered information on the many issues that is discussed this week. This current website gave detailed information on other links to being a better professional, adding quality and a healthier lifestyle for many children and families. I gained the knowledge of learning about how many states are dealing with inequality and funding for low income families. I also learned that it is a ongoing process to pull the community, families, state, local and government officials together to make this a better environment for the children.

Reference

Quality Care for Children.org. (2010). Quality Care for Children 2010 Annual Report. Retrieved from http://www.qualitycareforchildren.org/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 2

The new ideas and insights that I gained about early childhood systems around the globe from Harvard University's "Global Children's Initiative is that the main focus is on the overall health, development and survival of all children. The Global Children's Initiative is devoted to the responsibility of the children needs and the positive outcomes when it comes to economic productivity, health and the society as a whole. The other insight I gained from the site is that the Global Children's Initiative is building, researching, reframing, implementing and educating policy makes, educators and other professionals on how the learning process and behavior pattern start in a child's early stages of life. The site provided me the knowledge of how experience influences the brain and genes. I learned that a healthy environment and lifestyle leads to a healthy development (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2012).
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The site educated me on how stress can affect development and the preventive measures to take to avoid and cope with the challenges of stress. there is positive stress that contributes to healthy development, such as increased heart rate, and hormonal levels being elevated. Another stress response is tolerable stress that can be harmful due to the length of the stress on the body's alert system. Then there is toxic stress that can be a lifelong disaster due to physical or emotional abuse, neglect, substance abuse, mental illness, or experience or exposure to violence. This type of stress can affect the brain development, body organs, other diseases and cognitive impairment. The site is to help invest and improve the lives of children and benefit the society down the road. I have learned that early intervention and successful prevention programs can be a positive outcome and impact on the younger aged children (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2012).

The additional information that I gained about issues of equity and excellence is that it takes a village to get the goal of putting the needs of all children first. Children from all around the world are faced with challenges of inequality and in order for the education field to be a success, respected and equal to all is to implement the same standards, care and attention to all children regardless of their background, socioeconomic status, race, parental education, or location.

Reference

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2012). Global Children's Initiative. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/