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/

Sharing Web Resources

The section on the website link at http://www.naeyc.org from the Global Alliance for the Education of Young Children that I found relevant to my professional development was the resources and links. The reason that these links are relevant is because they provide assistance and further training tools for early childhood education professional development, policy makers, advocates in the field, and program administrators. The links also provide initiatives in the areas of state standards, position statements on development appropriate practice, learning to read and write, early childhood mathematics, and unacceptable trends in kindergarten entry and placement. The most relevant information to me was the code of ethical conduct resources that gives and outline on appropriate behaviors for professionals, being responsible as a professional, resolving dilemmas, values, morality, respect, being trustworthy, honest and fair (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2012).

The resources that I found controversial was the unacceptable trends in kindergarten because many children are still being denied a fair quality education due to their economics status, demographics, culture or certain language barriers. The information on the website adds understanding to my knowledge of how economists, neuroscientists and politicians support the early childhood field by providing the facts, resources and feedback on how children from different parts of the world are living, how and what type of resources are available for children and families in certain parts of the world and how different cultures are developing and adapting in the early childhood field. The new insight that I gained is that there is assistance programs and resources available for educators, parents, children and stakeholders that all play a key role in the early childhood field to provide a quality education and environment for children around the world.

Resources                                                                                                                                           

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2012). Early Childhood Professionals. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/ecp

Getting to Know Your International Contacts-Part 1

I chose the country Mongolia from the alternative blog assignment because I have not had any feedback from my international contacts. The insights that I gained from the sight is that Mongolia transitioned in 1990 to a majority of democrats and is now joined with the World Trade Organization. The sudden change caused the economy in Mongolia to go downhill. Families were put out of work and could not afford the necessities to take care of their family. The services and resources for needy families and children were limited due to the job cuts. There was a economic turnaround in 1995 but not enough to regain the financial support for families and children. Since the overturn of the economy and positive regain, families are still without quality healthcare or education or jobs. There are more than 35% of the population below the poverty level and children ranging from newborn to age 16 that are living in poverty with single mothers. These children are taking on responsibilities as adults at home, which are causing many of the issues in the education field. The children are not able to attend school due to their responsibilities of trying to survive at any means necessary. The children are forced into the streets at an early age (Children Poverty Research and Policy Centre, 2012).

The main thing that I learned is that the economy and financial stability all play a key role in a child’s life, family structure and poverty level. I cannot imagine that if my husband and I lose our jobs and the state did not have many jobs to offer, what we would do to stay afloat for our children. It is something to really think about because no one really knows what is ahead and we have to think about our children’s future. This is why I believe that a quality education along with experience, contacts and other resources will help to rebound from a transforming economy.

Reference

Children Poverty Research and Policy Centre. (2012). Mongolia. Transition and Poverty. Retrieved on January 21, 2012 from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org

Sharing Web Resources

The newsletter link that I subscribed to is http://www.naeyc.org/resources/partnership/globalalliance. The name of the site is Global Alliance for The Education of Young Children. The organizations focus is share the excellence and quality of education outside of the United States. This organization share and communicate educational resources throughout the world with different associations that provide services and programs for members that participate. This site caught my attention because the organization work with different organizations of the education sector to assist in providing everything that educator’s will need to continue to provide the quality healthcare, education and resources to every child’s development from young childhood education to graduation. The trends that the website discussed that also caught my attention were that there are fewer children today in the United States that are living without both parents in the home. The site points out that children living with both parents in the home have better overall health, more resources, and less behavioral and psychological issues. I want to share that I learned that no matter where a child lives around the world that all can fall short of the care, nurturing and love that is needed for them to develop.