Consequences of Learning About the International Early Childhood Education Field

Before taking this course, I wouldn't have dreamed of doing the research into other cultures to find out how they conduct their early childhood education field. Now, I would like to think that I am well-informed of some of the countries standards and traditions. The consequences that I have formulated are ones that are positive. Some of the positive consequences that I see that has the capacity to influence me personally and professionally would be the following: Knowing about other cultures has allowed me to become more culturally sensitive, I am also more empathetic to the needs of those who are impoverished and I see the value of just being informed--sometimes we are ignorant to those things around us because we are not informed.

The goal that I have made in response to the international early childhood education field is to continue in my quest to become more informed on those things dealing with education. Although the United States is a little more different in the treatment of education and children, I think that we can learn a lot from other countries. It also helps us as teachers to become more sensitive to the needs of others--so that we may see everyone that crosses our paths as human beings rather that puzzle pieces or pawns in the game of life.

"Additional Information Gained This Week"

I took a detour from my original website and decide to go a little further. I recently learned or rather, heard of, the Common Core Standards. Essentially the common core standards are an answer to each state having different tests. Now, with the common core standards, at least 45 states will be tested based on the same curriculum or standards. I am not sure if this is a good thing although it does gives a level uniformity. For students who are a part of this early childhood (k-3)curriculum, the assessment process is right around the corner. For all others, it may be years before they are introduced to it. The standards, like most assessments, don't take into consideration socio-emotional development, or motor and physical development. During a period of life where children haven't evolved or found an identity, we are placing another change/challenge before them. I have said it once and will say it again, we are raising children, not miniature grown-ups. What ever happened to allowing children to socially interact with children and having to learn through playing? If you all want to view the article, I read it on http://www.washingtonpost.com

"Further Investigations On Chosen Websites"

The Global Alliance of NAEYC is one of the outside links that had yet to explore was explored tonight. On this particular website, there is a Week of the Young Child link. The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. The 2011 Week of the Young Child is April 10-16. There was also a link entitled "Play: Where Learning Begins." This link re-enforced everything that I knew about the act of play. It states that "Play is a vital part of early childhood education and development. When children explore, experiment, and interact through play, they learn about how the world works." Some other interesting information was offered that could be beneficial to parents and teachers such as the establishment of common-core standards, and a discussion of teacher quality and quality programs.

The website that I had originally chosen was The Association for Childhood Education International. One piece of new information was their report on improving teacher training programs. It captured my interest because we need to have appropriate teacher training programs. The article talks about "providing quantified sources as a potential starting point for major form." This particular piece interested me because we need to have more programs such as this one to insure that we get the best teachers in place for the job to do the job that we need them to do.

Update On Professional Website

I have sent contact information to my chosen website and I have yet to receive a newsletter. The funny thing is, I searched that particular website and I came to another website that aroused my curiosity--the website was listed as Association for Childhood Eduation International. When I logged on, I didn't know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only does the site contain information about Africa, Asia, China, and other countries, they even had a list of events and publications offered, and extra resources for those who are interested. They have a section entitled "E-News." Each month, the E-News is updated. These things are interesting to me as an educator because I want to know what is going on in the world of early childhood education. For someone who has always taught middle school, I have no knowledge, other than what I have learned in class on early childhood education. I think by learning what actually goes on in other countries, we are more empathetic to those needs of the families there and in our own classroom. Politicians and other businesses are important to this site because the provide monies to support the educational programs and travel of individuals to other countries in support of what is needed there. Politicians also serve on the board and they do speaking engagements to promote the cause; therefore, although on the outside looking in, we might not think that they do much, it seems that they are there and their intentions are good. These programs need publicity and they also need money to fund their cause so in the end, it works out for everyone involved. The other insights that I gained from this particular website are the fact that on a personal level, I feel that it is refreshing to see people come together in support of poverty and education. I honestly believe that they are making a different. On a professional level, I am just glad that I have found a sight that is going to further my cause in making me aware of what is going on around the world.

"India's Childhood Poverty"

The country that I was chose to read about was India. I didn't know much about the country therefore, I decided to take a look at the information and needless to say, I was surprised at what I found. The information found below is the information that I gathered from the article:

1. Almost half of all children (about 62 million) under the age of five are malnourished and 34% of newborns are underweight.
2. In India, there are children 16 years old and below who make up a portion of the workforce.
3. Females are seen as inferior to their male counterparts and the girl child spends majority of her day out in the workforce because education is not seen as something that is beneficial to the females in India.

These are the three things that really tugged at my heart strings because in the United States, education is one of those things that children and adults have access to but in other parts of the country, education is like a mirage. It is only a figment in the imagination of those who can't receive it. I have known about the caste system but did not know that it is still in operation. Just the idea that the workforce in India is comprised of children who aren't even old enough to have a job or a part-time job are working to support a family. In order to counteract this problem, organizations are making arrangements to reduce poverty and ensure that an education is well in the reach of a child who deserves it.

Status of Organization Joined/Newsletter

Unfortunately, I was met with disappointment. I haven't heard from the organizations that I joined last week nor has there been any interesting blogs posted under these organizations;therefore, I decided to take a new route and I signed up to receive a newsletter from the National Black Child Development Institute. The reason why this particular organization caught my attention was because there was literature about how parents can become involved within the lives of the children. As a teacher, we always want the parents to be involved although many of them are not. As a human being, I realize the importance of having parental involvment because I am a product of a broken home and know that there are a lot of things that a child can get into when there isn't anyone there to guide them.

As for the website, another key factor for me choosing this particular organization is the way that they have included many black history facts...in NOVEMBER. I am used to seeing people wait until February to include black history factual information but this site has a lot of interesting stuff about the African-American race. I was ecstatic about the website.

Professional Blog On Early Childhood Issue/Website That I Chose To Follow

When I first read the assignment, I was thrilled to be given the task because it allowed me to reach out to other professionals who were skilled in an area (early childhood professional. Since I am a newbie in the field of early childhood, I knew that these people whom I contacted would be an asset for me and to me on my journey. I am not sure if I took the right steps but the results, I believe, will prove to work out in my favor. For the website or professional organization to study, I chose the Arlington Alliance of Early Childhood Professionals. Sometimes, we look to places further from home to do research on but the truth of the matter is, there are professional organizations in neighboring states as well that are doing things totally different than what we are doing in our area. This one is in Texas. As for the steps that I took to find this particular site, I heard about it from a friend. She is a member and she recommended it to me. I email them and left my contact information. I am waiting on a response from them.

The person I decided to blog with is Laura Bornfreund. Her platform is found under the New America Foundation. The one thing that captured my attention from this site was the title of the latest blog. The title was "The State of Preschool: Comparing the U.S. to Our International Competitors." I read some of the posts that were made and it seemed to be posts that were worthy of a response. Furthermore, I began to read her credentials. She is a policy analyst for New America's Early Education Initiative. She analyzes early education (birth to grade 3) studies and policies, researches and writes original policy papers, and contributes to this blog on a regular basis but the main factor for my choosing is the fact that she used to be a fourth grade teacher. I think that teachers are the ones in a better position to say what a child needs as far as education is concerned. I am angry that sometimes people who haven't been in the classrooms are making decisions that govern education. I have set up a feed to this blog.

My step to finding Laura was powered by Google. This computer mechanism is a God-send.