Consequences of Learning About the International Early Childhood Field

3 consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for your professional and personal development:

• One consequence of learning about the international early childhood field is that I got to explore various organizations. Organizations such as Global Fund The Children and UNICEF, showed me both the struggles and the suggestions/ideas they are coming up with to help that country.
• The second consequence is even with limited resources in  some countries, they are still able to make do with what they have. Therefore showing us that although some places are limited, we should look for various ways to improve regardless. For instance, one of the organizations used bottles in Asia to create new products they can use/sell to make income for their family.
• Lastly, I learned a lot about their collaborations with Universities and other programs that want to make a difference. Which made me realize, on a different level of connections, this online experience helps me become a better educator from the creativity flowing among my peers and I.

My goal as an educator is to continue to strive for to become a better professional educator for early childhood community. I would like to continue to help children find their voice. A child’s empowerment and their happiness is something extremely important. Children should never feel as though they cannot be happy nor speak up for themselves when they see something going wrong.

New insights/ideas from NPR podcast

Podcast: NPR

Title: After 50 years, Head Start struggles with uneven quality

I found this podcast extremely interesting because I always thought if it is all the same programs shouldn’t it be fairly the same no matter where you are? I understand variation but the general foundation/structure should be…shouldn’t it?

• A free program for low-income families called Head Start has been around for 50 years and research is beginning to show variations to this “free” Head Start programs. Based on quality “Kentucky and Vermont came out the best, while 18 states ranked very poorly: Arizona, Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin” (Sanchez, 2016).
• The reason the states that have poor-quality programs is because they offer too many hours for child-care with the little resources they have (Sanchez, 2016).
• In addition, these poor-quality programs have a hard time attracting teachers with degrees’ and experience due to the pay result.

This causes a continuous circle of not being able improve the poor-quality program because if you are trying to improve the poor-quality programs by offering more hours, then you would need more staff to help cover those hours and ratios. However, not many are willing to work in a poor-quality school and get paid below $30,000 a year. And if this cannot happen then you cannot keep up with the resources because there is not enough funding or because of the location of the program.

So is there a way to improve these poor-quality programs? That I am not sure. I believe all these things come together and work off of each other. One should not impede the other. However, one is always going to be “more important” than the other because of the lack of funding and money America has.

 

Reference

Sanchez, C. (2016). After 50 years, Head Start struggles with uneven quality. NPR ED. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/12/14/505432233/after-50-years-head-start-struggles-with-uneven-quality

Sharing web resources (part 2)

I chose to further explore the website www.globalfundforchildren.org. I found articles that speaks upon youth empowerment. These articles offer children with better opportunities to better themselves, their families, and their lives. I chose to focus on youth empowerment because children deserve to have a voice of their own, know their rights, and receive education and training.

Their objective: “We prioritize programs that advance young people’s political and civil participation and rights; that amplify youth voices, increase their decision-making powers, and raise awareness of their rights and needs; and that empower young people to educate and inspire their peers to act” (Global Fund For Children, 2017).

Findings: “According to the United Nations, 89% of the world’s youth live in developing countries. At the same time, youth unemployment is on the rise. And work alone does not mean prosperity: nearly 40% of working youth live in poverty. Together, these challenges pose an enormous threat to our global economic and political stability—unless we seize the opportunity” (Global Fund for Children, 2017).

       Findings 1) Defending the Right to a Healthy & Productive Future

            – Central Asia, Tajikistan (poorest country) has an organization called Youth Generation of Tajikistan (YGT) that teaches “young people life skills, leaderships skills, civic responsibilities, and knowledge of their rights and opportunities so they can make a major contribution to community development and poverty reduction” (Global Fund for Children, 2017). They also provide children medical services and information on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse…healthy lifestyles” (Global Fund for Children, 2017).

(my thoughts) Giving children leadership skills helps them go out in the world and teach their peers their knowledge to educate their communities and societies. As the information circles, minor changes can occur offering a greater change.

         Findings 2) Empowering a New Generation of Leaders in Cambodia

              -Advanced Centre for Empowerment (ACE) – “children from slum communities attend daily academic classes, along with weekly computer classes, and participate in sports activities. Supplemental nutrition and monthly checkups help the children stay healthy, and they also have access to regular workshops on leadership skills, child rights, and career options” (Global Fund for Children, 2017).

 (my thoughts) Low-income children are able to participate in activities they would otherwise not have the opportunity to have because of their community. It is a great opportunity for children to feel like children, and still learn and play as others are able to.

              Findings 3) From Living on the Streets to Building a Business

               -Children in Nairobi’s Kawangware, earn less than a dollar a day causing them to be on the streets (Global Fund for Children, 2017). “Many children and youth live and work on the streets, with little hope of getting an education or a decent job. In some cases, they are the heads of their households and have neither the time nor the resources to attend school…Kito International gives young people living in the Kawangware slum a lifeline out of poverty, helping them to realize their potential and build skills for a successful future” (Global Fund for Children, 2017).

(my thoughts) It is sad to know that children are living on the streets and are the bread winners for the families. Kito International is able to provide children with skills to help them get off the streets and do better for themselves. It helps children use the resources/ materials they have to produce products. They are enabling children to have chance to a new beginning.

Reference

https://globalfundforchildren.org/our-partners/focus

Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website

On the Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website, I decided to explore Latin American Innovations Clusters. On this website, it seems as though both Brazil and Mexico are working together with two innovation clusters:

“Aceleradora de Innovación para la Primera Infancia in Mexico and the iLab Primeira Infância in Brazil. Both clusters drive the development of innovative two-generation strategies that address the unmet challenges of children and families facing adversity” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010).

iLab Primeira Infância in Brazil has pilot programs that help mothers, especially young mothers, parents, and any other adults that could be in the child’s life, with nurturing, building bonds, courses on integrating play.

• I believe this is a great program to help those families who are new to raising children, are struggling, need advice etc. Various courses, coaching, home-visits, workshops

Aceleradora de Innovación para la Primera Infancia in Mexico offers similar programs, however, one difference is “collectively prepare low-income working fathers to take a more active role in childrearing during infancy.” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010).

I believe these insights are extremely important for the issues of equity. These programs are giving low-income families a chance to “start over”, begin a new path that can be beneficial for both their children, themselves, and their family. These programs can also be beneficial to other families because there is always room for improvement. There is nothing wrong with getting up-to-date strategies.

 

Reference

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2010). Global children’s initiative. Retrieved fromhttp://developingchild.harvard.edu/about/what-we-do/global-work/