Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

This week I visited the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization website or UNEDCO.  This website is again one that I knew nothing about but yet found very interesting.  The first thing I found out about this organization is that it is located in Paris, France.  The second thing I saw as I explored this website is that it can be translated into several different languages.  It can be translated into English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese.  I think this is really good and showing their diversity and acknowledgement of all the various individuals involved or interested in their organization.  While this website covers other topics as it, as it name suggest, I was mainly interested in the Education portion of the website.  Under the Education portion there are a few links for additional information on various actions, beliefs, or thoughts on the framework of a program as it relates to quality along with access, funding, and quality.  And just like my professional goal of aiding programs move from one stage to another through the working knowledge and attainment of seek a high quality program that parents look and long for that offers children in their care a well-rounded diverse program.  The last thing I found interesting on this website is the international educational goals formulated that will allow all children no matter their age and adults and learning option that will exceed their academic dream.   This goals are as follows:

“Education for All Goals

Six internationally agreed education goals aim to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015.

Goal 1

Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Goal 2

Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality.

Goal 3

Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes.

Goal 4

Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.

Goal 5

Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.

Goal 6

Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.” UNESCO, (n.d.)

 

Reference

UNESCO. (). Education-Early Childhood.  United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.  Retreived from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

 

Sharing Web Resources

One on the links that I had not explored on the National Head Start Association website was the NHSA Radio.  This link had a wealth of links to past topics discussed.  The radio has two links, one for administrators and one for parents.  Some topics covered were new Head Start standards, effects of standardized testing, staff and program development, and other topics.  Another link I looking at this week was entitled News Room.  Under this link were a few other links but the one link that I felt was of importance was the News You Can Use.  This link gave a summary of for the events and webinars for the current month as well as past months.   Some items featured are the announcement of the Head Start’s keynote speaker at this year’s conference, the opening of the scholarship/nomination information for 2013, professional development policy updates, and update on the latest advocacy efforts, along with webinar information and other tools. 

There is also a blog link on the National Head Start Association website that has past and current blogs on the benefits on early intervention, future funding of at risk children, and the benefits of head start in the long run. Opportunities for children and parent as well as parental stories and podcast are included in this blog link as well.

Head Start is one arena that I have never worked in and is very much in acquiring as much information about it as I can.  I would love to learn about this organization form the administrative level because I think this type of program is needed in more areas due to the number of low income families, the small number of slots each Head Start faculty has to offer and the growing number of children in need of an educational start they may not be receiving due to limited funding.

 

 

National Head Start Association. (2013). Retreived from http://www.nhsa.org/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

In this week’s website of World Forum Foundation there was an article entitled War or Peace and Peas. This article spoke written in the Exchange Every Day by Betsy Evans of a test done on children to see if they knew the difference between war and peace.   This article was of so much interest that it was replicated at a program in Mumbai, India between the ages of 4 and 5.  The program took 50 girls and 50 boys for this experiment, asking questions about war and peace.  After the discussion, “39 girls were able to understand and explain the word war, the rest were confused. All 50 boys were able to understand and explain the word war in some violent context. All 100 kids were NOT able to talk or relate to the word peace.” (Popat-Vats, 2013)  The children were then asked to draw what they think war and peace is and most of the children drew pictures of “swords, fighting, bombs, army warriors, etc.” (Popat-Vats, 2013)  But when it came to the children drawing pictures relating to peace they drew items like “bread piece, pizza piece, pieces of chocolate, glass pieces, green peas.” (Popat-Vats, 2013)  Like the administrators of the assignment I thought the children were confused the word peace with the word piece.  After further conversation with the children the administrators noted that the children had no real understanding of what peace was or what represented peace.  While the children gained their knowledge of war through violence seen in video games, television, computers, or newspapers they never acquired peacefully situations.  This lead to a project in the program entitled ‘Peace’.   “The ‘PEACE’ project to help kids understand war: why it happens; why it is bad; what is peace; how war can be converted to peace; how peace is a solution so that fights do not happen; noisy and peaceful; and many more such ideas.” (Popat-Vats, 2013)  After this project was conducted children were then able to correlate what peace is and not pieces.

Another article on the website of World Forum Foundation was on the World Forum in Action- Working Group on Children’s Rights.  This short article spoke of the children’s rights group that was formed in 2012 will be having a article in the special issue of the Exchange magazine in July/August.  The article will speak about the rights of children and adults.  It will answer questions like, “What does it look like when children’s rights are honored and respected?” and “What does the concept of taking children’s ideas and opinions seriously really mean?” The issue will address cultural issues surrounding rights and the notion of children and adult rights colliding. Narratives about rights from contexts around the world will highlight accomplishments and challenges, as well as strategies for overcoming obstacles.” (World Forum Foundation, 2013)

 

Resources

Popat-Vats, S. (2013).  War and Peace or War and Peas!  World Forum Foundation.  Retrieved from http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/news/war-and-peace-or-war-and-peas/

World Forum Foundation. (2013). World Forum in Action – Working Group on Children’s Rights.  World Forum in Action.  Retreived form http://ccie-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wfaw/wfia-210.pdf

Sharing Web Resources

On the National Head Start’s main web page there is a section entitled Head Start in the News.  This section contains information that recaps or highlights things that affect Head Start.  Over the past few weeks the main topic that has been highlights in the Head Start news is the sequestration as the affects it is having on Head Start programs across the United States. 

It was interesting to read the affects the budget cuts are having on Head Start programs alone.  I know just in my city there will be about $125 thousand dollars cut which would result in the loss of approximately 19 children in each site.  While there are so many families and children in need of the services that Head Start provides the loss of the financial funding received from the government leaves many families that are economical strained.  The loss of much needed child care slots would present a problem for families to work or school in an effort to better their family’s growth. 

While economist, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field the cutting of funding to this program causes a great problem for the low income family.  Many of them understand that education givens children a better foothold in school and job attainment.  But the question is; are they with such devastating cuts?

As a early child care professional it is my job, no my duty to advocate for children and their families.  I need to ensure that there are resources and services available that we benefit families and children making their daily living a little less stressful.

 

Resources

Glenn, G. (2013).  Head Start In Maryland At Risk.  WYPR News.  Retrieved from http://www.wypr.org/news/head-starts-maryland-risk

National Head Start Association. (2013). Retreived from http://www.nhsa.org/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

Since I did not receive a response or feedback from the contacts I initiated a couple of weeks ago I have to do the alternative assignment for blog on the World Forum Foundation.  The World Forum website this week had a video that was about the 10^th anniversary forum that was held in Belfast as well as several presenters from the forum talked about the forum, their experiences and the importance of the World Forum Foundation.  At this forum there were 600 thousand people from 90 different countries that came together with the same mindset of the well-being of all children.  At the Forum convention it is not all workshops, childcare educators and advocates are encouraged to share their passions and culture whether it be through song or dance throughout the event.

There are several speakers in the podcast who speak on their experience and involvement with the World Forum Foundation.   Two speakers of the podcast Dr. Kishor Shrestha, Professor at Tribhuvan University in Kirtipur, Kathmandau located in Nepal and Dr. Wayne Eastman, Professor at the College of the North Atlantic located in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, both have been presenters and actively involved in the World Forum for years.  It as through the World Forum that these to gentleman forged a friendship and four years ago founded the first volume of journal of child development called Journal of Early Childhood Development. Today they are on volume 4.  Another speaker of the podcast was Amelia Gambetti, International Network Coordinator for Reggio Children for Reggio Emili in Italy, has always been a presenter at the World Forum.  Ms. Gambetti stressed how she loves attending the Forum because of the knowledge she gains from them.  She says, “Always learning how important it is to share without any presumptions or egos.  Being with other educators from all over the world everybody is eager to share and collect information that can help all of us to continue to stick together, to stay together, to guide together in order to invest in quality education.” (World Forum, 2012) 

The final presenter I will discuss is the President of Ireland, President Mary McAleese.  President McAleese made the following statement that I feel is very impactful to any one working in the early childhood field.  “We only get one go around with our children so we are the engravers of their lives have to know and be taught how to engrave.  But good news is on the horizon and that is the compassion of a person and to change and grow.  Give the benefit of your experience and to have this global resource of good practice, best practice to learn what things don’t work, things that work, to share with one another.” (World Forum, 2012)  This is powerful to me because I have never thought of myself as an engraver on anyone’s life.  But as I look back on my years in the field and how I have come around children or their family and how they remember me and the care and love that I gave them I can now see the impact I had on their life.

As I read the Child Poverty website and reflected on the World Forum website I can see how much poverty there is all over the world and the number of people committed to improving not just the education of children but the quality of life a child has.  This includes ensuring every child receives a well-rounded education and has more than just the bare necessities of life.  A child living in poverty dies from lack of health care, proper nutrition and generally receives little to no education.  But the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Center is concerned with reducing and possibly eliminating the number of children and families living in poverty.   While there are small strides toward this goal additional work must be done. 

 

Resource

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP). (n.d.). Knowledge for tackling childhood poverty. Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Hogan, T.  (2012).  World Forum Foundation Video.  World Forum Foundation.  Retreived from www.worldforumfoundation.org.

Sharing Web Resources

The early childhood organization I selected to focus on was the National Head Start Association.  This organization’s objective is to offer all children despite their personal circumstances an opportunity to receive services that benefit not just the child but the family and community.  The organization’s website it divided into several divisions.  The main page is full of links to information on recent news, events, news impacting head start, membership, research, services, advocacy, online store, affiliation links, alumnus, and features on their upcoming conference in Washington, D.C. in April.   The one thing that I found interesting was the link they had for parents and advocates to send messages to Congress and President Obama on suggested ways on sequestration avoidance. 

 

In tying this organization to this week’s demographic and diversity topic, I must say that this organization offers their website in Spanish as well as English.  This is showing me that they recognize and acknowledge that they cater to not just English speaking but Spanish.  In looking further into the organization website I found that they have sought employees that are bilingual to work in programs.

 

If you would like to explore this organization’s website the address is www.nhsa.org.  I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

Getting Ready—Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

This week the challenge was to make connections with at least two early childhood education organizations that are from different parts of the world.  The two organizations I chose to contact was the International Step by Step Association in Haiti and the Association for Early Childhood Educators in Singapore. I attempted to contact these organizations through an e-mail.  I sent an e-mail to the program specialist of the Haitian Step by Step Association Ms. Dawn Tankersley. At the Singapore Early Childhood Educators I went an e-mail to Ms. Olivia Glang who is an assistant programme coordinator.   As for my website organization I chose to study for this course was the National Head Start Association.   I selected these organizations because I knew nothing about any of them.  I think it would be nice to know about how the early childhood programs work in places I have never been.  As for the Head Start Association, I have never worked in or with a head start program and would like to learn more about the organization.  Also I thought learning more about these organizations would not only enhance my personal knowledge but professional knowledge.  As an early childhood professional I need to be able to be a resource to parents and by having the knowledge of a variety of educational programs would better educate parents as to the best option academically for their child. 

As of this posting I have not heard from either educational organization that I e-mailed.  As a result of not receiving any communication I will be using the alternative to part 1.  If anyone has chosen to use the same early learning organizations as I and received communication back I would greatly appreciate it if you would share with me what you did so that I can contact them and establish me own dialogue with them.  Thank you in advance.