Final Blog Reflections

As this course comes to an end, I have gained so many wonderful insights from the readings and dialogue with my colleagues and instructor.  I have enjoyed learning about the early childhood field from many different perspectives including those of international early childhood professionals.  One insight that I gained was that education and the early childhood field is an area that is important to the international community as well.  One interesting article that I read was about the rebuilding of war-torn Libya.  In the article it discussed how rebuilding the education system was a priority of the country.  It was wonderful to see that this new Libya values education and aims to put it at the forefront of their reconstruction.  Another consequence of learning about the international early childhood field was the need for early childhood support in many areas.  There are so many wonderful child advocacy programs promoting the healthy development of children, including Harvard University's Global Children's Initiative.  This Initiative focuses on education people about the importance of early childhood development, encouraging decision makers to develop policy that benefits young children.  I also learned that the issues affecting the children in our country are very similar to issues internationally, for example, poverty.  Poverty is a concern in many areas of the world as well as in my own community.  I noticed that similar programs are offered in countries to combat the issue of poverty.  My goal for the early childhood field would be to work together with other professionals in the international community to share resources and ideas that would benefit all of the children of the world.  It would be wonderful to have a global commitment to the healthy and safe development of our young children.