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.

Sharing Web Resources

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has specific information that is particularly relevant to my current professional development. Since I began my educational journey within the field of early childhood education, I have been always developing professionally by integrating technology within the classroom. Sometimes as a teacher, we get so into our work within the classroom  that we can forget to ask for help outside from it. I have caught myself just asking an assosciate teacter for advice or an idea on lesson plan. I forget that I can go online and visit many other professionals to get more ideas. NAEYC has  a section where one can connect to facebook, twitter, youtube videos, and Flickr. These social medias can help myself and others in the field stay current with educational ideas and ECE policies and expand as professionals.

The website  adds to my understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field in the many readings on current research is discussed in these fields through newsletters, position statements, and research articles. I get to see the interconnections of for example science and how their research affects the funding of early childhood education. Current research in brain development has allowed more access to programs being funded to enhance the quality of education for children under five. A new thought that comes to me is the idea that a few years ago that one of the effects of poverty was that families could not afford a computer or have access to a computer. With technology being so advanced now, getting a computer is not so bad within the communities that I work with. Sadly , now the effects of poverty is that they cannot afford internet access.

Getting to Know a International Contact - Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center

I have not yet received a response from an early childcare education professional from outside of a different country so I have deicide to do the alternative assignment . I have visited the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center's Website to read about childhood poverty in different parts of the world. Their case studies in countries other than the United States gives valuable information on how families and children are living in areas like China, India, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia. For example, a study done in India shows that children  must work to help out themselves and their families to fight against poverty and to treat illness. The family cannot afford to send most children to get an education. They sacrifice schooling to live better. This to me makes poverty into a constant cycle from generation to generation. The site has links to many childhood poverty issues / research entities as well anti-poverty campaigns. It also shares various links to organizations that speak about  children's right and issues worldwide.

This Poverty Research and Policy Center has publications that are not only written in the English language. They include other languages. I find this helpful and respectful as it is useful to many others who can use this site. From various other international websites that I have encountered in the past, this is the first time I come across this detail. It is a great reminder that poverty  is an issue that affects children all over the world as it is a human struggle, not a certain racial struggle.

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I selected is The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The link  to this organization is http://www.naeyc.org. NAEYC'S mission is to raise the quality of early childhood programs and to continue building the association through a a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations.

One current trend from this website this year that caught my attention is that the association and  the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College released a comprehensive statement, “Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8,” providing important new guidance to early childhood programs on the effective use of media and technology. As educators, we need any new ideas on how we can teach children. Technology is all around us and this topic being presented on this website is beneficial to the 80,000 members it as.

Considering the topic for this week, that is, changing demographics and diversity, NAEYC prides itself in being culturally diverse and are mindful of the term inclusion. Its members are different people that are united by advocacy for children. They are composed of a variety of professionals and not just teachers. As a member of this  community, one has the opportunity to meet with people around the world who share the same passions and discuss current issues and research through a much broader audience. Ones circle of networking amongst professionals grows. Members are invited to child-advocacy events and be a part of projects to help children locally or in other parts of the world. This gives the opportunity to get experiences with working with people from different cultures and backgrounds and be better able to assist the culturally diverse families in ones classrooms.   

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

I am really excited to start making contact with ECE professionals from around the world. As I read the first part of the assignment, I went back to my childhood when I was in elementary school. In fourth and fifth grade, my teacher had us write to pen-pals to other children in china. For the first part of this assignment I decided to ask two early childhood professionals I have the pleasure to work with in this country if they know any colleagues in different parts of the world. I asked Lousie Dermin-Sparks and her husband Bill Sparks. They are both activists for children's rights and are known in many parts of the united states for publishing books and journals. Louise has had the opportunity to travel to many parts of the world to discuss her research and thoughts on anti-biases in education in places like Greece, South Africa, Australia, and the Netherlands. Both Bill and Lousie were kind enough to call up some of the professionals in these countries. Since they are busy individuals in these countires, she told me that she would in about a week or so, have possibly two people that I may contact.

For the second part of this assignment, I will choose The National Association for the Education of Young Children. Walden students this year are now able to receive a 10 percent discount on tuition if they show verification of enrollment to this organization. In previous instances, I have visited their website, but only the sections that are free. Now, that I will become a member, I will be able to explore more information. I hope professionals in this course also, if they have not already, take advantage of the discount.  

“My Supports”

I believe that support is a very important aspect in one’s life. Support can be different from person to person. I go through my daily task with the help of my family and friends. I find great support by being surrounded by people I love and respect. Work is very stressful for me and having my family home after work, it is a great support as they listen to my concerns. They are there to listen to me and help me to distress myself. Sometimes the financial problem that occurs in my home is hard to talk about it with my family. For instance, I believe my parents get more stressed if I talk about financial problems on a daily basis. This stress can cause illnesses to my parents as they are not in a young age anymore. I use my friends, in this matter, as support to discuss my problems that I do not feel comfortable discussing with my family. These supports I find it very beneficial because it makes me a better person every day. If I would not have my family and friends on a daily basis, I believe I would go very depressed. Just imagining having no support from the people I love makes me feel sad. My family and friends help me feel better emotionally that without them will impact my life in a crucial way.

My girlfriend, originally from Los Angeles, California, went to St. Louis, Missouri to get her master’s degree. She was alone in a new city with no family nearby. After she got her master’s degree, a job was offered to her at her school; which she accepted. Although she had support from her family and me, she found it difficult staying after six months and decided to return home. If I were her, that would have been the biggest challenge of my life; being away from my family. I need my family to have my life balanced. They give me support by not making feel alone in this world, hearing my issues and giving me their best advice to handle them, and the love that I receive from them which makes me very happy. My life and family are not perfect, but we work together through our best and worst of times. My family is very beneficial because they provide support in many different ways. My girlfriend was strong for being away from the people she loves. I could not imagine myself far away from my family and girlfriend and not having them in my life, it will be the end of the world for me. The biggest impact that I would have is being alone and for me, feeling alone is like having no life to live for.

"My Connections to Play"

“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.” ~ O. Fred Donaldson (martial arts master)

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father - Roger Von Oech, Contemporary American creativity guru

These are two quotes that summarize what play represented for me in my childhood. I grew up in a low income home where my parents did not have money to buy me many toys. I remember using my imagination very much during play. I was never into video games. I think because they were barely becoming popular and my parents would have not been able to afford it. Any object that I got my hands on would, in my mind, turn into some type of toy. I would turn household items into props. For example, I loved setting pots and pans out and would envision a huge city where my few figures could battle in. I would also use the green plastic baskets that strawberries would come in and use them as building blocks or cages for some toys I had.

(Plastic basket that strawberries came in when we would by them from the store. I dont see them anymore in stores)













(Pots and pans is where I would love to create my imaginary battle scenes)

I remember my mother being the most influential person in my play. She would throughout the day, spend time with me and go along with my ideas and sometimes help me be creative in the objects I had. She and I would create games with the props we had. I would say i owe my creativity to her. I enjoyed my childhood play days that I saved all of my toys and some household props in the basement as a reminder of those days.

Today's play is somewhat similar from the play in which I engaged in as a child. Children today ask for video games and I see many at school pretend they are a character for those games. At centers where I have been at, I see children expressing their imagination by themselves and with others. I often play with them and make up stories. I feel my play as a child comes out. Even as an adult, I really enjoy playing games with the children. Play is something that I will never be able to stop doing. I can't wait to play with my own children and suggest creative ways to play so that they too, can use their in=imagination Today's technology has 3 year olds walking around with ipads all day and I feel it is not letting children be creative as children use to be though. I feel they are being raised without the social benefits of child-driven play.