!Final Blog Post!

          I enjoyed this class so much! I have learned a lot about the international early childhood field.  Unfortunately, I never received a response back from the international contacts that I had chosen in the beginning of the class.  However, I was able to take part in the alternative assignments that was offered to us if our contacts did not work out.  I was able to explore the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre's website, http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/, Harvard University's "Global Children's Initiative website,http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/, and  UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/.  Being able to see how world of early childhood is, in other parts of the world is so interesting and exciting.  Knowing that we are not alone in this journey to make the world a better place for our children is encouraging.
          One personal goal that I have set for myself is to continue learning about international awareness of the early childhood field and to be in contact with other professionals in the field that are in other parts of the world.  I want to stay abreast of all of the things happening all over the world in the field.  I am so thankful for this class and all of my colleagues that I have come in contact with through this class.  I have learned so much from you all and I wish you well in all that you do while at Walden University, and then also in all that you do professionally and in your life.   

ALTERNATIVE - PART 3

          During the course of this class, I never received responses from my international contacts that I had chosen.  For this week blog assignment, I examined the UNESCO website.  The first personal goal that I set in my Foundations course was about providing high-quality childcare.  On the UNESCO website there is a section titled "Quality."  In the section, the subject of child-centered quality is discussed.  That is one of the key aspects of the high-quality childcare that I want to provide.  I aim to have a child-centered program.  My second personal goal that I set in my Foundations course was to understand individuality and diversity.  On the same websit, in the same section, there is this statement: "The ECCE workforce is often made up of a diverse group of pre-school teachers, care workers, informal carers and other professionals."  This statement helped me to understand that not only will there individuality and diversity in the students that I teach but also in the teachers around me.  I not only need to understand how to deal with individuality and diversity in my students (which is important), but I also need to understand and learn how to deal with the same issues with the people that I work with on a daily basis.  Understanding these issues will allow childcare programs to run smoother and more efficiently.  My third personal goal that I set in my Foundations course was to better understand how children learn.  On the website there is a section titled, Access and equity.  The section discuses ways in which governments can ensure that all children receive an equal opportunity to receive an education.  I want to be able to provide for all children that come my way, regardless of their family's financial status.  Every child deserves to learn no matter where they come from.  I enjoyed learning and studying about this website, it has helped me deepen my understanding about my own goals and what I truly want from my childcare program. 

References

 

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations. (1995-2012). Education.    Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/ 



Sharing Web Resources

          The website that I have been studying is ZERO TO THREE.  The website offers many outside links to explore, such as the Early HeadStart link.  The link leads to the website titled, "Early Head Start National Resource Center."  There are online lessons, CSPC Guide to New Crib Standards, and material for Federal Staff (Early Head Start National Resource Center, n.d.).  There is another outside link to the National Training Institute.  There is information offered about multiple training opportunitites for early childhood professionals.  The website also presents the sponsors that support the NTI, as well as an FAQ section and a Hotel and Travel section (National Training Institute, 2013).  A third outside link that is offered is the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home, Visiting Technical Assistance.  This websites main points are: to strengthen evaluations of promising programs, developing and adapting data systems to facilitate tracking and reporting on Federal benchmarks, and implementing quality improvement systems ( Health Resources and Services Administration, n.d.). 
          The area that I chose to thoroughly explore on the website was the section titled, "Maltreatment."    This section includes resources for early childhood professionals and families to use to help young children and their families when they have been impacted by maltreatment, violence, loss, or disaster.  One of the subsections is child abuse and neglect.  If young children that have been victim to maltreatment are helped properly when they are still young, the children are able to return to their healthy development process and can be restored.  This section offers subcategories, such as "Reports Highlight Impact of Maltreatment on the Youngest Children."  The next subsection is "The Safe Babies Court Teams Project."  The opening statement says everything that is needed to be known, "Every 7 minutes an infant or toddler is removed from their home due to alleged abuse or neglect."  The section offers resources and information about how to help with this problem.  The last subsection is "Impact of Trauma."  Children are affected alot by the events that go on around them, more than people think.  Parents and caregivers are some of the most important people in a child's life when they are affected by trauma.  When sensitive and responsive care is given, healing can begin for the child and all included. 
          I receive an e-newsletter, titled "Resource Round-up"  It offers resources for the early childhood professionals.  The full title is "Resource Roundup: Babies never stop growing and neither should you."  Some of the articles offered in the enewsletter are "Sharing the Care: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect."  Neither the e-newsletter or the website currently offers any information about equity and excellence in the early care and education.  However an insight that I did gain about what I learned today is that more children receive maltreatment when they are young and most of the time infants than I initially thought.  This is such a sad fact, however I think that we are headed in the right direction.  The early childhood field is making great progress and I am proud to say that I am a part of it!

References

 

Early Head Start National Resource Center. (n.d.) Retrieved from www.ehsnrc.org.

 

Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Technical Assistance.  Retrieved from http://mchb.hrsa.gov

 

National Training Institute. (2013). Retrieving from www.regonline.com

 

ZERO TO THREE. (2012). Retrieved from www.zerotothree.org

 



Week 5 - ALTERNATIVE

          For this week's assignment, I chose to explore the Harvard's University, "Global Children's Initiative" website.  In the Global Children's Initiative, three different countries were discussed, Brazil, Zambia, and Chile.  In Brazil, there is quite a bit going on in the early childhood field.  The project, Nucleo Ciencia Pela Infancia, is making astounding progress in the field.  Policymakers, civil society leaders, and scholars are all included and working in this project.  I did not so much as get a new insight from this section, rather than a reinforcement of an insight I had already gained.  Brazil is looking at early childhood development at a scientific standpoint.  Using this point of view they have been able to increase the overall interest in the early childhood field.  In Zambia, there is a lack of knowledge of the early childhood development in the Sub-Saharan Africa.  Because of this lack of knowledge, the Zambian Early Childhood Development Project (ZECDP) was launched.  The main goal of this project is: "a collaborative effort to measure the effects of an ongoing anti-malaria initiative on children’s development in Zambia."  One insight that I gained from reading this section was a thankful insight.  I am so thankful that the children in the United States does not have to worry about or struggle with malaria.  I am also thankful that Zambia is working to help the children in Zambia with this struggle.  They deserve a childhood where they can learn and be free to be whomever they want to be without having to worry about malaria (Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, 2012). 
          In Chili, the project Un Buen Comienzo (UBC, "A Good Start"), and the purpose of the project is "to improve early childhood education through teacher professional development."  The project reinforces the importance of including the family in children's education.  Their major focus is education offered to four-to-six year old's particularly in the area of language development.  The insight that was reinforced for myself while reading this section is the importance of including family in the child's education.  When I open my daycare in the future, my goal is to make it family-oriented and hopefully give the children that go there the best beginning they can get (Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, 2012).

References

 





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