Getting to Know Your International Contacts - Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” Website

     After not yet receiving a response from an international professional, I visited the Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/ . After exploring the site thoroughly, I would like to share three new insights I gained about early childhood systems around the globe. As part of the centers global children's initiative, they are working on a project  in Brazil to synthesize and translate scientific knowledge on the science of child development. They are doing this in the Brazilian cultural context as they work with Brazilian scholars, policymakers, civil society leaders to help create a more equitable society. A new insight is that as a professional in the field of childhood education, weather we assist families in our communities or some place around the world, we must be mindful and respectful of their culture and language.  Another insight is that this organization is putting effort in respecting the Brazilian culture and adding to their society, not changing it. Children are not empty vessels and we must add to their knowledge base, not change it. My third insight I gathered from this site is the underlying focus of the program. They state that they are making these efforts to ultimately reach a large Brazilian audience in order to catalyze more effective policies and programs. Even though I work in a city within the United State, the families I work with are up of a variety of ethnic groups. I don't have to leave the country as I feel sometimes as I am a international professional as I deal on a day to day with all these cultures. By having visited this site, It served me as a reminder to continue to make an extra effort to acknowledge every families culture that I work with as it creates better relationships.