Final Blog for EDUC-6162 

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development: 

*With regard to equity and excellence in care and education, I would like to learn more about New Zealand’s early childhood program.  The website that I researched and our classmate, Jody, have both mentioned New Zealand’s early childhood program.  It has intrigued me, and I am curious to learn more specifics about their early childhood program. 

*With regard to poverty, I have seen how much this is a global issue. Each year I share with my students two books about an unlikely friendship between an Aldabra giant tortoise and an orphaned hippo.  Their names are Owen and Mzee.  Owen, the hippo, was orphaned due to the tsunami in 2004.  It is a wonderful story of a community coming together to save this orphaned hippo, and then how these two unlikely pair of animals become the best of friends at Haller Park, a wildlife park in Kenya.  There are so many lessons about community and friendship that can be built around the true story of Owen and Mzee.  The photographs of Owen and Mzee, let the children see the animals, but also let them see how others across the world live in very different conditions from their own.  So, it was of great interest that I learned, from a podcast, about Meridas Eka Yora and his work with the children who had been orphaned by a tsunami.  As a teacher, I found his quote about teaching the orphaned children most telling, “We have to be the father and mother to the children before being their teacher.”  This is true for many of our own students, as well.  Now, when I share Owen and Mzee’s story with my classes, I will think of Meridas Eka Yora and his words, and the work he is doing with children orphaned by the tsunami. 

http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/radio.php

*Finally, with regard to the influences of economics, neuroscience, and politics, I feel that I need to stay more current learning about the international early childhood field.  I need to bookmark the websites that I researched during this course and regularly look at them for updates on different organizations.  I was surprised by all of the organizations and programs that are being offered globally, and I need to continue to stay current learning about them.  

**With regard to changing demographics and diversity, my goal would be to pursue learning a second language, so that I could go to another country on a study tour and feel more comfortable participating in one of their early childhood programs. I think learning a second language will also be beneficial in the classroom with regard to the issue/trend of changing demographics and diversity.

To all of my classmates,

 

I have learned so much from each of you.  Thank you for sharing your insights in your discussion posts and blogs.  I wish you the best as you continue your educational journey.

Best regards,

Dianne

 

Getting to Know Your International Contacts – Part 3

I have never heard back from any of the international contacts that I emailed, so I went to UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage.  I found some interesting information on their webpage that relate to my professional goal of implementing workshops, in my community, which will help facilitate ways for parents to become more active partners in their child’s education.

 

First, there was a book series, “Bouba and Zaza” and “Childhood Cultures”, an intergenerational African series of children’s books that addresses the glaring shortage of children’s books adapted to African contexts.  I am always looking for new books to share with my students to engage them in conversations about global issues.  The series covers subjects affecting the lives of African families that some parents are reluctant to address.  These topics include war/conflict, HIV/AIDS, the water resources, and environmental protection.  The series is designed to help children debate these problems, and that by addressing the issues, children will become more aware of their environment and how their choices impact the environment. 

Second, there was a section devoted to World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, which was held on May 21, 2012.  This special day was to promote culture in all forms.  Not only is it important for schools to be culturally sensitive, but I also think it is important to inform our parents about the culturally diversity of our schools and community.  Through workshops, I hope to share with parents’ ways to participate in cultural opportunities with their children.  On this webpage, it suggested several ways for people to join in the celebration, such as parents reading traditional stories from various cultures at bedtime to their children, learning a new language with a native speaker, and inviting a music school to give a concert with multicultural music. 

Third, there was a section devoted to International Jazz Day, which was held on April 30, 2012.  I would like to share with parents, in my workshops, the importance of the art and music in a child’s education.  As stated on this webpage, jazz breaks down barriers and creates opportunities for mutual understanding.  Jazz is a symbol of unity and peace and fosters gender equality.   Finally, jazz also encourages artistic innovation, improvisation, new forms of expression, and inclusion of traditional music forms into new ones. It would be exciting to have a local jazz band play for the parents at the workshop.

These are just a few of the exciting things that I found on this webpage that I could incorporate into one of my professional goals. 

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

Sharing Web Resources 

National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators

http://www.naecte.org/

On their homepage, they have a tab for Links to Related Organizations.  I chose the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.  AACTE is a national alliance of educator preparation programs dedicated to the highest quality professional development of teachers and school leaders in order to enhance PK-12 student learning.  AACTE supports the New Educator Reform Act which was a bill that was announced on September 20.  This bill proposes to improve the quality of teaching in high-need schools by reforming and strengthening accountability of educator preparation programs, and supporting partnerships to meet the needs of educators.  I was unaware of this bill, and I realize this is an area in which I need to stay more current. 

In addition, there was a section entitled AACTE Sheds Light on Requirements Raised in PDK/Gallup Poll.  If you click on the blue highlighted title Public Education in the United States:  A Nation Divided - What Americans said about the public schools.  The topics include finances and politics, teacher evaluations, immigrants in our schools, bullying, confidence in our teachers, and so on.  It was very interesting to read and some of the opinions were surprising to me. 

http://www.naecte.org/

While searching the website for information regarding equity and excellence in early care and education, I learned that at their Fall Conference on Wednesday, November 7^th in Atlanta, Georgia they have chosen a keynote speaker who will address the importance of children’s play.  The keynote speaker will be Dr. Nancy Carlsson-Paige, and she will be speaking about her most recent work TAKING BACK CHILDHOOD: A Proven Roadmap for Raising Confident, Creative, Compassionate Kids.  She will also be addressing the need to preserve children’s play in order to support healthy development.  I was glad to see that this national organization is recognizing and supporting the importance of children’s play by choosing a keynote speaker who will address this topic at their national conference.

 

Resources:

National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators  http://www.naecte.org/

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education  http://aacte.org/

 

 

 

 

Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative”

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/

 

Un Buen Comienzo (UBC), “A Good Start”, is a collaborative project in Santiago, Chile, to improve early childhood education.  Their goal is to improve educational offerings for four-to-six-year-olds, particularly in language development.  In addition, the project is designed to intervene in critical health areas that improve school attendance, as well as, socioemotional development.  It also seeks to involve the children’s families in their education.

 

Nucleo Ciencia Pela Infancia (ncpi), is a collaboration between the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University and local experts to use the science of child health and development to guide stronger policies and larger investments to benefit young children and their families in Brazil.

Zambian Early Childhood Development Project is a collaborative effort to measure the effects of an on-going anti-malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia.  ZECPD created an instrument for assessing children’s physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development before and throughout their schooling careers.  Two rounds were piloted before the first cohort of 1,686 children, born in 2004, was assessed between July and December 2010.  In 2011, there was a follow-up with 1, 250 of those children.  A third follow-up was planned for June through August of this year.  The data will hopefully improve an understanding of child development in this context, as well as, identify key interventions towards improving outcomes in a rapidly changing world.

 

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/