Getting to Know Your International Contacts- Part 3

As an educator I believe it is important to be knowledgeable about the field I am in and to provide a quality education for my students.  It is also important that all my students feel included regardless of their socioeconomic background, gender, religion and culture.  Lastly I think I should collaborate with other colleagues and organizations as this will expand my knowledge and resources.  The three elements I mentioned were seen in some form on (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) UNESCO’s “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage.

A statement that stood out on the webpage was that “The main challenge faced by the teaching profession today is both one of numbers and quality” (UNESCO, n.d.). UNESCO hopes to address this through “national policies, training, recruitment and working conditions” (UNESCO, n.d.).  I learned that there is a demand for teachers in some countries and a call for quality teachers in many places. “UNESCO is concerned by the rise of racism, xenophobia and intolerance,” so it has undertaken a project to design educational materials to address these issues (UNESCO, n.d.).  These materials will then be distributed to different countries (UNESCO, n.d.).  In this venture, UNESCO is seeking to let everyone feel included.  UNESCO has formed partnerships with several organizations and international networks (UNESCO, n.d.).  These partnerships help “UNESCO [to] leverage resources, expertise and competencies to promote all UNESCO’s ideals and values, to achieve common development goals, and to strengthen visibility and impact of its action” (UNESCO, n.d.).  UNESCO wants to see the holistic development and education of all children (UNESCO, n.d.)

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Reference:

UNESCO. (n.d.). Early childhood care and education.  Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Sharing Web Resources

Most of the outside links lead to other child advocacy groups, statistics about children, polling data, research concerning children and evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies in regards to children and education (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).

When I researched the project area of the site I found that the International Child Resource Institute (ICRI) has several projects in different parts of the world (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).  There was some similarity in some projects but none of the projects looked exactly the same.  This made me think that ICRI did not take a “one solution fits all” attitude but they truly went into the communities and saw where they were lacking and what they needed help with the most.  Some of their projects focused on preventing children from being physically and sexually exploited, lifting families out of poverty, meeting the basic needs of children (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.). They also focused on immigrant and refugee children, orphaned children, training , child advocacy, supporting prisoners and their families and the quality of early childhood education (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).

I have not received a newsletter from ICRI even though I signed up for one weeks ago. In terms of excellence in education there was a blog on the website which described a classroom that seemed to be an example of this (Cai, 2012) . It was ICRI’s Heart Leap Center in Berkeley, California.  The blogger was an intern at ICRI, she visited the school and  noticed developmentally appropriate practices, attentive and responsive teachers, parent involvement , the use of a “discovery-based emergent curriculum”, children engaged in creative activities and  various play areas could be seen all over the classroom (Cai, 2012). In the classroom there were also areas for music, reading, science and sports (Cai, 2012).

From the website I realized that equity in education is an issue that affects many if not all nations.  “Disabled children and their families face many challenges” (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).  In Nepal, “many disabled Nepali children continue to be isolated and excluded from the country's educational system” (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.)  We need to continue to advocate for children and speak out for them.

References:

Cai, H. ( 2012, January 23). Hearts leap center [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.icrichild.org/blog/?category=Early+Childhood+Development

International Child Resource Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.icrichild.org/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts- Part 2

I still have not heard from any professionals so I explored the Global Children Initiative website. I learned that maternal depression can have long lasting effects on a child (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2009).  Caregivers who are depressed tend not to be responsive to their children (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2009).  This lack of responsiveness negatively affects the way in which a child’s brain develops (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2009).  In the long run it can “interfere with young children’s ability to learn, and increase the risk of emotional disorders” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2009, p. 3).

Secondly, for many of us it is easy for our brains to perform executive functions and to self-regulate.  Executive function skills include: “the ability to hold onto and work with information, focus thinking, filter distractions, and switch gears” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, n.d., p.1).  Being able to perform executive function skills and self-regulation allows children to do better in school, it helps them to develop positive and healthy behaviors and it helps in the workplace when they grow up (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, n.d.).  Relationships lay the foundation for these two important skills to be built (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, n.d.).

Thirdly, if a child is constantly in situations where they experience fear and anxiety it can affect the development of their brains negatively which can follow them for the rest of their lives (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child , 2010).  These experiences “have the potential to affect how children learn, solve problems, and relate to others” (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010, p.1).  The temporary fear about monsters is normal but fear of abuse and violence can cause immediate and long-term problems for children (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010).  It can affect them both physically and psychologically and disrupt their learning (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010).

According to Akyeampong, Rollenston, Ampiah and Lewin (2012) “despite policies to eliminate fees” disadvantaged groups are sometimes unable to have access to education because of the costs involved (p.4). This suggests that other groups are probably well- educated in comparison. If inequities like this could be addressed appropriately by the government all the citizens would be on the same level when it comes to education.  This is much easier said than done.  As it stands those who can afford it are able to get a better education and those who cannot seem to be stuck in a cycle of poverty.

References:

Akyeampong, K., Rollenston, C.,  Ampiah, J.G., & Lewin, K.M. (2012). Access, Transitions and Equity in Education in Ghana: Researching Practice, Problems and Policy. Retrieved from http://www.create-rpc.org/pdf_documents/PTA72.pdf

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (n.d.). Executive function: Skills for life and learning. Retrieved from InBrief%20-%20Executive%20Function%20-%20Skills%20for%20Life%20and%20Learning.pdf

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2009). Maternal Depression Can Undermine the Development of Young Children: Working Paper No. 8. Retrieved from http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2010). Persistent Fear and Anxiety Can Affect Young Children’s Learning and Development: Working Paper No. 9. Retrieved from http://www.developingchild.net

Web Resources

The website that I examined was International Child Resource Institute (ICRI) (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.). The section that seemed relevant to my current professional development was the section on advocacy.  I think that as an educator and especially if you teach young children , you need to be their voice and advocate for them. The website provided some advocacy resources.  Another section I found interesting was the consulting section.  This section spoke about how different consultants who are experts in their fields form a team of consultants.   They help to design, develop. maintain, implement, evaluate and plan different projects within the early childhood field (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).  This seems like it would lend itself to professional development.  All these people who are experts in their own rights with their own ideas have to work with other experts and come up with a cohesive plan as to how they will tackle a project.  Since all these experts have different strengths and perspectives their projects are probably done with a holistic approach.

I found it surprising that in Chile ICRI along with the National Ministry of Justice and SENAME work with psychologists, social workers and other professionals who deal with abused children to train them in the area of child abuse (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).  I always assumed that the nature of their job meant that psychologists and social workers were already sensitized and adequately trained on child sexual abuse.

As I viewed the website I noticed that quite a few companies and organizations had utilized ICRI’s  consulting team (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).  Among some of their past clients was California State Senate (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).  To me this implies that a politician was seeking the advice of experts in the early childhood field which in turn could mean that that this politician probably wanted to support the early childhood field and he or she was asking how he or she should go about it.

A new insight I gained was the importance of training.  In many of their projects ICRI provides training for the professionl(s) who are in direct contact with the children (International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).  I think I sometimes view training or re-training as a nuisance.  However, even if no new information is added to a training program it never hurts to be reminded of what you should be doing for the children in your care and to be kept on task.

Reference:

International Child Resource Institute. (n.d.

Poverty

Unfortunately no one I contacted got in touch with me and I was unable to access the podcasts and the link provided for this week.  Instead I read about poverty on the UNICEF website at http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/poverty.html.

From the website I learned that millions of children do not experience childhood because of poverty (UNICEF, n.d.).  It leaves them at a disadvantage that affects their “mental, physical, emotional and spiritual development” (p. 1,para. 1). There is a difference between child poverty and poverty in general.  It does not only involve low income and consumption.  Child poverty does not only take  children’s suffering into account but also their disempowerment.”Children experience poverty with their hands, minds and hearts (p.1, para.2).  It’s difficult to measure child poverty because there are many factors that go into it.  For many children who live in poverty many “disadvantages overlap and reinforce one another”(p. 2, para. 3).  One reason children face poverty in some regions is due in part to gender discrimination.  Poverty often leaves children in a vulnerable position in which they are often exploited and are exposed to dangerous situations.  A child’s family is suppose to be his or her safe haven.  The more distance there is between the child and his family increases the risk to the child.  They have to try to protect themselves (UNICEF, n.d.).

I realize that poverty is often a cycle that is hard to break because the factors that cause childhood poverty reinforce each other.  It’s hard to eliminate poverty by only addressing one area.  All the contributing factors need to be addressed and overcome in order for children not to live in poverty. Governments need to implement programs that tackle most if not all the factors that lead to childhood poverty and come up with ways to support families so those families can in turn support their children.  

Reference:

UNICEF. (n.d.). Childhood under threat: The state of the world’s children 2005. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/poverty.html

Web Resource

The organization I selected is International Child Resource (Institute International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).  Its website can be found at http://www.icrichild.org/ourvision/.  The organization has five goals which it focuses on: early childhood care and education, children’s rights, empowerment of women and girls, maternal and child health and grassroots community development.  This organization believes in protecting the rights of all children,  This includes protecting them from abuse and enabling them to live safely and have stable lives.  They believe all children should have the opportunity to have a high quality early childhood care and education.  Early intervention is vital to not only children but communities.  They believe in the empowerment of women and girls as this can have a positive impact on a community.  They believe that in order for women and children to do well they need to have access to healthcare, this will eventually lead to the wellbeing of the entire community.  Lastly, that want all communities to have the resources to get out of poverty but they want those community to also be self-sufficient, able to sustain themselves with their own resources.  They have ongoing projects in different countries all over the world (Institute International Child Resource Institute, n.d.).

One issue that caught my attention was that there seemed to be a cycle of violence against youths in Nepal (International Child Resource Institute, 2014).  Youths were often on the receiving end of violence from their families, schools and communities.  When they grew up they would often become the perpetrators of violence.  This is quite worrying.  Recently, ICRI consultant Melanie Jones, founder of Speak to Children, and volunteer Giulietta Pezzaniti visited ICRI's Nepal office to train 28 Nepalese teachers to address different issues including the one mentioned above (International Child Resource Institute, 2014).

References

International Child Resource Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.icrichild.org/

International Child Resource Institute. (2014). Melanie Jones Impacts ICRI Nepal. Retrieved from http://www.icrichild.org/blog/2014/3/6/melanie

Establishing professional contacts and expanding resources

This week I emailed several professionals, from the early childhood field, who were listed on the Global Alliance and UNICEF website.  However, some of my emails were returned to me because the email addresses were not valid.  Some of my emails went through but I have not heard back from anyone I contacted so I think I may have to do the alternate assignment.

In looking for an early childhood website to study I was trying to find one that resonated with me and easily navigable.  I chose the International Child Resource Institute website.  I like that they have projects in several communities around the world, they go where they are wanted and they use people from the community to help.  They not only help children but also their families. 

Question

Is anyone a part of any of these organizations already?