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. 

Getting to Know International Contacts - Part 3

             While exploring the website, I came across an article called “Libya: the Will to Change”.  I found the information in the article interesting because after the period of unrest in Libya, not only were the school buildings destroyed, but also the educational system.  Libya finds itself in a good position to rebuild the education system in Libya the way that they want to.  With the help of UNESCO, Libyans plan to improve educational policies, regulate private education and train teachers.  They are not concerned about the enrollment of students, but in the quality of education they receive.  Libya plans to develop high quality school systems to meet the needs of their students.  I think it is wonderful that education is at the forefront of the redevelopment of this country. 

                Another article, “The Role of Education in a World of 7 Billion People” discussed the importance of education to the success of the world.  It mentioned that with an increasing population, providing education to all of the world’s children is a daunting task, especially with tightened budgets and limited resources in the classroom.  UNESCO described its stance on the area of education in this world.  They believe that every child has a right to an education and the education they receive can be huge factors in the fight against poverty and HIV.  The higher educated one is the less likely they are to fall into one of these unfortunate situations. 

                Overall, after viewing the website, I see that UNESCO is a very positive force when it comes to education.  Not only do they promote and advocate for the field, but they are also participants in many countries that are trying to revamp their education system. 

 Resources

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Sharing Web Resources

I have been following the Children’s Defense Fund website.  This week, I explored a link called “CDF News”.  This linked to several news stories around the country focusing on issues such as racial gap and exercise programs.  I decided to read a news story based out of Chicago, called “Chicago’s Growing Racial Gap in Child Poverty”.  This news story examined poverty levels among children in Chicago and stated that “more than one in three Chicago children are living in poverty” (Bogira, 2012).  According to Bogira (2012) however, this statistic is skewed because less than 1 out of every 11 white kids are living in poverty while 1 out of every 2 black kids are living in poverty.  This is a startling statistic.  In fact, Chicago has higher poverty rates for every racial group, with the exception of whites, than the national rates (Bogira, 2012).  According to research, the racial gap in Chicago’s poverty levels appear to be growing, with a 10.6% growth among black children from 2000 to 2011 (Bogira, 2012).  Bogira (2012) believes that this gap is caused by segregation in schools and neighborhoods; he describes two distinct “black neighborhoods” that have been segregated for over 50 years.  He later describes these neighborhoods as suffering with issues of fire, joblessness, crime, and high dropout rates (Bogira, 2012).  Bogira (2012) brings it to the reader’s attention that this is not an issue that can just be ignored, which is what is happening now.  He plans to continue addressing this issue in an effort to make others aware and to hopefully move forward with positive change. 

Another news story on the website did not relate to the field of early childhood, but it did relate to education opportunities for immigrants.  Some states have tried to reduce spending by cutting funds available for American citizens who are the children of illegal immigrants (Preston, 2012).  Some Universities view these children as out of state residents because their parents are not naturalized citizens; this causes problems such as tuition that can be three times as high as in state tuition (Preston, 2012).  Some children also have lost their scholarships because of these rulings.  Recently, the Federal District Court ruled this unconstitutional, but many students were afraid of fighting this issue because of the fear of deportation of their families (Preston, 2012).  In this article, it was clear that accessibility of higher education was a concern for immigrant families.  This is similar to the problems families face with costs of child care and the fear that if families take advantage of benefits that it may affect their immigration status.   

Resources

Bogira, S. (2012). Chicago’s growing racial gap in child poverty. Chicago Reader. Retrieved from                 http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2012/10/04/chicagos-growing-racial-gap-in- child-poverty

Preston, J. (2012). Court rulings help illegal immigrants’ college-bound children. The New York Times.      Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/us/florida-and-new-jersey-courts-aid-   illegal-immigrants-college-bound-children.html?_r=2&ref=us&

 

Getting to Know your International Contacts - Part 2

             I have been watching the podcasts for the alternative assignment.  This week, I watched TJ Skalski.  Skalski is the principal of Mother Earth’s Children’s Charter School in Alberta.  Skalski describes the community as one with damaged, depressed, and hungry children who display feelings of worthlessness.  No wonder the school has had 5 different principals in 5 years.  Skalski was the first principal in the history of the school to remain for more than 1 year.  She has a vision of reinvesting in the kids, focusing on making culture and language a priority.  TJ Skalski explains that many of the families in the community feel caught in a trap, she hopes to inspire the children and families to want more for themselves and to follow their dreams.  It seems like such a massive task to change the way of thinking of an entire community that has been feeling worthless for years.  I love that TJ Skalski feels that this is her calling and she is willing to do whatever it takes for the children and families of the community.  It is inspiring to me to hear of one person making such a difference. 

                The website offered much information about global issues.  Harvard University’s, Center on the Developing Child has started the Global Children’s Initiative.  This Initiative promotes child health and development around the world.    The Initiative uses scientific studies and research in order to advance the Center’s mission.  They focus on three main areas.  Most importantly, they aim to educate decision makers about the science behind how children develop hopefully encouraging the decision makers to make developmentally appropriate decisions for young children.    Also, the Initiative focuses on developing understanding of how healthy development occurs as well as increasing the number of perspectives and advocates that are speaking on behalf of young children.

                One global issue is the Zambian Early Childhood Development Project.  The Zambian Ministry of Education, Harvard University, and several other organizations have developed the Zambian Early Childhood Development Project.  This project aims to develop more understanding of early childhood experiences on developmental, health and educational outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa.  While much research has been conducted in developed countries, little has been done in this area.  The Project has developed an instrument for assessing the physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development of these children before and during their education.  This type of assessment has not been conducted before and the Zambian Early Childhood Development Project hopes to use the data to better understand early childhood development in the country.   

Resources:

Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/)

World Forum Foundation Radio.http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/radio.php